Coal Car Tony, Frisco Joe, & Tea Time Thomas checking out the local facilities.

Home, Home on the Range... Home Found in the Kansa Territories
   However our Hobo friends look like they aren't exactly satisfied with the modern facilities provided here. Regardless, we are pleased that they have come to live and work here. They are expected to provide invaluable expert assistance in showing off our carved "Hobo" nickels at conventions outside the territories. Verne R. Walrafen ...

It looks pretty much the same no matter what angle you look at it from!

Our Multidisciplinary Staff:

Coal-Car Tony   Tony has never been inside a coal car, but gets his name from looking like he has. Tony is pretty much a loner; having never placed bathing too high on his list of priorities. Actually, he can be rather interesting to talk with; until the wind changes direction. Originally from New Jersey, his wife threw him out saying: "don't come back until you take a bath" that was eighteen years ago. Not that he wouldn't take a bath, let's say; if he were to fall into a river and had a bar of soap handy. Our Senior Staff Resumes:   Available upon request.

Tea-Time Thomas   One of the oddest stories to come down the pike in some time; Tea-Time found his way to America as a servant to a wealthy English gentleman. Traveling to Chicago by train with his employer, he was not allowed to ride inside the passenger cars. He settled in for the trip inside an empty cattle car; where he met some "Gentlemen of the open road". They quickly deduced that with his English accent and skills as a man-servant, he would do well to strike out on his own. During the last ten years on the road, Tea-Time has concluded they may have overstated his prospects.

Frisco Joe   If there is a job that Joe hasn't done, it probably ain't been invented yet. From boxer to undertaker, Joe has tried his hand at it for a time. His old man swore Joe would never amount to a hill of beans, but Joe can take on any job and do it well. It's his problem with the bottle that always seems to mess up a good thing. When he gets paid on Friday, you won't see him again until that money is liquidated. It's a vicious cycle that Joe has come to accept as his lot in life.

Online Catalog Planned    If plans work out we will post an "Information Only" Auction#13 Catalog with color photographs here on our website. The "official" catalog will be the one our Editor prints... the online copy may not have the final editing done on it that the paper copy will undergo. Check out this DRAFT example of the page showing: The First Three Auction Lots. This page probably isn't precisely what the final posted catalog will look like but it gives you an idea what our plans are. ~ Verne R. Walrafen ...

1950's "Hobo" by Trygg Standing 6" tall.	"Hobo" by Gunnerson Standing 5" tall.	1957 "Hobo" by Trygg Standing 6" tall.

      Flat-Plane Woodcarving - These old hobos are a tiny portion of my collection. The Gunarsson carving is AMAZING, while the two Trygg carvings are pretty basic in their design.
      Gunnersson carved in the "Swedish Flat-Plane" style which has been revived by Harley Refsal who wrote the 1992 book Woodcarving in the Scandinavian Style which tells the history of the style and its progression to present day.
      Trygg carved in a "Modified Flat-Plane" style; being a production carver, his style incorporates the rule that "less-is-more". As simple as that may sound, it takes a special talent to create the desired expression with a minimum of cuts. It is difficult to add much to the article The Trygg Family that was done by Roger Schroeder. Rick Ferry... Thursday, 30 September 2004 4:27PM
      For those interested... I also see that Harley Refsal is also the author of: Art and Technique of Scandinavian Style Woodcarving: Step-By-Step Instructions and Patterns for 40 Flat-Plane Carving Projects. ~ V-Dubya

Bust of Napoleon III on Dix Centimes coin has been capped with a German spiked helmet. Unaltered 1854 Dix Centimes.

      Earlier this year I bid on and won an unusual altered coin in an eBay auction. The coin is a very fine Dix (Ten) Centimes French coin, which would which had been altered (ala hobo nickel style) with some skillful engraving.
      After winning the coin I did a little research to find out why and when this coin had been altered. Since this is a French coin, I first need to provide a mini history lesson.
      In November, 1852, a new plebiscite overwhelmingly approved the establishment of the Second Empire, and Louis Napoleon became Emperor Napoleon III. For eight years he continued to exercise dictatorial rule, tempered by rapid material progress. Railway building was encouraged; the rebuilding of Paris and other cities brought a construction boom; and the first French investment banks were authorized. Napoleon's foreign ventures were successful at first. The Crimean War (1854-56) and the Congress of Paris restored French leadership on the Continent.
      Napoleon then turned toward Italy. A long-time supporter of Italian nationalism, he met the Sardinian premier Camillo Cavour at PlombiEres and secretly agreed on a joint campaign by France and Sardinia to expel Austria from Italy and to establish an Italian federation of four states under the presidency of the pope; France was to be compensated with Nice and Savoy. War broke out in 1859. However, after the costly victory of the French and Sardinians at Solferino, Napoleon suddenly deserted his Italian ally and made a separate peace with Austria at Villafranca di Verona. His act was partly motivated by the opposition of the French clerical party to a policy threatening the independence of the papacy at Rome.
      Having lost much popularity, the emperor inaugurated a more liberal domestic policy, widening the powers of the legislative assembly and lifting many restrictions on civil liberties. During the "Liberal Empire" (1860-70) such opposition leaders as Jules Favre, Emile Ollivier, and Adolphe Thiers were outstanding figures. A commercial treaty (1860) with Great Britain opened France to free trade and improved Franco-British relations. Imperialistic expansion was pushed by the French-British expedition (1857-60) against China, the acquisition of Cochin China, and the construction of the Suez Canal. Less fortunate was Napoleon's intervention (1861-67) in the affairs of Mexico; the French troops finally withdrew upon the demand of the United States, leaving Emperor Maximilian to his fate.
      Napoleon remained neutral in the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, underestimating Prussian strength. The rise of Prussia under the leadership of Otto von Bismarck revealed a new rival for European power. To regain prestige Napoleon, at the behest of advisers, took an aggressive stand regarding the candidature of a Hohenzollern prince to the Spanish throne. This gave Bismarck the opportunity to goad Napoleon into war.
      The Franco-Prussian War (1870-71) brought ruin to the Second Empire. Napoleon himself took the field, leaving his empress, EugEnie, as regent, but he early devolved his command to Achille Bazaine. He was caught in the disaster of Sedan (September 1, 1870), captured by the Prussians, and declared deposed (September 4th) by a bloodless revolution in Paris.. Released after the armistice (1871), he went into exile in England, bearing defeat with remarkable dignity.
      Following the shameful defeat of Napoleon III in Sedan in September 1870, skillful French engravers altered coins in a satirical manner to ridicule the French emperor. So my "French Hobo" was most likely engraved in the Fall of 1870.

