Very exciting! I had the good fortune of winning
a draw at my most recent Guild meeting.
I just have to do a little book review because
the book I won is so very interesting.
The book is "Hobo Quilts "
written by Debra G. Henninger.
The reason this book is so appealing is that my father was
young during the age of riding the rails.
Boxcar Willie and other
famous or infamous hobos were part of his childhood.
This book has patterns and stories of quilts
based on the language of the hobos.
This book show modern quilts that are
made using realistic findings and evidence of signs used for
communication between travelling people during 1880s-1940s.
Signs means drawings or graffiti left by the people
on their way through towns or farmland.
According to Dr. Google,
the term Hobo emerged in the American
West around 1890, though its origins are hazy.
Some say it was an abbreviation
of Homeward Bound or homeless boy.
Author Bill Bryson wrote in his 1998 book
“Made in America” that it may have
come from “Ho, beau!”, a railroad greeting.
Many times they were retired or returning military,
or laid off, unemployed men.
Rarely if ever were women seen
travelling around or going door to door.
One of my favorite blocks is the pot.
During the Great Depression
my father recalls his mother, who herself was an orphan,
always having a pot on the back of the stove.
This pot got all the leftovers and off cuts
from every dinner and would stew until late afternoon.
Around 4:00, knocks would start on the door.
She would go to the door and ladle out
stew to the men standing on her porch.
A most particular note is that
each visitor to the doorstep
would extend his own pot to receive the stew.
Does this sound familiar?
I believe this custom eventually
made way for the term "panhandler".
Many Halloweens growing up,
we would dress up as hobos.
A bit of charcoal from the wood furnace,
to make a beards on our faces, a scruffy hat,
some baggy clothes,
and finally a stick with a
checkered sack on it usually
made out of an old pillowcase.
Certainly not politically correct now as a costume,
but then it was quick easy and identifiable.
Have a great Halloween if you and yours
observe it!
Stay safe and sew on!
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