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.
Todd Storz, owner of Omaha’s KOWH, saw music as opportunity. He showed the world how to harness music and make it profitable in a world more interested in visual stimulation than audio. Largely because of his invention and business efficiency, American radio was shaped into a form that is still popular today: Top 40.
The Nebraska State Historical Society collects and cares for hundreds of thousands of items. Not surprisingly, many are quite old. We aren’t, however, neglecting the present. Although it can be difficult to determine today what will have historical relevance
This example of a cinerary urn (at left) is from Hugo Erichsen’s The Cremation of the Dead (Detroit, 1887), published the year Edward Kuehl died.
Collecting souvenir spoons became a popular hobby for Americans in the late 1800s. Wealthy tourists visiting Europe brought home these mementos marked with the names of foreign cities and famous landmarks they had seen. The Omaha Daily Bee on May 10, 1891, noted: “The season of summer traveling, so near at hand, will give a new impetus to the spoon fad.
A 1924 event in Wilber, Nebraska, featured “Dan Desdune’s Band and Minstrel Show of Omaha. Colored Entertainers Supreme.” NSHS RG813-445 (at left).
