Hobos: "House-less Not Homeless"

Train, road, and silo in Kansas

Britt, Iowa hosts the Hobo Convention every summer. The town has been doing this for 112 years. The most recent was earlier this month.

According to Britt's Hobo Convention web page:

Ask a veteran hobo at a convention jungle what a hobo is and you'll receive a definite answer. 

The hobo is a migratory worker, some with a special skill or trade, others ready to work at any task, but always willing to work to make his way.

The tramp, they'll tell you, is a traveling non-worker, moving from town to town, but never willing to work for the handouts that he begs for. 

A bum is the lowest class, too lazy to roam around and never works.

Awhile back, I introduced two of my great-uncles, Philip and Toby, who were part-time hobos during the Great Depression, riding the rails in search of work.

Train going through New Haven, Missouri

Matt Stopera over at Buzzfeed, wrote this article recently, based on his experience at the 2012 Hobo Convention: 61 Things I Learned at the National Hobo Convention.

Holly Dorhn's dad started riding the rails as a hobby in 2003.  She tells the story here.

"Northbank Fred" offers a rich stockpile of articles about current hobos or offshoots here.

I wonder if Glenn Campbell considers himself a hobo. He does call himself "homeless by choice."

Robert Heinlein wrote Day After Tomorrow, which featured hobos and the hobo jungles. It was about a small group of scientists tasked with taking the U.S. back from "Pan-Asian" invaders (read: Chinese) invaders. One of the characters, Jeff, a well-educated guy who lived the hobo life before the Chinese took over, used the hobo network for his revolutionary activities.

As for me, I'm not a hobo. I am rootless. I'm neither house-less nor homeless, but I don't have my house or my home.

Philip and Toby Stories: Part 3: Ridin' the Rails

Philip and Toby were my esteemed great-uncles, known in the family for their story-telling and singing. They were young men during the Great Depression. They often took to the road in search of work or adventure ... not so different for those of us teaching English in Georgia today. 

This is one of Toby's adventures.

1930: RIDIN' THE RAILS TO CALIFORNIA

Part 3

Go here for Part 1.  

Go here for Part 2.

When we got to El Paso, we went to the jungle, got something to eat, shaved, cleaned up the best we could, slept for a couple of hours and then went to town to try to get a decent meal. We did manage to get some bread and bologna and went back to the jungle. We had a can of coffee (that's what they used for cups). We had talked to so many people about work and knew it was hopeless. The cattle ranchers were laying off there  hands and there was no work in the towns. 

Everyone was talking about going to California, so we decided that's where we would go. Mama was there, so at last I had a destination.

George and I picked a freight we thought was headed west and tried to hop aboard. George caught it. I did, too, but fell off. George didn't know I fell off and kept going. (I saw him six months later and he said he ended up in Mexico.)

I waited and caught a train later in the day. I felt awful alone without George, but soon made friends with some more 'bos and didn't miss him too much.

I finally was on the last leg to Los Angeles and was sound asleep when I was awakened by a railroad bull. He hit the bottom of my foot with his stick. A terrible blow, I felt it all the way to the top of my head. He told me to get up and out. I did. There were six or eight bulls out on the track. They had about forty men all lined up. They said, "Put your hands over your head." I did. They frisked me and said, "Put your hands down." I did. The next thing, we were led to a stake body truck and told to get aboard. We did.

Next we were finger-printed, had our picture taken, and name, etc. Then we were taken before a judge.  He tried us at once and sentenced us to three days for vagrancy. He said if anyone wanted to enter a plea to step forward. No one did. The jail was clean, the bunks clean, and the food good. I slept the whole three days, only getting up to eat. The jailer said it took three days to see if we were wanted in any other state.

I had rested up pretty good and bathed, washed my clothes and when I left, I headed for Oakland, where Mama had a motel.  I took the highway and caught rides and two days later was knocking on her door. ... 

... I saw Tom O* while there . He tried his best to get me to go to Hollywood and try for the movies. I thought he was crazy, and still do on that score, but sometimes I wish I had. I would have tried for Westerns. I could ride and shoot good, but nothing else.

After about a month of nothing to do there, and I had a girl at home, Olivia, I was ready to leave. Ceil [sister] had been ready ever since she got there .... the car was loaded down with things Mama wanted to send home. So with a happy heart, we were headed home.  



Notes:

I extracted some non-travel-related family bits from the last three paragraphs of Toby's story. I also omitted Tom's surname. Other than that, the only changes I've made to Toby's narrative relate to punctuation.

Go here for an article on "ridin' the rails" during the Great Depression, including an audio from a former hobo

Go here to watch a PBS documentary on "riding the rails" during the Depression. It's part of the American Experience series.  


 

Philip and Toby Stories: Part 2: Ridin' the Rails

Philip and Toby were my esteemed great-uncles, known in the family for their story-telling and singing. They were young men during the Great Depression. They often took to the road in search of work or adventure ... not so different for those of us teaching English in Georgia today. 

