September/October 2016 Omaha Magazine

Umonhon i-ye Waxe ama Wabaxu shee i de ugaxe

Thi se Kontha

Umonika Saton Tabe Shkade Thi ge Aygon Tonga Wagathe Wai

347 Steven Rd., Council Bluffs, IA

$699,000

A unique home located in the city on 3.35 acres.

Extensive landscaping and nature trails in the woods.

The 4 bedroom home features an indoor pool, sunken living room with fireplace, a dark room, circular stairway, and main floor laundry.

Scott Wells and Jason Anderson • 712.328.5008

5410 S 180 St., Omaha, NE

$650,000

Gorgeous 4 bedroom, 4 bathroom home with over 3,400 sq ft. on 2.73 acres.

Gene Riehart • 402.490.5233

6996 Cty Rd. 32, Ft. Calhoun, NE

$675,000

Bring your horses! Meticulously cared for home with 7,000+ FSF, 5 BR & 3 BA. Spectacular eat- in kitchen.

Luxurious master suite with deck. 92x114 ft horse barn & multi-purpose bldg was used for indoor riding arena; zoned commercial. Outdoor arena.

Your Home Team • 402.426.5619

980 W S-1179 Cty Rd., Fremont, NE

$585,000

Remarkable Barrington Park 2 Story home!

Meticulously cared for by original owners. Spacious kitchen, convenient drop zone area, main floor laundry with abundant amount of storage. Master suite with heated tile bath floors. Amazing finished lower level.

$635,000

You will not believe this totally remodeled lake house.

Heated floors, Alder cabinets, wine fridge, high end kitchen appliances, remote control blinds, prep sink, hot tub, heated and cooled garage, steel siding. Come live in paradise.

The Rensch Group • 402.391.5333

1607 S. 79 St., Omaha, NE

$575,000

One of a kind built by real craftsman! Kitchen w/newer 5 burner gas stove. Huge new deck w/ gazebo over looking private treed backyard. Newly finished basement with theater room. Fruit trees include cherries, peach, plum, asian & bartlett pears, blueberries & raspberries.

Pat Hoppe • 402.690.3533

$565,000

Westside schools 1 1/2 story! Spacious home w/5 bedrooms, 4 baths, 2 car w/large drive. Vaulted ceilings, Large kitchen overlooking amazingly beautiful patio.

Master suite, main floor laundry. Basement rec room and workroom w/so many possibilities.

Lynnette Flott-Puls • 402.680.1476

13903 S 36th St., Bellevue, NE

17235 Douglas St., Omaha, NE

$665,000

Lake home at Bluewater! This 1.5 Story home has one of the best views of nearly 250 acre lake. Step off the lake and into the gourmet kitchen. 3 large bedrooms on main floor. Oversized bonus room upstairs makes for a great kid’s bunk room!

The Rensch Group • 402.391.5333

Susan Hancock • 402.215.7700

16230 California St., Omaha

28913 Mary St., Valley, NE

23521 Old Lincoln Hwy, Crescent, IA

$595,000

Custom Home! Energy efficient! Geothermal heating and cooling system. Over 5,200 square feet. Large pond and dock. Open floor plan with 5 bedrooms and two master suites. A must to see!

Patti Wiggins • 402.707.8066

2852 County 21 Rd., Bennington, NE

$575,000

A mazing 4 bed, 3 bath, with full walk-out basement , in-ground heated pool & detached 3 0 X 4 8 heated garage, all on 10 acres ! Chef ’s kitchen, separate dining area from the kitchen, break fas t bar & enclosed sunroom. 2-10 Warrant y.

Bob Pew • 402.578.6054

$559,000

Custom built ranch by Archistructure. 9, 10, 11 foot ceilings with interesting detail throughout. Master suite with double walk-in closets. Oversized deck backs to 11th fair way /green of Pacific Springs. Huge workshop with outside access.

Kraemer & Associates Group • 402.689.2233

29471 Dobney Ave., Silver City, IA

$541,000

Rural living at it’s finest! Spacious home, large walk out upper and lower decks, beautiful sunsets, wildlife, separate apartment with private entrance via 3 car garage. All appliances stay in apartment and house.

27.43 acres. New roof, AC, water heater.

Cindy Carnes • 402.681.9210

V I R T U A L TO U R S A N D M O R E AT NPDODGE.COM

SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2016

Omaha Language

Revitalization

5 Years Without Wrestling or Football at UNO The Big Give

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Sounds like a win-win, doesn’t it?

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observe many species of hawks, owls, falcons, and more in a unique outdoor environment at our brand new Raptor Wildlife Refuge at Fontenelle Forest.

Push pause on the texting, clicking, sharing, and streaming, just for a moment, and come out to the forest. Move your feet, breathe in the fresh air, explore.

And watch what happens.

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It’s the month of spooky fun!

Kids can enjoy this not-so-scary haunted house throughout the month of October.

We revisited everyone s favorite exhibits from the past 40 years to bring back the best parts it s going to be the most fun exhibit yet!

OPENS Oct. 15, 2016

Fall 2016 ColleCtion available at in Missy, Petite, and Women’s sizes W e st r oa ds M a ll Omaha 402.390.0381 m i n g wa n g k n i t s .c om

SEPTEMBER

// OCTOBER • 2016 / 6 / OMAHAMAGAZINE.COM

FITNESS ADVICE YOU CAN FOLLOW. Fitness and Nutrition tips, recipes, videos and more!

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contents 66

MARISA MIAKONDA CUMMINGS

Speaking to the Future, Honoring the Past

Marisa Miakonda Cummings stands with her youngest daughter and grandmother.

THE USUAL SUSPECTS 10

From the Editor

12

Between the Lines

13

Calendar of Events

50

History Streetcar Riots of 1909

185 Obviously Omaha Oktoberfest

204 Adventure

Mayhew Cabin

209 Explore Calendar 212 Instagram 214 Not Funny

A Hole Truth

ARTS + CULTURE

FEATURES

52 58 62

THE LAST NUNS OF DUCHESNE

22

Music Anna McClellan

26

Fashion Tokyo Stylez

30

Visual Dan Crane

34

Performance FreakWorks Entertainment

36

Film Stephanie Kurtzuba

Sister Lucy and Sister JoEllen Retire

THE SILO CRUSHER

GLENNA SLATER

How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love Trev Alberts

PEOPLE 40

Gen O Collin Kauth-Fisher

44 Faces

Revitalizing Omaha’s Ancestral Language

SEPTEMBER

Clay Lidgett

46

// OCTOBER • 2016 / 8 / OMAHAMAGAZINE.COM

Sports Isiah Gandy

GIVING 68

Aksarben Coronation & Scholarship Ball

70

Giving Calendar

73

The Big Give

OMAHA HOME H125 From the Editor

60PLUS IN OMAHA 171 From the Editor 172 Active Living

A Little Black Berry Farm

Lee Polikov Johnny Rodgers

H132 Architectural Styles

182 Nostalgia

H138 At Home

The Ortons

3 Page 2

178 Faces

180 Feature

Embellishing the Truth

Watch videos, and view photo galleries of select editorial from Omaha Magazine.

174 Faces

H126 Spaces

The Winning Fan Cave

Expanded Content On Your Digital Device

H144

A Lesson in Lifelong Learning

Czech, Please

FOOD e 62 Pag

H144 Feature

186 Chef Profile

H154 Neighborhoods

188 Mystery Review

H156 Harvest

191 Dining Guide

Ken Stoysich

Midcentury Wonder

OJ’s Cafe

Sheelytown

Foraging and Fermenting Wild American Grapes

H158 Feature

Zanottis’ Backyard Escape

H164 Transformations

Clean, Classic, Yet Contemporary Design

1 Download the App OJ’s cottage cheese enchilada

Browse the Apple App Store or shop Google Play for the LayAR app.

2 Look for the icon

You’ll see the ‘ar’ icon on pages with expanded content.

3 Scan the page

188

After loading the LayAR app on your digital device, hold your phone/tablet over the entire page to load content.

SEPTEMBER

// OCTOBER • 2016 / 9 / BESTOFOMAHA.COM

Letter

FROM THE EDITOR EXECUTIVE EDITOR DOUG MEIGS

THE UMONHON LANGUAGE IS “CRITICALLY ENDANGERED” ACCORDING TO UNESCO. BY SOME ACCOUNTS, FEWER THAN 12 FLUENT SPEAKERS OF OMAHA REMAIN ALIVE TODAY. HE CITY OF Omaha takes

Before the magazine went to press, Dr. Rudi Mitchell (former chairman of the Omaha Tribe) and John Pappan stopped by the Omaha Magazine office to discuss their efforts to establish the Big Elk Native American Center in Omaha. The center will be named after Omaha chief Big Elk, Mitchell’s great-greatgreat-grandfather. They hope it will foster a welcoming space for Native Omaha people in the city of Omaha.

