Thanks so much for watching! Please leave me a thumbs up and a comment in the section below. Make sure and check out our website at www.waypointsurvival.com where you can sign up for classes and check out the required gear list!
In my personal collection I have one of those blue one dollar silver certificates, and a "red" five dollar bill and I think the reds were replacements for screwed up regular bills.
here is a question. how did hobos survive wild animals (bears, wolves etc) when they were camping in the woods? Interesting you mentioned in your winter video of wealthy men that went hoboing for fun. Would like to know some names.
Great video there 2 thing i know you left out of the kit an idk why bible for reading an a alcohol rubbing or proof but they carried booth for cleaning fire starting an something to do before bed or after you get up widdling gets old fast an theres only so meny branch bears or dogs you could do. im also in southern Ohio well Hamilton 🙏 an good day.
True wild animal stay away from man as animals aren't sure if they are faster or stronger. Fire and smoke scares them off. Hobos would gather in groups "jungles" like they do in the "tent cities" of today. A "kick" for a while was riding a freight train with young wealthier ( not necessarily rich ) men. You can Google the subject or see UA-cam videos. Most of the videos you'll see are definitely not poor folks looking for work. Also some very famous people rode freight trains starting out in their lives. Jack London, writer. Clark Gable, actor. Jake Erlickman, a great lawyer and author.
My Canadian Grandparents were a surgeon-nurse couple that ran a practice out of their home, 100 miles from any other town. They kept an unlocked screened porch with a cot in it. There was always a wash basin, wax paper wrapped sandwiches, pickles and a milk bottle in there. Some days the food would just be gone. Some days men would offer to do jobs as repayment. It was the depression, and it was just understood that people needed to keep their pride. And everyone was expected to chip in as they could. Compassion and trust was as common as suspicion and fear is today.
My great grandfather was a commercial fisherman on the West coast of Canada. He was reputed to keep imaculate accounts and ledgers. Back in those days, he or his wife or son (my grandfather) delivered fish orders door to door. When the depression hit, many folk couldn't pay, but they always delivered the fish anyway. Those ledgers stayed accurate, gotta keep accounts, and apparently every single fish was eventually payed for, some of them years later. No reminders, no statements, no invoices. People certainly did have their pride, but they also had incredibly strong moral convictions.
My mother often fed the hobos traveling through..mainly beans and tortillas but they were grateful for it. My dad acted angry but was secretly proud of my mom’s generosity. I miss them both.❤ Thank you for your videos !
Your mom and dad were kind and had good hearts! They helped many men who were desperately poor and hungry. You are -- and should be! -- very proud of them!
Great video. My grandfather was born in 1910. Based on your definition of a hobo I just now realized that grandpa was a hobo for a time. He had been on his own since he was 9 years old and he told me some of the stories of what he went through. Grandpa told me that a man should always carry with him a few of the things on your list although he never tied it into the hobo lifestyle. I recall a time when I was a kid when we camped at a ranch in west Texas. While my cousins and I we were all getting our fishing gear together he wandered down to the river on his own. Before we could get there he had landed a large bass. Apparently he already had the hook, cork, and line and just used a stick he found along the way. Thanks for reminding me of so many great memories. He passed away in his 90's but I think about him just about every day.
Grandparents are wonderful if you get good ones. I hit the jackpot with my maternal grandparents. They would do anything for their grandchildren. They always treated us well but if we were working they would treat us like royalty. They taught us a lot about life and about having integrity. My grandfather was born in 1899 and my grandmother was born in 1903. They were the salt of the earth. I miss them and think about them and the things they taught me all the time.
Yeah man both of my grandfathers and my great grandfather were hobos and horse theifs. My grandfathers great grandfather (i think it is) founded a town called Seattle too, after the Civil war. Great gramps had money too, he just loved the free lifestyle of being a hobo, he loved riding the train, especially the smoking coach, even though he didn't smoke anymore. It brought back memories of his youth the most. I'm a millenial but I've got the same itch to travel free. I used to hitch hike often for long trips. I put on a college shirt in the direction I'm headed so peiple think I'm a college kid. It still works and I'm in my 30s. The people that pick up hitch hikers are all old enough to have hitch hiked, so late 50s or so minimum. If I told em I was 16 they'd believe me lol. On average I wait only 5 minutes. That's down to the college shirts and looking young to some extent. But you gotta have a destination in mind or people are suspicious. Use a sign, hitch to a college town if you can pull it off. Let it be on your bucket list.
Forty years ago I was a Marine Corps infantryman. I could not help but draw parallels to this video and my military service. Sewing kit, canteen cup. Life achieves a certain simplicity when you're sleeping on the ground.
About 10 years ago I also was a Marine Corp infantryman and I will tell you that nothing has changed. We still get issued the sewing kit, canteen cup, ect...We always joked about how we would make the perfect homeless people.
Thank you for your service! I gave up all my fancy worldly possessions and live out of an RV and work for myself simple things make you appreciate life more!
My grandpa was a 1930s hobo. Born in 1921, he left home as a young teen to find work. His parents couldn't feed him, and the only shelter the family had was an old chicken coop. So he hopped trains from Kansas out to the West coast, and worked in fields and orchards harvesting produce. He hated when people conflated hobos with bums! I wish I had asked him more about what it was like for him before he died.
My uncle was born in 1909 and hit the hobo circuit after the stock market crash at the age of 20. He was 4F for WWII, finally found steady work after the end of the war. To clarify, he wanted to join the military much earlier, but emphasema kept him out. Smoked and used chewing tobacco when using his oxygen and lived to be almost 90. Married a Mexican gal 30+ years his junior and went down there to live the life on his social security. He always had a smile on his face and enjoyed life as it was.
@WayPointSurvival Hey I was wondering why it's called a roadstake and why nothing shows up when I search for one. What would I search to find one that is very similar to yours?
My great grandfather was a chemist through the depression, and my grandfather recounted many times he would tip folks a "life changing amount" during the depression if they were working hard with kids to feed and an "awfully generous amount" to those without kids. My great grandmother made sandwiches, pies, and tea for hobos that would stay near them and they would employ folks temporarily from time to time to help out with the day-to-day. They didn't thrive in that time, though to most it seemed like thriving, though they gained a lot of good will and felt it was one of the best times for them as they could help others the most. Great grandfather lived to 88, his wife to 99, and my grandfather made it to 92. Thank you and to all who share these stories and history. Even during tough times, it gives me hope that I'll get to meet someone like my ancestors along the way.
My mother's brother Frankie, was a HoBo after he was throne out of his parents house at the age of 14, because he had joined "The bottle gang". He was one of five brothers and two baby sisters (My Mom being one of the sisters). He got Tuberculosis when he was about 20 years old. He traveled the country riding the rails and occasionally stopping in at TB hospitals in various parts of the country. He was very handsome, as were his brothers and could coax TB nurses to smuggle whiskey to him when he was in a hospital; He visited my mom several times when I was in grade school. He always waited til my dad wasn't home before he visited..My Mom would give him a meal and some money. Once, he visited on Christmas Eve, while my Dad was out. He wore a hat with the brim turned down front and back. He wore a suit with but no shirt. He had newspaper under the coat to keep the cold out and no sox! My Mom let him bathe and gave him a shirt and sox and a topcoat that my Dad seldom wore and twenty dollars. A few days later, my Mom got a telegram from New York City. He wrote that he had sold his new clothes for whiskey. He lived to be 70 years old. We all have our own separate paths in life. Just say'n.
Here in the UK our grandfather was a 'jobbing' bricklayer who traveled around in the post WW1 era after being discharged from the Army. Not only did he 'bunk' onto freight trains he also hitch hiked, got lifts from lorries (trucks), cars, on canal boats, motorbikes and steam engines. He eventually ended up stowing away on a cross channel ferry to France, where he served for 3 years during 'The war to end all wars' ending up helping to build war memorials to his comrades in arms, turns out the best employer was the C.W.G.C. (Commonwealth war grave commission) and he came back a reasonably wealthy man. Any way long story short, aside from his sturdy whacking walking stick, water bottle, waxed cotton/canvas poncho, army back pack with his basic brick laying tools, pocket knife, tobacco & matches/lighter, eating utensils, tin cup sugar and tea his most important items were. A money belt, decoy purse with a few pennies in it and the most important of all a moral boosting hip flask with a shot or two of whiskey or brandy;-) PS. There were many rumors and tales in the family about his 'adventures' and to this day we are convinced there is a branch of our clan that no one can trace in Northern France and Belgium. Makes you think how far afield these US hobos spread their seed!!!
My Great grandfather Papa Raines headed for Cherbourg post war for their ship. They arrived early but the ship had sailed and they all spent an extra year in France. Ex soldiers were not welcome. A farmer tried to pitch fork them before dawn the first day, they liberated some vegetables from gardens and rode the rails. It was a tough year
Interesting.. moving for work.. particularly agrecultire was common into 1960s Hampshire . Living under benders.. canvas spread over bent saplings .. forestry seasonal work.. Victor comic depicted Alf Tupper living in packing crate .. working as engineer... caravans for shifting manual labour .. It's how society ..mankind evolved.. A lifetime of debt buying a house in areas without work totally reliant on cars to support 2 incomes needed to pay for house for 30 years.. childcare.. How sustainable .. Q who wants to work till 70?
@@dannynye1731.. wonderful name ,"Papa".. was this WW1.. This type of life still exists.. casual work .. living in van or boat. Low costs.. part time work .. casual work.. hugely prolific After WW1 in eastern Europe ..grain basket.. Papa had true street cred
My wife’s Grandparents owned a home on a dead end street where the railroad tracks went through Erie, Pennsylvania. There was a X on the outside blocks of their basement to tell the men riding the rails that a meal could be found there. Last time i was at this house you could still see it, that was 25 years ago.
My dad was a hobo in the 30's . He carried a small pistol. Told me it saved his life in a boxcar one night.He went on to be a M/SGT in the Army Airforce WW2
@@donhuber9131 Absolutely. I read this book numerous times. Very typical of hobo life. However that pair he hung around with were heavy boozers and I avoided those kinds as it often lead to trouble. Like falling under a train because you're too drunk to even think about catching a train.
