Author Archives: Emily Nimsakont

Now that the weather has cooled off a little bit, perhaps you are thinking of getting outside and visiting a local park. If it’s still too hot for you, you can enjoy the images of parks in Nebraska Memories instead. While parks have been an important part of many Nebraska towns, the Nebraska Memories collection is especially rich in images of Omaha’s parks.


The parks of Omaha have been used for many recreational purposes, including performances. At Hanscom Park, a portable bandstand could be brought in with horses when needed for performance events. Other parks had more permanent structures, such as this pavilion in Riverview Park.


Parks also provide more informal recreational opportunities for children and adults alike. These boys are enjoying a merry-go-round in a local park, and Peony Park provides the backdrop for a game of horseshoes for this group of men.


In addition to recreation, parks often serve as nature retreats in the middle of an urban landscape. The long winding drive in Miller Park and the lagoon in Fontenelle Park are just a couple examples of the beauty of nature in the middle of Omaha.


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, or contact Beth Goble, Government Information Services Director, or Devra Dragos, Technology & Access Services Director.

Are you tired of the hot July weather? Take a moment to explore these refreshing images of swimmers in Nebraska Memories.

These women are enjoying the water at Linoma Beach, which was founded in 1924 as a “pleasure resort” halfway between Lincoln and Omaha.

This boy is among the swimmers relaxing at the David City Municipal Pool in a 1948 photograph.

This swimming hole at an unknown Nebraska location shows another way in which people have taken to the water for recreation.

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, or contact Beth Goble, Government Information Services Director, or Devra Dragos, Technology & Access Services Director.

To celebrate the beginning of June, a traditional month for weddings, take a look at some of the images of weddings in Nebraska Memories. The celebrations range from large family gatherings to small wartime ceremonies, and they show how wedding customs have changed over the years.

This 1902 portrait of Mr. and Mrs. Emmett Duffek is one of many wedding portraits taken by Harvey Boston, a photographer in David City. William Wentworth, an Omaha photographer, also took many wedding photographs in the 1940s, including this one at the Kelly wedding.

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://www.nlc.state.ne.us/nebraskamemories/ for more information, or contact Beth Goble, Government Information Services Director, or Devra Dragos, Technology & Access Services Director.

In 1862, the United States Congress passed the Homestead Act, which turned over large amounts of public land to private citizens. Homesteaders were able to claim 160 acres of land and were required to make improvements to the land, which included building a house on it within six months. On the Great Plains, where trees were scarce, many homesteaders built homes out of sod, which was jokingly called “Nebraska marble.” For more information on sod houses, explore these resources from the Smithsonian Institution or NebraskaStudies.org.

The house on the homestead of Herman Staberg is one example of a residence made of sod. Sod was not only used for houses, but for other buildings as well. This school in Cheyenne County and this church in Funk were both made out of sod.

More images of sod buildings can be seen 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://www.nlc.state.ne.us/nebraskamemories/ for more information, or contact Beth Goble, Government Information Services Director, or Devra Dragos, Technology & Access Services Director.

When Omaha was founded, it looked very different from the city we know today. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, the streets of Omaha underwent a series of re-grading projects that drastically changed the city’s landscape. The level of the streets was lowered in some areas and raised in others. For example, in the late 1800s, at 17th and Farnam, the streets were lowered by 45 feet, and the dirt from this area was used to raise the grade between 20th and 24th Streets. Most buildings in the affected areas were moved to the new street level. Among the reasons for the re-grading, particularly in the later projects, was the need to make it easier for automobiles to navigate the steeply graded streets. In 1917, Dodge Street was re-graded from a 12% to a 7% grade so that cars would be able to more easily reach the top of the hill at 24th and Dodge Streets. (Source: National Register of Historic Places Registration Form for The Logan)

The Falconer residence, located at 1821 Douglas Street, was one of the buildings affected by street re-grading in the late 1800s. This series of photographs shows several images of the movement of the house, including a picture of it settled in its new position. Several other photographs of street re-grading work can be viewed 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://www.nlc.state.ne.us/nebraskamemories/ for more information, or contact Beth Goble, Government Information Services Director, or Devra Dragos, Technology & Access Services Director.

Whether they visited a general store or a supermarket, Nebraskans have been grocery shopping for many decades. You can explore Nebraska Memories to find many images of grocery stores and their customers.
How do you think the grocery shopping experience at this Omaha store in the late 1930s or early 1940s differed from your own? (Wentworth, William, Women shopping in grocery store, The Durham Museum collection, 1930-1945)

What about shopping at this general store in the early 1900s? (Nelson, John, Family in shop, Nebraska State Historical Society collection, 1907-1917).
See other images of Nebraskans doing their grocery shopping and grocers displaying their wares.
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/ for more information, or contact Beth Goble, Government Information Services Director, or Devra Dragos, Technology & Access Services Director.