NEWS ALERT ARCHIVE

FATHER CHRISTMAS GUESTING AT CROOK HOUSE DECEMBER 23
Father Christmas will be at the Douglas County Historical Society’s museum, the General Crook House, Friday (December 23) from 1 to 4 p.m. to listen to last-minute wish lists and pose for family photographs.

Father Christmas will be available within more than a two dozen decorated settings for Nineteenth Century Holidays, beginning at the front porch and continuing into every nook and cranny of the restored frontier general’s home at Fort Omaha. In addition to the visit with Father Christmas, the admission/donation includes decorations on a theme of “A Winter Garden,” an exhibit of more than 100 toys that date to the 1840s, hot cider and cookies.

The admission/donation is $6 for adults, $4 for students and $3 for children ages 6 through 11. Nineteenth Century Holidays at the General Crook House Museum will continue through December 31, with closings on December 24-25. The Crook House also will be closed on January 1. Visiting hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and 1 to 4 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.

The Crook House is located at historic Fort Omaha, a Historic Register District at 30^th and Fort Streets, now the campus of Metropolitan Community College.

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VICTORIAN LADY TO READ CHILDREN’S STORIES DECEMBER 3

A Victorian lady (Peggy Wiles) will read children’s holiday stories Saturday, December 3, from 2 to 4 p.m., as part of Nineteenth Century Holidays at the Douglas County Historical Society’s museum, the General Crook House, which is located at historic Fort Omaha, 30^th and Fort Streets, now the campus of Metropolitan Community College.

This weekend feature is included with the holiday admission to tour the completely decorated frontier general’s home: $6 adults, $4 students and $3 ages 6 through 11. Through December 31, the General Crook House Museum at historic Fort Omaha is transformed into “A Winter Garden,” beautifully decorated with naturals, trims and trees befitting the home’s 1879 beginnings. Visitors also may view an exhibit of over 100 toys dating to the 1840s and enjoy hot cider and cookies.

Visitors also are invited to bring their cameras for family photographs taken midst the decorations, which begin on the front porch and continue through “every nook and cranny” of the authentically restored frontier general’s home.

On Sunday, December 11, Doug Bisson, community planning manager for HDR, will discuss “Destination Midtown—A New Master Plan for Midtown Omaha.” The “Second Sunday Talk” will be at 2 p.m. at the General Crook House. The Second Sunday Talks series is made possible by the Dr. C.C. Criss and Mabel Criss Foundation.

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“A WINTER GARDEN” THEME DURING NINETEENTH CENTURY HOLIDAYS

The General Crook House Museum at historic Fort Omaha will be transformed beginning November 13 into “A Winter Garden,” beautifully decorated with naturals, trims and trees befitting the home’s 1879 beginnings.

The General Crook House Guild will offer a preview of Nineteenth Century Holidays, with special activities for families and all ages, during a Victorian Winter Garden Party on Saturday, November 12 from 1 to 4 p.m.

Midst holiday splendor in every room of the General Crook House Museum, visitors may visit with Dickens characters from the Omaha Community Playhouse production of A Christmas Carol, sing around the piano or gather around storyteller Eloise Thompson. There will be Victorian craft-making for children and elegant period refreshments for everyone.

The preview party cost is $12 for adults and $6 for children. For information, contact Sue Hertel at (402) 779-4303. Guild president is Mary Applegate.

The “Winter Garden” theme for Nineteenth Century Holidays is produced as a benefit for the Douglas County Historical Society by the Crook House Guild. Local designer and Guild member Deb Oliphant is coordinating a team of local designers, as well as horticulturists from Kinghorn Gardens, to produce the traditional holiday exhibit, which will be open to the public Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 1 to 4 p.m. The Crook House will be closed Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve and Day and New Years Day. Holiday admission/donation is $6 for adults and the usual $4 for students and $3 for children ages 6 through 11.

The General Crook House Museum is located at historic Fort Omaha, 30^th and Fort Streets, now the campus of Metropolitan Community College.

Premiering during Nineteenth Century Holidays will be the newly designed Bookstore and Volunteer Office. Sales items will include books, images and maps produced from the Historical Society’s collections, as well as books and documents on the military, Indian and pioneer history of Douglas County and the west. The project is made possible by funds allocated by the Douglas County Board of Commissioners, which has designated the Douglas County Historical Society as the “official repository for Douglas County history.”