@@r.shanethompson7933 that's completely false and literally is the precursor for a murder conviction when you use your weapon and it's determined by the law that you didn't need it. You make some stupid statement as if nobody ever fired a gun at another person, wrongly thinking they were justified to do so. Perhaps you should think your hillybilly colloquialisms out before you recite them like a pavlovian dog
Yeah, my uncle who was a 101st airborne trooper, always carried a silver dollar, he'd never spend! He'd say, "I went hungry, but always had that dollar!" If totally broke, arrested for vagrancy, you could be on a chain-gang: for years: peonage, also called debt slavery or debt servitude!
Was homeless from 2007 and been off hlthe streets for over 6 years now. Those times on the streets were Educational. Learned how to survive when you have absolutely nothing. If your in a urban environment or somewhere with industrially box is a life saver in extreme cold. Been in a situation as to were it was below freezing in wichita ks, I could died but I had a old timer teach me a trick. Dig in the trash and find a box big enough to fit in and look for plastic bags, put the box inside the bag and crawl on in. Don't put the bag inside with the box as when you breath it will condense on the bag and drip on ya.
Red Army soldiers survived Nothern winters with a single candle or wicked fat between the feet and a tarp or poncho wrapped around the entire body. Warms up quick and remarkably effective.
Love the fact that you pulled out silver coins :) I once pointed to a Hobo and said to my friend "look at that bum" and my friend replied "no that's a Hobo", " you and I are bums"
50 of 74 years a hobo. Really did your research on this. Great job. Some hobos I knew always went 'streamlined" They really knew the rails and what was waiting in almost any town. So minimum carry. Often wore two sets of clothes. Removed the outer layer when they hopped off. You get dirty riding freight trains and you would be fairly clean heading into a town. Plus you had more pockets to hold stuff. Always a pocket knife. Matches were usually in a 35 mm film canister along with part of a match box striker. A sewing kit, couple of needles, a small spool of thread and a thimble also in a 35 mm canister. I was advise the best way to carry money ( bills ) was in a Bull Durham tobacco bag in your skivies. A Prince Albert tobacco tin was a good place to put items also. Like instant coffee, or money, or whatever. A little fishing line with a bottle cork and a fish hook. Spoon always. A bandana with a hotel size soap bar. It was mostly up to the hobo's personal taste. I would get extra condiments packets from fast food joints when I had the money for a dollar meal.
My father told me about hopping a freight with his brothers in the 1930s he said there were about 200 hobos hanging on the train and the railway workers were afraid to try and toss them off. When they got to town everyone was pretty dirty from the smoke, he and my uncles headed for the river to clean up before going into town. When they actually hit the streets the railway police and local cops were busy picking off anyone looking grimy enough to have been on the train. They just strolled down to the bar and watched the fun.
@@primesspct250 of 74 years a hobo. It was the lesser of two evils. Stay at home and get beaten or leave. I grabbed a slow moving freight train at 15. Never looked back. Was lucky that the old time decent hobos looked after a green young kid and showed me the ropes. Got so good at doing it saw no reason to stop. A roller coaster ride with 3 lifetimes worth of adventure. My leg got so bad at 65 I could barely get on a stopped train. So at 66 stayed put and started drawing Social Security else I still would be doing it.
Personal experience from ridin' the rails: A buddy and I spent some time the summer after highschool (1972) hitchhiking and hopping on freights. We used a really successful method of carrying stuff, but yet had hands free to safely jump on and off of trains. We carried a lot of the same nature of things you mention in your videos. First aid, small tools, scout canteens, etc. One thing we had that hobos didn't was some travelers'checks. We had army surplus wool blankets sewn into sleeping sacks. Here's how we carried our inventory of things for the road; bib overalls over our shirts and jeans. No shortage of pockets at all. When boarding and disembarking from trains we shoved the folded blankets down the backs of the overalls. The canteen could tuck in behind the bib to stop something loose from swinging in the way. When walking or hitching the overalls got the legs tied together and the straps became the shoulder sling for the makeshift bags. This was a great tried and tested method of traveling light.
My mom told me that my grandmother used to generously give food in the 30's to hobos who knocked on the door. I loved my grandmother dearly, but as she came from a rather snobby upper middle class background it made her generosity more notable.
One Sunday morning in the early 1960's my family was its way to church when we drove past an old man with his mule walking down the road. The mule was carrying a large pack with a large pot and kerosine lantern tied to its side. Marveling at the sight, my dad told us that this man was a "hobo" and that he hadn't seen a hobo in a long time. I suppose that hobo's might still have been around the more rural areas of the country in the early 1960's, but this was on US 130 in Pennsauken NJ. South Jersey was a much different place than it is now, but still....
Very interesting video. My grandpa was a Red River Valley farmer in SE North Dakota. He did custom threshing. He hired a lot of hobos on his threshing crew. Several came back every year in the 20s and 30s. They stayed in a bunk house and ate in the cook car. My mom said at night they would have a campfire. She heard a lot of stories and songs. She would sing the songs to us when we were traveling to keep us from fighting in the back seat. Cowboy Jack, Hobo Bill, Waiting for a train among others. My dad and grandpa were both Railroad men. Dad was a signal maintainer on the Great Northern and Grandpa was a brakeman and oiler.
An actual hobo here; good boots, long coat, 65l back pack, sleeping bag, knife, a few lighters, rope, tarp, headlamp, stainless steel pot. #1 is a large metal drinking container.
I rode trains for six years in the modern era. Ridden freight all over the United States and have ridden every Major UP and BNSF line as well as a majority of CSX and several short line regional railroads. The bag on a stick you’re referring to is called a bindle. Modern hobos tend to opt for Military surplus gear or more expensive hiking packs if they’re available. Trying to keep a minimalist approach while balancing carrying enough food for your dog, ammunition for whatever pistol you’re carrying, food for yourself and water for you and your dog on top of whatever other amenities you might want can become challenging but it’s possible. The most essential piece of gear to train riding is a military modular sleeping bag system with a good goretex bivy sack to keep you warm and dry in any conditions. I’ve dug into a hole in snow for insulation with my bivy. A bandana is still essential gear, but it’s always worn around the neck and in modern vernacular is called a skink. Some people try to stick to certain hobo traditions but modern train riders or more often tramps or “murder hobos”.
My Canadian Grandma and some of her neighbours used to feed the Hobo’s. There was a railway line down the way from their area. They had 2 acres and she had a vegetable garden, a cow and some chickens. They didn’t have much but, found a way to give to these men. She was a very kind woman. I miss her. ❤
I hoboed in the 1970's; my niece hoboed in the early oughts. Yes people still ride the rails. Your description of the kit is correct. Nowadays, however, it tends to be more streamlined due to the widespread availability of social services. That said, some things will always remain: sleeping roll, pocket knife, bandana, sewing kit, matches, or, more likely, butane lighter (l usually also carried flint & steel), and always a jug of water (empty bleach bottles were prized). The art of making hobo signs has lamentably fallen into disuse.
Excellent video. My mother grew up in western MD on a small farm.She used to talk about hobos coming to the door and asking if there were any chores they could do.Thanks James
My daddy born in 1922 told me that Hobos had some kind of sign they left which indicated to other hobos where homes were that would feed them. He said they were always dropping by his home where his mother would generally give them some bread and butter.
Good info. My dad said he was a hobo for a while and road the rails. He said a hobo traveled and worked and was not a freeloader bum. He also later owned a big dairy farm a restaurant salesman painting and contruction ship cook had 6 kids and my dad a great guy
Studying hobo culture is excellent for survival tips. This is a great idea. Reading books like Cannery row and other stories from writers at the time, the hobos are always very well equipped and crafty
I was born in the early 1940s, and grew up in a small town in Western Canada. There was an area in one of the largest of the town parks, that was known as the hobo jungle. It was in the perfect location, as it was isolated, with lots of trees, next to the tracks, and had a creek around the perimeter of one side. My friends and I, were inveterate wanderers, and there wasn't a stick in that town that we didn't know about. During the fruit picking season, there could be as many as 5 hobos camped there, but they were never around during the day. They always left early in the morning, and returned to the jungle in the early evening. When they left for the day, they never left anything behind. We were fascinated by them, and watched them from time to time, but never made our presence known. We knew something of the hobo life, because the dad of one of my friends had been a hobo, who rode the trains during the depression, and told us of some of his experiences. The difference between the 30s and the 50s, was that in the 50s, it was easy to find a temporary job, even something like harvesting onions, tomatoes, or spuds, to picking fruit.
Although not a hobo, my grandfather (born 1892) would have a lot of similar items always close at hand. He'd always be sure to have matches close at hand which I always thought odd since he didn't smoke. But, in his early years any light involved oil or a candle.
Another great video in the Hobo series! You really do a wonderful job helping us understand that a true Hobo was not a vagrant, but someone who was willing to leave family, work to earn money anywhere it could be found, and do what they needed to do to support family in deeply hard times. Hobos get a bad rap. Thanks to you, lots more empathy and education. Hobo life was difficult. You had to be tough and resilient.
I was told that my grandma's backyard was a well known hobo stop in the 1930s. She made bread and soup in a large pot once a week to feed anyone that came up the alleyway in Chicago Heights, IL. Most hobos were peaceable folk that were very appreciative toward alms. It's a completely different world today
50 of 74 years a hobo. My grandparents on mom's side of the family always set an extra plate at the table. Grandma said you never knew when an angel would come to visit and leave a blessing. They used to live on a farm and many seasonal workers came off the rails during hard times.
@@ningboy3274 50 of 74 years a hobo. At one time it was well known among hobos that you could go almost anywhere in the USA from one of the many freight yards in the Chicago area.
This was an incredibly well presented topic. Using period accurate items and showcasing them with a brief explanation of their use makes this subject that more interesting. I enjoy the conciseness of the presentation, delivery and editing to keep the topic flowing and engaging without becoming tedious or over explained. I always enjoy how subject material is presented on this channel. There isn’t anyone quite as good at it than this content creator.
I was just about to say/type a bandana. Yes. It’s truly one of those timeless items that is just so useful for so many things that it’s almost a necessity. Just an appropriate sized section of cloth. I’d carry a safety pin with it. Good for picking out splinters. Love that match safe. I bet it has some stories to tell if it could talk.
The Boy Scouts taught us that our neckerchief was not only an article of clothing, but a multi-purpose piece of equipment. That simple piece of cloth could provide first aid (bandage, sling, tourniquet, tie for a splint), a signal flag in in distress, hot weather relief when soaked in water and worn around the neck ot forehead.
