Happy #ThrowbackThursday from Nebraska Memories!
This week, we have a black and white photograph of a girls gymnastics class at Omaha Central High School. This is one of series of photographs taken of the interior of the newly completed high school building in 1912. The building was constructed over a 12-year period to replace the original 1872 structure. The Omaha Central High School building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.
The girls in this photograph are wearing gym clothing typical of the time. A note from the 1913 Omaha Public School Annual report on Physical Training stated: “This department employs 2 teachers, one of whom gives her whole time and the other three fifths of her time to this work. There are enrolled 302 girls. The work is optional and may continued for four years. The aim is first of all corrective, then recreative, then for the development of skills, bodily poise and graceful carriage.”
This image is part of the Omaha Public School Archive Collection. Historical materials relating directly to the Omaha Public Schools have been located in various departments and school buildings. Many schools still maintain their own collections. In 2003, staff from the Educational Research Library / Library Services received a small grant to begin collecting and organizing these materials in a central location. This group of pictures and their accompanying stories is but a tiny part of the District’s over 150 year history.
See this collection and many more on the Nebraska Memories archive.
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. The Nebraska Memories archive 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.
