4.2 • 1.1K Ratings
🗓️ 26 February 2025
⏱️ 33 minutes
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A cranky old lady writes a mean editorial to the city paper about an organ grinder who was playing beneath her window, asking the city to move him off the streets.A reader replies giving us a picture of that part of the city and just how many people look forward to the organ grinder's music, which brings happiness for a short time to a population which cannot afford to go out and pay for entertainment. GREAT story by HC Bunner
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0:00.0 | The |
0:07.0 | The Welcome back, everyone to one thousand one classic short stories and tales. |
0:33.5 | This is your host, John Hagadorn. |
0:36.2 | Today's story, Jersey and Mulberry, written by H. C. Bunner, is a story of New York City at the turn of the century, much like the O'Henry's stories that we share a lot here. |
0:48.0 | I'll never forget the stories that my wife's grandmother used to tell us about her growing up in New York City right around |
0:55.0 | 1900, 1895 or so to about 1910 and the wonderful stories of the shopkeepers that were set up |
1:01.8 | on the street below and the very different way of life. The neighborhoods were mixed, very ethnic, |
1:08.2 | some Italian, some German, some Russian, some Jewish, and somehow the people all ended up getting along. |
1:15.7 | This story gives you a very rich picture of what life was like around that time. |
1:20.8 | We've done a few of H.C. Bunner's stories here, and they're always enjoyable. |
1:25.5 | This one's no exception. |
1:27.1 | Jersey and Mulberry from his collection, |
1:30.3 | Jersey Street and Jersey Lane, urban and suburban sketches. Hope you enjoy it. Jersey and |
1:38.1 | Mulberry. I found this letter and comment in an evening paper some time ago, and I cut the slip out and kept it for its cruelty. |
1:46.7 | To the editor of the evening post. |
1:50.0 | Sir, in yesterday's issue, you took occasion to speak of the organ-grinding nuisance about which I hope you will let me ask you the following questions. |
1:59.8 | Why must decent people all over town suffer |
2:02.9 | these pestilential beggars to go about torturing our senses and practically blackmailing the |
2:08.1 | listers into paying them to go away? Is it not a most ridiculous excuse on the part of the police |
2:14.5 | when ordered to arrest these vagrants to tell a citizen that the city license exempts these public nuisances from arrest? |
2:22.2 | Let me ask, can the city by any means legalize a common law misdemeanor? |
2:27.9 | If not, how can the city authorities grant exemption to these sturdy beggars and vagrants |
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