THE OMAHA SUNDAY BEE: JANUARY 25. 1920.
9 B
Omaha Woman, Pioneer, Reminisces On
Days .When Fashionable Residences
! Stood Where Factories Now Thrive
. i
Recalls When She Fled From Indian Into the Home of Mrs. James Van Ostrand
At Ninth and Douglas Streets Two Street Cars Quit Running at 9 P. M.
Churches Gradually Crowded Into Suburbs by Increasing Business Section.
.By BELLVIEW. -Omaha's
remarkable growth "from
early.days is one of the comforts of
pioneers of;:he city, who have" lived
here from the time-when Omaha
was little more than a quaint little
village on the bank of the Missouri
river,.when its industrial section was
concentrated in a small group, and
the residtnees of the prominent citi
zens' were much nearer the "Big
Muddy" than those of the present
day. ', ;
In a communication to The Bee,
one of Omaha's pioneer women,
reminisces a bit, and recalls the
early days before the residence dis
tricts stretched to the far sections
of the city, before it took the greater
part of an rour to reach" the heart
.jcf the throbbing business life from
one' home. .
"A business transaction that made
h neassary td visit Omaha's whole
sate .cistrict L brought reminiscences
, f days when the present busy site
was the residential district of the
city's prominent citizens and if one
had not really lived in pioneer days
it would be hard to convince .the
present generation that such a
change could be possible.
.Extensive Garden Grounds.
, "The Lee Coit Andreesen Hard
ware-Co. is now located on ground
whte're in . early days Peter Wind
liefra had a residence, a comfortable
frame building, -with large grounds
for. garden, .purposes.'
"Mrs. Windheim was very proud
of the number and variety of flow
ers she cultivated and also the poul
try she taistd, particularly' the tur
keys which were a terror to the
children bi the neighborhood if they
were dressed with a garmentwith
too much of red coloring.
"A log barn was used by the chil
dren for a playhouse or fqr-nny kind
of amusement. The walls were dec
orated with numerous samples of
paper from the shop of Peter Wind
heim. ; "
St. Marys, one of the first Catho
lic churches in Nebraska, 'was on
Eighth and Harney, a small brick
edifice which soon proved too small
ior.; the growing congregation and
it ivts necessary to build St. Philo
nieria's where the John Deere Plow
eoinp?ny now have their building.
"Many of the old children" will re
member the runs we had around the
foundation - while the church was
building. To the south of St. Marys,
now the Burlington freight depot,
was the home of the late Herman
Kountze, a gothic frame building
with grounds designed by a land
scape gardener with miniature lakes
and terraces sloping to the east.
, "Many natural trees and shrubs
provided plenty of shade and the
grounds would do justice to a home
of today. The substantial brick
house of Thomas Davis occupied the
corner on which Byne & Hammer
have their factory.
, Remembers Davit Parties.
"Many mothers and stfrne grand-
"ufcothers will remember with pleas-
"f.re the entertainment provided for
the Davis boys, Fred, 'Late' and
. Charlie, The Davis mill was in the
vicinity row occupied by the Union
and freight depots of the Union Pa
cific, and frequent visits were made
ti the mill for wheat to make Our
chewing gum.
"It was great fun to visit the saw
mill nearby and ride on the huge
Idgs that were being sawed, and a
dare would be made to anyone who
'tpuld ride nearest the saw. I doubt
very much if the mothers were
aware of the dangerous deeds that
were done by the young westerners
c 'The southwest corner of Ninth
atad Farnam streets surrounded by
" locust trees was where Trinity
vlturch welcomed its parishoners. It
was small brick structure and
, ten it was used as a school. Before
Vt was demolished it was known as
ifie 'Tivoli Garden.' j
' ' Beautiful Picnic Grove.
,"'Can the present inhabitant im
agine a grove in the vicinity of
Ninth street from Dodge to Capitol
avenue? This was the picnic ground
for Omaha's population. Farther to
"the north in the grove was the home
of Judge Gant and in the same
neighborhood was the Shull resi-
dence. A large swing proved an
attraction for the children in that
ucinity and other parts of the town.
.'"'Yankee Robinson's circus tents
'were pitched on Ninth and Farnam,
now occupied by the addition to
Lee Coit Andreesen. As it was a
one-ring show and few animals and
side show attractions, , not much
gtotfnd space was required.
