The symbol for “get bread here” marked places where households or religious centers would offer leftover bread. Hobo signs could be used to mark locations where hobos could have their basic needs met. While they may have been searching for employment individually, they existed in the same community, and they worked to aid each other in their travels. These signs were essential ways for hobos to stay connected and keep one another safe on their perilous journeys.
#HOBO SIGNS FREE#
Hobo signs/symbols could warn fellow hobos about dangerous towns or people, mark places where they had gotten free food and shelter, identify locations where free medical care was available, provide directions to areas where work was accessible, and much more. Hobo signs and symbols were a method of communication employed by hobos that allowed them to leave notes about the places that they were passing through. Using chalk and coal to draw their symbols, hobos developed an entire language of graphics, all capable of informing fellow hobos about dangers, successes, optimistic locations, spots to steer clear from, and where to find work. What exactly were their hobo signs/symbols? What are the hobo signs/symbols? Hobo signs and symbols / Image source: NSA.gov As their migratory community expanded and more became aware of the danger and goodwill in different locations, hobos developed a means of communication to make the world more friendly to navigate.įrom this desire, hobo signs and symbols were born. Since life was often chaotic for hobos, developing a method of staying informed, aware, and alert of possible dangers (and of potential good fortune) helped provide stability to their unpredictable world. Hobos frequently traveled together in groups on train cars In freezing weather, hobos had to stick out the cold, often nearly freezing to death if they couldn’t find a house or barn to rest in.
Hobos also faced the threat of violence from police, potential employers, train security (affectionally called “bulls”), and the strangers they approached searching for food or shelter. Some people lost limbs trying to catch a boxcar. Hopping onto moving trains wasn’t always a smooth endeavor. Many went by nicknames or monikers that kept their identities concealed from strangers, police, train workers, and one another.Īlso, hobos faced numerous physical hardships. Hobos frequently traveled together in groups on train cars, yet they were on their own in terms of finding work and would be left behind in situations of peril. While the lives of hobos were grounded in a community, they were semi-detached from the financial hardships of their realities back home. More than two million men and 8,000 women became hobos during this era. As a result, they embraced the inconsistent hobo life with the hopes of experiencing better financial luck elsewhere. Many people struggled to find work in their communities. Countless individuals lost their homes, their jobs, and their savings. However, hobo life lost its charm after the Great Depression threw the lives of working people into turmoil. The hobo never knows what is going to happen the next moment hence, he lives only in the present moment. In Hobo Land the face of life is protean-an ever changing phantasmagoria, where the impossible happens and the unexpected jumps out of the bushes at every turn of the road. Perhaps the greatest charm of tramp-life is the absence of monotony. Famous hobo and writer Jack London wrote: The 1920s saw writers like Walt Whitman romanticizing the migratory life of hobos, a phenomenon called “ Hobohemia” by sociologist Nels Anderson. Hobos became even more notable in the 1920s and early 1930s. While hobos are still ill-defined by many historians, one definition has remained consistent: they were migratory workers who searched for temporary jobs across the country, with most train-hopping to new locations. The origin of hobos dates back to the start of the railroad, yet became relatively significant after the conclusion of the American Civil War (1860) when soldiers who had returned from battle began traveling in search of post-war work.īetween 19, the hobo population surged from 500,000 to 700,000.
#HOBO SIGNS SERIES#
How did they communicate? Through a unique series of graphics known as “hobo symbols.” Who were the original American hobos? What was the purpose of their signs/symbols? And what were some of the popular symbols used? Who were the original American hobos? Many hobos desired to protect their community from cruelty and steer them in the direction of goodwill. The life of the American hobo was an unpredictable and dangerous one. Hobos signs and symbols were a unique means of communication that helped steer hobos in the right direction-towards work and away from trouble
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