Distinctly Montana Magazine

w w w . d i s t i n c t l y m o n t a n a . c o m 6 5 on awe. We knew that many hobos chose the nomadic existence over the more root- ed comforts of home. I realize now that most were desperately poor, but we thought they were rich as Croesus. Our adventure began innocently enough; we had no intention whatsoever of run- ning away. In fact, we had no intention of getting in any kind of trouble at all. But as is so often the case with young boys, we were headed in that direction whether we knew it or not. It was one of those endless lazy summer days when the sun never seems to set, and Mom and Dad wouldn't expect us for hours yet, knowing we were up to some mischief at the swimming hole or fishing in our favorite spot on Spring Creek. But we were visiting the local "hobo jungle" at the Milwaukee Rail Yard, just on the outskirts of Lewistown. We liked to listen to their stories, peppered as they were with innuendo and salty language. The stories could be had cheap, offered up for the price of a fresh trout or a bottle of Coke. Our parents didn't approve, but we figured what they didn't know wouldn't hurt them. This afternoon there was a stir of activity in the rail yard: a brakeman was walking a cut of cars, lacing up air hoses (that's railroad parlance) to prepare the train to depart. Nothing unusual, we had seen it lots of times. But, courting inspiration, we hit on an idea: let's take a short ride as practice for our grownup years hoboing. Lewistown was not on the mainline. Rather, it ran through Montana a little fur- ther south. The big staging yard was in Harlowton, some 70 miles away by train. If you're old enough, by the way, you might remember the Milwaukee had electric locomotives to go west, out of Harlowton. It was much more efficient to use electric locomotives with catenary lines to climb over the mountains than the less powerful diesel locomotives; the Milwaukee Road was ahead of its time, but now, like so many things I thought would last forever, it's gone. The topography of Lewistown is such that a departing train must circumnav- igate what the locals affectionately called Main Street Hill. Anyone entering Lewistown from the west knows her well. You reached a point as you proceeded along the road into town where, suddenly, you were rewarded with a view of para- dise on earth, with the Judith Mountains framing the eastern skyline and the little Norman Rockwell town, with its grand courthouse and library and rows of little houses nestled in God's country like a lamb in a manger. We thought how fine it would be to survey that vision of heaven from the inside of a train. So we hefted ourselves into the half-open door of a boxcar at rest. Tom and I calculated that we could hitch a joy ride and jump off before the train left town. In those days, the tracks cut across the whole of Lewistown, so that a long freight train might tie up intersections for miles. We had spent what seemed like hours waited impatiently at crossings, standing beside our bicycles as the big lumbering freight cars trundled their way through town. What we didn't realize was the 10 MPH only extended through the crossings, and that as soon as the locomotives went over the last one, they would pick up speed. We also didn't realize the train we jumped was a little shorter than most. Before we could say "uh-oh," we were going fast, scary fast, and knew that jump- ing wasn't wise. We imagined ourselves pulled under the tracks and flattened like the pennies we had set on the rails for that express purpose. ONE OF THE BLUE-HAIRED LADIES ASKED ME, WITHIN EARSHOT OF MY FATHER, WHAT I WANTED TO BE WHEN I GREW UP. I ANSWERED, WITHOUT A MOMENT'S DOUBT, "I WANT TO BE A HOBO!" AUGUST 3-8, 2021 • Art Show July 9 – August 8 July 9 – August 8 • Chalk on the Walk August 3 August 3 • Bite of Bozeman August 4 August 4 • Music on Main August 5 August 5 • Parade August 7 August 7 The Festival at Lindley Park Music • Craft Beer Garden • Food Music • Craft Beer Garden • Food • 100+ Arts & Crafts Booths • Dance • 100+ Arts & Crafts Booths • Dance • Theater • Sunday Brunch • Theater • Sunday Brunch For the latest news, schedule, and to purchase wristbands visit us online at sweetpeafestival.org Find us on Social Media Find us on Social Media @sweetpeafestival @sweetpeafestival Where Art & Community Meet

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