Oct
27
A Young Man in the Jazz Age
If I could drop into any point in my grandfather’s life for a short visit, I’d probably choose the 1920s. It would be like Owen Wilson’s character in Woody Allen’s latest movie, Midnight in Paris, time-traveling to 1920s Paris – but without the romance element, and substituting the East Bank campus of the University of Minnesota for the Left Bank of Paris.
My grandfather Ronald Riggs was born in 1901, during the rise of John Philip Sousa’s popularity, and he was a college student when the Great Migration and the proliferation of radios and record players helped popularize jazz throughout the country.
Ronald entered college in the fall of 1919.
My grandfather Ronald Riggs was born in 1901, during the rise of John Philip Sousa’s popularity, and he was a college student when the Great Migration and the proliferation of radios and record players helped popularize jazz throughout the country.
Ronald entered college in the fall of 1919.
