PART IV
THE HOME GAINS PROMINENCE . .YEARS OF MATURITY AND GROWTH
1955 - 1985
The mid fifties could hold some great moments for a boy at the Home .
. .
He could walk the short distance to the brick service station on the
corner,
and for a nickel in the Coke machine grab the ice cold bottle by the neck
and slide it to the slot where it could be pulled out of the machine.
Some boys took their Cokes to the orchard and watched planes landing or
taking off in the distance, and, in season, apples and cherries were
waiting.
For some a great treat was eating raw potatoes which were rubbed across
a part of a salt block from the old barn - a Home boy potato chip.
And if Cal Reichart wasn't around there was that great maple tree to
climb
- but watch out for him, because he meant business - "NO"!
Small pleasures perhaps, but big things were happening in 1955, too,
though
few would have guessed how big.
Harry Bruner decided to add something new to the annual Christmas appeal
letter. His national mailings had started a few years ago and they were
working all right, but maybe adding something else would produce even
better
results . . .
Something . . . like a Christmas Seal.
Mr. Bruner started cautiously, inserting a sheet of the new seals in only
a portion of the mailing for Christmas, 1955 - and comparing the results
they brought in with the results of mailings without seals.
There was no comparison.
The seals were so effective they soon became a standard part of every
major
appeal. Within 2 years the net income from Christmas mailings doubled, so
the size of the nationwide mailings was then doubled as well. And so, to
the friendship and support of the local Masons were added legions of new
supporters.
Mr. Bruner's letters had just the right touch to carry the Home's message
to people from all parts of the country, most of whom would never see
Inspiration
Hill or Cooper Farm except in pictures.
The nationwide success led, in 1957, to the creation of a fundraising
subsidiary,
known as the Inspiration Hill Department. The Administration Building had
to be enlarged to add a mail room to better coordinate mailing
activities.
Each summer, in several locations, boys and staff alike would insert
letters,
seals and return envelopes in thousands - eventually millions - of
envelopes.
Each month for months the Board would hear a report on how many envelopes
had been readied for mailing.
All those envelopes were bagged in Post Office bags and stored in several
locations around campus, awaiting those busy days in November when all
were
delivered to the Post Office.
This system worked well, if not easily, for years - until the time a
number
of bags of Christmas appeals were discovered in their storage place - in
April . . . they had been overlooked in the Christmas mailing in
November!
The Home turned this gigantic process over to a professional mailing
company
for the first time in 1970.
"Mr. Bruner always had a grin, he was like the kind of
a father we all wanted. Often he'd load boys in his 1949 Studebaker and
take them downtown to stuff envelopes - we liked to do it because you
always
got ice cream and sometimes even dinner afterwards. And on top of
everything
else, his secretary, Miss Babcock, was absolutely gorgeous!"
- DON HARGIS, a resident from 1946-57
The Home's great benefactor, Bob Cooper, died in an automobile accident
in 1957, and the farm he had so generously donated became known as
"Cooper
Memorial Farm".
The 4-H program was well in place by this time, and each fall the Farm
Manager
- accompanied by Mr. Bruner or another member of the staff - made the
rounds
of Nebraska ranches to pick up calves which had been promised for the
boys.
Felix Carpenter, known to all as "Carp", was Farm Manager until
1956, but continued in these fall roundups for many years afterward.
It was decided to add a sheep program to the thriving calf program in
1963,
and the Farm took on a new look.
By the end of that decade, in fact, the Cooper Farm animal population was
recorded at: "60 herd cows, 50 herd calves, 20 donated calves, 1
bull,
8 hogs, 41 pigs, 38 ewes, 2 bucks and 2 horses"!
It took lots of hay to feed numbers like that, so cutting and baling - at
many locations throughout the city . . . and for several cuttings a
summer
- became a major effort.
A new sleeping wing was added onto the original Farm cottage in 1960, and
at time the boy resident population at that facility reached 16.
