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Over on the Hobo Day Attendance thread Doc posted an entry about Hobo Day's origins and traditions that I think merits a thread of its own so I have starte this one hoping to read about some great memories and hopefully some photographs.
Here is a link which tells a bit about the origins of Hobo Day as the SDSU Homecoming:
http://www3.sdstate.edu/Athletics/Tr...oboDayHistory/
The evolution of Hobo Day and some of the changes it has gone through over the years are quite interesting. The annual parade has gone through numerous changes over the years and, in my opinion, is not as good as it was when I was a kid (but then, nothing else is either). I think that at one time the parade was a far bigger event than football. I grew up within a few miles of Brookings and never even considered attending the football game until I was an SDSU student but I hated to miss a parade. In fact, I was a parade participant for nine consecutive years. In the first four I marched and played in my high school’s marching band. In the next five I dressed as a hobo and handed out candy and even a few stuffed toys to little kids on the parade route.
One of the interesting things about the parade when I was a kid was the mix of the parade floats themselves. It had the usual elaborate floats covered with brightly colored materials such as balloons, streamers, and other things. On the opposite side of the coin, there were numerous conveyances built by groups of students. They were usually built from ancient, but still running automobiles. Platforms, outhouses, belching smoke, dragging “anything”, and many, many students (far greater than the original capacity of the automobile) were hallmarks of these parade entries. They were almost always ugly and loud but a true tradition of Hobo Day. Perhaps someone has a photo or two that they can add to this thread. One thing not mentioned in the article above was also a frequent tradition on these vehicles, the ethanol containing beverage.
Doc, you are right. It is one of those traditional things that have been a lot of fun over the decades. I suspect that this topic will generate enough written memories to merit a thread of its own.
Originally posted by McNeese72
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http://www3.sdstate.edu/Athletics/Tr...oboDayHistory/
The evolution of Hobo Day and some of the changes it has gone through over the years are quite interesting. The annual parade has gone through numerous changes over the years and, in my opinion, is not as good as it was when I was a kid (but then, nothing else is either). I think that at one time the parade was a far bigger event than football. I grew up within a few miles of Brookings and never even considered attending the football game until I was an SDSU student but I hated to miss a parade. In fact, I was a parade participant for nine consecutive years. In the first four I marched and played in my high school’s marching band. In the next five I dressed as a hobo and handed out candy and even a few stuffed toys to little kids on the parade route.
One of the interesting things about the parade when I was a kid was the mix of the parade floats themselves. It had the usual elaborate floats covered with brightly colored materials such as balloons, streamers, and other things. On the opposite side of the coin, there were numerous conveyances built by groups of students. They were usually built from ancient, but still running automobiles. Platforms, outhouses, belching smoke, dragging “anything”, and many, many students (far greater than the original capacity of the automobile) were hallmarks of these parade entries. They were almost always ugly and loud but a true tradition of Hobo Day. Perhaps someone has a photo or two that they can add to this thread. One thing not mentioned in the article above was also a frequent tradition on these vehicles, the ethanol containing beverage.
Doc, you are right. It is one of those traditional things that have been a lot of fun over the decades. I suspect that this topic will generate enough written memories to merit a thread of its own.
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