Top 10 Hobo Signs: Decoding Secret Symbols from the Great Depression!

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What I have always heard was: A hobo moves around looking for work. A tramp moves around avoiding work. A bum neither moves nor works.

My grandmother had a picnic table, and a sink in the backyard so you could wash up. She always had a giant pot of soup/stew going that was refilled from the garden and the leftovers from dinner each night. Anybody who was hungry was welcomed at grandmas backyard table. My dad said the hobos had her house marked in someway because they always stopped to eat. It was during the great depression and many people needed a hand.

My mother went to live with her gradmother during the great depresion. A man knocked and asked if he could do any work for a meal. He split some fire wood. He was given some sandwiches. Mum was then sent to give him sandwiches to take with him. He thanked my mum and said he had not eaten in 3 days, and he was trying to get money to send to his wife and children. Also my grandfather said in the great depresion there was plenty of food and goods, but no money. He also said another depression would come with money but nothing to buy. How true this was. During covid i recieved double unemployment but shelves at supermarkets were empty. No idea how my grandfather could predict this 90 years before it happened.

During the depression my dear sweet grandma set a pie on the windowsill to cool. It disappeared. She got the train schedule and every time a train came to town she would bake extra pies and leave them on the sill to cool. I wonder what symbol was used for her? Thanks James, interesting stuff!

My Father grew up on Rosedale, in Kansas City, next to Turkey Ck. and the railroad tracks. Said the side of their fence facing the tracks had symbols on it. They had a horse, a milk cow and a mess of chickens. During the Great Depression hobos would always be stopping in and my GrandMother would put them to work ( mostly splittin' firewood ) to one, see if they'd work (not a bum) and two, allow the man to retain his pride and dignity by working for a meal, not accepting a handout. Being from 🇮🇪 Ireland she knew how important pride was. After they'd worked for awhile she'd bring them out a bowl of soup as well as a sandwich, cut in half and wrapped in newspaper, so they could save half for the next day. Far as i know, they Never had even a chicken go missing. A different time . . .

I think you're the only one on YT doing hobo history. As a historian with a degree in American history all of this is interesting. To some it might represent minutia but to me, who likes to delve deep into the roots of American history, it's a pearl of information. Thanks for doing this.

My dairy has tracks bordering property and been passed down 100 years. There is several symbols changed over the years I noticed. I remember as a kid coming out to the barn and it was common to find someone sleeping in the hay barn. Or filling their jug with milk . Some would want work others just needed out of the rain. Now days it less and less any want to work and just steal. All the people I remember growing up don't come around anymore. Sad but good memories.

From this old person, thank you for keeping some of the old ways alive. God bless you

I'm an old man and grew up near the tracks and had railroad workers in the family. As a boy I remember the bo's as we called them and the old railroad pensioners , they taught me many things that helped me survive to this day. Thank you so much for bringing back these memories. My Grandfather road the rails during the Depression.

Hobo was a great name to hear on your 2way radio especially if we're a downed air man during the Vietnam war, those men were life savers !!!

Dad owned a apple orchard up in Washington from the 60's till his death in 2022, learned the difference between Hobo's, Tramps & bums (you skipped over Winos). When I was 13 IIRC, we had a Hobo picking apples for us, real nice guy. I noticed some cravings on the outside of the pickers cabins, I asked Dad about it, he told me to ask the guy who did it (Hobo). So I did. Basically he was giving us a 5-star review. We got a Work For Food (we'd give our workers stuff out of the garden, some canned goods (chili, beans, etc) bread, small jar of PB, jam, eggs when they showed up, not uncommon they hadn't eaten in days. Then a Kind/Good Men. Work Available. Good Water. And Good/Safe Campsite. I even helped him pack up his roll when he left at the end of harvest. And this was around 1977, he was 73-74, but in good health, said it was his last trip that far north. Dad had a good idea what those marks were, but wanted me to learn from a real Hobo.

The railroad tracks were behind the barn, a short walk through the woods. Men would approach the house, looking for work and grandma would assign chores. Mom said it wasn't uncommon to have two or three strangers join them for supper. After they ate, they would pile straw in one of the empty stalls. Next morning... they would be gone.

My grandpa showed me a bunch of the signs he knew from his hobo days around 1910 to 1915. It was the highlight of my day to hear him and an old black man called "spitully" talk about the days gone by and the different way the black and white "jungle" was organized. Spitully said he still never trusted white folk, even kids as they could be the worst. I'd set on the riverbank while they fished for hours and listen. Thank you for jogging this old papaw's memory

About twenty years ago I lived for a time in an older house in Tempe Arizona that was a block away from the railroad tracks. Shortly after moving in I noticed that discreetly penciled on the door frame of the front door were three circles in a row, each with an x inside. As it happened I was studying at the ASU campus nearby, and several weeks before had just read an article about hobo symbols as part of my graduate studies. It was both surprising and exciting to discover such a real world example of what had previously seemed a rather abstract topic. The markings of course meant that the previous resident of that house had been a kind person, a soft touch, someone good for a handout. Ever since then I have looked for such markings when I go someplace new.

Thank you for your excellent video. My grandfather worked for UP, living directly next to the tracks. My mother used to tell stories about the Hobos that she dealt with. One sign they used, was an empty pack of Lucky Strike cigarettes which, always seemed to be on the pile of railroad ties. It signified to others that Grandma would give them a bowl of soup. In the Depression, that was a big deal. Thanks again for the video.

We all love the hobo series please keep the knowledge and shows coming thank you!

Thanks, James, for the lesson on "hobo hieroglyphics." This series has been very educational, and the way you have explained the way of the hobo reminds me of the saying,"broke is a financial state, but poor is a mental state. " I appreciate all the videos you put out. Keep 'em coming 👍

My Irish immigrant Grandad came to the US at age 12 alone during the late 1800's. His trip over as a stowaway is a story in itself... However, he got a job as a break man, swinging a red kerosene lantern from the caboose, to let the engineer know everyone, or everything was off, and they could leave. His train went from NYC to Buffalo NY. Catching Hobos & bums was part of his job... He told stories about the difference between bums and hobos. I think coming from a poor Irish family, and going thru a lot to get to America, made him more sympathetic to their plight. He got to know a few guys, and would ensure they were fed, and safe for the 30+ hour train ride. He gave them his food, and allowed them to ride inside the caboose with him during winter. He was a kind man, and worked hard on a farm on his days off. My Grandma would pack extra for them. This video about the signs they used is REALLY interesting! {I wonder if there were signs left on Grandads caboose}!

This is American social history I bet they'd never teach in schools yet it's important knowledge.