They came back, and that was in 1973. Jumping a train is still a dangerous act of sometimes desperate athleticism. By the end of the 19th century, all that steam-engine tramping and rail riding and the romance of what lies past the horizon begins to appear as a subgenre of our national literature. Digital Dying examined a few examples.. T Bone Slim T bone was perhaps the twentieth centurys most famous hobo writer. "[2] Author Todd DePastino notes that some have said that it derives from the term "hoe-boy", coming from the hoe they are using and meaning "farmhand", or a greeting such as "Ho, boy", but that he does not find these to be convincing explanations. Livingston's Central American exploits include anecdotes about the working conditions in the British mahogany camps, his repeated (but failed) attempts to desert his employers and head home on their dime, feasting on "roasted baboon," and his near-fatal run-in with something he called Black Swamp Fever (which could be a reference to malaria). Some moniker writers have tagged train cars extensively; one who tagged under the name Bozo Texino during the 1970s and 80s estimated that in one year ("where I went overboard") he marked over 30,000 train cars. While drifters have always existed in human society, the term became common only after the broad adoption of railroads, a means of free travel for those willing, often out of financial constraints, to hop aboard train cars furtively in violation of the law. And one time my brother was out hitchhiking in California, and some tramps got a hold of him and told him ride the trains instead of hitchhiking, and so he rode trains. This page was last modified on 24 April 2021, at 21:09. Its given me something special in life. These time-tested popular names were taken from a universe that includes 177,238,032 male births and 172,053,794 female births. Theres the hobo played for laughs again in director Preston Sturges Sullivans Travels, and Gary Cooper in Frank Capras Meet John Doe, but the summit of the early Hollywood hobo form might be William Wellmans Wild Boys of the Road from 1933. And once every ten years or so, another writer hops a freight and writes a book about it. The National Hobo Cemetery in Britt, Iowa, contains the cremated remains of numerous tramps, but many of the most influential are not there, as they were identified and claimed by their families, and buried in plots close to their surviving relatives. No alcohol or drugs were involved in the creation of this list. According to etymologist Anatoly Liberman, the only certain detail about its origin is the word was first noticed in American English circa 1890. Squaw Edna The Stove-Pounder Crateneck Cassandra Lanky Beer K-Bar. Jeff MacGregor is the award-winning Writer-at-Large for Smithsonian. Eventually that mobile surplus labor force became less necessary to the national economy. WebThe Tramp clown is a distinctly American invention, although he is now popular in European circuses as well. Published in 1910nearly 30 years after he left homethis book includes tales of his early life as a hobo, including one globe-trotting adventure in his first year that found him working aboard a British trade ship that set off from New Orleans for Belize, where he jumped ship and began working for a mahogany camp. A triangle with hands, signifying that the homeowner has a gun. HIPPIE GIRL NAMES AND BOHO GIRL NAMES A Aelia Aelia is such a pretty Earthy girl name of Roman, Greek, and Latin origin meaning sunlight, sunshine or So more people can stay in Britt and know what a great stay it is. Im not attached to anything. There is nothing more disgusting than a man staggering home from work dog-tiredgrabbing a hasty feverish supper; saying good-night to his family and rolling into bed half-washed, to repeat the same thing three hundred and twelve times per-year In 1940, while living in New York City, T Bone slipped off the docks near where he was staying at a boardinghouse for seamen and drowned. Millie Opitz remembers hoboes coming to her neighborhood. From where do you derive your charisma? His given name is Leon Ray Livingstonand he was born in 1872 and he was a lifelong wanderer. As often as not, hes up there with the younger bos, the newer riders, answering questions and giving tips. Van Ronk, Dave. The lights on the rides are coming on, and the last thing I see on the midway is a happy kid, maybe 9 years old, running past us with a souvenir dreamcatcher as big as a manhole cover. Today, the brand is amongst the most recognisable luxury brands worldwide. Everything Ive owned, and everything I want in life, fits in this house [points to his knapsack], right in my pack. Steamtrain Maury Graham, Feather River John, Fry Pan Jack, Lord Open Road, Mountain Dew and scores of others are honored among genuine tramps, but unknown to the general