Hobo Continued

For eating money I did try to get jobs which would be temporary. Washing dishes was one. But then when you get a little bit farther out west I went door to door to see if they had wood to chop or anything I could do. Sometimes they had jobs to do. Sometimes the housewife would give me a little something to eat.

There were times in the smaller towns there was an area next to the tracks where the hobos cooked their meals. There were tin cans that you could cook in. There were times when some of us would get together and scatter out and see what kind of vegetable meats we could come up with and bring them back to the “Hobo Jungle” and in a five gallon can with the top cut out make a “Hobo Stew.” It was always different because it depended on what ingredients could be collected. That is one way we got to eat and work together as a group. This was usually on railroad property, usually outside of town away from the yards. If the railroads knew about the Hobo Jungle they often left them alone.

Farther out west there were places at the water towers because in those days it was the day of steam. Coal was shoveled into the boilers. The water towers were to refill the water on the train. Some of the water towers were rigged so we could take showers. There was a faucet with a stream of cold water. It is pretty hard when you are traveling, especially in the soot from the trains to keep clean but that is one way that we did it. It was very refreshing to find a water tower like that.

We did carry with us a “bindle” which was a blanket and a few cooking utensils so when we went to sleep we had something to cover up with. The nicest way of traveling was in a box car because you were out of the weather. We would put our shoes under our head and were pretty comfortable. They were a little harder to get in when the train was moving. We rode in various different kinds of cars to get from one place to another.

When we got to the next town we had to get off before the station because the bulls were waiting to roust the hobos. So we would then go to the other end of town to get back on the train as it was pulling out.

I traveled as far west as Wyoming. I was in Gillette Wyoming and walking down the street when a car pulled up and asked if I was looking for work. I said yes, I am. He was a ranch owner and it was time for the harvest. I went out to the ranch. He paid me a dollar a day plus board. I worked there for about two months. There was one other hired hand. We ate with the family. But there was a bunk house. The other hired hand, who was an old timer, slept in the bunkhouse. We would go out and shuck wheat, which was hard on the hands. We would fork hay on the wagons. They had horses for the equipment. They pulled a buck rake that picked up the hay and pushed it ahead. There was another contraption that lifted up the loose hay and made it into a haystack. The horses powered this contraption as well. I did drive the team but it was very difficult. The horses were half wild as they on were only used to harnesses. He was out where there was no electricity. He had a generator and in the evening he would start the generator and there would be lights. It was a pretty remote ranch.

When the harvest was over the man drove me into town and I had enough money to buy myself a pair of shoes. When I headed back east it was on a train that had refrigeration cars. In those days the refrigerator cars had a compartment (reefer) on each end of the car and that is where the put the ice to keep the contents of the car from spoiling. These particular cars were empty. We couldn’t get into the main part of the boxcars. So we stayed in the reefers.

When we got close to Chicago I left the train and I did stop at a used clothing place and bought myself a suit coat and then I went into town and close to the tracks there were some businesses. I put the coat on and the fellow had his hand in my back andhe took me up to a mirror and the coat looked pretty good. I wasn’t looking forthe fanciest coat. It was really to keep me warm. Then after I left the shopthe coat was too big for me. He had gathered the extra material in his hand.Once I left the shop I was stuck with the coat.

I became acquainted with the owner of a sign shop. He put me up for the night. I started doing little jobs for him. In addition to signs he would pick up little painting jobs and I would do that. He had a pretty large building. It was set up with the boards where he could put his signs on it was convenient to letter the signs. As time went on I watched him letter and I thought I could do that. When no one was around I would open up the little paint cans and practice my letters. When he finally saw what I was doing he was allowing me to letter some of the rough type of lettering that the grocery stores used to put the prices on. I still couldn’t do the fancier work. I spent a few months with him. I was living in the shop and he was giving me enough spending money so I was able to buy my meals. For recreation I went to a place where they did roller skating. I bought myself a pair of skates and I even met a girl there. I was really starting to settle in. Then my boss decided to partner with another painter and my job was gone. I went back on the road again.