Remembering Newsboys founder

Slug: CTY service19p a The Blade/Jeremy Wadsworth Caption: Left t right Ted Long and David Wehrmeister watch as Isaac Holley, 12, Nikki Mayes, 13, and Jay Gast lay a wreath during a dedication ceremony at the grave site of John Gunckel, founder of the Newsboys Association in 1892, in the Historical Woodlawn Cemetery Wednesday, 08/18/10, in Toledo, Ohio. The Old Newsboys was founded after John Gunckel noticed the rowdy behavior of the young boys who sold newspapers in the streets of downtown Toledo. He felt if given a little help, these boys could develop the "other half" and become productive citizens. On December 25, 1892, Gunckel invited 102 of these "ruffians" to a Christmas dinner. With the support of local newspapers and several prominent businessmen, he helped the boys organize the Toledo Newsboys' Association. It was the first of its kind in the U.S. He established a national Newsboys organization in 1904 at the St. Louis World's Fair. The newsboys evolved into the Boys Club in 1942 and later, The Boys and Girls Club in 1982. The Old Newsboys Good fellow Association also evolved from Gunkel's work. Gunckel died on Aug. 16, 1915, eleven years to the day that the national organization was established. In tribute, the newsboys built a 30' x 26' stone pyramid on his grave. Overlooking a stream a half-mile from the main entrance, the 1,000-ton pyramid stands twenty-six feet tall. It is made of approximately 10,000 small stones and rocks from all over the world, including agates from the Holy Land and rare stones from China, Japan, and Alaska that Toledo citizens contributed.