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SOCIETY SALUTES “O! HISTORY” WITH BILLBOARD, BANNERS
The Douglas County Historical Society is saluting “O! History” for the community in a billboard and banners commemorating the 1879 court victory of Ponca Chief Standing Bear. The billboard currently may be seen when driving west on I-80 near 57^th Street. Through a special arrangement with Lamar Outdoor Advertising, the billboard will be located at various locations in Omaha throughout 2005.

Vertical reproductions of the billboard have been placed in two locations at the Omaha/Douglas Civic Center at 1819 Douglas Streets: in the offices of Mayor Mike Fahey and in a display case at the Harney Street entrance.

            The Historical Society also has produced a six-panel explanation of the landmark trial of Standing Bear v. Crook, which resulted in a landmark decision in 1879 that for the first time recognized the Indian as a person, with rights in the eyes of the law. Featured are the Ponca Chief, who was arrested after he violated federal orders to leave Indian Territory in Oklahoma to return to his homeland near the Niobrara to bury his son; General George Crook, who obeyed orders to arrest Standing Bear but who organized a defense system and spoke on his behalf, and Judge Dundy, whose ruling in support of Bear became one of the nation’s earliest civil rights victories.
          Businesses and schools that wish to display the illustrated narrative panels may contact Registrar Libby Krecek at the Historical Society’s Library Archives Center and National Indian Wars Library at (402) 451-1013.
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NEEDLE ARTISTS TO EXHIBIT JUNE 12-16 AT GENERAL CROOK HOUSE

The Douglas County Historical Society’s museum, the General Crook House, will host an exhibit, demonstrations and teaching narratives on needle arts beginning Sunday, June 12 and continuing daily through Saturday, June 18. Viewing hours are 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.

The exhibit is free when included with the usual admission/donation to tour the Crook House, an authentically restored frontier general’s home: $5 adults, $4 students and $3 ages 6 through 11. The exhibit is free for members of the Douglas County Historical Society.
The exhibit is produced by the Omaha Needle Artists, Omaha Chapter of Embroiderer’s Guild of America, whose members will be present to interpret and illustrate their works

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HISTORICAL SOCIETY OPENS NEW EXHIBIT AT HEARTLAND PARK

The Douglas County Historical Society has opened a new exhibit on Omaha history that features a panoramic view of downtown Omaha in the 1870s, attributed to photographer William Henry Jackson, and which is superimposed with images of selected buildings from Omaha’s first quarter century. The exhibit, “Revisiting the Riverfront: A New Look at Old Omaha,” is located at Heartland of America Park, in a 60-linear foot display case on the north shore of the lake, which is accessed from Eighth and Douglas Streets in downtown Omaha.

The exhibit is timed to open for the Taste of Omaha, scheduled June 10-12, and for other summer entertainment crowds at the riverfront’s Heartland of America Park and Lewis and Clark Landing. It will continue through April, 2006. The exhibit has been produced from the Historical Society’s collections and is made possible by the Dr. C. C. Criss and Mabel Criss Foundation.

The exhibit showcases the Historical Society’s Barker Letters Collection, 1000 pages of letters describing Omaha, which were written in the 1860s by emigrant Joseph Barker to his family in England. The Historical Society this spring published the first of two volumes of the Barker Letters entitled Their Man in Omaha, funded by the Charles W. Martin family, descendants of the original Barker family, and the Peter Kiewit Foundation.
The selected images in the exhibit include the H.C. Nutt ferry transferring a train from the Iowa to the Nebraska shore, Herndon House at Ninth and Farnam Streets, Boyd’s Opera House at Fifteenth and Farnam Streets, the Omaha Steam Bakery and stores at Twelfth and Douglas and Farnam Street’s famed Central Block and Pioneer Block.

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NEWS ALERT: GALE SPEAKS FRIDAY, MAY 20

Nebraska Secretary of State John A. Gale will speak Friday, May 20 at a luncheon meeting of the Douglas County Historical Society for members of its General’s Council. The luncheon or “Officers’ Open Mess” will be held at the Historical Society’s museum, the General Crook House, located at historic Fort Omaha, 30^th and Fort Streets, now the campus of Metropolitan Community College.

