A Day in the Life of a Great Depression Hobo

1. A Day in the Life of a Great Depression Hobo By: Hannah Weeks Mary Short

2. 7:00-11:00 • When hobos woke up in the morning they often awoke freezing because of the little blankets and supplies they had. • Hobos often began to drink alcohol, even early in the morning. • I can’t imagine sleeping outside in the freezing cold with barley any blankets or supplies to keep me warm.

3. 11:30-6:00 • Hobos spent some of their time during the day out on the street begging for money. • When they needed food or water, hobos often visited public soup kitchens that gave them food and a place to stay warm • Hobos often sold junk on the streets that they picked up at junk yards. Often the police would try to arrest them if they were out selling junk. • Selling things on the street would have been extremely frustrating for me since I’m sure you wouldn’t make very many sales in one day.

4. 6:30-11:00 • Hobos often “rode the rails” at night so they were not seen easily by the police • They often drunk and sung late into the night • Hobos had their own songs and people always complained that they sang too late, and too loud. • For us it’s hard to imagine having to ride the rails since we can just jump in our car to get around.

5. What they ate • Hobos sometimes ate hobo stew, which consisted of different foods they found all mixed together • They also ate birds that they shot from the sky with slingshots • They always cooked over a fire because they didn’t have ovens • Eating birds seems disgusting for us, but for hobos birds were a luxury.

6. Relating to hobos • For those of you that went to outdoor education, you have some idea what it is like to live like a hobo. Hobos lived in tents or slept outside during all kinds of weather, just like at outdoor ed. They also at foods like hobo stew. • It seems very hard to imagine, being a hobo, but when you really stop and think about you can realize what living as a hobo was like. It was never a pleasant way to live.

7. Appreciate what you have • So now you know how hobos had to live during the great depression. We hope this presentation has showed you to appreciate the little things you have like taking a shower and having a warm place to sleep. • Next time you get ready to go to bed think about how it would have been to sleep outside or live your whole life out on the streets.