The sun., 1907-08-18
IN NTHEDAYS TARGETSHOOTS
MARTY KEESE RECALLS THESE
SOCIAL FUNCTIONS.


q Autumn in old New York. when the
kthercd leaves Of the last OF the trees
kS,rlcd and eddied along the Bowery. was
Ihs time Of the year. Marty Reese says,
10 Join target company. Then you fell
into line behind Monahan's band. or some
uthcr famous brass band Of the day. and
sou marched away with your gun resting
~ tho shoulder Of your black frock coat,
hui Won wore a peaked cap and there was
shiny black enamellcd stun sewed around
srnr legs from tho knee down TO make
Sou look like a soldier.
Marty Kcese. looking out from his top
Iof, apartments in the City Hall. Of which
he has been custodian for a period that
p3s-cth understanding. will tell you to-day
thi' the target companies OF old New
York we're gorgeous affairs even back
H. those days when everything was 80
apurh lovelier than now. Rent raffies
Tor feather beds or stoves up at Pat Gar
rlch's Sixth Ward Hotel, which stood at
duane and Centre streets, to help out Irish
" lows were remarkably brilliant social
flnciions, and so were the shindigs held
In a big ball in what is now The Sun build
sng But the target companies rackets
were finest Of all. because you went into
trimming for an afternoon OF target shoot
iuk hy drinking much beer and eating
turkey until tired. After this you shot
sor prizes such as magnificent silver crIet
casters. which. as a table oentrepiece set
OF the dining room with brave show Of
SpU,ence.
The Old Arsenal Guard was one Of the
Sr-t of the target companies named after
iho Ola Arsenal that stood in Centre street
o
New Haven railroad station. which In turn
w. razed TO make room for the present
Criminal Courts Building An overflow OF
pnltarism among the Mexican War soldiers
that had just returned 20 Manhattan
brought the target companies into being
1hey fourished from the beginning OF the
'aos until few years after the close OF the
EVIL war and most of the youth Of New York
were members. Belonging to target COM
fanv was the next best thing TO being a
rel shirted volunteer fireman.
Wherefore when Baxter street was called
Orange and Worth was Anthony street and
Lafayette street was Elm and West Broad
way was Laurens and much OF Park row
was called Chatham street in honor of an
English earl-then through the old streets
bright and early Of fall morning marched
for the ferryboat that was to take the marks
men 10 the shooting range and the turkey
pni the beer. Sometimes. on very splendid
occasions. not only Monahan's band would
te present but Dodworth's and perhaps
eyen Shelton's also would clash and bang
through the streets with the shooters.
In front Of their clubroom at o'clock
r. the morning the members would gather.
e. oIa
many of them youths under II years, the
minimum age limit for joining the fire COM
ranies. The fall was always selected for
the target contests because election day
happens in tho fall. To shoot for prizes
Eou must have prizes. Who is so ready to
present prizes Of silver cruet casters and
things as a candidate on the eve OF cleo
lion, especially when the target company
u named after him? Hence the choice Of
autumn.
II was thrilling, Marty Reese says. to
living into line behind the banging drums.
with the company captain at the head Of
Che line carrying a sword. First Of all, the
captain led his brave followers right smack
hast the house of his sweetheart, and
when the parade halted in front Of her door
end she fluttered excitedly out to the middle
pf the street to pin a posie on the manly
chest Of the captain, then. Marty says.
you had to press your elbows tightly against
your ribs to keep from exploding with de-
Grious enthusiasm.
And now, "Frrrrd, m'ch!"
AWAY goes the procession. first to sere-
t7ie the candidates who have been in
tiei" 10 present the prizes for the days
contest. Perhaps John Clancy was running
Tor Couxy Clerk. John ought to lie good
for son~thing. Besides, right next door
- the Clancy house in Franklin street
lived another politician. Congressman Nor
gan Jones. So the thing to do was to halt
between the two houses and have Monahan's g
h1nd strike up The Picayune Butler or
some other tune so popular in old New York
that il died Of overwork generations ago
and is now forgotten
, When the band had finished The Picayune
BTler' YOU stood at attention to await
results Finally the door would open and
Johns sisters, the Misses Clancy, would
como out the front door and present the
prizes and blush delightfully."- when the
mighty cheers Of the assembled heroes
greeted the girls appearance. And then
Mss Clancy and her sister would run back
o. tho house in confusion, and Candidate
Clancy and Candidate Jones would make
brave spoechcs OF thanks from their door
s''1s and toll what a happy surprise the
Whole serenade was.
When all the wholly unexpected donations
a. prizes had been attended to the company
a. shooters headed for Dave Pollock's gar
uens IN Weehawken, or perhaps TO some spot
on Long Island or across the bay to New
Dorp. Sometimes it would be up at Karl's
park miles To the north Of town. This was
The best range Of all, because Proprietor
harl thouShtfully had erected at the firing
!Ire of his range a long metal tube through
which you aimed your musket at the distant
target. Thus you precluded all possibility
OF hitting any of the cows grazing at ex-
trNme right or left stage. Bullets often have
sranC" vagaries.
nn@ would think that after the epoch
making dinner Of beer and turkey had got
un'er way il would be like trying to
n1ln' the lily TO ask for more splendor
b' look who's coming now in the hired
hacks Just in time to act as judges. Brave
names, these: Assemblyman Burns, no
les. who was better known to the old Sixth
sni Eighth wards after he became member
OF NJ" state Legislature as "th' mimber firm
sASo IN tn lower house OF Paarrlamint.'
h"r'S Judge Kivlen, too, and Assembly
man Jim DUMMY and Tom Conan and the