I thought I would forward this mailie on to the list. It is self explanatory and I thought you might be interest to know the real answer. Amazing where our messages get to...lol Maggie - As a result of my PML subscription to RootsWeb, I picked up the following message because it included the two magic words in one of my search criteria - "Pennsylvania" and "Richards" (that's just so you'll know how I happen to be reading over your shoulder). >Subject: PML Search Result matching Richards AND (Pennsylvania OR PA) AN >Sent: 11/22/20 1:03 PM >Received: 11/26/00 9:29 AM >From: MagsB1942@aol.com >To: wlrich@erols.com > >===================================================================== >A result of your requested PML search. To refine or cancel this >search, please visit http://pml.rootsweb.com/ >===================================================================== >Source: NORTHERN-ENGLAND-L@rootsweb.com >Subject: Re: [NTH-ENG] Pennsylvania 65000 > > >In a message dated 26/11/00 12:30:00 GMT Standard Time, >sharpe@britishlibrary.net writes: > ><< After skimming through all the Pennsylvania 65000 messages I'm amazed to >say > nobody gets the banana. > 65000 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington is the White House. >> > >So that's it - I know I had heard the explanation in a programme on Glen >Miller but it escaped me.....good job someone has more memory than me ...lol > >Maggie > >Surname interests: >BICKER, MILLER, SPRATT, MARSH mainly in Kent >MATTHEWS, COAFFEE, SWEENEY, GRANT, BERESFORD, RICHARDS >in Middx, Bucks, USA and elsewhere First of all, the address of the White House is 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Secondly, the story is that Pennsylvania 6-5000 (the hyphen is required) was the telephone number of the hotel in New York at which the Glenn Miller band was staying at the time. The tune was written back in the early 1940s when telephone numbers in the United States used a "word plus five numbers" designation (such as my aunt's old number which was "Tuxedo 8-4545" - her husband worked for the C&P Telephone Company so they got an "easy to remember" number). "Tuxedo 8" was the "exchange" designation and "4545" was the individual number within that exchange (I also worked for the telephone company at that time). In a name/number combination, only the first two letters of the name were dialed but a name/number combination was used as it was easier for someone to remember a name and five numbers than to remember 7 numbers. However, the "names" only allowed for a limited number of exchanges (some number combinations are impossible to substitute with names) so about 40 years ago, with the advent of "area codes", the names were dropped. I hope the above clears up any confusion among our Northern England friends about the origin of the title of the tune. I wish I could remember the name of the hotel where the band was staying at the time. At one time I knew what it was (it may have been the Ritz) but I no longer can recall it. If there is a Glenn Miller web page, you might find the answer there. Maggie Surname interests: BICKER, MILLER, SPRATT, MARSH mainly in Kent MATTHEWS, COAFFEE, SWEENEY, GRANT, BERESFORD, RICHARDS in Middx, Bucks, USA and elsewhere