Founded by Father Edward Flanagan in 1917, Biys and Girls Town has a long history of offering help, hope and healing to abused, abandoned, neglected, handicapped or otherwise troubled children. In fact, their mission is to change the way America cares for her at-risk children.

Before Girls and Boys Town In 1917, Americans nervously scanned casualty lists from far away Europe. For months the nation had been committed to war - many people felt for the last time. In the cities and in the heartlands, muscles, minds and emotions labored to help end the world's most-inclusive conflict. However reluctantly, America had willed to pay whatever price was necessary in lives and in goods to secure a world at peace. A world without casualties.

In Omaha, Nebraska, a young Irish priest reflected that such a world probably would never exist. For he knew that long after the last battle there would be casualties - the casualties of peace. The lost and homeless ones were ever present, more often in times of social crisis, but never absent even in times of booming prosperity.

Among these were the orphans, the rejected children, the young rebels whom society didn't understand and therefore, didn't want. Daily, 31 year-old Father Edward J. Flanagan saw and read about these youthful castoffs. They were a living fact, growing in number. Their enemies were neglect, indifference and ignorance. Survival for them was uncertain, and the funure was bleak even for those clever and strong enough to make it to maturity.

Father Flanagan too often had observed the young and vulnerable attempt to escape despair through lives of crime. He vowed a personal war against afflictions of the young, especially those of homeless boys.

It Begins ON December 12, 1917, the world was exploding in a hundred places. On that same day, Father Flanagan opened the door of a modest house in Omaha, Nebraska, to about a half-dozen boys. The story of Boys Town had begun.

Father Flanagan was already known in the city of Omaha as the lanky young priest who ran the Workingmen's Hotel, a haven for down-and-out workers not far from St. Patrick's Church, where he served as assistant pastor. At the hotel, he had repeatedly traced the thread that leads from neglected child to delinquent, drifter or criminal. It was pure street knowledge that impelled him to announce to his superiors that he wanted to redirect his energies toward the problems of boys who were heading for trouble or, in some cases, were already there.

Armed with Archbishop Jeremiah Harty's blessing, Father Flanagan searched for quarters. He found what he was looking for, agreed to take it, and then set out to find money to pay the first month's rent. He collected $90 during a visit with a friend whose name is unknown, but very likely was local Jewish attorney Henry Monsky. He moved a handful of boys into a drafty Victorian mansion at 106 North 25th Street.

Convinced that the new work was of great importance, Archbishop Harty relieved Father Flanagan of all pastoral duties. He was now free to concentrate on his new home for boys. Harty also "loaned" Father Flanagan two nuns and a novice from the School Sisters of Notre Dame. But, he counseled, financial support was out of the question.

The home's first residents scarcely had time to get settled before a steady stream of additional boys began to arrive. They were sent by the court, referred by sympathetic citizens, and often, simply wandered in on their own. Father Flanagan had resolved that one of the prime requirements for residence would be "wanting to be there." So the front door was never locked, and any boy who came was allowed to enter.

Love, Care, Patience

By Christmas Eve, Father Flanagan's "family" probably numbered 25. But he had hardly enough money to buy an ordinary meal, much less a traditional holiday feast. According to the Home's lore, an Omaha merchant sent over a Christmas gift - a barrel of sauerkraut - which provided the main course for the first Christmas dinner served at Father Flanagan's Boys' Home.

Yet the boys received stronger nourishment than food - nourishment they hadn't received anywhere else. They received love, care, patience and understanding in rich quantities, and they thrived on it. Although the home was on a shoestring financially, it continued to grow, evidence that members of the community recognized the need for such a home. Judges continued to send Father Flanagan as many cases as he could handle, and boys continued to come from other sources.

By January's end, there were about 50 boys living at Father Flanagan's, and he was forced to pick and choose boys on the basis of whose situation was most desperate.

Food and a warm place to sleep took care of immediate problems, but Father Flanagan knew that a sound education was essential to the future of his boys. Education for many of them had been an occasional thing, sometimes entirely neglected. But the home was so immersed in the problems of fast growth and small income that it could not assume this burden as well.

