Local historian recounts 1920s Manhattan at the public library
Manhattan Public Library played host to Cheryl Collins of the Riley County Historical Museum last night, who gave a presentation on life in Manhattan during 1928.
“Flappers, Flyboys, and Flivvers: 1928 in Riley County” was a presentation meant to set the scene and give cultural context to Ray Bradbury’s novel, “Dandelion Wine,” as a part of Manhattan’s One Book, One Community reading program.
“Bradbury’s ‘Dandelion Wine’ takes place in 1928, so I thought it would be interesting to examine what Riley County was like that same year,” Collins said.
Her presentation delved into the demographics of Riley County and cultural high points of the year. According to her research, the whole of Riley County in 1928 had the same population as K-State’s population today.
“Flappers were the new women of the 1920s,” Collins said. “K-State had more than its fair share. The college had a bloomers incident when Dean Van Zile tried to put a stop to girls removing their bloomers and showing their knees at dances.”
A local charter for an aeronautics program at K-State was proposed in 1928, but was not granted for another 10 years, Collins said. Her research found newspapers in Manhattan consistently followed breaking news in aviation, including a 16 passenger jet that at the time was considered massive.
Read entire article at Kansas State Collegian
“Flappers, Flyboys, and Flivvers: 1928 in Riley County” was a presentation meant to set the scene and give cultural context to Ray Bradbury’s novel, “Dandelion Wine,” as a part of Manhattan’s One Book, One Community reading program.
“Bradbury’s ‘Dandelion Wine’ takes place in 1928, so I thought it would be interesting to examine what Riley County was like that same year,” Collins said.
Her presentation delved into the demographics of Riley County and cultural high points of the year. According to her research, the whole of Riley County in 1928 had the same population as K-State’s population today.
“Flappers were the new women of the 1920s,” Collins said. “K-State had more than its fair share. The college had a bloomers incident when Dean Van Zile tried to put a stop to girls removing their bloomers and showing their knees at dances.”
A local charter for an aeronautics program at K-State was proposed in 1928, but was not granted for another 10 years, Collins said. Her research found newspapers in Manhattan consistently followed breaking news in aviation, including a 16 passenger jet that at the time was considered massive.