A Conversation with Hobo Day Grand Pooba, Marie Robbins

After a year apart with virtual festivities, Adventure Awaits Marie Robbins and the 2021 Hobo Day committee.

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As a 1950 editorial in the Collegian once said, “Hobo Day has become the living symbol of South Dakota State.”

By extension, Grand Poobas are often thought of as living symbols of Hobo Day itself. Coordinators of the biggest one-day event in the Dakotas, these die-hard Jackrabbits work with a team of committee members to ensure the celebration lives up to all the Hobo hype.

We sat down with the 2021 Hobo Day Grand Pooba, Marie Robbins, to discuss this year’s homecoming. A senior majoring in ag business and ag communications, Robbins shared insight into the traditions of Hobo Day and what to expect with the 2021 event.

What is your favorite thing about Hobo Day?

My favorite thing about Hobo Day is the people. It’s kind of a cheesier, cliché answer, but it really is the people that make Hobo Day what it is. You can’t have hundred-year-long traditions without having extremely passionate and supportive people behind you. On October 23 this year, on parade morning, we’ll get to see thousands of people who love SDSU come out on Medary Avenue and on sixth street of downtown Brookings. It truly is such a cool experience when everyone comes together because they love SDSU, and they have so much Jackrabbit spirit.

This year’s theme is Adventure Awaits. What does that mean to you? What inspired the committee to select that theme?

To me, “Adventure Awaits” means that you’re always pushing and striving for your next goal. Whatever it might be, how big or how small, you’re always working towards that goal and going through whatever paths you need to get there. The committee picked out “Adventure Awaits” as our tagline because it spoke to a lot of us, especially after a year of COVID and a lot of uncertainty. “Adventure Awaits” represents not knowing where you’re going to go, but knowing that you want to eventually get somewhere and you have goals to reach.



If you carried a bindle like real Hobos, what would be in it and why?

There are three main things I think it would have: the first being a phone charger – I feel like that’s a given. The second thing I would carry is snacks; it seems like I’m always hungry for any kind of snack. And the third thing I would carry is fireworks, some kind of roman candles or sparklers or something like that. I love the Fourth of July: it’s my favorite holiday, and it’s the second-best time of year aside from Hobo Day.

What does it mean to you to serve as Grand Pooba for the 2021 Hobo Day?

I think for me, being Grand Pooba is about carrying on the traditions that were in place before me and putting forth my best effort to ensure that people can still come together and celebrate a place that they love so much. I really want to inspire people, especially the 2021 Hobo Day Committee, to do their best work for October 23.

What is your favorite button on your Hobo Day vest?

I have a lot of buttons, but my favorite one is this one. It says, “The first Hobo Day Committee member born in the 21st century.” In 2019, during my first year on the committee, I was like the baby of the committee – I was the youngest on the committee and the first one to be born in 2000 to be on the committee. So, they gave me a button!


Are there any Grand Poobas that came before you that have really inspired you?

There are two previous Grand Poobas that I really look up to, especially in my time on the committee. The first was the Grand Pooba in 2019 – her name was Jeanette (Klein) Linke (pictured left). She was the one who kind of inspired me to start out on the committee. I knew her from high school and FFA. The second Grand Pooba that inspired me was last year’s Grand Pooba, Kylee Donnelly (pictured right). She really inspired me because even with all of the challenges that we went through last year, she still remained positive and wanted the best for Hobo Day. That attitude really inspired me to apply for Grand Pooba.

If you were to compete in the Hobolympics, what event would you excel at most?

If I were to compete in Hobolympics, I think I would probably most excel at the event where you have to come up with your own song. I’m not a very competitive person as far as athletics go, but when it comes to writing or singing, I’m not a good singer, but I think creating a funny, random song is a lot of fun.

If you could start a new Hobo Day tradition, what would it be?

I feel like starting a new tradition comes with such weight, so you really have to be thoughtful about what you want to do and what you want to start. One thing that I thought about in 2019 when I first got on the committee was having this button design contest where student organizations or students could make buttons for their group, and then the committee would judge them and pick out the best one. This actually came true last year in 2020. We had a button design contest for student organizations. Because of COVID, we really didn’t know what to do since we didn’t have a lot of events happening like normal, so we took that opportunity to try something new. We tried a couple different things, and the button design contest was one of them. We’re doing it again this year, and hopefully it sticks for a couple more years.

Hobo Day has only been canceled two times in its history: in 1942 for World War II and in 2020 due to COVID-19. How does it feel knowing that this is the first year back after last year's cancelation?

Hobo Day 2021 is going to be so much sweeter this year because we weren’t together in person last year, so it’s going to be even better and even bigger than it has been in the past.