The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-05-23
STREET HAWKERS.
Wonderful Change
From Old Days in
Salem Square.
THE BERRIES ARE RIPE NOW
And the Hokey-Pokey
Mans on Worces-
ter's Streets.
THE BERRIES ARE RIPE NOW

The street hawker or fakir is not so
noticeable in Worcester as in other
cities of the commonwealth, but the
hurlyburly of the gentry here is quite
sufficient without the necessity of any
additional efforts from outside.
The Worcester of today IS not what
it was in the good old times when
Salem square was a camping ground
for fakirs and hawkers. In those days
the fiy-by- nighters with the wonderful
corn cures and their remedies for all
the ills that human flesh is heir to, held
forth at Salem square, to the edifica-
ton of the small boy and the thousand
and one others who are always ready
to listen to exhortations of the
hawkers.
The street fakir frequents Worcester
some now, and can be found occasion
ally at the different street corners, but
usually they fight shy Of this city
since the church people at Salem square
lodged an effective petition against
their being allowed to cry their wares
on the square, as it disturbed the
preachers.
It was said then that the fakirs were
getting to be more eloquent than the
preachers, and bit of rivalry was be-
ing engendered in trying 70 get the
largest audiences. In any event, the
protest offered by the ministers gained
the day with Marshal Washburn, and
the fakirs folded UP their tents ana
departed like the Arab, never to re-
turn again.
But the street falSir is not entirely
extinct Now and then you can find
him in some side street leading to Main
or Front crying his wares and lhcl-
dentally taking in the coin.
The dulcet tones of the champion
street fakir worcester boasts, are those
of Billy Nelson, not he of ballyhoo
stand fame, but another Billy, who in
duces YOU to buy shoe backing, cough
syrup and other sundry articles,
whether you will or not.
The green stuff and berry haWkers
who throng the street daily and MI tne
city with their cries, never have TO
wait until their stuff ripens IN nus
part of the country. They begin with
the very blush of spring, upon the hot
house and nursery products, and uIon
the first shipments from the sunny
south. The strawberry bowler, for eX-
ample, has been rending the air apcut
Worcester for days with his mournIul
moan He is but the vanguard of tfle
army of strawberry vendors who VIII
cover every inch of territory IN ana
about the city. When the season IS Wen
on. they will increase into a region,
and every morning every hawKer Wy
can buy hire OF borrow vehicle Of
anv sort will be outside the wholesa le
produce stores at Salem square, or ar
The market places on Mechanic street,
bidding on crates of the luscious fruits
To make up their stock for the day
business. -,
before starting out, the hawkers usu-
ailv change the strawberries from quart
boxes to those holding considerably less'
in order to make their pionts more.
The majority of the vendors have a
most dismal wall. and fall into COM
mon method of shrieking their wares.
There is hardly any variation IN the
dismal. ear-racking invitation OF the
et,,a 1vberrv man, He usually conforms
TO the standard, and never hauls IN an
IMPROVISATION, never attempts even
fragment of a variation on his long
Notwithstanding shout that begins
like a protracted note on PASSION anu
winds up like a fiat xylophone rata
nlanine - stStraw - aw-aw-beri-berl
eri-beri-beri-zzz!
It is entertaining to reflect upon the
sensation a strawberry haWker would
throw a quiet neighborhood into II he
would come along with the plain, every
dav cry. Strawberries Strawberries!
strawberries" Windows would De
thrown up all along the line, small boys
would follow in the vendors wake, ana
he would sell out his stock of berries IN
one street.
II IS sad that the local hawker does
not perceive it's business possibilities
and appreciate this fact. Most of them
have voices like bo's'n's mate, and they
are therefore capable of shifting their
cries If a man-of-war bos ms mate
sung out all his ships call in one key,
with never a variation from one year S
end to the other, he would drive his
shipmates mad, and he would probably
be busted to the rest Of an ordinary
seaman's life.
The banana purveying Sicilian takes
his push cart to the outermost bounds
of the city, and there is a high note OF
pleading in his voice. During the noon
hour when his cart is piled high, he
NAV be heard simply with his cock
sure call. Banana. Is centa de duzi
But when footsore and weary. with his
stock only half sold he pushes his cart
about under a sun that is nearing the
verge of a western horizon, dismally
CRYING. "Bananz only fiva centa oe
duz," there is an imploFing timbre IN
his tones that often wins him customers
in the shane of sympathetic persons.
The. Unsuitable and fully warranted
skepticism of Woreesters people over
the belated spring. with its numerous
short-lived bluffs at warm weather, was
diminished early in the week by the
appearance of the hokeyp okey ice
cream man. He has shown on all the
downtown streets, but down town his
III ffefr.rr mi nj
he does not shout his commodity. or
the main streets he belongs to the cate
CORY Of howlers. Not alone does he
howl himself. but he gets all the chill
dren to howl in imitation of his call
To the childish mind there is something
humorous IN that meaningless monde
scriptive two-syllabled hodge-podge