Beautiful Snow

After the recent snowstorm, I saw many beautiful pictures of the snow. The pictures were taken by both friends and strangers from across Nebraska. Some were taken to show the amount of snow received while others were taken to show nature’s beauty. As I was looking at the images in Nebraska Memories today, I noticed a number of similar images of snow taken 100+ years ago. Here are a few of my favorites. The first four photos in this post were taken by John Nelson. John Nelson was born in Sweden and moved to Wheeler County Nebraska with his parents when he was a young man. Eventually he opened a photography studio in Ericson Nebraska. While we don’t know the exact dates these photos were taken, we believe they were taken sometime between 1907 and 1918. The above stereoscopic photograph shows antique farm machinery covered in snow. On the right image, in the bottom left corner, someone wrote “The Beautiful Snow”. The next photo shows the banks of the Cedar River covered in snow. The Cedar River is a long winding river that starts in northern Nebraska, goes by Ericson, and finally joins the Loup River west of Fullerton, NE. The second stereoscopic photograph shows snow covered trees and field. Images like this are timeless. It’s easy to imagine someone taking a photo like this during the last snowstorm. The fourth picture shows Nels and Bengta Nelson’s farmhouse. They were John Nelson’s parents. The snowdrifts look large and the tracks in the snow look deep. Photos of two other buildings caught my attention. This photo of the Clarkson Hospital in Omaha from the early 1900’s shows a portion of 21st Street in Omaha. The street looks to be snow packed and a little rough. I don’t think it would be a fun street to drive down. I was surprised when I first saw this postcard of the Nebraska State Capitol in winter. This was the first time I’d seen a postcard of the second capitol with snow on the ground. While the capitol may look nice surrounded by snow not everyone was impressed with the building. This postcard was never mailed but someone did write a note on the back. Here are their thoughts on the building. “This is an old “ramshackle” place surrounding by a park as shown in picture.” The person’s description of the building was probably correct. Construction on this capitol was completed in 1888 however, the construction was supposed to have been poor. In 1919, the Legislatures passed a bill providing for the construction of a new capitol that still stands today. The last three images I would like to highlight are postcards of Hanscom Park in Omaha. Hanscom Park is located about a block west of Interstate 480 and the Martha Street exit. The land for the park was donated in 1872 and was improved in 1889. The park appears to have been a popular spot or at least a popular spot to take photographs. There are 30+ images on Hanscom Park in Nebraska Memories. Visit Nebraska Memories to search for or browse through many more historical images digitized from photographs, negatives, postcards, maps, lantern slides, books and other materials. Nebraska Memories is a cooperative project to digitize Nebraska-related historical and cultural heritage materials and make them available to researchers of all ages via the Internet. Nebraska Memories is brought to you by the Nebraska Library Commission. If your institution is interested in participating in Nebraska Memories, see http://nlc.nebraska.gov/nebraskamemories/participation.aspx for more information, contact Devra Dragos, Technology & Access Services Director.