Category Archives: Nebraska Memories

A few weeks ago, I wrote a post titled “Cats Rule and Dogs Drool” that highlighted the cat photos in Nebraska Memories. I don’t want to offend dog lovers, so today’s post has gone to the dogs.

While I don’t know if any of the cats were drooling in the photos, I do know when comparing the number of cat pictures to dog pictures in Nebraska Memories that dogs definitely rule. There are only 11 photos of cats in the collection compared to 70+ photos that contain at least one dog. To be fair in a number of the photos the dog is not the center of attention and is just part of the crowd. This is true in this 1927? photo of a group of men and a dog standing in front of the Seefus Tavern and confectionary store in Valley, NE. In the description of the photo, you will find the names of all of the men, but the dog will forever be nameless.

You can also find dogs included in many of the family photos that were taken in front of the house. The Fred Schumacher family had at least two dogs that were included in their picture. Looking at the picture, I wonder if that white spot over by the chickens is a cat. The family in this photo, entitled People and dogs in front of sod house, included two large dogs in their photo. I wonder if the chicken was included on purpose or if it just wandered into the shot.

In other photos, dogs can be spotted front and center. The man in the front row of this photo of the Crawford fire department is holding a dog sitting in the front row with him. The German prisoners of war at Camp Atlanta and the 1906 Nebraska State Normal School at Kearney football team also chose to include dogs in their group photos.

As you can see, some dogs were put to work. This man on a horse has a group of five dogs with him.

Have you ever seen a Dog walking on a tight rope? That was one well-trained dog.

I don’t know what to say about this poor dog who was dressed up to advertise the Denver Chop House Restaurant in Omaha. To me the banner looks like it was designed for the dog to wear so he/she might have be used to that. Was the dog also trained to stand still wearing the wig, hat, and glasses? Do you think the dog actually had the cigarette in his mouth, or was it “photoshopped” in later? I asked a coworker this question, and she assumed it was really in the dog’s mouth because she didn’t realize people have been manipulating images since the 1800’s. You can see a few examples of manipulated photos in the, “What did it really look like?” blog post.

I’ve saved the cutest photos until the end. The Butler County Gallery collection in Nebraska Memories contains photos taken by the professional photographer Harvey Boston. As you can see, many people had pictures taken with their dog.

Edwin Lyndon “Ned” May, Jr.

Unknown child and dog

Boy and dog

Minnie Liebrecht and dog

Agnes Birkel

Louis Fuller and dog

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.

According to my coworker, cats rule and dogs drool. I’m not sure I agree with him but don’t tell him that. He is one of many cat lovers who work at the Library Commission. If you work with a cat lover, are friends with a cat lover or are a cat lover yourself you probably see or are sent cute cat pictures and videos on a regular basis. The internet is full of cat related pictures and videos and social media has made it easy for folks to share their favorites.

People taking pictures of their cats is nothing new. In Nebraska Memories, I found 11 photos that included at least one cat. Photographer John Nelson took pictures of his nieces Alice, Mildred, Eda and Henrietta all holding cats or kittens. You can’t go wrong with pictures of kids with cats.

John Nelson also took a picture of a cat in a hardware store. I find it amusing to see the cat sitting on top of the glass display case. I’m not sure if he intended for the cat to be the focus of the picture but the cat is more visible then the humans in the picture.

The other photos in Nebraska Memories that included cats were taken by William Wallace. William Wallace served as a vice president for the Omaha National Bank for many years, and it appears he was also an avid photographer.

It’s obvious that William meant for the cats to be the focus of his pictures. I’m guessing that the cats might have ruled the house. The cat looks content lying on the family’s kitchen table. Because the photos are black and white, it’s hard to tell if the cat on the table is also one of the cats sleeping on the bed. Do you think the cat on the bed with the white fur on his face and neck is the same cat playing on the banister? Are they the same cats that are providing entertainment in these three pictures taken in the Wallace’s library?

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.