Archie Catches the Westbound

It was at the January show in Fort Lauderdale that we began to hear that Archie had some medical issues and the news just got worse when he was diagnosed with cancer. Sadly he lost the battle andpassed away on October 5th . Many of you probably already have heard by now.

Wanda let me know that Archie was cremated in his yellow shirt and bowler hat. He wanted no fanfare, no viewing, no special ceremonies, and his only request was to have his ashes spread at hishobo camp at River Ranch in FL. While he was ill he spent much time there and enjoyed it greatly. There he was removed from all the detrimental germs while his body was in a weakened state from chemoand he was living out a life akin to a real hobo in his jungle camp.

Just weeks before his passing, OHNS was at work setting up a scholarship fund in Archie's name. Archie had two passions, working with kids and helping modern carvers just getting started. Sincethere is already a modern carver honorarium, we felt a fund to help YNs would best reflect Archie's spirit and goals. OHNS has organized a scholarship for higher education and will award between $500and $1000 a year depending on what the budget will allow. There will be more details on this in the Spring issue of BoTales.

Once we got the call that Archie had "taken the westbound", we got to work with one last tribute and that was securing a full page ad in The Numismatist (an ANA publication) for a memorialtribute. This again required finding funds to make it happen. Between officers, board members, carvers, OHNS members, OHNS Facebook, and even a check from Archie's family, we succeeded. These ads arefew and far between, mainly due to cost (over a grand) and are reserved for important numismatists with many followers funding such an ad.

Archie was touched by how many people cared for him and I think he was one of the lucky ones knowing what he meant to people before his death. He had a great outpouring of support both monetarilyand emotionally during his battle with cancer. Archie my friend, you will be missed.

For more information about the Original Hobo Nickel Society, see:
http://www.hobonickels.org/