Smyrna times., 1897-04-14
IT PLAYED ONE TUNE.
LIMITED REPERTORY OF THE ST. JOE
CORNET BAND.

First Piece 1t Learned and the Solemn
Occasion on Which 1t Was Rendered.
"husic by tho Band" at the School Ex-
hibitiOn-OId Timers Look Back.
Two men were at a table overlooking
Michigan avenue. They were unmistak-
ably from some place i'll the west. They
had the good old time manners which
are becoming scarce in every section.
They were go or maybe 70 years each
one OF them was reading the news to
the other one.
The one who was reading stopped and
said: I'll be doggoned if Sam Stone
amt dead. 1t says here that he died in
Topeky, Kan. You remember Sam
Stone. He wrote that old song, Wait
For the Wagon and Well All Take
Ride. ,"
"Hain't thought of it 80 year, Cy,"
replied the old man opposite him.
Let's see, how did it go?-something
like this"-the old man puckered his
lips aud tried to whistle the air. but the
sound from his mouth resembled that
of hungry wind through a keyhole.
Jim, you're getting wind wasted.
Getting old. Fellows like you and me
can't whistle. Better hum it, Jim"
And Jim hummed it while Cy beat
time with his fingers on the table.
II had forgot, Cy, who it was that
wrote it..
eyes, it was Sam Stone. To bout
forgot it myself till 1 see it in that
morning paper. "
Sam Stone was "a, SO the paper says.
He died in Topel1y, where he'd lived
about % years. That was a great old
song in its day"
That and Pop Goes the Weasel. +"
"But Wait For the Wagon was the
most catching. I remember it was the
first piece that the st. Joe (AIo. cornet
ba d learned to play. And Just then
tn re was man died in st. Joe who
was high roller in the Masonic lodge
IN the town, and mighty popular man
he was OF course he was buried with
Masonic rites, and the lodge committee
called on the leader of the band to en-
gage the bands service. 1t was the first
job the band had, and as it was in debt
for the snare drum and tho big horn
here was a chance to get even.
80 the leader got a retainer, and
then he told the committee that the
band couldn't play only one piece, and
that was Wait For the Wagon The
leader said it was not built Oh dead
march time, but by playing it low and
mutfiing the big drum he could make it
sound solemn. So the band turned out
at the funeral and it played Wait For
the Wagon all the way out to Mount
Morlah cemetery Some of the bows
about town had hard time looking sad. !
especially Ben Ullman, the big butcher,
who was one Of the pallbearers. Ben
was the funny man of the town. any
how
Il remember Ben, Cy."
Il knowed you did AS was saving. !
it was hard to keep straight faces, the
band playing that tune, going out to
the grave. Coming back there was near
ly row. The high muck muck of the
lodge told the leader of the band he had
better change the music, and then the
leader said the band couldn't play any
thing else, and that he had told him so.
The procession marched down Frederick
avenue coming back and it commenced
to rain, so that the lodge-it was the
Zeredathah chapter, as Iremember-had
to quicken their steps, and that put the
band out. -
"Of course, Cy. You can't march
double quick on slow music. But 90 on. "
We'll, the only thing for the band to
do was to liven up the tune, and that
was what raised Old Ned. The newspa-
per came out next week with piece in
1t as long as your arm saying it was q
disgrace, and that if the band expected
the citizens to help pay its debts it had
better learn some music that would be
appropriate at funerals, as people were
liable to die any time or course that
made the band mad. 3"
"Of course, Cy. But what did they
do?''
stopped their papers. Then when
Neely's academy gave the school exhi-
Oltlon In the Presbyterian church OH the
hill, the band was engaged and put in
The gallery, which was in one end Of
the church The band opened the exer-
'ises with wait For the Wagon. Then
the pastor of the church prayed, and
5he band played Wait For the Wagon
again. The programme consisted of es-
'ays-compOsitions they called them
and some dialogues,
and scattered along through the pro-
yramme was music by the band, and
svery time it played Wait For the
Wagon. 1t got to be as good as a cir
'us. remember the leader of the band
lied good many years ago, and the
piece in the paper about him said he
wrote Wait For the Wagon, but the
'aper was wrong. 1t was Sam Stone
Who wrote it, him that has just died in
Topeky."
1t all comes back to me now, Cy.
But all 1 can remember is the tune and
he first two lines:
UWait for tho ,,,,o,,,