@@jimsimons4113 you hit it on the head. I have started carrying orange handkerchiefs for this reason. Makes a good signal if you ever needed to attract attention/signal. Say if you were hunting in a field wearing camouflage and broke your leg. More multifunctional.
If you want to attract rabbits to an area plant vining peas/beans like Red Ripper, green beans or Asparagus Pole Beans. Red Ripper can`t be beat. They love them and they keep growing back like kudzu. You can boil and eat the shelled beans, the high protein leaves, young pods, and the bunnies they draw in.
All good knowledge. Usually the coffee pot would be hidden near the railroad in a likely spot such as a hollow tree. Many would share it. There was a mark/sign for shared goods. All were expected to return it in good shape for others to share. Thanks.
50 of 74 years a hobo. Until the explosion of homeless in the 1980s I would often find a tree near railroad tracks with a fry pan and a small mirror hanging from branches. This was a indicator of a safe place to camp. Please clean up after yourself for the next hobo.
My father-in-law grew up on a farm that had a railroad running through it. They had a picnic table out by the tracks, and his mom would make lunch for the hobos that rode the cars.
My mom said that her grandma in PA would have hobos hop off the train and come to the back porch and knock to ask for some food. They would never come inside, were polite and thankful, and would get a plate brought out by grandma. They would just sit on the porch and eat it and be on their way.
@@kevinhamilton4056 my grandma grew up on a farm in Ohio did the same thing she made scrambled eggs and fried potatoes for the hobos made them sit out on the front porch
I recall my Great Uncle Bill, a man of much excitement, had such a Coin & Bill snap Dollar folding wallet. Good Man. Thanks for the memory from 68 years ago. Best
I'm lucky to have known two Hobo's when I was younger, 'Picasso' and 'Pop Bottle Charlie.' Not only were Hobo's traveling workmen, they adopted nicknames that were normally associated with their trade or habits. Picasso was a sign painter and graphic artist, he was an adult mentor for me in my late teens in my hometown in Northern California. I met Pop Bottle Charlie in Kansas in the 80s. They actually knew each other during the 30's. Charlie was staying at the same hotel I was while he was going to the VA for medical treatments. One morning during breakfast we were talking and the subject of Hobo's came up. I asked if he was a Bo, bum or tramp in a joking way. He looked at me and commented I was a bit young to put all three people in one sentence, and wanted to know how I knew the differences. That started the friendship. I still have his calling card with his Bo drawing of him in a fedora with a sack of bottles over his shoulder. That picture was familiar, but took some time for me to place it. My grandfather had an old shed he had repurposed/moved from a local rail yard in the late 30's early 40's. There was lots of chalk scrawling on the interior walls, turned out it was Hobo messaging from back in the day. I found Charlie's drawing on one wall during one of my visits home a little later. Not sure what happened to that bit of history, as the ranch and building wee sold shortly after that visit. Thanks for keeping this history alive.
Thanks for sharing. Stumbled on this video/these threads. I’m touched by what I’ve seen, heard and read here. And I got chills at the part of your story where the old shed comes in. The ways in which we are all connected, whether we know it or not-past, present, and future-is humbling and inspiring. Thanks again.
Watching this was worth it just to hear someone use the term 'folding money'. Don't know when I'm going to hear that again - and can't remember when I heard it previously! Great video!
In my 'kit' I keep a small magnet to hold needles together. Sewing kit is kept in a shotgun shell casing. Another important item is a few yards of cordage. Water is also important, so a canteen or 2. Its amazing what someone can do with so little if you carry items with multiple purposes. A small tarp wrapped in a bedroll as an example.
It's great that you bring this part of this time alive, there's not many who do, you might have got a funny anecdote or two from that generation but you seldom heard about the hard or outright bad times from them. You heard little snippets like large families all living in two rooms, people having to go away to work, kids waiting outside the kitchens of expensive restaurants/hotels to be given the stale bread and so on. You still got the coin purses in the UK into the 80s for kids but they were rugby ball (US football) shaped, don't know why.
What a delightful video!! My grandma and my dad would talk about the Hobos of the Great Depression. As soon as I started to watch this I wondered if you would mention chalk! My grandma, super poor as they were, would have hobos show up at the back door. The previous hobo would make a chalk mark on the back bottom corner of the garage that faced the alley. Most meals would be slim pickins' as grandpa died in a freak accident in 1932 that left grandma (only 8th gr grad) raising 2 girls & dad. But none of them complained and dad said they would do some odd little job around the house or yard in return.😉
Nice touch with the Silver Certificate "folding money". A two dollar bill with the corner torn off (to prevent bad luck) would have been sweet. A few years ago, I tried to tip a cruise ship porter with a two dollar bill. "No, that's hard luck"! Interesting/well done video, thanks for posting.
Hobo EDC. Love it. Thanks for sharing! Coins for the pockets, folding bills goes in the boots. No purse needed. Coins mixed in with a bit of dryer lint (or dirt) also doesn't jingle (as much)
I really enjoy these Hobo series , my grandfather who passed away a few years before i was born rode the train with a friend from the mountains of North Carolina to California. My aunt said he was about 13 yoa and nor sure he was per si a hobo but i wish i could have met him and no doubt heard aome good stories.
In the late 40's my mom helped out a Hobo with giving him something to eat and some extra food to take with him. He marked the tree letting others know that she would help you out which she did.
Good to know some stranger notified every random homeless drifter who blew into town to go to your house, where a WOMAN AND CHILD LIVE. I'm sure I am over reacting and that you speak of a simpler time, when ppl didn't lock their doors at night or report child rape
Ok today I learned the difference between a rucksack (a big two strap backpack with pockets for long term “ruck” into the wilderness) a knapsack (a medium two strap backpack with enough storage for a hobo night under the stars, and a haversack (a one strap messenger-bag style sack traditionally used for carrying oats for a horse and later used as a sack for carrying a day’s rations by colonial era military when a ruck sack was overkill). A hobo with all three could last a week or longer in the rough with that kind of load-out.
I've never had the coin purse with the long double compartment, but I have a modern made short version that fit the overall bib pocket pretty good, and I have one that was my great grandpa's ( or great-great) that's over a century old that I don't use. Very practical item that keeps your coins quiet. My folks usually used the common tin plated snuff cans for a supply of matches and sometimes an old vanilla extract bottle with a cork. Whatever was available and free. Lots of snuff cans and Prince Albert cans were repurposed for "survival" containers in their time. My folks didn't do much traveling other than a fishing or hunting trip down to the bottoms when the farm work was caught up. Most of em back then in the region didn't use a stockman pattern. They'd have a jackknife, with the larger clip or spear point main blade, and a small penknife blade on the same end. Many people don't call a jackknife a jackknife anymore, but that's what it is. IIRC I'm thinking that Old Timer/Schrade still had a proper jackknife pattern before they folded up (33?) Thanks for the video ❤
Those of my folks that had the money would buy the square brown bottles and refill a can to carry around in a pocket or purse. My daddy showed me when I was young how they would fix 2 of the empty bottles together with twine to make a "train" to push around in the dirt as a a toy when he was a boy. Made whistles, etc. Ate a goodly amount of Garrett myself before I knew better. Lasts way longer than the "smokeless" tobacco that we consume in modern times. None of it's good for you
My grandfather left me some knives by Schrade/Old Timer. One is a large fixed blade, the other is a large folding two blade. Then there's a much smaller Puma three blade like the ones in the video.
True Hobos were respectful and remembered those that treated them well. They may not have had the prettiest smile but most would give a smile in a second brightening the day.
Heres a fun fact I think you'd like! come from a family of gypsies and my grandparents used to say that when they were travelling down a road and turned to the left or the right, one way they would do to signal to other gypsies was to gather a bunch of branches and place them on the shoulder of the road in the direction they turned. Something similar to the signaling that you mentioned in this video
When I fished with my grandfather, born in the 19th century, he always carried a supply of kitchen matches inside of two spent shotgun shells pushed together to make the contents waterproof. It made it easy to make a fire to cook our catfish. Learned a lot from him.
I wish I could find out more about a Hobo camp that was in Albion, NY, in the late 1930’s early 40’s. It was at the East end of the village, North side of the railroad by one of the sandstone quarries. Love your content, thank you.
Very sensible and simple kit. I appreciate how the Hobo's were able to sustain themselves with so little. It's a good reminder of just how resilient and resourceful we can be. Thank you for learning and researching all this material James. I appreciate you sharing what you have learned regarding Hobo's and the culture surrounding them.
I'm in New Zealand. My father and elders talked of hobos walking our country after the war (2). It seems a good portion of them had some degree of PTSD. I guess many families were devastated, some losing 4 or 5 members, and even though we were quite remote from the action many people still suffered loss of some sort. I think the depression also forced people onto the roads here. We also had people who would give hobos work on farms and offer food. There were some good folk out there... even still. I have hunted and tramped and used some of the same "light is right" and "essentials" philosophies, I still do, carrying my good-sized (clean :) ) teaspoon when I get out and about. My kit fitted on my wide belt and silence was part of it. Your stories of these people and supporting communities evoke great vibes. Thank you.
5:05 I was gifted one of these change purses that was handed down to my friend by generations of train hoppers. It still has an original p38 can opener, hand weigh scale, and an incredibly small map of the US.. I hold it dearly to me. It lasted that long, I can too..
@@straykitten4998 There were some that panned for gold ( and still do ) along the Feather River or the Russian river among others on the west coast. The balance scale worked measuring gold. A copper penny was close to a gram ( much much older pennies ) hence the term pennyweight .
Prep For It, Miss Pasc, Mr Bender, The 'Stream Liners'..., Yep! The 'Hobos' were the original "high-speed, low-drag" Travellers. 🙂 Rick Bonner Pennsyltuck
I’m 72. My Mom told me her Mom-in-Law - who only lived to her mid-40s, FED HOBOS A MEAL. They often came to knock on her door - a large white 2 story farm house in E. SD. She told my Mom that she asked one day, of a Hobo, how come so many stopped at her place 3-4 miles between two small towns - & 1/3 mile from a Railroad line crossing a dirt road ). He said “You’re a ‘MARK’ : Hobos leave a Mark on the Railroad Tracks. Pointing to a person always gives a free meal. I grew up in her house. When she died my Grampa moved & my Dad lived on the Farm. She was buried in Danish Cemetary about 1/16 mile from our house. I never knew her. She died of MS. My Mom said she thought it was from Varnish. Hertha was into being clean. Every year she varnished something - in her big house. - she hadn’t lived there but a short time. ( & there was LEAD in the Varnish then. )
My friend does hobo travel sometimes still to this day. There are hobos, but they also are more of hitchhiking, but there's some other forms of transportation they take and all.
