This ad ran in the Omaha Evening Bee on July 3, 1876, one of many fireworks ads in newspapers at that time.
Nebraska towns were full of wooden buildings but lacked running water, and their volunteer fire brigades were poorly trained by modern standards. Fire was a serious risk.
On July 4, the Lincoln mayor issued a proclamation calling for the closing of businesses, the decoration of buildings, and a celebration “that will do credit to the Capital of our State.” He further noted that a recent city ordinance did not ban fireworks but regulated their careless use “so as to avoid accidents by fire and runaway teams.”
“I desire to call the attention of our citizens to the importance of using every precaution to prevent fire or any casualty that would in any way mar the festivities of the day.”
Nebraska towns seem to have come through the centennial without any disasters, though there were some casualties. The Lincoln Daily Globe noted that a local man “burned his hands severely while letting off fireworks on the Fourth. But he is patriotic, and feels that he was discharging a sacred duty.”
—David L. Bristow, Editor
(Quotations are from Nebraska State Journal (Lincoln), July 4, 1876: p. 4; and Lincoln Daily Globe, July 6, 1876, p. 4.)
