Recently, I have been considering the relationship between ragtime and the railroads more intently than ever.
First, because Marcello Piras wrote to inquire about railroad service to one of the known Joplin performance locations. He is in the midst of some important research and his inquiries always stimulate my eagerness to see his work when completed.
My second stimulus is the fact that we went off of Daylight Saving Time November first. The time changes twice a year are my bane, and I am semiannually incredulous that we continue to shock our biological clocks twice a year to preserve a lobbied perception that it is good for the economy. Having taught elementary school, I know how the time changes negatively impact preteens, for example.
But back to ragtime and the railroads. There has always been the question about what led Scott Joplin to use Sedalia, Missouri, as a base during his formatively creative years? We may never know of any actual attachments beyond his friendship with Otis Saunders and the latter’s connection to the city. However, the fact that Sedalia was served by two national railroad lines by the 1890s must have been a key attraction. Though he had been in larger cities with hub-like rail service, he would not have stood out in those places as he did in Sedalia. Race relations were probably also more conducive for an African American musician in Sedalia compare