@WayPointSurvival yep some sort of hacks book covering the kit of the wandering man in the past 250 years would be good. The fact that you can make good gear or use second hand gear is important, most seem to think you need all modern expensive stuff to even go for a walk in the woods?
BTW, during the Great Depression, my maternal grandfather, a farmer who (like my paternal grandparents) came to this country from Eastern Europe ~1905, often hired hobos to work on his farm. The majority of the men (i.e., the hobos) were hard workers who gave an honest day's labor for an honest day's wage (~$1 / day, I think, in those days)--decent men with families who did what was necessary, albeit not easy, to survive. Thank You, L-RD, for Your GREAT kindness and mercy to us ALL. We live because of You. (Amein).
Amen I always travel as light as possible. I don't like carrying things in my hands haha. Right now I don't even own pants. I don't mind owning things my life led me in this direction and I enjoy living with at least as possible. It makes it more exciting when you find something you need instead of buying it. Recently I found a high end multi tool. Thank you God for your providence!
Fantastic and very interesting video as always. I love seeing the kit you put together. I am pleased to find out that I have been traveling with all 10/10 of the items you mentioned! In modern version, of course
Pocket knife (multitool), matches (bic lighter), bandana, wallet with a tiny sewing kit in it, and a sharpie that will write on almost anything. In my bag, there is a small first aid kit with caffeine tablets; I also keep a spoon and cup nested under my nalgene. The more things change, the more they stay the same- the only thing I don't carry is the fish hooks.
It would be useful to have thread already on a needle, much like the fishing kit. Wrapping fishing line around your hat the putting the hook through the hat band is a neat trick as well.
Singer has them, can find in grocery stores/drug stores that have small sewing section, Walmart or similar fabric stores, online/Amazon . A couple other make them as well very light and handy. Have them for camping, and keep one in car. Can get in a blister pack or slider case for the singer one, comes with a couple butt0nss and safety pin and can throw other items in the slider case one.
8:21 Paint sticks or "hobo markers" are pretty big now, more so in the graffiti community, but I also saw them a lot in the traveling community before I retired from that way of life. They're basically large crayons made out of paint that can be hard to buff and can make tags that stay up and survive the elements. I heard the concept is pretty old but I would be surprised if they dated back to the 1930s. Hobo tags are still a thing and understanding them is almost like learning a different language, it's still blows my mind that the traveler/hobo lifestyle hasn't changed much since the 1930's golden era, and is one of the few parts of American culture that has been going strong for over 100 years.
My parents went to go see boxcar Willie down in Branson Missouri years ago and brought me back Signed handkerchief thought it was pretty cool rest in peace boxcar! And Rip Mom and Dad!
Pretty cool EDC! Makes me think about the things i carry on myself every day. The hank, the pocket knife. Instead of matches i carry a small flashlight. I keep stick matches in all glove boxes as well as plastic spoons. There's always a small sewing kit in there as well. Being a journeyman you have to be prepared. Coffee is a must as is a travel mug. I can relate to all those items and the least amount of space they take.
talking about the paper bills- "It doesn't jingle like money does". So very true, and not often understood by most people. Paper isn't money. Gold/Silver is money.
In Canada in the Great Depression, it was illegal not have a certain minimum amount of money. This was a hook so they might fall foul of the Vagrancy Laws and gave the police cause to threaten the men to move on and leave town, or risk arrest. Maybe in winter, a spell in jail was preferable though.
@@mistydawnoliver6717 She nailed it in her last album. She was excited to hear Kris' reaction to the recording of the song he gave traction, but sadly passed too soon.
My grandpa hoboed his way around Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia in the 1930s. He recounted his travelling kit to me once, decades ago... Here's what I remember: a suitcase with a few clothes, sewing kit, playing cards, cash, knife, gas lighter and a spoon. Interestingly, he said the naphtha in his lighter was excellent for polishing leather, so it was dual purpose. He wore heavy leather boots and a jacket back then. He was a skilled craftsman and gambler and made a good living.
He's no longer with us so I can't say anything for sure, but he had a lot of Soviet documents (including a Soviet passport), and I believe he may have had official permits to travel there. He was of Scandinavian origin himself and I don't think he spoke Russian either. Hobo culture didn't really exist outside of the US, so you could just say he was "travelling light", but all I can say is that he at least went there. This would've been under Stalin's regime, so it indeed must have been highly dangerous -- if not crazy -- for him to travel there. My grandpa was a very daring entrepreneur, but he was also pretty cunning and planned things out well. He could also handle difficult situations with ease, although he did spend some time in a Danish prison around the 1940s I believe. I remember when I was a little child and I did some chores for my grandma and she gave me a couple of coins as a reward, and my grandpa saw it and asked me "How much do you have there?", and I replied "I don't know", so he smiled and said "Let me count that for you". I handed the coins to him, he put them in his pocket, laughed and walked away. He never was the kind and cuddly type. I was always scared of him as a child and I did my best to avoid him whenever possible.
My father (b 1911 in western Kansas) hopped a train to get to college or a job in Lawrence or Chicago (can't remember the whole story) maybe in the 1920s-30s. He had Type 1 Diabetes at a time when it was a new drug, and amazing that he could manage his blood sugar under those conditions. It was a normal method of travel for the poor, I guess. Hero!
My great grandfather was a hobo who road trains looking for work during the Great Depression and who actually had to kill a man in a knife fight who had attacked my great grandfather for the can of beans he was trying to eat. That’s rough times.
Well my great grandfather wasa hobo working from farm to farm and during the great depression was killed by a man who had stolen a can of beans from him and had proceeded to start eating them in front of him..
My great grandfather was killed trying to take someone's beans. I'm just kidding; he raised sheep on his farm and passed at 70. Life was hard either way.
Thanks so much for watching! Please leave me a thumbs up and a comment in the section below. Make sure and check out our website at www.waypointsurvival.com where you can sign up for classes and check out the required gear list!
In my personal collection I have one of those blue one dollar silver certificates, and a "red" five dollar bill and I think the reds were replacements for screwed up regular bills.
@@clarencesmith2305 Known as "Silver Certificates" exchangeable for there weight in metal ( Silver ).
here is a question. how did hobos survive wild animals (bears, wolves etc) when they were camping in the woods? Interesting you mentioned in your winter video of wealthy men that went hoboing for fun. Would like to know some names.
Great video there 2 thing i know you left out of the kit an idk why bible for reading an a alcohol rubbing or proof but they carried booth for cleaning fire starting an something to do before bed or after you get up widdling gets old fast an theres only so meny branch bears or dogs you could do. im also in southern Ohio well Hamilton 🙏 an good day.
True wild animal stay away from man as animals aren't sure if they are faster or stronger. Fire and smoke scares them off. Hobos would gather in groups "jungles" like they do in the "tent cities" of today. A "kick" for a while was riding a freight train with young wealthier ( not necessarily rich ) men. You can Google the subject or see UA-cam videos. Most of the videos you'll see are definitely not poor folks looking for work. Also some very famous people rode freight trains starting out in their lives. Jack London, writer. Clark Gable, actor. Jake Erlickman, a great lawyer and author.
My Canadian Grandparents were a surgeon-nurse couple that ran a practice out of their home, 100 miles from any other town.
They kept an unlocked screened porch with a cot in it. There was always a wash basin, wax paper wrapped sandwiches, pickles and a milk bottle in there. Some days the food would just be gone. Some days men would offer to do jobs as repayment.
It was the depression, and it was just understood that people needed to keep their pride. And everyone was expected to chip in as they could. Compassion and trust was as common as suspicion and fear is today.
Your grandparents sound like wonderful people!
@@WayPointSurvival They adopted my Mom ❤
My great grandfather was a commercial fisherman on the West coast of Canada. He was reputed to keep imaculate accounts and ledgers. Back in those days, he or his wife or son (my grandfather) delivered fish orders door to door. When the depression hit, many folk couldn't pay, but they always delivered the fish anyway. Those ledgers stayed accurate, gotta keep accounts, and apparently every single fish was eventually payed for, some of them years later. No reminders, no statements, no invoices. People certainly did have their pride, but they also had incredibly strong moral convictions.
Right on
A high-trust society has been destroyed by the replacement of the people
My mother often fed the hobos traveling through..mainly beans and tortillas but they were grateful for it. My dad acted angry but was secretly proud of my mom’s generosity. I miss them both.❤ Thank you for your videos !
Good! thanks.
Your mom and dad were kind and had good hearts! They helped many men who were desperately poor and hungry. You are -- and should be! -- very proud of them!
Your mother was a special woman.
My husband seems upset when I give food away too
❤️
Great video. My grandfather was born in 1910. Based on your definition of a hobo I just now realized that grandpa was a hobo for a time. He had been on his own since he was 9 years old and he told me some of the stories of what he went through. Grandpa told me that a man should always carry with him a few of the things on your list although he never tied it into the hobo lifestyle. I recall a time when I was a kid when we camped at a ranch in west Texas. While my cousins and I we were all getting our fishing gear together he wandered down to the river on his own. Before we could get there he had landed a large bass. Apparently he already had the hook, cork, and line and just used a stick he found along the way. Thanks for reminding me of so many great memories. He passed away in his 90's but I think about him just about every day.
You're welcome!
Grandparents are wonderful if you get good ones. I hit the jackpot with my maternal grandparents. They would do anything for their grandchildren. They always treated us well but if we were working they would treat us like royalty. They taught us a lot about life and about having integrity.
My grandfather was born in 1899 and my grandmother was born in 1903. They were the salt of the earth. I miss them and think about them and the things they taught me all the time.
Yeah man both of my grandfathers and my great grandfather were hobos and horse theifs. My grandfathers great grandfather (i think it is) founded a town called Seattle too, after the Civil war. Great gramps had money too, he just loved the free lifestyle of being a hobo, he loved riding the train, especially the smoking coach, even though he didn't smoke anymore. It brought back memories of his youth the most. I'm a millenial but I've got the same itch to travel free. I used to hitch hike often for long trips. I put on a college shirt in the direction I'm headed so peiple think I'm a college kid. It still works and I'm in my 30s. The people that pick up hitch hikers are all old enough to have hitch hiked, so late 50s or so minimum. If I told em I was 16 they'd believe me lol. On average I wait only 5 minutes. That's down to the college shirts and looking young to some extent. But you gotta have a destination in mind or people are suspicious. Use a sign, hitch to a college town if you can pull it off. Let it be on your bucket list.
