T-R PHOTO BY DORIE TAMMEN Storyteller Darrin Crow presented “Coal Car Riggs & Little Eva: The Great Depression in Iowa” at the Marshalltown Public Library on Sunday afternoon.

The Marshalltown Public Library sponsored an engaging program on Sunday afternoon. Iowa storyteller Darrin Crow, dressed in 1930s Hobo garb, portrayed each of the characters whose stories were revealed during his presentation. He assured the audience that the characters were real people, and their stories true.

Washington (AKA “Wash”) Riggs grew up in a small town in southern Iowa at the turn of the last century. Life there revolved around the small community, farming, and coal mining.

Wash had a happy childhood, playing with his best friends Ward and beautiful Pansy. Wash had a bit of a crush on Pansy, but she ended up marrying Ward. The couple rented a one-room house and started farming. Despite this, Wash, Ward, and Pansy remained good friends. Meanwhile, Wash made his living working in the coal mines.

Then, in 1929, the Great Depression struck. The coal mines closed. There was no work to be had, so Wash went to Ottumwa. Surely there would be work in a big town like Ottumwa. But there wasn’t, and there were hundreds of men also looking for work there. Next Wash traveled to the big city of Chicago, thinking there must be opportunities for work there.

Again, no, and there were thousands of other men unable to find work there, as well. So, Wash had to come up with a different plan. He happened to meet a Hobo at a Mission feeding the hungry. This Hobo shared with him the ins and outs of the Hobo lifestyle and suggested he head for California via the freight trains that crossed the country.

There, Wash would be sure to find work harvesting produce. The freight trains were full of Hobos looking for work…and it is estimated that 50 to 70 thousand children also lived this lifestyle during the Great Depression.

Wash explained how Hobos traveled on the freight trains, hiding from “Bulls,” the paid railroad cops who roamed the rail yards, evicting Hobos. One of them, in Wyoming, was Jeff Carr, who was infamous among the Hobo population for killing the Hobos he tracked down. Wash hid in an empty battery box underneath a train for three days to make his way to California.

Some engineers would allow Hobos to ride along in return for shoveling coal to feed the engines. Because of his coal mining experience back home, Wash could identify the origins of the coal the trains carried. Eventually, Wash earned his Hobo nickname: “Coal Car Riggs.”

In California, Wash moved around, making a bare-bones existence picking carrots and strawberries and other crops in the fields. When the harvest season there was over, Wash rode the trains again to work on a thrashing crew his friend Ward was forming for the harvest season back home in Iowa. This became his lifestyle throughout the Great Depression.

By this time, Ward and Pansy had two little girls, Lovena and “Little Eva.” Ward was fond of the girls, bouncing them on his knee while they were toddlers and playing with them as they grew. And after he left each year, Little Eva wrote letters to Wash, sharing the news of her family and his hometown.

Sometimes Eva reported good news: the purchase of a new home, with two floors. At other times, it was sad news: Lovena had died, and later, Ward had died of appendicitis. Pansy, who had no money, traded her two horses and weekly cleaning services in return for the funeral director’s services to bury Ward. Neighboring farmers help get the funeral procession over four big hills during a blizzard for the burial. Pansy moved to town and found work as a cook. She was an excellent cook, and Wash praised her beef and noodles, and her pies.

At one point, while Wash is back home, Little Eva excitedly invites him to a “Hard Times Party” being held at a local church. Wash explains to Eva that he has only one set of clothes, and they’re not fit for a party. Eva explains that he doesn’t need to dress up for this party. It’s a hard times party, after all, and you’re fined 10 cents if you dress up or try to look nice. Wash agrees to attend and wins a 25-cent prize for the best costume! Stories like this, and many more were shared during the program.

Little Eva eventually married a local boy, Eddy Crow, and they raised a family. This was a hint missed by all in attendance. Tossing in this clue, the speaker, Darrin Crow, revealed that Little Eva was his grandmother. He had grown up listening to the stories his grandparents and Washington “Coal Car” Riggs shared about their lives and experiences during the Great Depression, and he had just shared those stories with the audience.

Darrin Crow ended his presentation with this reminder: “Your story is important. Tell it,

Share it.”