Robert Martens's video: 1930s - Little Rascals of College Point

Big kids, small fry, and Thanksgiving Ragamuffins (who?) prowl the street in 1930's College Point, a leafy neighborhood on the outskirts of New York City. Never heard of The Ragamuffins? On the day before Thanksgiving, children in Greater New York would don raggedy clothes to resemble vagabonds and hoboes, then roam the neighborhood begging for candy and coins. Ultimately, the tradition was overshadowed by the trick-or-treating of Halloween, and is now forgotten. (The girl in the Santa costume may have been referencing Santa's traditional appearance at Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade). All the period footage was filmed on Kodak 16mm film by my grandfather Gustave Martens. The prominent boy is my father, Warren, and in one scene he slaps the back of Grandpa's head -- blink and you'll miss it! (I wonder if he got punished for that). The lurking "fugitive" in the fedora is Gustave's buddy, Percy Simpson. Grandpa's movies, like all home movies of the era, was silent, so I added some old stock music that baby boomers will probably recognize. Sorry, I don't know the titles! College Point is still around, as you'll see. Robert Martens, Nov. 2010