Ragtime For The Rockies

This tragic love story unfolds in and around the town of Platteville, Colorado in


1925 and 1926. In the Roaring Twenties, young women challenge their elders by dancing


to jazz music, wearing abbreviated clothing, and drinking prohibited alcohol.


Some men express their opposition in church. Otbers join the Ku Klux Klan, which


expands into the Northern States, promising violent resistance to social change.



OWEN MATTISON comes to Platteville High School as athletics coach and science


teacher, including Vocational Agriculture. Owen's bride, RUBY, a Home Economics


graduate, is an accomplished pianist and jazz fan whose clothes and bobbed hair show the


triumph of flapper fashion.



We meet Owen and Ruby, married for six weeks, sharing a picnic on the LYDELL


farm overlooking the river. Inspired by natural beauty, Owen sings the hymn that gives


their story its title, and Ruby harmonizes. Returning to their tiny rented home, Owen


receives a telephone call from ARTHUR STARK, a School Board member. Stark's son later


says Stark dislikes the twentieth century and wants to hold it back. Stark changes a


meeting date with Owen to attend a luncheon where he joins the Ku Klux Klan, with


OLIVER SCOTT, the Platteville barber. Both men participate in the next Klan raid on a


dancehall.



Eager to teach moral values, the School Board votes to require readings of the King


James Bible as part of classroom opening ceremonies. This distresses Catholic parents,


whose children will be required to hear a proscribed text. FREDERlCK KOBLENZ, owner of


the Platteville Mercantile store, organizes a protest student walkout. FRANCIS (FRA1\K)


KOBLENZ, Frederick's son, leads the walkout from Owen's classroom. The School Board


soon writes to all parents, requiring all students to remain for the Bible readings