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Forms to be Filled out for Each Interview
FORM A
Circumstances of Interview
STATE New York
NAME OF wORrEn Frealk Byrd
ADDRESS 224 West 135th Street, NYC
DATE December 28, 1938
SUBJECT LIFE IN THE HARLEM MARKETS
1. Date and time c° interview
2. Place of interview
3. Name and address of informant
4. Name and address of person, if any, wno put you in
touch with informant.
5. Name and address of person, if any, accompanying you
6. Description of room, house, surroundings, etc.
FOLKLORE
NEW YORK
(Use as many additional sheets as necessary, for any of the forms, each
bearing the proper heading and the number to which the material refers.)
FORM C
Text of Interview (Unedited)
STATE New York
NAVE OF WORKER Frank Byrd
ADDRESS 224 West 135th Street, NYC
DATE December 28, 1938
SUBJECT LIFE IN THE MRLEM MARKETS
FOLKLORE
NEW YORK
The Harlem Market at three A. M. is a kaleidoscopic canvas
of bright lights, scurrying figures and the disk outlined silhouettes
of trucks; baskets of fruit and many -sized crates of fresh vegetables.
It is a part of New York little known and seldom seen by any persons
other than those who make their living there; yet, it is vitally im-
portant to the daily welfare of more than half the population in all
the surrounding community.
Walking through the dark streets in :the early morning one
notices the main roadway that is filled on both sides with trucks,
teerfms'"'
wagons and merchandise piled 41:-Seemo on the sidewalk awaiting
delivery to the many retail stores and pushcart markets of Harlem.
Around these trucks and in the warehouses surrounding them, a veri-
table army of workers sort and load the produce that must be delivered
not later than nine o'clock in the morning.
All of this activity is the result of the commission -merchant
business. This business came into existence when the peddlers found
it increasingly difficult to put in their appearances at the markets
daily and carry on the bargaining with farmers who came there to dis-
pose of their wares. Besides that, many of their stands were located
so far away from the wholesale market that it was quite impossible for
them to deliver their own merchandise. They were forced to hire inde-
pendent truokmen who charged them exhorbitant rates and made it virtually
impossible for them to make a decent profit from the sale of their
goods. The commission -merchants who owned their own trucks were able
to offer them at a reduced rate providing the peddlers bought their
produoe from the "middle -men". They were also able to save the peddler
from two or three hours each day by relieving him of the responsibility
of coming to the market, shopping around for his merchandise and usually
going back to his stand so tired that he was unable to work. The peddlers,
realizing this, eventually gave up going to the markets themselves or
sending their truckmen. They found it very convenient to let the com-
mission -merchants do their shopping for them. When this became customary,
the commission -merchants immeuiately increased their prices to a rate
that yielded them more net profits than the farmer who originally produced
the foodstuffs or the peddler who sold it to the customer.
Being the ".middle -man", they discovered, was far more
profitable than being either the producer or retailer. The commission
merchant, for instance, buys a complete wagon -load of fruits and
vegetables from the farmer and sells it at a considerable profit to the
peddlers and storekeepers. Sometimes they are able to make especially
good bargains with the farmers by purchasing huge lots outright and
selling them at the regular price to the retailers. On these days,
they make what is coloquially known as a "killing." They, to a great
extent, corner the market on certain rare fruits or vegetables that
are then in demand and sell them at such high rates that it is almost
impossible for the peddler to buy. Yet he cannot refuse to buy because
customers demand the article. Therefore he is forced to carry it as
a part of his stook.
Many peddlers have corroborated this fact, and Louis Feldstein,
a pushcart peddler of the Eighth Avenue market who has been in business
for thirteen years, ably explained and offered proof for this fact.
He explained that when he is able to go to the market (*here the farmers
congregate) he is very often able to buy merchandise at almost one-half
the price he ordinarily pays for it. This is especially true when the
farmer has been in the market all night and is anxious to go home. He
might be milling to let a large lot of produce go for only a small part
of what the wholesale prioe for that day would be. The commission
merchants are also alert for these bargains. It is then that they are
able to make their best profits for, even though they are able to buy
cheaply, they always sell at the current market price. For instance,
they might buy five or ten thousand carrots at a half -cent each and
sell them for one and one-half cents a piece. The peddler, in turn,
will sell these same carrots at the rate of ten cents a bunch (five
in a bunch), or two cents each, which means that he only makes a profit
of one-half cent on them while the commission merchant realizes a clear
profit of one cent on each carrot. These figures, of course, are only
comparative but they are accurate enough to give the reader a fair idea
of haw these transactions are carried out.
