Norton Owen arrived at Jacob’s Pillow in the summer of 1976 as a student of dance. He left as a student of history. “Jess Meeker was playing for our ballet class,” recalled Owen, the Pillow’s director of preservation. “I sat around with Jess and he told stories about playing for [Ted Shawn’s] Men Dancers. I was fascinated, especially by the thought that the stories took place right here. That is what sparked it for me. I was never really interested in dance history, but when you hear the personal stories and have direct personal contact with the storyteller. It was like a lightning bolt. I made the connection.” Posted on June 21, 2009.