'-"Omaha's prominent hotel 'The
Herodon,' with a few- additions
made by the Union Pacific when
used for their offices, is still stand
ing on Ninth and Farnam. Many
guests from all over the world have
Inscribed their names on the register
of that hostlry. .
Many Judges' Homes.
"Ezra Millard's family home was
on Eleventh and Harney and in the
same "block were the home of the
Wymans (parents of Mrs. .George
Hoagland). Judges Lake and Doane
had residences oh Twelfth and Har
ney. Augustus Kountze and Will
iam Kuth had homes near.
"One cannot realize that a fine.'
residence and well kept groundF
over could be where the Burkley
Printing company and other firms
now are doing business, but the lo
cation was tormerly the home of
Iudge W.oolworth. In this vicinity
were the homes of the Stephens,
Wilcox Kcesters, Demarest and
others I cannot recall.
"As be town expanded, homes
R'ere jbuilt further west towards Fif
teenth and Sixteenth on Farnam and
-larney streets. The Lowes, Tur
lersj .Withnell, Redick, Goodrich,
were all in the vicinity of the last
aamed. where the Securities building
now stands, with the court house
bnporsite the . site , of the Paxton
Mock. -. , .
Home of John McCormick.
"To the north on Douglas, J. j.
3rown. James and Samuel Megeath,
e last living in a house painted
white with .green . blinds, white
picket fence, on the busy corner of
the Fry Shoe company: The home
of John McCormick seemed to be off
and was only recently razed for the
new tl Beudor apartments.
"As this mansion was perhaps the
most pretentious-all select functions
were held there. The homes of the
Kennards, Meredith, Sutphen, Hans-
corn, Schneider, Cuming. O. F.
Davis, Horbach, Campbell, Burns,
Byrne, Keed, Cahn, etc., were in this
neighborhood.
"When Mrs. Parmalee, who lived
where now is the Hotel 'Loyal, pre
dicted business in the vicinity of Six
teenth and Capitol avenue, we
"thought her predictions would never
materialize.
Two Street Cars.
"The street car service during the
coal shortage prolonged only two
hours ' more than when Omaha
boasted of car service with two cars
which turned in at 9 p. m. and were
run into an open shed on Fifteenth
street between Dodge and Capitol
avenue. It was, such an event when
the cars began their runs everyone
was entitled to a free ride.'
"The distance in early days com
pared to now, seems amusing. What
is now an easy walking distance from
the city years ago required a horse
and vehicle to cover the same space.
My father had occasion to visit
C olonel Gilmore, who lived in a
house that was formerly the gov
ernor's mansion, and was located on
Twenty-second and Webster, but a
"rig" had to be procured from the
livery barn before the. long journey
could, be undertaken.
"The barn for the mansion was re
modeled and today is a small brick
cottage on Twenty-second street be
tween Webster and Burt and has
more than SO years to its credit.
"Many of the early settlers had
their stables.' Dr. Peck, Reuben
Ward and Judge Redick were all
admirers of the horseflesh, particu
larly those of the racing kind. One
'rig I well remember .was' a large
old-fashioned carriage and a pair of
white horses. They were driven
through the town by Dr. Lowe.
"Harney street could boast of
three hotels in close proximity be
tween Twelfth and Fifteenth, the
?t. Charles, Douglas and Farnam.
The proprietor of the last named
was the father of Beecher Higby.
"The heating proposition today
must remind a few of Omaha's early
settlers of the time when wood was
all tlut was available and princi
pally green cottonwood. I cannot
conceive how we kept warm, unless
more and heavier clothing was
worn. I am sure the winters were
more severe and the snowfall we
are having this year is like the 'old
fashioned winter when drifts were
as high as the top rails of a fence
and frozen liard enough to walk on.
Business Crowded Churches.
"The churches of Omaha taave had
to change locations frequently as
business made it necessary. The
Lutheran, afterward called Kountze
Memorial, .was first located where
the Millard hotel stands. Being too
much in the business district, a new
church was built on Sixteenth and
Harney and the congregation
thought they had moved far away
from a commercial locality, but they
were soon crowded out and erected
the present church on Twenty-sixth
and Farnam, but business is still
following them and it looks as ifj
they will be compelled to make an
other change.
"The" First Methodists had their
place of worship on Thirteenth
street, the site of the old Omaha
National bank. Being too near the
business center a church was built
on Seventeenth near Dodge, but the
government selected, that block for
the Postoffice and the church
Clearance Sale
Exceptional Values in
Men's Wear
At
Reduced
All Suits and Overcoats
Must Go at
40 Less
We are forced to make room for
new shipments, now on the way.
