April 5 - National Nebraska Day

Happy National Nebraska Day! Today we observe the 37th state to join the union back on March 1, 1867. 

  

This midwestern U.S. state encompasses the prairies of the Great Plains, the towering dunes of the Sandhills and the panhandle’s dramatic rock formations.  

  

Lincoln, the capital and a vibrant university town, is distinguished by its soaring state capitol. The city of Omaha is home to the Durham Museum, which honors the state’s pioneering past in a converted railroad depot. 

  

Pioneers migrating westward along the Oregon, California and Mormon Trails would mark on their journey by the sights they could recognize along the way. One such landmark was Scotts Bluff. 

  

“A Pioneer should have imagination, should be able to enjoy the idea of things more than the things themselves.” ~ Willa Cather, from her 1913 historical fiction novel O Pioneers! 

  

Those who put down roots in Nebraska likely homesteaded thanks to the Homestead Act of 1862. 

To find out more about the Homestead Act, visit the website below:

https://www.nps.gov/home/index.htm 

Nebraska’s landscape contributes significantly to the ranching and farming industry still today. 

The barren plains of this state have Nebraskan newspaper editor J. Sterling Morton to thank for the shade they receive on a hot sunny day. He proposed a day to plant trees and beautify the state. Arbor Day was first celebrated on April 10, 1872. 

  

Morton had also served as 22nd and 24th U.S. President Grover Cleveland's Secretary of Agriculture. He was a prominent Bourbon Democrat, taking the conservative position on political, economic and social issues, and opposing agrarianism. 

  

HOW TO OBSERVE 

  

Explore the history and people of Nebraska. Follow the trails of the pioneers and visit the cities on the prairies. Use #NationalNebraskaDay to share on social media. 

  

Hidden Treasures 

  

World’s Largest Ball of Stamps – Boys Town 

Old Lincoln Highway – Omaha 

National Museum of Roller Skating – Lincoln 

  

We also observe these famous figures born in Nebraska of whom are still recognized for their past accomplishments, heroics, talents, ingenuity and innovations: Red Cloud, Standing Bear, Susan La Flesche Picotte, Grace Abbott, Harold Lloyd, Howard Hanson, Fred Astaire, George Beadle, William Britton "Bil" Baird, Henry Fonda, Max Baer, Gerald Ford, Marlon Brando, Malcolm X, Warren Buffett and Bob Gibson. 

  

Visit the link below to see those of notable birth who were not mentioned on the list above: 

  

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_from_Nebraska 

  

Here's to The Cornhusker State! 

  

#NationalNebraskaDay 

@Huskers 

@nichecinema