Old fashioned travel ideas: Attend the Hobo Convention in Iowa
Until about 40 years ago, rail travel was not always comfortable or legal. Beginning in the early 1900s in the USA, many people - mostly men - would jump aboard freight trains and ride the boxcars around the country, seeing the sights while avoiding detection by the “railroad bulls” or security officers who patrolled the tracks. Woody Guthrie is just one of many folk singers who glorified the so-called “hobo tramps” of the USA. And most of them have now disappeared from the landscape, but there is an annual gathering in the town of Britt, Iowa, where hobos and those who are interested in hobo culture gather for singing, dancing, and camaraderie.
The festival convenes in August, and includes a Hobo Museum. Usually about 40,000 people show up for this odd festival, which not only brings needed income in the form of tourist dollars to the town of Britt, but helps to preserve the quintessential legacy of the old hobo culture, which is an important part of American history and folklore. So if you are heading that way in late summer - by car or by rail - be sure to stop off and mingle with some of the last remaining railroad vagabonds. Who knows? They might give you some tips on how to travel on your next vacation across the USA free of charge.