Who is hobo joe

To cover the payments, he supplied the firm with some paintings that one source described as "cheap reproductions.

Licavoli and Applegate also worked together on a number of transactions involving suspiciously large purchases of potatoes and shrimp for the restaurants from vendors, with checks flying between them. Licavoli passed away in at the age of The amount of trouble in Applegate's world of adultery, corruption, embezzlement, criminal cover-up, and Mafia ties is astonishing in its scope and size.

And to think that all of this corruption was being funded by a chain of family-friendly coffee shops! This is a subject of dispute. Kevin Casey mentioned in his post on RoadsideAmerica. Marvin Ransdell was the owner of a fiberglass pool manufacturing company called Polypools. Allegedly, Randsell was hired to produce fiberglass booths and tables for the Hobo Joe Coffee Shop chain, and was also contracted to build several of the five-foot statues as well as another of the giant Joe statues.

However, Applegate's wife May Applegate and David Stevens, the interior designer of Hobo Joe's restaurants, have both told the Arizona Republic that Ransdell was not the table and booth supplier for the restaurants. Marvin Ransdell's daughter Brenda emailed the editor of the website DeuceofClubs.

She says that her father built the big statue for Applegate and was never paid for his work, and thus he held onto it. My dad owned the fiberglass company that cast the boothes and statues for the restaurant. Casey was indeed the artist that worked in his manufacturing plant. He was not an employee. There was another statue the size of the one dedicated to my father but it burned down many years ago. Applegate and gang never paid my father for most of his work.

That is why he retained possession of the giant Hobo Joe. It sat behind his manufacturing plant for years. When he died, his life long friend Ray Gillum asked if he could have the statue. Ray put it on his property. That raised quite a bit of trouble with the Buckeye City government but Ray won.

Just wanted to set the record straight. Casey was a fine artist but my dad actually cast the statue so Casey and my dad worked together very closely. Remember that Investigative Reporters article from that I mentioned earlier? Well, it contains the following note which I found interesting:. This evidence supports one possible explanation that this second giant statue was built by Ransdell for a planned Las Vegas location, which never opened.

Whether he had the original molds from Jim Casey or produced a replica statue of Hobo Joe on his own is unknown. Some sources say that Ransdell sold the statue to his friend Gillum, others say it was gifted to him in his will when he passed away in In , Gillum installed the statue outside of his business, located at the southwest corner of Monroe Ave and S.

Apache Road in Buckeye, Arizona. A plaque at the base of the statue read "Hobo Joe: Built by and stands in memory of Marvin Ransdell by his good friend Ramon Gillum, July The statue remained there for the next 27 years, slowly deteriorating in the desert sun.

Over time, the giant hobo statue had become an offbeat attraction for lovers of kitsch and Americana, though some Buckeye residents considered the statue an eyesore. After 27 years, the giant Hobo Joe statue was removed from its location outside of the meat processing plant in A group of local activists and historic preservation advocates called Buckeye Main Street Coalition began raising funds to restore the Hobo Joe statue.

Additional funds were raised by selling Hobo Joe T-shirts and even Christmas tree ornaments! The two-year restoration saw numerous repairs to the fiberglass structure, sandblasting, and a new coat of paint. Photos of the statue's restoration and installation are documented on the Hobo Joe Facebook page.

Finally in early , the statue was mounted to a new concrete pedestal behind Cafe The fully restored Hobo Joe is on display for all to see. The sophisticated vagabond has been a roadside icon in Buckeye for more than 30 years, and I hope that despite his troubled past, Hobo Joe's third act will be his best one yet.

Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed this article! North Phoenix Blog was founded in and has grown to more than articles about unique history, interesting and offbeat places, and unexplored stories in the Phoenix area and around Arizona. Good to see Hobo Joe restored! Crazy story about Applegate Good evening I have a photo of this Hobo Joe in another location, most likely just before where it sits currently I will try to dig it up.. I remember going to the castle as a youth Starship Fantasy was another epic arcade that I spent much time and quarters.

It was located in the same shopping center as the Jolly Roger restaurant, at Lakeshore Dr. I would love to see some info on the Jolly Roger Elaine polley s daughter has one of hobo joes original sketches that she designed polley was the artist of hobo joe Elaine was casey fiancee and partner very interesting that the she is hardly mentioned and the historian didn't research on elaine who was also partners with casey at disney more documents are in private collection elaine thank you for your donation to our heritage.

When I first moved to the buckeye area my family came to visit the first place I took them was to take a picture with hobo Joe I truly hope we can see him again he represents a time we all need to remember…. Great info! I remember growing up and listening to these folktales. Thanks for the memories there! By the way, it was nice to see and read your post.

Main Page All Pages Community. Snuffleupagus Oscar the Grouch More characters Random Muppet. What's New. A California company supplied the chain, he said. Despite Applegate's claims, the Buckeye statue has much in common with the official Hobo Joe and appears to have been cast from the same molds. The identical details include a hat, a bandana, a rope for a belt, the "Wall Street Journal" — though the words are now faded — stuffed in a pocket with a glove, a banana and candy cane in his other pocket, a glove on his left hand, a shoe with a flapping sole and, most telling, his Phi Beta Kappa key hanging from the rope belt.

Stevens said that Casey shipped the molds to Arizona and that Ransdell must have gotten them and cast the statue. The original Hobo Joe had blue- and white-striped pants and a black jacket, and he carried a bundle in a red kerchief on a stick in his left hand. The Buckeye Hobo Joe was off-white but was eventually painted with a blue shirt, gray pants and a black jacket and hat by Gillum's relatives. That may never be proved, but it appears the Arizona roadside attraction is no fraud.

Most likely he is a younger brother of the original Hobo Joe, who followed his wanderlust to places unknown. Facebook Twitter Email. Buckeye's Hobo Joe roadside attraction has mysterious origins.

David Madrid The Republic azcentral. Show Caption. Hide Caption. Roadside attraction Hobo Joe an impostor? Roadside attraction Hobo Joe in Buckeye is said to be an Impostor. Asked and Answered - Buckeye Mystery Man.