In this reference Hokey Pokey is not a dance but an iced milk dessert. It was invented after the Civil War and was a lot cheaper than ice cream. Sammy would make it in a zinc bucket and sell it by the scoop full on the square in Fairfield. Sellers would oftentimes recite nonsensical phrases like to following to get people to stop.
"Hokey-pokey, pokey ho. Hokey-pokey, a penny a lump. Hokey-pokey, find a cake; hokey-pokey on the lake. Here's the stuff to make your jump; hokey-pokey, penny a lump. Hokey-pokey, sweet and cold; for a penny, new or old."