Temple Daily Telegram
Viola Dawson had other ideas. She often said, “Teach a man, you write on water; teach a child, you carve on marble,” according to her granddaughter Margaret Galloway.
The Texas Historical Commission has awarded an Official State Historical Marker to the Copperas Cove Boys Ranch, a home for boys who had none. The marker will be dedicated 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 14, in public ceremonies in the Copperas Cove Public Library, 501 S. Main St.
The former ranch, on the far western edge of Bell County along Boys Ranch Road, opened in 1934 as the Society for Friendless Children by the Rev. Viola Mae Roubison Dawson (1900-1954) and her husband, Roy Ernest Dawson (1897-1984). Although the ranch was situated in Bell County, the boys attended Copperas Cove schools, which were closer.
In time, the name evolved into the Copperas Cove Boys Ranch.
The great economic depression of the 1930s clawed deeply into the county’s psyche: Thousands of unemployed and homeless Texans hitchhiked through the county and across the state searching for work. Because of deprivations, children were often left to fend for themselves. According to some estimates, nearly half of all children did not have adequate food, shelter or medical care.
Then, the bad times got worse. A scattering of state orphanages and institutions were woefully inadequate for the number of children in need. If a kid got into trouble — such as stealing food or committing petty larceny — the only recourse was reform schools.
Viola welcomed them into her home and her heart.
“The children of Boys Ranch came from anywhere and everywhere without regard to creed or background. Many were orphans including several sibling groups. Others came from broken homes with histories of extreme deprivation, both physical and emotional,” said Galloway, who compiled the history of the ranch. “Still others, who had been in minor scrapes with the law, were taken from jails, juvenile courts, and reform schools. All had known deep sorrow and tragedy in their lives. They were children who felt that they were not wanted by anyone and some were labeled as born criminals. All were considered ‘lost boys’ to society.”
Helping the helpless was a way of life for Viola, who had been ordained as a Church of the Nazarene minister in 1929. A year after their 1929 marriage, the Dawsons began to establish a home in the country “where boys could chase squirrels and go swimming nude in the creek or play marbles,” said Galloway.
The Dawsons scraped enough money to buy 502 acres of rolling landscape quenched by Clear Creek, a handy fishing and swimming spot. The Dawsons harvested huge slabs of stone to construct buildings and fences. Pretty soon, their property included a cluster of dormitories, a dining hall and barns. The Dawsons also recruited prominent Bell County leaders to serve on its board of trustees.
By 1940, a total of 24 boys lived full-time at the ranch. Four years later, that number rose to 35. Roy was surrogate father and ranch manager, while Viola traveled raising donations.
The Dawsons ensured that the ranch was a comfortable family home, unlike reformatories of the day. According to the Temple Daily Telegram, the boys had no posted rules, and nothing was locked. The Dawsons did not believe in corporal punishment. On rare times when infractions occurred, the boys formed a court.
Each boy had assigned chores: They tended cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, chickens and Shetlands. They milked cows and cultivated their own fruits and vegetables. The ranch had its own mill to grind grain. The boys also managed the onsite laundry.
“For many this was their first experience with responsibilities for which they were accountable and for which others depended on them to complete,” Galloway added.
However self-sufficient, the Dawsons struggled to keep the ranch financially viable. Boys Ranch then came to the attention of the Variety Club, a national children’s charitable organization founded in 1927 and composed primarily of Hollywood celebrities and movie theater owners.
After visiting the ranch, the Variety Club in 1944 unanimously voted to adopt the ranch as its charitable project, pouring substantial funds into it. By December 1945, the Dawsons deeded everything over to the Variety Club Foundation, which took complete operational control.
The club’s managers shifted focus from ranching to physical fitness and performance. The boys had daily calisthenics and compulsory sun bathing. Boxing was emphasized, with several boys competing in Golden Gloves programs. The boys also had to perform tumbling acts that toured area rodeos and local venues, including the State Fair of Texas in Dallas. Because they developed into such good athletes, the Copperas Cove High School football team was composed almost entirely of boys from the ranch.
Thanks to the Variety Club, celebrities often visited and helped raise funds.
World War II hero Audie Murphy was a big supporter, too. In 1949, Boys Ranch was the background for the movie, “Bad Boy,” produced by the Variety Clubs International and United Artists with Murphy in his first movie role. Although fictionalized, the film was inspired by some real-life stories at the ranch.
Also coming from a troubled background, Murphy identified with the boys. His father had deserted his family, and his mother died when he was 16. He and his 10 younger siblings were split up.
The Variety Club operated the ranch until it moved to Bedford, between Fort Worth and Dallas, in 1949. The ranch continued until 1958, when it finally closed.
“Predicted to be a burden to society, most boys became productive citizens with families of their own,” Galloway said. “Many of the boys went on to fight for their country in World War II and Korea. Many of the original buildings between Copperas Cove and Killeen still stand today as a silent testimony to how people survived during the country’s 1930s economic hard times.”