Since many had been in trouble with the law, public schools were reluctant to deal with his problem charges. But eventually, school officials accepted a guarantee of the boys' conduct and agreed to take a chance. Father Flanagan hired a horse and wagon, and in it, the boys traveled back and forth to school. Recreation consisted mainly of supervised sports on the back lot.

The spring of 1918 found the new home for boys in a somewhat more stable, although hardly solid, condition. The house was filled to bursting and, through a few regular donations from friends and other occasional gifts of money, food, clothing and supplies, life was certainly getting better.

Father Flanagan was unwilling to accept the limits the size of his facility imposed, so he began house hunting again. On the other side of town, he learned, a spacious two story building, 10 times the size of his present home, was available. It had a large porch and plenty of ground around it. And the rent was low. He investigated and excitedly agreed to rent it.

New Purpose

The building was the German-American Home, which in the rage of war had become the most despised building in the city. It was closed for the duration of the war with Germany. Now, serving a new purpose, it would provide the foundation for a juvenile rehabilitation program that was to achieve world-wide acclaim.

During the first week in the new quarters, as many as 30 additional boys were accepted, and in no time the population of Father Flanagan's home soared to more than 100. And the priest's concepts were proving themselves - positive changes were visible in the boys.

Several sports were taught and friendly competition was encouraged - the boys learned the valuable lessons of winning and losing graciously. Music had always been part of the home's life, and now a band was organized with donated instruments, including a pile of tarnished bugles, a bass drum and a slightly dented French horn. An Omaha music teacher volunteered to teach the boys.

The first farm operations were started with a vegetable garden and a few chickens. A farmer drove up one morning, opened the back door of his truck and led forth a cow. "Can't afford money," he said, "figured I'd let you and the boys have Lucy." All the boys learned to milk Lucy and to care for her.

Father Flanagan was pleased. His conviction that most of these boys could be helped by providing a homelike atmosphere, complete with love and warmth, was proving true. In the nine months the home had been open, not one boy had relapsed into his old ways. Yet these were the boys society had given up on.

Tending to the needs of a hundred boys was no small task. But Father managan's enthusiasm quickly attracted helpers - neighborhood men and women who volunteered their evenings and weekends. Key volunteers included William "Bill" P. Lynch, Leo HofFmann and Con Heafey, each of whom offered a variety of services to the young priest.

The few nuns who worked at the home soon had too much to do. Again, the neighborhood came to the rescue. A "Mothers' Guild" was formed to help the good sisters, and 20 additional women helped with the washing, ironing, mending and other needs of the boys.

Boys' Home Journal

To help tell their story. Father Flanagan and the boys started a magazine, "Father Flanagan's Boys' Home Journal." Besides news of the activities at the home, the magazine acknowledged gifts that arrived, many in the form of food, blankets or other household necessities. Financial gifts also came, not from major foundations or charitable groups, but from ordinary people who made sacrifices in their own budgets to help the enthusiastic priest with faith in little men.

However, support for the boys' home was far from universal. In some instances, there was considerable opposition. Father Flanagan's policy was to admit boys without regard to race or religion. Some people reaaed out of prejudice toward the mingling of races, and others to the presence of juvenile offenders in the community. Father managan stuck to his principles, accepting the criticism that only time would overcome.

As the home grew in size and importance, the problem of education grew as well. Some boys began to have trouble in school, for often, other students would taunt them as "thieves" and "gangsters." Their educational needs were diverse, and not necessarily attuned to the patterns of regular schools. So, the first summer at the German-American Home, Father Flanagan made plans for the boys' own grade school, with the faculty made up of himself and the sisters from the home.

Out of that summer's effort has grown the present Girls and Boys Town school system with its middle school, later named Wegner School, (Grades 3-8), Girls and Boys Town High School, and the Vocational Career Center, all comparable to the best anywhere.

Day-to-day operations at the home and school went on in a continued atmosphere of want, but none of the participants ever acknowledged anything other than success. Within less than two years of its founding, Father Flanagan's enterprise was holding its own and growing, relying on small donations from many people as its main support. By this time, a great number of Omaha residents had begun to take a sort of possessive pride in the fact that they were helping the courageous and farseeing priest accomplish his miracle.

