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Rip van Ragwagon New theories shed light on New England Folk Legend By G. P. Hager, MD Most contemporary scholars of late 20th century American Folklore now agree that legendary folk hero Rip van Ragwagon is actually a composite figure. According to legend, this charming but elusive character first appeared in a southern New England mill town sometime in the late sixties or early seventies during a tempest on a ferryboat. Descriptions of early sightings, while numerous, varied markedly in detail: Incredible! How does anybody simultaneously playing guitar, piano, mandolin, harmonica, fiddle, and an old moonshine jug, while singing in multi-part male/female harmony maintain such a sense of humor about it all? --- Brown University, circa 1973. The entire rugby team listened silently until the box of kazoos came around. --- Mystic Connecticut, circa 1974. Like a jug band with wheels --- Newport, Rhode Island, circa 1975. Hey, look, it floats!---- Wellfleet, Massachusetts, circa 1974.
The legend continues that, sometime during the late 1970s, Rip van Ragwagon went to sleep on a barge docked beneath the Narragansett Bay Bridge and slept soundly for twenty-plus years before awakening mysteriously in Stonington, Connecticut. Near-riotous commotion related to this event was reported at a bucolic holiday gathering in Exeter, RI, where near-reliable revelers swore they witnessed Van Ragwagon being warmly embraced by none other than William Shakespeare. Recently emerged evidence supports the composite figure theory. In fact, several experts now feel that the Rip van Ragwagon persona derives from individuals believed to be alive to this day. Residual components of the original Ragwagon include guitarist Lonesome Red Riley (alleged to be single-handedly converting New York's Empire State Building into a museum of rare and marvelous musical instruments), Amy Hanish Anderson (the infamous vocal vamp of Newburyport, MA), and Gilby Hager (a.k.a. Dr. Blue, multi-instrumentalist, and practitioner of Honolulu Voodoo). Recent reports include sightings of Ed 'Idi' Rashed (a.k.a. The Maestro-Rocket 88s, purveyor of secular and sacred harmonies from the shores of Edgewood Cove, RI), and Dave Anderson (a.k.a. Big Bottom Bassman DJA, who manipulates the Internet from a 'location undisclosed' northern ice cave. These five individuals, separated by distances spanning continents and oceans, are reported recently reunited in cyberspace where they frequently and spectacularly morph into Ragwagon.
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