OctoberlNovember 1999

Meet B.J.The Hobo ClownAt the risk of repeating what hasalready been written about one ofour country's oldest performingclowns, this article is a must. Somuch fascinatinghistory is wrappedaround BJ. the Hobo Clown itwould be remiss for Hawthorne'sHistorical Society to pass over atreasure that has been an integralpart of the Hawthorne Communityfor so manyyears.

B.J. and his colorful Clownmobile have been featured in nearlyevery major celebration event sinceBJ. made Hawthorne his homeback in the Eighties.

While focusing on BJ.'sstory, it became apparent thatMarian Ludlow, another Hawthorneresident, should beincluded whilemaking thishistorical record.

More thanone article tellingabout B.J.'saccomplishmentscan be found inthe archives ofseveral localpublications.Many carry the"by-line"Marian Ludlow.

Marian and Ogden Ludlowmoved to Hawthorne fromGainesville, Florida in 1988.Having served as a "Stringer" forthe Gainesville Sun, Marian's by-

line was soon a frequent feature inthe Leesburg's Daily Commercialand Golden Lifestyles. She like-wise wrote articles for the Or-lando Sentinel, and has made in-valuable contributions to the Haw-thorne Herald and to our ownHawthorne Remembers. HusbandOgden Ludlow, as manyHawthomites know, is a retiredEpiscopal priest, and he is also anaccomplished photographer. Not tobe outdone by his wife Marian,Ogden has had several of his photospublished.

After the discovery ofMarian's first-hand knowledgeabout Hawthorne's famous hoboclown, it seemed only fitting that

she should be askedto write this article.With her permis-sion, we have takenthe following ex-tractions from sev-eral earlier articles,and have includeditems from herlatest interviewwithB.J.

August 3, 1988(Lake Sentinel)

By Marian Ludlow

BJ. the Clown has lived bythe clown's prayer for morethan 60 years. (Now, morethan 70 years) He knows itwell ...

Help me to create morelaughter than tears, dispensemore happiness than gloom,spread more cheer thandespair.

Never let me forget that Iam a clown - that my work isto cheer people up, make themhappy, make them laugh, makethemforget momentarily all theunpleasantthings in their lives.

Never let me jeopardizethe integrity of Clowndom byimproper conduct. Help me toalways make others proud of myactions as a clown.

Never let me acquirefinancial success to the pointwhere I will discontinue callingon my Creator in the hour ofneed.

Now Bill Jones uses histalent and love of people toentertain at his Hawthorne atLeesburg home, and goesanywhere he can in the area tobringjoy to others.

(continued on page two)

(Continuedfrom page 1)

The Hobo Clown is notjust his circus trademark . . . itwas his first means of stayingalive. After graduating fromhigh school at 18 during theGreat Depression, Bill, theoldest of four children from abroken home, hit the road,leaving his motherwith one lessmouth to feed. His mother andhis two sisters took in washingand kept house while brotherDan was a sodajerk.

Jones panhandled, didodd jobs for food, and likeother hobos, hopped rides ontrains and campedout.

But after riding the railsfor three years, he returnedhome and worked for hisfather, a plumber and electri-cian, and became a masterplumber by age 26. Later hedid general contracting, thenwent into the real estatebusiness.

Jones was a teenager whenhe first joined the circus. As ayoungster, he liked dressing upfor Halloween and made hisown costumes, which usuallywon prizes. He ran off with TheRingling Brothers Circus onesummer when it came to hishometown of Xenia, Ohio. Hereturned home in the winter toattend school, but not beforelaunching his career.

He began as a rube,or gofer, feeding andwatering the animals,driving stakes for the bigtop, raising the riggingand helping put upbleachers and sidewalls.Before long he also wasclowning. He slept wherehe could fmd a spot, sometimesunder an animal cage. Water fordrinking and washing was at apremium and the makeup was

hard to wash off. Cold creamswere too expensive for the poorclowns. Payment was a ques-tionable place to sleep, three Clowning is a serious, funnymeals a day and $3 a week. business. The point of the enter-

Jones worked for many tainment is to make people,circuses and carnivals, as well young and old, laugh. It mayas rodeos, where he was a barrel seem simple, but it is an art. Aclown, a person who distracts true down is born. Oh yes, therethe bull's attention from the is a lot to be learned. There arefallen rider. When the bull gets the props thattoo close for comfort, ----- ......-----.., are used, thethe clown dives into a costume andbarrel, which is some- make-up to betimes padded, some- fa s h ion e d .times not. "At one time The latter areI was going to give up the individualand burn my clown clown's tradeprops, but decided mark. Thethat it was a God-given face must betalent, so I have contin- the sameued," he said of those every time.rough-and-tumble days. The props must be made and it