public, and also unknown to the vast majority of the clueless young punks of today. According to Livingston, he was born in August 1872 into a family from San Francisco that he described as "well-to-do," but at age 11, misbehavior at school led him down a different path in life. You aint free until your backpacks full and your pockets are empty, he says. 9. An ethical code was created by Tourist Union #63 (a hobo union created in the mid-1800s to dodge anti-vagrancy laws, which did not apply to union members)[30] during its 1889 National Hobo Convention:[31], There are numerous hobo conventions throughout the United States each year. British poet W. H. Davies, author of The Autobiography of a Super-Tramp, lost a foot when he fell under the wheels when trying to jump aboard a train. Hoboes were noted for, among other things, the distinctive lingo that arose among them. Oats. Don't take advantage of someone who is in a vulnerable situation, locals or other hoboes. Because here we are. | He was riding the rails, and stowing away on ships starting at the age of 11 and then he began to write about his journeys. Start Saturday in the little park by the gazebo, but start earlythe big pots of mulligan stew went on the boil long before sunrise. I was in. I started painting them, and I painted six the first year, eight the second year. Cleats Onionpocket Balloonpopper Chillingsworth Saves-Receipts Dave Canadian Football Pete They hold each other a long time. He ran for U.S. Senate in Utah as a candidate with the Peace and Freedom Party and ran for president of the United States in 1976 as a candidate with the Do-Nothing Party. (You see this in how those well-meaning SDSU students costume themselves. Then the dark horse, the Dutchman, who no one gives much of a chance. Along with Luna and Iris, Boho girl names ranking among the US Top 1000 include Hazel, Clementine, and Ophelia. In 1905, according to Bruns, a hobo-by-choice named James Eads How established another hobo organization called the International Brotherhood Welfare His later years were spent working various jobsincluding at electric and steel companies around Erie, though one source places him in real estate. By then there was plenty of social science writing about hobos too, the most famous being The Hobo: The Sociology of the Homeless Man by Nels Anderson, 1923. And promptly the hobo to whom I gave the information lit out after his pal. They have to take you in. Theres only what you carry on your back. Everything he owns fits in a knapsack. Some conventions are part of railroad conventions or "railroad days"; others quasi-private affairs hosted by long-time hoboes; still others surreptitious affairs on private land, as in abandoned quarries along major rivers. Livingston's fame has waned significantly since the first quarter of the 20th century. "Dale Wasserman, 94; Playwright Created 'Man of La Mancha, Hobo Bill's Last Ride by Jimmie Rodgers (1929), Waiting for a Train by Jimmie Rodgers (1928), hop aboard train cars furtively in violation of the law, "A New Look at the Folk Speech of American Tramps", "#TBT - Hobos, Bums, Tramps: How Our Terminology of Homeless Has Changed", "Still Riding the Rails: Life as a Modern Hobo", "QR Code Stencil Generator and QR Hobo Codes", "National Cryptological Museum Virtual Tour", "The Great Depression The Story of 250,000 Teenagers Who Left Home and Ride the Rails", "Maurice W Graham 'Steam Train', Grand Patriarch of America's Hobos who has died aged 89", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hobo&oldid=1141144744, All Wikipedia articles written in American English, Wikipedia articles needing page number citations from March 2020, Articles with unsourced statements from September 2015, Articles with unsourced statements from October 2014, Articles with unsourced statements from February 2019, Articles with unsourced statements from February 2022, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, a train line rendered useless by some hobo's bad action or crime, a person who sticks to one job a year or more, a collection of belongings wrapped in cloth and tied around a stick, the common way one hobo referred to another: "I met that 'bo on the way to Bangor last spring. He looks a little like Tuck, especially around the eyes, about the same age, but rounder, without the hollows in his cheeks. He then finished, saying this "pitiful existence" would likely end with any would-be tramp in a "pauper's grave." Anyway, given that he is the writer of an almanac of COMPLETE WORLD KNOWLEDGE, I suppose he already knows of these hobo names, as well as many more that will never be published. 