From the Archives: Vagabond Leo V. Voss visits the Los Angeles Times
Vagabond and self-promoter Leo V. Voss stopped in and visited the Los Angeles Times. After proving he could move a newspaper delivery truck attached to his hair, this photo and story appeared in the July 17, 1950, Times:
At least one man has solved the cost-of-living problem.
It costs him only 50 cents a day when he is traveling, and he travels most to the time — all on his own two feet and pulling a rickshaw-like cart that holds all his needs.
He is L.V. Voss. He calls himself professor of diet and health and lives the outdoor, vegetarian life. And he’s looking for the perfect mate.
He says he is 71. He came jaunting into town Thursday, arriving at The Times after a 13-month trek from the Canadian border.
Prof. Voss wears a bronzed skin, shoulder-length hair and a little less clothing than a bathing beauty — trunks and shoes and socks.
He bragged of limitless stamina, challenging all comers to any feat of endurance. As proof of his strength he pulled a Times 2-ton delivery truck by his hair.
He has one hope left. He would like to meet his future mate.
If he does, perhaps he will end his wanderings. A pamphlet he left gives a clue.
It says he “will continue to roam until he finds a normal woman fit to love, age 21.” …
There is no further mention of Leo V. Voss in the Los Angeles Times. Evidently his travels continued. The Feb. 29, 1952, Tucson Daily Citizen published a similar photo and story of Voss. This time he’s pulling a car with his hair. And yes, he was still looking for a mate — age 21.
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