I stopped by school last week, which is currently in Summer Camp mode. High school volunteers are a welcome and fun part of the group. What happened was delightful:
First I was mobbed by children (always wonderful), then Jess, a new teacher who is spectacular, asked if I wanted to pop into the classroom to say hi to the kids. Of course I did. Her volunteer was Sophie, a former student in my class.
Sophie: “Hi Jennie.”
Me: “Sophie! Jess, Sophie was an Aqua Roomer.”
Jess: “Really! That’s so cool.”
Me: “Sophie, do you remember the God Bless America Quilt? Do you remember Milly the quilter?”
Sophie beamed with shooting stars from her eyes and smile. She kept shaking her head ‘yes’.
Jess: “Who’s Milly? What quilt?”
Me: “We designed a quilt because the children loved singing “God Bless America.” Milly made the quilt and we went on a field trip to NYC to the Intrepid Museum.”
Jess: “A field trip to NYC?” Her stunned face said it all.
Me: “Yup. Tell her, Sophie.”
Sophie did. Her cheeks must have hurt from all that smiling.
Me: “Sophie, I still have the book the Aqua Roomers made of the song. I know which page is yours. I’ll bring the book in to show you.”
Book cover
Sophie’s page
Me: “Jess, we talk about emergent curriculum all the time. I had no idea the song would become beloved. I had to follow the interest of the children. I have a book of the entire year. I’ll bring it in to show you.”
Book cover
On the Intrepid
Sophie is the second child from the right
I go to school again tomorrow for a meeting. I can’t wait to show Sophie and Jess the books. Stay tuned!
A Nice Bit Of History!
(Did you know there are lyrics before the words “God bless America, land that I love.”?)
Frank Sinatra considered Kate Smith the best singer of her time and said that when he and a million other guys first heard her sing “God Bless America” on the radio, they all pretended to have dust in their eyes as they wiped away a tear or two.
Here are the facts… The link at the bottom will take you to a video showing the first public singing of “GOD BLESS AMERICA”. But before you watch it, you should also know the story behind the first public showing of the song.
The time was 1940. America was still in a terrible economic depression. Hitler was taking over Europe, and Americans feared we’d have to go to war. It was a time of hardship and worry for most Americans.
This was the era just before TV, when radio shows were HUGE, and American families sat around their radios in the evenings, listening to their favorite entertainers, and no entertainer of that era was bigger than Kate Smith.
Kate was also large; plus size, as we now say, and the popular phrase still used today is in deference to her, “It ain’t over till the fat lady sings”. Kate Smith might not have made it big in the age of TV, but with her voice coming over the radio, she was the biggest star of her time.
Kate was also patriotic. It hurt her to see Americans so depressed and afraid of what the next day would bring. She had hope for America and faith in her fellow Americans. She wanted to do something to cheer them up, so she went to the famous American songwriter, Irving Berlin (who also wrote “White Christmas”) and asked him to write a song that would make Americans feel good again about their country. When she described what she was looking for, he said he had just the song for her. He went to his files and found a song that he had written, but never published, 22 years before – way back in 1917. He gave it to her and she worked on it with her studio orchestra. She and Irving Berlin were not sure how the song would be received by the public, but both agreed they would not take any profits from God Bless America. Any profits would go to the Boy Scouts of America. Over the years, the Boy Scouts have received millions of dollars in royalties from this song.
This video starts out with Kate Smith coming into the radio studio with the orchestra and an audience. She introduces the new song for the very first time, and starts singing. After the first couple of verses, with her voice in the background still singing, scenes are shown from the 1940 movie, “You’re In The Army Now.” At the 4:20 mark of the video you see a young actor in the movie, sitting in an office, reading a paper; it’s Ronald Reagan.
To this day, God Bless America stirs our patriotic feelings and pride in our country. Back in 1940, when Kate Smith went looking for a song to raise the spirits of her fellow Americans, I doubt whether she realized just how successful the results would be for her fellow Americans during those years of hardship and worry… And for many generations of Americans to follow.
Now that you know the story of the song, I hope you’ll enjoy it.
Many people don’t know there’s a lead-in to the song since it usually starts with “God Bless America …..” So here’s the entire song as originally sung….. ENJOY! Please click the below:
A Teacher's Reflections 
Another marvellous day in the history of your school, Jennie. That new teacher will be getting valuable inspiration!
Best wishes, Pete.
Thank you, Pete. We have gone to conferences together, and she is terrific. I keep telling her story after story about teaching, and she loves it.
so glad you got to see the children, both current and past. I’m sure this means the world to Sophie!
Thank you, Beth. Yes, I think it does mean the world. Today I stopped by school with the books…Sophie was over the moon! She remembered the picture she drew, and she scoured every photo to find herself. I’m so glad! Jess is on vacation but texted me after reading the blog post. It feels good to give to teachers and to students.❤️
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Such an interesting piece, Jen. Lovely connection between you and Jess. I never knew the back story to God Bless America, but I do remember Kate Smith. Beautiful footage. We used to tease my cousin Peter, who as a little boy, ran up and kissed the screen every time he saw her on the television.
Thank you, Alice. It feels good to give to students and to teachers. Kathryn sent me the article about Kate Smith!! I’d seen the video of the song before, and I was thrilled to see it again. There’s more to the Irving Berlin story, and I’ll fill you in when we’re with the Merms. I love the story of your cousin Peter!
That video clip is amazing. What a terrific voice Kate Smith had. Glad you got to visit and see a past student.
I had seen that video clip once before, and was thrilled to see it again. Yes, what a voice! Today I brought in the books, and Sophie was over the moon!! Jess is on vacation but loved the blog post. Life is good when you’re giving.
