The Lou Grams Collection - Hobo Day (1949)

Duration: 2:15

Year Published: 1949

Format: 16mm

Sound: silent

Description: This home movie footage captures Hobo Day in the South Texas city of Falfurrias in 1949. While we do not know the origins or significance of the occasion, it appears to be a community or school event in which locals adolescents dress up as impoverished, migratory workers, commonly known as hobos—an oft romanticized character during this period. Some participants wear torn or ill-fitting attire, while others don fake beards.