FILMS AND VIDEO
Everyone has a story to tell. Some have the means to tell their story, while others do not.
I am always looking for that special story to tell. When my wife, Barbara Hacha, was working on her first novel, “Line by Line,” a historical novel about a young woman learning to survive as a hobo during the Great Depression, we made two trips to the National Hobo Convention in Britt, Iowa, to learn more about the hobo culture.
I packed my equipment because I knew that a story was going to unfold. We were there for a total of 8 days and we met a cross-section of hobos. In addition to having the great fortune of meeting Long Lost Lee, a hobo who went searching for
work during the Great Depression, we also heard compelling stories of hardship, danger, and violence from both men and women hobos.
By the time we left I had recorded over twelve hours of interviews and a history of the convention. “The Last Freedom Train” is a collection of the interesting interviews from veteran hobos.
THE LAST FREEDOM TRAIN
Ever since track was first laid for the great locomotives, hobos have listened to the call of the rails, lured by the possibility of free transportation to another place if they could make their way unnoticed and unharmed. They rode the rails for various reasons, to escape economic hardship, satisfy an urge for adventure, or simply to feed their wanderlust. Along the way, they developed their own culture.
To learn more about the hobo culture we travelled to the 111th Hobo Convention in Britt, Iowa. We met people of many backgrounds who lived the life of a hobo. Many spent decades riding the rails, logging thousands of miles looking for work, for adventure, or peace of mind. Some have a disdain for modern society and could not figure how they fit in. Many travelled alone until they met other hobos in camps, called jungles, and discovered their family of choice.
In “The Last Freedom Train,” nine hobos tell their stories of the risks, dangers, and thrills of catching out.
STONE WORKS
Stone Works is a documentary about Mike, a Cleveland, Ohio, sculptor who was abused by a priest when he was an altar boy. When, as an adult, his attempt to get the attention of the diocese failed, Mike's master's thesis became his catharsis.