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"It was wintertime, and when we got there it was dark. Father walked us in and we had supper. Then we all went upstairs and...they outfitted us with socks, shirts, pants, shoes, pajamas, towels, soap....Everyone got their own bed" 

-George Doyle attended in 1934

"I didn't like it at first. I thought I was punished, and I was. But then I started liking it. It was the best thing that ever happened to me. They taught me how to study" 

-William Casey, attended in 1945

"That first night I went to bed in a room with seven other boys, and when I woke up there were six. One boy ran away during the night" 

-John Koonce, graduated in 1968

In 1933, the James Barry-Robinson Home for Boys opened in Norfolk., and in 1962 became the James Barry-Robinson Home and High School for Boys.

Over its 44 years in this role, JBR changed the lives of hundreds of young men, who never forgot the strict but nurturing school that steered many of them onto a straighter path towards adulthood.

Today, the Barry Boys continue to celebrate the legacy of that experience, striving to set an example by living lives strong on values and community service.