Book Review: Nebraska and the CCC: Young Men at Their Best by Suzanne Williams

Nebraska and the CCC: Young Men at Their Best

by Suzanne Williams (978.2 Wil)

 

I helped a young man recently who was looking for information about the Prisoner of War Camps in Nebraska during the Second World War. I ran across this book (which has a section on Prisoner of War camps) and became so intrigued that I checked it out and read it. I have visited many State Parks across the country which have buildings that were built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and I realized that I knew little about the camps in my own state. This book is an excellent resource for anyone with an interest in the CCC, Nebraska history, World War II, or The Great Depression. Never has a government program done so much to help its citizens during the worst of times than when Roosevelt started the CCC making an impact on thousands of families who were starving to death during the Depression. I was moved by the stories and first-hand accounts of Nebraskans who were helped by this program and remained loyal to its memory over 50 years later. The photos and historical information are incredible and help to re-create the situations that these men faced as they helped to build dams, planted millions of trees and helped farmers wherever they could. I highly recommend this book.

 

(If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try Fighting for the Forest: How FDR’s Civilian Conservation Corps Helped Save America by P. O’Connell-Pearson, or Rightful Heritage: Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Land of America by Douglas Brinkley.)

 

( Article about Nebraska and the Civilian Conservation Corps from History Nebraska )

 

Recommended by Kim J.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Services

 

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Book Review: Wyuka Cemetery: A Driving and Walking Tour by Ed Zimmer

Wyuka Cemetery: A Driving and Walking Tour
by Ed Zimmer (978.229 Zim)

This handy little booklet was produced by Lincoln’s de facto city historian, Ed Zimmer (of the Planning Department), in 2009, as a guide to some of the more unusual, distinctive and historically noteworthy features inside Lincoln’s Wyuka Cemetery (located between “O” St. and Vine St., from approximately 36th St. to 42nd St.

As Zimmer says in his introduction, “Wyuka Cemetery was established by an act of the Nebraska Legislature in 1869, to provide a ‘Lincoln State Cemetery’ for the new state’s capital city, founded just two years before.” The cemetery has been expanded over the years, and this driving and walking tour booklet gives historical nuggets of information for more than 52 different “marked” stops within the grounds. You’ll learn about some of the interesting buildings and/or structures, including Rudge Memorial Chapel, mausoleums and receiving vaults, memorials to firefighters and 9/11, the funeral home, chapel and office, and the stables (now home to live Shakespearean performances). But the majority of this guide is information about significant gravestones and monuments scattered around the 140 acres of Wyuka’s grounds.

As we all employ “socially distancing” measures (this review is appearing during the COVID-19 pandemic), and you’re looking for something interesting to do that doesn’t involve gathering in large groups, perhaps you’ll consider checking out a copy of this handy guidebook and going on a drive or stroll through Wyuka’s tree-shaded landscaping, exploring some of Lincoln and Nebraska’s history through the marble and granite markers. You’ll find everyone from mass murderer Charles Starkweather (and some of his victims), to singer and movie star Gordon Macrae to former Governors like J.J. Exon. You can even do as visitors did over a hundred years ago — Wyuka followed the design ethics of other park-like cemeteries in the United States, encouraging families to bring picnic lunches and spend an afternoon surrounded by history. And if you’d rather not check out a library copy of this guidebook, it’s available as a free download in PDF format — load it onto your smartphone or tablet for convenience! Perfect if you're looking for a way to commemorate 2020's Memorial Day this coming Monday!

There’s a master map of the entire Wyuka layout at the back of the book, including an index to the location of 21 additional significant historical figures who are buried in Wyuka. Which, added to the 52 tour stops, gives you 73 identified landmarks to look for. Wyuka’s website has a grave locator, so if you’re searching for the location of any additional graves in the cemetery, and you have a name to search for, you may have even more luck.

[ official Wyuka Cemetery in Lincoln web site ] | [ official PDF reproduction of this booklet web site ]

See Scott C’s review of Hallowed Grounds: America’s Overseas Military Cemeteries on DVD, on BookGuide in April 2018
See Scott C’s review of A Cemetery Special on DVD, on BookGuide in April 2018

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library

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New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewer’s recommendations!

Book Review: The Spirit of Nebraska by Debra Kleve White

The Spirit of Nebraska: A History of Husker Game Day Traditions: The Tunnel Walk, Mascots, Cheer and More
by Debra Kleve White (796.332 NebYw)

A unique and unusual look back at the history of pep squads, spirit squads, cheerleading squads and the like, at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. This is a fascinating glimpse at various different eras in UNL sports history, and the traditions that have grown up around them over the decades (with a particular emphasis on the traditions and student support groups associated with the UNL football program.

Filled with both B&W and color photos, this book wanders back and forth in its specific subject matter, although it is broken into major thematic sections, such as “The Greatest Fans in College Football”, “The Beginning of Nebraska Football, School Spirit and the Ushering in of Cheerleading”, “The Secrets of the Innocents Society”, “How the Sea of Red was almost a Sea of Gold”, “No Place Like Nebraska – University Yells and Songs”, “Pride of the Cornhusker State – The Band”, “The Razzle-Dazzle of the Pompon Squads and the Scarlets Dance Team”, and “From Bugeaters to Cornhuskers and Corn Cob Man to Herbie Husker – The Lore Behind the Team Names and Mascots”.

