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Wednesday, October 19, 2016 sdsucollegian.com
FILE PHOTO • The Collegian
FILE PHOTO • The Collegian
IRIS LE • The Collegian
Photos of Hobo Day celebrations. (Left:) From the first Hobo Day in 1912. (Middle:) A couple walking down the street in 1971. (Right:) Hobos Benjamin Hanzen, Tate DeJong and Scott Simons (left to right) celebrating winning the Dakota Marker at Rally at the Rails Monday, Oct. 16, 2016. Hobo Day has been the homecoming.tradition for South Dakota State University for 104 years.
Memories from 104 years of Hobo Day
104
YEARS AGO HOBO DAY BEGAN
49
DICK LAMSTER WAS GRAND YEARS POOBA AGO NICK YEARS WENDELL
15
AGO
left his mark on Hobo Day
ABBY ROGERS 4 WAS GRAND YEARS POOBA AGO
Grand poobas continue the homecoming tradition KATHERINE CLAYTON Editor-in-Chief
Dick Lamster vividly remembers the Hobo Day parades during his time at State. The displays of color and school spirit in the 1960s were characterized by a sea of floats, music and enthusiastic observers. Lamster, 1967 Grand Pooba, also remembers the old cars students would fix up for the parade. “They were grossly unsafe, but boy were they fun,” Lamster said. He recalls instances where the “refurbished” cars barely made it through the parade. These “bummobiles” were just one of the many highlights he had during his three years on the Hobo Day Committee. His time on the committee
and Hobo Day celebration gave him “good memories,” “lifelong friends” and “confidence to do the next thing.” Lamster is not alone in his passion for the biggest one-day event in the Dakotas and for the committee that painstakingly plans the event. Since the inaugural Hobo Day in 1912, students have dressed as hobos, participated in events and celebrated the tradition as a unified student body. “Without fail since 1912, students at South Dakota State University came together to celebrate Hobo Day,” said Nick Wendell, director of the Center for Student Engagement. The former Hobo Day Committee member and 2001 Grand Pooba sees the week-long celebration as a “unifying force” at South Dakota State University.
Wendell has transitioned from being a member of the committee to overseeing them as a co-adviser with Abby Rogers. “It (Hobo Day) is a student-driven and student-focused celebration,” he said. “It is a monumental task to plan a 104-year-old celebration and each year a group of very committed students come together and do all of the heavy lifting.” Since the first Hobo Day, the celebration and the committee that organizes the events have experienced a few problems in their past, which led to the committee being under UPC, said 2016 Grand Pooba Corey Chicoine.
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The Fischers hand out Hobo Day hot dogs, free food for passersby BRIANNA SCHREURS Reporter
Many people celebrate Hobo Day by bumming a meal or walking in the parade. But for the Fischer family, it’s celebrated by passing out hot dogs. Six years ago Heidi Fischer made the impulsive decision to hand out hot dogs on Hobo Day to strangers while she and her friends were grilling outside. Since then, her home has been known as the “Hot Dog House” by all who have visited. “I think it was 2010 when we started and it was just the one girlfriend. I said, ‘You know, it’s a nice night and let’s just give out hot dogs. It’ll be fun,’” Heidi said. Fischer had so much fun the first year, she decided to continue it as an annual tradition. She, along with her friend group she calls the Gaggles, usually serve around 100 hot dogs each year. Her husband, Jeff Fischer, has no part in passing out hot dogs. It’s done completely by his wife and her friends. “It got to where a lot of these people know about this,” Jeff said. “It’s all the girls. I’m just security. And she’ll send me to the store to get more [hot dogs].” The event has come a long way since its beginning, according to Heidi. The first year they distributed plain hot dogs on forks. Over the next couple years, she
has added buns, ketchup and mustard. “We tried little rice krispies one year but that didn’t go over so well,” Heidi said. “We put them in little paper cups, like those mini cupcake cups, and it was a nuisance. Most kids are practically eating the paper because, you know, they’ve had a little too much to drink.” Every Hobo Day, the Gaggles intend to add something new to the hot dog handout. “This year I’m going to add water, and maybe music. Maybe more mothering, too. We’re good at that. We do a lot of mothering,” Heidi said. Besides the entertainment and fun, the hot dog house gives students a place to check in. Often, students walk up to the house unaware of what street they are standing on. Heidi takes this chance to talk to students and, as she says, “mother” them by reminding them to be good, not drink too much and be careful. Through their hot dog distribution, Heidi and her friends have served SDSU rivals, a wedding party and chased students for stealing a friend’s drink. The Fischers’ yard has become a hangout spot for SDSU students on Hobo Day night. Throughout the night, students will stand in their yard socializing and eating hot dogs. The Fischers like that students meet new people and are safe.
Matilyn Kerr, a 2015 SDSU graduate, came across the house last year while out with friends. “It was by pure chance that we were walking by there,” she said. “We’re planning to try and stop by to say ‘hi’ because we met them last year. But it was literally an oasis out in the middle of nowhere during Hobo Day.” The Fischers have never promoted
their handout, relying on organic growth and word of mouth. It is an understated tradition among students who happen to stumble upon it. “If you come by here as a freshman,” Jeff said, “you’ll come by as a sophomore, junior and senior.” The hot dogs will be on the grill from 9 p.m. to 12 a.m. on the 500 block of 6th Ave.
ABBY FULLENKAMP • The Collegian
The Fischer’s have served hot dogs at their house during Hobo Day since 2010. Hot dogs will be available from 9 to 12 p.m. on the 500 block of 6th Ave.