Now he entertains at office takes a lot of imagination to de-and family parties, hotels and sign and use them.shopping center openings, The clowns are stationedservice clubs and nursing homes. near the entrance of the Big Top,He never misses a parade, known as clown alley. In case ofusually building up excitement a mishap or accident, they couldbefore the sirens blow and the get right out there and make theparade units march down the audience laugh and perhaps notstreet. His yellow and red notice the trouble.fringed golf cart is· filled with Some of the antics that drewtricks and sounds and balloons the most laughter were accidentsthat he twists into animal shapes. themselves. BJ. rode a mule

"It has been a good life. God bareback which regularly threwhas been good to me. At 78, I him off. On one show hehave my own teeth and hair, see decided to saddle the beast so he

without glasses, and could ride him out. All went wellmy hearing is good," 'til the ornery animal moppedhe said. short, tossing the clown over his

He has been head. There was the Hobo Clownnominated to the hanging upside down, feet lockedClown Hall of Fame in the stirrups, and the mule'sin Wisconsin and is front feet pawing the ground.the second oldest Stuck there, BJ. thought, "I'mclown in the World gonna get killed if he kicks me inClown Association, the head." After what seemed

which he helped establish six hours, he was saved. The crowdyears ago ... no small tribute to a roared! It was probably the mostman who takes clowning unforgettable act of the show.seriously. He began as a "whiteface"

In another of Marian's articlesfrom 1993 . . . she wrote:

\.J

like Emmett Kelly, his idol whohe was to meet and call friend

'----' many years later.Emmett Kelly never

spoke, he pantomimed.He attributed his fame toan unrehearsed moment.He came out as a distrac-tion. The fellow with thespotlight couldn't get iton him. Kelly took abroom from- his bag oftricks that every clowncarries in his baggyclothes and began sweep-ing the spotlight shining aroundhim. It made such a hit that itbecame part of his act and histrademark.

B.J. says he could never be asad face clown. He just can't keepa straight face long enough. He isby nature a happy fellow andwants to spread cheer whereverhe can . .. in nursing homes, theSpecial Olympics, at parties,Jerry Lewis' MD Telethon, and

V many hospitals.His props include a golf cart

with fringe on top that's wiredfor all sorts of sounds, a bathtub,life-like puppets, a clanging trol-ley bell; and more. BJ. says it'sfun to turn off the music justwhen someone thinks he is hear-ing it. It makes one wonder if heis going bonkers

In order to avoid being called avagrant, he always kept fiftycents in his pocket,although he would have rather

We retirees used it for food.probably remember Hobos and trains went hand inthe hobos who hand as they rode on them, int r a vel edt h e them and sometimes under them.neighborhoods look- Most of the Railroad detectivesing for a handout of were good to Bill, sometimesmoney or food, pointing out a car that was headedalways offering to in the direction he wished to take.work for it. They Maybe this was because he waswere the men, never pretty much a loner. He felt it waswomen, who were safer. But at times he rode a

unable to get work during the boxcar with six or eight others.Great Depression of the late They shared what they had withtwenties and early thirties. Bill one another and the camaraderieled such a life for three years. was pleasant. Jeff, an older man,

Hobos were often depicted ragged, dirty, looking like hein cartoons and drawings in hadn't a nickel to his name, wasshabby clothes with a sack made dubbed "The Hobo King". He diedof a bandanna, supposedly a hobo although he was veryholding all their worldly goods, wealthy, a fact that Bill learnedtied to a stick resting on the many years later.shoulder. The other hobos, like Jeff and

It was not a stigma to have to Bill, must have liked the life -beg in those days because so bathing in rivers, sleeping undermany were in the same boat. The the stars in the woods andhousewife made a sandwich, or cooking over a campfire using anhot cakes, and· old gallon can for a pot. Some-coffee for the """,,~ __ r--------':;"""""'---'" times the mealpoor fellow consisted ofwhen she could, .- nothing moreand wished him than old fieldwell. com.

It was aknown fact thatan inconspicu-ous mark wasleft for the next 1.--_"';';';::= __ =visitor to see. Only the hoboswere able to recognize this signand to this day BJ. will notdivulge the secret.

Bill panhandled, worked atodd jobs, rode the rails, and ofcourse camped out with thefraternity of hobos. They nevertook food or money withoutoffering to work for it. But theysecretly hoped that there was nowork to be done.

