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Reefer Charlie Fox rode the rails from 1928 to 1939; from 1939 to 1965 he hitched rides in automobiles and traveled by foot. From Indiana to British Columbia, from Arkansas to Texas, from Utah to Mexico, he was part of the grand hobo tradition that has all but passed away from American life. He camped in hobo jungles, slept under bridges and in sand houses at railroad yards, ate rattlesnake meat, fresh California grapes, and fish speared by the Indians of the Northwest. He quickly learned both the beauty and the dangers of his chosen way of life. One lesson learned early on was that there are distinct differences among hoboes, tramps, and bums. As the all-time king of hoboes, Jeff Davis, used to say, Hoboes will work, tramps won't, and bums can't. "Tales of an American Hobo" is a lasting legacy to conventional society, teaching about a bygone era of American history and a rare breed of humanity who chose to live by the rails and on the road.
Examines the life of Blackie, a hobo for sixty years, as he chooses to defend his life on the banks of the Sacramento and fight America's changing attitude toward the homeless.
Drawn from intimate interviews with 14 modern-day "steel rail nomads," One More Train to Ride provides a revealing picture of today's American hobo. Interspersed with their stories are original poems and songs echoing the ancient lyricism and loneliness of life on the road. Their connections with the past make the experiences of these hoboes even more striking, as they ride freight trains and jungle up in hobo camps, light years away from the 21st-century cyberworld -- yet touching the very core of American freedom and individualism. Cliff Williams skillfully elicits details of family background, motives, and clear insights into the daily life and philosophy of the modern hobo. With its evocative link to the past, One More Train to Ride continues a long tradition of books on hobo oral history, including Nels Anderson's The Hobo (1923) and Thomas Minehan's Boy and Girl Tramps of America (1934).
The hobo has long been romanticized and depicted as carefree in our countryas imagination through pictures, figurines, movies and TV shows. His myth makes a better story than his reality. Hobos were misjudged and mistreated. Their reality was brutal, sad and lonely. Their survival depended upon courage and wits. As a reader, you will be introduced to their reality during the Great Depression years. There are quotes from the hobos themselves telling the reasons for leaving home, the train cars they rode, life in their jungles (camps), advice given from the seasoned hobos to the novice hobos, treatment from the bulls (railroad detectives), begging for food, finding work, their health, injuries and death, and their entertainment and traditions.