MAGNOLIA BOYS’ TOWN

LAUREL, MISSISSIPPI U.S.A.

 

HELPING BOYS IS OUR BUSINESS

THE MAGNOLIA BOYS’ TOWN STORY

COPYRIGHT 2001 - 2009  -  MAGNOLIA BOYS’ TOWN.ORG

The success of Magnolia Boys' Town has been documented in newspapers across the country and in the many success stories of its citizens.

The purpose of this article is to record the history of the Home and also give personal and very special credit and thanks to many many friends who shared Dr. Bucklew's dream and actually assisted in making the Home a real success.

When a lady offered Dr. Henry Bucklew her two boys, like some might try to give away a cat or dog you do not want, in March 1955, our own Boys' Home in Mississippi and the deep South, changed from a dream to a reality.  Dr. Bucklew gave his lake view lots on beautiful Boguehoma Lake and started a city by city, county by county and even nation-wide campaign to raise the needed funds for boys who need help, hope and their own home.

Very little encouragement was offered Dr. Bucklew during the early days of construction.  Many misunderstood, a very few even tried to stop the work and bring discredit to Dr. Bucklew and the Home.  Now these few must admit they made a terrible mistake in attempting to defeat a man of the will power and determination of Henry Bucklew and his dream and goal to give needy boys their own home, love and care and make them know they are really "wanted and needed".

Over 100,000 friends helped during the early years and as the Home cared for 193 boys from 11 Southern States and from 34 counties in Mississippi by the end of 1962.  The fixed assets of the Home were appraised at well over $200,000 and there was no mortgage on the property.

To make this feat even more spectacular and unbelievable, the Home was built and operated without asking the government for any tax money.  Dr. Bucklew often said, "When you receive Federal money, then you must submit to federal dictation and control".  The Home was not in the United Givers Fund.  Dr. Bucklew said he liked for the work of caring for homeless boys to stand on its own merits.

Even though Dr. Bucklew owned the original land and had a sincere desire to build a home for homeless boys, there was the problem of proper legal organization.  He had to form a Non-Profit Corporation, get the State of Mississippi to approve our charter, write and get approved a set of Constitutions and By-Laws which would govern the operation of the Home.

Endless was the work of selling the program to the public who had to be informed and advised of each step taken.  Everything had to be acceptable in order to gain public support and endorsement.  Dr. Bucklew said, "I frankly admit now this part of the work was even harder than the actual construction of the Home.  It seemed we had plenty of help on advise and the proper way something should be done but not so much help in actually doing the needed jobs".

Magnolia Boys' Town was a non-secretarian, non-profit, non-political corporation serving the needs of boys in Mississippi and the Deep South.  It was a year round home caring for boys between the ages of 6 and 16.  We did not accept boys over sixteen but kept them if they were already living at the Home before their 16th birthday.  None of the boys given to us were made available for adoption.  It was the only home of its kind in the State of Mississippi.  The deed to all of the assets and property was made by Henry Bucklew to the Board of Trustees and their successors in office.  The Director and Board of Trustees served the Home without salary.

During the early months of Home it was not uncommon to see the lights on in Dr. Bucklew's office until midnight and after.  He would arise with the earliest of the birds to go and personally work at common labor on the Home in order to save urgently needed funds for materials and services, he could not personally perform.  Those in the area of the Home often mentioned how he would work for days and days often looking up to see some of those who had promised labor and help, but in vain.  To the very few who did share his dream, it will be well remembered, the crew would work until 11 O'clock and Henry would cook the dinner, as he called it, by cooking hamburgers or smoking some meat over an open fire and making some hot coffee.

The first donation of building materials came from the Meridian Brick Yards in Meridian, Mississippi.  The first cash gift was from R.S. Edwards of Laurel.  One of the very first men to offer real assistance, Dr. Bucklew recalled, was Mr. Ulmer Busby, Jr. of Waynesboro who stopped at the Home when Henry was working alone and offered his help.  Dr. Bucklew said, "I will never forget his statement to me that day, 'Dr. Bucklew, I am not really a religious man but I have the same religion as that of my father.  I want to help more people in this world than I harm'.  I have often thought of this motto of a man's life and wish more people would adopt it".  Mr. Busby sent his bull-dozers over and did several days free work making the grounds look so much better as he covered over and leveled the former dumping grounds and filled in the low places.  He made our driveways and leveled off our first building site.  "Naturally, his work in a very few minutes accomplished more than my work had done in weeks working alone with a hoe, grass blade and axe", stated Bucklew.

