The 1920s
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By -
It seems that Kosciusko Literary Services has been all aglow over "The Big Read," Dr. Elliot Engel, and his lecture on author, F. Scott Fitzgerald, which brings back that fabulous, notorious, period in history "The Roaring '20s."
Well, since I am 88 years old, I can boast of having lived through that era. I can't recall too much about what occurred in the forepart of the decade, but I can remember many things, and many situations, that took place during and after 1926, the year I started to school. I remember many of the melodious tunes of the day, such as, "My Blue Heaven," "Me And My Shadow," "Bye Bye Blackbird," etc. I very well recall those provocative, tantalizing dance fads, such as, "The Charleston," "The Black Bottom," "The Varsity Drag." Believe me, to be able to indulge in those snappy dance capers, one had to have plenty of pep, strong, sturdy limbs and a good, solid "ticker." I not only recall the fast-paced dance steps of the '20s, but I can recollect the gal who did the dancing, the gal they called "the flapper," with her short skirt, stockings rolled below the knees and bright, beaded headband.
When Charles Lindbergh made his famous nonstop flight over the Atlantic from New York to Paris in May 1927, I was nearly 7 years old, and on my way to the second grade in school. At that time, a facsimile of Lindbergh's famous headgear was on sale to accommodate the young boys. We called the famous aviator's headpiece "The Lindy Cap," and, believe me, if a kid didn't own a Lindy Cap, he was completely out of style. It was a helmet with strong straps that fastened beneath the chin. I recollect that also during the '20s, knickers were popular among the male gender. I owned a pair of knickers. During the '20s, men often wore knickers to play a game of golf.
Yes, The Roaring '20s era certainly lived up to its name when Al Capone, probably the most notorious of all racketeers, shot up Chicago as he and his henchmen with machine guns mowed down a number of Capone's rival enemies.
And, in conclusion, let us not forget one of the greatest financial disasters of all time, "The Stock Market Crash of 1929," which wiped out the filthy rich and led many of them to suicide, but didn't affect we lowly paupers as much, for most of us had very little capital in the first place.
Today, many bad things happen, but when you look back, with its gangsters, not to mention bootleggers and their problems with prohibition, life during The Roaring '20s era could be filled with just as much violence and notoriety as what prevails in the nation at the present time.
Don Kaiser
Warsaw[[In-content Ad]]
It seems that Kosciusko Literary Services has been all aglow over "The Big Read," Dr. Elliot Engel, and his lecture on author, F. Scott Fitzgerald, which brings back that fabulous, notorious, period in history "The Roaring '20s."
Well, since I am 88 years old, I can boast of having lived through that era. I can't recall too much about what occurred in the forepart of the decade, but I can remember many things, and many situations, that took place during and after 1926, the year I started to school. I remember many of the melodious tunes of the day, such as, "My Blue Heaven," "Me And My Shadow," "Bye Bye Blackbird," etc. I very well recall those provocative, tantalizing dance fads, such as, "The Charleston," "The Black Bottom," "The Varsity Drag." Believe me, to be able to indulge in those snappy dance capers, one had to have plenty of pep, strong, sturdy limbs and a good, solid "ticker." I not only recall the fast-paced dance steps of the '20s, but I can recollect the gal who did the dancing, the gal they called "the flapper," with her short skirt, stockings rolled below the knees and bright, beaded headband.
When Charles Lindbergh made his famous nonstop flight over the Atlantic from New York to Paris in May 1927, I was nearly 7 years old, and on my way to the second grade in school. At that time, a facsimile of Lindbergh's famous headgear was on sale to accommodate the young boys. We called the famous aviator's headpiece "The Lindy Cap," and, believe me, if a kid didn't own a Lindy Cap, he was completely out of style. It was a helmet with strong straps that fastened beneath the chin. I recollect that also during the '20s, knickers were popular among the male gender. I owned a pair of knickers. During the '20s, men often wore knickers to play a game of golf.
Yes, The Roaring '20s era certainly lived up to its name when Al Capone, probably the most notorious of all racketeers, shot up Chicago as he and his henchmen with machine guns mowed down a number of Capone's rival enemies.
And, in conclusion, let us not forget one of the greatest financial disasters of all time, "The Stock Market Crash of 1929," which wiped out the filthy rich and led many of them to suicide, but didn't affect we lowly paupers as much, for most of us had very little capital in the first place.
Today, many bad things happen, but when you look back, with its gangsters, not to mention bootleggers and their problems with prohibition, life during The Roaring '20s era could be filled with just as much violence and notoriety as what prevails in the nation at the present time.
Don Kaiser
Warsaw[[In-content Ad]]
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