Expansion

And a miracle it surely was. Before the home was four years old, more than 1,300 boys from 17 states had been served. Some stayed only a few months, then returned to their families for a fresh start. Others were adopted by good families that had been carefully scrutinized by Father Flanagan. But one fact stood out boldly - another expansion was necessary.

Land was an element vital to the home's success. It was important to have a farming operation so that at least part of the home's food could be grown. Further, despite strong public acceptance of Father Flanagan's program and goals, some elements of the Omaha community still feared the presence of his band of boys in their neighborhoods.

Several friends helped Father Flanagan buy a small farm in Florence, north of Omaha, but it was too small to be of much help, so it was sold and another, somewhat larger farm was purchased in the same area. That farm was not adequate either, and the prospect of building a home there for his boys met with opposition from the residents of suburban Florence.

Father Flanagan's thoughts turned to a particular piece of land some 10 miles west of Omaha, well away from any possible protesters, and large enough for growth and for any type of farming he could envision. The place was called Overlook Farm, and it was 160 acres of promise, complete with a house, barns, chicken coops and a small garage. Father Flanagan decided to see if it was for sale. It wasn't. But after an impassioned presentation by the priest, the owner, businessman David Baum, agreed to sell. He took Father Flanagan's 40 acres as a down payment with the remainder "to be paid in installments to be arranged in the future."

Your greatest business asset," Baum told the priest, "is your faith."

Moving day was October 22, 1921. During previous weeks, temporary housing had been constructed and a small network of roads laid. The housing consisted of a group of one story buildings arranged like barracks in a quadrangle. The buildings included a school, dormitories, a chapel, trade school, dining room and Father Flanagan's residence: a one story garage converted into a two-room dwelling. One room was a bedroom; the other was his office.

Keeping Busy

The boys were kept busy. During the summer, some assisted the tenant farmer in growing vegetables and other crops. At the new home, they were able to build a baseball diamond and running trade. Soon there was a full-sized field for baseball and football.

While all of this was going on, Father Flanagan shocked some observers with the announcement that he would not mar all this openness and freedom.

There would be no fences around the farm, no locks on the doors. Reaffirming his feelings that it was important that the boys want to be there, he added, "I am not building a prison. This is a home. You do not wall in members of your family." The original plan called for the temporary buildings to serve until all financial obligations were met, and suffident money was on hand to fund construction of permanent facilities. But it soon became apparent that a delay was almost impossible. The town - for that's what it was now called - had grown to a population of more than 200 boys. Welfare agencies and charities continually appealed for the admission of others. A group of leading Omaha citizens launched a campaign to raise $200,000 to build a great new building at Overlook Farm: Boys Town's first permanent building. It would be big enough to serve as a school, gym, dormitory and workshop.

The capital campaign was turned over to professional fund raisers, but this effort showed signs of faltering. Into the gap stepped a team of men who would long remain friends of Girls and Boys Town - men who exemplified the fact that the goals and ideals of the City of LitIle Men cut a wide swath across barriers that often stood between religious groups. The men were J.E. Davidson, business executive and prominent member of the Masonic Order; Morris Jacobs, publicity and advertising executive and a prominent Jewish leader; Henry Monsky; and Francis P. Matthews, a respected Catholic leader who later became Ambassador to Ireland.

Bucket Brigade

The hometown team organized a campaign in which the whole city of Omaha took part. It culminated in a "Women's Bucket Brigade," in which platoons of women, dividing the city into sections, canvassed every business, home and apartment in Omaha.

When the results of this last-day effort were in, the fund drive had exceeded its original goal. The total was S215,000, with many Omaha-area residents participating. In March 1922, ground was broken for the new five story main building.

Now that Father Flanagan and his boys had a true home of their own, the community took on a definite character. Ratios remained fairly constant. Only about 20 percent of the boys had criminal records. Many others, however, had been dangerously close to crime because of various environmental influences in their lives. The population was about evenly divided between Catholic and Protestant boys, with a small percentage of Jewish youth. Chapel services were made available to the Christian boys, and the Jewish boys were taken to services in Omaha.