At the well publicized ground breaking on 15 October 1955, a total of 15 people showed up.  The next step was to pour the foundation.  Dr. Bucklew said, "I called Mrs. Strictland of the Laurel Concrete Company  after I dug the footing.  I will never forget when the last load of concrete was poured, the ticket was handed to me and across the face of it was written "NO CHARGE".  The cost of the concrete would have been well over $100.  I shall never forget this generous and most encouraging gift".

Slowly but surely others began to take interest in the work even with many rumors being spread of one kind or another, progress continued.

Some of our early donors and persons who shared our dream and gave to the Home before it was in actual operation are now and will always be listed among our most faithful friends.

Even before our main building had the doors and windows or running water in it, our first boy arrived walking, he said, for several miles.  He came to the Home where Dr. Bucklew was working alone and asked if this was going to be a home for boys.  Dr. Bucklew said "yes. Why?"  He said. "I would like to live here.  I haven't got any place to stay.  My folks told me to never come back home.  I'll help you finish it if you will let me stay here".  Dr. Bucklew started him to work immediately and gave him a dollar each day for his help and found him a place to stay until the first room was closed up enough for him to move in a cot and sleep.  Dr. Bucklew said, "I will never forget our first eating table was a door placed across two saw horses and we used nail cags for seats during these construction days".

One of the big problems facing a home of this kind is an adequate water supply.  This problem was great and feelers were out for a pump.  Mr. D.N. Porter assisted by Mr. Paul Clark had agreed to work together and drill our deep well but a pump and supplies were needed.  Dr. Bucklew wrote Jacuzzi Brothers in St Louis for help.  On a hot summer day, again when he was working alone at the Home, a stranger walked up to him and asked for Dr. Bucklew.  He was in coveralls, dirty and smoked from burning trash.  He told the man, I am Henry Bucklew.  The man said he was from St. Louis and the Company wanted him to come by and check on this project and report if he thought it would go over.  He said after Dr. Bucklew's introduction, "I'll tell them I have no doubt about Magnolia Boys' Town being a reality someday after seeing you are out here working as you are".  A few days later a $1250 pump was shipped to us from Jacuzzi Brothers for our well.  Mr. A.B. Hilton of Laurel gave us a large metal pressure tank for our water system.  The Hattiesburg V.F.W. Post gave us forty-two feet of stainless steel screens for the bottom of the well which cost them over $400 and with the splendid cooperation of Mr. Porter and Mr. Clark drilling our well to more than 300 feet, we had a water system valued at more than $4,000, adequate for our present and future needs.  The water was tested and analyzed by Mississippi State College and certified to be pure and healthy.

Some of the first volunteers who gave of their time were men like Mr. Harvey Reeves, later James Reeves, Jurd Lowe, Sinclair Bynum, Bill Easterling, Aubrey Hines, Prentiss Harvey.  Southern Auto Co would loan us a truck along with Mr. Dick Barrett to go after donated materials.  Most of the time we had to get these trucks when they would not be shown on the lots during the day and often Dr. Bucklew would drive the trucks himself.  Dr. Bucklew would pickup a couple fellows to help load and would often return late in the night from some distant point as far away as Alabama, the Gulf Coast, Silver Creek, Columbus, Mississippi, Etc.  Dr. Bucklew remembers one time Boots Smith was hauling into Texas and had an empty truck coming back through Vicksburg.  He met the truck at the river bridge, stopped him and had him go by Anderson and Tully Lumber Co. where Mr. Bart Tully gave us the pecan flooring for the upstairs of our main building.  Mr. Smith's driver hauled it into Laurel for us.

 Dr. Bucklew remembered one evening when Mr. Dick Barrett loaned us a truck to go to Enterprise for a load of lumber.  When Dr. Bucklew arrived the kind gentleman who owned the lumber company made a big mistake and told him, 'Just go out in the yard and get a load of that rough oak.  the high water is washing it away anyway so help yourself'.   Dr. Bucklew misjudged the weight of undressed oak lumber and had two busted tires even before he moved the truck.  The frame body slipped on the steel frame and he headed back to Laurel, again after dark and alone at the speed of about ten miles an hour, being afraid another tire would blow out and the load would turn the truck over.  He finally made it back to Mr. Perry Davis' saw mill at Heidelberg.  When Mr. Davis saw the load and because it was so late, he told Dr. Bucklew to get out of the truck and leave it.  He would have his men come over and get the lumber off the truck, take it to his mill and plain it.  He also loaned Dr. Bucklew his car to get back to Laurel.   The next day the finished lumber was delivered to the Boys' Home.  When Dr. Bucklew returned Mr. Barrett's empty truck, Mr. Barrett refused payment for the tires and laughed and said, "Buck, next time try to get it in two loads".

