Nebraska Trivia & Tidbits - Page 4

Looking for Nebraska trivia? Try our list Nebraska little know facts, tidbits and trivia.

—Madaline Fennell, a sixth-grade teacher at Franklin Elementary School in Omaha, was named the 2007 Nebraska Teacher of the Year by the Nebraska Department of Education.

first appeared: 4/22/2007

—“Pitchfork steak” is a specialty of Calamus Outfitters on the Switzer Ranch near Burwell (pop. 1,130). The steak is cooked in a vat of boiling oil to seal in the flavor of the beef.

first appeared: 4/8/2007

—Bedient Pipe Organ Co. in Lincoln designs and builds pipe organs for churches, universities and residences across America. Gene Bedient, a native of Hemingford (pop. 993) and University of Nebraska graduate, founded the company in 1969.

first appeared: 3/25/2007

—Since 1988, the Fremont Dinner Train has treated passengers to 1940s-era refurbished dining cars on travels between Fremont (pop. 25,174) and Hooper (pop. 827) on tracks owned by the Fremont and Elkhorn Valley Railroad. Other entertainment includes melodramas, murder mysteries, movies and holiday runs.

first appeared: 3/11/2007

—Yvonne Dalluge of Pawnee City (pop. 1,033) received the 2006 Henry Fonda Award, the state’s highest tourism award, for leadership, vision and dedication to state tourism. She began Civil War Reenactment Historical Days in Pawnee City and spearheaded the restoration of silent film star Harold Lloyd’s home in Burchard (pop. 103).

first appeared: 2/27/2007

—Freedom Park near Omaha salutes U.S. Navy veterans from World War II through the present and is the permanent port to the USS Marlin and the USS Hazard, where the submarine and minesweeper are displayed.

first appeared: 2/11/2007

—One of the nation’s best-known manufacturers of windsocks is Huffy’s Airport Windsocks Inc., in Spencer (pop. 541). Customers include airports, hospitals with helicopter landing pads, harbors and oil rigs. The company has been in business since 1985.

first appeared: 1/28/2007

Built in 1928 by local businessmen, the Arrow Hotel in Broken Bow (pop. 3,491) remains an important local gathering spot. The elegant renovated hotel, with its pub and cigar room, offers a taste of the Old West.

first appeared: 1/14/2007

—A larger-than-life statue of Meriwether Lewis’ pet dog, Seaman, stands watch over the Missouri River at Fort Mandan in Washburn (pop. 1,389). The Newfoundland dog accompanied the 1804-1806 Lewis and Clark Expedition.

first appeared: 12/17/2006

—Built in 1856, the Old Presbyterian Church in Bellevue (pop. 44,382) is one of the state’s oldest churches and boasts stained-glass windows and original oak pews. NORTH

first appeared: 12/17/2006

—The Haymarket Farmers Market in Lincoln is the largest outdoor farmers market in the state. It blossoms to nearly 200 vendors during the peak season, from mid-June to mid-August.

first appeared: 12/3/2006

—Rock-paper-scissors may be child’s play, but you have to hand it to David McGill, 30, of Omaha, who played and won $50,000 in the USA Rock Paper Scissors Championship in April in Las Vegas.

first appeared: 11/19/2006

—In 1932, Weaver’s potato chips were cooked in kettles on the stove in Ed and Phyllis Weaver’s kitchen in Lincoln. They first named their snack “Weaver Brownie Vitamin Chips” and then “Weaver Potato Wafers.”

first appeared: 11/5/2006

—Elizabeth Robb Douglas invented the collapsible voting booth in 1905 before women even had the right to vote. Her invention led to the formation of Douglas Manufacturing Co. in Crete (pop. 6,028), which keeps elections running smoothly.

first appeared: 10/22/2006

—Rowe Sanctuary in Gibbon (pop. 1,759) offers guided trips in March and April to view the world’s largest gathering of sandhill cranes. More than 500,000 of the gangly birds stop to feed and rest along the Platte River on their northbound migration.

first appeared: 10/8/2006

Founded in 1890 by Joseph Steiner, Deshler (pop. 879) Broom Co. swept away the competition and became the world’s largest broom factory during its heyday in the 1930s and 1940s. The factory closed in 1998 after 108 years.

first appeared: 9/24/2006

With help from a Hollywood friend, theater lovers saved the Midwest Theater in Scottsbluff (pop. 14,732) from the wrecking ball in 2002. One fund-raiser involved award-winning director and screenwriter Alexander Payne, an Omaha native whose volunteer efforts helped raise $20,000 at the Midwest Film Festival. Payne directed the 2004 movie Sideways. The 1946 modernistic theater now hosts movies, concerts, plays and community events.

first appeared: 9/10/2006

In 1929, the McCook Daily Gazette in McCook (pop. 7,994) became the nation's first daily newspaper regularly delivered by airplane. A plane, dubbed "the Newsboy," dropped newspaper bundles in area towns.

first appeared: 8/27/2006

In 1946, Violet Lee Gradwohl of Lincoln introduced the Terri Lee Doll, named after her daughter, and sold 8,000 that year in the Montgomery Ward Christmas catalog. Terri Lee's wardrobe eventually included 500 outfits and accessories.

first appeared: 8/13/2006

The state's commemorative quarter was released in April and depicts a pioneer family traveling by covered wagon. In the background is Chimney Rock, near Bayard (pop. 1,247), rising from the valley of the North Platte River.

first appeared: 7/30/2006

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