As the home developed, the boys became more like citizens of a town than residents of a 'home." They elected their own government - mayor, council and commissioners. They even had their own post office. In 1936, Boys Town became an official municipality or village of the State of Nebraska.

During those years of development, times remained hard, and the struggle intensified as the national economy underwent the Great Depression. Various devices were tried to keep the home and its mission in the public eye. Some were successful, others failed and were abandoned. One was a "traveling circus," with the boys billed as "The World's Greatest Juvenile Entertainers."

They traveled in three circus wagons on one brief tour. Later, the touring tradition continued, with the boys traveling by train. Their last performance was at the Nebraska State Penitentiary, where the grateful convicts responded by calling for more, more and more. So, the boys did an encore - a long song fest featuring hymns that everyone knew and loved.

Boys Town Choir

That concert may have been the impetus for the organization of the famed Boys Town Choir in the 1930s. In 1941, Father Flanagan brought in newly ordained Father Francis Schmitt, a singer and organist who had continued his studies of harmony and composition throughout his preparation for the priesthood.

Father Flanagan gave him his assignment: 'I want you to build the finest choir of boys in the country."

The boys' first concert was in Omaha's Joslyn Memorial Museum. According to reports, few who came anticipated anything other than another "school concert." But what they heard was a "magnificently trained and disciplined choir capable of holding its own against anything similar in the nation."

The choir sang throughout World War II at bond rallies and in Army camps, and afterward, with travel restrictions lifted, took on its first big tour. In 1946, 40 boys bearded a train that took them to the Municipal Auditorium in St. Paul, Minnesota. They sang to a house of 9,000 people, in a program highlighted by works of distinguished composers. They awoke the next morning to critical acclaim, and the experience was repeated in such places as Boston's Symphony Hall, New York's Carnegie Hall, Washington's Constitution Hall, and in Pittsburgh, Peoria, Cincinnati and St. Louis.

Some profits were realized, but the real impact of the choir's activity came after they had left town - many people who heard them became contributors. And even more importantly, the boys helped convince the public of the changes wrought at Boys Town.

Around this time, too, Boys Town's success attracted other attention, which helped further Father Flanagan's cause. Two motion pictures were filmed, the first in 1938, which dramatized the efforts that were being made to recover 'lost" boys under Father Flanagan's guidance. "Boys Town," and then "Men of Boys Town" two years later, told the story to legions of Americans.

Academy Award

Spencer Tracg won an Academy Award for his portrayal of Father Flanagan in "Boys Town," a film that has become an American classic. Tracy donated the coveted "Oscar" to Boys Town, where it is still on display today.

Father Flanagan continued to direct all aspects of the program and remained the "father" to all of the boys. But he also belonged to society. As a result of the publicity generated by the movies, he was able to spend less time on fund-raising and more time developing youth care policy. He became internationally recognized as the world's foremost expert on boys' training and youth care.

As a result of this, he was asked by governments and private groups in the United States and abroad to consult on the problems and care of castoff boys of every description and nationality. After World War II, at the request of U.S. officials, he traveled to Japan and Asia to explain what he had done and how he had done it. A trail of new homes fashioned after Boys Town followed his appearances.

In 1948, he went to Europe on a round of conferences, lectures, interviews, inspections and discussions. The schedule led him to Berlin on May 14, and after a heavy day - for there was much to be done in that war-ravaged city - he retired early.

He awoke about midnight to the pain of a heart attack, and called for a priest and a doctor. Both came, but shortly after midnight, he died.

Father Flanagan was taken home to his beloved boys and entombed in Dowd Memorial Chapel in what was then the baptistery. In 1977, the Home dedicated a new Father Flanagan Shrine in memory of its beloved founder. The beautiful Shrine, a final resting place for this saintly and determined man, adjoins the Chapel.

"It Is God's Work, Not Mine"

Shortly before he left for Europe, Father Flanagan was asked if there was anyone sufficiently dedicated to the welfare of children to carry on the work at Boys Town. He replied: "God will send. The work will continue you see, whether I am there or not, because it is God's work not mine."

