150 for Nebraska: "Oh Yeah!"

It’s time for yet another momentous occasion, with the sesquicentennial of Nebraska, which became a state on March 1, 1867.

I have a certain fondness for Nebraska because a few years ago, I went on a mission/service trip there, which was one of the most profound experiences of my life.  My group went to the St. Augustine Mission in Winnebago, on the Winnebago Reservation in the northeast part of Nebraska, which is a rather hilly area.  (Futher to the northwest in Nebraska is the Santee Sioux Reservation.)  The mission serves the spiritual needs of people on the Winnebago and neighboring Omaha Reservations, with its church and parochial school.  It was founded over a century ago by St. Mother Katharine Drexel, who founded many such church missions for African-Americans an aboriginal Native Americans.  St. Augustine is one of a few sites in the United States associated with a canonized saint.

It serves an important need to help provide a good quality of life for the aboriginal people there, who have been through much devastation for many decades.  Among the notable efforts they have undertaken, they teach the Ho-Chunk language to their school students.  While there, I had the opportunity to sit in on a Ho-Chunk language class, which was taught in part by a fine young adult named Tunny, who at the time, as I recall, was a student at the nearby Little Priest Tribal College.

There are churches that are part of the St. Augustine Mission in other nearby towns:  Macy has the Our Lady of Fatima (Roman) Catholic Worship Center.  St. Joseph is in Walthill, which also has a senior center that serves some fabulous food, according to what a Bureau of Indian Affairs employee told me who goes there with some frequency for a good, hot meal.

Speaking of hot, the majority of people in our group experienced some extreme heat in Rosalie, where we participated in a traditional Sweat Lodge ceremony, held in the backyard of a fine man named Nate, who hosts the ceremony every Wednesday at 6:30 PM.  Participating in that ceremony was one of the most extraordinarily profound experiences of my life.

For many years, Father Dave Korth served St. Augustine as its mission director.  During that time, he learned how to play the flute, and made three CD recordings as a way to raise funds for the mission, just like the calendars of the St. Augustine children in traditional aboriginal Native American dress.

Since July 2016, Father Mark Beran has been serving as the mission’s director.  Father Dave started another assignment in Omaha, which is the seat of the Archdiocese of Omaha that covers much of the northeast part of the state.  The other Roman Catholic dioceses in Nebraska are headquartered in Lincoln and Grand Island.

My trip to St. Augustine was the first opportunity I had to spend an extended amount of time in Nebraska.  The times before and since I've been there while passing through on my way elsewhere.  My first experience in Nebraska was one I pretty much slept through onboard the Amtrak California Zephyr train back many years ago when my family took a long train trip looping around the western United States.  The train stops in Omaha, Lincoln, Holdrege, Hastings, and McCook, following United States Route 34 for much of its journey through Nebraska, as it does for much of the journey east of Fort Morgan, CO.

A few years later, my family and I took a road trip to Denver, traveling much of the way on I-80, until we reached I-76, which has its eastern terminus in Nebraska along with a few miles of road before entering Colorado.  After spending the night in the Omaha area, we headed west and stopped in Minden to visit Harold Warp’s Pioneer Village.  It’s one of the top attractions in the state, with many historic buildings clustered together that speak of the pioneer experience, as well as large collections of historic objects.  (It's one of the sponsored listings on the Visit Nebraska tourism website.)

Continuing along the I-80 corridor, we passed through wide open fields, filled with center pivot irrigation to fuel Nebraska’s robust agricultural scene.  Those fields produce lots of corn, which gives reason for the state’s nickname, the Cornhusker State.  At Kearney, the flatness of the Platte River Valley in the Great Plains was broken by the Great Platte River Road Archway Monument, which extends over I-80, and contains a museum on the role of the Platte River Valley in westward expansion.  Fort Kearney, a military outpost at the site of the city, was named for General Stephen Kearney, who spent much time exploring western lands and helping settle Nebraska.

Nebraska has served as an important passage route throughout history.  Other historical trails that pass through Nebraska include the Oregon Trail, the Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail, the California National Historic Trail, and the Pony Express National Historic Trail.  In Gothenberg, you can visit a Pony Express station, as well as the Sod House Museum in tribute to a staple of housing on the wide open prairies.

Pioneers passing through Nebraska while headed westward used Chimney Rock as a reference point, which is part of Scotts Bluff National Monument, located in the Panhandle.  Near the very southwest corner of the Panhandle is Nebraska’s highest point of elevation, Panorama Point at 5,429 feet above sea level.  Also in the Panhandle is Agate Fossil Beds National Monument near Harrison, which exemplifies the rich abundance of fossils in Nebraska.  Then there’s Oglalla National Grassland.  Other scenic natural areas in the state include the Niobrara National Scenic River, Buffalo Bill State Historical Park and Recreation Area, and the Sandhills Region, which has a large Sandhill Crane Migration.  The scenery of this area provides a focal point for one of many scenic byway drives in Nebraska.  Another is the Loup Rivers Scenic Byway.

Nebraska has the most mileage of rivers of any U.S. state.  Its official state river is the Platte River, which has north and south branches that merge at North Platte.  Fort Sidney was built as a major outpost in the Panhandle in between the two branches of the river.  In fact, the name of the state derives from an Otos aboriginal Native American word meaning “flat water”, referring to the Platte River.  This river has provided a focal point for major transportation corridors, before I-80 was constructed, like the Union Pacific Railroad, and the Lincoln Highway.  The first transcontinental railroad in the United States built in the 1860’s started in Omaha, which still serves as an important railroad center.  And North Platte’s claim to fame is the North Platte Canteen that served many soldiers who passed through town on their way to serve in World War II, which all started when the townspeople thought that their very own Nebraska group of soldiers was to pass through, only to learn it was a group of soldiers from Kansas.  The trains would stop there often to be serviced in the days before diesel trains.

