Jan
27
Louis W. Hill and the Carnival Cowboys
The 2011 St. Paul Winter Carnival begins tomorrow (Jan. 27), and that makes me think of one of my favorite, unexpected finds about the life of G. Oliver Riggs: his brief stint as a cowboy.
OK, my great-grandfather wasn’t exactly a cowboy, but he was a member of the Montana Cowboy Band, and that’s just as surprising to learn about a man who was a classically trained violin and cornet soloist-turned band director.
In 1917, the cowboy band participated in an event that would never fly today – it paid a surprise visit to the governor and legislature during the St. Paul Winter Carnival and fired shots inside the State Capitol.
OK, my great-grandfather wasn’t exactly a cowboy, but he was a member of the Montana Cowboy Band, and that’s just as surprising to learn about a man who was a classically trained violin and cornet soloist-turned band director.
In 1917, the cowboy band participated in an event that would never fly today – it paid a surprise visit to the governor and legislature during the St. Paul Winter Carnival and fired shots inside the State Capitol.