When Dad was a Hobo

Wow. Did I just write that title? When Dad was a Hobo? My Dad, Russell Mesenbrink, was anything but a hobo. When I think of a hobo, I think of a bum, somebody traveling around, living off the handouts of others, but that certainly wasn't Dad. He worked his whole life. He did everything he could to make a living, even in the Great Depression.

According to Wikipedia, the term hobo originated in the late 1800s. A hobo is a migratory worker and is different from a tramp or a bum. A tramp is a migratory non-worker, and a bum neither travels nor works. One thought on the origin of the word is that it derives from "hoe boy" or farm worker.

So when I think about that, it pretty well describes my Dad in the mid to late 1930s. He traveled west from Iowa, partially to see relatives who lived in Idaho and Montana, but also to work. He did this two or three times at least. But most significantly, he hopped trains to get there. A lot of people did it during the depression years, so he certainly wasn't alone.

In a 1935 card to his parents from Gillette, Wyoming, he wrote that he was on his way to his Uncle John's (Mesenbrink) and that he was waiting for a straight through train. In the late 1930, John lived in Moyie Springs, Idaho. Dad's route probably took him from Denison, Iowa, through Omaha, Nebraska, across Nebraska into Gillette, Wyoming, then northwest through Billings, Butte, Missoula, Montana, and then into northern Idaho.

Following are picture that Dad had of his trips. His captions are included.

Dad mentions the "jungles" in this photo. I didn't know what that meant until I found out it was a hobo encampment.

This photo and others mention Nielsen ranch. This may have been the Hans Nielsen ranch at Pendleton, Oregon.

These two pictures were taken in 1940, around Miles City, Montana.

It wasn't all work. The sign says Antlers Hotel, but I'm not sure where or when this was taken. I suspect the women and child in the picture are relatives.

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Family History Notes and Photos by Bob Mesenbrink

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