Not long ago, while writing
wlstlUlly ol things long goie,
we mentioned the Italian organ
grinders who used to visit New
Bern with their clever little
monkeys.
Until fairly recently, organ
grinders still made the rounds
in New York City. However,
authorities have ^ned them
from streets of the metropolis
at the insistmce of folks who
concern themselves with pre
venting cruelty to animals.
Don’t Jump to the conclusion
that the organ grinders were
guilty of such cruelty, although
a few may have been. What the
monkeys needed protection
from was the public—or a vic
ious segment of the public.
Warped individuals with a
sadistic sense of humor seemed
to think it was lUn to crush a
lighted cigarette in the palm of
a velvet-coated monkey when
he reached for an expected coin.
Man’s inhumanity to man in
a world of violence is as re
volting as it is commonplace,
but there’s something particu
larly terrifying about a mind
that finds delight in the tor
ture of an animal.
Zoo keepers are familiar with
the habits of such mortals. One
of the big reasons for signs
telling you not to feed caged
animals is to protect the Im
prisoned beasts. Your «)wn
safety l.s involved tii>, ofcoui'se.
Many people--chlidren es
pecially—have nothing but
goodness In their hearts when
they want to feed the z««rs
inhabitants. Unfortunately,
there are others whothinkit’sa
joke to feed harmful objects to
the unsuspecting animals.
Getting back to those Italian
organ grinders, we used to won
der as a boy just how a hand
organ worked. At long last we
know. It’s a barrel or piano
organ--a box with pipes or
metal reeds inside.
inside the box is a roll or
cylinder on which pegs are ar
ranged. The pegs open the
valves of the various pipes, as
the cylinder is turned by a
crank. Air enters the pipes and
makes the music.
Until we learned differenlly
from the World Book Encyclo
pedia, we thought as millions
still do that a hand organ and a
hurdy-gurdy arc the same thing.
II just shows how wrong you can
be when you accept popular be
lief without question.
The hurdy-gurdy is a very old
stringed musical Instrument
which is seldom played today.
Most hurdy-gurdies are shaped
rather like lutes. They have
from four to six strings. The In
strument is played with keys
and a wooden wheel.
The keys ccmtrol the notes to
be played, and the wooden wheel
rubs the notes to produce music.
The wheel is covered with rosin,
and is turned by a handle at the
end. The hurdy-gurdy orig
inated in Europe many centur
ies ago.
Getting back to the organ
grinder’s hand organ, for most
older New Bernians it lives in
memory as a symbol of child
hood. Blended with its notes are
the lilting strains of carnival
merry-go-rounds and the dis
tant sound of a circus caliope--
playing outside the Bit Tip to
invite customers fur the eve
ning performance.
It was this steam piano that
(Continued on page 8)
SvrU'Cruuru Olmttifij publir
The NEW BEftN
PUBLISHID WEEKLY
IN THE HEART OP
•nai I40RTH
/^Gfional r
I vyi-- i.'C
y
VOLUME 16
NEW BERN, N. C. 28560, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 1973
NUMBER 27
Time has long since silenced
Each battle cry and gun.
And historic old Fort Macon
Is at peace in autumn's sun.