Hobos will gather again in Rainbow City, to say goodbye to a king
A group of friends, mostly members of the hobo community that keep in contact from all corners of the country, gathered the weekend of Jan. 6 at the Rainbow City home of a member of their royalty — King Spike, otherwise known as Charles O. Gill.
They came from Indiana, Missouri and beyond to sit by the fire and share hobo stew, music and stories of their journeys by rail and their chosen way of life.
They came to spend time together, especially with Spike, Some of the friends at his home acknowledged they'd come there because they felt his failing health wouldn't have allowed him to travel to a gathering somewhere else.
As one friend said, they thought it might be Spike's "last hurrah" with his fellow rail travelers.
And it turned out to be. Gill died Jan. 18.
He'd lived in Rainbow City about 20 years, and as he said during the gathering, had already made plans for his funeral, to be officiated by dear friend Queen Gypsy Moon. She will conduct a memorial service for Spike at 2 p.m. Feb. 12 at Rainbow Community Church, at 100 Brown Ave. in Rainbow City.
Gypsy Moon said a larger memorial service will be planned for August, at the National Hobo Convention in Britt, Iowa. It was at one of those conventions in Britt that Gill was crowned as a national hobo king.
That coronation came long after Gill first took to the rails. At the gathering at his home, he talked about running away from an orphanage when he was 12, and traveling for a time before he decided he needed to go back to school. He got a diploma and a college football scholarship, which he lost when he got married. After he retired, he said, he returned to the hobo way of life.
Many of the hobos who came together to celebrate their way of life at Gill's home, and some who could not make that gathering, are expected in Rainbow City Feb. 12, to celebrate Spike's unique life, Gypsy Moon said, adding that all will be welcome.
"It's not required, but if you have a walking stick of any sort," she said, "you are invited to bring it to this hobo memorial serivice."
This article originally appeared on The Gadsden Times: Friends of hobo king plan memorial service after his death
