In September 1900, the city of Fremont threw a street fair unlike any other—a jubilant six-day celebration of sugar beets and the new sugar beet factory that had just opened in town. Join us at the Nebraska History Museum as Dr. Mark Griep brings this sweet slice of Nebraska history back to life on May 19th at 12 pm. Event admission is free.
We’ll explore the St. Eeb Ragus Street Fair (sugar beets spelled backwards), how the “Knights of St. Eeb Ragus” boosters planned for the festival, what happened during the festival, some of the merchants involved, and a selection of the street acts they hired.
Griep’s research on this topic is featured in the summer issue of Nebraska History Magazine. NSHS household-plus members receive four issues of Nebraska History magazine per year. Learn more.
Special thanks to the Nebraska State Historical Society Foundation for providing funding for this event series and the recording to broadcast on LNKTV.
About Dr. Mark Griep
Griep is an emeritus professor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where he was a chemistry professor for 35 years. His bench research was focused on the function of the enzymes that duplicate DNA in bacteria. In his teaching and outreach, he developed new ways to make chemistry more engaging, including a partnership with Nebraska’s tribal colleges to connect chemistry laboratory experiments to tribal history, language, and culture. He also co-wrote a book about chemistry in the movies with his wife Marjorie Mikasen, and he managed the chemistry department’s National Science Foundation-funded summer undergraduate research experience for over a decade. Dr. Griep received many awards, including the Hazel R. McClymont Distinguished Teaching Fellow Award from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Arts & Sciences, the Estée Lectureship in Chemical Education from the University of South Dakota Chemistry Department, the Champion of History Award from the Nebraska State Historical Society, and the Helen M. Free Award for Public Outreach from the American Chemical Society.
