Father Flanagan's Boys Town

A Little ditty, about NEBRASKA.

"He ain't heavy"




The title came from the motto for Boys Town, a community formed in 1917 by a Catholic priest
named Father Edward Flanagan. Located in Omaha, Nebraska, it was a place where troubled or
homeless boys could come for help. In 1941, Father Flanagan was looking at a magazine called The
Messenger when he came across a drawing of a boy carrying a younger boy on his back, with the
caption, "He ain't heavy Mr., he's my brother." Father Flanagan thought the image and phrase
captured the spirit of Boys Town, so he got permission and commissioned a statue of the drawing
with the inscription, "He ain't heavy Father, he's my brother." The statue and phrase became the logo
for Boys Town. In 1979, girls were allowed and the name was eventually changed to Girls And
Boys Town. The logo was updated with a drawing of a girl carrying a younger girl added.

In the Guardian newspaper of February 24, 2006, Hollies guitarist Tony Hicks said: "In the 1960s
when we were short of songs I used to root around publishers in Denmark Street. One afternoon, I'd
been there ages and wanted to get going but this bloke said: 'Well there's one more song. It's
probably not for you.' He played me the demo by the writers [Bobby Scott and Bob Russell]. It
sounded like a 45rpm record played at 33rpm, the singer was slurring, like he was drunk. But it had
something about it. There were frowns when I took it to the band but we speeded it up and added an
orchestra. The only things left recognizable were the lyrics. There'd been this old film called Boys
Town about a children's home in America, and the statue outside showed a child being carried aloft
and the motto He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother. Bob Russell had been dying of cancer while
writing. We never got, or asked for, royalties. Elton John - who was still called Reg - played piano
on it and got paid 12 pounds. It was a worldwide hit twice." (thanks, Edward Pearce - Ashford,
Kent, England)





The road is long, with many of winding turns
That lead us to (who knows) where, who knows where?
But I'm strong, strong enough to carry him - yeah
He ain't heavy - he's my brother

So long we go, his welfare is my concern
no burdon is he to bear, we'll get there
But I know he would not encumber me
He ain't heavy - he's my brother

If I'm laden at all, if I'm laden with sadness
that everyone's heart isn't filled with the gladness
of love for one another.

It's a long, long road, from which there is no return
While we're on the way to there, why not share?
And the long doesn't way me down at all
He ain't heavy - he's my brother

Perhaps we can entice Zuzu to return by showing some additional Nebraska items. Here is the seal issued by Boy's Town in 1949 -- there were three varieties. (Mosbaugh 22.2Bx)

This sheet of se-tenant seals was issued for the 1957 annual fund drive (Mosbaugh 22.10Ax).

I found one sheet I had scanned some time ago.

Possibly LPIQ 108-4 (Need to check the real sheet)

Date?

Just found this in a mess of stamps. Is this a Boys Town Nebraska Christmas Seal?

I checked the Mosbaugh (US) catalog (updated about 1969) for this under:
Boys Town of Nebraska
Boys Town of Missouri
Boys Town of the Desert
Boys Town of South Florida
Doesn't seem to be listed. But this might be because it was issued after 1969.
Another hint might be in the cancellation, which seems to be from Grenada (or Grenada...something, like Grenada, Calif.)
More research needed...

The postmark appears to be Grenada (see enhanced image below). My Mosbaugh includes Boys Town, Nebraska seals from 1936 through 1978 and this one isn't listed.

It is more likely that it only had to go as far as Grenada, California.

Came across this stuck inbetween other items as I slowly work through the boxes-  I imagine it (maybe) to have been an invitation/solicitation based on the size/shape of the envelope...maybe even a thank you card

The front of the booklet:

The inside of front showing message and a page of seals

The reverse or back cover of the booklet

The inside of the back cover with messages:

Scan_20200529 (2) by Daniel, on Flickr


Scan_20200529 (3) by Daniel, on Flickr


Scan_20200529 (4) by Daniel, on Flickr

Some related ephemera

guyana1230 Could you share the rest of your Boys Town album pages? I'm not finding any online.

The seals Don (stamphinger ) posted from 1996 indicated that Boys Town was then in 11 states and the District of Columbia. The sheet posted by cindycan2 indicates Boys Town was in 18 states and DC, making 1999 the likely year of issuance.

Don,

1999 was the postmark year suggested by cindycan2 as being "possible" in his previous post. My belief was that Boys Town's presence nationwide would increase, rather than decrease, so that meant, to me, that the sheet was issued after 1996. However, that assumption may not prove to be valid. My use of the phrase "likely 1999" was a bad choice -- I should have simply stated that the sheet was "likely issued after 1996."

A further review of the Boys Town website has caused me to question all of my assumptions in this matter so I'm going to stop commenting further until I know of what I speak.

Sorry for any confusion caused.