Great photo! I love the way the women are looking right at the camera. I prefer the term traveler as that's how they choose to live. The photo captures that.
Oh for the old days of Hobo culture! My Grandfather, a successful butcher, had a circle of Hobo friends in the 1930's & 1940's - the riders of the rails....they had tough, hardscrabble lives, but there was a dignity there. I grew up hearing their stories as they were older when I was a kid late 1950's, early 1960's...Selkirk Tom, Boxcar Eddie, Shifty Shisky, West Side Wilbur, Ponckockie Pete........
I really like this photo. It captures their free spirit and how St. Marks place still draws young people from everywhere. I wish there were more people in the hood who saw the beauty in this like the photographer.
Not sure about the 1940s dignity, the Grapes of Wrath implied there was no dignity at all. But the good news is there seems to be no lack of self-professed dignity on St Marks or 14 Street!
It's my understanding that a good many who rode the rails during the Great Depression and Dust Bowl were on the move, seeking whatever work they could find.
7 comments:
We always called them crusties ... they're an old feature at this point
Great photo! I love the way the women are looking right at the camera. I prefer the term traveler as that's how they choose to live. The photo captures that.
Oh for the old days of Hobo culture! My Grandfather, a successful butcher, had a circle of Hobo friends in the 1930's & 1940's - the riders of the rails....they had tough, hardscrabble lives, but there was a dignity there. I grew up hearing their stories as they were older when I was a kid late 1950's, early 1960's...Selkirk Tom, Boxcar Eddie,
Shifty Shisky, West Side Wilbur, Ponckockie Pete........
I can't stand crusties, never did!!! They come privileged homes I'm a working class punk even when I was 18, 40 yrs ago!!!
I really like this photo. It captures their free spirit and how St. Marks place still draws young people from everywhere. I wish there were more people in the hood who saw the beauty in this like the photographer.
Not sure about the 1940s dignity, the Grapes of Wrath implied there was no dignity at all. But the good news is there seems to be no lack of self-professed dignity on St Marks or 14 Street!
It's my understanding that a good many who rode the rails during the Great Depression and Dust Bowl were on the move, seeking whatever work they could find.
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