In 1886, Edward Flanagan was born in the small village of Ballymoe, Ireland. He was the eighth of 11 children, but he nearly didn’t survive past his first day. It’s believed he was born premature. But whether he was or not, he was a sickly child.
His frail health followed Flanagan all his life, but this physical setback did not restrain his aspirations. He worked the family farm as a boy and had his heart set on becoming a priest.
He began secondary school at Summerhill College in Sligo in 1901 and graduated in 1904 with honors. He sailed for America the same year, and quickly enrolled at Mount Saint Mary’s College in Emmitsburg, Maryland. After graduating in 1906, he entered Saint Joseph’s Seminary in Dunwoodie, New York; he left early due to poor health. He returned to school in a completely different climate and, in fact, in a completely different country at the Gregorian University in Rome. But his health forced him out.
A City in Need
When he returned to Nebraska, he was appointed to his first parish in O’Neill, but he was soon transferred to Omaha. He found the city and its citizens to be in a terrible state. Nebraska had been hit by a severe drought, which led to mass unemployment, homelessness, and hunger. He quickly got to work helping unemployed men by opening Workingman’s Hotel, which he established as a place for young men to stay while they looked for jobs.Flanagan soon discovered the men’s true ailment: waywardness. The men consistently told him that they would have been better off if they had had someone guide them when they were just young boys because many of them had grown up homeless.
With the homeless problem directly affecting children, Flanagan decided to house as many boys as he possibly could to keep them fed, off of the streets, and out of trouble. Finding wayward and homeless boys was not a difficult task.
He found an old Victorian mansion, borrowed $90 from a friend to cover the rent, and began his life’s work on Dec. 12, 1917.
Boys Home Grows
Flanagan called it Father Flanagan’s Boys Home. The mansion was able to house about 50 boys, and it was quickly filled. The courts were sending boys, and, with nowhere else to go, boys were arriving on their own volition. Without enough room, Flanagan had to turn boys away. The problem required an obvious solution: a larger home.
By 1918, the Boys Home moved to a larger facility, which enabled 150 boys to move in. Flanagan, as well as local nuns, were not only able to feed, but also educate the boys. This facility quickly filled as well. The Boys Home needed more than a new facility, it needed land.
No Bad Boys
One man who had been a “citizen” of Boys Town, Steve Wolf, recalled what Flanagan was like. “Father Flanagan genuinely believed and treated every child, as a creation of God, deserving every measure of dignity, respect, and self-worth. He accepted every single child regardless of race, religion, or economic standing.”Flanagan was against juvenile correctional facilities and reformatories for young boys, as he believed that one could not be reformed behind bars.
A World-Renowned Impact
The fame of Boys Town grew to such an extent that Hollywood took notice and turned Flanagan’s humanitarian venture into a film called “Boys Town” in 1938. Flanagan was played by Spencer Tracy, who spent weeks with Flanagan, learning his mannerisms and about the heart behind Boys Town. Tracy won an Academy Award for his portrayal. Mickey Rooney also starred in the film, playing the part of a troubled youth. The movie also won an Academy Award for Best Original Story. In 1941, a sequel was made called “Men of Boys Town,” also starring Tracy.
Flanagan’s successful efforts garnered the attention of the U.S. War Department. After World War II, he was invited by Gen. Douglas MacArthur to visit Japan and Korea to see what could be done for the youth in those war ravaged countries. After his visit, he issued his report to President Harry Truman. Truman then requested Flanagan do the same in Europe. While in Berlin, Flanagan’s poor health brought an end to his efforts as he died of heart failure. But Flanagan’s mark had been left on the world and the world was better for it.
Boys Town has grown over the past 100 years. There are now eight locations in six states: Florida, Iowa, Louisiana, Nevada, Rhode Island, and, the original, Nebraska. It has long housed chapels, including the Herbert B. Chambers Protestant Chapel of the Nativity of Our Lord and 15th-century Gothic-style Dowd Memorial Chapel of the Immaculate Conception, which houses Flanagan’s tomb. Starting with just five boys, the Boys Town charity assists more than 500,000 children and families every year.
