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The Burroughs Newsboys Foundation
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Welcome to our site, which celebrates the extraordinary impact that Harry E. Burroughs had on thousands of newsboys beginning in 1927, and which today still helps today’s youth through Agassiz Village, Founded by Mr. & Mrs. Harry E. Burroughs.
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Below is a history of the Burroughs Newsboys Foundation, as well as Mr. Burroughs’ incredible adventure. If you would like to support the cause of preparing youth for life’s journey, of giving children the opportunity to experience the outdoors at Agassiz Village, or of encouraging teens for the future through our college scholarship program, please visit www.agassizvillage.org for more information.
We would also love to hear your memories of the Burroughs Newsboys Foundation or Agassiz Village, and you can contact us at awhite@agassizvillage.org. Below are stories of some of our successful alumni- we’d like to add your story to that list!
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Mr. Harry E. Burroughs founded the Newsboys Foundation in 1927 to provide Boston’s newsboys, as well as other trade boys (bootblacks, street vendors, etc.), with life experiences that would give them a better future. The Burroughs Newsboys Foundation building, which stood in the heart of downtown Boston at 10 Somerset Street, offered educational, cultural, and recreational activities that introduced the opportunities of the city to these young men. Foundation members attended sessions on music and art, government, other trades, health, and school courses.
But Mr. Burroughs wanted these Newsboys to experience more. He created a Burroughs Newsboy Foundation Scholarship program, in which high school level members could apply for financial aid to attend college. The financial assistance was rewarded to those who showed leadership, earnestness, and ambition…as well as the responsibility to impact the future of others. This was a loan, to be paid back if and when the man was successful enough to do so, to ensure that the next generation of young leaders would be given the same opportunities that he had.
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In addition to supporting his Newboys for higher education, Mr. Burroughs also wanted them to experience the outdoor life he grew up with, to give them the chance to live, learn, work, and play in the beauty of nature. He began to focus on his goal of creating a summer camp where trade boys could escape urban life in Boston and experience the outdoors, build character, and prepare for the future. Mr. Burroughs, a former newsboy himself, understood the tough issues facing these boys who earned a living on the streets. In addition, growing up in Russia, Mr. Burroughs experienced nature firsthand living in a small rural village before coming to America and always attributed his success in life to his exposure to the natural world. Mr. Burroughs knew that to develop fully, young men must have the opportunity to leave the city and see nature in its purest form. With the financial backing of his friends Mr. & Mrs. Maximilian Agassiz, Mr. Burroughs realized his dream and opened Agassiz Village in July 1935 on the banks of the beautiful Lake Thompson near Poland, Maine. Maximilian was the grandson of the renowned Harvard naturalist and Emerson contemporary, Louis Agassiz, and the son of Alexander Agassiz (after whom the camp is named). Agassiz Village began as an all-trade boys camp. The boys ranged in age from 6 to 17 years old and most were members of the Newsboys Foundation.
The Newsboys Foundation provided its members with the opportunity to attend Agassiz Village at little or no cost for the entire summer. For many of these boys, they never left the streets of Boston, let alone their section of the city. The boys boarded a bus at the Newsboys Foundation headquarters near Boston Common and made the long trek to Poland, Maine. With no interstate highways, it was a full day’s drive to the camp. Motion sickness was often a recurring problem, since many of the boys had never been on an automobile before. Once at camp, the boys found a much more tranquil setting than the streets of Boston.
One of the best benefits of camp for the boys was the guarantee of three square meals a day. Malnutrition was a common problem among these boys who could never be sure where the next meal would come from when working on the streets. Activities included horseback riding, swimming, canoeing, camping, and learning about the environment. The camp provided both country life and education in citizenship, helping the boys to develop strength, health, and basic skills for living. The New England town format served as a model for the self-governing camp. Boys had the chance to be the camp’s selectmen, constables, commissioners, sheriff, judge, jury members, and even attorneys.
With their Agassiz Village experience, many boys went on to great accomplishments in life. In order to assist these young men in reaching their goals, the Newsboys Foundation provided the Burroughs Newsboys Foundation Scholarship of $200 (the equivalent of $3,000 today) to boys who looked to better themselves by attending college. Over 300 boys received the Burroughs Scholarship. Even after the Burroughs Newsboys Foundation building closed in 1951, its legacy continued to support the future of young leaders through the scholarship program into the 1960’s. Each candidate had to go before a board of eight men – three appointed by the Mayor of Boston and five by the Foundation. The board judged the boys on their character, need, adaptability, and academics. The purpose of the scholarship was to get the young man started in college; the rest was his responsibility – much like the idea behind Agassiz Village.
For men like Theodore White (Time & Life correspondent and author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning book The Making of the President), Nathan Miller (successful Boston real estate developer and philanthropist), and Ron Fielding (successful investment entrepreneur), the Newsboys Foundation Burroughs Scholarship provided a launching pad for greatness. To tell the success story of every one of the 300 recipients of the Burroughs Scholarship would take up the pages of an entire book – a book about how Mr. Burroughs and the Newsboys Foundation enabled each of these young men to go on to achieve the American Dream in his own way.
In 1951, the Burroughs Newsboys Foundation closed its doors. Although the days of newsboys had come to an end, the spirit of Mr. Burroughs’ vision lives on with Agassiz Village to this day. Agassiz Village continues to give Boston’s inner city youth a natural summer camp experience and provides financial assistance through the Campership Fund. Agassiz Village now has both boys and girls ranging from 8-17 years old and provides an inclusive program for the physically challenged. The founding ideals of the Newsboys Foundation remain the foundation of Agassiz Village’s camping program – “Preparing youth for life’s journey.” We encourage you to visit our web site at www.agassizvillage.org to learn more about the latest news about Agassiz Village.
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