From the desk of Alison Gibson, Director
The interest in last week’s column picture of the 1926 band encouraged us to revisit the yearbooks for this week as well. In the 1927 Ripple the band and girls’ orchestra still look good as do the various sports teams. If one could go back to the editors of the yearbook, we’d say don’t forget to name everyone on the team or in the picture! We’ve chosen the junior class for this week as it is one of the clearest pictures and of course, has some very recognizable surnames.
There is an essay in the yearbook titled “Shorn Locks” referring to the bob style haircut. Somewhat tongue in cheek, … as with long locks girls were ‘compelled to spend at least 15 minutes every morning, making their crowning glory presentable to the public and spending 10 cents every 6-8 months for bobby pins. But…as the essay continues, it talks about the bobs needing a frequent haircut, the expensive permanent wave, the in between ‘water wave’ to keep it looking nice….
The advertisements in the back are similar to the 1926, with Bristow’s “The Most Popular Place in Town”, Albert Richard groceries along with Germann Bros. groceries, Bodmer’s Confectionery, Griffith Beauty Shoppe, Ripley Hardware, Paeltz Hardware, Ripley Furniture Company, Blackburn & Milligan Ford sales and service, N. Fussnecker selling quality meats at low prices, Kirker & Wiles, Imperial Cafe and more.
Ripley Library just got confirmation that the Jazz Alive group will be back—Sunday April 13th in the afternoon. For those of you that came to either of the earlier performances in 2023, you know how amazing they are, and we’re thrilled they are returning to Ripley. Their first visit was to let people know that there had been some nationally known early jazz performers that were from Ripley. Most well-known was Joe Smith, but several of his brothers also played with major ‘big bands’ in the day. We won’t repeat our columns on the subject, (April 20, 2023) but if interested, stop by and we’ll share our rather large file on the Smiths with you. More info on the Jazz Alive concert as we get closer to the day.
