One-month residency, 8th grade core group
history, Dillsboro, IN

VIETNAM WAR
Words and Music: Sarah Perkins

People crying for help
The sound of guns.
All are shot down
While trying to run.

Chorus:
We all cry out for shelter
We all cry out for help
We call to our friends
Who need help themselves.

In shacks and old houses
People trying to hide.
To run from destruction
No love left inside.

A war not forgotten
Although peace may be here.
We have dreams to build
We remember our fears.

(Based on interviews with friends and the book Home Before Morning)

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One-Week Residency, 3rd grade core group
Oceans, Princeton Elementary Schools, Princeton, IL

OYSTERS AND CLAMS
Words: Emily, Sarah, Allison, Jakeb, Zach
Tune: The Battle Hymn of the Republic

I found an oyster in the deep blue sea
I think it was bad 'cause it bit me on my knee
I looked at my knee and it was big and red
I think I'll go to bed.

Chorus:
Open and shut moves the water in and out
Open and shut that's what it's all about
Down at the bottom of the ocean wide
We lay there sided by side

Their shells are bumpy and they might have pearls
Sometimes they're boys, sometimes they're girls
Clams and oysters and other seashells
And that's what our story tells.

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From a two-part video serial, 3001: in An Addison Far, Far Away broadcast on local
cable TV, Addison, Illinois (Intergenerational Core Group)

VECTOR
Words and Music: Bob Spidale, 10th Grade

When Vector was younger his mother would say
"Vector, please don't wander astray"
He made sure he'd get his way
And planned his treacherous acts of foul play

Chorus:
Vector, Vector, he'll make you pay
He'll be king of the world someday
Plotting evil until he is gray
Nobody can ever get in his way

Vector is greedy, that is for sure
He never had a father figure
Always looking for adventure
Setting up his superstructure

He feels hatred quite a lot
He'll come after you ready or not
With his army of Vectrobots
He'll make sure his enemies rot

Nobody can ever get in his way!

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One-Month Residency, 4th grade core group
Illinois History, District #59 Schools in Illinois

GUESS WHO
Words: Elyse Kolbaba
Tune: Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star

He was born in 1809
His parents knew he'd be in line
To be president of the USA
And to be oh so famous one day
He was smart and he was tall
But kind and generous most of all.

In his 20's he moved to Illinois
For this state it was a great joy
He began to study law
The best lawyer the people ever saw
Great things in store for this Kentucky boy
Who became the pride of Illinois.

Honest Abe is his nickname that's a given
You could tell by his face that he was very driven
You know his life, you know his name
This Illinois man who rose to fame
So if you need a hint and you were thinkin’.
This great man was Abraham Lincoln.

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One-Week Residency, 5th Grade Core Group
Maritime Studies, Immanuel Lutheran School, Palatine, IL

THE BALLAD OF THE FAMOUS PIRATE
Words: Phil Schroeder
Tune: The Ballad of Davy Crockett

This man was all alone and had no family,
Then one day, he went out to sea.
Learned everything he knew from the sailors and the crew,
The he thought he knew just what to do.

Chorus:
Short Joe, Short Joe Iron
King of the deep blue sea.

He went and got a crew and got a big boat
The crew was wondering, would the darn thing even float?
The sailors and the crew on his ship called him Short Joe
Despite the name he got a lot of foes.

He conquered all his enemies in the sea,
Then he decided to come and meet me.
I Davy Jones Locker am not mean,
I will send Joe to Fiddler’s Green.

Final Chorus:
Short Joe, Short Joe Iron.
King he will always be

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Two-Week Residency, 5th - 8th Grade Core Group
Friends of the Chicago River

WORKING FOR THE RIVER
Words: Danielle Gajewski
Tune: Red Iron Ore

We saw many cans full of beer
We saw a river remarkably near
It was colored a yucky green
But we all like it clear and clean.

Chorus: Help make the river clear and clean.

So we started to pick up trash
We even found some cold hard cash
We were all having fun
Working under the bright hot sun.


Soon it was time for us to have lunch
So we all huddled up in a bunch
We sat down in the cool green grass
Then someone caught a big hungry bass.

When it came time to be finished and done
We wanted to stay and have some more fun
Then our teacher said, "back on the bus!"
We all made a great big fuss.

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One-week residency, 6th grade core group
Local History, Holy Cross School, Mendota, IL

"WILD BILL" HICKOK
Words: Benjamin Bianco, Evan Doughty,
Stephen Cardot, McKennon Biers, Lauren
Becker, Chris Kastle
Tune: I'll Walk the Line

"Wild Bill" Hickok was born right here in Troy
He learned to shoot when he was just a boy
He yearned to travel way out to the West
To find adventure was what he liked best.
To find adventure was what he liked best.

