National Hobo Association

The National Hobo Association is an organization for enthusiasts of the hobo lifestyle, founded in Los Angeles as part of a "hobo revival" in the US in the late 1970s and during the Reagan administration. It was last headquartered in Nisswa, Minnesota.

The National Hobo Association was founded in 1977 by actor Bobb Hopkins and others in Los Angeles who were interested in the hobo lifestyle as a hobby,[1][2][3][4][5] and was part of a romantic interest in hoboes during the presidency of Ronald Reagan.[6] The group had approximately 2,000 members nationwide in 1987, approximately 3,000 in 1990,[7] 3,800 in 1991, when 100 people attended its annual regional convention in San Francisco,[8] and 4,500 in 1992.[9] One recreational hobo attended NHA gatherings by corporate jet.[10] In 1992 it endorsed Ross Perot's candidacy for President of the US.[11]

From November 1987 until 2000 the NHA published the Hobo Times, which appeared bimonthly and was also read by full-time hoboes;[2] it included articles such as "Seeing America on Zero Dollars a Day", "Mulligan Stew Recipes", "The Glossary of Hobo Vernacular", "The 10 Most Scenic Train Rides", and "The Slowest Freights in the Land".[1][12] Hopkins was the first editor;[2][3][13][14] it was later edited by Garth Bishop.[8][9]

By 1999, yuppies were less inclined to ride the rails for fun because of the hunt for Rafael Resendez Ramirez, whose serial murders in railroad towns had given hoboing a bad name.[11][15][16][17] Edwin C. "Buzz" Potter, who had helped found The Hobo Times, was then its editor and president of the National Hobo Association,[18][19] which under his leadership organized a Hobo Festival in Elko, Nevada in 2000.[20][21][22] Bud Webster's "The Ballad of Kansas McGriff" won the poetry contest; he read it to an audience of 5,000 attendees.[23] The last known headquarters for the organization was Nisswa, Minnesota.

References
  1. Nikki Finke, "The Yuppie Hobos: When Trekking in Nepal Gets Old, They Hear the Call of the Rails", Los Angeles Times, December 17, 1987.
  2. Lily Eng, Scripps Howard News Service, "Boxcars as well as BMWs: Yuppies discover hobo chic", The Telegraph (Nashua, New Hampshire), January 13, 1988, p. 12.
  3. Kathleen Parker, Orlando Sentinel, "Muffy And Biff Ride The Rails", Chicago Tribune, January 8, 1988.
  4. James Willwerth, "Hoboes From High-Rent Districts", Time, July 11, 1988.
  5. Times-Post News Service, "National Hobo Group Guides Would-Be Nomadic Pioneers Seeking The Latest In Vacation Thrills", Toledo Blade, January 1, 1988, p. 26.
  6. Todd DePastino, Citizen Hobo: How a Century of Homelessness Shaped America, Chicago / London: University of Chicago, 2003, ISBN 9780226143781, pp. 262–63.
  7. Bob Pool, "It's a Jungle Out There: L.A.'s Hobos Are Forced to Hit the Road in Search of a New Clubhouse", Los Angeles Times, January 24, 1990.
  8. Elisabeth Dunham, Associated Press, "Tales of the Rails", The Telegraph (Nashua), October 16, 1991, p. 21.
  9. Jeff Wilson, Associated Press, "Hobos mourn Miller, 'King of the Road'", Ocala Star-Banner, October 27, 1992, p. 2A.
  10. Associated Press, "Hobo hobbyists love life on the rails", Lodi News-Sentinel, January 18, 1991, p. 5.
  11. DePastino, p. 264.
  12. Katie Calautti, "Solving a Lingering Mystery from Cheryl Strayed’s Wild", Vanity Fair, February 16, 2015.
  13. Holly Mullen, "The Hobo Hobby: Wanderers follow call of 'lonesome whistle'", Spokane Chronicle, January 4, 1988, pp. B1, B4.
  14. "Hobos", The Pittsburgh Press, January 10, 1988, pp. &J1, J10.
  15. Martha Irvine, Associated Press, "Hobos claim resentment with serial-killer image", Amarillo Globe-News, June 27, 1999.
  16. Associated Press, "Hobos complain serial killer gives them bad name", The Deseret News, June 28, 1999, p. A2.
  17. Joe Carroll, "Killer rides the rails with 'romantic' hoboes", The Irish Times, July 3, 1999.
  18. "Edwin 'Buzz' C. Potter", Obituary, Brenny Funeral Chapel, Brainerd, Minnesota, March 2003, retrieved March 15, 2016.
  19. Associated Press with Andy Field, "Riding the Rails to the Hobo Convention", ABC News, [August 13, 2000], retrieved March 16, 2016.
  20. Art Thieme, "Obit: Buzz Potter--hobo poet", Mudcat.org, March 12, 2003, retrieved March 15, 2016.
  21. "Bumming Around", Eugene Register-Guard (Eugene, Oregon), June 23, 2000, Ticket, p. 4.
  22. Brad Wetzler, "Is Just Like Amerika!", Outside, November 1, 2000, retrieved March 16, 2016.
  23. Mike Glyer, "Bud Webster (1952–2016)", File 770, February 15, 2016.
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