NORTH ROBINSON, Ohio–Students typically welcome the first couple snow days of the year with open arms, but the excitement can wear off when you’re stuck at home more often than not. Colonel Crawford Local Schools Superintendent Todd Martin felt his morning calls to announce yet another snow day were getting a bit repetitive, so he decided to spice things up a bit.
Martin’s musical messages first started last school year, at the suggestion of his wife Heather.
“She came to me and said I’m boring and I need to do something to break up the monotony of last year’s winter,” said Martin with a laugh.
And so began a new tradition between Martin, his two sons Clay and Brody and his daughter Abby. After the fifth day of calling off school, Martin and one of his children would rewrite some well-known songs to incorporate the message that school would be closed for the day.
So far Martin has covered “Folsom Prison Blues” by Johnny Cash, “The Gambler” by Kenny Rogers, and a couple songs from the popular Disney movie “Frozen.”
“Most songs were my pick, mostly from Frozen because Frozen is the best,” said 10-year-old Abby, who is a fourth grader at Colonel Crawford. “Sometimes I want to say the ‘Colonel Crawford schools are closed’ part but I never ask him.”
“I keep that part,” added Martin. “That’s the official part so they know someone’s not getting into the system.”
A Colonel Crawford graduate himself, Martin admitted that in high school he was more about sports and less about singing, and he’s taken some good-natured ribbing from the community.
“We’ve had a lot of laughter, and a lot of people saying don’t quit your day job,” he said. “I will admit I’m no singer, I’ve never been in choir, but [Abby] and I have fun with it. If I was a real good singer I don’t know that I’d be doing this.”
