Part III: The Big Horn Basin’s roaring ’20s were about progress, not jazz

As the 1920s began, the Big Horn Basin was still a relatively isolated place. World War I had just ended, and the Spanish Influenza still lingered in memory. The region depended almost entirely on farming, ranching, and mining. Most families traveled to church and school by wagon. Roads over the Big Horns were little more than muddy trails, passable only for brief windows in the summer. The route from Cody to Yellowstone’s East Entrance was rough, often requiring pack horses and a guide.