We are overstocked and must sac
rifice this stock at prices that can
not be duplicated.
Sale starts Monday. The assortment is sufficiently large
so that you will find just the style, color and material desired.
. ' '
This Sale Will Continue All Week. 7
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Men's Suits Overcoats
$70.0a Suits...:... $42.50
$60.00 Suits. .-. . ..$36.00
$55.00 Suits... ...$33.00
$30.00 Suits. .. . ..$18.00
Large variety of Silk Shirts,
$6.00 to $15.00, Monday at
25 OFF.
Flannel Shirts, $2.50 to
$5.50, 25 OFF. ,"
$1.50 Work Shirts $1.00
i
All' Sales
JOHN
109 North Sixteenth Street ..
Directly Opposite the Postoffice
on Twentieth and Davenport is their
home.
"Hayden's Douglas . street store
ocupies the place of the German
Catholic church which now is still
in the business circuit on Nineteenth
and Dodge. 'The First Congrega
tional in former days had their
church where McCrorey's store is
located. They built a frame church
on Nineteenth and Chicago and
from there moved to their present
location, but will soon be in their
beautiful structure on Thirty-sixth
and Harney. ( ' :
Residence District Spreads.
'The First Presbyterians retained
their location until too near business
and made quite an ascent to Thirty
fourth and Farnain. The First
Baptists at one time held services
in a church which was. located -on
Fifteenth and Davenport. What is
i.ow a club house on Seventeenth
and Cass was the Unitarian church.
"Trinity cathedral has made but
one change since leaving Ninth and
Farnam streets. The land west and
north of the city, which a few years
ago was being cultivated by the
farmers, is fast being improved with
beautiful homes and the once fash
ionable residence district is rapidly
disappearing to be replaced by
larpe factories and business houses.
"Anyone who has seen the city
build almost from the Missouri, can
not help but take great interest and
feel very proud of Omaha, which
has made such progress, for it is
rapidly nearing a climax which wilt
make it be recognized as one of the
prominent cities of the United
States'
May Eliminate Town
Jail; Can't Catch Thieves
Defiance, O., Jan. 24. The "Jail
less City" is the name that may be
applied soon to Defiance.
The city solicitor has been re
quested by the city council to draft
a proposed ordinance providing for
elimination of the city jail.
Not only has activities at the jail
been at the zero mark for a long
time, but there does not seem to be
any, likelihood that businesf will
pick up.
Although ; more : robberies took
place during the pant 12 months than
for many years, the theives have
been successful in making their get
away. Petrified Cats Found
Under an Old Floor
Poughkecpsie, Jan. 24. While re
pairing . the floor of the Academy
of Music of Beacon carpenters found
the bodies of two cats that had
become thoroughly petrified. Fifty
years ago. at the time the floor was
laid, the cats must have run under
it. . .
The carpenters, unknowingly, had
walled them in. ,
They evidently had attacked each
other, as one had an ear. chewed off.
The bodies are as hard as flint, but
lifelike, and no parts are missing
except the chewed ear.
When His Aerial Sled Would
Not Rise Inventor Gets Bath
flinfnn Ta Tan 24. Charles
w.....w.., j , . .
Runvan who nlscrd his faith in an
aerial sled invented by himself, re
rivH a ruAn iolt- her the othrr
day when the wings of the sled
tailed to ntt rum over an airnoie
in the ice-covered Mississippi river,
and sled, driver and all went into the
Runyan was rescued, but the sled
disappeared. ' i !
Prices
$70.00 Overcoats.v$42.00
$60.00 Overcoats ,.$36.00
$30.00 Overcoats .$18.00
All-Wool Unicm' Suits
$4.50 Monday only
25 OFF. - j J
Neckwear, 75cho $5.00
25 OFF.
Final
Mil d
FELDMAN
Silk Hat Returning
To Favor In London
London. Jan. 24. The silk hat,
which in days gone by was the con
ventional and inevitable headgear of
the business man of any standing at
all, is creeping back. But London
revolts against prewar conventions
in another direction. ;
Dinner jackets actually have been
seen, a half dozen or more of them,
at social functions in such exclusive
places as Londonderry house. A
few years ago men might well have
been turned back from any-, .society
door as improperly dressed if they
came attired in anything but dress
suits. , : j
High School Boys Form
League to Combat H. C. L.
