Originally Posted by
barny
Well, I don't know about the authenticity of the stories, EXCEPT, I remember as a little girl a hobo sitting on our back porch more than once eating, because my Mother had fixed them a plate. We lived a block from the railroad and my Dad worked on the railroad. PS. This was in Indiana
My gr grandparents owned a cafe, and the Hoboes did mark the places they could get a meal. My grandma said she saw them make a mark with a knife or a nail. She said her parents were very kind hearted, and the hoboes would always ask if they could do something for the food ie sweep the sidewalk or pick up trash. Not like the men that stand on the side of the road with signs that say will work for food. The UR, unless they had a quilts with different signs? it would have been a mess with the wrong sign.