Vegas or bust !
WOW...my dad was born in 1918 ....take care.. Peace
Forty years ago I was a Marine Corps infantryman. I could not help but draw parallels to this video and my military service. Sewing kit, canteen cup. Life achieves a certain simplicity when you're sleeping on the ground.
True!
Take what you need, need what you take. I always hated the "mandatory " gear lists with stuff that never came out of your pack. Semper Fi!
About 10 years ago I also was a Marine Corp infantryman and I will tell you that nothing has changed. We still get issued the sewing kit, canteen cup, ect...We always joked about how we would make the perfect homeless people.
Man I miss those OG poncho liners from the early 2000s. Ultra light, warm, dries quick.
Thank you for your service! I gave up all my fancy worldly possessions and live out of an RV and work for myself simple things make you appreciate life more!
My grandpa was a 1930s hobo. Born in 1921, he left home as a young teen to find work. His parents couldn't feed him, and the only shelter the family had was an old chicken coop. So he hopped trains from Kansas out to the West coast, and worked in fields and orchards harvesting produce. He hated when people conflated hobos with bums! I wish I had asked him more about what it was like for him before he died.
Yes. So much history lost.
That was his painful past. He may have preferred the present.
My uncle was born in 1909 and hit the hobo circuit after the stock market crash at the age of 20. He was 4F for WWII, finally found steady work after the end of the war. To clarify, he wanted to join the military much earlier, but emphasema kept him out. Smoked and used chewing tobacco when using his oxygen and lived to be almost 90. Married a Mexican gal 30+ years his junior and went down there to live the life on his social security. He always had a smile on his face and enjoyed life as it was.
@@DouglasHale-od8ys ever tried clay cast on the fire pigeon ohh yea
Too bad home video wasn't ubiquitous in 80s
2:15 knife
2:30 fishing kit
2:50 match case
3:30 bandana
4:00 roadstake? money
6:30 coffee
7:00 spoon
7:40 cup
8:10 chalk/crayon
9:00 sewing kit
Bandaids and Condoms
@outerlimitz67 you of want to go off scrip, a extra large safety pin.
Thanks for watching.
@WayPointSurvival
Hey I was wondering why it's called a roadstake and why nothing shows up when I search for one. What would I search to find one that is very similar to yours?
@@A_Swirl stake as in a bet, you are staking how much you might get robbed on the road....
My great grandfather was a chemist through the depression, and my grandfather recounted many times he would tip folks a "life changing amount" during the depression if they were working hard with kids to feed and an "awfully generous amount" to those without kids. My great grandmother made sandwiches, pies, and tea for hobos that would stay near them and they would employ folks temporarily from time to time to help out with the day-to-day. They didn't thrive in that time, though to most it seemed like thriving, though they gained a lot of good will and felt it was one of the best times for them as they could help others the most. Great grandfather lived to 88, his wife to 99, and my grandfather made it to 92. Thank you and to all who share these stories and history. Even during tough times, it gives me hope that I'll get to meet someone like my ancestors along the way.
That's a wonderful and heart-warming story!
My mother's brother Frankie, was a HoBo after he was throne out of his parents house at the age of 14, because he had joined "The bottle gang". He was one of five brothers and
two baby sisters (My Mom being one of the sisters). He got Tuberculosis when he was about 20 years old. He traveled the country riding the rails and occasionally stopping in at
TB hospitals in various parts of the country. He was very handsome, as were his brothers
and could coax TB nurses to smuggle whiskey to him when he was in a hospital; He
visited my mom several times when I was in grade school. He always waited til my dad wasn't home before he visited..My Mom would give him a meal and some money. Once,
he visited on Christmas Eve, while my Dad was out. He wore a hat with the brim turned down front and back. He wore a suit with but no shirt. He had newspaper under the coat
to keep the cold out and no sox! My Mom let him bathe and gave him a shirt and sox and a
topcoat that my Dad seldom wore and twenty dollars. A few days later, my Mom got a
telegram from New York City. He wrote that he had sold his new clothes for whiskey.
He lived to be 70 years old. We all have our own separate paths in life. Just say'n.
Very interesting but sad story. Thanks so much for sharing it!
thankyou for the story. cheers
PROVERBS 20:1
RAHAB IS THE ONE WHO SITS STILL
Here in the UK our grandfather was a 'jobbing' bricklayer who traveled around in the post WW1 era after being discharged from the Army. Not only did he 'bunk' onto freight trains he also hitch hiked, got lifts from lorries (trucks), cars, on canal boats, motorbikes and steam engines. He eventually ended up stowing away on a cross channel ferry to France, where he served for 3 years during 'The war to end all wars' ending up helping to build war memorials to his comrades in arms, turns out the best employer was the C.W.G.C. (Commonwealth war grave commission) and he came back a reasonably wealthy man.
Any way long story short, aside from his sturdy whacking walking stick, water bottle, waxed cotton/canvas poncho, army back pack with his basic brick laying tools, pocket knife, tobacco & matches/lighter, eating utensils, tin cup sugar and tea his most important items were.
A money belt, decoy purse with a few pennies in it and the most important of all a moral boosting hip flask with a shot or two of whiskey or brandy;-)
PS. There were many rumors and tales in the family about his 'adventures' and to this day we are convinced there is a branch of our clan that no one can trace in Northern France and Belgium. Makes you think how far afield these US hobos spread their seed!!!
Did he know any Normands
My Great grandfather Papa Raines headed for Cherbourg post war for their ship. They arrived early but the ship had sailed and they all spent an extra year in France. Ex soldiers were not welcome. A farmer tried to pitch fork them before dawn the first day, they liberated some vegetables from gardens and rode the rails. It was a tough year
Interesting.. moving for work.. particularly agrecultire was common into 1960s Hampshire . Living under benders.. canvas spread over bent saplings .. forestry seasonal work.. Victor comic depicted Alf Tupper living in packing crate .. working as engineer... caravans for shifting manual labour .. It's how society ..mankind evolved.. A lifetime of debt buying a house in areas without work totally reliant on cars to support 2 incomes needed to pay for house for 30 years.. childcare.. How sustainable .. Q who wants to work till 70?
@@dannynye1731.. wonderful name ,"Papa".. was this WW1.. This type of life still exists.. casual work .. living in van or boat. Low costs.. part time work .. casual work.. hugely prolific After WW1 in eastern Europe ..grain basket.. Papa had true street cred
Nice story
My wife’s Grandparents owned a home on a dead end street where the railroad tracks went through Erie, Pennsylvania. There was a X on the outside blocks of their basement to tell the men riding the rails that a meal could be found there. Last time i was at this house you could still see it, that was 25 years ago.
Very cool!
My dad was a hobo in the 30's . He carried a small pistol. Told me it saved his life in a boxcar one night.He went on to be a M/SGT in the Army Airforce WW2
Always better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it.
"Rolling Nowhere" by Ted Conover is an excellent book written in the 1980s as the hobo era was ending as boxcars gave way to piggyback and containers.
@@donhuber9131 Absolutely. I read this book numerous times. Very typical of hobo life. However that pair he hung around with were heavy boozers and I avoided those kinds as it often lead to trouble. Like falling under a train because you're too drunk to even think about catching a train.
@@r.shanethompson7933 that's completely false and literally is the precursor for a murder conviction when you use your weapon and it's determined by the law that you didn't need it. You make some stupid statement as if nobody ever fired a gun at another person, wrongly thinking they were justified to do so. Perhaps you should think your hillybilly colloquialisms out before you recite them like a pavlovian dog
Yeah, my uncle who was a 101st airborne trooper, always carried a silver dollar, he'd never spend! He'd say, "I went hungry, but always had that dollar!" If totally broke, arrested for vagrancy, you could be on a chain-gang: for years: peonage, also called debt slavery or debt servitude!
Was homeless from 2007 and been off hlthe streets for over 6 years now. Those times on the streets were Educational. Learned how to survive when you have absolutely nothing. If your in a urban environment or somewhere with industrially box is a life saver in extreme cold. Been in a situation as to were it was below freezing in wichita ks, I could died but I had a old timer teach me a trick. Dig in the trash and find a box big enough to fit in and look for plastic bags, put the box inside the bag and crawl on in. Don't put the bag inside with the box as when you breath it will condense on the bag and drip on ya.
Red Army soldiers survived Nothern winters with a single candle or wicked fat between the feet and a tarp or poncho wrapped around the entire body. Warms up quick and remarkably effective.
Love the fact that you pulled out silver coins :)
I once pointed to a Hobo and said to my friend "look at that bum" and my friend replied "no that's a Hobo", " you and I are bums"
Thanks for watching!
@@WayPointSurvival I appreciate your explaining the difference! Thank you.
Just curious. What makes you and your friend bums? Unemployed? Homeless? 30 years old and still living in Mom's basement? What?
@@Edmond951 We were free loading off the land. Living at the largesse of others who were well to do.
And a Silver Certificate!
50 of 74 years a hobo. Really did your research on this. Great job. Some hobos I knew always went 'streamlined" They really knew the rails and what was waiting in almost any town. So minimum carry. Often wore two sets of clothes. Removed the outer layer when they hopped off. You get dirty riding freight trains and you would be fairly clean heading into a town. Plus you had more pockets to hold stuff. Always a pocket knife. Matches were usually in a 35 mm film canister along with part of a match box striker. A sewing kit, couple of needles, a small spool of thread and a thimble also in a 35 mm canister. I was advise the best way to carry money ( bills ) was in a Bull Durham tobacco bag in your skivies. A Prince Albert tobacco tin was a good place to put items also. Like instant coffee, or money, or whatever. A little fishing line with a bottle cork and a fish hook. Spoon always. A bandana with a hotel size soap bar. It was mostly up to the hobo's personal taste. I would get extra condiments packets from fast food joints when I had the money for a dollar meal.
