Web Page
When Gen. Curtis E. LeMay became commander of the Strategic Air Command in 1948 he was appalled at the lack of professionalism in his bomber crews. LeMay rebuilt SAC and, in the process, presided over a huge change in the life of Omaha and Bellevue.
Web Page
As more and more nuclear weapons were being built, put into planes and on top of rockets, there were individuals who thought that the doctrine of deterrence through MAD — Mutually Assured Destruction — was just that, mad. They felt that it was better to negotiate to resolve differences with communist governments rather ... Read more
Web Page
From 1948 to 1992, 2,583 SAC crew members were killed in the line of duty. Early in its history, SAC decided they needed to honor and remember those who died. And so, the Strategic Air Command Memorial Chapel at Offutt Air Force Base was built in 1956. It includes a sanctuary with seating for 360 people, stained glass windows and an educational-administrative center.
The stained glass windows depict the missions of the various SAC units and were inspired by the Bible ... Read more
Web Page
Concerns about nuclear war also had an effect on government. There was a rush in the 1950s and 60s to provide shelters for governmental agencies and bodies.
Web Page
The demands of World War II led to huge advances in technology in the 1950s, even in the way Americans ate. Convenience foods became very popular with new methods to refrigerate, dry, and freeze foods.
Thousands learned how to feed large numbers of people in the mess tents of war and returned home to apply those skills in restaurants. And after a decade of depression and five years of war shortages, people were eager to return to dining outside the home.
New ... Read more
Web Page
The year after the first strike, the American Agriculture Movement decided to take their demands and their tractors to Washington DC. They were demanding a revision of the 1977 Farm Bill. They argued that the bill encouraged large scale production, but did not guarantee of high enough prices to keep small farms in business. The AAM emphasized rallies and protests against the political system.
A protest rally in the nation’s capital was planned for January, 1978, which would bring a nationwide ... Read more
Web Page
In the early 1980s, there were several radical farm groups that had organized to prevent the loss of farms. The groups had different prescriptions for how to solve the problems of agriculture, but they shared a belief that farmers weren’t to blame for their problems. Instead, these groups blamed a conspiracy of powerful national and international groups — like Jews or Masons — who were trying to take over the food system.
Arthur Kirk denied that he was a member of ... Read more
Web Page
An auction in a rural community is a complex social, economic and even political event. It is also an emotional event. A farm auction usually means that the farmer is leaving — either by choice or because he or she can no longer make it financially. Neighbors gather to look through and bid on household items and equipment. In one moment, they’re looking for bargains. In another moment, they’re celebrating the life of their neighbor. They catch up on community ... Read more
Web Page
The new Internet economy ran over telecommunication lines that reached all the way around the world. Most of those lines were made of fiber-optic cables — glass fibers that carry light waves that transmit digital signals. One of the largest owners of these fiber-optic networks was a Nebraska-born company — Level 3.
By the end of the 20th century, Level 3 Communications Inc. operated a 16,000-mile network of fiber-optic cable that connected more than ... Read more
Web Page
The Internet traces its beginnings back to a U.S. Defense Department project during the Cold War. The system was supposed to be a way to let computer users, attached to different networks, exchange data with each other.
The key questions were:
Web Page
In December of 2003, a dairy cow in Washington State was found to have bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). Because this illness may cause an animal to behave strangely and lose muscle control, consumers knew the disease by another disturbing nickname, "Mad Cow Disease." As of 2017, there have been no cases of Mad Cow Disease in cattle in Nebraska.
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) took a number of steps to insure the quality of American ... Read more
Web Page
The first of the politically active farmers’ groups was the Grange, or the "Patrons of Husbandry" as they were formally known. The Grange was organized in Nebraska in 1872 with 50 local chapters springing up during that year. Two years later they boasted 20,000 members. The group tended to be stalwart champions of the yeoman farmer. It was said that a Grange member could go to a statewide convention in the big city with a $10 bill in his pocket ... Read more
Web Page
Web Page
Web Page
Web Page
9000 to 7000 Years Ago: Nebraska’s First People
The objects from this site were made by some of Nebraska’s first known people: the Paleo-Indian people.
The site is located in southern Nebraska’s Frontier County. Learn more about them in the Activities and Resources.
Web Page
In the early 1700s, Spain claimed as their exclusive territory most of the Central Plains including Nebraska. They were very concerned with protecting their rights to what they saw as a potentially enormous trade with the Native Americans on the plains. But it had been a Frenchman, Bourgmont, who had reached the Platte first and who named it. And the Spanish in New Mexico were seeing more and more evidence of French trade with tribes like the Apache, ... Read more
Web Page
Imagine yourself as a farmer living in Europe in the mid-19th century. You own little or no land, have a large debt, and your taxes are due to the government. Then one day a friend comes to your door carrying a brochure printed by the "Union Pacific Railroad." The brochure says that the Union Pacific owns millions of acres in a place called Nebraska. ... Read more
Web Page
Even before America entered the war, production for it had begun. In Omaha, for instance, the Martin Bomber Plant was commissioned in September 1940 — well over a year before Pearl Harbor. Other plants were commissioned across the country to build bombs, tanks, rifles, and other weapons, some for sale or "loan" to other countries and some for our own stockpiles.
Although many Americans felt that we were isolated from the war, ... Read more
