Monday, February 6, 2017

The Knights of the Order of the Moving Boxcar

Originally printed in the Maryville Daily Forum, October 23, 1935.

My favorite article out of the day's research related not to Nodaway County's need for a new jail, but to the City of Maryville trying to get a new one built for city detainees. Keep in mind in reading this that there was a huge mobile population during the '30s, during the Depression, when this occurred. A large percentage of the population was out of work, most people didn't know where their next meal would come from, or if they would get one. There was a world war developing on the horizon and many of the men once vagrants would enlist to ensure they had three squares a day and a cot to sleep on, in addition to wanting to do their bit for their nation.
At this time, vagrancy was a crime, and hopping boxcars was and is a crime. But, I had to admire the creativity of everyone involved in this. This little story about the Knights of the Order of the Moving Boxcar will make you grin.