My father told me about hopping a freight with his brothers in the 1930s he said there were about 200 hobos hanging on the train and the railway workers were afraid to try and toss them off. When they got to town everyone was pretty dirty from the smoke, he and my uncles headed for the river to clean up before going into town. When they actually hit the streets the railway police and local cops were busy picking off anyone looking grimy enough to have been on the train. They just strolled down to the bar and watched the fun.
I take it you chose to be a hobo? Was it the adventure? One things for sure I would guess you had to be quick witted, and patient.
@@primesspct250 of 74 years a hobo. It was the lesser of two evils. Stay at home and get beaten or leave. I grabbed a slow moving freight train at 15. Never looked back. Was lucky that the old time decent hobos looked after a green young kid and showed me the ropes. Got so good at doing it saw no reason to stop. A roller coaster ride with 3 lifetimes worth of adventure. My leg got so bad at 65 I could barely get on a stopped train. So at 66 stayed put and started drawing Social Security else I still would be doing it.
Thank you so very much, my friend! I always truly appreciate your input!
@@WayPointSurvival Even an old dog like me learns new tricks. So I try to pass on what i have learned.
Love the way how James not only shows us these items, but sets the scene of a hobo's life by adding lots of relevant context. Thanks buddy!
Personal experience from ridin' the rails:
A buddy and I spent some time the summer after highschool (1972) hitchhiking and hopping on freights. We used a really successful method of carrying stuff, but yet had hands free to safely jump on and off of trains. We carried a lot of the same nature of things you mention in your videos. First aid, small tools, scout canteens, etc. One thing we had that hobos didn't was some travelers'checks. We had army surplus wool blankets sewn into sleeping sacks. Here's how we carried our inventory of things for the road; bib overalls over our shirts and jeans. No shortage of pockets at all. When boarding and disembarking from trains we shoved the folded blankets down the backs of the overalls. The canteen could tuck in behind the bib to stop something loose from swinging in the way. When walking or hitching the overalls got the legs tied together and the straps became the shoulder sling for the makeshift bags. This was a great tried and tested method of traveling light.
That's really great! Thanks so much for the information and for the great ideas, I may use it in a video someday!
Overalls are elite
My mom told me that my grandmother used to generously give food in the 30's to hobos who knocked on the door. I loved my grandmother dearly, but as she came from a rather snobby upper middle class background it made her generosity more notable.
One Sunday morning in the early 1960's my family was its way to church when we drove past an old man with his mule walking down the road. The mule was carrying a large pack with a large pot and kerosine lantern tied to its side. Marveling at the sight, my dad told us that this man was a "hobo" and that he hadn't seen a hobo in a long time. I suppose that hobo's might still have been around the more rural areas of the country in the early 1960's, but this was on US 130 in Pennsauken NJ. South Jersey was a much different place than it is now, but still....
Very interesting video. My grandpa was a Red River Valley farmer in SE North Dakota. He did custom threshing. He hired a lot of hobos on his threshing crew. Several came back every year in the 20s and 30s. They stayed in a bunk house and ate in the cook car. My mom said at night they would have a campfire. She heard a lot of stories and songs. She would sing the songs to us when we were traveling to keep us from fighting in the back seat. Cowboy Jack, Hobo Bill, Waiting for a train among others. My dad and grandpa were both Railroad men. Dad was a signal maintainer on the Great Northern and Grandpa was a brakeman and oiler.
great info. This may sound silly, but I keep tripping on that south east North Dakota. At some point can you add Out West to it, just to round it off.
Thanks for writing this up, really rich and romantic scene
An actual hobo here; good boots, long coat, 65l back pack, sleeping bag, knife, a few lighters, rope, tarp, headlamp, stainless steel pot. #1 is a large metal drinking container.
Thanks so much for watching and for your input!
Houses were marked, feed the hobos and they would throw coal off for folks 6:23
And a flask.
Based Hobo subbed
Common at one time was an empty bleach bottle. The residue would help purify water and give it a " city water " taste.
I'm 72 and my Grandmother used to give food, and feed hobos off her back porch during the depression of the 30's.
@PresidentMikeJohnson My grandmother was a good moral woman. What a vile and filthy statement to make towards someone you never knew.
@@horseman528 -sad
@@tehapu7358 true.
@@horseman528 Ya, but it is possible. Women do what they gotta do sometimes to survive in this world.
@PresidentMikeJohnson a hole
Another great video. Nobody else covers the hobo that ive seen to you and them we are grateful.
Thanks so much!
I rode trains for six years in the modern era. Ridden freight all over the United States and have ridden every Major UP and BNSF line as well as a majority of CSX and several short line regional railroads. The bag on a stick you’re referring to is called a bindle. Modern hobos tend to opt for Military surplus gear or more expensive hiking packs if they’re available. Trying to keep a minimalist approach while balancing carrying enough food for your dog, ammunition for whatever pistol you’re carrying, food for yourself and water for you and your dog on top of whatever other amenities you might want can become challenging but it’s possible. The most essential piece of gear to train riding is a military modular sleeping bag system with a good goretex bivy sack to keep you warm and dry in any conditions. I’ve dug into a hole in snow for insulation with my bivy. A bandana is still essential gear, but it’s always worn around the neck and in modern vernacular is called a skink. Some people try to stick to certain hobo traditions but modern train riders or more often tramps or “murder hobos”.
I like how high quality their metal tins were back then. The coffee container and match stick holder are solid pieces.
My Canadian Grandma and some of her neighbours used to feed the Hobo’s. There was a railway line down the way from their area. They had 2 acres and she had a vegetable garden, a cow and some chickens. They didn’t have much but, found a way to give to these men. She was a very kind woman. I miss her. ❤
That's very wonderful!
I hoboed in the 1970's; my niece hoboed in the early oughts. Yes people still ride the rails. Your description of the kit is correct. Nowadays, however, it tends to be more streamlined due to the widespread availability of social services. That said, some things will always remain: sleeping roll, pocket knife, bandana, sewing kit, matches, or, more likely, butane lighter (l usually also carried flint & steel), and always a jug of water (empty bleach bottles were prized). The art of making hobo signs has lamentably fallen into disuse.
Thanks so much for watching and for the great input!
Excellent video. My mother grew up in western MD on a small farm.She used to talk about hobos coming to the door and asking if there were any chores they could do.Thanks James
You're welcome!
My daddy born in 1922 told me that Hobos had some kind of sign they left which indicated to other hobos where homes were that would feed them. He said they were always dropping by his home where his mother would generally give them some bread and butter.
I think the sign was a kitty cat picture
Aw, love hobos. My dad rode the rails in the 20th century depression era.
My grandfather too. Right after WW1. Really fucking dangerous. Made him a bit too hard a man. That's the dark side of the life.
Good info. My dad said he was a hobo for a while and road the rails. He said a hobo traveled and worked and was not a freeloader bum. He also later owned a big dairy farm a restaurant salesman painting and contruction ship cook had 6 kids and my dad a great guy
Studying hobo culture is excellent for survival tips. This is a great idea. Reading books like Cannery row and other stories from writers at the time, the hobos are always very well equipped and crafty
Absolutely! Thanks for watching!
I was born in the early 1940s, and grew up in a small town in Western Canada. There was an area in one of the largest of the town parks, that was known as the hobo jungle. It was in the perfect location, as it was isolated, with lots of trees, next to the tracks, and had a creek around the perimeter of one side. My friends and I, were inveterate wanderers, and there wasn't a stick in that town that we didn't know about.
During the fruit picking season, there could be as many as 5 hobos camped there, but they were never around during the day. They always left early in the morning, and returned to the jungle in the early evening. When they left for the day, they never left anything behind. We were fascinated by them, and watched them from time to time, but never made our presence known.
We knew something of the hobo life, because the dad of one of my friends had been a hobo, who rode the trains during the depression, and told us of some of his experiences. The difference between the 30s and the 50s, was that in the 50s, it was easy to find a temporary job, even something like harvesting onions, tomatoes, or spuds, to picking fruit.
Very cool story!
Although not a hobo, my grandfather (born 1892) would have a lot of similar items always close at hand. He'd always be sure to have matches close at hand which I always thought odd since he didn't smoke. But, in his early years any light involved oil or a candle.
True!
My grandpa born 1899 gave me a small knife almost identical to the one he showed From one hobo to another
Another great video in the Hobo series! You really do a wonderful job helping us understand that a true Hobo was not a vagrant, but someone who was willing to leave family, work to earn money anywhere it could be found, and do what they needed to do to support family in deeply hard times. Hobos get a bad rap. Thanks to you, lots more empathy and education. Hobo life was difficult. You had to be tough and resilient.
I was told that my grandma's backyard was a well known hobo stop in the 1930s. She made bread and soup in a large pot once a week to feed anyone that came up the alleyway in Chicago Heights, IL.
Most hobos were peaceable folk that were very appreciative toward alms.
It's a completely different world today
Indeed it is.
50 of 74 years a hobo. My grandparents on mom's side of the family always set an extra plate at the table. Grandma said you never knew when an angel would come to visit and leave a blessing. They used to live on a farm and many seasonal workers came off the rails during hard times.
You can still hop trains out of Chicago Heights to this day, though it's more so known for a place to rob idling freight cars 😆
@@ningboy3274 Haha! Yeah, in the 80s, I used to hitch rides on trains going to and leaving Chicano Heiz 😂
@@ningboy3274 50 of 74 years a hobo. At one time it was well known among hobos that you could go almost anywhere in the USA from one of the many freight yards in the Chicago area.
This was an incredibly well presented topic. Using period accurate items and showcasing them with a brief explanation of their use makes this subject that more interesting. I enjoy the conciseness of the presentation, delivery and editing to keep the topic flowing and engaging without becoming tedious or over explained. I always enjoy how subject material is presented on this channel. There isn’t anyone quite as good at it than this content creator.
Wow, thanks so very much for the compliment!
I was just about to say/type a bandana. Yes. It’s truly one of those timeless items that is just so useful for so many things that it’s almost a necessity. Just an appropriate sized section of cloth. I’d carry a safety pin with it. Good for picking out splinters. Love that match safe. I bet it has some stories to tell if it could talk.
Indeed it would!
The Boy Scouts taught us that our neckerchief was not only an article of clothing, but a multi-purpose piece of equipment. That simple piece of cloth could provide first aid (bandage, sling, tourniquet, tie for a splint), a signal flag in in distress, hot weather relief when soaked in water and worn around the neck ot forehead.
