A Song Of Ice And Fire War Mammoths

[Vittoria Pretlow]

TheBand Table Singers are a group of friends from Glasgow, KY who began singing at their high school breakfast table over 10 years ago. They originally entertained with silly, catchy songs but slowly began to shift towards the gospel music genre.

The Caveman Chorus has been a part of the south-central Kentucky arts community for over 50 years. The group performs many genres of music ranging from barbershop favorites to rock-n-roll classics, jazz standards to patriotic, in a four-part acapella harmony style.

During the winter of 1883, a group of local residents to the Mammoth Cave area planned a Christmas celebration in the cave. The party consisted of carols, laughter, and even the hanging of the green. A ten foot pine tree was brought into the cave and stood in the Methodist Church area of the cave. Ribbons and popcorn were used for decorating the tree, while lanterns and candles were used to illuminate the surroundings.

After Christmas was over, the tree did not leave. Maybe it was left as a reminder of a happier day or simply a wonderful memory. The tree dried out, but the needles stayed in place. The tree was popular among visitors, they could leave a piece of themselves down in the cave for all the world to know they had been there. Some did this by leaving business cards behind, others simply left their name on a piece of scrap paper and nestled it on the tree's brown, crumbly needles.

As the decades passed, the old tree was moved out of sight from the cave trails where it remained until a misguided flame landed in the dry brush. The tree lit up one last time before it came to its final moment. This later became known as the only forest fire in Mammoth Cave.

In 1980, the first of the modern Cave Sing events was held to celebrate the holiday season and relive the old traditions. Several musical groups preform in large rooms in the cave and visitors join in by singing carols to fill the cave passages with music. Today, the Cave Sing is a cherished tradition by area locals and park visitors alike.

Hear a sample of music preformed in the cave during the Cave Sing of 2008 below.

Why? Because he was the meanest and nastiest of all the Cardalians? No. Because he had disgusting habits and a repulsive appearance? No. Because he committed some heinous crime or did something very bad? No.

Frankie was obviously deeply in love with some woman who had done him wrong, and he was devastated by it. He would come into Otto's, put tons of quarters in the jukebox, and play the same song about 30 or 40 times. It was their song.

I ran into Frankie Franks one Sunday morning before the bars were open and he was sober. I was stunned! He was unbelievably gentle-mannered and seemingly humble, polite and well-spoken. He even smoked a pipe.

Otto would sometimes fall asleep on his stool but would wake up at the fall of nickel on the floor. It was occasionally necessary to wake him up to ask for a beer. Sometimes, Otto would give in to his sleepiness and go home to bed while the bar was still open.

When Otto saw the fire, he was on it like a flash trying to stamp it out. The second or third stamp caused his foot to slide out from under him and he landed on his ample butt, smack on the dog doo flambe. He was furious!

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