The Umoⁿhoⁿ language is “critically endangered” according to UNESCO. By some accounts, fewer than 12 fluent speakers of Omaha remain alive today.

The statistics are grim, but the reality on the ground is inspirational. Generations of active listeners who understand the language, and those with varying degrees of fluency, are working with elders to revitalize their ancestral tongue.

Tribes across the U.S. are struggling to save their indigenous languages, a legacy of cultural genocide and federal programs to systematically acculturate Native youth. To help explain how attitudes toward indigenous language have changed across the U.S., Charles Trimble has contributed a special online exclusive to Omaha Magazine.

T

its names from a tribe—the Omaha Tribe. When “Omaha” is spoken in the tribe’s language, the word sounds slightly different, Umoⁿhoⁿ. In the Native language, Umoⁿhoⁿ translates to “upstream” or “against the current.”

Omaha Magazine celebrates the dedication of Umoⁿhoⁿ educators and cultural stewards who continue to stand strong against the current of cultural hegemony. In a tribute to the Umoⁿhoⁿ people—the namesake of our city and magazine—designer Matt Wieczorek has rebranded our logo to reflect an indigenous pronunciation of Omaha. Meanwhile, tribal elder Glenna Slater translated our cover text.

Inside the issue, we feature the story of Slater (page 62). Her first language was Omaha. Now in her 70s, she continues to teach Umoⁿhoⁿ. We also feature the story of Marisa Miakonda Cummings (page 66). Cummings is part of a younger generation dedicated to revitalizing Umoⁿhoⁿ so that her children and grandchildren may continue to pray in their native language.

Slater and Cummings’ stories are personal reflections on the language. Additional sidebar information broadens the picture of the community-wide commitment, but many other Omaha cultural initiatives ongoing across Nebraska are excluded due to space and deadline constraints.

Trimble—a prominent leader, thinker, and journalist from of the Oglala Sioux Tribe—resides in Omaha and has watched nationwide attitudes toward indigenous language shift dramatically since his directorship of the National Congress of American Indians during the 1970s.

UNESCO estimates that without action, roughly half of the 6,000-plus languages spoken today will disappear by the end of the century. The loss is not just for indigenous groups, but for all humanity. Cultural, historical, and environmental wisdom is embedded in the way we talk. Yet UNESCO also notes that language loss “is neither inevitable nor irreversible.”

There is hope.

HOW DO YOU SAY “OMAHA” IN THE UMONHONⁿ LANGUAGE? The first vowel/syllable is pronounced like the U-sound in “ food.” The second and third syllables are pronounced like the vowel in “lawn” without the N-sound. The superscript “n” signals that the second and third syllables should be nasalized (or spoken through the nose).

SEPTEMBER // OCTOBER • 2016 / 10 / OMAHAMAGAZINE.COM

It’s later thanExtended usual Now Serving Hours at the Evenings Monday-Saturday Flatiron Cafe...

SEPTEMBER // OCTOBER 2016 VOLUME 33 // ISSUE 4 Publisher

TODD LEMKE

EDITORIAL Executive Editor

DOUG MEIGS

Associate Editor

DAISY HUTZELL-RODMAN Editorial Assistants

JARED KENNEDY · ALEC MCMULLEN · MICHAEL NICHOLS Editorial Intern

LUKE BULLER · TALEISHA NEWBILL · LINDSAY WILSON

Introducing our

Contributing Writers

LEO ADAM BIGA · CHELSEA BALZER · TAMSEN BUTLER MARISSA MIAKONDA CUMMINGS · ANTHONY FLOTT GREG JERRETT · TIM KALDAHL CAROL CRISSEY NIGRELLI · NIZ PROSKOCIL OTIS TWELVE · SEAN ROBINSON · JESSI THOMSEN MAX SPARBER · JAMES VNUK · MICHAEL WATKINS

‘After 9 Menu’

ourEvenings ThursdayIntroducing – Saturday

‘After 9 Menu’

CREATIVE

Starting September 11, 2015 Thursday – Saturday Evenings

Creative Director

BILL SITZMANN

Starting September 11, 2015

Art Director

ntic Restaura ma nt Ro

KRISTEN HOFFMAN Senior Graphic Designer

RACHEL JOY

402.344.3040 17th and Howard thef latironcafe.com 402.344.3040 | | 17th and Howard Two Blocks from the Orpheum Theater

Graphic Designer

MATTHEW WIECZOREK

2016 Winner KETV 7 • Baxter Arena

402.344.3040 | 17th Howard TwoOrpheum Blocks from the Orpheum Theater Two and Blocks from-the Theater

Contributing Photography

KEITH BINDER · SCOTT DRICKEY SARAH LEMKE · LAURIE AND CHARLES PHOTOGRAPHS

ACCOUNTS

S I M P LY D I S T I N C T I V E

Publisher’s Assistant & Omaha Home Contributing Editor

SANDY MATSON Vice President

GREG BRUNS

Ann Taylor | Anthropologie | Borsheims | Christian Nobel Furs | Evereve | Francesca’s Collections Garbo’s Salon & Spa | Learning Express Toys | LOFT | Parsow’s Fashions | Pottery Barn | Pottery Barn Kids Rhylan Lang | Tilly | White House|Black Market | Williams-Sonoma

Executive Vice President Sales & Marketing

DINING: Bonefish Grill | Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar | Paradise Bakery & Cafe

GIL COHEN

Senior Sales Executive & 60Plus in Omaha Contributing Editor

GWEN LEMKE

Branding Specialists

KYLE FISHER · GEORGE IDELMAN MARY HIATT · JOSHUA PETERSON Sales Associates

JESSICA CULLINANE · DAWN DENNIS ALICIA SMITH HOLLINS · JUSTIN IDELMAN

OPERATIONS Vice President of Operations

TYLER LEMKE Accountant

HOLLEY GARCIA-CRUZ Distribution Manager

MIKE BREWER

Events/Public Relations Intern

ALESHA OLSON

For Advertising & Subscription Information:

402.884.2000

All versions of Omaha Magazine are published bimonthly by Omaha Magazine, LTD, P.O. Box 461208, Omaha NE 68046-1208. Telephone: 402-884-2000; fax: 402-884-2001. Subscription rates: $19.95 for 6 issues (one year), $24.95 for 12 issues (two years). No whole or part of the contents herein may be reproduced without prior written permission of Omaha Magazine, excepting individually copyrighted articles and photographs. Unsolicited manuscripts are accepted, however no responsibility will be assumed for such solicitations. Best of Omaha®™ is a registered tradename of Omaha Magazine.

SEPTEMBER

Mon-Fri 10am-8pm | Sat 10am-7pm | Sun 12pm-5pm 120 Regency Parkway | Omaha, Nebraska | regencycourtomaha.com

// OCTOBER • 2016 / 11 / BESTOFOMAHA.COM

Between A LOOK AT THREE OMAHA MAGAZINE TEAM MEMBERS

TALEISHA NEWBILL - Editorial Intern Concert enthusiast Taleisha Newbill has an infatuation with music that is almost disturbing. A sucker for `90s black sitcoms and Netflix documentaries, her musical and artistic taste sprawls across the graffiti board. When she’s not eyeballing Tumblr, she is secretly stalking her favorite musicians like, *coughs*, Tyler, The Creator, and is low-key trying to sneak in the BeeHive so she can be besties with the Queen B and sister Solange. Newbill, a self-proclaimed “Afro-Bohemian,” is a senior at the University of Nebraska at Omaha with a major in journalism. With her fingers crossed on crossing that alumni line in spring of 2017, she distracts herself by increasing her vinyl collection and watching natural hair videos on YouTube.

MICHAEL NICHOLS - Editorial Assistant Michael Nichols is a Nebraska transplant from South Dakota.

He feels right at home in Omaha, halfway between his hometown of Sioux Falls and his wife’s hometown of Grand Island. Michael recently completed a master’s degree with the University of Nebraska at Omaha’s Department of English, where he taught English composition and worked in the UNO Writing Center. His literary interests are biblical in origin.

With an undergraduate degree in theology, Nichols has plans to resume his religious studies when he enters seminary. He initially joined the magazine as a summer intern. After finishing the internship, he has continued to contribute as an editorial assistant.

NIZ PROSKOCIL - Freelance Writer Born in Thailand and raised in Nebraska, Proskocil got bit by the travel bug early in life. Her job as regional editions editor and travel writer for AAA Home & Away magazine allows her to combine her love of writing with her passion for exploring the world. She has visited ancient temples in Japan, sailed Europe’s Danube River, and survived a trip to Disneyland.

Proskocil holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Nebraska at Omaha and spent a decade as a newspaper reporter at the Omaha World-Herald. She enjoys vegging out to Law & Order: SVU, doting over her dog, and daydreaming about her next adventure.

SEPTEMBER // OCTOBER • 2016 / 12 / BESTOFOMAHA.COM

JOIN TODAY!

