Maggie's Farm

We are a commune of inquiring, skeptical, politically centrist, capitalist, anglophile, traditionalist New England Yankee humans, humanoids, and animals with many interests beyond and above politics. Each of us has had a high-school education (or GED), but all had ADD so didn't pay attention very well, especially the dogs. Each one of us does "try my best to be just like I am," and none of us enjoys working for others, including for Maggie, from whom we receive neither a nickel nor a dime. Freedom from nags, cranks, government, do-gooders, control-freaks and idiots is all that we ask for.

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Thursday, January 8. 2015

In the Public Interest: Organ grinders

I always wondered whatever happened to organ grinders.  I'd never seen one in the US, except on cartoons or in old movies.  I saw quite a few when I lived in London in 1983 (I have a picture of a particularly colorful one).  I had no idea LaGuardia outlawed them, or his reasons for doing so.  With the swipe of a pen, he outlawed a form of employment (beats the hell out of other forms of begging, if you ask me).  But you can be assured, it was in the "best interest of the people" (and the monkeys!).  I'm certain this is precisely how Mayor Bill feels about horse carriages.  His views are the only ones that matter because nobody else really cares about those poor horses, right?  It's in our best interest, of course.  Below is a picture of one of the last legal organ grinders in NYC.


Posted by Bulldog in History, Our Essays, The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation at 16:59 | Comments (9) | Trackbacks (0)

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???

That can't possibly be true. I understand there are still plenty of organ grinders at Fairytale Lounge and other such places across the city.
#1 Mark Matis on 2015-01-08 17:47 (Reply)
rimshot
#1.1 Bulldog on 2015-01-08 17:52 (Reply)
There was an organ grinder in downtown Oakland Ca. when I was a kid. In the early 1960's.
One day an over zealous policeman took him in. Fortunately cooler heads prevailed. Apologies were made and he was escorted back to the corner where he continued to play the organ, monkey at his side.
Wow, those were the days. It seemed a happier time then, even in Oakland.
#2 Daph'sMoe on 2015-01-08 19:30 (Reply)
There were organ grinders in the city I grew up in North of Boston in the 40's and 50's. I don't remember seeing any in the 60's. They were all Italian but I don't know if all organ grinders that came to the U.S. were from Italy.
#3 GoneWithTheWind on 2015-01-08 20:17 (Reply)
My sister (a DVM) says people should not have monkeys for pets under any circumstances. She says they are dirty, nasty behaving animals that can bite off your finger in the blink of an eye.

One wonders if an organ grinder today could earn enough money to pay the liability insurance premium for having a monkey in his business?
#4 feeblemind on 2015-01-08 22:20 (Reply)
He would never have the chance to get to the point where he could buy insurance. The animal rights "trust" and its eager handmaidens in the government bureaucracy would not permit him to own the monkey (slavery) let alone put said simian to work on the streets.
#4.1 Ralph Kinney Bennett on 2015-01-09 07:38 (Reply)
French Hostage Standoff - Live Stream

http://commoncts.blogspot.com/2015/01/french-hostage-standoff-live-stream.html
#5 Steve on 2015-01-09 08:09 (Reply)
We had them in NYC in the 1930s-1940s.

I remember giving a penny or two to the monkey.
#6 JamesG (Link) on 2015-01-09 08:47 (Reply)
I saw one about 1990 but I can't remember where, exactly. Maybe near Miami. There was no organ, but I gave the monkey a quarter, he put it in his pocket and then shook my hand.
#7 Jose on 2015-01-09 10:13 (Reply)

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