Recently Bob Parker ran for re-election as president of the Greater Pittsburgh Chapter. His re-election was assured as he was running unopposed. "First Lady" Darlene Parker is going to run in a different kind of race.
You may not be aware of this, but Darlene is quite a runner (how do you think she keeps so thin) and has entered in various races. Darlene has decided to enter a charity marathon race in San Diego on June 5, 2005. In order to enter this race, Darlene has agreed to raise $3,800 through individual donations and sponsorships with all proceeds going to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society for research, patient aid and education.
By way of background, her husband, and our president, Bob Parker was diagnosed with Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML) in April 2002. Bob was treated with a new drug called Gleevec that had just been approved by the FDA for treatment of this kind of leukemia and he is considered cured. Bob is here today as a result of Gleevec. Darlene will be running in honor of Bob.
This is no small undertaking. Darlene has joined the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Team In-Training Program (TNT) through which she will receive training by coaches to compete in her chosen race. The race Darlene hopes to compete in is the 26.2 mile Rock 'n' Roll Marathon in San Diego. This race starts in Balboa Park, goes through Hillcrest, past the San Diego Zoo, through the downtown Gaslight District, up highway 163, past Sea World, around San Diego beach and bay communities and finishes at the Point Loma Marine Corps Recruit Depot.
OK, how can you help Darlene and this worthy cause? By making your donation and sponsoring Darlene in this race. Make out your check to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society with a note on your check memo line, for Darlene Parker San Diego Marathon. Donations should be forwarded to Darlene Parker, 1534 Abers Creek Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15239. If you have any questions call Darlene at 412-795-9247 or the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society at 412-395-2879.
All that's needed is your donation. Darlene will run the 26.2 miles.
When I set out to find some background on Shenandoah, one of the most popular songs in our repertoire, I was surprised to find it classified as a sea shanty and thus had to widen my research to include shanties in general.
Shanties (also chanteys) are work songs with oft- repeated refrains sung to a rhythm that would coordinate the job at hand, heaving, hauling, pushing or turning. They must not be confused with ballads - many of which were sung at sea by sailors in harbor; unless they were shipboard work songs, they are not sea shanties.
Francisco Fabri, a fifteenth century Venetian Friar, was the first person to write about chanteying... "There are others who sing when work is going on, because work at sea is very heavy, and is carried on by a concert between one who sings out orders and the laborers who sing in response... " Shenandoah, probably began as a voyager song on the rivers west of the Mississippi, taking its title from the Indians for whom the great valley of Virginia was named. It became, somehow, a capstan shanty and then a favorite song of the cavalry who sometimes fought the Indians out west, but also fell in love with and married Indian women.
There are various theories about the origin of the song. It seems to have originated in the early nineteenth century as a land ballad in the areas of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers, with a story of a trader who fell in love with the daughter of the Indian Chief Shenandoah. This enchanting song was taken up by sailors plying these rivers in keel and Mackinaw boats, and thus made its way down the Mississippi to the open ocean.
Shenandoah was also known as Across The Wide Missouri and The Wild Missourye. From various sources I found twenty some verses with various versions of many verses. The wording of most of these verses support the song story of the trader wanting to marry and run away with the Indian chief's daughter.
Whatever the true background, Shenandoah remains one of the most beautiful and popular of early American folk songs. I'm sure it will remain in our repertoire for a long time.
Sources:
Folksongs of North America by Alan Lomax
Book of Navy Songs - www.contemplator.com
Stormy Weather Software
The American Song Treasury
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