The Farm was hooked up to the Metropolitan Utilities District in 1962,
allowing
for a fully adequate water supply for the first time - up to that time
the
Farm had relied on 2 huge concrete water holding tanks buried in the hill
above the farmhouse.
The picnic grounds on the hill, where until 1940 hundreds of mules had
been
corralled and branded and readied for shipment to India, brought
thousands
of people to use one of the nicest picnic facilities around . . . and in
June, 1967, a first - a wedding on the picnic grounds.
4-H could involve more than working with animals - a lot more as related
in this later account:
"One of my fondest memories happened during the 4-H song
contest of 1968. Participation by the 4-H clubs was encouraged, but our
Valley View Club had never taken part. Tony and Mike and I were
determined
to erase this blemish from the Valley View record. Remember the
controversial
times of the late 1960's - the hair styles, clothing styles and the
music?
Well, all the other clubs used a piano accompanist to sing additional
songs
such as 'Maria', 'Battle Hymn of the Republic' and 'This Land is Your
Land'.
I could hear the audience start to stir and rustle as they saw us setting
up our piano, drum set and electric guitar and amplifier. We were quite
a sight - Tony in his jeans and tie-dye T-shirt, Mike who took off his
shirt
because it was so hot but did wear a necklace made of chains, and me with
a pair of bell bottom pants made out of a wild pattern table cloth. Our
songs were 'Proud Mary', 'Bad Moon Rising' and 'Atlantis' - songs which
the audience applauded for long and loud, and even joined us in singing.
These things were frowned on by the judge of the contest but the
satisfaction
we received from knowing how hard we had practiced and how well we were
received by the audience far outweighs the white (last place) ribbon we
received for our efforts . . .".
- JOHN HLAVKA, a resident from 1967-70
(It should be added here that a highlight of the Home's 1995 Reunion of
former residents and staff was the reuniting of this musical group of the
late 1960's. And once again, the songs flowed for an appreciative
audience
- but this time for a purple ribbon!)
For decades the primary suppliers of care to the boys were women - and
few
would doubt that Miss Havercamp had been up to the task back at the
Megeath
House. Then, Mabel Stoft became the matron.
When the Home moved to 52nd Street, Mrs. Stoft took charge of the 16 boys
in the Buck Cottage - and Maude Smith, all six feet plus of her, was in
the Neef Cottage while Edna Perry handled the fellows in the Anderson
Cottage.
In 1957, though, a married couple was hired for the Neef Cottage as an
experiment.
By 1959 the change was complete - couples replaced single housemothers in
all cottages.
More and more activities were being offered all the time, wrestling and
basketball teams were entered into competition in city leagues at the
Benson
Recreation Center, and a tumbling team was organized and made local
appearances.
The Scout program flourished and the troop was active in local jamborees,
and a Jr. Optimist Club was formed - here the influence of Harry Bruner,
a leader in Optimist International, was felt again.
And leadership emerged . . . one of the boys, Rudy Elder, came close to
securing an appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy in 1956 and another,
Merle
Green, edited a boys' paper "Home Happenings" the same year .
. . Kenneth Hargis was a Captain in R.O.T.C. and Treasurer of his senior
class . . . and in 1963 Duane Cook attended Boys State in Lincoln (had he
been fortunate enough to be the Nebraska representative for Boys Nation
he would have been at the White House when a young Bill Clinton from
Arkansas
shook the hand of President John Kennedy).
In April, 1959 - for the first time - the population of the Home reached
capacity with 81 boys on Inspiration Hill and 11 at Cooper Farm.
A Long Range Planning and Building Committee was formed to assess future
needs and to determine the ultimate size of the Home.
Enlargement of the kitchen and the heating plant came out of their
recommendations,
as did a new 250 capacity Dining Hall, which was dedicated on May 1,
1960.
A building for staff housing - the Forster Patton Building - was erected
in 1962-63, and cornerstone ceremonies held September 21, 1963, with
Governor
Frank Morrison in attendance.
This building is named after Henry Forster, who provided a substantial
amount
of the construction cost, and Frank Patton - former Postmaster of Omaha
and Deputy Grand Commander of Scottish Rite, Southern Jurisdiction.
