Boys & Girls Club Blog

Boys & Girls Club of Oshkosh is excited to announce we are showcasing a special 50^th anniversary mural which is currently on display to the public on the south side of the Wagner Opera House building at 502 N Main Street as of Wednesday, June 24th. The mural will be on display in this location until the Club’s community-wide anniversary celebration on Sunday, August 30^th, Block Party on Broad, at which point the mural will move and be on display at its permanent home at the Boys & Girls Club of Oshkosh on Parkway Avenue and Broad Street.

The Club partnered with renowned local artist, Leif Larson, to create the work of art which is sponsored by Oshkosh Corporation. The mural weaves together countless memories and scenes that are representative of the collective Club experience for countless members, staff, volunteers and supporters throughout the Club’s 50-year presence in the Oshkosh community.

The mural is being exhibited on the Wagner Opera House as this building was the original home of the Boys Club of Oshkosh when it first opened its doors to youth back in 1970. As Ron Lampe, one of the Club’s lifetime board members, once explained, “We were very fortunate to find a building such as this. If we hadn’t found it, there might not even be a Boys Club today.”

The Club purchased the building in 1974 and continued to operate in this location until girls were accepted in common membership in 1989 at which time new facilities were built at the Club’s current location at Parkway Avenue and Broad Street and opened in 1993 to accommodate the Club’s growing population. The Club would like to thank the building’s current owner, Kris Larson, for partnering with the Club to make this temporary location for the Club’s mural a reality.

“Over the course of 50 years, so many residents of Oshkosh have been impacted by the Club in some way even if they themselves were not members,” explained Boys & Girls Club of Oshkosh CEO Marc Dosogne. “The Club really is about helping people and building a strong community and we hope everyone who visits the mural finds something in it that represents their own personal connection to the Club.”

Be a part of history: Visit the mural, take a selfie by it, post it to social media and tag the Club @bgcosh and use the hashtag #BGCOSH50. Join with us in celebrating our 50 years! Watch for details to come on a community-wide Club scavenger hunt and be part of coloring the city Boys & Girls Club blue in August with more details to come in the following weeks.

The Club is also celebrating our history by telling the unique, life-changing stories of members, staff, volunteers and supporters on our social media channels and on the radio on WOSH 1490 every week throughout the year, a special opportunity which is sponsored by Shea Electric. Are you a past Boys & Girls Club of Oshkosh member, volunteer, staff or friend of the Club? We would love to hear from you! Reach out to us online at: bgcosh.org/alumni-friends/.

50^th anniversary festivities will be capped off with a citywide, end of the summer event, Block Party on Broad, sponsored by Amcor Packaging and CR Meyer, which will take place at the Boys & Girls Club of Oshkosh on Sunday, August 30^th, from 2-6 p.m.

Broad Street will close down for live entertainment from Franki Moscato and DJ Jordan of Beats 2 Go (sponsored by Bridgeview Dental and Fox Valley Metrology), activities for families (sponsored by Hillary Anderson, Jim Feierstein, Culver’s Kwik Trip and OptiVision), Club tours and more. Everyone in the community is invited to attend this free event. Please RSVP for this event online at: bgcosh.org/block-party-on-broad.

Countless youth and families have been impacted by the Club in the past five decades and we want to celebrate the Club’s birthday and amazing history over the years and reunite alumni and friends from years past to share memories and successes together, because all of you really are “the Club”!

Thank you to the following Block Party on Broad event sponsors:

Event Sponsors Amcor and CR Meyer; Telling Our Story through Art Sponsor Oshkosh Corporation; Sharing Club Stories Sponsor Shea Electric; Promotional Sponsors 4imprint, Castle Pierce, OEC Graphics, Oshkosh Herald, 1490 WOSH, Werner Electric; Entertainment Sponsors Bridgeview Dental and Fox Valley Metrology; Honoring Alumni & Friends Sponsor Brookfield Badger Insurance; and Family Fun Sponsors Hillary Anderson & Jim Feierstein, Culver’s, OptiVision LLP.