The choice of a Nebraska tourist attraction was a no-brainer. Boys Town was founded by a Catholic priest; it was the location of an Oscar-winning movie; and it is home to the World’s Largest Ball of Stamps. My wife found a reference to the stamp ball when looking online for free things to do in Omaha.
The ball, which was featured in “Ripley’s Believe It or Not!”, was completed in the 1950s and is the centerpiece of a stamp-collecting display. A nearby workbench offers a “penny bin” of old stamps that kids can add to their own collections. A small message warns visitors to not add any stamps to the ball, which means someone must have tried it.
I bought a couple of postcards featuring the stamp ball and some air-mail stamps from the 1960s to use as postage. I also supported the cause by buying a pound of flavored coffee. I chose English Toffee, which I am enjoying as I type this. The clerk told me that their most popular flavor is “Jamaican Me Crazy,” which I found somewhat amusing since we were only a few hundred yards away from their behavioral health facilities.
