Welcoming Differences

If the future of our country is to be secure from dangerous enemies from within. Parents and guardians of children must become more conscious of the responsibilities which God has placed upon them. We must become more virtuous in our own lives that we may teach more effectively the lessons of proper citizenship by example, as well as instruction. Kindness and love will open the heart of any problem boy. That heart will melt within the warmth of the sunshine of love. I have really never found a boy who wanted to be bad.

This old bus has many a story to tell. Not only of games won and lost but also of a sad chapter in our nation's history when children were prevented from the joys of athletic competition purely due to the color of their skin.

Why would an Omaha school need a bus specially equipped to travel great distances? It all started with a disheartening incident in 1946. It was one of Father Flanagan's core beliefs that every boy engage in some form of athletic competition to build his character and physical strength. And from its inception, and at Father Flanagan's insistence, Boys Town's policy was to accept all boys in need regardless of race. Because of this, Boys Town's sports teams were fully integrated at a time in America when this was sadly a rare occurrence even in large Midwestern cities such as Omaha. This meant that in order to compete, Boys Town teams had to travel relatively large distances by road, rail, and air to play games against other integrated institutions.

In 1946, the Boys Town football team traveled to Miami, Florida to play an exhibition game in front of thousands of spectators at Burdine Stadium later known as the Orange Bowl. Originally slated to stay at the Blackstone Hotel on Miami Beach, the team was forced to find accommodations elsewhere when the hotel refused to allow Boys Town's integrated squad to stay there.

At the stadium, things took a turn for the worse when the game's organizers forced Boys Town's non-white players to sit out the game. At one point, the team's African-American quarterback was booed by the crowd simply for venturing onto the field to bring water to his teammates. Upon hearing of this, Father Flanagan refused to allow his athletic teams or any other Boys Town groups to travel anywhere south of the Mason-Dixon Line.

So in early 1953, Boys Town used donations to purchase this bus, a 1952 Flxible Visicoach, built in Loudonville, Ohio to transport its student-athletes around the nation. After it was taken out of service in the 1960s, the bus was left to rust on the Boys Town farm until it was discovered, restored, and cut in half by Boys Town students so it could be placed on permanent display in the Hall of History. Today, Boys Town alumni visiting the campus once again climb those familiar steps, turn left, and take a seat on a bus that now takes them on a journey back in time without ever moving so much as a foot.

Dan: At Boys Town, we had Indian friends of mine, Hispanic friends, there were Black friends, I mean it was a complete mixture. But we didn’t see color. The only time we saw color was when had passes in high school and we’d go into town. Then we’d see how some of our classmates were treated by other people because they weren’t white. And that kind of disturbed us, because when we were at the home everybody was the same, that’s just the way it was. We didn’t see diversity, we just saw who we were.

​Mark: I got a knock on the door, about 10:00 at night, and it was a policeman at the door, and said that he had got a call from some parents that said he had receive...They had received a suicide text that had come out from Pyper. At that point, you know, obviously, ran to her bedroom to make sure she was okay. She was okay. Thank God. But, you know, I slept next to her bed for a month.

Pyper: The biggest thing that has changed since I've been at Boys Town is definitely my self-confidence. When I first came, I was in eighth grade. I didn't really have a lot of self-confidence. So it took me a long time to, like, meet people at first and break out of my shell.

Stevie: Every day, there's a miracle here at Boys Town, and I witnessed one, myself. She was walking down the lunchroom, and she was trying to hold her tray, and all the kids were eating and talking and goofing around. She was walking down, wobbly, with her tray, and she tripped, and the tray flew.

Now, any place else, it would have been laughter and making fun. There wasn't a peep. They looked at her, and they jumped up. Twenty kids jumped up, cleaned up her mess, helped her up, "Are you okay, Pyper? Are you okay, Pyper?" Not one, and I was watching because I was ready to jump on it if somebody was gonna laugh, not one student laughed, and they felt for her. To me, that's a miracle.

Pyper: It gave me a brighter future. Like, I actually got the opportunity to actually graduate, get scholarships, make some friends that would, like, last a long time, make great memories.

Mark: I'm a believer that everything happens for a reason, and kind of the ironic thing about all this is when I was in my 20s, I actually lived across the street from Boys Town and never paid a whole lot of attention to it. And yet, you know, a few years later, Boys Town ends up, I believe, saving my daughter's life.

Welcome to Boys Town's Cinco de Mayo Fiesta.

We have most, I think almost all of the boys communities get together. This Is a tradition Candy wanted to bring to Boys Town.

