Once a Hobo...: The Autobiography of Monte Holm

I had the pleasure of meeting the author, Dennis Clay, and getting an autographed copy of,'Once A Hobo'. I have really enjoyed reading and going along on the journey of Monte Holm's life and everything that he had to do in order to survive. This is a book that anyone would enjoy reading and be glad that we live in this day and age.

Understanding the degree of hardship endured by those of an earlier generation should make anyone who reads this riveting book grateful for the blessings we daily take for granted. Dennis and Monte team up to tell a tale that was probably common during the Depression. It is a tale I heard my own father tell as he, too, left home at age 13 to ride the rails to Wichita where his Uncle Jerry lived. My father left home when his mother died and his father began abusing him with his fists. Uncle Jerry wasn't much easier on my dad, but at least he didn't beat him with regularity. But life wasn't easy for a kid back then and this book brings home that fact and more.I enjoyed it wholeheartedly!

When I saw Once A Hobo, I saw trains , hobos and a great gift for my cousin. Railroads were part of life when we were growing up. It was my intent before parting with it to read a couple of chapters. But, I had finished the book before I laid it down again. A good story teller hooked me into each of his short easy reading chapters with just enough bait to lure me into the next and the next. Familiar times, familiar places, familiar experiences, there were so many connections I could not lay it down. One gift book of nostalgia with its trains, hobos and cowboy days kept growing into three gifts, four and more. It is a must read, easy to read book about life and values. The young Monte Holm persevered through the worst of times, developed the confidence and innovation to survive, to marry, to build a business and through it all to see the glimmer of the best of times. The experiences, the places and the people are all real, triggering connections to people and places today. Our grandson in high school, each of the other grandchildren and children kept coming to mind as I just kept reading.

It brought back memories of the late 20's and the Depression. I am the same age as Monte and remember there were no jobs. The boys would hop on the freight cars hoping to find work in other towns. Dennis' book brought back all these memories. It was very well written and depicted what the boys went through traveling from town to town looking for work.

Monte Holm lived a nightmare shared by many in his generation. Money, jobs, place, self-respect. These things were in very short supply in America when Monte had to leave home. An entire generation found a way to survive and emerge from that period of American history with their entrepreneurial spirit intact. Monte's story should be required reading for all children in America so that we never forget what it takes to be an American in hard times. Things seem to come pretty easily now days. We need to read this true story so as to remember that it was and may not always be so. Clay and Holm have recounted a true-life adventure that would be unbelievable were it not so expertly written. Monte recounts real people and real places as he was forced to travel about America in search of life. As you read you can see Monte's value system being tested and enforced. The book is full of life's lessons and will be an ecouragement to generations to come.