GirlScoutsNebraska.org

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GROUP EXHIBITION, CURATED BY ALEX PRIEST Sept. 2-Oct. 28 at Fred Simon Gallery, 1004 Farnam St. Omaha artist Alex Priest curates a show with art by Dawn Smith, Norm Melichar, and Sarah Jones. 402-595-2122 -artscouncil.nebraska.gov

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EVENTS

AMERICAN SPIRITS: THE RISE AND FALL OF PROHIBITION Sept. 24-Jan. 29 at Durham Museum, 801 S. 10th St. Learn all sides of the story of prohibition. There will be more than 100 artifacts on display. Local exhibits running in conjunction with this are: “Homebrew: A Spirited History of Omaha,” and “YMCA of Greater Omaha,” both open Oct. 8-Jan. 29, 2017. AdmisOct. sion: $11 adults, $8 seniors, $7 children ages 3-12, free to ages 2 and under. 402-444-5071 -durhammuseum.org

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COBWEB CASTLE Oct.1-31 at Omaha Children’s Museum, 500 S. 20th St. This not-so-scary haunted house includes a spooky graveyard, neon nook, noodle forest, and a witch’s hut. Admission: $12 adults and children, $11 seniors, free to children under age 2. 402-342-6164 - ocm.org

years in Omaha. Admission is $11 adults, $8 seniors, $7 children ages 3-12, free to ages 2 and under. 402-444-5071 -durhammuseum.org

ART AND MUSEUM EXHIBITS

PIRATES AND MERMAIDS: VOYAGE TO CREATURE COVE Through Sept. 5 at Omaha Children’s Museum, 500 S. 20th St. This is the last weekend for the summer exhibit. Young pirates and mermaids can take in a variety of activities. Admission: $12 adults and children, $11 seniors, free to children under age 2. 402-342-6164 -ocm.org

STEAMBOATS OF THE MISSOURI Through Sept. 11 at Durham Museum, 801 S. 10th St. This exhibition displays memorabilia from a century of steamboats on the Missouri River. Admission: $11 adults, $8 seniors, $7 children ages Sept.

3-12, free to ages 2 and under. 402-444-5071 -durhammuseum.org

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TIME + SPACE: FUTURES Through Sept. 17 at the Bemis Center, 724 S. 12th St. Celebrating the organization’s 35 years of supporting artists-in-residence from around the world, “Time + Space” is a showcase of artwork by generations of past resident artists. Also running is “Nebraska Rising,” featuring 11 local artists responding to local and international breaking news. Free. 402-341-7130 -bemiscenter.org

PRESERVATION IN THE ARCHIVE Through Jan. 1 at Durham Museum, 801 S. 10th St. This exhibit is an archive of photographic history of 40

THE KING IS DEAD! THE REGICIDE OF CHARLES I

Through Jan. 8 at Durham Museum, 801 S. 10th St. This exhibit shows the rise and fall of England’s King Charles I and his kingdom. Running in conjunction with this exhibit is “War, Wealth and Stable Repairs.” Admission: $11 adults, $8 seniors, $7 children ages 3-12, free to ages 2 and under. 402-444-5071 -durhammuseum.org

HOW THE APOLLON SHOWED SEUSS Sept. 1-4 at Apollon, 1801 Vinton St. This show features themed art, food, and performance, including Dr. Seuss’ orginal artwork. 7:30pm. Admission: $35 for the general public, $25 for students and TAG members. Price includes meal. 402-884-0135 -apollonomaha.com

SEPTEMBER

HAYV KAHRAMAN Oct. 8-Jan. 8 at Joslyn Art Museum, 2200 Dodge St. Kahraman is a multi-talented artist who uses Renaissance painting, Japanese woodblock prints, and Persian miniatures in her works. Free. 402-342-3300 -joslyn.org

DIRT MERIDIAN: PHOTOGRAPHS BY ANDREW MOORE Oct. 9-Jan. 8 at Joslyn Art Museum, 2200 Dodge St. This special exhibition features images of the 100th meridian from North Dakota to Texas. Tickets: $10 adults, free to children ages 17 and under, college students with valid ID, and Joslyn members. 402-342-3300 -joslyn.org

// OCTOBER • 2016 / 13 / BESTOFOMAHA.COM

OMAHA MAGAZINE

CALENDAR

FREAK SHOW

OPERA OUTDOORS

Oct. 14-29 at Apollon, 1801 Vinton St. A reprise of a popular show performed a few years ago, the space will be turned into a circus. More information is available on venue website. 402-884-0135 -apollonomaha.com

Sept. 9 at Midtown Crossing at Turner Park, Sept. 24 at the Slowdown, 729 N. 14th St. Canadian electronic pop duo Jeremy Greenspan and Matt 220 S. 31st Ave. Opera Omaha presents this Didemushas are critically acclaimed. 8pm. Tickets: family-friendly concert. The event includes $16 in advance, $18 day of show. 402-345-7569 a 6:30pm pre-show, and the main concert -theslowdown.com Sept. begins at 7:30pm. Free. 402-346-7372 -operaomaha.org

IMAGINATION: CELEBRATING 40 YEARS OF PLAY Oct. 15-April 16 at Omaha Children’s Museum, 500 S. 20th St. This interactive exhibit is inspired by the museum’s four-decade-long history. Admission: $12 children and adults, $11 seniors, free to children under 2. 402-342-6164 -ocm.org

JUNIOR BOYS W/ EGYPTRIXX

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THE PIANO GUYS

S e pt . 21 a t O r ph e u m T h e a t e r, 409 S . 16th St . This quad from Utah became popular musicians through YouTube.

7:30pm. Tickets: $45-$120. 402-661-8501 -ticketomaha.com

CONCERTS

Sept. 26 at Sumtur Amphitheater, 11691 S. 108th St. Blue-eyed soul performer Gavin DeGraw and pop sensation Andy Grammer will bring their East Coast vibes to Omaha. 7pm. Tickets: $34-$75. 402-597-2041 -sumtur.org

AGENT ORANGE W/ COUNTERPUNCH

THE MOUNTAIN GOATS

Sept. 21 at the Waiting Room, 6212 Maple St. The first to mix California surf rock with punk, Agent Orange is known for always being independent. 8pm.

Tickets: $15. 402-884-5353 -waitingroomlounge.com

COREY SMITH W/ LUKE COMBS

JIMMY BUFFETT & THE CORAL REEFER BAND Sept. 1 at CenturyLink Center, 455 N. 10th St. Jimmy Buffett’s “I Don’t Know” Tour stops in Omaha for one night only. 8pm. Tickets: $36-$136. 402-341-1500 -centurylinkcenteromaha.com

BOOMER 1490 PRESENTS: THE HAPPY TOGETHER TOUR Sept. 3 at Ralston Arena, 7300 Q St. This classic reunion includes Chuck Negron from Three Dog Night, Mark Lindsay from Paul Revere & the Raiders, The Cowsills, and more. 7pm. Tickets: $30-$100. 402-934-9966 -ralstonarena.com

Sept. 21 at the Slowdown, 729 N. 14th St. After pursuing music fulltime at age 28, country musician Corey Smith has created 13 albums within a span of 10 years.

8pm. Tickets: $18-$30. 402-345-7569 -theslowdown.com

OMAHA SYMPHONY: BEETHOVEN’S SEVENTH SYMPHONY

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Sept. 23-24 at Holland Performing Arts Center, 1200 Douglas St. The Seventh Symphony will be a rollercoaster of energy and emotions, conducted by Thomas Wilkins. 7:30pm. Tickets: $19-$79. 402-345-0606 -ticketomaha.com

Oct. 1 at Holland Performing Arts Center, 1200 Douglas St. One of the most wellknown rock bands of the `70s will be the spotlight of this tribute show by the Omaha Symphony. 7:30pm. Tickets: $19-$79. 402-345-0606 -ticketomaha.com

CRYWOLF Oct. 2 at the Slowdown, 729 N. 14th St. Oneman band Justin Taylor Phillips has over 100 million total plays across online streaming music platforms. 8pm. Tickets: $13 in advance, $15 day of show. 402-345-7569 -theslowdown.com

MEGADETH WITH AMON AMAR. Oct. 3 at Mid-America Center, One Arena Way Global metal pioneers promise a night of fun and head banging. 712-323-0536 -ticketmaster.com

ELVIS COSTELLO

DEF LEPPARD Oct. 4 at CenturyLink Center, 455 N. 10th St. This popular hair band is known for their high-energy songs. 7pm. Tickets: $29.50-$99.50. 402-341-1500 -centurylinkcenteromaha.com

BLIND PILOT

Sept. 9 at the Slowdown, 729 N. 14th St. Initially a member of Hüsker Dü, Bob Mould started a solo career after the band broke up. 8pm. Tickets: $22.50 in advance, $25 day of show, $35 balcony, $35 reserved pitside east/west. 402-345-7569 -theslowdown.com

OMAHA SYMPHONY: THE BEST OF THE EAGLES

Oct. 4 at Holland Performing Arts Center, 1200 Douglas St. Costello is coming back to the stage with his “Detour” tour following the publication of his bestselling 2015 memoir, Unfaithful Music & Disappearing Ink. 7pm. Tickets: $45-$120. 402-345-0606 -ticketomaha.com

Sept. 5 at Sumtur Amphitheater, 11691 S. 108th St. Indie rock multi-instrumentalist Andrew Bird will bring his violin and perhaps his guitar and other instruments.

