Author Archives: pgaster

The Fort McPherson National Cemetery

The approach of Memorial Day calls to mind Nebraska’s Fort McPherson National Cemetery, located  south of Maxwell in Lincoln County. If the men who lie underneath its peaceful sod could tell their stories, a living panorama of the winning of … Continue reading

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Pulitzer Prize Awarded for 1930 Editorial on George Norris

On May 5, 1931, the Fremont Evening Tribune reported that Tribune editor Charles S. Ryckman had been awarded a Pulitzer Prize for the best editorial article published in an American newspaper during the year 1930. The award was among those … Continue reading

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Sliding to Safety

As Nebraska communities built large, multi-story schools in the late nineteenth century, providing a means of escape in case of fire was always a concern. One of the biggest problems was finding a safe way to evacuate people on the … Continue reading

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May Day a Snow Day in 1911

Many Nebraskans, after enjoying spring weather only a few days earlier, spent May 1 of 1911 wading through snow and shoveling the white stuff off their sidewalks. The citizens of O’Neill, for example, read in The Frontier, their local paper, … Continue reading

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Nebraska’s Semicentennial Arbor Day

Nebraskans celebrated the semicentennial of the state’s admission into the Union in 1917 on several dates, including March 1, Statehood Day; February 12, Lincoln’s birthday; and in churches, February 25, the Sunday nearest Washington’s birthday. The citizens of Nebraska City, … Continue reading

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The Missouri River Flood of 1881

Snowfall in the winter of 1880-81 was unusually heavy, not only in Nebraska but in the states to the east, with the first snow falling during the last week in October. From January through most of March there was particularly … Continue reading

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100 Years of the Federal Income Tax

As April 15 approaches, American taxpayers may note that this year marks the100th anniversary of the ratification of the Sixteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution empowering Congress to impose a federal income tax. Proposed by Republican Senator Norris Brown of … Continue reading

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Nebraska’s Gold, the Goldenrod

April 4 marks the anniversary of the designation of the goldenrod as Nebraska’s state flower in 1895. A legislative resolution giving the state a floral emblem was introduced by Representative L. P. Judd of Cedar Rapids and later signed into … Continue reading

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Sweet Treats at Easter

What is Easter without eggs, if not the genuine article, then at least egg-shaped candy? By the early twentieth century, the use of the modern chocolate-making process and improved mass manufacturing methods meant that the chocolate Easter egg was fast replacing … Continue reading

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Nebraska Roundups in the 1870s

By the mid-1870s Nebraska’s open-range cattle industry, centered in the western Platte Valley and the Panhandle, was experiencing growing pains. Concerns included introduction of Texas cattle to supply the Indian agencies, unregulated “round-ups” that caused ownership disputes (in winter, long … Continue reading

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