Only once the produce ins gone can an arabber hop on the wagon for a ride, Pop explained. Photo by Emily Hofstaedter/WYPR.
Only once the produce ins gone can an arabber hop on the wagon for a ride, Pop explained. Photo by Emily Hofstaedter/WYPR.

“Watermelooon! Banana, cantaloupe!”

Baker Bay, better known as Pop, belts out his signature arabber call to the small crowd of families gathered in Poppleton’s Greater Model Park during a late November afternoon.

Arabbing is an old Baltimore tradition, steeped in the city’s Black American history. One man — or woman — with a horse and cart full of produce walk the city selling their wares until the cart is empty. Non-profit Stable Baltimore is using the tradition to teach young people life skills and to keep the practice alive.

Read more (and listen) at WYPR.