Hobo Convention 2012-Riding the Rails
I’m very upset. A convention came and went this year with me missing out on a great time. To be truthful, I only learned such events were held each year in Britt, Iowa.
I am speaking of the annual Hobo Convention. Yes, a gathering of rail-riders, hobos and tramps. How many of us have wanted to ditch the car, job and rules of life to see the country via rail. I for one would have loved to do this but alas missed the train years ago.
Every 2nd weekend in August the town of Britt celebrates the life of hobos and they sure have a great time. There is a bar-b-que, flea market, even a parade where folks competing for Hobo King & Queen get to strut their stuff.
Meet this years Hobo King & Queen. Loving the crowns!
Hobos even have their own celebrities.This here is Backwoods Hobo Jack. He is the star of the convention as he was featured on American Picker!!
Backwoods Hobo Jack
This the new generation of celebrity. The young girls line up for autographs from Bolty.
Bolty aka Brad Pitt of the Rails
You even get to witness a Hobo wedding. I wonder, do they toss rice or beans?
Hobo’s saying “I Do”
Old Hobo queens stay true to their camps. Meet Miss Hobo Lump
Miss Hobo Lump
Minnesota Jim and the Little Misses
Minneapolis Jim really wanted that crown
This guy fell into the fire not once but twice.Riding the rails tires a man out for sure
He was either real sleepy or dead drunk
Hobos have rules and I bet one better not break them either
Mind your manners
A new generation of hobos is emerging. Gotta love him for keeping traditions alive
Kentucky Kid will be able write one helluva memoir I bet!
Honoring hobos who have passed away to the great track in the sky. They are said to have gone “Westbound”
Rest well fellow Westbounders
Hobos are as much a part of Americana as Mom & Apple pie. They are brave, adventurous people who take life by the rails and live the American Dream. I wonder am I really too old to pack a bag and jump…
“A hobo wanders and works, a tramp wanders and dreams and a bum neither wanders or works”
(Thank you to Buzzfeed for being our eyes at the annual Hobo Convention:https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151192816805329.505096.21898300328&type=1)
very interesting… very interesting indeed
This world of ours is so fascinating
yes it is. I like the slice of Americana you displayed. i love the pictures…real life
Thank you.. I would so like to go to this and talk to these people. Oh the stories they can tell.. It’s Our America
that would be interesting.. very much so. I love people watching..
Thanks for this. Thinking of becoming a hobo…
Would be mad fun wouldn’t it.. except for my bum knee (no pun intended)
This is a great story! I love that Hobos have their own convention and get to have some fun. At Halloween in the ’50s, I was a Hobo 3 years in a row. I thought being a hobo must be the coolest thing…seeing the world from a train, no school, no parents telling you what to do. Cool!
I was a hobo too and when i had kids I used to dress them up as hobos for Halloween.. It would be something I wish i had of tried when i was younger..Not for years but say 6 months..I think it’s so cool they gather together and must tell the coolest stories
I know what you mean. I’d love to hear some of the stories, too. Can you imagine – nothing to do but watch people and the world go by. Six months would be it for me, too. Would have been great in my early 20′s before getting married.
I’ve never known a hobo. But I have known a bum or two.
haha.. you are so silly!!
Something about that life always appealed to me. But some reading on the subject showed it’s not near as romantic a life as I thought.
One question – during the year, where do they send the newsletters?!?
EG-no doubt it’s a rough way to live.. Good question on the newsletter and I was shocked to see there is a hobos.com site?
This is the exact reason why I love reading blogs, especially yours. Never would I know this type of Convention existed. What a wonderful and interesting life they must lead. Great post and I loved the pictures you posted along with it. Loved reading this!!
I read about this yesterday and I had no idea either.. had to share.. I’d love to ride along for a bit and hear some of their stories.
Thanks mucho!!
Great article. Hurray for the hobos.
Indeed..High five to the Hobos of America..Ride on!!!
So much fun!
