Did you know that hobos used the symbol of the cat?
Hobos were migratory workers, traveling from place to place in search of menial work on farms, factories, or for individuals. They caught free rides on freight trains to get from place to place as they traveled across the United States.
It was a dangerous way to live, with hostile railroad guards, fast-moving trains, and inhospitable local residents who didn’t trust the hobos who passed through. To help each other know whether the town they were entering was hospitable or contained hazards, the hobos created pictographs that they would write with chalk or coal to warm each other of potential dangers or points of interest nearby. A symbol would be left on a tree, fence post, or mailbox post to provide information about the people who lived there.
One of the symbols in the hobo code is a cat, which meant that a kind woman lives here. The symbol of the cat must have given comfort to the hobo who encountered it the way that the cats who live in our homes comfort us today.
References
Hobos, Clarendon Hills Historical Society
Looking for a sign: Hobo Communication in the Depression, NSA Cryptologic Museum virtual tour
Hobo Cat image from National Cytological Museum exhibit courtesy ideonexus.
My human knew about the symbols, but not about the cat one!
I did not know this, but it’s pretty cool!
Thanks for stopping by; what insanity. Frankly, shooting an unarmed soldier who was guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was the height of cowardice, IMO. It still boggles the mind, the entire incident.
Peace and purrs.
wow! that is interesting. I had no idea
We knew that hobos used symbols, but not the cat one. Very interesting!
WHAT AN INTERESTING POST…
We think it is wonderful that a cat was used as a sign of friendship and assistance
hugs madi your bfff
We didn’t know anything about this until we read your post today and found it very interesting.
Luv Hannah and Lucy xx xx
Very interesting!
I never knew that…so cool!
What a wonderful thing to know!
I did not know that either and it sure is very cool!
*singing* Go to sleep you sleepy hobo / let the towns drift slowly by /tonight you’re in a nice warm boxcar / … *ends singing* That’s the Hobo’s Lullaby. Very inneresting post and now TW has an ear worm.
Very interesting. Thanks for helping us learn something new today.
Dat’s pawsum. Weez didn’t know dat but it’s gweat dat da kitty wuz known fur kindness.
Luv ya’
Dezi and Lexi
I bought my mom a plaque several years ago with that symbol on it. She’s always had a welcoming heart–to humans and non-humans.
Purrs (and wags) from Life with Dogs and Cats.
Since kitties used to stop at our house looking for homes with great regularity, our dad bought our mom a wooden sign with this carved into it. He thought the stray kitties had adopted this sign as their own. XOCK, Lily Olivia, Mauricio, Misty May, Giulietta, Fiona, Astrid, Lisbeth and Calista Jo
Wow, TBT says he has seen that symbol on car windows an never knew what it meant!
Very interesting and quite the bit of Americana
My grandparents always had this sign on the side of a fence. According to my grandmother, they may not have had much during the Depression and later in life but they always had enough food for another person and there was always room in the barn for a night’s rest. One this many do not know is that when men knocked on the door, they were not looking for a handout, they wanted to work for that meal or place to stay. My grandparents always kept wood that needed to be chopped or a garden section that could be weeded, etc. so that there was a respectable to be done. No one left without at least a couple of hard-boiled eggs and biscuits in the morning.
I am a college professor and I have the symbol above my door. It is my way of encouraging students to stop in.