Oh this is such cool news! The Arabbers are such a part of Baltimore. For generations, the answer to something like "mmm..good melon; where'd you get it?" was "I bought it off an Arabber." :-) And in addition to veggies, there were other tradesmen I remember into the late 60s, like the rag man and the scissors sharpener man, who would come through the alley at my in-laws house (in Highlandtown for those who knew Baltimore then) singing their calls. The scissors sharpener just had a bell...a gong really, but the rag man would sing out "Rags! Rags! Old rags!" as he drove his pony through the alley. And my favorite was always the watermelon man's song "Waaatermelon, red to the rind....and if y'don't believe it, jes take a bite o' mine" and he'd cut a plug out of a melon for you to taste. OK. I'm old; right. Anyway, back in the day, a lot of Arraber pony carts were decorated up with colors and fringe and stuff, and I've been thinking how much I'd like to acquire one eventually for Nick...the white, pony mule I got from Jodi Lante. Wouldn't he look cute put to an Arabber cart full of veggies or flowers in a commercial class?
Laurie Neely and Nicky (huh? You want me to do what?)
no subject
Sue H
Date: Mon, 16 Feb 2009 17:05:14 -0500
From: Laurie Neely <li1wing@verizon.net>
Subject: Re: Baltimore Arabbers
Oh this is such cool news! The Arabbers are such a part of Baltimore.
For generations, the answer to something like "mmm..good melon;
where'd you get it?" was "I bought it off an Arabber." :-) And in
addition to veggies, there were other tradesmen I remember into the
late 60s, like the rag man and the scissors sharpener man, who would
come through the alley at my in-laws house (in Highlandtown for those
who knew Baltimore then) singing their calls. The scissors sharpener
just had a bell...a gong really, but the rag man would sing out "Rags!
Rags! Old rags!" as he drove his pony through the alley. And my
favorite was always the watermelon man's song "Waaatermelon, red to
the rind....and if y'don't believe it, jes take a bite o' mine" and
he'd cut a plug out of a melon for you to taste.
OK. I'm old; right.
Anyway, back in the day, a lot of Arraber pony carts were decorated up
with colors and fringe and stuff, and I've been thinking how much I'd
like to acquire one eventually for Nick...the white, pony mule I got
from Jodi Lante. Wouldn't he look cute put to an Arabber cart full of
veggies or flowers in a commercial class?
Laurie Neely and Nicky (huh? You want me to do what?)