Father Flanagan and his Town for Boys

The Beginnings of Boys Town Up until 1915, an Irish Catholic Priest, Father Edward J. Flanagan was running a free boarding house for out of work men In 1917, Father Flanagan was riding a streetcar and ran into a friend of his, Leo Hoffman a well known funeral director. They began talking about what to do w/ the 5 boys that Father Flanangan has taken in, they had no home

The Mansion Cate Dennehy, a real estate agent overheard their conversation, she told Fr. Flanagan that her company had a house not yet on the market She asked to show it to Fr. Flanagan and it was perfect for what he needed It was located at 25th and Douglas streets

Getting the Resources Monsky Fr. Flanagan borrowed $90.00 for rent from his pal Henry Monsky, a Jewish lawyer and moved the boys and himself in. Just after Thanksgiving of 1917, w/ the help of a Jewish lawyer, a Funeral Director, and a Real Estate Agent, the new home began what today is a world renowned organization By Spring the following year, (4 months later) the number of boys reached 100, Again, Fr Flanagan was out of room

Fr Flanagan Moves Again Anti-German feelings spread across America during WWI Fr Flanagan was able to acquire the newly abandoned German Society House (south 13th street) This building would be too small by 1921 Donations kept pouring in… Fr Flanagan began to look west for the new home

Overlook Farm In 1921, Fr Flanagan by donations and fund raising bought a small farm 10 miles west of downtown Omaha On October 22nd, 1921 Fr Flanagan moved out to Overlook Farm The location was perfect due to its’ distance from the city, no distractions. Before permanent structures were built kids lived in the chicken coop and barn

Life at Overlook Farm Fr Flanagan felt that hard work would give these kids something to be proud of: ownership Determined to make farming payoff, Fr Flanagan bought dairy cows and began selling over 200 lbs of butter and cheese each per month. By the 1950’s Boys town was a leader in FFA events. They were so good that they held their own competitions at Overlook Farm

Life at Overlook Farm By 1923, “Old Main”, the Admin bldg was completed and the boys moved in from chicken coop and barn Fr. Flanagan began the $300K fundraiser to pay it off. It was paid off w/in a year by big donors. The boys had many money making operations. The most successful was making Soap and Disinfectants under that name of Sanitary Products Co.

Boys Town was Up and Running The Sanitary Products Co. was that big money maker bringing in $14K in 1919 and $18K in 1920 Towards the Great Depression, business dropped off and the boys began to make sleds & brooms In 1926, Boys Town created a variety show that traveled across the country and a weekly radio show offering advice to letters from children

Boys Town hits the Road & Air Waves The variety show traveled all over the country led by a 9yr old Black young man named Oscar Flakes The troop did face racism especially in the South where they were not allowed to stay in certain hotels due to minorities being in the group On the radio, “Johnny Gloomkiller” reached out to children who wrote Fr. Flanagan on a weekly basis. Johnny was determined to reach out to as many kids as he could

Boys Town Road Show

Celebrities Grace BoysTown Everyone from Hollywood actors to Sports stars came to Boys Town. Babe Ruth played Baseball with the kids

Boystown Goes Hollywood In 1937 Hollywood gets wind of the story and makes a motion picture: Boystown Starring Spencer Tracy, the “Tom Hanks” of the times to play Fr. Flanagan Spencer wins the Academy Award for his portrail of Flanagan Tracey donates his Oscar to the Home and is on display in the Hall of History

The War Years Many graduates went on and joined the military A few of the first deaths in WWII are Boys town grads Donald Monroe, Will Debs and George Thompson die on the USS Arizona 40 grads are killed in WWII

After the War Fr. Flanagan is asked by President Truman to est. a Boys town type org. in Europe and in Asia He agrees and while in Berlin on May 15th 1948 going over the set up, he suffers a heart attack and dies He is brought back to Omaha to be buried in the Cathedral at Boys town Fr. Flanagan in Asia

The Death of Fr. Flanagan Father Flanagan’s Tomb at Boys Town

Changes to Boys Town In 1975, dormitories are replaced by group homes In 1979, Women are allowed to attend Boys town changing the name to “Boys and Girls Town” In 1991, the first Woman Mayor is elected Today, Boys town has the largest endowment of all Catholic Org. bigger than all the Catholic universities and schools combined!