The following is part of our Centennial Timeline Series, providing historical insight into each decade of Boys Town's history. In this blog post, we learn about life at Boys Town during the Great Depression and the years leading up to World War II, when the Boys Town farm became incorporated as an official village in the state of Nebraska.
The second decade of Boys Town started strong in 1927 when New York Yankees Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig toured the grounds. However, the Great Depression and Dust Bowl threatened to close Boys Town in 1932. The boys began forming water brigades to save the vegetable gardens the following year, but the drought ultimately destroyed the crops.
In 1934, Boys Town's U.S. Post Office and fire station opened. Boys Town became an incorporated village of the State of Nebraska in 1936. During the same year, the Boys Town Choir made its debut concert at Joslyn Memorial in downtown Omaha.
Click through our slide show to see more photos.
Check out our
interactive timeline to learn more about the first decade at Boys Town.
