Due to the fact that Novi Bečej is situated on the Tisa River, river traffic has held a prominent place in the transportation of goods. Poor roads and underdeveloped road traffic directed a portion of goods, especially passengers, towards railway transportation.

Goods from surrounding villages were transported by horse-drawn vehicles, and considering the high cost of railway passenger transport, many Kumančani, and even Melenčani, would walk to Novi Bečej. This walking quite accurately illustrates the standard of that time. A train ticket from Kuman to Novi Bečej cost three dinars, and many couldn't even afford that, so they would walk 10 kilometers in one direction just to avoid paying for the ticket.

Novi Bečej and Vranjevo didn't have many high-rise buildings, but that doesn't mean that only those multi-story houses were beautiful. Many memorable single-story buildings, a good portion of which still exists today, deserve appreciation.

In addition to the elementary school in Novi Becej, there was also an elementary school in Vranjevo. While the existence of the Novi Becej school is known since 1758, the exact start date of its operation is unclear. On the other hand, the first written record for the Vranjevo school dates back to 1768. It is certain that the school in Vranjevo started operating later than the one in Novi Becej, as Vranjevo began to be settled only in 1751 by the residents of the disarmed Potisje region (Old Becej residents), and by 1752, it already had 240 Serbian households.

Hospitality also represented a significant economic sector in Novi Bečej. In addition to about thirty tavern owners whose families depended on the income from this activity, there were also about twenty permanently employed workers (waiters, cooks, cleaners, etc.), and about twenty families had partial income from temporary employment in hospitality on Saturdays and Sundays. Approximately ten families of musicians also derived their livelihood from the earnings in hospitality, for whom music was the sole profession, and another thirty families considered music as a supplementary occupation or an additional source of income.

In Novi Bečej and Vranjevo, fairs were held twice a year, in March (spring fair) and September (autumn fair). Vranjevo fairs were particularly large and could last up to three days, unlike the shorter duration of the Novi Bečej fairs. The main fair involved the sale of various goods, attracting not only buyers and sellers but also those who came to the fair for entertainment or, as it is said today, to "have a good time." The first and second days were dedicated to livestock fairs, with the sale of horses and cattle on the first day in Vranjevo, and cows, calves, pigs, and lambs on the second day. The third day, as mentioned, was a general fair for all kinds of goods. In Novi Bečej, the livestock fair lasted only one day, the day before the general fair.

I will describe the entertainment and recreation of the agricultural population, as it represented around 70% of the total population of Novi Bečej and Vranjevo. For officials, merchants, and artisans, entertainment has already been described in earlier chapters: football, swimming and bathing in the Tisa River, evening outings to taverns, walks along the promenade and valleys, Sokol society, musical ensembles, amateur theater groups, and the like.

As mentioned in the previous chapter, the farmer, during the period we are recalling, performed more and harder tasks than today. Almost everything was done manually, or with the help of oxen and horses. Machines were still a rarity, such as those for sowing and harvesting wheat and planting corn. Threshing was done by machines, but it was still a laborious job. Tractors were a real rarity, with only 3-4 in Novi Bečej, and even fewer in Vranjevo. In Novi Bečej, only my father, Boško Mečkić, had one, and in Vranjevo, there were perhaps 2-3, owned by Gavra Vlaškalin, Milan Nešić, and Branko Bunjevački.

Craftsmanship, much like trade, was a companion to general economic development, evolving in line with other economic sectors. This doesn't mean that these areas didn't influence the development of other fields and branches, but their progress was primarily shaped by the population's demand for artisanal services. These needs could vary for different social strata. While the cubic part of the population contributed to increased trade and hospitality, its role in the development of craftsmanship was considerably more modest.