DEAR SUN SPOTS: I have an organ in good condition that is free to anyone who would like it. It can be picked up at our house. Please call 576-5952.

— No name, Minot

DEAR SUN SPOTS: Can you find out why no stores sell card shufflers? I like the crank-type that I got on Amazon, but you cannot find them anywhere. We folks who have physical problems really need them. Is there anyone who sells them locally? Not everyone has access to a computer and without a card shuffler, we are limited to what type of card games we can play. Thank you for your help.

— Gloria, Auburn

ANSWER: Try Walmart (784-0738), Target (622-8000), Walgreen’s (783-2013) and Dick’s Sporting Goods (721-3074). If I were you, I would call ahead and see if they have this item in stock. If they don’t, ask customer service to order it for you and ask if it can be delivered to your door.

DEAR SUN SPOTS: I’m looking for someone who services pellet stoves in the Oxford Hills area. Please call 743-6429.

— No name, Norway

ANSWER: Buy the Fire on Main Street in Oxford should be able to help you. Their number is 539-9930. Readers, who else would you recommend?

DEAR SUN SPOTS: Would anyone who knows the words to the song “Wabash Cannonball” be willing to share them?

— No name, Waterford

ANSWER: The song titled “The Great Rock Island Route” was credited to J. A. Roff in 1882. A rewritten version by William Kindt appeared in 1904 under the title “Wabash Cannon Ball.”

The song is the oldest on the  Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll  list. Originally recorded by The Carter Family in 1929 (released in 1932), it was also recorded by Roy Acuff in 1936 and by Johnny Cash in 1964. Bing Crosby, Hank Snow, Ernest Tubbs and Roger Miller are others who included the song in their recordings.

I can remember belting out this great American folk song along with my classmates in elementary school. The song, a real knee-slapper, goes like this:

“From the great Atlantic ocean to the wide Pacific shore/She climbs a flowery mountains o’er the hills and by the shore/She’s mighty tall and handsome she’s known quite well by all/She’s a regular combination on the Wabash Cannonball.

“Listen to the jingle, the rumble and the roar/As she glides along the woodland o’er the hills and by the shore/Hear the mighty rush of the engine hear those lonesome hobos call/Traveling through the jungle on the Wabash Cannonball.

“Well she came down from Birmingham one cold December day/As she pulled into the station you could hear all the people say/She’s from Tennessee she’s long and she’s tall/She came down from Birmingham on the Wabash Cannonball.

“Here’s to daddy Claxton may his name forever stand/And always be remembered in the courts throughout the land/His earthly race is over and the curtains round him fall
We’ll carry him home to Dixie on the Wabash Cannonball.

“Listen to the jingle, the rumble and the roar/As she glides along the woodland o’er the hills and by the shore/Hear the mighty rush of the engine hear those lonesome hobos call/Traveling through the jungle on the Wabash Cannonball.”

This column is for you, our readers. It is for your questions and comments. There are only two rules: You must write to the column and sign your name. We won’t use it if you ask us not to. Please include your phone number. Letters will not be returned or answered by mail, and telephone calls will not be accepted. Your letters will appear as quickly as space allows. Address them to Sun Spots, P.O. Box 4400, Lewiston, ME 04243-4400. Inquiries can also be emailed to sunspots@sunjournal.com.

 

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