2. Leon Ray Livingston (aka A-No.1) (18721944) was the most notable rambler of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, taking to the trains and roaming some 500,000 miles world-wide over a span of 25 years. A surge of young men after World War I, another in the Great Depression. Because every hobo has a story and a dream. We used to watch guys get on and off the trains all the time, so we kind of knew how it all worked. His given name is Leon Ray Livingstonand he was born in 1872 and he was a lifelong wanderer. His work later inspired the American surrealist movement as well as the Civil Rights Movement. A tramp never works if it can be avoided; he simply travels. Ishtar (Arabic origin) means Goddess of love. 1994, 1997, 2000. They were regional. Most your riders today who rip miles travel solo and work whatever jobs they can find. Not every person out there riding now is a Dirty Kid traveling in a punk vest, dreadlocks, face tattoos and shitty stick and poke tats all over their body. Other Great Reads: Dealing with grief after an accidental [22] Displays on hobo signs have been exhibited in the Steamtown National Historic Site at Scranton, Pennsylvania, operated by the National Park Service, and in the National Cryptologic Museum in Annapolis Junction, Maryland,[23][24] and Webster's Third New International Dictionary supplies a listing of hobo signs under the entry for "hobo".[25]. The railroads change all that. Its a baggy-pants vaudeville with a five oclock greasepaint shadow.) There were several movies as well, but the TV show is where Lassie found her fame. My dad Connecticut Slim was crown prince of the Hobos for life. They may simply have been invented early on by a writer or writers seeking to add to the folklore surrounding hoboes soon after they acquired the name, an invention perpetuated and embellished by others over the years, aided occasionally by amenable hoboes themselves. We got down there, and were like, Were 60 miles from home, how are we going to get back?, Maybe half an hour later, there was a train going the other way, rolling real slow. Its radical labor politics and spirit are then widely and passionately distributed by rail, by hobos coming and going around the country, like an injection into the national bloodstream. Not that sun, not the moon, not the stars. 2. That impulse travels all the way up the line to Jack Kerouac and the Beats. So monikers it is. The country is growing in booms and busts, and transient work like lumbering and mining and seasonal fruit picking are moving west into parts of the country without much population, so the hobo follows. Some hobos have both last names and occupations, as well as titles. WebWho was the most famous hobo? Everyone in town is either in the parade or watching the parade, or in it then watching it, or watching it then running around to get back in it. Why? Theres always coffee, too, and he makes sure everyone drinks a lot of water, Gotta hydrate, man. Everyone drops what they can in the kitty to pay for it all. The number of hoboes increased greatly during the Great Depression era of the 1930s. Our kids grew up here and theyve been in the hobo jungles all the years. There are scores of old cars and trucks, vintage and not, some of them carrying politicians, like the mayor, others carrying signs for politicians, Vote for Schleusner for Supervisor, and one carrying a cardboard cutout of the pope. I have not been the same since. It is most famous for its distinctive beige camel check pattern. Hobos came and went on the huge historic construction and infrastructure projects of the American West, and ridership rose and fell with the national economy. Drifters, bums, tramps and the like are often buried in potters fields without anyone taking notice, but several American hobos have earned great fame and even inspired books and movies that glamorize their lives, and deaths. [Title] [First Name] ["Nickname"] [Last Name], [Occupation]. Some examples follow: Many hobo terms have become part of common language, such as "big house", "glad rags", "main drag", and others. A horizontal zigzag signifying a barking dog. If the farmer was generous, the hobo would mark the lane so that later hoboes would know this was a good place to beg. Its easy to feel like the hobo has already passed into history. Web6. It was easy to be trapped between cars, and one could freeze to death in cold weather. This has changed dramatically, and I think largely because of the weird appearance and bizarre anti-social attitudes of the young, punk-rock, Flintstone Kid riders. The Spooky hobo occupation "the Guy With Little Mouths Where His Eyes Should Be" refers to the character, The Hot hobo occupation "Who Is Hot Because He's Fly" refers to, The Hot hobo occupation "Who Is Hot, Hot, So Hot, Sticky Sweet" refers to. The American brand is known for its 90s grunge style and references to pop culture, like Charlie Brown. So, I think thats about all I need to say. He was riding the rails, and stowing away on ships starting at the age of 11 