The farmers and the pushcart peddlers spend long hours of
hard work producing and passing this merchandise on to the consumers,
but the middle -men are really the ones in the tri-oornered deal who
benefit most by the transaction. There are times, of course, when the
peddler is ambitious enough to save the middle -man's fee on his pur-
chases. At such times, he rises early (about three o'clook in the
morning) goes to the market, bargains with the farmers and hires an
independent truckman to deliver his goods. The tariff on trucking,
incidentally, is greatly reduced in comparison to what it used to be.
For this reason, it is to the peddler's advantage to do his awn buying
and later hire an independent truokman to make deliveries for him. The
current price on deliveries runs from eight to ten cents per crate or
basket.
The commission -merchants, in order to meet the competition
of these new, law prices, have (in the oases of many old customers)
resorted to free or half-price delivery. Only the larger firms are
able to afford this, however, because of the high cost of gasoline
and oil, not to mention the wear and tear on their trucks. The in-
dependent truckmen seem to feel, however, that this is only a temporary
measure and are confident that the commission merchants, if they con-
tinue this policy, will only increase the price of merchandise.
At 102nd Street near the East River, the farmers congregate
in a separate market of their own where the buyers from the wholesale
houses as well as the itinerant pushcart peddlers come to bargain
with them. Many of the farmers come there (in summer) as early as
eight or nine o'clock at night and remain there as late as seven or
eight o'clock the next morning. It is at this time that the individual
peddlers have an opportunity to shop for themselves. In winter, it is
different. The farmers cone at about three or four o'clock in the
morning, dispose of their produce and leave immediately. At this season
of the year, the peddlers make less profit than usual because they are
forced to buy at standard market prioes. The only thing that keeps
prices down is the fact that practically all of the commission merchants,
with the possible exception of a very few, are individual dealers.
MARKET PERSONALITIES
PATSY, THE ADAPTABLE: Patsy Randolph is undoubtedly one
of the most unusual and certainly the most unique pushcart peddler
in the Eighth Avenue Market.
Unlike the average peddler there, she has no specialty, such
as fruits and vegetables, but sells any and every kind of product that
she feels is seasonally the most valuable and desirable. There are
times when she peddles cooking utensils, cosmetic products, odd and
damaged lots of men's and women's furnishings or thoroughly blackened
canned goods bought wholesale or at fire -sales. Her current product,
however, is the most unusual of all. She is selling pickles, pepper
sauces spices and relishes exclusively. The pickles she makes and
packs herself.
The biggest seller of this entire lot, incidentally, happens
to be pickled watermelon rind. Her profits on this Southern delicacy
amount to something well over 95% because the rinds cost her absolutely
nothing. She has obtained the permission of store owners who sell in-
dividual five and ten cent slices at their street stands, to collect all
the rinds she wants from their baskets. At the height of the summer season,
she takes these rinds home, prepares and packs them in fruit jars and
sells them to a highly appreciative buying public that has long since
been accustomed to this fine "down-home" dish that adds a tasty flavor
to meats, especially roast pork or the more widely favored pork chops.
The secret of her sales success for this particular product,
she says, depends entirely upon the way it is prepared, and as further
proof of her versatility, she offers the following recipe as permanent
proof of her claim to the titles "Best -maker -of -pickled -watermelon -rinds
in -Harlem."
"This pickle is very easy to prepare," she declared. "First
you scoop outiil the remaining red meat from the inside of the rind. Now
peel the thin green rind from the outside. Cut the white rind into small
cubes and cover with water that has been salted, two teaspoons of salt
to the pint. Leave the rind in the muter for an hour or two, while you
prepare this syrups
"Add a quart of eider vinegar to two pounds of brown sugar.
Add two tablespoons of whole cloves and a few small sticks of oinamon.
You oan also add a few raisins as an additional flavoring and dressing.
You don't have to, of course, but they help to round out the flavor.
Bring this liquid to a slaw boil. Afterwards, drain the brine from
the melon rind and rinse them with fresh, cold water. Add the melon
rind to the syrup and let it cook until tender. Guard against letting
it get too soft, though. You can find this out by sticking it with a
fork.