7:30pm. Tickets: $35 in advance, $40 day of show for general admission, $45 for reserved seats. 402-597-2041 -sumtur.org

BOB MOULD W/ FURY THINGS

Sept. 30 at the Waiting Room, 6212 Maple St. John Darnielle, Peter Hughes, and Jon Wurster were known for their lo-fi home recordings but grew into a modern approach to indie folk. 9pm. Tickets: $25. 402-884-5353 -waitingroomlounge.com

Oct.

ANDREW BIRD W/ GABRIEL KAHANE

Sept. 8 at the Waiting Room, 6212 Maple St. The six-piece ensemble from Portland was featured in NPR’s “Best Music of 2008” roundup. 8pm. Tickets: $16. 402-884-5353 -waitingroomlounge.com

GAVIN DEGRAW & ANDY GRAMMER LIVE IN CONCERT

SKILLET W/ THOUSAND FOOT CRUTCH & DEVOUR THE DAY Sept. 24 at Sokol Auditorium, 2234 S. 13th St. These two-time Grammy nominees have a reputation for putting Christian rock on the map. 8pm. Tickets: $31.50 in advance, $33 day of show. 402-346-9802 -sokolunderground.com

SEPTEMBER

ATMOSPHERE W/ BROTHER ALI, DEM ATLAS, PLAIN OLE BILL, & LAST WORD Oct. 6 at Sokol Auditorium, 2234 S. 13th St. The underground hip-hop duo Atmosphere performs feel-good music that will hook its listeners from the first notes. 8pm. Tickets: $25. 402-346-9802 -sokolunderground.com

// OCTOBER • 2016 / 14 / OMAHAMAGAZINE.COM

Don’t let the show start without you!

The sTory o f f r a n k ie Va l l i & The foUr seasons November 15-20, 2016

March 7-12, 2017

Orpheum Theater | Slosburg Hall

Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis and Special Guest Catherine Russell

December 2, 2016 | 8:00 PM Holland Center | Kiewit Hall

Orpheum Theater | Slosburg Hall

Carolyn Dorfman Dance Company: The Legacy Project: A Dance of Hope

January 19, 2017 | 7:30 PM Orpheum Theater | Slosburg Hall

Kathy Mattea featuring Bill Cooley

March 4, 2017 | 8:00 PM

Holland Center | Scott Recital Hall

single tickets on sale! orDer now for the best seats. ticketomaha.com | 402.345.0606

OMAHA MAGAZINE

CALENDAR

FUTURISTIC W/ BEEZ, B-DAZ, JUSTINA

OMAHA SYMPHONY: SYMPHONIE FANTASTIQUE

SHREK THE MUSICAL

Oct. 7 at the Slowdown, 729 N. 14th St. Futuristic’s single “The Greatest” received over 14 million views on YouTube and over 7 million listens on SoundCloud. 8pm.

Tickets: $14 in advance, $16 day of show. 402-345-7569 -theslowdown.com

Oct. 21-22 at Holland Performing Arts Center, 1200 Douglas St. In his official Omaha Symphony debut, pianist Markus Groh puts his gossamer touch to the piano. Tickets: $19-$79. 402-345-0606 -ticketomaha.com

Sept. 30-Oct. 16 at The Rose Theater, 2001 Farnam St. This show is adapted from the Oscar-winning animated film of the same name. 7pm Sept. 30, Oct. 7, and 14; 2pm Oct. 2, 9, and 16; 2pm and 5pm Oct. 1, 8, and 15.

Tickets: $10 members, $20 nonmembers. 402-345-4849 -rosetheater.org

SPEND THE NIGHT W/ ALICE COOPER Oct. 8 at Ralston Arena, 7300 Q St. The shock-rock legend himself will put on a show that claims to be unforgettable. 7:30pm. Tickets: $35-$79 regular, $175-$775 VIP. 402-934-9966 -ralstonarena.com

OMAHA SYMPHONY: CIRQUE MUSICA CRESCENDO Oct. 8-9 at Holland Performing Arts Center, 1200 Douglas St. This off-the-wall circus is known for combining poise with risk-taking athleticism. Tickets: $19-$79. 402-345-0606 -ticketomaha.com

TECH N9NE W/ KRIZZ KALIKO & JL Oct. 11 at the Slowdown, 729 N. 14th St. Tech N9ne comes to Omaha with some of the Strange Music family. 8pm. Tickets: $37. 402-345-7569 -theslowdown.com

OMAHA SYMPHONY: SYMPHONY SPOOKTACULAR Oct. 23 at the Holland Performing Arts Center, 1200 Douglas St. One week before Halloween, get in the spirit of the holiday with this Harry Potter-themed concert. 1:15pm.

Tickets: $12. 402-345-0606 -ticketomaha.com

ST. PAUL & THE BROKEN BONES Oct. 25 at Sokol Auditorium, 2234 S . 13th St. Fans of soulful band St. Paul & The Broken Bones eagerly anticipate their second record. 8pm. Tickets: $20 advance, $23 day of show. 402-346-9802 -sokolunderground.com

THE FAINT W/ GANG OF FOUR

BASETRACK LIVE Oct. 7 at Orpheum Theater, 409 S. 16th St. The show portrays the impact of war on modern-day Marines and the families that love them. 8pm. Tickets: $15-$30. 402-661-8501 -ticketomaha.com

Oct. 31 at Sokol Auditorium, 2234 S. 13th St. Hometown band The Faint celebrates their 10-year anniversary. 7:30pm.

Admission: $25 in advance, $28 day of show. 402-346-9802 -sokolunderground.com PERFOR MING ARTS

TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD Sept. 1-18 at Omaha Community Playhouse, 6915 Cass St. This play, based on the Pulitzer-Prize winning novel, focuses on young Scout and her father, Atticus.

7:30pm Mondays-Saturdays; 2pm Sundays. Tickets: $40 adults, $22 students, $10 discount for TAG members. 402-553-0800 -omahaplayhouse.com

CABARET

Oct. 11-16 at Orpheum Theater, 409 S. 16th St. This Tony-winning musical is all about having the courage to follow your own path. 7pm Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday; 2pm and 8pm Saturday; 1:30pm and 7pm Sunday. Tickets: $30-$95. 402-661-8501 -ticketomaha.com Oct.

GOODNIGHT MOON INGRID MICHAELSON Oct. 15 at Sokol Auditorium, 2234 S. 13th St. Ingrid Michaelson makes a stop in Omaha at the beginning of her “Hell No Tour.” 8pm. Tickets: $30. 402-346-9802 -sokolunderground.com

OF MONTREAL W/ TEEN Oct. 16 at the Waiting Room, 6212 Maple St. With a new album called Innocence Reaches, Of Montreal continues to entertain with their style of psychedelic pop. 9pm. Tickets: $20. 402-884-5353 -waitingroomlounge.com

CASTING CROWNS W/ MATT MAHER AND HANNAH KERR

14

Sept. 2-18 at The Rose Theater, 2001 Farnam St. This 40-year-old musical is about the detours on the way to dreamland with Bunny’s fairytale presence. Sing along with the family. 7pm Sept. 2, 9, and 16; 2pm and 5pm Sept. 3, 10, 11, 17, and 18; 2pm Sept. 4.

Tickets: $10 members, $20 nonmembers. 402-345-4849 -rosetheater.org

SISTER ACT Sept. 16-Oct. 9 at the Omaha Community Playhouse, 6915 Cass St. This musical is based on the 1992 movie. Deloris Van Cartier disguises herself as a nun after witnessing a murder. 7:30pm Mondays-Saturdays; 2pm Sundays. Tickets: $42 adults, $22 students with valid ID, $10 discount for TAG members. 402-553-0800 -omahaplayhouse.com

MOUSE ON THE MOVE Oct. 15-Nov. 13 at The Rose Theater, 2001 Farnam St. Ellie and Amelia want to go beyond their mouse-hole. 9:30am Oct. 15, 16, 22, 23, 29, and 30; 10am Oct. 18 and 25. Tickets: $10 for members, $20 for nonmembers. 402-345-4849 -rosetheater.org

Oct. 21 at Ralston Arena, 7300 Q St. Christian rock band Casting Crowns has released six studio albums. 7:30pm. Tickets: $30-$75. 402-934-9966 -ralstonarena.com SEPTEMBER

MURDER BALLAD

Oct. 14 through Nov. 20 at the Omaha Community Playhouse, 6915 Cass St. This indierock musical tells the story of a dramatic love triangle that goes way overboard. 7:30pm. Tickets: $42 adults, $25 students; $10 discount for TAG members. 402-553-0800 -omahaplayhouse.com

// OCTOBER • 2016 / 16 / OMAHAMAGAZINE.COM

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OMAHA MAGAZINE

OMAHA MAGAZINE

CALENDAR

CALENDAR

AILEY II Oct. 18 at Orpheum Theater, 409 S. 16th St. Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater performers combine classics and modern works.