I enjoyed this one, though the writing is a bit dry and lecturing in tone. But White, a former Yell Squad member, has an obvious passion for the history that she’s a part of. The photos are some of the most interesting parts of this hefty volume, and I definitely felt as thought I’d learned a lot of about University of Nebraska history after reading this book. As a member of the “Pride of All Nebraska” marching band in the early 80s, I would have enjoyed a little more than just seven pages dedicated to the band’s history, but the book as a lot of ground to cover.

[ official The Spirit of Nebraska web site ] | [ NET: All About Books – library director Pat Leach interviews Debra Kleve White about her book ]

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library

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New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewer’s recommendations!

Book Review: Lee Lawrie's Praire Deco [4th ed.] by Gregory Paul Harm

Lee Lawrie’s Prairie Deco [4th ed.]
by Gregory Paul Harm [725.11 Har]

This is an absolutely marvelous updated edition of Harm’s look at the art and architectural details located throughout the Nebraska State Capitol Building in downtown Lincoln. This volume includes a plethora of both B&W and color photos, examining the history of the work of Lee Oskar Lawrie (1877-1963), whom the author describes as “America’s Machine-Age Michelangelo”. Lawrie applied his passion for Art Deco design, combined with Native American and pioneer settler cultural influences, to create the majority of the architectural details that fill the state’s Capitol building. Lawrie’s work also appears in many other places, from the Rockefeller Center in New York City, to the main downtown Los Angeles Public Library, but his best-known work, especially for those of us who’ve grown up in Nebraska, is associated with the building which at times has been identified as one of the “architectural wonders of the world”. The building itself was designed by Bertram Goodhue, but Lee Lawrie’s decorative flourishes are what give it the memorable personality it has expressed for the many decades it has been with us.

The layout of Lee Lawrie’s Prairie Deco, with its many, many color photographs, offset with colorful blocks of highlighted text, is very easy on the eyes. The main B&W blocks of text flow easily, and provide for an simple, uncomplicated read.

If you have every toured the Nebraska State Capitol Building and marveled at the sculpture work, or inscriptions, I strongly encourage you to read this book. The quirky stories shared about the background of each and every piece of architectural artwork will surprise you!

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try Architectural Wonder of the World: Nebraska’s State Capitol Building (1965), by Elinor Brown, Building a Landmark: The Capitol of Nebraska (1981), by Charles F. Fowler, The Nebraska State Capitol: Restoring a Landmark (2013), by Robert C. Ripley, A Harmony of the Arts: The Nebraska State Capitol (1990), by Robert C. Luebke or The Architectural Sculpture of the State Capitol at Lincoln, NE (1926), by Charles Harris Whitaker.] [ official Nebraska State Capitol Building web site ] 

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library

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New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewer’s recommendations!

Review: Lost Omaha by Janet Daly Bednarek

Lost Omaha
by Janet Daly Bednarek [978.225 Bed]

As someone interested in Nebraska history, I thought that this book offered an interesting look at Omaha’s history. I was especially interested in the section on Peony Park having spent time there as a teenager. The book has great photos of buildings and landmarks in Omaha that are no longer there. I also enjoyed the research that went into the making of this book.

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try Historic Omaha : An Illustrated History of Omaha and Douglas County, by Bob Reilly.]

[ publisher’s official Lost Omaha web page ]

Recommended by Kim J.
Bennett Martin Public Library

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New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewer's recommendations!

Light on the Prairie by Nancy Plain

Light on the Prairie: Solomon D. Butcher, Photographer of Nebraska’s Pioneer Days
by Nancy Plain [Biography Butcher] 

If you have any interest at all in Nebraska pioneer history or the history of photography, you must take a look at this wonderful little volume. Intended for a middle-grades audience, this is just as valuable for young adults and adults in recounting the life, and what would become a large part of his life, of Nebraska homesteader Solomon Butcher. Having learned photography as a teen living in Illinois, he later joined the male members of his family who decided to go west after the Homestead Act took effect. They settled in Custer County and the rest, completely literally, is history. Butcher was a much better photographer than farmer and he decided to start documenting fellow pioneers in his own and surrounding counties at their soddies, church picnics, etc. With his camera, a wagon-mounted darkroom, and notebooks to record their stories, Butcher spent as much or more time traveling the countryside as he did at his own 160 acres. Many years into his endeavor, a devastating fire at his home destroyed his papers but not the 1,500 photo negatives he had accumulated. So, he recreated the oral narratives and resumed his project, eventually culminating in the seminal Pioneer History of Custer County. Today Butcher’s work is considered crucial to western settlement history, and his images are widely disseminated. A couple of things I found especially interesting were his shots of ranch daughters in their riding finery with their trusty steeds, and the fact that he would sometimes draw in elements such as plants or birds to make an image more representative of what he or the subject wanted to depict!

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try Prairie Settlement, Lincoln’s Early Architecture, by Ed Zimmer and Jim McKee or Mari Sandoz’ Native Nebraska, by Mari Sandoz]

[ Light on the Prairie page on the official Nancy Plain web site ]

Recommended by Becky W.C.
Walt Branch Library

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New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewers recommendations!