A Good Old Custom
The penny Christmas Seals this
year depict a jolly and colorful
town crier. Garbed in warm caped
cloak of brown and three-cornered
hat, he brings to mind a once-popu
lar character in many lands—the
man who went from house to house
in small towns and villages to
spread the news, warn of danger,
and protect householders.
The earliest settlers in all parts
of our country brought from their
various homelands this custom of
having a bell ringer, a town crier,
or a night watchman go about at
night to guard their homes and
warn against Indians or marauding
bandits. The Dutch folk who set
tled New Amsterdam about the
middle of the seventeenth century
observed the custom of their home
country with the ringing of curfew
from the church belfry at eight
o’clock. This was the signal for all
hausfraus to cover their fires with
ashes; then all the family retired.
Cozy and warm in their huge fea
ther beds they had every feleing of
safety, for each night through the
lanes of the town (now New York
City) boldly marched the sturdy
“Kloppermann,” or rattle watch.
This he was called because of the
large Klopper or rattle he carried
and whirled loudly at each dor.
The shrill cracking sound re-echo
ing in the stillness of the night
made known he was there to pro
tect them. In his other hand he
carried a strong staff, a lighted
lantern and a brass bound hour
glass by which he told the time.
He called out the hours throughout
the night and at the break of day
he would cry, “A fair morning
and all’s well.”
In the Boston town records for
1638 is a notice of the custom of
crying lost animals “a stray sow
that had been taken in the corne,
and often Cryed” but without suc
cess in finding its owner. In New
England the town crier was paid
to make announcements and only
those licensed by the selectmen
could cry without paying fines.
Twopence was paid the “cryer” for
each announcement made in the
meeting house and sixpence for
those “up and down the street.”
Noted in Boston was James Wil
son for his jovial temperament and
his facetious comments. Over the
entrance of the Exchange Coffee
House building is a hand-bell with
the date 1795 on it, an ancient tav
ery symbol of “Old Wilson.” “One
can hear now the clang of Wilson's
ponderous bell,” writes Robert
Means Lawrence in ‘‘New England
Colonial Life,” “and the hoarse,
thick tones of his voice, as clad in
a purple cloak and wearing a cock
ed hat, he perambulated the streets,
crying Sales at Auction and ‘Child
Lost, 25 cents reward.’ He always
drew a crowd of people ready and
willing to chaff with him; but
they often got more than they bar
gained for. As when announcing
a Fourth of July dinner in Charles
town, certain denizens of that an
cient place pestered him with in
quiries as to the bill of fare; and
elecited the reply that the dinner
would be ample with a pig at every
plate.” Rev. Edward G. Porter in
“Rambles in Old Boston” wrote,
“Nature had endowed him with a
ready wit, a good flow of language,
and an imposing presence.”
“Child Lost! Four years old.
She wore a blue and white calico
dress” and other announcements
were made by these town criers in
New England. They did not com
bine their duties with those of the
night watchmen. In 1635 Boston
appointed a night watch “from sun
set, an hour after the beating of
the drumbe.” When any lights
were observed after ten o’clock,
the constables, or night watchmen,
were “to inquire discreetly if there
was any excuse warranting the
noise.” They must especially
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check dancing, drinking or singing,
and admonish the revellers for
disturbing the public peace. During
j this period there were also two bell
-1 men who went about to call out the
hours of the night and other inter
esting information.
The bellmen came to New Eng
land from England and we have
mention of him in the “Diary of
Samuel Johnson” by Boswell. lie
writes, “I staid up till the bellman
came by with his bell, just under
my window, as I was writing this
very line and cried, ‘Past one of the
clock and a cold, frosty, windy
morning'.”
Some criers waxed poetic and
shouted their messages in verse.
One of these from “Old Street
Cries of London,” by Oscar E. Nor
man was:
List good people all! Past ten
o’clock the houre I call.
Now say your prayers and take
your rest
With conscience clear and sins
confessed.
I bid you all good night! Good
night!
The criers went about proclaim
ing ordinances, summoning the cit
izens to meetings, and to remind
people of such duties as ‘‘to have ]
all cattle and hogs out of the fields”
or, “Have water at your doors for
fear of fires.”
Only last spring we found a no
tice in a New York newspaper
(Sun., March 16) Haddenbaum,
telling how the town crier in ancient
Haddenbaum, Eng., ran through the
streets summoning “all able bodied
men to report on the river banks to
aid in combating flood waters which
threatened to overwhelm one hun
dred square miles of the richest
farm land in Great Britain.” The
account went on to say how Town
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Crier George Chapman broke all
precedent by donning ordinary
clothes instead of his regular cri
er’s uniform to run through the
streets calling “Volunteers are ur
gently needed at the river banks.”
In this country the town of Pro
vincetown on Cape Cod, Massachu
setts, stil! has its town crier, one
Amos Kubik. He made his first ap
pearance at the time of the tercen
tary in 1933 when in a new uni
form with spangles, wide belt, large
buckles, and black hat he walked
down the street ringing his big
brass bell and booming out the
news of the day. Children and
| grownups trailed him down the
street to hear this sort of an
nouncement: “Hear ye! Hear ye!
The first whale seen in Province
town for twenty years is on exhi
bition today behind Matheson’s
| store. Come and see the monster
lof the deep! Bring the children for
a lesson in zoology. Ten cents ad
mission.”
This town crier came to New
York in 1935 and the Times in a
write up May 2 said of him ....
“Amos is the only town crier ex
tant and he takes his role seriously.
He will cry up anything but wants
it written out in advance. His pres
ent method is to begin all announce
ments with three loud ‘Hark yeV,
each preceded by two clangs on his
dinner bell” ... He has learned to
refer to himself as a better medium
than newspapers, because of some
thing he calls “instant effect.”
Amos is a far cry from the digni
fied bellman of former days.
The curfew, or covering bell be
cause it meant all fires should be
covered, was of Norman origin and
has been rung in various states in
the Union. In 1880 Oma'ha, Ne
braska, passed the “Curfew Law”
for children under fifteen years of
age, and over 3,000 other cities and
towns had this law during the lat
ter part of the nineteenth century.
BE THANKFUL FOR YOUR MANY BLESSINGS THIS DAY
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RINGING IN HEALTH...
and protection against tnbercnlosis
THE 1937 CHRISTMAS SEALS
BUY ami USE then
The National, State, and Local Tuberculosis Associations in the United States