7:30pm. Tickets: $20-$40. 402-661-8501 -ticketomaha.com

SWAN LAKE AUG. 19 – SEPT. 18, 2016

SEPT. 16 – OCT. 16, 2016

OCT. 14– NOV. 20, 2016

Oct. 22 at Orpheum Theater, 409 S. 16th St. Swan Lake is a classic ballet of good against evil. 7:30pm. Tickets: $25-$87. Tickets to reception in Weaver Lounge cost an additional $25. 402-661-8501 -ticketomaha.com

Oct.

THERESA CAPUTO LIVE!

28

Oct. 28 at Holland Performing Arts Center, 1200 Douglas St. Caputo, known for her hit TLC show Long Island Medium, will talk about her gift and share her life’s stories.

7:30pm. Tickets: $39.75-$99.75. 402-345-0606 -ticketomaha.com

THE JUNGLE BOOK Oct. 28-Nov. 13 at The Rose Theater, 2001 Farnam St. This is a new adaptation of the classic book/film. 7pm Oct. 28; 2pm Oct. 30; 2pm and 5pm Oct. 29. Tickets: $10 members, $20 nonmembers. 402-345-4849 -rosetheater.org sponsors:

sponsors:

sponsors:

Cindy and Scott Heider and Valmont

Kiewit Corporation, Methodist Hospital and Lamp Rynearson

David & Anne Rismiller

media sponsor: KETV

FAMILY AND MOR E

media sponsor: CW15

media sponsor: Cox

6915 CASS STREET | (402) 553-0800 | OMAHAPLAYHOUSE.COM 071516_Sept_OCT_OM.indd 1

7/15/16 5:21 PM

CHRIS PORTER Sept. 1-4 at Omaha Funny Bone, 17305 Davenport St. Suite 20 Originally from Kansas City, 27 year-old Chris Porter has been giving people laughs for eight years. 7:30pm Sept. 1; 7:30pm and 9:45pm Sept. 2; 7pm Sept. 3; 7pm and 9:30pm Sept. 4. Admission: $16-$18. 402-493-8036 -omaha.funnybone.com

LABOR DAY WEEKEND Sept. 3-5 at Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium, 3701 S. 10th St. View animal presentations, bounce houses, and more. 9am-5pm daily. Admission: $18.95 ages 12 and over, $12.95 children ages 3-11, free to members and children ages 2 and under; $1 discount applies for seniors, active military members, or children of active military members. 402-733-8400 -omahazoo.com

Whether it is day or night, inside or out, Joslyn has so much to offer.

OMAHA FARMERS MARKET

FREE GENERAL ADMISSION

(paid ticketed admission for some exhibitions)

THURSDAYS: Open ‘til 8 pm!

SCULPTURE GARDENS Open and free – all day every day!

AT

explore NOW

Joslyn Art Museum features works from antiquity to the present with an emphasis on 19th- and 20th-century European and American art. A fun, educational, relaxing, and artful destination for the whole family.

October 9, 2016–January 8, 2017 Dirt Meridian: Photographs by Andrew Moore

Open Tuesday – Sunday. Just west of downtown Omaha.

Café, Museum shop, and free parking.

Sept. 3-Oct. 30 in two locations Over 100 vendors partake in this market, located in one of Omahans’ favorite hotspots. 8am-12:30pm Saturdays in the Old Market, 9am-1pm Sundays at Aksarben Village, 60th and Center streets. Free. 402-496-1616 -omahafarmersmarket.com

KIDCHELLA: A MUSIC AND ARTS FESTIVAL FOR KIDS

2200 Dodge St. | Omaha, NE | (402) 342-3300 | www.joslyn.org SEPTEMBER

Sept.

Sept. 10 at Aksarben Village, 67th and Center streets A children’s version of Coachella is being held to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Omaha Children’s Museum birthday.

2pm-8pm. Tickets: $12. 402-496-1616 -aksarbenvillage.com

// OCTOBER • 2016 / 18 / OMAHAMAGAZINE.COM

10

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Unique holiday décor, ornaments, collectibles and gifts for every season.

Chocolates and fudge made in our own kitchen, plus many other sweet temptations.

oTannenbaum.com • 402-345-9627

OldMarketCandy.com • 402-344-8846

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Travel essentials plus downtown’s largest selection of souvenirs and Nebraska-made gifts.

Authentic Italian desserts, coffee, and FlavorBurst TM soft serve ice cream.

OldMarketSundries.com • 402-345-7646

DolciOldMarket.com • 402-345-8198

OMAHA CHARGERS 2016 Home Schedule @ Ralston Arena September 13 vs Sioux City Hornets

All located at 10th & Howard

September 27 vs Omaha Nation Bison October 4 vs Kansas City Steel October 6 vs Omaha Nation Bison October 12 vs Dakota Magic October 18 vs Kansas City Steel October 25 vs Sioux City Hornets

Progressive & Inclusive

November 8 vs Dakota Magic November 10 vs Kansas City Steel November 15 vs International Select

Sundays Worship 8:30 & 10:50 AM Education Hour 9:35 AM

(dates & times are subject to change)

If Interested in Season Tickets or Marketing Opportunities

@FUMComaha . fumcomaha.org . 7020 Cass Street SEPTEMBER

// OCTOBER • 2016 / 19 / BESTOFOMAHA.COM

Contact: Kyle Fisher Omaha Sports Marketing 402-637-8007 kyle.fisher@ omahasportsmarketing.com

Omaha Magazine • Calendar of Events

DECEMBER 12 - 20

OMAHA MAGAZINE

ROCKBROOK VILLAGE

CALENDAR

ROCKBROOK VILLAGE’S 45TH ANNUAL ART FAIR

HOME-GROWN, LOCALLY OWNED.

Sept. 10-11 at Rockbrook Village, 108th and Center Sts. More than 140 national, regional, and local artists will display and sell their one-of-akind works of art. 10am-5pm. Free. 402-390-0890 -rockbrookvillageartfair.com

108th & Center | rockbrookvillage.com

ARTSARBEN Sept. 24-25 at the Aksarben Village, 2232 S. 64th St. This is the fifth annual event for one of Omaha’s newest art shows. Come and see works from 65 juried artists. 10am-5pm. Free. 402-345-5401 -aksarbenvillage.com Why Helix is Better Most machines work front-to-back.

Why Helix Is Better The Helix turns tradition on its side—

ALL-EUROPEAN SHOW & SHINE Sept. 11 at Lauritzen Gardens, 100 Bancroft St. Witness exotic cars and motorcycles from Europe with the garden in the background. Noon-3pm. The event is included with admission to the gardens: $10 adults, $5 children ages 6-12, free to ages 5 and under. 402-346-4002 -lauritzengardens.org

literally.

Withwork lateral (or side-to-side) Most machines front-tomovement, you usetradition more muscles, which back.

The Helix turns on burnWith more fat than during itsmeans side— you literally. lateral a traditional workout—in the same ( or side-to-side) movement, you amount of time. use more muscles, which means you burn more fat than during a THANK traditional workout–YOU in the same OMAHA! amount of time.

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Omaha’s First Brewing Company with Unique Jalapeño and Raspberry Beers.

Thank You Omaha for Voting us the Best Indian Resturant for 10 Years!

Lunch: Thurs. & Fri. - 11am to 2pm Dinner: Sun. - Wed. - 5pm to 9:30pm Thurs. - Sat. - 4:30pm to 10pm

GIFFORD FARM FALL FESTIVAL Sept. 17-18 at Gifford Farms, 700 Camp Gifford Road The festival offers the STARLAB Planetarium and exotic animals. 10am-4pm. Admission: $5 ages 2 and older, $2.50 for military personnel with ID. 402-597-4920

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FALL AT BELLEVUE BERRY FARM AND PUMPKIN RANCH Sept. 17-Oct. 31 at Bellevue Berry Farm, 11001 S. 48th St. This pumpkin patch includes a fun barn, ziplines, slides, climbing nets, a 50-foot obstacle bounce house, hayrack rides, a pirate cove, an enchanted forest, a haunted cave, and a spooky forest.

Hours vary by day. Admission: $6.50 Monday-Friday, $8.50 Saturdays and Sundays. 402-331-5500 -bellevueberryfarm.com

* By an independent food analysis.

SEPTEMBER

// OCTOBER • 2016 / 21 / BESTOFOMAHA.COM

STORY BY

Scan this page with the LayAR app to hear Anna McClellan perform.

