Cache is a regular size for now. Hope it stays around. This cache will be for the Series of caches dedicated to all of the Famous Folks born or that came into prominance while living along the Genius Highway of Missouri Route 36! This cache is dedicated to the writer of the popular Christmas Song "The Little Drummer Boy," Katherine Kennicott Davis. She was born in St. Joseph, Missouri, on June 25, 1892, and composed her first piece of music, "Shadow March," at the age of 15. She graduated from St. Joseph High School in 1910, and studied music at Wellesley College in Massachusetts. In 1914 she won the Billings Prize. After graduation she continued at Wellesley as an assistant in the Music Department, teaching music theory and piano. At the same time she studied at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. Davis also studied with Nadia Boulanger in Paris. She taught music at the Concord Academy in Concord, Massachusetts, and at the Shady Hill School for Girls in Philadelphia.
"The Little Drummer Boy" (originally known as "Carol of the Drum") is a popular Christmas song written by the American classical music composer and teacher Katherine Kennicott Davis in 1941. It was recorded in 1955 by the Trapp Family Singers and further popularized by a 1958 recording by the Harry Simeone Chorale. This version was re-released successfully for several years and the song has been recorded many times since.
In the lyrics the singer relates how, as a poor young boy, he was summoned by the Magi to the nativity where, without a gift for the infant Jesus, he played his drum with the Virgin Mary's approval, remembering "I played my best for Him" and "He smiled at me."
Permission was given by the manager of the business here to place this cache, thanks Ed.
On a historical sidenote: Just north of here used to be the roundtable for the railroad lines which had a busy flow of trains through here back in the day. Now it is mostly just coal trains as the passenger train stations are gone as is the roundtable that served them too.