Hobo signs and symbols

A hobo is a migratory worker or homeless vagabond—especially one who is penniless. The term originated in the Western hobo signs and symbols Northwestern United States around Unlike "tramps"—who work only when they are forced to- and "bums" who do not work at all, "hobos" are itinerant workers.

Hoboes used signs, codes if you will to communicate with other hoboes arriving after them conveying the conditions of the town, the people and the availability of work, food and lodging. The only way of passing knowledge of these signs between hoboes was word of mouth. So many signs were altered just due to the loss of detail in the communication of the signs and symbols. Cryptic signs have been around forever. Hobo signs have been around since the fourteenth century in European nations and the 's in America. There isn't a lot of information on the early signs used by hoboes and not all hoboes used the same signs as there wasn't an easy way of communicating these signs across the country.

Hobo signs and symbols

Hoboes have been leaving signs and symbols around the world for over a century. Symbols would signify to other hobos about good places to camp, where to get food, where the cops are alert, where to find work, etc. The reason for the hobo signs were twofold. Some hobos were illiterate and also by using symbols they could keep the meaning of their messages a secret from the general public. Hobo signs and hobo symbols have been guiding and informing hobos for over a century. Hobo Signs Hoboes have been leaving signs and symbols around the world for over a century. Hobo Signs History A history of hobo signs. Look through newspaper articles from the late 's on up through the 's about hobo signs. We look at some newspaper articles from the past and books written on the subject of hobo signs. You can search for a sign, search by shape or meaning and also find any sources that reference that hobo symbol. Hobo Symbols and others Modern Symbols for the modern world. Some newer hobo symbols and some symbols influenced by hobo signs of the past, others just created to help keep the 'special ones' alive.

Hobo Signs on Gate Posts. Signs told whether a town was "dry. At the end of the 19th century in the United States, hobos crisscrossed the American hobo signs and symbols from East to West, propelled by the expansion of the railways and driven by precariousness, often forced by times of crisis.

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It was almost 30 years ago, and I was flat on my back in a hospital bed in Trenton, New Jersey, sharing my room with this elderly man. I called him Mr. To everybody else, he was Willy. My roommate was in his 90s, and though he was in for heart trouble, he was sharp as a razor. While we healed, Willy imparted wisdom about the difficult truths of life as a hobo, an itinerant worker who moved through rural America , sometimes stealthily for their own security. Their secret? A system of hastily scrawled symbols that only the initiated would understand.

Hobo signs and symbols

The origins of the term "Hobo" cannot be traced. A few suggestions have been put forward. Some say it comes from "Hoe Boy" because many migrant workers traveled with a hoe or other farming tool. Others claim it came from the soldiers returning from the Civil War, who were "Homeward Bound.

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And, in fact, no one has yet determined which side of the road we're supposed to be on. France Germany Netherlands Switzerland. Source Image Story about several levels of Tramps coming to Kauia, Hawaii to swindle what they can. Description Hobo signs and symbols. Figures 16 to 19 indicate a clean prison with a grid with well-fed prisoners, or that they are starving their prisoners. Mathonius talk contribs. Like any language, written or spoken, over time it develops independently to meet the needs of those using it. Some examples follow:. They take pride in this attribute and often travel with the implements of their trade. Around the end of World War II , railroads began to move from steam to diesel locomotives, making jumping freight trains more difficult. Flickr user ID : ideonexus. Shreveport, Louisiana. He explains that wanderers are "governed in their relationships by unwritten laws and rules, which they respect far more than the laws dictated by 'society', which they describe as annoying". At the spurs—small railroads that lead into or away from factories, sawmills, lumberyards, and packing houses—the trains stopped.

They were the nomadic workers who roamed the country at the start of the 20th century and through the Great Depression, taking work wherever they could and never spending too long in any one place. In their extensive travels, hobos learned to leave notes for each other, giving information on the best places to camp or find a meal, or dangers that lay ahead.

Upload file Recent changes Latest files Random file Contact us. Forgot your password? Many listings of these symbols have been made. ISBN Secret Code of Tramps. Hoboes were noted for, among other things, the distinctive lingo that arose among them. Grammarphobia Blog. And still more are completely different, even if the information being relayed is similar. In fact, they travel around the country as workers, not only because they enjoy the freedom, but also to earn a stake to get them through the winter. It was almost 30 years ago, and I was flat on my back in a hospital bed in Trenton, New Jersey, sharing my room with this elderly man. Hobos scrawled the secret language with whatever writing implements were available—a lump of coal, chalk, a nail, or even a sharp-edged rock.