“John Comes Home for Christmas” - Boys Town, NE - Philatelic Photographs on Waymarking.com

Nebraska native Dale Nichols is often grouped with Grant Wood and Thomas Hart Benton, two other ‘regionalist’ painters from the Midwest who were active around the same time. Though his artwork was similar in style, Nichols never quite achieved the same level of fame as the other two. This particular painting, entitled “John Comes Home for Christmas,” was first displayed at the 1939 Golden Gate International Exposition held in San Francisco. It then spent a couple of years touring the U.S. in a traveling exhibition before being donated to Boys Town in 1941. It currently hangs in the Boys Town Hall of History.

Boys Town, which began as an orphanage for troubled youth just outside of Omaha, has several other philatelic connections besides this postal card. Its founder, Father Edward J. Flanagan, appeared on a 4c regular postage stamp issued in 1986. Moreover, Father Flanagan was an avid stamp collector who often employed stamps in various activities for the boys at Boys Town. One of these activities which involved gluing stamps to a golf ball kept growing into what is now the world’s ‘largest ball of stamps.’ The ball, along with several other stamp-related exhibits, are on display in the visitor’s center.

Stamp Issuing Country: United States Date of Issue: 23-Feb-1996 Denomination: 20c Color: multicolored Stamp Type: Single Stamp Relevant Web Site: Not listed

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