Milford chronicle., 1930-10-24
MEMORIES OF MILFORD
HOLLANDS CORNER
Some RecOlIectiOns This Old Land
mark Brings TO the Mind OF
the Writer

, or voice, agile feet, and who was
, somewhat gifted as Versifier)
wrote song which may or may moi
now be out of print. This was sung
to a tune very popular back in the
SOS, and tune heard frequently in
these days of radio broadcasting.
Some of the words of this song, for
some reason or other, were impress
ed upon my mind as upon a phono-
graph recording disk, and in this
memory test have been assisted by
r. R. Davis of the Chronicle. 1t was
at Hollands Corner the night air
was often stirred by these melod-
icus, if somewhat discordant notes.
The chorus ran as follows, being
sung with more or less violence at
the conclusion of each verse:
Are the songs they will sing to you;
You can hear them yell with all their
might,
They are singing there most every
night.
The stanzas which composed the
song we here insert, believing the
words to be almost a correct ver-
sion:
Ii you want to hear good singing,
From voices that you would call
fine;
Walk over near Hollands corner,
Some evening just after nine.
When Eddie has close the shutters,
And Johnnys come down from the
store;
They will sing you songs of the lat
est,
And some that you ne'er heard be-
fore.
Harry Ferber is the leading soprano,
While Johnson is clever with bass;
Jake Cuykendall he sings the tenor,
But it sounds very much out of
place;
And the Pierce boys, late from the
country,
Fill in the best they know how, |
While the false notes made by Will |
Deputy,
Would remind you of cats in a row.
Latchum and Davis are squealing,
They never before heard such
noise;
But it's no use for them to be
grumbling
For Mark is one of the boys.
He sings his alto so nicely
In that old song called Baby
Nine"
And while Harry the barber is
warbling
The tailor is marking the time.
Now, boys, advise you be careful,
And keep yourself hid from the
cop,
Dr. he'll fine you two dollars for
singing
Like he did me for removing a box.
lie will take you before Mayor
Stevens
And give you what they call a
trial;
70 see him look over the docket
Would make our commissioners
smile.
Ie will ask you when you will pay
him
QIe did me, and he'll do you the
same),
Sut you tell him when leaving the
lookup,
when the robbins nest again"
This last verse, it will be noted,
'as a timely note of warning as well
s a testimony to the watchfulness
f MilfoTd's one keeper of the peace,
flicer Edward Coffin. Those men
oncd in this song will be remem-
cred by many readers, though sew
raj have died since or removed to
Lhcr places. The "Ed6ie" referred
, was Ed Davidson; Harry Ferber
as a barber with Bill Kern; john
y was John Welch, and Harry
lhnson resides now at Clayton; the
ierce boys were Ed. and Bob.
hese singers gathered usually
'ound the corner nearly opposite
Ie Chronicles present home, and
ere were always present a number
admiring listeners.
In the days of which VIC write
ere were no radios, moving pic
re houses, or automobiles to park
sequestered lanes and byways-
+, it will be apparent that these
ng tests were but means of pass
g away the time pleasantly and
rmlessly.
But Hollands Corner had other
d more justifiable reasons for re-
aiming prominent in our memory.
was the one busy mart of trade
South Milford. Joseph Holland,
10 owned and operated the general
IRE there, not only was popular
d progressive, but 1ike his father,
vid H. Holland), his interests lay
many directions.
On this corner public sales were
Id; friends from town and coun-
? met here each Saturday to eX
ange gossip and news and often to
ker i'll the then popular trading
horses the hitching posts i'll this
Unity were all in use. Teams came
town from the four corners of
mt and Sussex counties the peanut
ldor was also there, the mhistle of
pushcart spOuting 'tuneful
cam of steam. But it was when
ction time rolled around that the
alton took on significant interest,
it was near here that the political
tors voiced their free trade and
iff opinions to a spell bound but
picked gathering.
IS Hollands Corner the juncture
South Walnut and Front streets is
known and so called by Mil
l. Il IL