Hobo Marking Systems

"I never told you about, some of the tramps we used to have, did I? The ones that came to be well known around here were all odd characters. I suppose you might say some of them weren't right, though that's matter of opinion. Maybe they was smarter than folks who looked down on them. Maybe they got more satisfaction out of life in their own way than some who were better off."

Connecticut Clockmaker as interviewed by writer Francis Donovan 12/31/38 (?)Library of Congress, Manuscript Division, WPA Federal Writers' Project Collection.

Photograph: Two hobos walking along railroad tracks, after being put off a train. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division

Riding the Rails and all that that entails!

I'd purchased Rudy Rides the Rails by Dandi Daley Mackall (Illus. Chris Ellison) a few weeks ago. It is another picture book set during the Great Depression that was published after my book came out and which I plan to review.

Simply by its title, the reader knows what the book will be about. So it comes as sheer coincidence that I spent the better part of last week and the weekend reading about rail riding and hobo life during the 1930's. I was conducting research for another project, reading such works as Sister of the Road (an autobiography of Box-Car Bertha), The Tramp in America, Boy and Girl Tramps of America,(author Thomas Minehan actually road with the train-hopping hobos and offers amazing insight), and works by noted writer and sociologist, Nels Anderson (see bibliography below).

Mackall's book touches on many of the themes i.e. the various ways a person could ride a train, hobo jungles, begging.

What is fun about her book, for me, at least, is that the hobo she features in her story actually rides a train through Waterloo, Iowa, a city just east of where I live. She also has her main character travel through Britt, Iowa, which bills itself as home to the National Hobo Convention. The city of Britt even houses a museum. http://www.brittiowa.com/

I'll expand on this topic in the next couple of entries!

Becky

Anderson, Nels On Hobos and Homelessness. Chicago : University of Chicago Press, 1998.
Bruns, Roger A. Knights of the Road : A Hobo History. New York : Methuen, 1980.
Cresswell, Tim The Tramp in America. London : Reaktion Books, 2001.
Minehan, Thomas Boy and Girl Tramps of America. New York : Farrar and Rinehart, 1934.
Reitman, Dr. Ben L. Sister of the Road : The Autobiography of Box-Car Bertha. New York : Harper Colophon Books, 1975.

A Visit with Deborah Hopkinson

As promised, one of the goals of this blog is to dig a little deeper into the issues and topics that concern the Great Depression. One way to do that will be to offer 'visits' with authors I've reviewed.

We are very fortunate to have our first visit be with Deborah Hopkinson, author of Saving Strawberry Farm, reviewed on February 7th. I asked her if she would share how she came to write the book, what served as her inspiration. Here is her reply!

Ms. Hopkinson wrote:

Stories come about in odd ways sometimes. SAVING STRAWBERRY FARM was written several years ago, while I was living in Walla Walla, Washington. Our house was just a half mile from a wonderful place called Klickers. Klickers is a local institution: one one side, the store sells antiques and reproductions, candles,soap and old-fashioned candy. Another section includes local produce and Walla Walla sweet onions in the summer, and Christmas ornaments and wreaths during the holiday season. The field next to the store becomes a pumpkin patch in October, and a Christmas tree stand in December. There are even reindeer in the barn!

But Klickers is most famous most for its strawberries. In the years we lived in the area, I sometimes picked with my husband and two children, but more often visited the U Pick fields alone on a Sunday morning. And so I was inspired by that experience of early summer and the wonderful sweetness of fresh strawberries.

That's one part of the inspiration for SAVING STRAWBERRY FARM. The other came from a small book entitled A Nickel's Worth of Skim Milk: A Boy's View of the Great Depression, by Robert Hastings. First published in 1972, the memoir captured a family's experiences in Southern Illinois in the 1930s. I also researched penny auctions, and somehow all these elements came together in this story.

Most of my historical fiction and nonfiction books take place in the 19th century. I did, however, have the chance to research and read more about the Great Depression while writing my nonfiction book, UP BEFORE DAYBREAK: COTTON AND PEOPLE IN AMERICA. We are fortunate that many oral histories of factory workers and former slaves were collected during the Depression through the Federal Writers Project, and are now available online through American Memory from the Library of Congress.

I think my favorite part of writing is that it gives me the opportunity to continue to learn. That is true both for my work as a writer and my "day job," raising money to support the work of ChristieCare, an organization that provides mental health services to children here in Oregon, I hope that reading my books will spur others to be curious and want to learn more about ordinary people in history. This fall my new picture book, ABE LINCOLN CROSSES A CREEK, will be released in honor of the 2009 bicentennial of Lincoln's birth. But this book also celebrates the life of another boy: Benjamin Austin Gollaher. To learn why he is important you'll just have to wait to read the book to find out!

