By: Fran Cannon Slayton

“…Nostalgia done right…”-School Library Journal, starred review

WHEN THE WHISTLE BLOWS: "An unassuming masterpiece”

-Kirkus Review

From the melancholy howl of a whistle dinging down the track to the fast paced heartbeat of an

approaching iron horse, Jimmy Cannon clearly loves trains.

For good reasons too, for his whole life revolves around the steam engines: his past, present and

future income to his very livelihood. But one man knows that the trains won’t be around

forever. No one believes him, but Jimmy’s father, good old WP

knows that the steam trains are slowly vanishing…

“The town, and the river and the mountains that look down on all of it; and the railroad tracks that bind them all up together like a ribbon on a package.”

-When the Whistle Blows, Pg. 159This is what Rowlesburg, West Virginia means

to Jimmy Cannon. At the heart of all the Appalachian beauty lies the trains, the clanking, screeching steam engines that touch the hearts of every person who calls Rowlesburg home…

“…I know I’ll Never understand that man, even if I live to see another hundred All Hallows Eves.”

–When the Whistle Blows, Pg. 106. Jimmy’s dad, William Patrick, or just WP for short, is the

foreman of the B&O railroad in Rowlesburg, and is therefore the center of the Rowlesburg community.

Though respected and admired by all people in Rowlesburg, WP is rather different from most West Virginians.

Most people, Jimmy included, think that W.P. is just a little to pessimistic and also a bit sinister. He was born on Halloween, after all.

To Jimmy, WP is more than a bit strange. For one, he insists that Jimmy stay away from the trains- even though Jimmy knows that he is going to be a railroader one day, just like all of his family members going back to when the Cannons came to America from Ireland. So what is the point in keeping someone from something that they will be around forever?

“Change comes, Jimmy. It’ll thunder down the tracks like an engine with the brakes gone out. And sometimes, there ain’t a dagburn thing you can do about it.”

-When the Whistle Blows, Pg. 121. Each passing All Hallows Eve sees more change in to Jimmy’s

life. This change slowly pushes things near and dear to the citizen's of Rowlesburg away.

First, it starts with mild, miniscule changes, such as not being out of school on the first day of Deer hunting season…But W.P predicts that with the coming of modern diesel, Rowlesburg ‘s beloved steam trains may vanish away as well….

Of course, this is all nonsense, for Jimmy knows that he is going to work on the steam trains one day. Who would anyways, when the steam trains have been around for decades? But with everything else changing in town, the steam trains are just as vulnerable as anything…

Disclaimer and Photo CreditsI pledge that I have received no direct help on this

presentation from my teachers, parents, or anyone else. I also permit Northern Kentucky University the right to display this work, with appropriate credit to the authors, on the Web or in any other medium.

Picture 1 ( Cover Page) courtesy Mr. Christian Fuenfhausen of www.penguin.com/youngreaders

When the Whistle Blows:“An unassuming masterpiece”

• Rishabh Kapoor—age 11, 6th Grade• Nikitha Rajendran—age 11, 6th Grade• Teacher: Melissa Rash• Principal: Willie Bartley• School: Elkhorn Middle School