STORIES MY DAD TOLD ME

Prohibition (of alcohol) lasted from 1920 to 1933 in the U.S. The Great Depression began in 1929 and lasted, to some degree, into World War II. The Big Band era began in 1920 and lasted three decades. It produced the Swing era in the middle 1930's. It was with this backdrop that my dad and his brothers grew up. They were all born between 1900 and 1920.

Each of them considered himself an entertainer of one kind or another. My dad's brother Larry was a noted ballroom dancer. Dancing was very popular at that time. The movies were full of song and dance. Dance contests were an inexpensive event that attracted young people to clubs that weren't allowed to serve alcohol. Larry was the best of the brothers and won a number of local contests. He even won his wife on the dance floor.