Deborah Hopkinson

Thank you, Deborah!! What a great letter! I should mention that I've read Up Before Daybreak : Cotton and People in America - and loved it! Good luck with your next book! Thanks, again! - Becky

Cooking Class : Cheese Fluff

The depression era used some colorful names for food. Hobos called sausage "gut". A "foamy omelet" was baked, rather than fried, and resembled a souffle because the egg whites were beaten stiff before cooking. And a "Rag Cake", despite its unappetizing name, was a cake make with oil instead of the more expensive butter. In fact, a "Rag Cake" is the same as the more elegantly named, "Chiffon Cake." Chiffon, in french, means cleaning cloth...or rag!


I chose the following recipe from Jolly Times Cook Book : Simple Recipes for Young Beginners. Like many recipes from that time, this recipe has a unique, and inviting name. The book suggests the fluff be served with "tomatoes, Gossamer Pickles, Tumbling Bisquits, and fruit sherbert." I can't quite tell if this casserole is incredibly delicious, or just the opposite. While I have not made it, it appears to be a dish along the lines of french bread with cheese. The mustard threw me. I suppose you could leave it out. Bon appetite...and pass the Gossamer Pickles!

Cheese Fluff

4 slices white bread of medium thickness (this recipe assumes the bread was homemade)

1 pound American cheese (approx. 6-8 slices of American Cheese will be adequate)

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. dry mustard

2 eggs

1 C. milk

The recipe calls for a large casserole pan be greased with butter. (While it does not indicate the exact size of the pan, I'd suggest a 9x13 pan.) Break the bread into pieces and layer evenly on the bottom of the pan. Place cheese slices evenly over bread. Combine the salt and mustard, then sprinkle over bread and cheese. Beat eggs and milk together. Pour mixture over bread and cheese. Cover for one hour so bread can absorb egg/milk mixture.

Uncover and bake in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes. While I've modified the directions to suit how we cook, today, it is interesting to note that the original recipe instructs to "uncover casserole and place in a cold oven. Light fire, and bake.." In the 1930's, cooking stoves would have had to been 'lit', as opposed to merely turning a knob.

Osborn, Marjorie Noble Jolly Times Cook Book. Illus. Clarence Biers. Chicago : Rand McNally & Company, 1934.

Ok, I couldn't resist: Gossamer Pickles! Layer dill pickle slices with granulated sugar. After several layers, top with a final layer of sugar. Place in refridgerator for four or five days before serving.

Becky

Book Review : Saving Strawberry Farm by Deborah Hopkinson

When I originally wrote my book, The Great Depression in Literature for Youth, Deborah Hopkinson's book was on my radar. The only trouble was I couldn't get my hands on an actual copy. I knew, from what little I could find about this book, that it was set during the depression and that the story involved an auction. So even though I hadn't actually read the book, I felt its theme matched the purpose of my book, so I included it with a simple, one line description. Now that I have read, Saving Strawberry Farm, I'd like to expand on my original description.

The first thing I noticed about this charming book were the vibrant illustrations. Rachel Isadora used colored pencils to create engaging scenes that depict the era, right down to main character, Davey's blue overalls. Set on a hot summer day, Davey is sent to buy ice. While at the general store, he learns that the local strawberry farm will be auctioned off because the owner, Miss Elsie, cannot pay her mortgage. Can Davey find a way to help Miss Elsie before she loses her land forever?

Ms. Hopkinson offers a detail account of how neighbors rallied to the aid of people about to lose their land by holding a penny auction. She describes how the people banded together to keep the sale price of the farm so low, Miss Elsie was able to buy it back from the bank, thereby saving her strawberry farm.

The New Deal Network describes a penny auction in the following link:
http://newdeal.feri.org/timeline/1933c2.htm

An Author's Note is included that gives background information on the depression, farm auctions and small grocery stores from that era, like the one featured in the story.

Leah's Pony by Elizabeth Friedrich (Illus. by Michael Garland) is another book that features a penny auction. But in this book, instead of one parcel of land being sold, it details how household items, including a prized pony, could be auctioned, too.

Saving Strawberry Farm author, Deborah Hopkinson link:http://www.deborahhopkinson.com/

Illustrator Rachel Isadora link: http://www.harpercollinschildrens.com/HarperChildrens/Kids/AuthorsAndIllustrators/ContributorDetail.aspx?CId=17066

Happy reading!

Becky