The Honorable Peddlers

The other day I was handed a small newspaper article. The heading asked the question 'What ever happened to the Old Scissorsgrinder'? The unknown author was reminiscing back to the years when these little old men tramped the streets of our cities ringing a bell which announced his presence to the housewives.

Here in the county rural areas they not only had their scissorsgrinders but men who tramped the dusty roads of the ridges, hills and valleys who would also repair your umbrellas. What happened to them?

Today, when shears or a pair of scissors becomes dull, or when an umbrella rib snaps it is thrown away and a new one is purchased. This was not possible years ago. Most people did not have the money to buy new items, so they had to make the old ones last for years.

I recall my parents and my grandparents as well as aged neighbors talking about the old peddlers who used to tramp from farm home to farm home carrying large bundles of merchandise on their backs. Most of these peddlers were immigrants. They landed here with little or no money, friends or relatives.

I remember a story, which the old residents of one community used to tell about one of these peddlers. It seems this peddler stayed over night at a place where several rural hucksters were also staying. The peddler made quite a fuss about his back aching so that he could not sleep. One of the hucksters remarked that he had in his wagon a special liniment (which he used on his horses) that would definitely cure his backache. The huckster got his liniment and proceeded to apply generous amounts of the liquid while he massaged the aching muscles of the peddler’s back. During the process of the massage a drop or two, perhaps accidentally on purpose, got down too low on the peddler's back. He began to scream and cry with pain from the effects of the liquid. He came down the back stairway, step by step, in a 'sitting position'. He apparently knew the wife of the owner of the property kept milk and cream in crocks in the cellar. He quickly proceeded to find the cream crock and lost no time in seating himself into the contents of the crock.

One other incident happened years ago in which a peddler came into a country village leading a bear on a chain. A resident's dog came charging out of its owner's yard and attacked the bear. The old peddler also became very furious at the dog and the dog's owner. He had quite a time getting the bear calmed down. This bear had been tamed and trained to do various tricks before crowds of people who would gather to watch. After the bear performed a few tricks, the old peddler would then commence his sales pitch to sell his products. If he was successful in making a lot of sales he would have the bear perform additional acts.

I don't know what happened to the little old scissorsgrinder on the city streets, but I have read and been told stories about these peddlers of long ago. Many were able to expand their business into a very profitable one. Some became the communities leading businessmen. They married, raised and educated their children far better than the wealthiest customer they once served.

We might term it a 'rags to riches' start. They had the guts and determination to succeed in a strange land. There was no 'Uncle Sam' there to meet them with a welcome hand and a fist full of money to get them started in life.