It has been said that Hobo Day (South Dakota State's homecoming) is the largest one day gathering in the state of South Dakota (the Sturgis Rally is a week) and the centerpiece of the day (besides the football game) is the annual Hobo Day Parade. Some might say that the centerpiece of the parade and the most recognizable image is the Bum Mobile, the 1912 Model T.
The year of the Bummobile (1912) is significant because it marks the celebration of the first Hobo Day. The Bummobile has been the lead entry in every Hobo Day parade since 1938, with the exception of 1942, when Hobo Day and classes were cancelled so students could help with the World War II effort.
The Bummobile was donated in 1938 by Frank Weigel, a farmer from Flandreau, S.D. The Model T has shepherded homecoming grand poobas, parade grand marshals and even a U.S. president.
The parade is ended by the Grand Pooba riding through on the historic Bum Mobile. For seven decades, the Bummobile has led the Hobo Day Parade past the Campanile along Medary Avenue. Otherwise, with the exception of a select number of summer parades, the 1912 Ford Model T remains tucked away in an off-campus garage.
Darryl Orback helped refurbish the Bum Mobile for the 2009 Hobo Day Parade. In recent years, the Bummobile has started on fire; a tire has fallen off and the brakes have given out. The car had to be pushed through the parade route in 2006. That prompted the Hobo Day Committee to launch an effort to repair and restore the Bummobile.
The University Program Council committed $1,000 to start the fund, but private gifts were needed to complete the project, estimated at $20,000. Various alumni and friends of the University have donated their time and money in the past to make sure that the Bummobile was up and running, but this is the first effort to provide a comprehensive overhaul for the nearly 100 year old Model T.
The grandson of Frank Weigel, Dave Weigel, who donated the Bum Mobile in 1938.
When I first started this assignment I didn't plan on the Bum Mobile being a big part of it. But the first two people that I interviewed ended up being Frank Weigel and Darryl Orback. I was lucky enough to get talk to these two for a few minutes and the story behind the Bum Mobile ended up being a important part of the parade story.
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