More than a month before the official Thanksgiving holiday in 1909, the Omaha Daily News on October 24 published the plea of mayor James C. Dahlman for what he called a "sane Thanksgiving." Dahlman, the colorful “perpetual mayor of Omaha,” said: "Unquestionably, men, women and children go to extremes in an observance of Thanksgiving day in some instances and it is about time their attention should be called to it.”
Omaha in 1886 boasted about 150 saloons manned by a host of bartenders who ministered to the city’s thirst for beer and hard liquor. The Omaha Bee on September 26, 1886, noted the “many things, interesting and curious, that might be written about the Omaha bartenders.”
Having $100,000 in 1874 was the same as being a multimillionaire today. Few people ever amassed so much money, and fewer still were rich enough to make a loan of that size.
In the Fall 2013 issue of Nebraska History, author Dennis Mihelich explores the rumor that Edward Creighton of Omaha once loaned this huge amount to the Mormon leader Brigham Young.
Missouri River flooding at Omaha in 1881, NSHS RG2341-898 (right).
A rocky outcrop is covered with small round cacti. Wide dusty badlands look like a backdrop for a Wild West movie. High rocky bluffs make the landscape below look miniature. It may come as a surprise to many (even Nebraskans!) that these pictures were taken in Nebraska: just a few examples of Frank Shoemaker’s stunning photographs featured in the Spring 2013 issue of Nebraska History.
Clifton E. Mayne. From Omaha Illustrated (Omaha, 1888) (at left).
This advertisement (Left) for A. D.
In the Summer 2012 issue of Nebraska History, Daniel Spegel explains the circumstances and powers that resulted in the largest ever demolition of a district listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The fate of Omaha’s Jobbers Canyon district played out in a public debate that drew national attention.
