Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1897-04-07
IT PLAYED ONE TUNE.
LIMITED R=PERTORY OF THE ST. JOE
CORNET BAND.
First Piece 1t Lenrnei and the Solemn
Occasion on which 1t Was Rendered.
"Music by the Band" at the School Ex-
Li5ition-Old Timers Look Back.


Occasion on Which 1t Was Rendered..
"AIus;c by the Band" at the School Ex-
EI5ition--Old Timers Look Back.
Two men were ut Il table overlooking
| Michigan avenue. They were unmistak-
| ably from some place i'll tho west. They
| had the good Old time manners which
are becoming scarce il every section.
| They We're 90 CT maybe 20 years each.
One Of them w..s reading the news to
| the other one.
The one who was reading stopped and
said: III be doggoned if Sam Stone
amt dead. II 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 i
Ride.
"Hain't thought of it 80 year, Cy,"
replied the old man opposite hin.
Lets see, how did it Go?-somethirg
like this''-the old man puckercd his
lips and tried TO whistle the air, but the
sound from his mouth rescmbled that
of hungry wind through a keyhole.
Jim, you're getting wind wasted.
Getting old. Fellows like you and rne
can't whistle Better hum ii, Jim.
And jim humrIed it while Cy beat
time with his fingers on the table.
AZ had forget, Cy, who it was that
wrote it."
Yes, it was Sam Stone. I'd 'bout
forgot it myself till l see it III that
morning parer."
''Sau StGIe wGs 81, so the paper says
He died III Topeky, where he'd lived
about 2S years. That was great old
song III it5 day"
THAT and Pop Goes TIE Weasel.
But Wait For tho Wagon was the
most catching L remember it was the
first piece that the ST. Joe (Mo. cCrnet
band learned to play. And just then
there was q nan died in st. joe who
vas high roller i'll the Masonic ledge
in the town. ard 4 mighty popular man
he was OF course he as buried with
Masonic rites, and the lodge committee
called on the leader Of the band to en-
gage tie bands service. 1t was the first
job the band had, and as it was i'll debt
for the snare drum and the big horn
here was a chance TO get even.
$50 the leader got Il 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 on dead
march time, but by playing it low and
mpfIiing the big drum he could make it
sound solemn. So the band turned olt
at the funeral and it played Wait Fer
the Wagon all the way out to Mount
Moriah cemetery. Some Of the boys
about town had . hard time looking sad,
especially Ben Ullman, the big butcher,
who was onc of the pallbearers. Ben
was the funny man Of the town. any
how.
Il remember Ben. Cy.
"1 Encwed you did As / was saying,
it vas 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 q muck Of the
lodge told the leader of the band he had
better change the music, ard then the
leader said tie band couldn't Play any
thing else, aud that he had told him so.
The procession marched down Frederick
avenue coming back and it commenced
to rain, so that the lodge-it wGs the
Zeredathah chapter, as relneinber-hgd
to quicken their steps, ard that put the
band cut.
''Of course, Cy You can't march
double quick on slow music But go on. y
We'll, the only thing for the baud to
do was to liven up the tune, and that
was what raised Old Ned. The Dewspa-
per came out next weel: with piece in
it as long as yoCr arm saying it was
disgrace. and that if TIE band expected
the citizens to help pay its debts it had
better learn some music thar would he
appropriate at funerals, as people were
liable to die ANY time. OF course Shat
made the band mad. -
''Of course, Cy. Dut wist did they
do?"
stopped their FGycrs. Then when
Neely's academy gurs the Echacl CXhi-
bition in the Presbyterian churct, on the
hill, the band was engaged and put in
the gallery, which was in cne end Of
the church The hand opened the exer-
cises with Wait For She Wagon. Then
the pastor CT tie church prayed, and
the band played 'Wait Tor the Wagon
again. The programme consisted of e.
s..yS-cCnlpCSlliCHs GnSS C-lltO tEe1u
then-deciamations and some dialogues,
and scattered along through the pro
gramme was music by the band, and
every time it played Wait For the
Wagon. 1t got to be as good as a cir
Gus. l remember the leader of the band
died good many years ago, and the
piece in the paper about him said he
wrote Wait For the Wagon but the
paper was wrong 1t was Sam Stone
who wrote it, him that has just died in
Topeky.'
1T all comes back to me low, Cy.
But all 1 can remember is the tune and
the first two lines:
''Wait for the wagon,
And We'll all take ride"
Chicago Chronicle.