Gandy Dancers and Handcars

      Until fairly recent times, the jobs of laying track or maintaining railroad roadbeds was the responsibility of Section Gangs who performed the work by sheer physical labor.
      A common name for such laborers was Gandy Dancer, derived from their use of tools made by the Gandy Manufacturing Co. of Chicago, Illinois.
      The old-time Gandy Dancer did his work by hand. His tools consisted of picks, shovels, ballast forks and lining bars. The brutally hard labor was often relegated to minorities or recent immigrants, such as Chinese, Irish or African-American section hands.
      In order to move heavy objects such as ties or rail, teamwork was required. Commonly, and particularly among African-American section hands, songs were chanted to pass the time as well as keep the gang working in unison. The songs or chants would have a specific tune or beat. At certain points, the workers would lift together, allowing a few men to exert enough force to move heavy sections of track or rails. As they moved, they appeared to "dance"... giving us the second portion of their nickname.

[  Quoted from the Whippany Railway Museum's webpage Pump Car, Velocipede, Light Inspection Car and Section Gang.  ]

      One of the provisions that Steve Adams made when he agreed to entertain V-Dubya this fall was that I would attempt to carve a nickel so that I'd know a bit about what is required to create such art works. He didn't know that I don't have a single artistic bone in my body. However, I am an engineer and do have patience and an eye for minute detail.
      Steve opened his work shop and home to me. He provided a wide selection of tools for me to experiment with. I quickly found that the motorized/power equipment required an experienced hand which was well beyond me. An optivisor, chisels, punches, hammer, abrasive stones, oil and a paper towel were all I could use with any control worth mentioning.
      I am a big fan of using a variety of textures in nickel carvings so I created a "Sampler" quite similar to what sewing/needlework students have done for generations. Steve started me off with a couple chisel cuts and turned me loose to experiment. About halfway through he made the cut to separate the hair and beard from the facial skin areas.
      With Steve's prompting I was finally able to consistently remember which edge of the chisels does the actual cutting... definitely a critical thing of course. "Walking" a chisel was a really fun technique to learn! The most surprising thing I learned was how quickly a nickel carving can be completed. Steve, with years of experience, invested probably five minutes and I added at most a couple hours. It would have gone much quicker if I hadn't been a complete novice. Another totally unexpected thing that I found out is how soft the metal is once a thin surface layer is removed. The lightest touch with virtually any tool leaves a mark! Somehow I had always thought of a nickel as being a HARD metal!
      There are, in my opinion, two things that actually are hard to do when carving nickels. First, is the true mastery of the engraving tools themselves of course... particularly the power tools that are so versatile and efficient. Second, and most importantly, is the imagination and artistic talent it takes to create original carvings that aren't simply knock-offs/recreations of another artist's work. It is obvious that creating the same few designs over and over again would be singularly unrewarding.
      While I was fumbling my way through this project Steve was putting the finishing touches on his masterpiece "Mona Lisa." It was so cool to watch Steve enlarge the hole for the gold insert... he made it look so easy. I have it on good authority from a talented and experienced carver that such inlays aren't actually as simple as Steve made it appear. I wasn't watching when he inserted the gold piece and stamped it with his "SA" signature. Most likely I was upstairs with Heidi feeding my face. The Adams' family sure knows how to feed a fella! I had one truly fantastic experience... Thanks Steve and Heidi!

      2004 has been a milestone... in my career as an artist working in metal. - It was in January that I was introduced to 'Hobo Nickels' and my life took on a whole new dimension... Some have said an obsession, but I consider the carving of 'Hobo Nickels' to be the greatest challenge, to date, of my artistic career.
      I have to say that I have never had so much fun in the doing... and satisfaction in the completion of any other form of metal art.

  

      Over the course of this last year many of my friends have expressed a desire to possess one or another of my carved nickels. Of course this is not possible, I would end up with none of my own. I thought that I would try to make a mold of one of my carvings and attempt to cast a copy. The casting (John Wayne) turned out perfect, although the finished product is about 5% smaller than the original, all of the minute detail came through. Each of these reproductions is signed, dated, numbered and marked 'Replica' on its edge. My friends were happy with their gifts and a whole new idea was born.
      I have chosen eight of my carvings to work with, made molds and cast copies which I have then mounted in a silver bracelet, that I also designed and cast. I then donated this bracelet as a gift to The OHNS to auction in January of 2005 at the fun show in Ft. Lauderdale. Along with the bracelet I submitted one of the eight originals for the annual auction. ~ Robert Shamey ...           [ Kinda hard to tell the ORIGINAL from the CASTING isn't it? ~ V-Dubya ]