@@jimsimons4113 you hit it on the head. I have started carrying orange handkerchiefs for this reason. Makes a good signal if you ever needed to attract attention/signal. Say if you were hunting in a field wearing camouflage and broke your leg. More multifunctional.
@@jimsimons4113 when soaked in water… I call the handkerchief around the neck as “mobile air conditioning” or “the poor mans’s air conditioning” lol
If you want to attract rabbits to an area plant vining peas/beans like Red Ripper, green beans or Asparagus Pole Beans. Red Ripper can`t be beat. They love them and they keep growing back like kudzu. You can boil and eat the shelled beans, the high protein leaves, young pods, and the bunnies they draw in.
Sounds great!
All good knowledge. Usually the coffee pot would be hidden near the railroad in a likely spot such as a hollow tree. Many would share it. There was a mark/sign for shared goods. All were expected to return it in good shape for others to share.
Thanks.
50 of 74 years a hobo. Until the explosion of homeless in the 1980s I would often find a tree near railroad tracks with a fry pan and a small mirror hanging from branches. This was a indicator of a safe place to camp. Please clean up after yourself for the next hobo.
My father-in-law grew up on a farm that had a railroad running through it. They had a picnic table out by the tracks, and his mom would make lunch for the hobos that rode the cars.
I don't know why but this almost made me cry. The world has changed and not for the better.
My mom said that her grandma in PA would have hobos hop off the train and come to the back porch and knock to ask for some food. They would never come inside, were polite and thankful, and would get a plate brought out by grandma. They would just sit on the porch and eat it and be on their way.
@@kevinhamilton4056 my grandma grew up on a farm in Ohio did the same thing she made scrambled eggs and fried potatoes for the hobos made them sit out on the front porch
I recall my Great Uncle Bill, a man of much excitement, had such a Coin & Bill snap Dollar folding wallet. Good Man. Thanks for the memory from 68 years ago. Best
Glad you enjoyed it!
..er..much experience...
I'm lucky to have known two Hobo's when I was younger, 'Picasso' and 'Pop Bottle Charlie.' Not only were Hobo's traveling workmen, they adopted nicknames that were normally associated with their trade or habits. Picasso was a sign painter and graphic artist, he was an adult mentor for me in my late teens in my hometown in Northern California. I met Pop Bottle Charlie in Kansas in the 80s. They actually knew each other during the 30's. Charlie was staying at the same hotel I was while he was going to the VA for medical treatments. One morning during breakfast we were talking and the subject of Hobo's came up. I asked if he was a Bo, bum or tramp in a joking way. He looked at me and commented I was a bit young to put all three people in one sentence, and wanted to know how I knew the differences. That started the friendship. I still have his calling card with his Bo drawing of him in a fedora with a sack of bottles over his shoulder.
That picture was familiar, but took some time for me to place it. My grandfather had an old shed he had repurposed/moved from a local rail yard in the late 30's early 40's. There was lots of chalk scrawling on the interior walls, turned out it was Hobo messaging from back in the day. I found Charlie's drawing on one wall during one of my visits home a little later. Not sure what happened to that bit of history, as the ranch and building wee sold shortly after that visit.
Thanks for keeping this history alive.
Such a wonderful story! Thanks so much for relating it and for keeping the memory of those two old bos alive
Thanks for sharing. Stumbled on this video/these threads. I’m touched by what I’ve seen, heard and read here. And I got chills at the part of your story where the old shed comes in.
The ways in which we are all connected, whether we know it or not-past, present, and future-is humbling and inspiring.
Thanks again.
Watching this was worth it just to hear someone use the term 'folding money'. Don't know when I'm going to hear that again - and can't remember when I heard it previously! Great video!
Thanks so much!
In my 'kit' I keep a small magnet to hold needles together. Sewing kit is kept in a shotgun shell casing.
Another important item is a few yards of cordage.
Water is also important, so a canteen or 2.
Its amazing what someone can do with so little if you carry items with multiple purposes. A small tarp wrapped in a bedroll as an example.
Indeed.
It's great that you bring this part of this time alive, there's not many who do, you might have got a funny anecdote or two from that generation but you seldom heard about the hard or outright bad times from them. You heard little snippets like large families all living in two rooms, people having to go away to work, kids waiting outside the kitchens of expensive restaurants/hotels to be given the stale bread and so on. You still got the coin purses in the UK into the 80s for kids but they were rugby ball (US football) shaped, don't know why.
You are so good at keeping this subject interesting. Thanks for another great video.
You're welcome!
What a delightful video!! My grandma and my dad would talk about the Hobos of the Great Depression. As soon as I started to watch this I wondered if you would mention chalk! My grandma, super poor as they were, would have hobos show up at the back door. The previous hobo would make a chalk mark on the back bottom corner of the garage that faced the alley. Most meals would be slim pickins' as grandpa died in a freak accident in 1932 that left grandma (only 8th gr grad) raising 2 girls & dad. But none of them complained and dad said they would do some odd little job around the house or yard in return.😉
Nice touch with the Silver Certificate "folding money". A two dollar bill with the corner torn off (to prevent bad luck) would have been sweet. A few years ago, I tried to tip a cruise ship porter with a two dollar bill. "No, that's hard luck"! Interesting/well done video, thanks for posting.
I appreciate you watching! Thanks for the feedback!
Hobo EDC. Love it. Thanks for sharing!
Coins for the pockets, folding bills goes in the boots. No purse needed.
Coins mixed in with a bit of dryer lint (or dirt) also doesn't jingle (as much)
I really enjoy these Hobo series , my grandfather who passed away a few years before i was born rode the train with a friend from the mountains of North Carolina to California. My aunt said he was about 13 yoa and nor sure he was per si a hobo but i wish i could have met him and no doubt heard aome good stories.
My grandfather would ride the train from New Orleans to Reno. To gamble. Early 1900s
In the late 40's my mom helped out a Hobo with giving him something to eat and some extra food to take with him. He marked the tree letting others know that she would help you out which she did.
Good to know some stranger notified every random homeless drifter who blew into town to go to your house, where a WOMAN AND CHILD LIVE. I'm sure I am over reacting and that you speak of a simpler time, when ppl didn't lock their doors at night or report child rape
They laughed at my crayon drawing; I laughed at their chalk outline
Right!
hahahaha
Frank Chillura.
😂
It's refreshing to see what amounts to an every day carry kit, but without a gun and a pig-sticker knife included. Thanks.
Thanks so much for watching!
Ok today I learned the difference between a rucksack (a big two strap backpack with pockets for long term “ruck” into the wilderness) a knapsack (a medium two strap backpack with enough storage for a hobo night under the stars, and a haversack (a one strap messenger-bag style sack traditionally used for carrying oats for a horse and later used as a sack for carrying a day’s rations by colonial era military when a ruck sack was overkill). A hobo with all three could last a week or longer in the rough with that kind of load-out.
I've never had the coin purse with the long double compartment, but I have a
modern made short version
that fit the overall bib pocket
pretty good, and I have one
that was my great grandpa's
( or great-great) that's over
a century old that I don't use.
Very practical item that keeps
your coins quiet.
My folks usually used the common tin plated snuff
cans for a supply of matches
and sometimes an old vanilla extract bottle with a cork.
Whatever was available and free. Lots of snuff cans and
Prince Albert cans were repurposed for "survival" containers in their time.
My folks didn't do much traveling other than a fishing
or hunting trip down to the bottoms when the farm work
was caught up.
Most of em back then in the
region didn't use a stockman
pattern. They'd have a jackknife, with the larger clip or spear point main blade, and
a small penknife blade on the
same end. Many people don't
call a jackknife a jackknife
anymore, but that's what it
is. IIRC I'm thinking that Old
Timer/Schrade still had a
proper jackknife pattern before
they folded up (33?)
Thanks for the video ❤
Those of my folks that had the
money would buy the square
brown bottles and refill a can
to carry around in a pocket or
purse. My daddy showed me
when I was young how they
would fix 2 of the empty bottles
together with twine to make a
"train" to push around in the dirt
as a a toy when he was a boy.
Made whistles, etc.
Ate a goodly amount of Garrett
myself before I knew better.
Lasts way longer than the "smokeless" tobacco that we
consume in modern times.
None of it's good for you
You're welcome!
My grandfather left me some knives by Schrade/Old Timer. One is a large fixed blade, the other is a large folding two blade. Then there's a much smaller Puma three blade like the ones in the video.
True Hobos were respectful and remembered those that treated them well. They may not have had the prettiest smile but most would give a smile in a second brightening the day.
Very true Hobo's had their own code of ethics.
Heres a fun fact I think you'd like! come from a family of gypsies and my grandparents used to say that when they were travelling down a road and turned to the left or the right, one way they would do to signal to other gypsies was to gather a bunch of branches and place them on the shoulder of the road in the direction they turned. Something similar to the signaling that you mentioned in this video
Very cool!
When I fished with my grandfather, born in the 19th century, he always carried a supply of kitchen matches inside of two spent shotgun shells pushed together to make the contents waterproof. It made it easy to make a fire to cook our catfish. Learned a lot from him.
Very cool!
I wish I could find out more about a Hobo camp that was in Albion, NY, in the late 1930’s early 40’s. It was at the East end of the village, North side of the railroad by one of the sandstone quarries.
Love your content, thank you.
Thanks. Yes, so much history lost.
I'm a long-distance driver and Teamster, many of the items you've shown I carry on a daily basis and use all the time.
Excellent!
Very sensible and simple kit. I appreciate how the Hobo's were able to sustain themselves with so little. It's a good reminder of just how resilient and resourceful we can be. Thank you for learning and researching all this material James. I appreciate you sharing what you have learned regarding Hobo's and the culture surrounding them.
Goes also to the needs vs wants.
@@jum5238 when you distill things right down I’ve found my actual needs to be very few.
I remember my grandmother wrapping loose threads around cardboard. The depression had my older family taught to save every little thing.
I do truly like the Hobo series! Thank you for all your hard work to bring this series to us!
You're very welcome!
I'm in New Zealand. My father and elders talked of hobos walking our country after the war (2). It seems a good portion of them had some degree of PTSD. I guess many families were devastated, some losing 4 or 5 members, and even though we were quite remote from the action many people still suffered loss of some sort. I think the depression also forced people onto the roads here. We also had people who would give hobos work on farms and offer food. There were some good folk out there... even still. I have hunted and tramped and used some of the same "light is right" and "essentials" philosophies, I still do, carrying my good-sized (clean :) ) teaspoon when I get out and about. My kit fitted on my wide belt and silence was part of it. Your stories of these people and supporting communities evoke great vibes. Thank you.