Mitchell, S. D., Jan. 24. A league
to combat the high cost of living
has been organized here by 200 high
school boys. Expensive "shoes,
clothing and cravats are under ban.
Flannel shirts with plain black ties
and army shoes are expected to be
worn uniformly by the league mem
bers. The girls of the school are. also
understood to be planning to re
place expensive waists wfth middy
blouses.
Camera Shows How
Coal Is Mined
THE United States bureau of
mines, Washington, D. C, is
conducting a nationwide motion
picture educational campaign to
make the American people better ac
quainted with one of this country's
leading industries coal mining.
Bureau representatives are now
exhibiting in various parts of the
country a motion picture entitled,
"The Mory of Coal,' which is con
sidered the most remarkable coal
mining film ever produced. These
pictures are being shown in schools,
colleges, churches, etc. The bureau
men accompany the pictures 'with
lectures.
The picture first shows the birth
of a coal mine, the sinking of the
shaft, the erection of buildings on
the surface and the installation of
machinery. '
Miners of the day shift are be
ginning to arrive. About a score of
them step onto the cage that is to
lower them about 600 feet below the
sunshine. The movie camera slips
aboard the cage, determined to see
everything that there is to see. .
A miniature railway train drawn
by an electric engine is waiting for
the miners. It is quite a distance
to where the miners are to work
that day, hut the underground rail
way gets them there in a few min
utes. On the way the movie camera
observes by the side of the track a
modem machine shop 600 feet under
ground, where mine machinery is
repaired.
The camera watches closely as
the miners set about looting-nature's
treasure chest. First a powerful
electric machine with knives at
tached to an endless chain cuts the
seam ,ix feet. deep tinder the ledge
of coal against which the miners
ar centering that day's attack. Then
holes are drilled into the face of the
room and explosives inserted. The
fuses are lighted and the miners run.
The movie camera, being at a safe
distance, doesn't bat its one and
only eye when the charge goes off.
and it sees 50 tons of coal toppled
ever onto the floor of the mine.
. Miners shovel this coal into the
miniature railway cars, which carry
the fuel to the shaft, where it is
raised in cages to the surface.
On the srirface again, the camera
visits the engine room to see how
the cages are lowered and raised by
means of steel cables and electric
driven windlasses.
While in the mining country the
camera visits one of the larger wash
eries, where coal is given a bath to
remove the sulphur. About one
fifth of the coal mined in this coun
try is washed as shown in this pic
ture. ' ' .
Anthrax Case Due
To Cut Made by Barber
New York, Jan. 24. Joseph Cook,
48 years old, a, longshoreman,
walked into Bellevue hospital re
cently with a cut on his right
cheek, which he said 'was made
by a downtown barber and which
had swollen.
The physicians pronounced Cook's
illness to be anthrax. ..lie.. will re
cover. This is the seventeenth
case of anthrax reported at Belle
vue hospital in four years.
Baby Shoe Prices Advance
Ubston, Jan. 24. Xew samples of
shoes on exhibit will retail from
$1.75 to $7.50 a pair, the exhibitors
say. Hand embroidered and gold
leaf shoes for baby are among those
shown.
Special Scenic Plantation
Prolog, with Jubilee Sing
ers, Jazz Music, Stage and
Electrical Effects.
a.h: BirtV
'KITS
4.C3 (L,
Enumerator Got Age
Of Woman From Tombstone
sieuocnvuie, kj., jan. . a -foxy
census enumerator learned a
woman's aire uirainst her will.
This enumerator is working 5u
one of the rural districts in. eastern
Ohio.
All the information that a cer
tain woman would give this cnum-
erator relative to her age was that
she was two years younger than
her oldest sister.
"After arguing with her in vain I
remembered , that her sister" Was
dead," said the enumerator.
"So I went to the nearbv ceme
tery and found the hrc of the dead
"Then I subtracted two and put -the
woman down as 60 years, which
is 20 years older than she looks."
explained the enumerator.
Young Ladies Are Now
Taking to African Golf"
Bucyrus, O., Jan. 24. That he
has more lady customers than men
who nuy nice is tue ciaim mane oy
a local dealer in dice, poker checks
and playing cards. '
One innocent-looking. demure
miss stated: "I know lots of girls
who carry dice, and they shdot
craos. too." They generally shoot
. , ! .1 - J
for pennies.
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TV 1 7 1 1
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