The Nifty Fifty: Nebraska

Nebraska is a state in the midwestern region of the United States with the abbreviation of NE. Nebraska became the 37th state on March 1, 1867, making the state 157 years old, as of March, 2024. The name Nebraska likely came from a Sioux word meaning shallow water or broad water, but it is also said that the name came from the Otos Indians’ word meaning flat river, in reference to the Platte River. The name Nebraska was first given to the river, after which the territory and the state were named.

Nebraska is the 16th largest state and the 38th most populous; the capital of Nebraska is Lincoln and its demonym is Nebraskan. Nebraska is bordered by the states of Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming, and South Dakota.

The motto of Nebraska is Equality Before the Law.

The official nickname of Nebraska is the Cornhusker State, which was derived from the nickname for the University of Nebraska: the Cornhuskers. From 1895 to 1945, Nebraska’s official nickname was the Tree Planter’s State, referring to the millions of trees that were planted by early the settlers of Nebraska as windbreaks, woodlots, and orchards.

The landscape of Nebraska ranges from the Nebraska Sandhills to the Loess Canyons, from plateaus to the Platte River Valley, and from salt marshes to the Wildcat Hills. Nebraska is also one of the few states to have badlands.

Nebraska is known for agriculture, its pioneer history, Chimney Rock, the Pony Express Trail, and the Great Plains. Nebraska’s land contains many rare and unique metals, such as copper, silver, titanium, niobium, and scandium.

On March 3, 1899, Alfred Gruenther was born in Platte Center, Nebraska, of a school teacher and a newspaper editor. Gruenther attended St. Thomas Academy in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and in 1917, he entered the United States Military Academy at West Point; on November 1, 1918, Gruenther graduated early due to the war with the rank of fourth in a class of 277. After graduating, Gruenther was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the Field Artillery during World War I, but shortly after, Armistice Day occurred and he was recalled to West Point to complete his training, graduating a second time in June of 1919. In October of 1941, Gruenther was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel under Lieutenant General Walter Krueger, headquartered in San Antonio, Texas; Gruenther’s immediate commanding officer was Dwight D. Eisenhower. Gruenther was an advisor to top generals in World War II, and by 1943, he was promoted to Major General; Gruenther was even the principle planner of the allied invasions of North Africa and Italy. In 1951, Gruenther was promoted to Four-Star General. From the year 1951 to the year 1956, Gruenther held many titles including Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) and Supreme Allied Commander, Europe/Commander in Chief, US European Command (SACEUR/USCINCEUR). Gruenther retired from the Army in 1956, after which he had been considered by some as a potential presidential and vice presidential candidate. From 1957 to 1964, Gruenther served as the President of the American Red Cross, and as head of the Red Cross, Gruenther personally visited and inspected disaster areas across the United States. In 1983, Gruenther succumbed to complications of pneumonia at Walter Reed Army Hospital; he is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

In 1903, two cousins founded the Cushman Motor Works company in Lincoln, Nebraska, when they started building farm machinery and two-cycle boat engines. In the 1940s, the company gained a lot of recognition after producing one of its most famous products: the Cushman Model 53 Airborne Scooter. The scooter was designed during World War II to be parachuted along with airborne troops to increase their mobility and allow them to establish communication between units.

Following the defeat of General George Custer in Montana, many American Indians were emboldened to move across America’s western states and territories and attack US troops. On July 17, 1876, Colonel Wesley Merritt learned about the presence of Cheyenne warriors in Nebraska; guided by Buffalo Bill Cody, Merritt managed to intercept the Cheyenne in what is now Sioux County, Nebraska. Merritt concealed the majority of his 350 troops in covered wagons, and when his seemingly unescorted wagon train was discovered by the Cheyenne, six warriors charged at the wagon train, only to cause the trap to be sprung, resulting in the wounding of several warriors. Meanwhile, Buffalo Bill was in a sort of duel with a Cheyenne chief named Yellow Hair, which concluded when Buffalo Bill killed Yellow Hair with his Winchester carbine. The main group of Cheyenne attempted to rescue the six warriors that fell into the trap, but when they saw the true strength of the US troops, they quickly fled, causing the battle to result in an American victory. Not a single US soldier was wounded or killed during this battle, which would be known as the Battle of Warbonnet Creek.

An interesting fact about Nebraska is that the state is home to the United States’ largest aquifer: the Ogallala Aquifer. Technically, the Ogallala Aquifer is so large that it not only lies beneath the majority of Nebraska, but this subterranean reservoir also spans across the states of South Dakota, Wyoming, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Texas. The total surface area of the Ogallala Aquifer is about 174,000 square miles, which is about 1.8 times the combined surface area of the Great Lakes; roughly 37% of the aquifer’s surface area is located in Nebraska, covering 82% of Nebraska’s total surface area. Despite the fact that Nebraska only possesses 37% of the Ogallala Aquifer’s surface area, the state possesses 70% of the water contained in the aquifer!

A strange fact about Nebraska is that it is apparently illegal to belch or sneeze during a church service in the city of Omaha. I’m not exactly sure why someone thought it was reasonable to outlaw bodily functions that are mostly involuntary, but my guess is that someone was being disruptive in a very immature way at one point in time.

What fact about Nebraska most interests you?