Browse Items (1267 total)

Issued to a drover overseeing transportation of cattle from the Omaha market to Axtell, this ticket is one of the rare documents of the turn of the 20th century railroad operations. Unlike a passenger ticket, the drover's ticket featured a list of…

“Alibi-ing Papa” is about a woman who is fed up with her husband’s nights spent away from the family and the lies he tells to cover up his nocturnal adventures. The narrative takes place in Mobile, Alabama where alibing Sam always…

This collage features a number of advertisements from Black-owned businesses in North Omaha. The collage demonstrates the variety of businesses that thrived in North Omaha in the 1950s. The advertisements include restaurants, bars, realtors, and…

This post-World War I foxtrot is about a person looking for a “sweetie” who would, “Buzz around me like a Bumble Bee”. The lyrics mention being blue and suffering sleepless nights, “Regretting the day that I was…

A man’s longing for his hometown, the city of Omaha Nebraska, inspires this post World War I blues song, printed as sheet music. The song is about his dreams of returning to Omaha after a life of roaming and his desire to settle down near his…

This pre-World War I song is about a baritone singer named William Washington Malone who, “Made them get so hot, they’d rag a new fox trot. The girls would Salome, they all would come and fetch the mo’ to hear old William Washington…

This photo shows fighter pilot Ralph Orduna in the cockpit of a training aircraft surrounded by other members of the 332 Fighter Group. Mr. Orduna’s son Philip informs us that he trained other pilots after earning his wings. Orduna was a 2nd…

This is a photo of Ralph Orduna (middle) at Martin Bomber Plant with fellow employees. Mr. Orduna went on to become a supervisor at the plant before enlisting in the US Army Air Corps. Martin Bomber Plant, which opened 1942, produced B-26 and B-29…

This photo shows Ralph Orduna receiving his wings, signifying his completion of flight school. He is pictured here with his sister, Maria, who is pinning his wings, and his father, Enrique. Orduna was part of the 301 Fighter Squadron of the 15th Air…

This photo shows Ralph Orduna being interviewed by a television journalist in Chicago at Midway Airport in 1981. Behind them is a P-51 Mustang fighter jet, the same kind of aircraft Orduna flew in combat during World War II. Mr. Orduna’s son…