Growing Up in Williamsport, Ohio

​The Hoboes
 
In the early to mid-forties, there were a lot of people, particularly men, roaming the countryside. They were often out-of-work or down on their luck.
 
There was a grain elevator and railroad south of Williamsport called Kinderhook/Woodlyn. A train went through there with transient people sometimes on it. Some got off and found their way into Williamsport looking for a hot meal.
 
They came wearing long overcoats, crumpled fedoras and looking scruffy. They carried an empty metal syrup can with a bail to put their food in. They came individually to the front porch steps and Mama had them sit down at the top of the steps on the porch floor. They leaned on the white column behind them while my mother prepared a hot meal. My Dad came home for lunch every day, so she served leftovers if she had them. If not, her go-to meal was fried potatoes and eggs, whatever meat she had, toast and a hot cup of percolated coffee.
 
My mother was afraid of these men but she never refused anyone a hot meal. Even though we were not Christians at the time, she read her Bible and believed the Scripture, “Be not forgetful to entertain strangers for thereby some have entertained angels unawares”. They didn’t look like angels but then neither did John the Baptist. She told us to stay out of sight, but I was always peeking around the corner to make sure everything was ok. 
 
If it has been awhile since you had fried potatoes and eggs with maybe a little bacon, toast and a hot cup of coffee, fix yourself some….and thank God for it. It’s a meal fit for a king or a queen....or a hobo.

©Marilyn Francis Ferguson 2020
Photography/graphics by Michele Ferguson Schuck