The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1897-04-29
1T PLAYED ONE TUNE.
LIMITED REPeRroRV OF rHe ST JOE
CORNET BAND
First Piece IL Learned and the solemn
Occasion on Which II Was Rendered.
"dusic by the BAND" at the school In.
hibition-Old Timers Look Back.

"Music by the BAND" At the school In.
hibition-old Timers Look Back.
Two men were az a table overlooking
Michigan avenue They were unmistak-
ably from some place in the west They
had the good old time manners which
They were 60 or maybe 20 years each
One of them was reading the news 20
the other one.
The one who was reading stopped and
said: I'm 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 Wen All Take a
Ride. -
'Hsin't thought of il so year. Cy,"
replied the old man opposite him
Lets see. how did it go?-something
like this''-the old man puckered his
lips and tried 10 whistle the air, but the
sound from his mouth resembled that
of hungry wind through keyhole.
Jim, You re getting wind wasted.
Getting old Fellows like you and mo
can't whistle. Better hum it, jim -
And Jim hummed it while Cy beat
time with his fingers on the table.
Il had forgot, Cy, who it was that
wrote it.
Eyes, it was Sam Stone. I'd bout
forgot it myself till / see it in that
morning paper.
''Sam Stone was "a, so the paper says.
He died in Topeky, where he'd lived
about 2S 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. l remember it was the
first piece that the st. Joe mo. cornet
band learned to play. And just then
there was a man died in st. Joe who
was high roller in the Masonic lodge
in the town, and a 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 the big horn
here was chance to get even.
so the leader got u 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
muffiing 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
Moriah cemetery Some of the boys
about town had hard time looking sad,
Ben Ullman, the big butcher,
who was one of the pallbearers Ben
was the funny man of the town, any.
how
II remember Ben, Cy.
81 knowed you did. AS was say ing,
it was hard to keep straight faces, the
band playing that tune, going out to
the grave. Coming back there was near
~ 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
hing else, and that he had told him so |
The procession marched down Frederick |
avenue coming back and it commenced |
70 rain, so that the lodge-it was the |
Zeredathah chapter, as l remember-had |
% quicken their steps, and that put the !
)and out. -
"Of course, Cy. You can't march
louble quick on slow music. But go on "
well, the only thing for the band to
10 was to iven up the tune, and that
vas what raised Old Ned. The newspa.
'er came out next week with q piece in
as long as your arm saying it was
disgrace, and that if the band expected
he citizens to help pay its debts it had
etter learn some music that would be
at funerals, as people were
liable to die any time. Of course that
made the band mad "
"Of course, Cy. But what did they
OF"
Stopped their papers. Then when
'eely's academy gave the school exhi-
ition in the Presbyterian church on the
i'll, the band was engaged and put in
be gallery, which was in one end Of
ne church. The band opened the exer.
lses with Wait For the Wagon Then
ne pastor of the church prayed, and
ne band played Wait For the Wagon
gain. The programme consisted of es-
they called them
and some dialogues,
nd scattered along through the pro-
ramme was music by the band, and
very time it played Wait For the
'agon. 1t got to be as good as cir
is. / remember the leader of the band
led good many years ago, and the
Iece in the paper about him said he
rote Wait For the Wagon, but the
iper was wrong. 1t was Sam Stone
no wrote it, him that has just died In
opeky."
1T all comes back TO me now, Cy.
ut all can remember is the tune and
10 first two lines:
Waf 20 xt,o |