National Hobo Museum

♪♪ [Kohlsdorf] Explorers searching for unique stops along Highway 18 are in for a great find on Main Street in Britt.

[Bill Friedow] Well, when they go on Highway 18, quite often they'll see the sign and they come in.

I've had several recently that said, we didn't know about Hobo Days, but we saw the sign as we went by, so we thought we'd check it out.

[Kohlsdorf] The National Hobo Museum in Britt, Iowa, celebrates the history of the hobo lifestyle and its impact on the Hancock County community.

The moniker hobo marks someone as a traveling worker who chooses to be homeless.

Hobos lived in a state of continuous commuting, riding trains from town to town and working seasonal jobs.

The National Hobo Museum in Britt celebrates the stories and heritage of the hobo lifestyle, with Hobo Days held annually the second weekend of August.

[Bill Friedow] There's actually two events.

The hobos actually do have their convention.

It's a tourist union number 63.

They have their actual convention, and then Britt has their Hobo Days.

So it's two celebrations at one time.

[Kohlsdorf] The hobo lifestyle comes with its own set of rules, such as the hobo code, a series of symbols hobos use to communicate with one another.

♪♪ [Kohlsdorf] In the late 1970s, Iowa PBS documented the Hobo Days celebration to learn firsthand about the hobo way of life.

[Fry Pan Jack] By putting the corn in here, you get the flavor of the meat.

You don't have to use butter on your corn.

There's cabbage, there's carrots.

There's squash in there.

The green squash.

[Host] Is there anything you wouldn't put in there?

[Fry Pan Jack] Not if it's eatable.

♪♪ [Bill Friedow] Well, the community supports Hobo Days and that's one thing the hobos really like.

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