Westbound

One of the first things that Adolph wanted to make very clear to us when we began this film was the fact that he was a hobo—not a tramp, and certainly not a bum. A person of any sense would never refer to a hobo as a tramp or a tramp as a bum. That would be disrespectful. There is a hierarchy within the culture and if you are an outsider the first step toward acceptance is an understanding of this structure.

I began to do a bit of research and was surprised by what I found within this subculture of wandering people.

A National Hobo Convention.

A hobo museum.

A hobo cemetery.

Hobo symbols.

A hobo language.

Biddles = Eggs
Glad Rags = Fancy Clothes
Red Ball = A fast fruit train, good for long rides.
Yegg = A hobo criminal who usually made his living by stealing from working hobos.

This got me thinking about the term “hobo.” Where did the name originate? And what is the difference between a hobo and a tramp?

I went straight to the source to find out…

Adolph’s eyes lit up as he began to talk about the lifestyle that he had spent 75 years trying to preserve—“Oh, let me assure you, there’s a big difference between a tramp and a hobo.”

With great pride he continued the tales of his rambling brothers…

Through further conversation with Adolph, we learned that hobos were people – men, women, and sometime children – that were “just down on their luck.” They were always willing to work for a meal. As for tramps, they may do odd jobs from time to time, but did not seek out regular work and chose to support themselves by begging or scavenging. Both the terms “tramp” and “hobo” (and the distinction between them) were in common use between the 1880s and the 1940s. Certainly not limited to the Great Depression as we had previously been told.

We had a lot to learn and just the man to teach us.

Filed under: Uncategorized on April 6th, 2007