HISTORY
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Unfortunately, by the 1980s, Hobo Joe’s restaurants were fading. Financial issues hit the chain hard, and many locations closed. One of the full-size statues, made but never installed at a restaurant, remained at Ransdell’s fabrication yard for years. That’s when the story takes a Buckeye turn. A gift between friends In 1989, Ransdell gave the statue to his friend Ramon Gillum, who owned Gillum’s Meat & Locker, a butcher and meat processing facility just outside Buckeye’s downtown core. Gillum accepted the massive gift and installed it proudly in front of his business, where it stood for nearly three decades. There, Hobo Joe loomed over a dusty lot on Monroe Avenue, just west of downtown. Surrounded by meat trucks, cattle pens and feedbags, the statue became a curious part of Buckeye’s roadside landscape. He wasn’t promoted as a tourist attraction or marked on maps, but he stood watch nonetheless, weathering the Arizona sun and countless questions from passersby. While Hobo Joe was known to most longtime residents, he remained something of a mystery to newer ones. Some assumed he was a relic from an old carnival. Others figured he was a mascot for the meat plant. In reality, he was both more ordinary and more interesting: a link to a forgotten slice of Phoenix history and a reminder that sometimes odd things stick around simply because people care about them. A move, a makeover and a new home By the mid-2010s, change was coming. Gillum’s property was sold, and the statue had to be moved. It wasn’t in great shape — decades of exposure had worn away paint, fiberglass and structural stability. But Buckeye wasn’t ready to say goodbye. A coalition of local preservation advocates, city supporters and Buckeye Main Street representatives organized a plan to save and restore the statue. In 2016, Hobo Joe was moved from his longtime home at 1015 Monroe Ave. to an offsite location for storage and repair. The restoration was no small task. Local firm Serbin Studio was brought in to reinforce the internal structure, patch the fiberglass and rebuild the base. The statue was also sandblasted, repainted and prepared for a new permanent display. The project took several years and relied heavily on community support, including
contributions from the John F. Youngker family, who helped fund the relocation and installation. In 2020, Hobo Joe returned — this time to downtown Buckeye, just south of Monroe Avenue and 5th Street. Positioned in a walkable, revitalized part of the city, he now serves as a sort of unofficial greeter to visitors exploring historic Buckeye. He’s even listed on roadside attractions sites like Roadside America and Atlas Obscura , helping put Buckeye on the map in a whole new way.
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A symbol of Buckeye’s past and its quirky spirit So, why does Hobo Joe matter?
In a city growing as fast as Buckeye, where master-planned communities and commercial developments are reshaping the desert skyline, Hobo Joe offers something older; something handmade and a little bit weird. He’s a reminder of a time when local businesses defined a place’s personality, when fiberglass giants ruled roadside America and when a meat locker owner could adopt a 25- foot statue just because he liked it. That kind of character doesn’t come from a zoning map. It grows from stories, from friendships and from the simple decision to keep something around because it means something, even if you can’t quite explain what. Final thoughts for newcomers If you’ve just moved to Buckeye and are still finding your footing, take a drive downtown and look for Hobo Joe. Snap a photo. Read up on his backstory. Think about the layers of history under your feet — the farmers, the ranchers, the restaurant dreamers, the artists and the families who’ve shaped this town in big and small ways. Because in a city that’s racing toward the future, Hobo Joe is a wave from the past. Cheerful, odd and totally Buckeye.
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InBuckeye.com | November 2025
November 2025 | InBuckeye.com
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