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The Baysdorfers, Nebraska’s first aviators

The Baysdorfers, Nebraska’s first aviators

By David L. Bristow   When Charles Baysdorfer prepared for takeoff near Waterloo, Nebraska, not only was he piloting a homebuilt biplane on its maiden flight, but he hadn’t taken any lessons or flown in an airplane before. Manufactured planes and professional...
Marker Monday: Evelyn Sharp

Marker Monday: Evelyn Sharp

Marker Text Evelyn Genevieve Sharp was Nebraska’s best-known aviatrix during her eight-year career. She was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John E. Sharp and was born October 1, 1919, in Melstone, Montana. Her family moved to Ord in her youth. She became interested in...
FDR at the Martin Bomber Plant

FDR at the Martin Bomber Plant

World War II raged in both theaters as President Franklin Roosevelt set out on a seventeen-city tour. The Omaha World-Herald reported on April 30, 1943, that the president visited “11 army posts, a WAAC school, a naval air training center and four war plants.” Among...
Friday the Thirteenth Superstitions

Friday the Thirteenth Superstitions

  “At first glance, Friday the thirteenth, seemed much like any other day,” said the Kearney Daily Hub on Friday, January 13, 1922, “and had it not been for the furtive expressions of ancient superstition here and there, little would have been...
Evelyn Sharp, Nebraska’s teen airmail pilot

Evelyn Sharp, Nebraska’s teen airmail pilot

Evelyn Sharp wasn’t Nebraska’s first female pilot, but is remembered for all she accomplished during her brief life. Sharp’s father owned a café in Ord and rented rooms. When Sharp was sixteen, one of the boarders was a man who had opened a local flying school. At one...