Former Buckeye Ranch Director Les Bostic (left), with CEO Nick Rees. Photo courtesy of the Columbus Dispatch.

Cheers to the Columbus Dispatch for this article about social worker Les Bostic, MSW, and the Buckeye Ranch, a facility for troubled youth that is celebrating its 50th year.

Bostic was a prison guard of a North Carolina chain gang in 1955 and was upset by all the negativism coming from inmates. So he decided to go into social work instead of education and coaching.

Bostic went to Ohio, which was then hiring social workers to counsel youth to keep them out of the juvenile justice system. In 1960 he became the first director of the Buckeye Boys Ranch, a residential facility that provides social services to at-risk youth and their families.

The facility, which has several locations around the Columbus area, was renamed the Buckeye Ranch in 1994 when it began accepting girls.

Bostic retired in 1998 but many past residents fondly remember him. One is Dan Whittier, who was sent to Buckeye Boys Ranch in 1967 after his mother had a nervous breakdown and his alcoholic father could not care for him or his siblings.

“Everybody said you didn’t want to make him mad,” said Whittier, who recalled Bostic had a tough reputation because he had been a prison guard. “But Mr. B spoke very softly; his mannerisms were very low-profile. He was fun to be around. He’d have lunch with us, play ball…He was an absolute thrill to be around.”

To learn more about how social workers help youth overcome life’s hurdles, visit the National Association of Social Workers’ “Help Starts Here” Youth Development Webpage by clicking here.