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The Gypsies of Yulan
Told by Walter Metzger to Larry Stern
In the early 1900’s, the Gypsies often came to the Town of Highland
from the south by horse and wagon. Around this period in time, New York
State had passed a law, stating that if the Gypsies setup camp by 5pm,
nobody can tell them to get lost.
The gypsies were usually here around Declaration Day when the boarding houses opened up for the summer.
The city people would come up and stay in these boarding houses and the gypsies made money off of them by reading them their fortunes.
The local residents didn't want them here because they were known as thieves. They used to steal chickens and anything else they were able to get their hands on.
The Metzger family would get a phone call from someone in Port Jervis, warning them the gypsies just passed through and were heading up their way.
The Metzgers would then get a group of local residents together at the Four Corners where the Crossroads restaurant is now located and there they waited with guns and knives hoping to scare off the Gypsies.
The locals would block off 2 roads so the gypsies couldn't get to the Washington Lake area and parts of Barryville. By doing this, the gypsies were limited to making a camp under the bridge (overpass) by Woods Road and a flat area on Woods Road. The locals would then be able to watch them while they stayed in the area. The locals knew that the Gypsies didn't like dogs, so in the evening hours, the locals would let loose their biggest and ugliest dogs to harass them.
Once the gypsies made their money or the cold weather arrived, the Gypsies would pack up and leave the Town Of Highland.
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