Construction of the Mary O. and John S. Herd Cottage began in 1964 and
there
was a Masonic cornerstone laying on May 1, 1965. A special speaker was
U.S.
Senator Roman Hruska.
The Herd Cottage was built to be an orientation cottage for each new boy
at the Home, for them to receive intensive personal attention and care
before
being placed in a cottage with others of their age group.
This idea was to be discontinued in 1971, however, and the Herd Cottage
became a cottage like all the others.
Included in its spacious construction, in addition to quarters for the
boys
and their houseparents, were a library - study hall, a recreation room,
a hobby center and offices for an educational counselor and a
librarian.
The library is a memorial to Richard Evans Gilmore, a gift from Mr. and
Mrs. Elliot E. Gilmore in memory of their son who died in World War
II.
As the Home neared celebration of its 50th Anniversary, tremendous news
was received - the Eugene C. Eppley Foundation had approved a $300,000
grant
for a recreation center for the Home, provided the remaining funds could
be raised.
No longer would the recreational need of the Home's growing boys have to
be met in the facilities of others all around the city or in assorted
rooms
all over the campus.
"The new Recreation Center switched everything around
here.
Movies switched from the Dining Hall on Friday evenings to the new
building,
and the wrestling program moved from the basement of the Administration
Building.
Now we had our own gym for basketball and our own pool - no more trips to
the YMCA. The game room brought pool tables, other games and boxing
matches
to us, and volunteers from colleges came out to coach. I really remember
the huge open house (it was May 2, 1971) when it was all finally finished
and open for use - many, many people. We had waited a long time for
this."
- DOUGLAS TUCKER, a resident from 1970-72
Another feature of the 50th Anniversary celebration was publication of
the
first official history of the Home.
The 36 page gold covered booklet was largely the work of a member of the
Board of Trustees, Wray M. Scott, and to the diligence of this man for
his
50 year history all interested friends of the Home are indebted.
Ten thousand copies of the booklet were made available to the Home with
the compliments of the Wray M. Scott Company.
The Home was saddened in 1970 with the death of Glen Shuey, a former
resident,
in Vietnam . . . and the Board of Directors was stunned into silence on
August 10, 1971, when it was announced that one of our boys had died that
very morning.
Douglas Teachout, a resident at the Cooper Farm, was killed when the
tractor
he was driving overturned on a steep embankment and ended up on top of
him.
The Home had seen death before - diphtheria had taken Robert Barnes and
Carl Gerling in 1924, Donald Minnick had drowned in Carter Lake in 1930,
and Richard Bennett with a kidney ailment in 1948 - but here was death on
our very doorstep.
It was a tragedy which would not be forgotten.
It was the 1970's . . . by Board decree in 1971 "the boys will be
permitted
to wear their hair a little longer" - the days of the skinhead were
over for sure - and even the Boys' Council, the boys' own governing unit,
recommended that any boy who ran away got a crew cut on his return.
Harry Bruner indicated that his retirement date was nearing, and the
Board
in 1973 selected one of its own, Charles W. Amidon, to be the Assistant
Executive Director effective July 1, 1973.
Mr. Bruner announced his retirement date - December 31, 1975 - and Mr.
Amidon
became Executive Director the next day.
Several hundred employees, Board members and friends saluted Harry Bruner
with a retirement dinner at the Scottish Rite Cathedral - his 26 years at
the helm had surely seen the Home grow to great heights.
The Home received the largest bequest ever - over three million dollars
- in the late 1970's and it allowed for a longtime goal to be
realized.
The cottages had been designed in the 1940's, after all. They had endured
3 decades of child care with few changes or improvements, and the
houseparents'
quarters - designed for single housemothers - were not adequate for
married
couples, some of whom even had children of their own.
Getting, and keeping, good houseparents was a constant problem.
Plans to remodel each of the first 5 cottages were unveiled in 1976, and
the moves were on.
