Author Archives: pgaster

Ashland, the First Saunders County Seat

An unusual feature of the boundary of Nebraska’s Saunders County is Ashland Precinct, which forms a wedge on the southeast corner, projecting down between Lancaster County on the west and a small piece of Cass County that extends northward between … Continue reading

FacebookDeliciousLinkedInTwitterStumbleUponGoogle BookmarksDiggLiveJournalShare
Posted in Nebraska Timeline, Publications | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Nebraska’s Miss America: Teresa Scanlan

The first Miss Nebraska to be crowned Miss America, Teresa Scanlan, will be featured in a new exhibit to open March 1, 2013, Nebraska Statehood Day, at the Nebraska History Museum in Lincoln. The Gering, Nebraska, resident was the ninetieth … Continue reading

FacebookDeliciousLinkedInTwitterStumbleUponGoogle BookmarksDiggLiveJournalShare
Posted in Exhibits, Nebraska History News, Publications | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Harrison Johnson’s History of Nebraska

“Our work is done,” wrote Harrison Johnson (1822-1885) as he concluded his History of Nebraska, published in 1880. “The volume is completed, and only awaits the Introduction. The printers are clamoring for this, and only a few more lines and … Continue reading

FacebookDeliciousLinkedInTwitterStumbleUponGoogle BookmarksDiggLiveJournalShare
Posted in Nebraska Timeline, Publications | Tagged | 2 Comments

Drilling for Oil at Shelton

Nebraska’s first producing oil well was drilled in Richardson County in 1940, but prior to that date some drilling had been done in other parts of the state. One such project was at Shelton in Buffalo County. The Kearney Daily … Continue reading

FacebookDeliciousLinkedInTwitterStumbleUponGoogle BookmarksDiggLiveJournalShare
Posted in Nebraska Timeline, Publications | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Lincoln and Washington Counties Named for U.S. Presidents

The contemporary celebration of Presidents’ Day brings to mind the two Nebraska counties named for the two presidents, Abraham Lincoln and George Washington, whose birthdays are commemorated in February.   The older of the two, Washington County, is located in eastern … Continue reading

FacebookDeliciousLinkedInTwitterStumbleUponGoogle BookmarksDiggLiveJournalShare
Posted in Publications | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Nebraska Cigars Once a Smoker’s Delight

The photograph above, from the collections of the Nebraska State Historical Society, depicts employees of a Lincoln establishment, identified by a sign over the awning as the Ross & Bryson Cigar Factory, about 1910. Others have gathered to pose, including a … Continue reading

FacebookDeliciousLinkedInTwitterStumbleUponGoogle BookmarksDiggLiveJournalShare
Posted in Nebraska Timeline, Photograph Collection, Publications | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Fire and Accident a Friend to Coyotes

Organized hunts for “wolves” (what we now call coyotes) were a frequent part of the winter sporting scene in the 1910s, 1920s, and 1930s. Hundreds of hunters frequently joined in, but despite all the manpower, the wiley coyote was not … Continue reading

FacebookDeliciousLinkedInTwitterStumbleUponGoogle BookmarksDiggLiveJournalShare
Posted in Publications | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Students and the Saloon

Although dating from the 1870s, the city of Lincoln’s preoccupation with the prohibition issue quickened in the first decade of the twentieth century. With the failure of efforts to add a prohibitory amendment to the state constitution in 1890, prohibitionists … Continue reading

FacebookDeliciousLinkedInTwitterStumbleUponGoogle BookmarksDiggLiveJournalShare
Posted in Nebraska Timeline, Publications | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

The Rescue of Oscar Phelps

“Quite an exciting scene was witnessed last evening, on the river bank just opposite Boyd’s packing house,” said the Omaha Daily Bee on January 23, 1882, “which came near resulting very seriously.” An accident victim, rescued from a fall through … Continue reading

FacebookDeliciousLinkedInTwitterStumbleUponGoogle BookmarksDiggLiveJournalShare
Posted in Nebraska Timeline, Publications | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

New NSHS-Authored Book Shows Nebraska’s Role in Civil War

From a pool of barely nine thousand men of military age, Nebraska—still a territory at the time—sent more than three thousand soldiers to the Civil War. They fought and died for the Union cause, were wounded, taken prisoner, and in … Continue reading

FacebookDeliciousLinkedInTwitterStumbleUponGoogle BookmarksDiggLiveJournalShare
Posted in Publications | Tagged , | Leave a comment