Msgr. Nicholas H. Wegner was appointed director of the home shortly after Father Flanagan's death. Under his direction, the growth and development that had been delayed by World War II was continued. This period saw Boys Town expand both physically at its campus near Omaha, and in its extension of youth services nationally and internationally. It was under Msgr. Wegner's guidance that the new middle school was built and a major addition to the Vocational Career Center was completed.

Msgr Wegner retired in 1973, after 25 years as director, and died March 18, 1976. He was succeeded in 1973 by Father Robert P. Hupp, who, during his 12 years of leadership, pioneered many new. programs to meet the complicated needs of today's youth, including the successful family based system of child care used today at Boys Town. Father Hupp retired in 1985.

On June 15, 1985, a new era began as Father Valentine J. Peter, a native Omahan, assumed the role of Executive Director. As only the fourth leader of Boys Town, Father Peter brought to the position more than 20 years of experience in working with youth and a dedication to continue the work Father Flanagan began almost seven decades earlier.

The Girls and Boys Town community is situated on 900 acres of land, 400 of which are cultivated farm fields. The balance serves as the campus. There are more than 95 buildings, among them 76 homes in 60 buildings for Boys Town residents and their Family Teachers, the highly trained married couples who guide each youth during his or her stay at Boys Town.

Other buildings include the high school, middle school, career center, music hall, field house, Hall of History, Chambers Protestant Chapel, Dowd Catholic Chapel and the Girls and Boys Town Center, which houses Girls and Boys Town administrative offices. Girls and Boys Town's service to youth reaches beyond its boundaries in Nebraska through the National Resource and Training Center, which provides technical assistance, program development and evaluation to residential group homes, shelters, school districts and mental health facilities around the country. The National Resource and Training Center also holds workshops for other child-care providers, with the goal of improving the way America cares for its children.

Other Girls and Boys Town Sites

Girls and Boys Town also has developed national sites, which include family homes and other services that are accessible to children and families. Girls and Boys Town sites are located in Brooklyn, New York; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Portsmouth, Rhode Island; Washington, D.C.; Tallahassee, Orlando and Delray Beach, Florida; Atlanta, Georgia; New Orleans, Louisiana; San Antonio, Texas; Las Vegas, Nevada; Orange and Los Angeles counties in Southern California; Grand Island, Nebraska; and Glenwood, Iowa.

Contending that society was not adequately addressing the problems of troubled girls, many of whom were victims of chronic abuse and neglect, Boys Town opened its traditionally male campus to girls in 1979. Four years later, the first five girls were graduated from Boys Town. Today, girls from all over the United States live in the Village of Boys Town and at Girls and Boys Town sites in homes with Family-Teachers, exactly as the boys do.

The residents of Boys Town lead normal lives, as nearly as possible. They attend classes, study vocal and instrumental music, play interscholastic and intramural athletics and have hobbies. They also do tasks at home no different than what is expected of all boys and girls living in American families.

The athletic program includes varsity and intramural competitions that reach every youth, whether in high school or grade school. Interscholastic sports include football, basketball, baseball, track, wrestling, volleyball, soccer and cross country. The high school has won state championships in nearly every sport.

All of these activities support the main thrust at Boys Town - preparing the youngsters to take their place as adults. And that involves education, first and foremost.

Wegner Middle School employs the latest classiroom teaching techniques, and the Boys Town High School is fully acuedited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools and is a member of the Nebraska School Activities Association.

The Vocational Career Center augments and complements the academic curriculum. Vocational skills are critical to future success. Students learn the basics of keyboarding, computer literacy home maintenance and employability skills in a series of foundation courses. They may then devote up to one third of their day to one of six occupational areas of study, including auto services, business education, computers, construction, human services and health care.

Moral Guidance

Moral and religious trainig is integral to the Girls and Boys Town experience. All boys and girls attend religious services - Catholics in Dowd Chapel and Protestants in Chambers Chapel. Jewish children attend a nearby synagogue.

Girls and Boys Town's residents are likely to be in special need of understanding and guidance. These are provided. Every effort is taken to ensure that the goals first established by Father Flanagan more than 78 years ago are fulfilled.