Uh, we had a smaller group last year, but this year it's gonna be probably over 200 again. Um, it is an opportunity for kids who've never had authentic Mexican food, and it's all homemade. We want the kids to learn to be inclusive and to experience other, um, ethnicities, foods, and music.

Um, it's taken about a week to prep the food.

A lot of my boys, we sat down last weekend, took two days

and made 500 tamales.

It's easy but hard to make tamales. Um, if you know what you're doing, it's easy. If you don't know and you're trying to teach somebody, it's difficult.

So we have some for the little kids, some for the big kids, and I don't care how old you are, a pinatas, always fun. Oh, I think it's pretty fun. It's my first time ever.

Boys Town's 2024 Cinco de Mayo fiesta was a celebration filled with joy, laughter, and delicious food. Over 200 boys and girls came together to experience the rich culture of Mexico, enjoying homemade tamales, lively music, and traditional activities. The event highlighted the importance of inclusivity and cultural appreciation, offering many children their first taste of authentic Mexican cuisine. It was a memorable day, showcasing the spirit of community and the joy of learning about different cultures. Watch the video to see the highlights of this festive occasion!

Jennifer: My name is Jennifer, and I've been here for almost five years.

I want to be Mayor for Boys Town because I think I'm a good role model. I think it's just a great way to give back to Boys Town, since I've been here for so long.

Man: Mayor is Jen Nguyen. Let's hear it for Jen!

Kim: This year, we do have one of our young ladies who's going to be on Prom Court, Jennifer.

Jennifer: I am really nervous. So, one of my best friends is on the Court, too, so that's going to be interesting.

Man: Jennifer Nguyen.

Jennifer: I got chosen to go to Ireland to speak on the behalf of Boys Town at a conference.

Scott: And so, she got to meet the President of Ireland, and the U.S. Ambassador to Ireland, and all sorts of neat opportunities.

Jennifer: Ireland was probably the most exciting trip I've ever had. It was, obviously, it was a trip of a lifetime.

Right now, I have many mixed emotions. I'm really excited to graduate, but I'm also sad to leave my family teachers. I'm looking forward to going to college and starting my new life.​

Jorge: Hi. Here we are, where it all started.

You know gangsters would come here all the time looking for me. I remember one day my dad was in Mexico and my mom was asleep, I was asleep. And I think about 50-60 gangsters came looking for me.

If I hadn't gone to Boys Town, I'd probably be in prison or probably be dead.

I remember I came home and it was almost like Enrique was in the situation that I was in prior going to Boys Town, just at home, taking care of Frankie by himself, being at home for six, seven hours by himself at a time, limited food, growing up, you know in the same neighborhood that I grew up in. So, I looked at him and I said, "Hey, you know what? You're going to Boys Town.

John: We certainly know, we understand that removing kids and having kids away from their biological families isn't necessarily the best thing or what we always want to see but sometimes it is necessary for them to have a better outcome. This is a tremendous example of what that has done for this family in particular. Knowing that he was the oldest and he had three younger brothers coming up right behind him, if something drastic wasn't done at the time, it could've been a very very different outcome.

Jorge: And I truly believe that Boys Town was really the foundation that helped me get to where I am today, not only as a man, as a professional, but also as a father and a husband.

Enrique: So now, I work for the Department of Agriculture and the Foreign Agricultural Service. And we're actually getting ready to go to Tokyo, Japan on my first assignment and we're really excited about that.

Francisco: If I wouldn't have landed in Boys Town, [00:17:00:08] I'm affirmed that not only just myself, I think myself and my older brother would have been either in jail or dead.

John: Between the four of you, all four Marines, three police officers and, you know, another who is working for the US government. I mean, that's an incredible accomplishment for a family from Arthur, you know, just right down the road here, to see where you guys have come from that.

Frankie: You know, so when the three of us showed up to Boys Town it was like, "Oh, I get to be a kid again. I get to enjoy sports and have those family traditions every night at the dinner table." You know, saying a prayer and asking everyone at the table, "How was your day?" Just that simple little part of life that we didn't have, you know, as growing up as brothers in this neighborhood. So, that's the perspective Boys Town put into our lives, and those small little itty bitty details, you know, is why we've been able to continue moving forward and to pay it forward to our children now. You know, Jorge's daughter, Enrique's kids and my son. You know, Gabriel here down the road, if he starts his own family he's gonna have those foundational skills, you know, that Boys Town ingrained in us.

Patio Jorge: going back to the house on Arthur, it's like a love hate relationship. That's where I grew up at, but that house is just full of demons, you know? And so I actually wanted to be here and when I walked into 141 Maher, oh man, it was like, hey, welcome to your second chance.