DOUG MEIG S P DESIGN BY HOTOGRAPHY BY B ILL SITZMA KRISTEN H NN OFFMAN

OMAHA MAGAZINE

A+C | MUSIC

Oberst contributed vocals to McClellan’s most successful single, “Fire Flames,” also the title of her 2015 album (Fire Flames was a cassette tape released simultaneously in digital format by Majestic Litter).

“IT IS SUCH A UNIVERSAL IDEA TO WANT TO BE A PART OF WHAT’S GOING ON, AND WHAT THE WORLD IS, AND ALSO BEING SCARED OF IT.” -Anna McClellan

H

AUNTING MELODIES FLOAT on a summer

breeze. Anna McClellan is practicing on the grand piano; her melancholy lyrics and precise keystrokes are muffled by walls of her friend’s house in the Dundee neighborhood. Step inside the house and it becomes clear: the calm singer-songwriter with oversized eyeglasses is on fire.

McClellan, 23, is preparing for several shows scheduled across town in the coming days and weeks. She is also preparing for a twoweek, cross-country tour to California. Her destination: Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, a free festival on the first weekend of October at San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. She is booking her own gigs for the trip there and back.

The Omaha-born musician will take the stage with another famous local singer-songwriter, Conor Oberst. One of the festival’s seven stages is called “Conor Brings Friends.”

SEPTEMBER

McClellan has played several times at Oberst’s Pageturners Lounge in Dundee. “He’s very supportive of a lot of people around town,” she says. “It’s nice in Omaha, because it’s such a tight-knit community of people (making music). It’s really easy to get help.”

She wrote the song “Fire Flames” in a single sitting, which McClellan says is unusual for her. The lyrics exemplify a recurring theme in her music: “It is such a universal idea to want to be a part of what’s going on, and what the world is, and also being scared of it. But knowing that even though you’re scared of it, if you don’t jump in and try to be a part of it, you won’t be satisfied.”

In conversation, her demeanor is so chill.

But she’s a hustler behind the scenes. She works two jobs (one at Joslyn Art Museum, another at The Blackstone Meatball) and plays shows around town by night. She’s speaking to Omaha Magazine on her day off.

McClellan began studying piano at age 8 through the Omaha Conservatory of Music.

She credits the tutelage of Anne Madison for inspiring her passion for piano. Playing the saxophone in jazz band, concert band,

// OCTOBER • 2016 / 23 / BESTOFOMAHA.COM

OMAHA MAGAZINE

SEPTEMBER

A+C | MUSIC

// OCTOBER • 2016 / 24 / OMAHAMAGAZINE.COM

and marching band (while a student at Central High School) helped her break out of her comfort zone: “I tend toward structure, where everything’s pre-planned and you know what you are going to do.

To be taken out of that comfort zone, and then pushed into solos, made me better, more daring.”

Her mother, former KETV newscaster Carol Kloss, also provided crucial encouragement. They performed together in church musicals, and Kloss included McClellan—the younger of her two daughters—in several Omaha Press Club Show performances.

McClellan first began experimenting with songwriting while studying abroad in Denmark during her junior year of high school. She was in a band called Howard after returning to Omaha, then went solo in 2013. Last year she moved to New York City for three months, working and performing, eventually catching a break to go on tour as the opener for the band Frankie Cosmos.

Now, she’s working on a new album with Ben Brodin (the Omaha producer of Fire Flames). “We recorded new demos last Sunday for the new record,” McClellan says in July. “It’s going to

SEPTEMBER

“I THINK IT’S EASY TO GET WORKED UP OVER BEING SCARED, SO I TEND TO DO THAT A LOT, EVEN FOR THE SAKE OF THE SONG.” -Anna McClellan

be a little different. All of the songs that were in Fire Flames were written over this long period (some dating back to high school) more like a collection, but this will be more cohesive.”

being scared, so I tend to do that a lot, evenOfor the sake of the song.”

Visit annamcclellan.bandcamp.com for more information.

“A lot of it is about relationships of two people…and romantic relationships in general, and then, fear,” she says, laughing. “I think it’s easy to get worked up over

// OCTOBER • 2016 / 25 / BESTOFOMAHA.COM

touched by

tok

kyo

story by leo adam biga photography by alain nana kwango design by kristen hoffman

SEPTEMBER

// OCTOBER • 2016 / 28 / OMAHAMAGAZINE.COM

OMAHA MAGAZINE

A+C | FASHION

hairstylist to the stars tokyo stylez you don’t consider Omaha a beauty-style launching pad, think again. Homegrown talents Jaime King and Gabrielle Union tear it up on screen, in photo spreads, and for the red carpet. Designer Kate Walz has a Paris collection to her credit. But no one’s trending hotter than hairstylist-to-the-stars William Jackson, aka Tokyo Stylez.

if

This lithe young man with striking AfricanAmerican and Native American features is courted for his dope skills with tresses.

“Hair is the new accessory now,” he says.

It all began in Omaha doing his family’s hair. It morphed into an enterprising hustle that became his calling and career. Based in Washington D.C., he’s a bicoastal creative with a celebrity client list: Lil’ Kim, Toni Braxton, Fantasia, Naomi Campbell, Rihanna, Gabrielle Union, and Kendall and Kylie Jenner.

“It’s all about building relationships and a trust that you can create their image—their look—and bring it to life for them,” he says.

He’s signed to make over a TV-publishing icon. He’s close to realizing a dream of doing hair for divas Beyonce, Madonna, and Cher.

He appears on TLC’s Global Beauty Masters.

He tours, giving tutorials. His “Touched by Tokyo” brand features a hair fragrance mist and custom wigs.

It’s all happening so fast. But he’s ready for it.

“Right now is my time, and I just have to capture it and take things to the next level,” he says in his sweet, soft voice.

He feels his versatile chops set him apart.

“I’m like a big creative ball wrapped in one.

I have a little bit of everything. You want to

take it to the street, I can take you there. If you want soft, chic, and classy, I can do that.

If you want a little high fashion. I do that, too.

I’m just out of this world. Anything you want, I’ll do. I plan to be the next Paul Mitchell,” he says without brag.

His dreams got fired at 9 when his mother, Jessica Haynes-Jackson, was incarcerated.

Some bad choices led to being caught up in a drug ring. She got busted and served several months in prison. While confined, Tokyo and his siblings lived with their father. Before going in, she says, “I asked Tokyo to take care of sissy’s hair while mommy was away. He was delighted and gracefully accepted the challenge. I knew he could do at least one ponytail, and that was all I expected.”

Except he proved a prodigy, replicating what he saw his hairdresser grandma and his mom create—braids, twists, French rolls.

He says, “I picked it up really quick. That’s kind of where I got an idea I knew what I was doing.”

When his mother was released, he couldn’t wait to show her his handiwork.

“She had never seen it. She’d only heard my grandmother telling her, ‘He’s killing it.’ So to show her and to see the look on her face was a great feeling.”

“This was how we discovered his amazing talent that now the whole world enjoys,” Haynes-Jackson says.

By 15, he made a name for himself doing hair.

Meanwhile, his mother earned two degrees, became a mental health counselor, and coached. She is his biggest fan and inspiration.

“She’s always supported me and loved everything I’ve done. She’s an awesome lady. She is very independent. She’s never really asked anyone for anything. She’s always found a way to make things happen. I definitely would say I’ve inherited my drive from her.”

SEPTEMBER

“I think what I love most about Tokyo is his warm, gentle spirit,” his mom says. “He is the same person despite his celebrity status.

I think what touched my heart the most is when he traveled with his ‘Glam Squad’ to give a teenage girl battling a rare cancer a surprise makeover for her prom. I am a very proud mom.”

Tokyo’s travels have gone international. Life in the fast lane means dropping everything to do high profile gigs with tight deadlines.

He got an early taste of being a coveted stylist in school.

“Everyone came to me to get their hair done—girls and boys. My mom’s friends and clients. Their daughters. I was in such high demand it was crazy. People would be passing me notes, ‘Hey, can you do my hair after school?’ It was always something. But I knew this was something I wanted to do.”

With “a very steady clientele, the money was coming in,” he says. An attempt at a dancing career led to taking Tokyo as his stage name.

Seeking a bigger market as a stylist, he moved to Atlanta where he rebranded as Tokyo Stylez and blew up on social media. Celeb clients followed. In D.C. he’s minutes from New York fashion central and a nonstop flight from L.A.’s entertainment capital.

He plans to have a business presence in Omaha.

“I definitely want something back at home where it came from. It would only be right to do so.”

Meanwhile, he changes perceptions of Omaha wherever he goes.

“People are like, ‘You haveOblack people there?’

I get that every time.”

Visit touchedbytokyo.com for more information.

