Shall We Dance?

Dare we try the Bunny Hug, the Grizzly Bear, the Turkey Trot, or one of the other “vulgar”, banned, ragtime dances that have scandalized conservative society? Grandmother would have kittens if she saw us entwined in the sexy Tango, which is becoming popular in Europe. Perhaps we can get away with the Foxtrot, just debuted in New York in 1914 by the famous and respectable ballroom dancers, Vernon and Irene Castle.

Irene and Vernon Castle

Vernon, British by birth, joined the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) during the Great War, and earned a medal before being posted to Canada and then the U.S. to train pilots. He died in a flying accident in Texas in 1918.

Photo by Frank Micklethwaite

 Many of the 100+ inns and resorts on the three big lakes  - Muskoka, Rosseau, and Joseph - had ballrooms, so you could always “trip the light fantastic” somewhere - except on Sundays. The lakeside dance pavilion to the left of the canoeist in the photo above doubled as a roller skating rink. There were also plenty of private events, including deevie costume balls. “Ain’t we got fun?”

The Soundtrack of an Era

If you were in Muskoka in the summer of 1914, you might be banging out the latest hits on the piano – including risqué ragtime if Grandmother wasn’t around to disapprove - or singing “By the Beautiful Sea” with your friends as you splashed about in “Moonlight Bay”. You brought new gramophone records to the cottage, and are swooning over Al Jolson’s “You Made Me Love You” as you think about “spooning” “By the Light of the Silvery Moon” with your sweetheart.

We all have a soundtrack for our lives, especially our youth. My characters dance and flirt to popular tunes of their time, some of which become relevant to the plot and themes, even ironically so.

When I was doing my research, I discovered “Perfessor” Bill Edwards, an American ragtime historian and championship piano player. I contacted him with the idea of having a companion CD for The Summer Before the Storm with the music I quoted in the novel, and he obliged. He even added a delightful ragtime twist to WWI tunes like “Keep the Home Fires Burning” and “It’s a LongWay to Tipperary”. Click on the songs to hear his renditions.

The “Music for Muskoka” CD is available from Bill’s website. Visit NovelTunes for information about the music.