This is one of Toby's adventures. With the exception of minor punctuation revisions, no changes were made to his written narrative.   

1930: RIDIN' THE RAILS TO CALIFORNIA

Part 2

Go here for Part 1. 

There was a water tank in the town (I don’t remember the name); and wherever there is a water tank in Texas, there is a jungle, hobo jungle that is. A ‘bo always heads for the jungle! This one had stew cooking twenty-four hours a day. You had to contribute something to the stew and you could have all you wanted. Some begged or stole a hen, some potatoes, some canned corn or tomatoes. Me and George brought a large can of tomatoes. A housewife would always give you a half loaf of bread or biscuits left from breakfast. Most of the people I begged from were hungry themselves, but they would always find something, if only a few stale biscuits. They were never too stale to taste good! 

There was a woman in this jungle who looked like she'd seen better days. Some of the 'bos talked ugly to her, but one man kept them from going too far. Most of them ignored the whole thing and George and I did, too. If it came down to a fight, I would have gotten into it, but I didn't want to. She was still there when we left. 

We caught a train for El Paso and were about about two hours when the train went on a side track. While there, I went to a ranch house about two miles away. I didn't care if I missed the train or not. I was so tired and hungry, anything would be an improvement, or so I thought.  

When I got about a quarter of a mile from the ranch building, two dogs, big ones, came out and dared me to take another step.  I turned around and headed back for the train. It was still there, and it was still there three or four hours later.  

Several freights went by, and then a passenger train, then we left once more for El Paso. It was so hot and dry, I thought if I ever got out of the desert, I would never go near it again. 

We stopped many times before we got to El Paso; sometimes in a town; sometimes on a side track with nothing in sight. When in town, we always got something to eat, not much though. When I left home, I was thin, but by this time I was skin and bones.

To be continued ....

Go here for Part 1.
Go here for Part 3.

Philip and Toby Stories: Part 1: Ridin' the Rails

Philip and Toby were my esteemed great-uncles, known in the family for their story-telling and singing. They were young men during the Great Depression. They often took to the road in search of work or adventure ... not so different for those of us teaching English in Georgia today. 

This is one of Toby's adventures. With the exception of minor punctuation revisions, no changes were made to his written narrative.  

1930: RIDIN' THE RAILS TO CALIFORNIA

Part 1

During the Depression in 1930, a neighbor boy, the same age as myself, told me about a trip he had made to Texas on a freight train. It sounded like real fun and interesting. At the time, I never had anything to do and there were no jobs to be had, even if you worked for just room and board. I had always dreamed of being a Texas cowboy and thought this is a good chance to try.

George (that was the boy's name) was ready to go again. So was I. I went into the house and told my brother Phil and my Pop good-bye. I rolled up a pair of socks, undershirt, and pants, a pair of dungarees and a shirt, and was on my way thirty minutes after I decided to go.

We went to Long Beach [Mississippi] to catch a freight. There was a filling station across the depot. At one time it had been a blacksmith shop. It was a gathering place for the men and boys of Long Beach to meet and talk about Hoover, the unemployment situation, weather, crops, and whatever the local gossip was at the time. Well, George and I joined them, told them our plans, and the word spread, because when we did catch a freight out of Long Beach, I think all the male population was there to tell us good-bye and wish us well. We could see them waving to us as long as they were in sight.

George knew how to bum food and I soon learned. Almost anyone would give you a nickel for a cup of coffee and doughnuts. If you looked hungry and the owner was the cook and waiter at the restaurant, he may give you a hamburger with it.

We made it to San Antonio without too much trouble. Most of the time we had no idea where we were. We just caught anything going west. Out of San Antonio, we caught one going southwest. It seemed like a good one. As soon as we settled in a cattle car, we went to sleep. It was deep in straw. None too clean, nevertheless, sleep was one thing that was hard to get. When we awoke, we found that we were on a side track near a loading chute for cattle. We must have been there for at least eight hours. We were only about fifty miles out of San Antonio and it was night (it was morning when we left). Time meant nothing to us; we ate when we could, slept when we could, and rode freights when we could. 

We stayed in the car all night. The next morning we were starved and thirsty. We stayed there all day. We were hoping some cowboys would come with a herd as that would mean a freight would have to stop and pick up the cattle car.

None came, but that night a freight did stop and it picked up the empty car. We had been without food and water for at least thirty-six hours and the first town we came to, we got off. The train didn't stop, but it slowed up.

We had about $2.00 between us and ran to a restaurant and had bacon and eggs, coffee, and lots of water.  I believe it cost about a dollar. While there, we asked about work and were told there was none. The people were leaving there, going to California.

To be continued ...

Go here for Part 2.
Go here for Part 3.