Aerial view of Omaha’s Little Italy. NSHS RG 2341-470
Columbus Day, established to commemorate the arrival of Christopher Columbus in the Americas on October 12, 1492, became a legal holiday in Nebraska in 1911. The bill creating it had been rejected by the Nebraska Legislature two years before and earlier in the session, and not everyone was happy about the new observance. Although banks and public offices were to be closed in Omaha, “the Board of Education failed to discover any reason why it should quit business because Columbus went out on a cruise 408 years ago and sighted land,” and the public schools remained open, although with special patriotic programs scheduled.
Columbus, the Nebraska town that shared a name with the new holiday, held no special observances on Columbus Day in 1911. However, the Italians of Lincoln planned to celebrate on October 12 with an evening banquet at the Lincoln Hotel. Attorney Edward G. Maggi, a member of the state board of pardons, was to be toastmaster. Nebraska governor Chester H. Aldrich sent a representative.
Italian stone worker in Omaha in December 1940. NSHS RG2341-479
Festivities were more elaborate in Omaha, with a larger Italian community, many of whom had settled in the city between 1880 and 1910 in an area known as “Little Italy,” generally bounded by Pacific Street on the north, Center Street on the south, the Missouri River on the east, and South Tenth Street on the west. In 1911 Columbus Day in Omaha included initiation rites and a banquet by the Knights of Columbus and observances by other Italian fraternal organizations. One, according to the Omaha Bee, was held at Columbus Hall, “decorated profusely with Italian, Spanish, and American flags, the Spanish flags paying honor to Spain which lent assistance to Columbus in his search for financial support.”
In recent years some states, cities, and localities have augmented or replaced traditional observances of Columbus Day (now a federal holiday observed annually on the second Monday in October) to reflect the contributions of indigenous peoples as well as those of European explorers. The day is still a popular occasion for patriotic observances in schools.
Want to read more about Nebraska’s past? Become a member of the Nebraska State Historical Society and receive Nebraska History magazine, four issues yearly. Selected articles from past issues are posted online at the NSHS website. – Patricia C. Gaster, Assistant Editor / Publications
