THE SHEENY MAN

A recent column written by Marlene Black (Landowner magazine) in which she talks about rags and the value of a penny triggered the following.

During the early 1950’s the ice man, the bread man and the milk man used to deliver their products door to door by horse drawn wagon. Tinkers used to walk through neighborhoods ringing a bell, not unlike those used by teachers to call students in from recess, as they pulled a two wheeled cart. Housewives would call to them to have pots and pans repaired or knives sharpened. Another common character was the sheeny man. He collected everyone’s junk, including rags. Better yet, he paid for them. THEY say it costs two cents to produce one cent to-day. There was a time when a penny carried a lot of purchasing power. Such as in the early ‘50’s and before.

My uncle used to tell the following story of when he was a child growing up in the Long Branch area of west Toronto. He and some friends were playing when approached by a Sheeny Man. The man had just purchased an old wood stove and needed a hand moving it out of a basement. He offered the boys one penny a piece for their help. The boys eagerly accepted the windfall offer and promptly helped move the stove to the Sheeny Man’s wagon. Once this was accomplished the Sheeny Man gave my uncle one penny for their effort. When my uncle reminded him of his offer to pay one cent per person the Sheeny Man gave him an ultimatum. “Take it or leave it!” and then went inside the house to settle with the stove’s owner.

Undaunted, and not to be denied, my uncle and friends then took the horse and wagon and hid them in a nearby barn. When the Sheeny Man appeared he rapidly became annoyed when the boys refused to reveal the whereabouts of his outfit.

“Pay up and we’ll tell you,” the kids replied.

At that time some police patrolled the neighborhoods on horseback. Each patrolman had an area where he got to know the residents and they learned to confide in him. Seeing the patrolman, the Sheeny Man called him over and told him that the boys had stolen his horse and wagon. When asked, me uncle explained the situation whereupon the policeman, who knew the kids, simply advised the Sheeny Man to pay up and he would get his outfit back. All for a penny.