Title: The Way It Was
Author: Alvin Fuhrman
Publisher: ‎ Alvin Fuhrman
ASIN: ‎ B09ZQ1K354
Pages: ‎ 388
Genre: Memoir / Biography
Reviewed by: David Allen

Read Book Review

The Way It Was by Alvin Fuhrman is more than a memoir of a family. It is the story of a startup telephone company in Texas, of an enterprising young man who lived his dream — the American dream — by dint of hard work, initiative, imagination and romance.

Follow Alvin and the love of his life Grace as they set out upon a lifetime of adventure, carving out a place for themselves and their children in and around Muenster, Texas. Alvin and Grace set the high bar for lives well lived: each describes in loving detail every step along the way: sinking telephone poles into the ground in winter; enduring subzero temperatures during military service and infrastructure building; surviving the tragic death of their son.

All this and more, the book is a glorious celebration of the building of America. It is the story of how we lived before the age of electricity and indoor toilets. Through anecdote, through compelling often deadpan description, as quoted, “There are a lot of snakes in the area and there would be rattlesnakes swimming across the river. I always gave them plenty of room…” Fuhrman helps us understand the grit and stick-with-it-ness that likely accounts for America’s pre-eminence during these years.

Alvin and Grace traveled. We accompany them to London, to Germany, to Peru. At each and every step, they are accompanied by good friends, a sense of purpose, dignity, and spirit. Their Christian spirit imbues everything they do with gratitude.

Check out the chapter titles: ‘Milking Cows’, ‘Picking Corn’, ‘Raising Cotton’, ‘Butchering Hogs, Raising Chickens and Seeing the Light’. Farms play an important part in the story. Alvin is handy, he invents things, he rises to the occasion! Follow the progress of technology, as one- and two- and three-operator stations are replaced by home dialing, cable, and satellite.

You will feel pride when you read this book. Proud of Alvin and Grace’s progress toward the better things in life. They leave no one behind. The writing is clever, avuncular and ultimately important. Why important?

The Way It Was is important because it is a living, talking heartfelt time machine. It is a testament to belief and dedication: in all these ways, we – the Fuhrmans, all the Fuhrmans in this country and this world – we enjoy the fruit of our labor.