Test your knowledge on all-things Hobo with this quiz!

1. What year did the first Hobo Day take place?
   A) 1929
   B) 1912
   C) 1992
   D) 1881
2. What event first launched SDSU’s homecoming tradition?
   A) Railroad Rally Parade
   B) Dakota Day
   C) The Nightshirt Parade
   D) The Rabbit Hop Celebration
3. Who was the first-ever female Grand Pooba?
   A) Barry Dunn, in 1966
   B) Ann (Kratochvil) Holzhauser, in 1982
   C) Philip H. Von Fischer, in 1951
   D) Lil H. Wearwhal, in 1927
4. How many times has the Hobo Day Parade been canceled?
   A) Six times
   B) One time
   C) Four times
   D) Three times
5. What kind of car is the Bummobile?
   A) 1912 Model T Ford
   B) 1903 Ford A Runabout
   C) 1929 Hudson 7 Roadster
   D) 1930 Cadillac V-16 Madame X Sedan Cabriolet
6. What did the float that tarnished SDSU’s image for a short period of time feature?
   A) a student with her skirt lifted up
   B) a bare-breasted Dirty Lil
   C) a student kicking a coyote
   D) a student sitting on a toilet with his pants around his ankles
7. What event embraced light-hearted Hobo Week traditions?
   A) The Bumfire
   B) Campanile Night
   C) Kangaroo Court
   D) Rabbit Renegade
8. What bumps has the Bummobile been through over the years?
   A) Brakes gave out
   B) Caught on fire
   C) Lost a wheel
   D) Had to be pushed through an entire parade
   E) All of the above
9. Who are the Jackrabbits playing in the 2021 Hobo Day game?
   A) University of South Dakota Coyotes
   B) University of Northern Iowa Panthers
   C) North Dakota State University Bison
   D) University of Sioux Falls Cougars
10. Where and when does the Hobo Day Parade start?
    A) Medary Avenue, 9:30 a.m.
    B) Jackrabbit Avenue, 8:30 a.m.
    C) 8th Street, 7:45 a.m.
    D) Student Union Lane, 6:00 a.m.

Answers:

1. B) 1912
   R. Adams Dutcher, a student from South Dakota State College (current-day SDSU), nicked the idea of Hobo Day from the University of Missouri in 1912. The event ultimately failed in Missouri because too many actual hobos turned up to the celebration.
2. C) The Nightshirt Parade
   The Nightshirt Parade occurred in 1907. Students marched through the streets of Brookings, men wearing nightshirts and women wearing sheets, in celebration of the homecoming game. The tradition continued until 1911, when administration deemed it unladylike for women to wander the streets in their sheets.
3. B) Ann (Kratochvil) Holzhauser
   Ann (Kratochvil) Holzhauser is a 1983 political science graduate that received the special title of the first-ever female Grand Pooba in 1982. Alums and archivists alike have found no trace or record of the first-ever Grand Pooba at South Dakota State University.
4. D) Three times
   The Hobo Day Parade has been cancelled only three times in history. Once for World War I, again for World War II in 1942 and again last fall due to the pandemic.
5. A) 1912 Model T Ford
   In 1938, Frank Weigel, a Flandreau farmer, donated a 1912 Ford Model T to the university. For over seven decades, the Bummobile has led the Hobo Day Parade. The 1912 Ford Model T remains displayed in a large glass encasing in the Hobo Day Gallery located in the University Student Union.
6. D) a student sitting on a toilet with his pants around his ankles
   Several newspapers in the region declared SDSU students as “vulgar,” causing the university to shy away from obscene floats.
7. C) Kangaroo Court
   Dating back to at least the 1940s, Kangaroo Court was an event which held a mock-trial with a judge, jury, and defendant. Almost every defendant was found guilty and was then sentenced to performing a “zany” act such as being dunked in a water tank or hanging laundry on a clothesline while blindfolded.
8. E) All of the above
   The Bummobile’s brakes gave out once, caught fire one year and even lost a wheel cruising on Medary Avenue. In 2006, it had to be pushed through the entire parade route. In desperate need of help, the Bummobile was refurbished by Harold Hobach (a 1943 electrical engineering graduate). The Bummobile made a trip to Harold’s shop in Palo Alto, California, where it was fixed up.
9. B) University of Northern Iowa Panthers
   South Dakota State University Jackrabbits will be facing the University of Northern Iowa Panthers Oct. 23 at 2 p.m. in the Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium.
10. A) Medary Avenue, 9:30 a.m.
    This year’s Hobo Day parade will take place Oct. 23 at 9:30 a.m. and will start at 11th and Medary. See performances from the Pride of the Dakotas Marching band and several other local high school bands and experience the comeback of the Hobo Day Parade!

Special thanks to Crystal J. Gamradt, archivist with SDSU Archives & Special Collections.