A Hobo convention..whoda thunk it
This is great! Very strange that you brought this up. I wrote a whole book on hoboing. Fiction. This was in about 2002-03. I got it to where a really good NYC literary agency looked at it, but they didn’t want it. In retrospect, there were a lot of flaws in it and it seemed a little contrived, but one day, maybe, I’ll fix it up and try to do something with it, OR, cut it to pieces and make short stories out of it. I used to follow all the hobo conventions (via the net)… haha. I’ve never ridden the rails. It almost seems like an anachronism, which is another reason I put the book aside.
You really ought to revisit those stories. I know your writing and I’m certain with a second glance you will have some great reads.. I never even knew there was such a thing as a “Hobo Convention” and here you knew all along.. Should have known, you the world traveler
It’s definitely Americana, I had to look the word up to find out the difference between hobo and tramp (I think we only have tramps, vagrants, vagabonds and downright homeless in my part of the world).
Do the still manage to ride the freight trains for free then? And do the railyard/depot staff turn a blind eye?
Fancy that annual convention has been going for more than 100 years! And the list of famous people who have hoboed (is that a word?) was fascinating too. [wiki]
I had no idea about this until I ran across an article yesterday.. I mean a Hobo convention & yes, 100 years too.. crazy.. Oh I’m sure they still ride free and have to sneak and jump in the dark of night.. Fascinating to me..
Oh my God! I am truly, truly amazed by this post … by the people! Thank you so much for posting it! It is never too late, never … this America of yours – can I come please?
Daniela, America truly is a melting pot of people…I’ll trade places with you for a few weeks as I would love to visit New Zealand
Number 1… I want a Folgers’ can crown..brilliant! Number 2… Miss Hobo Lump has so much character on her face, I just know she would be able to share great stories. Number 3.. attendance, at least once in your lifetime, should be mandatory for the rest of us.
Haha..I can so see you wearing that crown too
..My first thought about Hobo Lump was, she’s so pretty and I bet she has so many amazing tales to tell.. How cool would this be for a roadtrip..Can you imagine telling the folks at work you are taking your vacation at the annual Hobo Convention 
Oh, she is beautiful! I am laughing so hard as I imagine the faces when vacation and Hobo convention are used in the same sentence.
This is so funny, over the wee end my nephew was telling me about his trip to Lollapalooza (music fest) in Chicago. He said said, and I quote “I love Chicago, they have the coolest Hobos.”
Can’t believe there is a Hobo Convention. I think this is marvelous! It is laughable, but on the other hand, there is much pain and suffering in the lives of the homeless. Bravo, for bringing attention to the Hobo Convention. Pretty soon, there will be more hobo’s unless America takes some weight off its obese budget.
I admit I laughed when I first read about this but then thought, “damn, that is so cool”..sure they have a hard life trying eat and such but oh the sights they must see.
You are so correct in that we all may be hitching a ride on a train..
God, that should not look like as much fun as it does. There’s a huge part of me that really would like to ditch everything and take off. But then my logical brain reminds me how much I like my creature comforts. And cats. And family/friends.
I’m with you there..it does look fun but no wi-fi, or Mr Coffee Maker..Nope can’t do it !!
Who knew? I love people that are not cookie cutter. Makes life fun.
Imagine if we all were alike. What a drab and boring world this would be
One of my earliest memories is sitting on the porch counting the hobos in the boxcars as the train passed through the tiny town where I was born, Skykomish, Washington (population 97). There were lots of bonafide hobos 50+ years ago.They often stopped at our house and split a little firewood in exchange for a meal. (My dad said they left a special mark on the gates of houses where they would be welcomed.)
Oh you lucky girl.. That story is amazing and worthy of a post..
This is awesome! Maybe my daughter and I will check it out next time as part of our “Preparing to be a hobo” (http://thecubicleviews.com/2012/02/19/preparing-to-be-a-hobo/) adventures.
You know what, seriously, what a cool road trip that would make for you both. Can you see her “Show & Tell” presentation at school? She would be the coolest kid in the school
nice pic
colombobyxx@yahoo.com cool
loved the pics and coment DEE RAIL
thanks so much.. looks like a fun time
i tryed to get there via bus, i shuld have just taken the train. had to turn around and go home do to an incompatent bus system and people. dee rail