Traverse City Record-Eagle

Record-Eagle 150th Anniversary

March 27, 2009

TC hosts 'hobo' roundup

On July 10, 1933, city, county and state police rounded up 200 men from the "haunts of hobos" around Traverse City with the help of American Legion volunteers.

The line was already a block long when it reached the Eighth Street bridge west of the Boardman River and headed toward the Grand Traverse County Courthouse.

Here are excerpts of a Record-Eagle story that paints a vivid picture of that Monday-night raid.

'Herded ahead of the officers the tramps came marching into town looking like a South American revolution. They were massed behind the county jail and there run between two lines of officers. Every man who could identity himself either by a cherry-picking tally card or other credentials was told to get a job or get out of town by this morning. Those who were without identification were fingerprinted and 10 of the most suspicious looking were thrown into jail to be held 24 hours.

"The plan ... worked so smoothly that not even a scuffle took place in the round-up.

"One crew of officers and Legion men raided the hangout on the corner of Front and Cass streets and marched 40 men to the jail. Another started on the west shore of Boardman Lake at Hobo Point and combed that shore straight down through the Pere Marquette yards. The men were scattered in groups all along the shore, some cooking their suppers and some just loafing around.

"'Come on, Jack. Pick up your stuff and march along,' the officers ordered. A few of the younger ones were visibly nervous but, to the hardened and experienced, it was just another roundup. One man had a frying pan filled with pork chops when his meal was interrupted. When he reached the jail the frying pan was still in his hand and the pork chops were still smoking.

"Thirty or forty of the men rounded up were colored men and boys, all of them claiming they were cherry-pickers. One of them had an eight weeks old puppy which had ridden from Grand Rapids with him in a box car. The puppy frolicked along the line of march having a far better time than his master.

"The raid Monday night came as a result of scores of complaints made to all law enforcement agencies that the homes of the city were being systematically canvassed by beggars and that scores of tramps were begging through the business streets.

Text Only
  • WILLIAM MILLIKEN
    After looking back, we look to the future

    In this last installment of the Record-Eagle's year-long 150th Anniversary History Project series, native son Bill Milliken ponders the future, including the question: What will the Traverse City area be like in 2159?

    Continued ...
    Nov 8, 2009 7:14 am 9 Photos
  • Derek Bailey: Cooperation is key
    images_sizedimage_312070048

    I am excited and optimistic in thinking about my predictions for the area and Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians for the next 150 years. Clearly, we live in one of the most beautiful areas of Mother Earth. The GTB Tribal Nation has grown exponentially as an area and tribe over the last 29 years. We must now sustain and channel that growth.

    Continued ...
    Nov 8, 2009 7:12 am 1 Photo
  • George McManus: Manage resources
    images_sizedimage_312070109

    The Grand Traverse Region is blessed with abundant renewable natural resources, which properly managed, will remain for the next 150 years and beyond. The community of the future depends on what direction the citizenry and leadership decide to take and external influences over which they have no control.

    Continued ...
    Nov 8, 2009 7:11 am 1 Photo
  • Marsha Smith: Listen to each other
    images_sizedimage_312070058

    The Grand Vision has shown me that the people of this region love it here and have a commitment to building a better future. We care about what happens here and we care about the future. My main concern is that we sometimes forget about all things we hold in common and focus more on what keeps us apart.

    Continued ...
    Nov 8, 2009 7:11 am 1 Photo
  • Joe VanderMeulen: Plan for six generations
    images_sizedimage_312070117

    We need to look forward across six or more generations of people to see 150 years into the future. What wonderful changes there may be, if we choose wisely, just get lucky, or some of both. Of course, we face many threats to our security and survival. The risks of deadly pandemics, global climate change and unimaginable wars are real.

    Continued ...
    Nov 8, 2009 7:10 am 1 Photo
  • November 2, 2009
  • Women helped build Traverse City
    images_sizedimage_304213014

    Women helped build Traverse City's library system, schools and hospital. They lobbied for clean water and clean streets. They were concerned about the needy, child labor, reforestation, international peace and the right of women to vote. They did this largely through two local women's clubs -- the Ladies Library Association and the Traverse City Woman's Club.

    Continued ...
    Nov 2, 2009 6:17 am 4 Photos
  • TC's early women leaders

    Thirteen women who influenced early Traverse City are profiled.

    Continued ...
    Nov 2, 2009 6:15 am
  • October 31, 2009
  • TC history exhibit visits TADL

    The Record-Eagle's traveling exhibit of Traverse City and newspaper history will be on display throughout November at the Traverse Area District Library on Woodmere.

    Continued ...
    Oct 31, 2009 9:30 pm
  • October 19, 2009
  • Loraine Anderson: TC's 1925 earthquake
    images_sizedimage_292070016

    Earthquakes are rare in Michigan, but Traverse City residents definitely felt the earth move beneath their feet and watched electric ceiling lights sway overhead on Feb. 28, 1925. "EARTHQUAKE HERE FIRST EVER FELT: Dishes Rattle, Chairs Rock, Smokers 'Swear Off' and People in High Places Come Down," Record-Eagle headlines shouted after tremors rattled the city at 8:27 p.m. that Saturday night.

    Continued ...
    Oct 19, 2009 7:00 am 1 Photo
  • October 5, 2009
  • Water Wars: Advocating for 'public trust'
    Jim Olson

    It was a busy summer on the water front for Great Lakes advocates in what environmentalists and others are calling "The Water Wars."

    Continued ...
    Oct 5, 2009 6:18 am 3 Photos
  • October 3, 2009
  • R-E editorial decries water diversion

    Record-Eagle concern about Great Lakes water diversion dates to the early 1900s, including a Jan. 14, 1925, editorial about the U.S. governments challenge of Chicagos right to divert Lake Michigan water without consulting its neighbors.

    Continued ...
    Oct 3, 2009 9:55 pm
  • Summary of summer Great Lakes water issues

    Great Lakes water issues this summer included the following.

    Continued ...
    Oct 3, 2009 9:55 pm
  • September 28, 2009
  • 150 Years: Bay served as sewer, water supply
    images_sizedimage_269212538

    The Boardman River in Traverse City wasn't a pretty sight at the turn of the last century. It was a city sewer, and it flowed into West Bay, the source of the city's water supply.

    Continued ...
    Sep 28, 2009 7:18 am 7 Photos
  • August 10, 2009
  • 150 Years: Cartographer maps settlements
    images_sizedimage_220213541

    Helen Hornbeck Tanner, a Beulah summer resident and historian of Great Lakes American Indians and cartography, created a new historical map of the Grand Traverse region that traces early American Indian and white settlement.

    Continued ...
    Aug 10, 2009 6:39 am 2 Photos
  • July 27, 2009
  • Loraine Anderson: Tracking Titus
    images_sizedimage_208080650

    Harold Titus has been one of my favorite Traverse City historical characters since I read "Timber," his 1922 novel, last year. He intrigues me for many reasons. Part of his mystery is that he is virtually unknown today. He is "new" local history.

    Continued ...
    Jul 27, 2009 8:06 am 1 Photo