Saved by the Whistle

By Jimmy House

When we were young, just growing up,

Mom and Dad worked in the mill.

They went in early before daylight and left us with our daily drill.

We never did our chores right on,

We played all day till time was gone.

I think their shift was six till two,

We got our warning,

When the mill whistle blew.

It blew at six to start the shift,

It was our signal to start our drift.

We had friends just one street over.

We walked through our backyard, to a big ditch,

O Lord, how will we get over?

There was a wooden footbridge, shaky at best.

My brother Donald just couldn’t resist,

He’d run and jump and give her a test.

Scared me to death, I thought life was over.

With Ken and Jack and Giggs we played,

All day long in a field of sage.

We sat and rested under skies of blue.

When all of a sudden that mill whistle blew,

We knew that signaled it’s ten till two.

We had only ten minutes our chores to do.

We scrambled and ran as fast as we could,

To get things done that we knew we should.

At two o’clock, it blew again;

It won’t be long till they walk in.

We swept and dusted and mopped the floor,

And as we finished, they opened the door.

So, without that whistle as our guide,

They would have surely tanned our hides!