Dear Ragtime Friends,

There once was a young and very handsome ragtime pianist who made his way to Sedalia in the early days of the Scott Joplin Festival. He took in all the sights and sounds and activities - Bob Darch spinning his yarns, Ed Berlin teaching a seminar, Sue Keller belting out a torch song, Terry Waldo introducing his new rag, “Proctology”.

The young man signed up to play under the main tent where Stark Pavilion now stands, down by the railroad tracks. When it was his turn, he sat down at the Baldwin on the wooden stage at the head of the crowded tent, and began to play The Easy Winners. He had just gotten to the trio when the train signal began clanging and the whistle blew in the distance. Uh oh, the freight train was approaching. The locomotives passed behind the tent, and The Easy Winners D strain was drowned out by the engines’ roar. The pianist could only sit helplessly and wait. Even when the thundering engines had passed by, there were still dozens of coal cars to compete with.

Finally, the train was gone. The pianist (did I mention he was very handsome?) carried on with The Harlem Rag and The Entertainer. As he was receiving his “Excellence In Ragtime” certificate, he mused to himself, “Hmm, someday I should write a rag about that train.”

So thanks, Scott Joplin Foundation, for the opportunity to relive fond memories and help commemorate the railroad beginnings of the community.

This rag has four strains:
A. The train is coming.
B. The engines chug past Stark Pavilion.
C. Listen to the clickety-clack of the coal cars.
D. The train is gone. Hooray. We can play ragtime again.