Remembering “Hobo,” O.C.’s Mascot Dog
By TIM KELLY
Lengthy before Martin Z. Mollusk, there was Hobo.
A long time prior to Martin, Ocean City’s formal hermit crab mascot who is, with all due regard, a particular person in a costume, there was a dwelling, respiration four-legged ambassador named Hobo.
A stray pooch of combined breeding observed in a snowdrift in 1920, Hobo would come to be a single of the finest known and very best loved inhabitants of Ocean Town for the subsequent 16 a long time.
“He was a portion of the landscapes,” Ocean City historian Fred Miller reported. “People cherished him. He actually became the unofficial mascot for the whole city.”
In the days in advance of rigid enforcement of dog licensing and leash legislation, Hobo walked about downtown Ocean City and the Boardwalk with a selected swagger, making pals almost everywhere he went.
Locals took care of Hobo. Seasonal visitors sought him out like a box of salt drinking water taffy.
In accordance to legend, a couple found a whimpering brown and white pet in the snow beneath the Boardwalk and introduced him again to their home.
However the adopted relatives supplied a dwelling foundation when essential, Hobo was mostly on his very own, building frequent stops alongside the seaside and Boardwalk, schoolyards throughout recess or just about any other location in town he cared to pay a visit to.
His very last stop by most nights was Shriver’s candies, wherever he was given a fantastic-sized dish of ice cream. He was also mentioned to acquire foods from area outlets and eating places and lots of treats from Boardwalk retailers and persons out for a walk.
“He experienced buddies all more than the put,” Miller claimed. “He was out on the beach front pretty a little bit and was well-liked with the lifeguards. John B. Kelly Sr., the father of Grace Kelly, the future princess of Monaco, was a major supporter, as was Grace Kelly herself.”
“In Ocean City you could never ever go wrong if you had been shut with Grace Kelly,” Miller extra with a chuckle.
Hobo was also identified to rest on the Boardwalk, sunning himself next to the benches or accepting stomach rubs from friends aged and new.
All through his life span, Hobo’s legend grew, as did he. With all the treats and foods remaining specified out, the puppy acquired pounds and his walk “became a waddle,” according to a released report.
The huge appetite and generosity of his human buddies did not affect Hobo’s longevity. His life spanned all of the Roaring Twenties and most of the Terrific Depression.
As the town advanced from a sleepy seaside community into a important tourism mecca, Hobo’s existence was a frequent.
In Miller’s e book “Ocean Town: America’s Finest Relatives Resort,” Hobo’s persona is explained as being infectious to all, but especially to young children.
When the puppy died on Dec. 8, 1936, kids had been stated to have been the most important contributors to a collection taken up for a monument. The $125 essential for a stone marker with Hobo’s likeness chiseled on the aspect was soon lifted.
A neighborhood mortician donated a compact casket and Hobo was laid to relaxation on the grounds of the unique Ocean Metropolis Large Faculty.
The monument, a mixture chook bath and puppy consuming station, was put in at the graveside, the place it stood for 29 a long time. Its inscription reads “In memory of ‘Hobo’ Ocean City’s Beloved Mascot. Died December 8, 1936, Aged 18 to 19 several years.”
A building challenge necessitated elimination of the monument in 1965, exactly where it was “lost” in a neglected storage space until 1976. When re-learned, the marker was mounted at the previous internet site of the Ocean City Historical Museum on Wesley Avenue.
The monument was moved once a lot more to its existing area in front of the Ocean Town Community Middle at 1735 Simpson Ave. when the Historic Museum moved there.
“Hobo built an effects on the community and he is fondly remembered,” Miller reported. “Not numerous canines obtain that kind of recognition.”