So true!!
Great history, Jennie. I don’t remember ever hearing that introduction before. Thanks for sharing that.
You are welcome, Dan. The introduction is rarely played. This was a treat.
Interest story, Jennie. I grew up listening to Kate Smith, and of course, her manager, Ted Collins. She had a radio show in the afternoon. She did have a TV show for a brief bit.
There is much more to the writing of the song. I’m glad Kate sang it on the radio, as it was (and is) a great patriotic song.
And that’s how it starts, Jennie. God Bless you. I consider myself a good teacher, but never on my best day could I do this: “I still have the book the Aqua Roomers made of the song [13 years before]. I know which page is yours. I’ll bring the book in to show you”
Thanks for your kind words, Jacqui! I brought the book to school to show Sophie. She remembered her page, too! She thumbed through the other book to find herself in the photos. It was my turn to have the big smiles as I watched her.
That sounds like the best kind of day ever. Mixing the old with the new. I’ll pop over to hear the song on YouTube. Thanks so much for sharing this day.
It really was, Marlene. You will enjoy the video!
Wow! What a heart warming and informative post!
Thank you!
What a great post, Jennie. The video was an inspiring piece of history.
Thanks so much, John. I’m glad you enjoyed it.
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That was beautiful, Jennie! I didn’t know there was an verse before the start of the song. I bet Jess, and Sophie loved seeing the old book. ❤
I’m so glad you liked it, Deborah! Yes, they were thrilled to see the books. Sophie remembered her page, and she looked for herself in the photos. Nice!
That was a beautiful clip! I’m so glad it was kept. I think that is important.
I feel the same way!
Amazing how you remember your students. And sometimes it’s so tough to recognize them as they get older.
Yes!
How fun to see one of your old students volunteering in Jess’s class. I also love seeing a new enthusiastic teacher added to the staff and the positive energy that comes with that.
I will have a former student over to our house next week to pass on some teaching materials to her, as this will be her first year coming up. I have no doubt Stephanie will be great. Why do I feel like there might be an upcoming blog post coming surrounding this?😊
It really was fun! Jess is simply wonderful, and that is so inspiring to fellow teachers and to children. You must be excited for Stephanie to come by and get your teaching materials! I do hope you have an upcoming blog post! Best to you, Pete.
Hurrah for you, Jennie, and another lovely blog post! I’ve been singing GBA (including the beautiful intro verse) a lot in recent months as part of an hour-long program of songs by Irving Berlin. He was a very hard-working, talented, generous human being! As are you!
Hi Will! Many thanks for your wonderful comment. How great that you sing the opening verse to GBA! He was a wonderful and talented man, indeed. I have a book on Grandma Moses, and the opening illustration is one of her paintings in Irving Berlin’s collection. He must have been an art enthusiast as well as a music enthusiast.
I think I remember reading that Cole Porter (who owned a big house with his wife near Williamstown, MA later in his life) once bought a bunch of paintings by Grandma Moses and gave them to his friends as presents. And IB was very good friends with CP (their wives had both been high-society debs and knew/liked each other, too). I wonder if the painting in your GM book might be that present from CP to IB — or maybe that initial present inspired him to collect more of her works? I love discovering how interconnected the world can be…
What a great story! I wonder, too. I have thought about this all day, so thank you, Will. I can picture IB and CP as friends, and IB receiving one of CP’c Grandma Moses paintings. I like to think that this gift promoted his interest in Grandma Moses paintings. Yes, the interconnections in life are a wonder, and a great discovery.
I think I also remember that some of the friends to whom Cole Porter gave a GM painting were not impressed at the time. — but years later scrambled to see if they still had it in their possession as her fame (and the value of her paintings) continued to rise…
I’m not surprised!
Your post took me back to singing in grade school. We sang every day either in our classrooms or together in a chorus. We sang on the ski bus. We sang on the way to camp. My voice is nothing to write home about, but I loved singing that song.
What a wonderful story! I wish all children could have the same experience. I loved singing that song, too. I’m glad the post brought back memories.
Thanks.
You’re welcome!
Hi Jennie, this is a lovely post. Sophie must have been so delighted to see your memories so nicely conserved.
Hi Robbie, Sophie was beside herself. I’m glad you enjoyed the post. Thank you.
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I’m glad to know the history of the song “God bless America” and also to see your collection of old days memories with students. It’s a very happy moment when we meet our childhood teacher at a young age and they recognise us. Love you teacher Jennie🥰
Thank you so much! I do think the history is very interesting, and connecting with students years later is wonderful!
I’d forgotten about Kate Smith and her amazing voice. You’re right she probably wouldn’t go far today in the music world, but back when I was a kid she ruled the singing of “God Bless America.” We sang often in grade school, but as we got older [and too important for little kid things like singing in the classroom] that all changed, didn’t it?
Yes, she did! I’m glad I can keep that spirit alive with the little ones.
Love your heart for kids and teaching, Jennie, demonstrated by your stop by the school in the summertime, your enthusiasm for welcoming Jess onboard, and your delight in sharing memories with a former student. I taught elementary school for 26 years, mostly 4th grade; was blessed to live just four minutes from school for 12 of those years, making it convenient for summer stop-bys to pick up or drop off items. Loved reminiscing with former students also. / I well remember Kate Smith and her rich contralto voice! Thank you for sharing this story about her.
Thank you, Nancy. You know what it’s like to connect with children and inspire other teachers. I’m so glad you enjoyed this story and the clip on Kate Smith. Best to you.