Tramps and Hobos
Contents
Exhibitions of Tramp or Hobo Related Artifacts Sponsored by the Main Street Museum
Tramps, Hobos, and Transients at the Edge
Special Events and Special Exhibits At The Main Street Museum
May through July, 2009
Afoot and light-hearted I take to the open road, healthy, free, the world before me
Henceforth I ask not good-fortune, I myself am good-fortune
Here a great personal deed has room ... The road is before us! —Whitman
I'm a man of means, by no means - King of the Road —Miller
What is a hobo? We're all familiar with the ragged figure with a bundle on a stick, traveling by freight train. But a more interesting question might be, "who is a hobo, and why?"
The tramp, the hobo, the wanderer - the unemployed, uprooted American, or simply anyone who can't rest easy without knowing what's around the next bend in the road - have a social pedigree that runs from the wilderness and Walt Whitman's "Open Road," right through to the songs of Bruce Springsteen, and today's news headlines about migrant workers, homelessness and economic upheaval.
In a groundbreaking series of special events and special exhibits this May through July, the Main Street Museum will investigate and celebrate the American wanderer with readings, movies, concerts, cookouts, lectures and more.
We are located in White River Junction, Vermont, a gritty and historic railroad town that is easily reached by Amtrak and is just minutes from Interstates I-89 and I-91.
A full schedule of special events is attached and is also available on our website. Our special exhibits will be on display May 1 through July 31, 2009. You can learn more about our programs at www.mainstreetmuseum.org/wiki, or call us at 802-356-2776.
Supported in part by the Vermont Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities or the Vermont Humanities Council.
Schedule of Events for May, 2009
- Friday May 1 (May Day!)—”Hallelujah, I’m a Bum!” First Friday at the Main Street Museum. Opening Reception 6 - 8 p.m., “Tramps, Hobos, and Transients at the Edge,” a series of special events with exhibitions. Reception features readings and discussion of museum displays. Plus “Mopey Dick and the Duke,” original artwork by Denys Wortman showing tramps on the loose in America in the 1930s, from the archives of the Center for Cartoon Studies. Jazz with the Goog Smith Trio! Cupcakes, champagne and snacks! Free admission.
- Thursdays, May 7, May 21, and June 4 at 7 p.m.—Spring ARTifacts Film Series. Rare vintage features showcasing Rovers, Road Trips, Tramps and, yes, Hobos. Plus! Charlie Chaplin as “The Little Tramp” on all dates! Presented by the Center for Cartoon Studies Movie Club. With introductions and discussion by film historian Stephen R. Bissette. Free admission.
Supported in part by the Vermont Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
- Saturday, May 16—The Hobo Film Festival, with Shawn Lukitsch. Part One: 4 - 6 p.m. Dinner break, 6 - 7 p.m. with Hobo Stew/BYO-BBQ on the Museum Riverbank. (You bring the food. We supply the hot coals!) Part Two: 7 - 9 p.m. Each film presentation will be accompanied by discussion and question-and-answer sessions. $8 per person, or “pay what you may.”
Supported in part by the Vermont Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
- Saturday, May 23—Songs of the Open Road with Pariah Beat and Friends. A do-it-yourself outdoor concert with Hobo Stew and BYO-BBQ on the Museum Riverside, 6 - 8 p.m. Bring a song and a musical instrument! Afterwards “Tramp Rock” with Pariah Beat and Friends on the Museum Stage.
9 - 11 p.m. $8 per person. Includes Stew!
- Thursday, May 28-Illuminated Slide Lecture, “White River Junction and the Curious Case of the Haitian Hobo,” an imaginative local history by cartoonist James Sturm. Opening reception 6 - 7 p.m., Lecture 7 - 8 p.m. Question-and-answer session to follow. Free admission.
Supported in part by the Vermont Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
- Saturday, May 30-Hobo and Tramp Musical Jamboree, featuring Sundown Songs/Broken Bottle Band and friends from New Orleans, 8 - 11 p.m. on the Museum Stage. Real tramps and members of the bands talk about tramping and The Open Road.
Plus! “Stumpz Duh Clown!!” $8 per person.
- Thursday, June 11-Panel Discussion on Tramps, Homelessness, Poverty and the Open Road featuring experts on history, contemporary social issues, and the law. Opening reception 6 - 7 p.m., Panel 7 - 9 p.m. Free admission.
Supported in part by the Vermont Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Programming also made possible with the support of the Byrne Foundation and by Main Street Museum members and friends.
For those presentations receiving support from the Vermont Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities, any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in those programs do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities or the Vermont Humanities Council.
A Gallery of Hobo Images
Some of the images of the Tramp we have assembled over the course of a year or so. Some are real tramps, or documentary photos. Others are images from the popular media, and so represent our changing ideas of the tramp and the nostalgia of the hobo. Enjoy.
Vermont History Expo, 2007. Tunbridge, Vermont
World Tours, Hobos and Gypsies; Artifacts from Transmigratory Cultures in Focus The Main Street Museum, White River Junction, Vermont, 2007
The Main Street Museum offers for your education and contemplation, an exhibit of transient objects and souvenirs of trips from our permanent collection — things brought back from abroad by Vermonters. World Tours were undertaken by middle and upper class Victorians for education, health, and in a more limited sense, cultural exchange. These same goals are often associated with Hobo life and the life of gypsie encampments to the present day. Just as there is a long history of Hobo life along the state of Vermont’s railroads, this culture continues today especially in our home town of White River Jct.
Founded in 1992, the Main Street Museum has been located in four different locations in the town of Hartford. Therefore the museum itself can be seen as a kind of gypsie. We have been in motion but are now entering into a state of rest. Well, not rest really, but at least we can say that we are more composed now than we used to be.
Items in this Category:
- Discarded Cough Syrup Bottle
- Discarded Can, Hash
- Hats and Head-Coverings
- Nitrous Oxide Canister
- Railroad Date Nail
- Sardine Can, Flattened
- Street Band Boots, Discarded