// OCTOBER • 2016 / 29 / BESTOFOMAHA.COM

LOWBROW POP CULTURE MAVEN Dan Crane Keeps Omaha Art (and Meat) Loose STORY BY SEAN ROBINSON PHOTOGRAPHY BY BILL SITZMANN DESIGN BY KRISTEN HOFFMAN

OMAHA MAGAZINE

IF

A+C | VISUAL

IT WASN’T FOR Bugs Bunny, Ren

and Stimpy, or Johnny Bravo, we may never have gotten to know Dan Crane, artist extraordinaire.

One of Omaha’s rising contemporary creators, Crane credits his formative years watching Cartoon Network as much as his degree in printmaking from the Kansas City Art Institute for his unique visual perspective.

“That pre-internet, pop culture aesthetic that animators were doing at the time was so particular. It never really left me,” Crane says.

“THAT PREINTERNET, POP CULTURE AESTHETIC THAT ANIMATORS WERE DOING AT THE TIME WAS SO PARTICULAR. IT NEVER REALLY LEFT ME.” -Dan Crane

One look at his work and that’s astoundingly clear. A hybrid of commercial and fine art, his pieces range from fartsy to artsy: one of his printed t-shirts displays a butt in mid-squat, while large abstract paintings fill his studio with inviting neon-hues.

Equal parts kid-at-heart and all-grownup, Crane has built an impressive professional portfolio. He has lent his eye-popping visual perspective to the Omaha Creative Institute, and Scout Dry Goods & Trade, and has helped to establish B&G Tasty Foods’ creative brand.

“We try hard to have interesting and unique signage at B&G, and Dan has really helped with that immensely,” says Eddie Morin, restaurant owner. “The most important work he has done for us is designing our new mascots, Louis Meat and Louise Frenchee.

We’re using those guys all over the place now.”

SEPTEMBER // OCTOBER • 2016 / 31 / BESTOFOMAHA.COM

OMAHA MAGAZINE

A+C | VISUAL

Crane recently completed a gig for Mula where he had been commissioned to design, and print t-shirts. The finished shirts feature a monster holding a basketball and a taco with peace signs for eyes. The characters might seem unnatural for a Mexican kitchen and tequileria, but they are representative of Crane’s kooky and bold signature style.

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“The Union is all about spreading positive social change through art,” Crane says.

“Can I just say that I am so f***ing grateful for them?”

Yes, Crane’s language is commonly peppered with swear words. He’s also got a penchant for Atlanta trap music and once lived in an 1,800-square-foot Blackstone District storefront that was notorious for all-night raves.

Nothing Crane does is by the book. And he’s just fine with that.

“The whole art with a capital ‘A’ thing really bugs me,” Crane says. “I’m not motivated to do something unless it’s super-approachable and can be related to on a real level.”

Crane often slips into episodes of nostalgia.

Whether he is recalling childhood summers spent copying doodles inside libraries or the two weeks he served pad thai from a truck at Coachella (so he could quit the food industry and focus on art), he’s all about the journey.

Not the destination.

“I still feel like I’m in my infancy stage as an artist,” Crane says. “I’m loving what I’m doing now and O taking it one day, one project at a time.”

Graduate of the advanced CoolSculpting training at Cool-U CoolSculpting University

Darin Jackson, MD Medical Director

When Crane’s not cooking up art for local eateries, he spends time at the Union for Contemporary Art. As a previous fellowship recipient, he has a small temporary studio at the Union. During his fellowship, which lasted from November 2015 through April 2016, he helped North Omaha school kids transfer their small drawings onto much larger pieces of plywood. The finished products were installed in Habitat for Humanity yards as pop-up public art.

Lisa Hayes CoolSculpting Technician

Visit therealweekendo.tumblr.com for more information.

// OCTOBER • 2016 / 32 / OMAHAMAGAZINE.COM

2016 March of Dimes and Omaha Magazine Nurse of the Year Awards

Every day, people throughout Nebraska and Western Iowa experience the extraordinary care and compassion of our outstanding nurses. Help celebrate nursing excellence and the achievements in research, education, quality patient care, innovation and leadership of these outstanding medical professionals. We are honored to partner with Omaha Magazine to bring you the 2016 Nurse of the Year Awards, proudly sponsored by Methodist Health Systems.

5:30 P.M. Thursday, November 10, 2016 Embassy Suites La Vista | 12520 Westport Parkway, Omaha, NE 68138 For more information or to purchase tickets go to www.marchofdimes.org/nebraska or call 402-496-7111 Thank you to Presenting Sponsor:

OMAHA MAGAZINE

A+C | PERFORMANCE

D e

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rt he

lov eo f the c

i rc u s

SEPTEMBER

// OCTOBER • 2016 / 35 / BESTOFOMAHA.COM

“I did gymnastics when I was younger, but I was inspired by playing around on tall swings, flipping around and hanging upside down.

I thought, ‘there’s got to be something like this out there,’” says Searight of what led her to aerial arts such as silks, corde lisse, sling,

“I’m a certified teacher, but I’m an amateur performer,” says Searight, who started FreakWorks Entertainment in Omaha to teach and reach out to those with a similar love for the art of the aerial performance.

The group meets frequently on Sundays in Elmwood Park, and she welcomes the public to join them. Parks have always allured young acrobats.

Ciara Searight is a professionally certified aerial trainer who studied with Aircats at the Boulder Circus Center, Aloft Loft in Chicago, and Circus School of Arizona. Searight is an aerialist, acrobat, and dancer. Gracefully, she performs above the ground, defying fear with seeming effortlessness.

gets a bad rap. While suggesting a lack of skill, t he word actually comes from the Latin “amator” or “lover.” An amateur is someone who does what they do for the love of it, and in Omaha, some love the circus arts. People are flocking to the traditions of the big top for myriad reasons: hobby, self-expression, exercise, paid performance, or social activity.

HE TERM “AMATEUR”

Sara Gray describes herself as one of the obsessed ones. As Purple Pyro (her pseudonym), Gray is pushing her limits.

“It’s great exercise. It works every part of your body,” Searight says, adding that core strength is what makes it look so easy. “I always enjoy watching people for the first time and how proud they are after doing their first real pose.”

The athleticism in aerials is obvious, but performing in most circus arts is a guaranteed workout.

“Even pets can be taught tricks to perform.

FreakWorks has had fire breathers, sword fighters, aerial silk performers, a lyrist, unicycle, whip, rola bola, breakdance, acrofusion, juggling, fire fingers, fire staff, poi, ballet, hoopers, flag, hand tut, pole. I wish we had BMX and skateboarders. Contortion and hand balancing would be great. Also teeter totter and trampoline artists would be amazing.”

Anyone can do something in the circus arts, from the highest tightrope to yoyo tricks, unicycling, or sleight of hand—the possibilities are limitless. All it takes is one specific talent and to know approachable circus folks like her, according to Searight.

lyra, trapeze, flying trapeze, straps, chains, pole, Spanish web, and more.

“I got into the circus arts last summer when my boyfriend and dance partner introduced me to a small circus group in Lincoln. After climbing into the aerial hoop for the first time, I was hooked,” says Gray. “I knew I wanted to do this for the rest of my life and I can never get enough. When you start off barely being able to get into the hoop, and then you work hard enough to build up the upper body strength that most people lack, there is a sense of empowerment that becomes addicting. It really helps you realize that you can break any limit that you may have set for yourself at an early age.”

-Sarah Gray

I KNEW I WANTED TO DO THIS FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE AND I CAN NEVER GET ENOUGH.

Gray believes everyone should revisit the limits they have set for themselves as she did when she came across FreakWorks.

“I never got them. I decided that it would just never happen for me, and that’s what I told myself my entire life. Now I can hold a handstand with a fire staff on my neck and do the splits.”

=As a kid, Gray used to attempt handstands and splits with her friends with little success.

“I practice several movement arts: I breakdance with a local dance crew, Organix, I perform fire spinning and fire eating with Animatikz Entertainment, and aerial acrobatics with Flight Motion Studios.”

Visit facebook.com/Freakworks for more information.

“It captured my heart,” Grove says. “That magical feeling of seeing my first hoop dance hasn’t gone away; it’s only grown. That’s why I do it. It is an escape from the mundane, and I hope to someday spark that magic in O someone else’s life. They can join my family.”

Elmwood meet-ups with FreakWorks, as well as contortion training at Laurel Feller’s FlightMotion Studios, helped Grove branch out, adding to her list of skills and her family.

Because circus people are tight like that.

“I saw my first hula hoop dance at a festival in Minnesota and was blown away. It looked like magic. So I went home, bought a hoop from Target, and started teaching myself through YouTube tutorials.”

“Unfortunately, I felt too old to be a gymnast, and then I eventually got caught up in being a confused teenager,” says Grove.Around 20, she began attending music festivals, where circus performers flourish.

Andrea Grove fits the enamored hobbyist profile. She discovered circus artistry through a roundabout route. While she had excelled at gymnastic floor exercises as a child, she eventually gave up the sport. She tried replacing gymnastics with cheerleading, but she hated it.

