Bill James, Life Changer: Boys & Girls Town Honors Bill James, One of Boys & Girls Town Founders
St. James, Mo. (January 18, 2008) – A life changing moment 65 years ago gave rise to an agency that helps vulnerable children change their lives.
The night of November 11, 1942, off the coast of North Africa near Casablanca, Boys & Girls Town of Missouri got its start. Gunner Officer Lt. Bill James was tending wounded soldiers in the sick bay of Navy transport Joseph Hewes when a submarine torpedo ripped open the freighter’s side. Lieutenant James frantically worked to break the casts of wounded soldiers so they could swim and donned others with life jackets. As the last soldier was freed, a lurch of the ship tossed James into icy waters. He felt a hand grab him and pull him onto a raft. Weak and disoriented, he heard a man next to him declare, “If I get out of this I’m going to show my thankfulness by doing something for somebody, I swear it.” When James awoke, the man was gone. James was rescued the next day. That day James swore to himself to “do something for somebody someday.”
With the help of other World War II veterans returning to the St. Louis area after the war, James turned his resolve to “do something” into an agency that helped troubled children in the St. Louis area. In 1949, 120 acres of land in St. James was purchased by Trail Rangers of America, Missouri Association and in June, the first 12 boys arrived. The name was changed to Boys Town in 1952.
During more than half of the agency’s history, James was the driving force behind its creation and growth. After Boys Town was incorporated, James became its first president, a post he held until 1958 when he was elected chairman of the board. He remained as chairman until 1968, when Harry G. Neill, Jr., assumed that office. James returned to the position of president until 1970. He served as a member of the board until 1982.
Boys & Girls Town of Missouri has grown to be a nationally-recognized leader in providing treatment for children who have been abused or neglected or who suffer from emotional and behavioral problems.
The agency’s St. Louis Center campus opened in 1988. Boys & Girls Town purchased Springfield Children’s Home in 1989. Treatment for girls was offered for the first time in 1989. In 1994, the name officially changed to Boys & Girls Town of Missouri. The Ozarks Family Resource Center emergency shelter in Springfield was opened in 2001. That same year, Boys & Girls Town merged with The Front Door residential facility in Columbia. Columbia consolidated all facilities on a new campus in 2005.
Today, the agency helps more than 5,000 children and their family members annually from 80 percent (87) of Missouri’s 114 counties plus the City of St. Louis on campuses in Columbia, Springfield, St. James and St. Louis.
“The name of Bill James stands tall in the history of Boys & Girls Town,” said Vince Hillyer, president of Boys & Girls Town of Missouri. “Behind this name is a great guy, a good friend and someone who changed the lives of tens of thousands of children and families.
“On behalf of all the children, directors and trustees, staff and friends of Boys & Girls Town, I extend our deepest sympathy to the James family. We are truly honored the family has chosen Boys & Girls Town’s St. James campus as the site for Bill’s memorial service.”
The memorial service for James will be held 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, February 6 on the Boys & Girls Town St. James campus. If you are interested in attending, please call 265-3251. An online memory book is available by clicking here. Donations in honor of Bill James can also be made online. |
