There was a time when it was completely acceptable for young people to hit the open highway and thumb a ride with a stranger. But today that phenomenon is viewed by many as unthinkable, even reckless.
What made hitchhiking so popular in Canada in the 1970s and such a taboo now?
University of Guelph’s Prof. Linda Mahood delves into this question and the ritual of hitchhiking in her newly released book Thumbing a Ride: Hitchhikers, Hostels, and Counterculture in Canada.
In her book, the historian recreates the ’70s era, which she explains was a period when a number of factors collided to create the ideal scenario for hitchhiking.
“It was a unique time, a time when everyone knew if you stood at the side of the road and put up your thumb, you could get a ride,” she said.
The biggest bubble of baby boomers came of age in 1970, and the university system expanded along with the student loan system, making it possible for a social class of young people to attend university who otherwise wouldn’t have, said Mahood.
So when the school year let out, suddenly tens of thousands of university and high school students were looking for summer jobs at a time when Canada experienced an economic downturn and few jobs were available, she added. This coincided with the first Trudeaumania, the civil rights movements and the women’s movement, which told young women that they could do whatever boys were doing, she said.
On top of that, baby boomers saw the completion of the Trans-Canada Highway, allowing them to cross Canada on one span.
“It was the hitchhiker’s dream,” said Mahood.
“You’ve got this bulge of baby boomers going to university with this prolonged adolescence, few summer jobs, wanting to have an adventure, listening to folk rock, which was all about getting on the road, doing your own thing and finding freedom. So there it was. What are you going to do this summer? Hitchhike across Canada.”
Mahood said writing Thumbing a Ride was like writing her autobiography without actually being in the book. She began by looking up high school classmates on Facebook from her home province of Saskatchewan. By the time her research was done, Mahood had interviewed 100 people about hitchhiking and life at that time.
She also delved into Canadian university newspapers and the mainstream press, which warned of the influx of summer travellers passing through towns and cities and sleeping in fields or on beaches. To keep the behaviour of blue jean-wearing youngsters in check, the federal government provided cheap meals and youth hostels under the Opportunities for Youth program.
“Motorists and taxpayers were really traumatized at the time about what to do,” said Mahood. She points out that everyday people who had survived the Depression and the Second World War were suddenly confronted with this new kind of young person – the hippie student.
“They were articulate but dressed like slobs and didn’t have the same decorum of what this older generation expected of university students,” said Mahood. “Especially worrying was the risky behaviour of young women.”
Getting into a stranger’s car brought dangers; the risks of assault, rape and murder started to hit the headlines.
By the late 1970s, the hitchhiking craze was coming to an end. Mahood said provincial and federal police faced pressure to enforce restrictions on hitchhiking on highways. New municipal bylaws banned hitchhiking in cities as well. There was a general feeling that this new, transient youth movement was spreading anti-establishment nomadism.
Last summer, when Greyhound announced extensive cuts to service in many parts of the country, Mahood wondered how many of this current generation of “Trudeau kids” would find themselves hitchhiking down the road.
Book launch Thursday, November 15, 6:30-8:30, at The Bookshelf
Contact:
Prof. Linda Mahood
lmahood@uoguelph.ca