Mr. Donald Grey of Masonite made the necessary Masonite available for our first building.  Mr. J.S. Lightsey  helped get the driveways finished.  Bush and King hauled gravel for our building site and our parking area. 

American Sand and Gravel Co. of Hattiesburg gave us a carload of washed masonry sand which was also hauled free to the Home, along with a load of concrete pipe for our drain field and septic system.

Sawmills and lumber yards over the State and in Alabama helped.

James Reeves, son of the late Harvey Reeves and building  contractor, carried his crew to the Home and put the sheeting on the entire main building in one day.  He knew of the sincere interest his father had in the project.  This work was worth plenty to us making the building dry so other work could continue.

The American Legion Post in Laurel justly share in the success story of Magnolia Boys' Town since they donated the first commercial cooking stove to the Home along with some cooking utensils.  Each year they furnished the boys with Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner complete with all the trimmings.  Many other American Legion Post over the State gave checks to help support the Home.

One of the most loyal and faithful groups over the State to lend a helping hand to the boys was labor organizations.  The State Labor Council gave $1,000 to the Home, and the Woodworkers at Masonite, Textile workers at Reliance in Laurel and Hattiesburg along with the Movie Star Plant at Ellisville and Reliance company employees took up collections from the members now and then and mailed it to help out the Home.  The Reliance Company often gave clothes to help with a real need when it comes to growing boys.  Other groups to help were Electrical Workers, Plumbers and Pipe Fitters, Telephone employees and many others.

The blanket factory in Bay Springs assisted by giving warm blankets for our boys to use assuring that they would never have to worry about the cold weather in the winter.

The Veterans of Foreign Wars Post in Laurel especially deserves a lot of praise since they gave $1,000 for a swimming pool to help our younger boys to enjoy swimming without going over into the big lake.  Most everyone knows there is extreme danger with cans and broken glass in Lake Boguehoma and this gift as greatly appreciated.  The post annually provided cash to help with the operating cost.  Many other V.F.W. Posts also helped regularly.

Few people know the Ladies Auxiliary of the V.F.W. for many years held quarterly birthday parties for the boys at the Home.  They checked to find out names of the boys who had birthdays during the period and provided personal gifts.  The boys enjoyed the fun and refreshments served by the Ladies who performed this valuable service.  They made sure that there was a Christmas Tree and along with other groups, like the Jaycetts, assured that the boys all received presents at Christmas.  The boys really appreciated these parties and it helped them know someone remembered them on these special days.

HELP AT THE HOME

One of the biggest problems at first, after the Home was opened, was hiring the proper help to see after the boys and then making it pay them enough to put up with the heavy responsibilities and constant noise and calls of several boys.

 We had many fine capable couples and after a weeks it just seemed more than they could take.  All had a deep concern and love for the boys but their own health would not permit them to continue on as "Mom and Pop".

This problem was solved in November 1958 when Mr. and Mrs. Boyd Anderson came to the Home and stayed.  I do not believe we could have searched the world over and found a more ideal, adjusted and qualified couple than Mr. and Mrs. Anderson.  Our worries ended as to actual supervision and our running to the Home, sometimes; several times a day, after they arrived.  This freedom was worth so much in giving Dr. Bucklew more time to work over the State in raising money to pay bills and keep the Home open.

This problem of qualified help was also present in our office staff.  We had to work girls for 50 cents an hour, DA students in school, and try to turn out professional work.  We give full credit to this fine program.  All our girls did the very best they could with their first job, but after gaining experience, they, naturally, would quit and go on to better paying jobs.  This problem continued until 1958, when we hired Ms Beverly Blackledge and in 1960, Ms Joy Herrington.  At that time we could challenge any office anywhere for being able to turn out more and better work than our very capable secretaries could produce.  During a years' time, they were responsible for ensuring that more than 100,000 letters sent to our Home were answered within three days.  We valued their help and they certainly share in a very real and vital way, the success of Magnolia Boys' Town.