Cold Springs Historical Marker at 60th and L in Omaha.

Cold Spring was an early stopping place for immigrants of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the summer of 1846.  There is a historical marker at the corner of 60th an L proclaiming it as this spot.  The marker is by the Satellite Hotel.  Another spot where the immigrants stopped that summer was Mormon Hollow in Fontenelle Forrest in Bellevue.   My understanding they moved to a place close to the Papillion Creek.  Little Papillion Creek four block west of this marker.  It flows in Big Papillion Creek about four blocks south.  Neither Mormon Hollow or Cold Springs seemed adequate so most immigrants went north to Winter Quarters.

Potter's Field and the Final Resting Spot of Will Brown.

Potter's Field was purchased by the City of Omaha in 1887 and it served as the final resting spot for many.  As of 1957 the city paid for burial plots in local cemeteries.  Will Brown, who was lynched in 1919 is buried here.   Over half buried here were infants with over 3000 total in the 70 years buried.

This memorial lists all those buried here.

Will Brown gravesite is to the south of the flag pole on the hlll.

Book Review: Spotlight on Native Americans: Ojibwe

 Spotlight on Native Americans: Ojibwe by Torren Ramsey, PowerKids Press, Rosen Publishing Group Inc., New York, 2016.

The Ojibwe people are on of the more numerous Native American tribes. They extended from the Northern Great Plains in Canada to the southeastern Great Lakes in the United States.  Also known as Chipewa.  Their original name meaning the people, Anishinaabeg.

Initial contact with Europeans was with French Trappers.  Through treaty more and more of their land was taken for use by White populations.  Thee treaties guaranteed the right of the Ojibwe to hunt on their native lands.  This right eroded but over time courts have restored this right.  

The Ojibwe would move with the seasons.  They would hunt and fish during the summer, and harvest maple for syrup in the spring.  Winter was a time of preparing furs for trading.  Women would garden, squash, corn and beans as well as gather.  

Louise Erdrich is Ojibwe.  She writes books.  Rebecca Belmore is a visual artist.  Ron Noganosh is a painter

Presidents of the Unitd States of America from Gerald R. Ford Birth Site

Sports Stars from Omaha High Schools in the 1960s.

 

This information is from the Great Plains Black America Museum in North Omaha.  North Omaha produced some of the best athletes in the world during the civil rights era.  Most attended either Central High School or Technical High School in Omaha.  During the 60s seven athletes graduated who went on to major accomplishments in sport.  They all lived within a couple miles of each other growing up.  

Bob Gibson considered the best Omaha athlete ever.  He is a Hall of Fame baseball player.  He pitched for the St. Louis Cardinals his entire professional career.

John Rogers also graduated from Tech High School.  He played football for University of Nebraska and won the Heisman Trophy.

The Heisman Trophy

Gale Sayers and his older brother Roger Sayers both went to Central High School.  Gale Sayers is a Hall of Fame football player.  He is known for his roll in the Brian Piccolo story as he and Piccolo roomed together when Blacks and Whites generally did not room together.  Gale Sayers made some incredible runs.  

His older brother Roger also played football at Central High School.  However he is most known for his track and field accomplishments and at one time was considered the fastest man alive.  

Ron Boone attended Technical High School and played basketball.  He did not start until his senior year.  He played junior college level for a year and then played for Idaho State in Pocatello.  He had a very good pro career in both the NBA and ABA.  He won a championship with the Utah Stars.  He last played for the Utah Jazz and is the color commentator for them now.  He set an ironman record for playing the most consecutive games.  He played 1041 consecutive games with out missing a game in his 13 year career.  

Bob Boozer attended Technical High School where he played basketball with Bob Gibson.  He played collegiately for Kansas State.  He won a gold medal with the U.S. Olympic team.  He is a collegiate Hall of Fame member, and his Olympic team is in the basketball Hall of Fame.  He won an NBA championship with the Milwaukee Bucks.  

Marlin Briscoe attended Omaha South High School.  He played running back in high school and their team won the state championship.  He played quarterback for the University of Omaha (now University of Nebraska at Omaha.). He set many records and is inducted in the collegiate football Hall of Fame.  He was selected by the Denver Broncoes of the AFL where he started at quarterback, becoming the first African American starter at quarterback.  His rookie year he threw 14 touchdown passes, and Denver record which lasted until 2024.  

Gerald R. Ford as per Birth Site Gardens in Omaha.

Gerald R. Ford was born July 14, 1913.  His birth name was Leslie Lynch King Jr.  He was born in the home of his paternal great grandparents, in Omaha.  This home burned down in 1971.  When he was 16 days old his mother took the baby and left.  The father had threatened the baby, his mother and his nurse maid with a knife.  She moved in with family in Illinois, and then Grand Rapids, Michigan where her parents lived.  She was granted custody of the baby through a divorce procedure.

A couple years later she remarried, and the baby took his step father's name, Gerald Rudolff Ford.  The adoption became official in 1935 and his name was changed to Gerald Rudolph Ford.  Gerald Ford was the 38th president of the United States.  His presidential library is in Ann Arbor, Michigan at the University of Michigan.  The presidential museum is in Grand Rapids, Michigan.  His birth site is in Omaha.

model of the birth home

This site needs another visit when the gardens will be in bloom

A pattern of bricks

Governors of Nebraska Territory and State from Gerald R. Ford Birth Site