Nebraska became part of the United States through the Louisiana Purchase, and very soon after, the Lewis and Clark Expedition moved along the eastern and northeastern edges of the state while navigating the Missouri River.  They held a council with aboriginal Native peoples at a site near present-day Fort Calhoun.  The Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail has its headquarters in Omaha.  Major Stephen Long lead an expedition out west in 1819, which spent much time in Nebraska.  In 1854 came the Kansas-Nebraska Act.  Another important act that opened it up to development by settlers was the Homestead Act of 1862, whereby settlers came in droves, paving the way for eventual statehood.  Homestead National Monument in Beatrice commemorates this act.

It has as state symbols the Western meadowlark bird, the rock Prairie Agate, the Channel Catfish, the Goldenrod as its flower, the Square Dance, the mammoth fossil, Blue Chalcedony, Little Bluestem grass, the honeybee, the white-tailed deer, Holdrege soil, and the Cottonwood tree.  Its state song is “Beautiful Nebraska”, and its state ballad is “A Place like Nebraska”.  The lyrics of both songs speak of the beauty of the land and the wonderful quality of life it furnishes.

Nebraska is notable in arboreal matters, because Arbor Day was started by J. Sterling Morton in Nebraska City back in 1872.  And Nebraska National Forest is the only national forest in the United States to be entirely planted.  Nebraska City is home to The Arbor DayFoundation.

Nebraska has a state beverage, milk, and an official state soft drink, Kool-Aid, which was invented by Edwin Perkins.  Hastings holds a Kool-Aid Days Festival every August.  This is one occasion that leaves me saying, “Ohhhh yeah!”

The State Seal of Nebraska features important pieces of Nebraska’s heritage: the a blacksmith representing mechanic arts, a steamboat on the Missouri River, sheaves of wheat representing agricultural, and a settler’s cabin.  On the seal appears the state motto, “Equality Before the Law”.  The seal is on the state flag, with blue and gold as the primary colors.

In 1867, a village called Lancaster was made the state capitol and renamed Lincoln.  It has a magnificent capitol building, filled with many murals, and a dome sitting atop a soaring tower, topped itself by a statue called “The Sower”.  The capitol serves as the seat of the Nebraska legislature, which, through much effort apparently, was made unicameral, with only a body of senators.

The state capitol is connected to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln by the Centennial Mall.  The University’s Memorial Stadium is the home of the Cornhuskers football team.

The College World Series for college baseball occurs in Omaha, the state’s largest city.  The tallest building in the state is there, the First National Bank Tower at 624 feet, which trumped other buildings, including the Woodmen Tower in Omaha and the State Capitol in Lincoln.

It is said that the Reuben sandwich was created by Reuben Kulakofsky at the Blackstone Hotel in Omaha.  The Swanson company also traces its origins to Omaha, where Carl Swanson lived.  The company’s most famous creation is the TV dinner.  Just outside Omaha is Offutt Air Force Base, and the headquarters of the Strategic Air Command, which has a museum.  It was here that George W. Bush came to hold one of his first strategic sessions in response to the September 11 terrorist attacks.

Also in Omaha is the Jesuit school Creighton University, the Old Market, the Henry Doorly Zoo, and the Joslyn Art Museum.  Two major newspapers there at The Omaha World-Herald and The Omaha Star.  As for major companies based in the city, there’s the Omaha Steaks.  One of the big ones is the Berkshire Hathaway Corporation, whose CEO is Warren Buffett, who was born in Omaha.

Malcolm X was born Malcolm Little in Omaha.  And another famous person born in Omaha is Leslie Lynch King, Jr., who became President of the United States.  He’s better known by the name he got from his father, Gerald Ford.  Other politicians from Nebraska include former US Vice President Dick Cheney, Chuck Hagel, and William Jennings Bryan.

There are a notable number of Nebraskans who made it big on screen, including Johnny Carson, Marlon Brando, Nick Nolte, Hilary Swank, and Fred Astaire.

Also in the realm of the arts, Nebraska is proud to claim authors John G. Neihardt and Willa Cather.  Her home is a State Historic Site in Red Cloud.  She even has a stretch of prairie named for her.

Other notable sites in Nebraska include the World’s Largest Porch Swing in Hebron, the Front Street and Cowboy Museum in Oglalla, Carhenge in Alliance, and O’Fallon’s Bluff.

William Henry Jackson was an artist who focused on western landscapes.  Scotts Bluff National Monument houses the largest collection of his works.

Politician George Norris, who represented Nebraska in both houses of Congress for years earlier in the 20^th Century, helped develop rural areas through the Rural Electrification Act.

Also seeking to improve life was Red Cloud, an aboriginal Native American activist.  And then there’s Boys Town, founded by Father Edward J. Flanagan to help at-risk youths.

That leads me to one of my first memories of Nebraska during my Winnebago service trip.  After crossing the Missouri River, we stopped at a toll booth in Decatur.  There, on the side of the room was a sign welcoming us to the state: 

This caught my attention because the phrase, "the Good Life" is one I heard often in my study of Aristotle during my freshmen year of college.

Indeed, the Cornhuskers know how to seek after the good life by drawing from the beauty of the wide open spaces all over the state.

And so, there’s a 150 tribute to the fine state of Nebraska.  Godspeed for all the years ahead.

And as I sip on some Kool-Aid in honor this occasion, I furthermore declare, “Ohhh Yeah!”