All the big events happened on Saturday. The street fair was still going with corn steaming and hot coffee.
At 10am was the Giant Parade. I like parades and most are ok, but this was a giant hometown parade. Everyone in town and many from neighboring towns came to watch.Texas Hobo Mike was thinking he was going to get the gravy and biscuits, which he craved all week and are only served on Saturday. He gave a ride up on the Hobo float thinking of those biscuits, only to find the restaurant, like everything else in town, was closed for the parade. This was a real slice of mid-west hometown pride. The classic cars, The Shriner's in their zippy cars, the firetrucks and school band were there. Then came the floats, some very humorous, and then the tractors. first came old classic small tractors, the newer ones, until this giant monster tractor filling the whole street. It looked like an alien. And then the current Hobo King and Queen sat atop the Hobo float, with all our news friends smiling. The parade ended with horses, beautiful prancing down the street, some wearing diapers, others leaving a road apple or two. It was a great parade that lasted almost 2 hours.
At noon everyone in town gathered at the city park for the traditional free hobo Mulligan Stew. The people of Britt make 20 barrels of stew, consisting of 450 lbs beef, 900 lb potatoes,250 lb carrots 100 lb turnips, you get the picture... Everyone either brought dishes or Styrofoam ones were available. We sat under the big oak trees eating our stew and watching the candidates for Hobo Queen and King circulate the crowd for votes. Dakota was directed to a bowl that had spilled and she had plenty, all the while wagging her tail.
Hobo King and Queen coronation. After we all ate, the candidates for Hobo Queen each spoke. Voting was done by applause of the entire town, not just the Hobo's. In order to win, you must be present 3 years at the Hobo Convention. It was very close, but the judges determined Stray Cat as Hobo Queen. Then the men talked, we applauded, and by overwhelming vote, Inkman is the New Hobo King. They were both awarded crowns made out of Folgers coffee cans and a walking stick, which all the former kings and queens signed. songs were song and everyone celebrated. There was more music at the park, but all the 'boes went back to the jungle.
Hawk and his crew were working on dinner when we came back. Everyone was talking about the election and most were pleased. Stray Cat belongs to both sides, both hobo and tramps, and there is hope that she can bring the 2 sides together. It is mainly a generation thing, but physically the tramps are on the other side of the track and box car. Hobo Mike had his walking stick signed and he held it proudly.
That night was the normal entertainment, it started very nicely, but as the evening drew on, the younger tramps, who had been drinking heavily, started playing electric guitars. As a bar owner I saw this so often. Alcohol does NOT MAKE YOU SOUND BETTER!!. It got pretty bad, and then one of the boys lost his pants, playing in boxers, and that was about all I could handle, so we left. The music stopped shortly after.
SUNDAY was somewhat a sad day, as people started packing up, cleaning up and saying goodbye. Some had tents, some had popups, and some slept in the boxcar. Everyone had coffee and you could see their feet were getting itchy to get back on the road. Most of the tramps were going to the Tramp convention in Denver somewhere. Others were headed to Wisconsin for another gathering, some were going home. We were still staying waiting for parts.
I quick took a shower before we cleaned them and closed them. Everything was bleached down with the Hobo King working hard with a few others. I volunteered to scrub the huge pots and pans. Even Hobo Mike worked hard helping with the floors. The jungle fire continued to smolder as we finished up. Ashes were put in bags to take to other gatherings and for next years jungle fire. We watched as everyone slowly left, and then there was just us..
It was a wonderful time, we met some great new friends, and we are going to come back next year.
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