Visitors flock to Hobo Days
By ANGIE JOHANNSEN, News-Tribune Editor
People new to Hobo Days can't possibly understand the adventure they are about to undertake when they walk into the National Hobo Convention for the first time.
For those who think they are just coming to see a parade, peruse a flea market and put their children on an inflatable ride, life takes on a whole different atmosphere inside the city limits when the hoboes are in town.
You can have your picture taken with royalty - of course, their crowns are made of coffee cans and the campfires they rule are run by hoboes. You can wander down to the Hobo Jungle where any moment an impromptu concert featuring traveling musicians from all over the country might sit down and play a song or two.
And there's always the highlight of the week - the coronation ceremony. Always a grand affair drawing a large crowd, this year's ceremony filled City Park with hoboes, locals and outsiders seeking to be a small part of Britt's century-old celebration of a culture few understand and fewer yet dare to embrace.
“It's unusual, interesting and just amazing,” said a gentleman sitting by himself on the bleachers. He gazed around at the crowd while listening intently to hoboes giving speeches from a gazebo.
It was minutes before the coronation contest was to begin and the man, who asked to be referred to as Richard D., was as excited as any of the hoboes waiting for a new king and queen.
He hails from Minneapolis, MN. and was making his way to the Iowa State Fair when he decided to make the stop in Britt. He had heard about the convention years before, but hadn't felt the pull to come like he did this year. It was a “stew card” that eventually brought him here this time.
Cards are made each year in preparation of the free 5,000-gallon mulligan stew feed in Britt held on coronation day. Thousands of the cards good for one “free” bowl of stew have made their way across the country, and one card fell into the hands of Richard, all the way from Minnesota.
Already on his way south to Des Moines, he thought a 20-mile detour to see what the convention was all about was the ideal way to finish his summer traveling. The wanderer, who might have been a hobo himself but for a different path in life, had already been to Baraboo, Wis. to see a circus museum, the Wisconsin State Fair and Galesburg, Ill.
“I used to watch steam trains being built with my dad, and I still have an electric train I got for Christmas as a child,” Richard said. “I just figured I had to come see this, and it's been great.”
Just five feet away in the bleachers a young man was also taking in his first convention.
Leo Yoshido, of Tokyo, Japan, sat next to his father, watching an event he had heard about for years unfolding in front of him.
“I'm having a blast here, the convention is great,” Yoshido said.
The young writer first learned of Britt on the Internet after he started researching hoboes. He made a trip to the hobo museum and says he fell in love with Britt and the hobo lifestyle from the moment he saw their history.
Already a published author in Japan, he plans to write his second book about hobo artifacts and the history surrounding this lively group. Britt was a logical place to start.
“I'm really surprised there are no books on the artifacts of the hoboes; I'm excited to write on this.”
Yoshido and his father will stay in Britt until Tuesday when they leave for a trip to Los Angeles. He planned to spend Saturday night down at the Hobo Jungle, learning more about the people he has come to love long-distance.
“I am dying to talk to the people here, to the hoboes,” Yoshido said.
Hobo N.Y. Maggie, who settled in Britt after years of traveling, was instrumental in bringing Yoshido to town. She said the Internet has bridged a gap between this small Midwestern community and an international following ready to learn more about the hobo lifestyle.
“Thanks to the Internet we have more people from countries across the world interested in the hobo culture and history,” said Maggie.
“It's wonderful, and this whole convention this year has been just wonderful and exciting for everyone.”
Story created Aug 14, 2007 - 09:28:48 CDT.
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