[PW] Re: Fire drill tune?

[Kay Lancaster]

On Tue, 8 Aug 2006, JT Thompson wrote:

> I have heard that at one stage, all American schools had fire drills 
> once a week, and always used the same tune, played on the school 
> piano, to the strains of which the pupils would march out. The 1920s, 
> I think, or perhaps earlier. Is this true, and if so, what was the 
> tune?

By the time my mom was in kindergarten (1930) in Eagle Grove, IA, the 
fire drills were accomplished by blowing the town whistle (the same one 
that blew at 8 am, noon, and 5 pm).  Can't verify your story for you, 
but as a possible other bit of negative information, my grandmother, who 
taught country school before WWI, couldn't play the piano at all... I've 
never heard of this piano fire drill from any of my older relatives.

Kay Lancaster  kay at fern.com