The following are excerpts takenfrom an article by Marian Ludlow

(October 7, 1993)

(Editor's note • . . At age 83, B.J.was the oldest clown in the business.He will be 89 in April of 2000, andstill performs when his healthpermits.)

BJ. never plays jokes onothers, always on himself Noone has more fun than the clownsand they love to bring this joy tothose who may not have much

,,--,. joy in their lives.

B i I Ifirst met Jeffwhen he washopping amoving boxcar.There was a

right way and a wrong way. A guycould get killed approaching fromthe rear as Bill was doing. Jeffset him straight right away in afatherly manner.

Why did men and boys take upthe hobo life? Were they rebellingagainst the system as the youth ofthe sixties did, or against parentalvalues? Or, did they just want to

(Continued on page 4)

be one of the boys and go off to seethe world? For many, during thoseyears, it was a means to survival.

Bill was raised a Quaker andwent to church almost everySunday, no matter the domination.He cleaned up the best he couldand went to the nearest church. Hewas always treated well andinvited to stay for meals or socialprograms that might be heldfollowingthe service. I'm sure thathis infectious smile had a lot to dowith his being accepted.

The call of the road and thewhistle of the train took manyyoung men away from home.Hoboing died out when theeconomy picked up in the latethirties. World War ITmade jobsavailable and drafted young meninto service.

By then, there was no cause tohit the rails and the public wassuspicious of hitchhikers anddrifters. Another phase of historyhad passed.

Facts from Marian'sOctober, 1999 interview:

Bill, BJ. The Hobo Clown, andHelen Jones moved to Haw-thorne in 1975, leasing a house onPyracantha Lane. (Leasing waspossible while Hawthorne wasunder the auspices of Colo-nial Penn.) They lived there forthree years before returning toTarpon Lakes Mobile Villagewhere they owned a home.

One day in 1983, Bill cameback to visit Hawthorne and raninto Harry Galbraith who urgedhim to move back. He had justthe right house on the comer ofHawthorne and Palo Verde. B.J.and Helen spent many happyyears there until Helen's death inJuly, 1994.

"My comer has been aperfect location to meet and visitwith folks taking their morning

Another Historical Year!,I

<::»The fmal year of the Twentieth Century is getting ready to make its

final exit, and the memories it leaves behind are mind boggling for all of us.Hawthorne's twenty fifth Anniversary Party has been added to our

Happy Memory Bank and Hawthorne's Historical Society has been silentlyactive this summer collecting all sorts of memorabilia to remind us of thedays when our community was in its early, formative stage.

The passing of Nat Bodinger, a long time resident and talentedphotographer, has left us with a plethora of beautiful photos that we hope todisplay in a special showing at Hawthorne's annual Art Show.

The HistoricalSociety's cupboards, like those of other activities, arebulging at the seams. We are anxiously awaiting the completion of the newbuilding addition with hopes of finding a permanent home to display ourmany treasures.

Anyone interested in learning more about the early days ofHawthorne is welcome to attend the meetings of our Historical Society ...on the first Thursday of the month at 3:00 P.M. in the Lemon Room.

This season begins the Fourth Volume for our HawthorneRemembers Publication. Last year we distributed, free of charge, eightissues in celebration of our 25th Birthday. We will be publishing fourissues this season and again free of charge to all residents. Extra copies willbe available for 25 cents on the Quadrangle.

Now, a plea for help. The time has come to find a new Editor forour historical newsletter. We need some fresh ideas and are looking foranyone who knows, or who wants to learn, the art of desk-top publishing )Please contact George Wolf at 728-3510 or RoseLee Geiger at 323-8723 foi->details.

RoseLee Geiger, Editor

or evening walks. 1 loveHawthorne."

BJ., declared the oldestworking clown fifteen years agoby the World Clown Associa-tion, is still invited to attendClown Conventions here andabroad and to perform with hisfriends when they are in the

Editor's Note

area.

Surely Hawthorne at Leesburgmust take pride in the fact thatwe can claim B.J. The HoboClown as one of our residents,and be most thankful for thejoy this gentle man has sogenerously shared whenevercalled upon throughout ourcommunity, our state, ourcountry, and around the world.

"I have had a wonderfullife and hope to still be able tocheer people up whether as theHobo Clown or just beingmyself."

With his smile and sense ofhumor, he is doingjust that.

Hawthorne Remembers

Editorial Staff

Editor ~.~_~.~ _ _..... RoseLee GeigerAssistant Editors _ George & Grace WolfInterview by. _ _......... Marian LudlowInterviews by Marian Ludlow