and then he began to write about his journeys. While he stayed relatively put in his later years, Livingston did travel the lecture circuit to speak out against the lifestyle that defined him. Hop a train to Iowa, where proud vagabonds gather every summer to crown the new king and queen of the rails, By Jeff MacGregor; Photographs by Alyssa Schukar. Now its the Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad. And so my older brother.There was 11 of us gone out of St. In the years since, hundreds of other books and studies and dissertations have drawn on its initial research. It was after his return trip to America that Livingston was christened with the nickname that would help him become something bigger than a lowly transient: A-No. The little park is packed shoulder to shoulder. I was out front of the fire station for most of it, and caught licorice whips and bits and pieces of conversations as they went past. Its a pre-Halloween chance for the kidsand some of the quicker adultsto load up on sweets. 7. Cautiously, he steps forward. I cant have it. It all gets left behind. Your poke is your wallet. Because every hobo has a story and a dream.. They even took me on my first ride, all the way to Long Island, New York. Not every hobo wants to share his or her real name with the straights and the Square Johns, of which, with my notebook and recorder and wingtip shoes, I am decidedly one. WebThe Tramp clown is a distinctly American invention, although he is now popular in European circuses as well. Black Pearl (English origin) from the movie Pirates Of The Caribbean, one of the most famous names for a boat. To the amateur hobo-spotter, these names can seem to follow no rhyme nor reason; however, years of research and in-depth examination of hobokind have uncovered the closely-guarded secret method of hobo naming. Over at the Hobo Art Gallery, theyve unveiled the portrait of Tuck and Minnesota Jewel, last years king and queen. Jack London, in recounting his hobo days, wrote, Water-tanks are tramp directories. All credit goes to John Hodgmans musical reading of 700 Do not allow yourself to become a stupid drunk and set a bad example for locals' treatment of other hoboes. The hobo. "Bagdad, Hobo Detective," featured in the, Many animated cartoons depict hoboes as main or secondary characters, hobo-related activities such as traveling by train, with a, "Hobo's Meditation" by Jimmie Rodgers, recorded by, "Way Out There" by Bob Nolan, recorded by the Sons of the Pioneers, Johnson, L. Anderson. They felt we were down on our luck (which was true.) The Hot hobo title "Burninatin'" is another Homestar Runner reference, in this case to the character of Trogdor the Burninator. First, Id like to say to the good people of Britt I surely appreciate your hospitality, and the real fine sit-down youve put on. Sixty now, hes been on the road 50 years. Leon Ray Livingston Houston, Texas, U.S. Leon Ray Livingston (18721944) was a famous hobo and author, travelling under the name A-No. [11] With no work and no prospects at home, many decided to travel for free by freight train and try their luck elsewhere. Catching out means hopping the train. In 1914, Livingston married a woman named Mary Trohoske (sometimes spelled Trohoski), and he settled downas best a tramp couldin a house in Erie, Pennsylvania. This difficulty has not kept hoboes themselves from attempting the exercise. Born Matti Valentinpoika Huhta in 1880 to Finnish immigrant parents, he Every homeless, muttering, and slightly creepy denizen of Hobopolis has his own moniker, a name as irrational and bizarre as the hobo himself. Some claim that he continued his traveling ways toward the end, dying in a train wreck in Houston, Texas, in 1944, but this is likely confusion with a 1912 wreck that killed one of his impersonators. With no more troops or supplies to move after the end of the Civil War, the country's railroads became home to another armythat of the hobos. There's a kind of late summer Midwestern sunset, maybe youve seen one, so beautiful and so strange its dislocating. [12] Moreover, riding on a freight train is dangerous in itself. T Bone Slim T bone was perhaps the twentieth centurys most famous hobo writer. Who was a No 1? You get yourselves out there, and its cold, wet, and the steel is hard. Especially the older hoppers. He was always in dutch back then, and the name stuck. Just like most societies and But for a man who lived to mythologize his own story, a little ambiguity about his end is only fitting. Rum Name me 2 famous female generals, 3 famous A few vacant storefronts. He said, You need to choose a good topic. And I chose hobos, and I said, Because I grew up with it. Gypsy Moon. Enter it here to subscribe to Famous Hobos and receive notifications of new posts by email. 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