Film Showing: "A Hobo in the Great Depression"

JOIN THE for an in-person film showing/talk on "A Hobo in the Great Depression".

PRODUCED BY documentary filmmaker Pauline Greenlick, "A Hobo in the Great Depression" looks at the 1932 travel diary by East Vandergrift, PA steelworker (1910-1940) who rode freight trains into all 48 continental U.S. states during a six-month, 14,000-mile journey.

Published as a full-length book by his son in 2010 as , the film features original music by Mike Stout and narration by actor Mike Firek along with interviews of Joe Szalanski, Jr.

DATE: Thursday, Aug. 21, 2025 from 7:00-9:00 pm

PLACE: The Bost Building, 623 E. 8th Ave., Homestead, PA 15120

ADMISSION: Free – but Eventbrite reservation required

• The film is 75 minutes, followed by Q. and A. with Ms. Greenlick and Mr. Szalanski

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The film will be shown in the gallery where the "Art of Labor: Off Our Walls" exhibit is currently running. Featuring over 130 paintings, photographs, artifacts and ephemera from the collections of historians Joe and Delsa White, Steffi Domike and Rivers of Steel, "Art of Labor: Off Our Walls" runs through Oct. 24, 2025. is currently open Monday through Friday. Call (412) 464-4020 for hours.

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: "This unique book is both a history and a testament. As a history it covers the era of the Depression and the unfolding effect of the early twentieth century immigrations on American society, the labor movement and the generation that followed. Joseph Szalanski is a spokesman for that generation. The testament is a hobo-diary painstakingly written day by day by his father—a man who lived the Depression and lived through it. Together the history and the testament (plus a select gathering of photographs) give us a portrait of an era that is as central to American life as it is incomparable and unforgettable." — Samuel Hazo, Director of the International Poetry Forum

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*** While this program is admission-free, you are welcome to make a monetary donation on the Ticket Page to offset expenses involved in producing our 2025 Program Series. is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) nonprofit. ***

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

623 E 8th Ave, 623 East 8th Avenue, Homestead, United States