Why is some 74-year-old guy writing to encourage the public’s support of the Boys and Girls Club of Lampasas, especially one with no personal connection except board membership? Fair question. The short answer probably is that it’s payback time for me, and I would like to do what I can for the kids of Lampasas and surrounding areas. Let me explain.

During the summer of 1941, as I was prepared to begin my fifth grade in school, my family moved from Houston to Lubbock. It was to be my third school by that time, and I knew no one. Since my birth, we had moved numerous times due to my dad’s work in oilfield-related jobs, which took us from Colorado to the Everglades of Florida and points between including, for him, 18 months in Venezuela, South America. We saw very little of Dad, and I suppose this was our family’s contribution to the war effort, since Dad received a job-related exemption from military service.

Anyway, for two years the Boys Club of Lubbock became the “home away from home” for me and many of my newly made friends. It was there I was introduced to team competitive baseball and basketball, the boxing ring (my least favorite place), the library, the game room and the woodworking shop. There, also, was where I received my first (and perhaps only) trophy, resulting in seeing the first picture of myself in the local newspaper. My childhood scrapbook contains sports page articles of “exciting” single-digit basketball game scores. Guess who was the occasional high-point kid? Hey, high point is high point, right? And, boy, did I put in the hours on the woodworking lathe fashioning masterpieces called ashtrays and fancy “sticks.”

Well, kids today need the same things kids needed in 1941: character and leadership training, exposure to the arts, health and life skills development, education and career enhancement opportunities, and sports, recreation and physical fitness opportunities. In other words, kids need a safe place to learn, grow and have fun. That’s what the Boys and Girls Club has to offer at its new location in the old, semi-retired middle school’s band hall, art room and nearby portable buildings. Good weather days see the kids actively involved in outdoor activities and bad days in the old gym exercising bodies and lungs. LISD is to be commended for providing those facilities at very manageable costs to the Boys and Girls Club, providing significant savings for the kids.

What can you do to help these kids? A lot! Perhaps volunteer some time or specific skills you possess. Perhaps drop by to see the place and meet the staff so you can be a positive voice of support in the community. Perhaps join your financial resources with many of ours to ensure the Boys and Girls Club of Lampasas is “The Positive Place for Kids” it intends to be, has been, and that the 350-400 kids we reach yearly deserve.

What a blessing such a club was to a lonesome kid in 1941, and what a blessing it can be for any Lampasas kid in 2010. Please give us a call. We’re in the book, and thanks for taking your time to read this.

J.W. Hutcherson
Retired, United Methodist Church
Boys and Girls Club Advisory Board Member