'Jingling all the way' to a world record

The way Medfordians tell it, 5 High St. is historic ground, the place where the Christmas carol ''Jingle Bells" was composed more than 150 years ago. On Tuesday night, they hope to make more history there.

At 6 p.m., more than 3,000 people are expected to gather at the site in an attempt to enter the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest caroling event. And they plan to kick off the singing with ''Jingle Bells."

The current record was set last Dec. 20 at Civic Square in Cambridge, Ontario, according to Sam Knights of Guinness World Records. At that time, 1,175 people sang Christmas carols for 28 minutes. Medford officials and residents are confident they can eclipse that feat.

''We're setting up stages, we're shutting down roads," said Mayor Michael J. McGlynn. ''It's going to be great."

His only concern is the weather; bitter cold could sharply reduce the turnout. But if it rains, McGlynn said, ''We'll be out there with umbrellas."

The record-breaking attempt is being folded into the city's annual Jingle Bell Festival, begun by a group of Medford women about 12 years ago as a way to raise money for the Community Family Alzheimer's Day Care Center and Greater Medford Visiting Nurses Association. Besides traditional carols, the festival includes raffles of tabletop Christmas trees and wreaths, as well as tours of some of the decorated homes in the city, and a cocktail reception.

This year's event will include a sleigh ride to City Hall from 5 High St., where, Medford officials say, ''Jingle Bells" was composed by James Lord Pierpont in 1849. Over the Internet, the Chamber of Commerce purchased a ''fixer-upper" sleigh, which has been restored by students at the Medford Vocational Technical High School.

''This is new to us," admitted Bobby Winterson, a senior auto-body student, who meticulously painted the sleigh in bright red after designing and installing a missing piece. He applied four coats to the outside ''just for shine," he said.

Pat Hughes, a junior sheet-metal student who was attaching the bench seat, understood Winterson's attention to detail, especially since McGlynn has been stopping by to check on the sleigh's progress. ''The mayor wants it, and is really excited about it," said Hughes. ''It's for the Christmas celebration, so you want it to be good."

Last week, the students were working with cabinetmaker Guy Micalizzi on the part that connects the sleigh to the horse. Wheels have been added to ensure the sleigh can operate without snow. Lisa Evangelista, McGlynn's assistant, has arranged for John Cave of Tewksbury to wear a top hat and scarf, much like those worn during Pierpont's time, while directing one of his horses to drive the sleigh from 5 High St. to City Hall, once the caroling is finished.

Initially, members of the Jingle Bells Festival Committee thought the record was set in New York last Dec. 13, when 519 carolers sang for 16 minutes and 17 seconds.

Since August, the committee has been planning a songbook and rehearsals to beat that record, until learning just last Monday about the Ontario record.

''This doesn't change anything," said McGlynn, minutes after learning of the new record. ''We're going back up to 30 minutes."

The Guinness people are serious about their records, committee chairwoman Judy Lonergan, learned through a multipage packet of rules and regulations for setting a world record. Among the requirements are marshals to make sure all carolers are singing, and several videos from different angles. Each singer must fill out an official card that needs to be witnessed by two people in order to participate.

''The music and keys have been placed where everyone can sing them," said Dan Clark, good-will ambassador for the Massachusetts State Police, who has been organizing the sing-along with Marsha Caron, a fine arts specialist for the city's schools.

Clark added that Guinness officials require smooth transitions in unison from one carol to the next. ''I asked them if we could stop one measure so the instrumentalist can change keys, and they said yes, as long as it's a measure or less." Ray Cavicchio will accompany the singers on accordion.

A Guinness representative may attend the event, Lonergan said, but if one doesn't attend, Medford will forward videotapes to the Guinness folks. Knights said it will take about six weeks to verify the record.

While Medford claims ''Jingle Bells" is its own, that assertion is contested by another city -- Savannah, Ga., of all places.

''I've got the media guide right here, and it says 'Jingle Bells' is Savannah's song," said Emma Browne, a communications assistant with the Savannah Convention and Visitor's Bureau.

''We've debated this in The New York Times and Fox TV," said McGlynn. ''They may have dedicated all that stuff, and I don't debate the fact that Pierpont went down to Savannah and taught Jingle Bells to the kids in the church."

But McGlynn insists that the song came from Medford. ''I'll concede to it being written down there when you can tell me the last time they had a blizzard there," he said.

McGlynn said Savannah has barely accumulated an inch of snow since 1947, the first year he checked the weather there. McGlynn cites historical artifacts in Medford that prove the song was composed at Seccomb House at 5 High St., which later became Simpson's Tavern. The location is now part of Medford Square, and the four-lane sleighing thoroughfare has since been transected by the construction of Interstate 93.

According to information provided by Medford officials, Pierpont was inspired to write the piece in 1849, after a sleigh he was racing capsized somewhere along the popular route between Medford and Malden squares. While the lyrics to the four verses formed in his head, Pierpont made his way to Seccomb House, a boarding house that contained the only piano in the city.

Seccomb House was owned by Mrs. Otis Waterman, a singing teacher, and the piano was owned by boarder William Webber, a music teacher. Pierpont spent two hours at the keys before making Waterman the first audience for ''One Horse Open Sleigh." According to several of the city's documents, Waterman affirmed that Pierpont's piece was ''a very merry little jingle."

Georgians, however, have their own version of the song's origin, as well as a plaque declaring the carol was composed there. Data compiled by the late historian Margaret Wayne DeBolt indicate ''Jingle Bells" was first heard in Savannah. Local businesses, such as the Kehoe House, which named one of its deluxe suites the James L. Pierpont Room, support the local lore.

DeBolt's records say that in 1849, Pierpont could not have been racing sleighs between Medford and Malden, because he had followed the Gold Rush to California. After losing a photography business to fire a few years later, he settled in Savannah. His brother John Pierpont Jr. was the rector of the Unitarian church there, and Pierpont eventually became music and choir director. As sleigh racing was an exotic concept in Savannah, Pierpont's recollections about his youthful winter sport were popular with Southerners, and he transformed his memories into the song ''One Horse Open Sleigh."

In 1857, the year Pierpont married his second wife, the daughter of Savannah's mayor, ''One Horse Open Sleigh" was published by Oliver Ditson & Co. of Boston. That Christmas, Pierpont had the children's choir perform the song during his brother's church services. Two years later, he renamed the song ''Jingle Bells."

However, Pierpont, unlike his nephew, financier John Pierpont Morgan, did not reap fame or fortune from his endeavors. The song did not become a seasonal favorite until after his death in 1893.

But one point of the story is not in dispute: Jingle Bells was originally written to celebrate sleighing -- especially sleigh racing -- and not Christmas.

The caroling, Jingle Bell Festival House tour, and cocktail reception are open to everyone, though reservations are required to sing; contact Judy Lonergan at 781-395-7158 or Medford City Hall at 781-396-5500.