An eBay auction for a 45-year-old can of Hobo Soup recently ended. If you weren’t the lucky winner, don’t despair. You can still buy it — 24 cans will cost you $50.
Hobo Soup was “born” in the restless, creative mind of Lem Kaercher, a small-town newspaper publisher from Ortonville, Minn. In 1953 Lem went into the “jungles” of Ortonville in search of a feature story on Mr. Hobo, long an American legend. At the conclusion of his visit, Lem was treated with some old-fashioned original homemade Hobo Soup. A hobo himself as a young man, Lem felt the world should share in this fine cuisine. For years, a proper canner was sought, and finally in 1960, Lem and son, Jim, finally saw a dream come true… Hobo Soup on the grocer’s shelf — “A Jungle Recipe, Fit For A King!” Ingredients: water, beans, dehydrated potatoes, carrots, tomatoes, celery, dehydtrated onions, bacon, turnips, salt, butter, modified food starch, tomato paste, dehydrated peppers, m.s.g., monosodium glutamate, flavorings, sugar, smoke flavoring, spices.