With his father he worked to help the slaves
Kept many people from an early grave
He joined the "Red Legs" an antislavery force
And worked the underground railway, of course.
And worked the underground railway, of course.

Fought for the Union in the Civil War
Taken prisoner he escaped to fight some more
He was a sheriff in Hays City and Abilene
A "Wild West Show" rider somewhere in between.
A "Wild West Show" rider somewhere in between.

In a Deadwood saloon he met his end
While playing cards with several of his friends
With his back to the door he left this land
He held what people call a "dead man's hand".
He held what people call a "dead man's hand".

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One-Month Residency, 4th grade core group
Illinois History, District #59 Schools in Illinois

THE WALT DISNEY BLUES
Words: Josh Smith
Tune: Traditional

Walt Disney was born in 1901.
Before you knew it, he was done --
His movies, cartoons, and his life;
He had two children and a loving wife.

Chorus: A harder working man could never be found.

When he was a boy, he moved away.
He went to Kansas City, but not long to stay.
He worked as a newspaper delivery boy there.
When he woke up at 3 am, he just didn't give a care.

To France he went, in 1918,
Driving a Red Cross ambulance machine.
Always on the go and eating French food
Even though times were tough, it didn't change his mood.

When he came back, he worked different places.
He usually always had different faces.
Finally he got tired of working for others.
He also had 2 brothers.

In 1923, he moved to Hollywood.
It took some time before he could.
Then he created the skeleton dance;
When it was done he started to prance.

Walt Disney’s movies are liked by all.
Even Pinocchio who is so small
Fantasia, Dumbo, and Mary Poppins .
I bet this kept him a hoppin'.

In 1955, he opened Disneyland.
What a proud day for this man.
His legacy still lives on through the movies we see.
Even for a small person like me.

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Two-Week Residency, 4th grade core group
Maritime Studies, St Phillip the Apostle Catholic School, Addison, IL

FISHING ON A RIVER
Words: Matthew Gontarek, Joseph Conforti,
Mia Harmon, Nicholas Sammarco, Alexandria
DiSilvia Tune: Ballad of the Beverly Hillbillies

Captain Bill went fishing on a winter day
It sure didn't feel like the month of May
He was fishing on a river
It was so cold it made him shiver.

He was in a boat and his oars fell out
He fell in the water with a scream and shout
Then he found a floating log
That saved him from the slimy bog.

On Niagara Falls he ate a fish
Then the sea king granted him a wish
He wanted to be found and taken home
Never again to swim the foam.

He went missing for a couple of days
They finally found him in Thunder Bay
He got his wish and he’s on dry land
He sure got more than he had planned!

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Three-week residency, 5th grade group
Local History, Mt. Prospect Historical Society and Schools, Mt. Prospect, IL

VAN DRIEL'S PHARMACY
Words: Ryan Craven
Tune: Red Iron Ore

My name's Van Driel and I own a drug store
People keep coming back for more
I give out whiskey for the flu
If you were in Prohibition, you'd do it too.

Chorus: You won’t believe how many had flu!

How many people came in a day?
I always lost count, so I just can't say.
Nine out of ten faked it many times.
I sold the whiskey for nickels and dimes.

Well I took a drink or two myself.
After all a man's gotta keep up his health.
Sure, I take it out of my salary.
If breaking this law is a crime, I'm guilty.

When Prohibition is over I'll open a bar.
I have lots of leftovers, at least so far.
I'll make lots of money off movers and mopers.
And for all the drunks, I'll hire some chauffeurs.

Chorus: You won't believe how many HA-CHOO!

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One-Month Residency, 5th grade core group
Westward Expansion, Germantown Hills Middle School, Germantown Hills, IL

LEWIS AND CLARK
Tune: Sweet Betsy From Pike
Words: Composite Ballad

Jefferson sent out an expedition
To answer some of the president's questions
He wanted to know about the land of the west
He knew that Lewis and Clark were the best

Lewis and Clark launched their expedition
They packed a bunch of ammunition
This was the year of 18-0-4
They needed to get to that Pacific shore

Lewis and Clark, they brought lots of goods
'Cause they would be traveling throughout the woods
With fifty strong men they carried supplies
They worked and they watched the clouds up in the skies

Lewis and Clark were soon stuck in the middle
Of a beautiful land of which they knew little
But what Lewis and Clark simply did not know
Was if they would meet a friend or a foe

They reached North Dakota by the late fall
And a Mandan village on which they could call
They met Sacajewea a very kind person
They needed some horses and they were a 'thirstin!

EL FARO

Gone Away

Daughter of the Wind

WAY OUT WEST