The “Officers’ Open Mess” follows a military theme, and members of the General’s Council, who are major donors of the Historical Society, receive the rank of “Colonel,” the Commander’s rank in the Fort Omaha Balloon School, which gained international fame during World War I.

Gale will brief the audience on the process of selecting images for the Nebraska quarter and on other current studies and issues. The Douglas County Historical Society endorses the image of Standing Bear, one of four possible images for Nebraska’s quarter, with final selection to be made by Governor Dave Heineman.

Gale will be inducted with an honorary membership in the General’s Council and will be designated a “Colonel” during the briefing. Also to be inducted as a General’s Council member will be Stephanie O’Keefe.

The event begins at 1130 hours with sarsaparilla, followed at 1200 hours by a typical military lunch that includes bean soup, chicken fried steak and apple pie.

The Historical Society’s Board of Directors will oversee maneuvers on Friday: James Murphy, secretary, will be Officer-of-the-Day; Joe McCartney, immediate past president, will be Commander.

Go to General's Council Photos

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NEWS ALERT: IMMEDIATE RELEASE: APRIL 15, 2005

The Douglas County Historical Society is acknowledging the 1879 court victory of Standing Bear in a billboard now appearing at 92^nd and Blair High Road (Military Avenue) in Omaha, located on the north side of the street facing west. The 14x48 billboard is the finale in a series of “O! History” billboards which the Douglas County Historical Society began in 2004, during the 150^th birthday anniversary of Omaha and Douglas County. Through a cooperative effort with Lamar Outdoor Advertising, the billboard featuring Standing Bear will appear at various locations in Douglas County throughout the current year.

The Douglas County Historical Society endorses Standing Bear as the official design for Nebraska’s quarter. The Historical Society also has received supportive endorsements from Downtown Omaha, Inc. and numerous individuals representing law, diversity, civic and service professions and organizations. Persons who favor Standing Bear on the Nebraska quarter are encouraged to notify Governor Dave Heineman (Governor’s Office, P.O. Box 94848, Lincoln, NE 68509-4848) as the decision may be made by the end of April.

The 1879 trial of Standing Bear, held in May, 1879 at district court in downtown Omaha, resulted in a landmark decision that for the first time recognized the Indian as a human being with rights in the eyes of the law.

Ponca Chief Standing Bear was arrested when he violated federal orders and left his reservation in Oklahoma City in February, 1879 to grant the wish of his dying son and return his bones for burial on their tribal home on the banks of the Niobrara. General George Crook, then Commander of the Department of the Platte and headquartered at Fort Omaha, obeyed orders from his superiors to arrest Standing Bear, knowing that if he did not, he likely would be replaced by an officer who may not be so sympathetic to the cause of the Indian. However, General Crook set in motion the format for a writ of habeas corpus, subsequent trial, Standing Bear’s defense team and supportive public opinion. At the trial, Standing Bear v Crook, the General spoke on behalf of the great chief, appearing in the witness stand in his military uniform with his customary Indian moccasins. Even though General Crook was considered the nation’s finest Indian fighter by General Sherman, Crook and the Indians shared a mutual respect, admiration and trust.

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NEWS ALERT: RELEASE ON OR AFTER APRIL 15, 2005

Mary M. Maxwell has been elected president of the Douglas County Historical Society Board of Directors. She succeeds Joe McCartney. Other officers elected to two-year terms at the Annual Meeting in early April are Jim Murphy, secretary and John Jeter, treasurer.

Six were elected to three-year terms on the Board of Directors: Joe Barker, Roger Fitch and William Pratt, Ph.D., all incumbents, and new members Donald Erickson, Carole Woods Harris and Gary Kerr.

Three were elected to one-year terms on the Board of Directors: Dr. Ted Bolamperti, Susan Shipley and Bryan Zimmer.

Appointed to a one-year term as incoming president of the Crook House Guild is Mary Applegate. She replaces Janet Robinson.

Retiring from the Board of Directors after completing two three-year terms are Rob Hansen and William Kratville. John S. Savage also completed his final term as the immediate past president.

Next meeting of the Historical Society’s Board of Directors will be Tuesday April 19 at 4 p.m. at the General Crook House Museum, located at historic Fort Omaha, 30^th and Fort Streets, now the campus of Metropolitan Community College. The Board or committees meet regularly the third Tuesday of every month.

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