"When the rind is tender, put it in fruit jars and pack them
tightly. Now re -heat the syrup and pour it boiling into the jars over
the rind. Add a few cloves to each jar. Be sure and seal the jars
tightly. This keeps them from spoiling and protects the good, home-
made flavor."
POPULLR SOUTHERN FOODS
YAMS* Located at frequent intervals in the heart of the
Eighth Avenue market, there are more than a dozen stoves on wheels
that indicate to the neighborhood shopper another stand dedicated to
the preparation of good old Southern yams. The number of these street
stoves is also sufficient proof of the fact that yams (baked, candied
or fried) rate exceptionally high with housewives of the neighborhood
who, because of long hours on their jobs, find it difficult to do
their awn baking of this ever -popular delicacy of the old South.
A recent interview with operators of these stands revealed
the fact that baked yams are purchased in great numbers not only by
the potato -loving Negroes from Dixie, but also by the many buxom black
women hailing from one of the several West Indian Islands. Even in
those remote corners of the globe the popularity of the lowly sweet
potato has achieved a new market -high. The vendors were almost unanimous
in their explanation of the reason why so many people prefer buying their
roma in the market in preference to preparing them at home. It was
pointed out that in order to keep their gas bills down to normal, many
of these women who might enjoy cooking their awn yams refrain from
doing so for reasons of economy. Besides that, it is usually late in
the afternoons when the majority of these housewives leave their ser-
vice jobs in various sections of the city. When they arrive at home,
it is too late to do much cooking, even if they would like to. Another
reason offered for street purchases was explained as follows:
*Well, you see, a lot of these single men and women who are
roomers in other people's apartments have little chance for cooking
and even if they did, the landlady wouldn't want them to cook any
food (especially anything that had to be baked) that used up so much
gas. Besides that, it's too much trouble to the average man or woman
to be bothered with 000king things like that when they, can be bought
so cheap. That's the way we keep in business. We sell our yams so
cheap that it don't pay for the people to 000k them at home. The
extra trouble is worth the few extra cents they'd have to pay for
enough for a good meal."
Inquiries about the production of the potato crops yielded
the following informations ThmtNorth Carolina, South Carolina and
Georgia are the biggest producers of the more or less famous yellow
yams. Virginia, however, has championship claims on the production
of giant white yams that are so popular in that section of the country
prior to and during the Christmas holiday season. And speaking of the
holiday season brings to mind "potato -pone" (pronounced, "piteter peon"
in Georgia). This unique dish is a holiday delicacy that is enjoyed
in the hone of the poorest person at Christmas time. This does not
mean, however, that it is monopolized entirely by the poor. In the
homes of the old gentry, it is served and eaten with gusto. The final
product is somewhat similar in taste to well seasoned potato -custard
pie but it contains so much nutmeg and other spices that it emerges
from the oven with a dark, muddy color faintly reminiscent of overdone
bread pudding. This unappetizing color in no way detracts from the
fine flavor and palatability of this down -hone concoction, however, and
the dish, within the past few years has achieved surprising popularity
in Harlem. It was first introduced, locally, by natives of Georgia who
migrated to New York during the sudden post -mar migration of Negroes
from all parts of the South to various cities in the East and Mid -West.
New Yorkers ate it first with much misgiving but ended up by pleasantly
surprising their hostesses by asking for second helpings. The recipe was
10
passed around from one person to another until today this dish alone
is second in Harlem to hogshead or pigtails -peas -and -rice as a
Christmas holiday dish. In the markets, the yam vendors who are
enterprising enough to make their awn potato -pone at home, bring it
to their stands and keep it warm on top of their ovens, find a ready
sale for all they can supply. In fact, the demand is far greater
than the available supply.
The popularity of the potato is further attested to by the
fact that the sweet potato was one of the first of the market products
to inspire a popular market song exclusive to Harlem. It was included
in a previous report. The name of it is: "Th, Sweet Pertater Man."
The lyric, composed by Heaven knows whom, extolls the hugeness and the
delicious flavor of the potatoes sold an his, "John Peddler's," stand.
It is typically expressive of the merits and popularity of this vegetable
that, in Uptown New York, is not just another dish for the table but a
glorified delicacy of the first order.