publications

A New Leaf for the New Year

A discarded stack of reporters’ assignment books provided the Omaha Daily Bee with the topic for a New Year’s column published on the first day of 1900. The Bee first explained to its readers that an assignment book “is a big blank book made up diary fashion-the dates of the week and month, with blank lines below. On these lines the city editor, under whose direction the reporters work, writes a brief memorandum of the particular duty to which each reporter is assigned for the day in question. This is what an assignment book is and why it is so named.



“The city editor ‘makes up’ the book and leaves it on a desk in his office. The reporters appear at whatever hour they are due to report, and instead of asking the city editor what they must do, they look at the book, make a note of what is entrusted to them, sign their name and go out to ‘cover’ the assignment. In this case, ‘cover’ is a synonym for ‘do.’ If the reporter ‘does’ his work thoroughly, the city editor considers that the assignment has been ‘covered.'”



Outdated assignment books were not destroyed. “In an out-of-the-way corner of the office of THE BEE city editor, there is a pile of assignment books which have been filled from January 1 to December 31, and discarded as the years have rolled by, dating away back into the [18]70’s. If these old books could talk, they might tell many a story of the sunshine and shadow of newspaper life. Some of the city editors who wrote these names may now be making out assignments on these ‘big dailies in the sky.’ Others, including both reporters and city editors, are still on earth, but scattered from Paris to the Philippines [The Philippine Insurrection was then raging].”



Reading the discarded assignment books “is like reading history. Brief though the mention may be, therein is recorded all of the principal happenings that have occurred in Omaha and suburbs for a quarter of a century. Tragedies, romances, notable marriages, deaths of prominent citizens, visits of great men to Omaha, calamities, as well as a voluminous mass of minor happenings, all have place and date in THE BEE assignment books.” The Bee further noted the habit of many city editors to write on the last page of the assignment book at the end of the year: “‘Everybody turn over a new leaf,’ or something similar, and the same often is found on the first page of the new year book.”



Starting the new year with a new set of books was also the topic of an editorial in the Custer County Republican (Broken Bow) on December 10, 1908. “The year 1908 is rapidly drawing to a close,” it said, “and it is time to wipe off the slate and begin anew. . . . The business man will open a new set of books at the beginning of the year.” Others were urged to follow his example and make the new volume of their lives “clean and unspotted. Forget the unpleasant events, the disagreeable episodes of the past year and contribute something to a more commendable and a brighter year that is soon to break in upon us with its pages pure unturned.”



The young woman in John Nelson’s photograph seems about to turn a page, long a figure of speech signifying a new start at the beginning of a new year. 

NSHS RG3542-67-1

Become a Member!

Our members make history happen.

Join Now

Other Publications

The Bachelors’ Protective Union of Kearney

When the Bachelors' Protective Union gave a gala reception for two of its newly married, former members and their brides in March of 1890, the social club for young, ...

U.S. Weather Bureau in 1890s Nebraska

The U.S. Weather Bureau was established by an act of Congress on October 1, 1890. It took over the weather service that had been established in the office of the Chief ...

Canning the Way to Victory

During American participation in World War I the U.S. Food Administration, under the direction of Herbert Hoover, launched a massive campaign to persuade Americans to ...

The Shoemaker’s Ashes

"Edward Kuehl, one of the most peculiar characters that ever lived in Omaha, or anywhere else, was found dead in his bed last night in the back room of his place of ...

Crazy Horse Surrender Ledger Foreward

Red Dog, an Oglala Lakota who lived at the Red Cloud Agency, Nebraska, 1876-77 (Nebraska State Historical Society RG2955.ph).   In the summer of 1876, following the ...

Darryl F. Zanuck

Darryl F. Zanuck Darryl F. Zanuck (1902-1979), a native Nebraskan, produced some of Hollywood's most important and controversial films. He helped found 20th Century Fox ...

The Burlington’s Profitable Pork Special

Nebraska railroads were much concerned with developing an adequate economy in the areas they served. The Burlington, for example, had a long history of caring for the ...

Bungalow Filling Stations

After the giant Standard Oil Company was broken into thirty-four separate companies in 1911, the newly independent Standard Oil of Nebraska dominated the state's market ...

The Bull Fight

This is the perfect time of year for a visit to the old fishin' hole. But a group of fisherfolk from Plainview discovered that this bucolic pastime sometimes has ...

Buffalo Soldiers West

African-American soldiers on the western frontier are the focus of an exhibit at the Nebraska History Museum in Lincoln. Buffalo Soldiers West, on loan from the Colorado ...

Protection for Buffalo

The extermination of the buffalo on the Plains occurred largely between 1870 and 1885. The Nebraska State Journal of Lincoln on February 1, 1874, editorialized in vain ...

Buffalo Hunting

In late October 1877 young Rolf Johnson and three friends left their homes in Phelps County, Nebraska, for a buffalo hunt in northeastern Colorado. The hunt was not very ...
About History Nebraska
History Nebraska was founded in 1878 as the Nebraska State Historical Society by citizens who recognized Nebraska was going through great changes and they sought to record the stories of both indigenous and immigrant peoples. It was designated a state institution and began receiving funds from the legislature in 1883. Legislation in 1994 changed History Nebraska from a state institution to a state agency. The division is headed by Interim Director and CEO Jill Dolberg. They are assisted by an administrative staff responsible for financial and personnel functions, museum store services, security, and facilities maintenance for History Nebraska.
Explore Nebraska
Discover the real places and people of our past at these History Nebraska sites.

Upcoming Events

View our new and upcoming events to see how you can get involved.

Become a Member

The work we do to discover, preserve, and share Nebraska's history wouldn't be possible without the support of History Nebraska members.

Latest Hall of Fame Inductee

The Nebraska Hall of Fame was established in 1961 to officially recognize prominent Nebraskans.

Listen to our Podcast

Listen to the articles and authors published in the Nebraska History Magazine with our new Nebraska History Podcast.

Nebraska Collections

History Nebraska's mission is to collect, preserve, and open our shared history to all Nebraskans.

Our YouTube Video Collection

Get a closer look at Nebraska's history through your own eyes, with our extensive video collections.

Additional Research Resources

History Nebraska Research and Reference Services help connect you to the material we collect and preserve.

Support History Nebraska
Make a cash donation to help us acquire, preserve, and interpret Nebraska’s history. Gifts to History Nebraska help leave a legacy and may help your taxes, too! Support the work of History Nebraska by donating to the History Nebraska Foundation today.

Volunteers are the heroes of History Nebraska. So much history, so little time! Your work helps us share access to Nebraska’s stories at our museums and sites, the reference room, and online.