The newsies are like one big family. It's a fact disputed by few. None of the boys who lived in the Duane Street Newsboys Lodging House had been looking for a family, but they'd all ended up together as brothers. Every boy loved every other boy like a brother, but some were closer than others.
Buttons and JoJo and been best friends since the day they'd met. JoJo had showed up on a cold morning in late January, and Buttons had joined the newsboys' ranks nine days later. Even though they were best friends, they had playful quarrels over which one of them was the superior newsie. JoJo argued that his nine days put him leagues ahead of Buttons, who was quick to point out that he was ten months older. Despite their arguments, which Buttons referred to as 'heated discussions', the two boys were inseparable.
Buttons and JoJo had been best friends for three weeks when a new boy showed up. JoJo wanted to be his best friend, and Buttons wanted to be his older brother. They compromised and Romeo became the newest addition to the family of little boys at the Duane Street Lodging House. The three of them were closer than any other newsies except for Jack and Crutchie for three years. They saw several newsies come and go, but no one ever broke into their circle until Elmer showed up.
Elmer was a year younger than Romeo, which was close enough in age for JoJo and Romeo. Buttons, however, felt a little old for this young boy to be his best friend the way the other two boys had been. Looking for a friend closer to his own age, he began spending more time with Finch. All the newsies were brothers, but every family has someone they're not as close to. Buttons and Finch had always been good friends, but they became closer as the century came closer to an end. Finch was grateful for the quiet company. He'd always been close with Race and Albert, but sometimes they were too loud and dumb for his liking. Finch was glad to find someone who appreciated the quiet moments as much as he did.
Race had been close with Finch for years, but he was really closest with Albert and Jack. Jack had been the one to show him how to sell papers, the first one to accept him into the family of newsies. Albert had joined the ranks a few months later and his fiery personality had been a perfect match for Race's. They were both wild boys who were smarter than they looked, although they rarely acted like it. No matter how close they were, however, they weren't as close as Crutchie and Jack.
Jack had a habit of adopting new newsies. He'd done it with Race, Albert, Henry, Finch… the list goes on and on. Each of these boys had a strong relationship with Jack, but had much stronger relationships with their closest friends. However, there was one boy that Jack had adopted who'd never had a relationship stronger than the one he had with Jack. Crutchie was very similar to Jack in that he was good friends with everyone, but none of them were his best friend. Jack and Crutchie were inseparable. There was no friendship stronger than theirs, and they both liked bragging about how they had the best brother. Anytime they bragged to another boy, he'd playfully remind Jack or Crutchie that they were all brothers, and they all loved each other.
No matter who was closest, every newsie loved their brothers. The Duane Street Lodging House was a place where orphans, runaways, and boys who needed to support their families came looking for work and left with a family. No one came expecting it, but once they had a family they didn't take it for granted. Once a newsie, always a newsie.