A Home for Wayward Boys

The Early History of the Alabama Boys’ Industrial School

Nonfiction, History, Americas, United States
Cover of the book A Home for Wayward Boys by Jerry Armor, NewSouth Books
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Jerry Armor ISBN: 9781603063784
Publisher: NewSouth Books Publication: March 1, 2015
Imprint: NewSouth Classics Language: English
Author: Jerry Armor
ISBN: 9781603063784
Publisher: NewSouth Books
Publication: March 1, 2015
Imprint: NewSouth Classics
Language: English

As Elizabeth Johnston walked among the convicts in an Alabama prison mining camp, she was stunned to see teenage boys working alongside hardened criminals. As a result of that disturbing experience, she vowed to remove youngsters from such wretched conditions by establishing a home for wayward boys. With the support of women across the state, she persuaded the Alabama legislature to establish the Alabama Boys’ Industrial School in 1900. After several difficult years, Johnston and her all-female board made a once-in-a-lifetime decision by hiring a young couple from Tennessee, David and Katherine Weakley, as superintendent and matron. United by their Christian faith, their love for the boys, and some basic principles on how the boys should be molded into men, Johnston and the Weakleys labored together for decades to make the school one of the nation’s premier institutions of its kind. A Home for Wayward Boys is the inspiring story of the school, its leaders, and the youngsters who lived there. The book’s audience is not limited to those professionally interested in the social sciences and cultural history, but also to social workers, youth leaders, teachers, and parents—in fact, to anyone interested in the transforming power of love.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

As Elizabeth Johnston walked among the convicts in an Alabama prison mining camp, she was stunned to see teenage boys working alongside hardened criminals. As a result of that disturbing experience, she vowed to remove youngsters from such wretched conditions by establishing a home for wayward boys. With the support of women across the state, she persuaded the Alabama legislature to establish the Alabama Boys’ Industrial School in 1900. After several difficult years, Johnston and her all-female board made a once-in-a-lifetime decision by hiring a young couple from Tennessee, David and Katherine Weakley, as superintendent and matron. United by their Christian faith, their love for the boys, and some basic principles on how the boys should be molded into men, Johnston and the Weakleys labored together for decades to make the school one of the nation’s premier institutions of its kind. A Home for Wayward Boys is the inspiring story of the school, its leaders, and the youngsters who lived there. The book’s audience is not limited to those professionally interested in the social sciences and cultural history, but also to social workers, youth leaders, teachers, and parents—in fact, to anyone interested in the transforming power of love.

More books from NewSouth Books

Cover of the book In the Midst of Life by Jerry Armor
Cover of the book The Books That Mattered by Jerry Armor
Cover of the book Fallout by Jerry Armor
Cover of the book Researching African American Genealogy in Alabama by Jerry Armor
Cover of the book The Disinherited by Jerry Armor
Cover of the book The United States of Mestizo by Jerry Armor
Cover of the book Anchors of Faith by Jerry Armor
Cover of the book Looking for the Future by Jerry Armor
Cover of the book Trouble on the Tombigbee by Jerry Armor
Cover of the book The Children Bob Moses Led by Jerry Armor
Cover of the book Consequential Learning by Jerry Armor
Cover of the book Wings of Opportunity by Jerry Armor
Cover of the book Against the Grain by Jerry Armor
Cover of the book In the Land of Cotton by Jerry Armor
Cover of the book Hairy, Scary, but Mostly Merry Fairies! by Jerry Armor
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy