DETROIT GOODFELLOWS

 

Though not really a Detroit Catholic education topic, references on this site have been made to Detroit's Goodfellow football game.  With the Christmas season upon us, it is good to remind ourselves of a great Detroit tradition.

In February of 1996, the Detroit News, as part of it Michigan History series ran an article on the origins of the Goodfellows, whose motto, since its founding in 1914, has been "No kiddie without a Christmas".

The article itself is fascinating, and a real tribute to the great work of this organization at this time of year.  The News also has a gallery of old photos showing the work of the Goodfellows over the years.  Here are a few:

 

A quote from the story gives the background of the organization, as well as the cartoons, "Forgotten" that appears at the top of this piece, and "The Boy He Used To Be", below. 

More than half a century ago a Detroit cartoonist sat down at his drawing board intending to "spoil Christmas for every man and woman in Detroit who had remembered only themselves."

      The artist was Thomas May. Whether his 1906 drawing of a little girl sobbing in a grimly furnished garret accomplished its purpose is not recorded.

      But since 1923, the cartoon had been the official emblem of the Old Newsboys' Goodfellow Fund. The Old Newsboys take to the streets again this season to carry on their message: "No Child Without a Christmas."

      May's cartoon, simply titled Forgotten, was drawn for the old Detroit Journal. It's now in Detroit's Historical Museum, along with another similar message drawn eight years later.

      The second cartoon, drawn by Burt Thomas in 1914 for The Detroit News, actually led to the organization of the Old Newsboys.

      Thomas' cartoon portrays an affluent business man in an expensive derby and fur-collared coat taking Christmas packages to the poor. He is walking hand-in-hand with the spirit of an ill-clothed newsboy.

      Thomas labeled the youth "The Boy He Used To Be."

Support the Goodfellows and buy a newspaper from one of the Old Newsboys this holiday season.   Help with their work and help to keep a unique part of Detroit history alive.

And speaking of Detoroit Heritage Lost, does anyone remember the Detroit Journal newspaper?