Much appreciated!
5:05 I was gifted one of these change purses that was handed down to my friend by generations of train hoppers. It still has an original p38 can opener, hand weigh scale, and an incredibly small map of the US.. I hold it dearly to me. It lasted that long, I can too..
What did they use the hand weigh scale for? And what's a hand weigh scale?
I saw you have a channel! Could you make a video showing it?
So very cool!
@@straykitten4998 There were some that panned for gold ( and still do ) along the Feather River or the Russian river among others on the west coast. The balance scale worked measuring gold. A copper penny was close to a gram ( much much older pennies ) hence the term pennyweight .
@@craigeckhoff99 cool how do you pan for gold? Do pre 1982 pennies weigh close to a gram?
Hobos were not always educated but they had travelling LIGHT down to a science.
Indeed!
Educated beyond academics I'm sure.
Prep For It,
Miss Pasc,
Mr Bender,
The 'Stream Liners'...,
Yep! The 'Hobos' were the original "high-speed, low-drag" Travellers.
🙂
Rick Bonner Pennsyltuck
Agreed. One does not have to be 'educated' in order to be smart.
Don't have to be college educated to be a millionaire.
Excellent. I really appreciate the era-correct coins and bills.
Thanks!
Hobos is a much appreciated series. It contains, not only historical information, but a good bit of philosophy and innovative idea .. 😀😀
Please keep doing hobo/ 1920s, 30s,40s videos.
I would love to see a ‘streamline’ hobo video. Thank you
It's on the list
Nuevamente muchas gracias por otro video hobo ,son muy interesantes ,los apresio mucho ,saludos desde La Pampa Argentina .
You're welcome!
@@WayPointSurvival muchas gracias ,que Dios te bendiga.
I just love these Hobo videos.
Glad you like them!
I’m 72. My Mom told me her Mom-in-Law - who only lived to her mid-40s, FED HOBOS A MEAL. They often came to knock on her door - a large white 2 story farm house in E. SD. She told my Mom that she asked one day, of a Hobo, how come so many stopped at her place 3-4 miles between two small towns - & 1/3 mile from a Railroad line crossing a dirt road ). He said “You’re a ‘MARK’ : Hobos leave a Mark on the Railroad Tracks. Pointing to a person always gives a free meal.
I grew up in her house. When she died my Grampa moved & my Dad lived on the Farm. She was buried in Danish Cemetary about 1/16 mile from our house.
I never knew her. She died of MS. My Mom said she thought it was from Varnish.
Hertha was into being clean. Every year she varnished something - in her big house. - she hadn’t lived there but a short time.
( & there was LEAD in the Varnish then. )
This video is most useful for beginning your career as a hobo!
Those silver certificates and that Peace Dollar are beautiful.
My friend does hobo travel sometimes still to this day. There are hobos, but they also are more of hitchhiking, but there's some other forms of transportation they take and all.
You should write a book on the hobo subject....I would buy it
Thanks! Maybe someday I'll do that
@WayPointSurvival yep some sort of hacks book covering the kit of the wandering man in the past 250 years would be good. The fact that you can make good gear or use second hand gear is important, most seem to think you need all modern expensive stuff to even go for a walk in the woods?
BTW, during the Great Depression, my maternal grandfather, a farmer who (like my paternal grandparents) came to this country from Eastern Europe ~1905, often hired hobos to work on his farm. The majority of the men (i.e., the hobos) were hard workers who gave an honest day's labor for an honest day's wage (~$1 / day, I think, in those days)--decent men with families who did what was necessary, albeit not easy, to survive. Thank You, L-RD, for Your GREAT kindness and mercy to us ALL. We live because of You. (Amein).
I have enjoyed this hobo series. Thanks the time and energy it took.
Thank you once again
You're welcome!
Dude’s dropping hobo statistics. Love it.
Amen I always travel as light as possible. I don't like carrying things in my hands haha. Right now I don't even own pants. I don't mind owning things my life led me in this direction and I enjoy living with at least as possible. It makes it more exciting when you find something you need instead of buying it. Recently I found a high end multi tool. Thank you God for your providence!
Indeed!
What you don't wear trousers?
@@moorshound3243 He's a Scot :-)
@@ralphsmith8350 ah breezy
These videos are very entertaining, and the enthusiasum James displays is infectious.
Fantastic and very interesting video as always. I love seeing the kit you put together. I am pleased to find out that I have been traveling with all 10/10 of the items you mentioned! In modern version, of course
Pocket knife (multitool), matches (bic lighter), bandana, wallet with a tiny sewing kit in it, and a sharpie that will write on almost anything. In my bag, there is a small first aid kit with caffeine tablets; I also keep a spoon and cup nested under my nalgene. The more things change, the more they stay the same- the only thing I don't carry is the fish hooks.
It would be useful to have thread already on a needle, much like the fishing kit. Wrapping fishing line around your hat the putting the hook through the hat band is a neat trick as well.
Indeed.
A long piece of dental floss is .much stronger than thread and also is strong enough for a fishing line
Singer has them, can find in grocery stores/drug stores that have small sewing section, Walmart or similar fabric stores, online/Amazon . A couple other make them as well very light and handy. Have them for camping, and keep one in car. Can get in a blister pack or slider case for the singer one, comes with a couple butt0nss and safety pin and can throw other items in the slider case one.
@@Kinetic.44 use dental floss for sewing and fishing
8:21 Paint sticks or "hobo markers" are pretty big now, more so in the graffiti community, but I also saw them a lot in the traveling community before I retired from that way of life. They're basically large crayons made out of paint that can be hard to buff and can make tags that stay up and survive the elements. I heard the concept is pretty old but I would be surprised if they dated back to the 1930s. Hobo tags are still a thing and understanding them is almost like learning a different language, it's still blows my mind that the traveler/hobo lifestyle hasn't changed much since the 1930's golden era, and is one of the few parts of American culture that has been going strong for over 100 years.
My parents went to go see boxcar Willie down in Branson Missouri years ago and brought me back Signed handkerchief thought it was pretty cool rest in peace boxcar! And Rip Mom and Dad!
Very cool!
Pretty cool EDC! Makes me think about the things i carry on myself every day. The hank, the pocket knife. Instead of matches i carry a small flashlight. I keep stick matches in all glove boxes as well as plastic spoons. There's always a small sewing kit in there as well. Being a journeyman you have to be prepared. Coffee is a must as is a travel mug. I can relate to all those items and the least amount of space they take.
These reports on traveling on the road are fascinating . 👍
talking about the paper bills- "It doesn't jingle like money does". So very true, and not often understood by most people. Paper isn't money. Gold/Silver is money.
Hands down. Best idea and combination on the YT. So many options. Yes. It's a day hike kit.
Thanks for watching!
Great stuff, I considered myself a very successful street person for many years, but there is always new tips to learn !
In Canada in the Great Depression, it was illegal not have a certain minimum amount of money. This was a hook so they might fall foul of the Vagrancy Laws and gave the police cause to threaten the men to move on and leave town, or risk arrest. Maybe in winter, a spell in jail was preferable though.
"Freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose." K. Kristofferson
Janice Joplin in me and Bobby McGee said that too
Janis joll
@@mistydawnoliver6717 She nailed it in her last album. She was excited to hear Kris' reaction to the recording of the song he gave traction, but sadly passed too soon.
@@mistydawnoliver6717 Same song. Kris Kristofferson wrote it.
Sadly, we lost Kris today. What a talent.
My grandpa hoboed his way around Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia in the 1930s.
He recounted his travelling kit to me once, decades ago... Here's what I remember: a suitcase with a few clothes, sewing kit, playing cards, cash, knife, gas lighter and a spoon. Interestingly, he said the naphtha in his lighter was excellent for polishing leather, so it was dual purpose. He wore heavy leather boots and a jacket back then. He was a skilled craftsman and gambler and made a good living.
Thanks for sharing!
A hobo in 1930s Muscovy? I don’t think so.
Russia? In the 1930's no less? A foreigner wandering around the Soviet Union back then was gulag bound.
He's no longer with us so I can't say anything for sure, but he had a lot of Soviet documents (including a Soviet passport), and I believe he may have had official permits to travel there. He was of Scandinavian origin himself and I don't think he spoke Russian either. Hobo culture didn't really exist outside of the US, so you could just say he was "travelling light", but all I can say is that he at least went there.
This would've been under Stalin's regime, so it indeed must have been highly dangerous -- if not crazy -- for him to travel there. My grandpa was a very daring entrepreneur, but he was also pretty cunning and planned things out well. He could also handle difficult situations with ease, although he did spend some time in a Danish prison around the 1940s I believe.
I remember when I was a little child and I did some chores for my grandma and she gave me a couple of coins as a reward, and my grandpa saw it and asked me "How much do you have there?", and I replied "I don't know", so he smiled and said "Let me count that for you". I handed the coins to him, he put them in his pocket, laughed and walked away. He never was the kind and cuddly type. I was always scared of him as a child and I did my best to avoid him whenever possible.
This hobos series are amazing to see. Lot of knowledge and very good presented.
Thanks so much!
My father (b 1911 in western Kansas) hopped a train to get to college or a job in Lawrence or Chicago (can't remember the whole story) maybe in the 1920s-30s. He had Type 1 Diabetes at a time when it was a new drug, and amazing that he could manage his blood sugar under those conditions. It was a normal method of travel for the poor, I guess. Hero!
Indeed!
My great grandfather was a hobo who road trains looking for work during the Great Depression and who actually had to kill a man in a knife fight who had attacked my great grandfather for the can of beans he was trying to eat. That’s rough times.
Well my great grandfather wasa hobo working from farm to farm and during the great depression was killed by a man who had stolen a can of beans from him and had proceeded to start eating them in front of him..
@@Eulogy466 well that sucks! sounds like mine actually knew how to fight and yours didn’t. Survival of the fittest. It was a hobo eat hobo world.
My great grandfather was killed trying to take someone's beans. I'm just kidding; he raised sheep on his farm and passed at 70. Life was hard either way.
My great grandfather, was the can of beans.
@@terryshockley871Was your great grandfather silverish colored, short, cylindricall? Did he have a tatoo that said "BEANS"? I think I knew him.