Society, of course, changes, bringing new sets of problems and innuences upon the young, and new dimensions in their care must be found and used. But the liberal amounts of patience, love and understanding Father managan prescribed in the first place have remained basic to all of Girls and Boys Town's methods.

In the 1970s, Boys Town began to expand that prescription in new and exciting ways. Noting that problem behavior in children often has a physical cause, Boys Town announced in 1972 the development of the Boys Town National Institute for Communication Disorders in Children, later renamed the Boys Town National Research Hospital (BTNRH).

A national diagnostic, treatment and research hospital for children with hearing, speech and language disorders, the Boys Town National Research Hospital is working to overcome the difficulties involved in hearing impairment in children. If left untreated, communication disorders in children often are the cause of educational, emotional and social failure later in life. Thus, a strong emphasis has been placed on the need for early diagnosis.

The hospital began serving children in 1975, and was fully operational in 1977 at 555 N. 30th Street in Omaha. Since then, more than 100,000 children and adolescents have been examined, diagnosed or treated for speech, hearing, learning and related disorders. The hospital, which also has expanded into primary pediatrics, serves thousands of children each year.

In 1985, the nation's first Center for Abused Children With Disabilities opened at BTNRH. Each year, more than one million children suffer from abuse and neglect. But while handicapped children comprise only it percent of all children, reports indicated that between 25 and 60 percent of abused youngsters are handicapped. The Center is working to identify, evaluate, treat and prevent the abuse of handicapped children throughout the United States.

Other Boys Town Programs

In 1990, the Home established The Boys Town Reading Center, which conducts applied research on literacy programs at Boys Town High Schooland Wegner Middle School. It has developed research-based programs that will improve the reading and writing skills of at-risk adolescents, ages 14 to 17. It is disseminating these programs across the country to persons interested in promoting the literacy of "at-risk" youth.

Another program, the Boys Town National Hotline at 1-800-448-3000, was established in 1989. It is a toll-free crisis, resource and referral service for troubled children and parents. It operates 24-hours-a-day, sevendays-a-week with highly trained, professional operators and assists between 300,000 and 500,000 callers each year.

Today, Boys Town also has emergency shelter services, a treatment foster care program, a family preservation program, and parent-training workshops.

Father Flanagan Statute Dedication

More than 100 Girls and Boys Town children from the present and past joined a delegation of it officials from Ireland to dedicate a life-size statue of Father Edward J. Flanagan and form a Sister City relationship. The 11 a.m. dedication helped kick off the organization's celebration of its 85th anniversary (December 12).

A "twinning" charter was signed by Girls and Boys Town officials and the delegation from Father Flanagan's hometown of Ballymoe, Ireland. The charter will promote areas of common interest including social, cultural, educational, spiritual and academic exchanges between Ballymoe and Girls and Boys Town. It is hoped that a range of events will take place between the two communities in the future.

"Father Flanagan has two homes, one in the village of Ballymoe, and one in the Village of Boys Town," said Father Val J. Peter , Girls and Boys Town national executive director. "The two are now joining to keep Father Flanagan's dream alive in both countries." The ceremony followed a special Mass at Dowd Memorial Chapel. Omaha Pipes and Drums led a parade of students, alumni and officials from the church to Father Flanagan's original home about two blocks away, where the statue was permanently placed. The Knights of Columbus and Ancient Order of Hibernians participated in the events.

Last October, an identical statue was placed at Father Flanagan's childhood home in Ballymoe.

The statues were created by internationally known and Nebraska based artist, Fred Hoppe. Hoppe's worksindude sculptures at the George Bush Presidential Library in Houston, Texas, and one of the largest bronze World War II memorials in Branson, Mo.

Girls and Boys Town, the original Father Flanagan's Boys' Home, is a leader in the treatment and care of abused, abandoned and neglected girls and boys. In 2001, a record of 37,456 children received help, healing. and hope from Girls and Boys Town's direct care programs at 19 sites in 14 states and the District of Columbia. Nearly 400,000 children and families were helped through the Girls and Boys Town National Hotline, and more than 1.1 million more were served through outreach and professional training programs last year.