The Neef Cottage moved to the Forster Patton, the Shrine Cottage moved to
the basement of the Recreation Center, and all the other cottages moved,
in their turn, as it was time for their remodeling.
Residents of 1977 and 1978 have many interesting tales about their
temporary
quarters, too.
No quarrel could be found with the end result, however, as each cottage
moved back to expanded living facilities, new carpeting and complete
interior
remodeling.
The front driveway was named "Bruner Drive" in 1977, and in the
next year several acres to the south of the current campus were
purchased,
adding even more "green space" around the Inspiration Hill
campus.
The Home's nationwide fundraising had stood us in good stead through the
years, and The Omaha Home for Boys was by this time one of the nation's
leading children's home mailers.
But, as Harry Bruner had tested seals in 1955, the Director of
Development
felt it was again time to test something new.
Polly Thanis inserted a prayer card in her appeal mailings for the first
time in 1978, and they were an immediate hit.
Soon every major appeal would have a prayer card inserted along with the
seals.
The Board determined that renovation of the Smith Administration Building
was in order - the downstairs recreational program had moved to the
Recreation
Center, and so that could now be converted to offices for the growing
staff
of people working directly with the boys.
The mailing list became computerized in the late 1970's, so the days of
transporting trays and trays of thousands of tab cards across the city
were
a thing of the past.
In 1980 a new newsletter was born, THE TWIG. It was designed to launch
the
Home into a planned giving program, one emphasizing bequests to the Home
and gift annuities.
It was started on a modest basis, in black and white, to a small number
of donors, twice per year. All this would change, and in short order.
On October 12, 1980, the 60th Anniversary was celebrated with a special
dinner in the Dining Hall, and each cottage made a poster or banner
noting
this event.
Employees and Board members of at least 10 years of service received a
special
salute.
Good things were happening to the boys as well . . . Rod Neiman had been
a page in the U.S. House of Representatives . . . the 3 York brothers -
Ron, Ken and Jim - were recognized for 10 years of residency at the 1980
Dinner . . . another former resident, Kevin Orr, was Assistant to the
Dean
of Boys. . . Kevin Cowan received a leadership award from the Optimist
Club
. . . and David Schmidt achieved a "first" when he won both of
the Home's major awards for the boys, the Wayne E. Decker Friendship
Award
and the James Collins Athletic Award, in the same year.
"I entered the Home in 1979, but since my older brother
had already been there a few years, I knew what to expect and I actually
looked forward to coming. In my 6 years there were many first in my life.
I had never played sports until I came to the Home, so basketball,
wrestling
and softball were all new to me. The first thing I ever drove was the old
red tractor, which we used to pick up laundry and trash at each cottage.
And the Home helped me get my first job, too, at a nearby shoe store.
What
trips we took through the years! My favorite trips were the winter skiing
trips to Colorado and a chance to see Yellowstone Park and visit a boys'
ranch in Montana."
- TIM MANGIAMELI, a resident from 1979-85
A longtime goal was reached in 1983 with the purchase and removal of a
house
on Ames Avenue, the last remaining property on Inspiration Hill which did
not belong to the
Home.
The removal led to substantial changes, which included the placement of
a 3 sided 20 foot tall sign at 52nd and Ames - to include the logo and
the
term "As the twig is bent, so grows the tree".
Margaret Staska, administrative secretary to the Dean of Boys since 1949,
attended a reunion of some alumni from the Megeath House days in 1983 -
and it was to serve as a springboard to our first Nationwide Reunion in
1984.
On August 11, 1984, 102 former residents of the Home - representing 12
states
- enjoyed the Reunion Picnic at Cooper Farm. And promptly, plans were
made
for the next reunion 2 years hence.
It was the decision of the Board that a new residential cottage should be
built, and funds for that end were solicited in the August issue of THE
TWIG. Several hundred friends responded in amounts large and small.
There was an air of excitement, and anticipation, as 1985 approached -
the
65th anniversary year!
The Home had come a long way in the 30 years since 1955. But the Years of
Maturity and Growth were only a forerunner of things to come.
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