STORY BY GREG JERRETT PHOTOGRAPHY BY BILL SITZMANN DESIGN BY KRISTEN HOFFMAN

STORY BY LEO ADAM BIGA PHOTOGRAPHY BY BILL SITZMANN DESIGN BY KRISTEN HOFFMAN

From Bowling Alley, to Broadway, and Back

OMAHA MAGAZINE

S

A+C | FILM

TAGE AND SCREEN actress Stephanie

close, my mother and I. When everything went down with her health, it became very clear to me in a very short amount of time, tomorrow isn't promised to anyone. Losing her rocked my foundation, my very being, but it taught me some really valuable lessons about carpe diem."

The Central High School graduate's maternal grandparents, Tony and Nellie Pirruccello, built the place at 151 N. 72nd St. Her late mother, Connie Pirruccello, had grown up there in the 1950s. Stephanie, a co-owner with her father, Ray Kurtzuba, spent countless hours at the bowling alley as a stage-struck kid.

It's now a favorite hangout for her two boys when they visit from New York City.

Stephanie won a full-ride to Drake University but got cold feet being so far from home. She briefly attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. With her mom gone, she resolved it was now-or-never. She prepared an audition with help from The Rose's James Larson and got accepted to NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. OffBroadway and regional theater parts honed her craft.

"I remember running up and down the concourse practicing cartwheels and using the dance floor in the lounge after school to rehearse my dance recital numbers," recalls Stephanie, who displayed her cartwheel moves in the 2014 movie Annie. "It was a second home to me and now my children. My boys only get to visit about once a year, so when they do, they eat it up."

"IF I HAD NOT LOST MY MOTHER WHEN I DID, I DON'T KNOW THAT MY CHOICES WOULD HAVE BEEN THE SAME IN TERMS OF FOLLOWING MY DREAM."

Kurtzuba has graced Hollywood red carpets and Broadway billboards, but she is most comfortable at her family's West Lanes Bowling Center in her hometown of Omaha.

-Stephanie Kurtzuba

"My goal has always been to be a working actor."

Stephanie's mom encouraged her to perform in Omaha Show Wagon. Her breakout came in Oliver at the Music Hall. She performed at the then-Emmy Gifford Children's Theater (now The Rose) as well as the Firehouse and Upstairs dinner theaters. When the original Broadway Annie became a sensation, she sang its anthems around the house. Stephanie says, "It's the ultimate irony" that three decades later she played Mrs. Kovacevic in the movie.

A local choreographer planted the seed that she had the chops to pursue a professional acting career.

But talent only takes you so far. The rest is desire and discipline.

"It's almost like what some people would call a calling.

But it's almost like there's nothing else I can or want to do with my time and energies than pursue this, and that's a real motivator."

Her theater passion may not have gone far without tragedy befalling her biggest champion.

"If I had not lost my mother when I did, I don't know that my choices would have been the same in terms of following my dream. We were so incredibly SEPTEMBER

Her credits include Broadway's The Boy from Oz, Mary Poppins, and Billy Elliott; the feature films Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close and The Wolf of Wall Street; and TV's The Good Wife.

She hopes one day to perform again where it all started.

"The Emmy Gifford was so seminal in my development as a young artist. I loved it deeply. I still remember the smell of the place. It was home. It would be singularly fulfilling to be able to come back and rejoin the Omaha arts community. That would be some deeply felt, full-circle kinda stuff right there."

Meanwhile, she's found a new love: producing. She has several projects in the works. She's also developing a TV series set in Omaha, which is loosely based on her life, for local Syncretic Entertainment. The pilot is due to shoot here in the fall. They look to put local talent to work. Paying it forward.

"It's my passion project. I love it so much.”

To learn more, visit stephaniekurtzuba.com.

// OCTOBER • 2016 / 38 / OMAHAMAGAZINE.COM

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// OCTOBER • 2016 / 39 / BESTOFOMAHA.COM

The Robo

WONDER KID Collin Kauth-­Fisher STORY BY TALEISHA NEWBILL PHOTOGRAPHY BY BILL SITZMANN DESIGN BY KRISTEN HOFFMAN

OMAHA MAGAZINE

C

OLLIN KAUTH-­F ISHER BELIEVES that nerds will

like miniature forklifts made of perforated steel parts, and are programmed to make computer-controlled movements.

event held April 7-9 at the Mid-America Center in Council Bluffs. They competed against approximately 200 teams, including teams from as far as New York and as nearby as Omaha North.

The 18-year-old has won national accolades for his ability to sink baskets with robotic hands. “That’s not a human doing that, it’s different,” he says, explaining his excitement for robotics.

Meanwhile, the next phase of his robotics career is already shaping up to be a slam dunk.

In VEX robotics, students use their knowledge of science, technology, engineering, and math to build structures. The competitions are games that test engineering acumen. KauthFisher and the Cat Trons competed with other high schools throughout the fall and spring semesters. They battled it out in qualifying rounds. Matches consisted of two teams in a ring that looked like a geekish version of WWE Wrestlemania.

The Cat Trons excelled. The object of the game was for the robots to shoot foam balls into a net. Millard West was the only team to complete the mission. They were crowned the tournament champion of the open division and also won national honors.

win in the end. The self-described nerd and recent Millard West grad is accustomed to winning, especially when it comes to robotics.

THEY BATTLED IT OUT IN QUALIFYING ROUNDS. MATCHES CONSISTED OF TWO TEAMS IN A RING THAT LOOKED LIKE A GEEKISH VERSION OF WWE WRESTLEMANIA.

GEN O

A fascination with technology was one of the most consistent parts of his childhood, amid frequent relocations for his father's military career. Kauth-Fisher built structures and tinkered with technology, but his interest in robotics really bloomed at Millard West. He pursued robotics classes and joined the school's robotics team, the Cat Trons, during his senior year. He was the team's lead programmer.

Millard West participates in a variety of robotics competitions, principally those that use VEX Robotics Design System. VEX produces metal robotics with attached motors, which are driven by a combination of remote-controlled sensors. The bots often look

SEPTEMBER

Kauth-Fisher, specifically, worked in the CREATE group, an advanced robotics challenge in which students are encouraged to test their engineering and design skills using any system they want, such as LEGO or VEX. This means that, while a standard VEX competition only allows the students to build a robot from kit supplies, students working with the CREATE group are allowed to enhance their inventions.

This creativity helped the Cat Trons succeed in their quest. They advanced from local and regional competitions to the CREATE U.S. Open Robotics Championship, a three-day

// OCTOBER • 2016 / 42 / OMAHAMAGAZINE.COM

Kauth-Fisher’s interest grew into a summer job. This past summer, during an internship at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, he helped graduate students build a portable location tracking system. "I don't consider it work," he says during the summer before his freshman year at Iowa State University, where he will study computer engineering.

Just as Kauth-Fisher created a robot with an arm that picks up foam balls, he hopes to create robotic arms for others (possibly in the form of prosthetics).

He believes that robots will play a crucial role in the future, O especially in his future.

To learn more, visit nebraskarobotics.com.

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S T O R Y

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OMAHA MAGAZINE

HEN CLAY LIDGETT was about 5

years old, he was already dressing up in Ghostbusters outfits. While other kids pretended to be Michelangelo from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or He-Man, Lidgett wanted to be Egon Spengler.

Like most childhood obsessions, his passion faded over time. He grew up, took on responsibility, and Ghostbusters fell to the wayside. Until just over a year ago. That’s when Lidgett stumbled upon a website devoted to all things Ghostbusters: cartoons, games, discussion forums, and yes, information on how to build your very own proton pack.

“I found out it was actually possible to build one of these myself. I didn’t know of the entire Ghostbusters community out there,” he says.

Lidgett set out to build the famous contraption designed to hold negatively charged ectoplasmic entities (i.e., ghosts). Over the course of one year, from March 2015 to 2016, Lidgett devoted five to six hours a week to soldering, gluing, screwing, and fitting together the roughly 100 pieces required to make an authentic Ghostbusters proton pack.

“There is an extremely vast amount of detailed information that is available. All of the exact measurements that you need, the exact part numbers, everything that you need is on the internet.”

His labor of love and rekindled passion for Ghostbusters coincided with announcements that a new Ghostbusters film would be released in 2016: “I started this before I knew the new movie was coming out. It was complete coincidence.”

His wife was supportive of his project, though their two children were the most excited. Lidgett actually purchased a proton pack for his children just like the one he had when he was a kid. This Halloween, he plans to create elaborate costumes with his children.

SEPTEMBER

SECTION FACES

But when it comes to building another proton pack, Lidgett says, “No more packs…well, at least not as of right now.” He found a person who sells pieces for an exact replica of the original proton pack at 40 percent scale, and he has considered making them for his children.

“I FOUND OUT IT WAS ACTUALLY POSSIBLE TO BUILD ONE OF THESE MYSELF. I DIDN’T KNOW OF THE ENTIRE GHOSTBUSTERS COMMUNITY OUT THERE.” -Clay Lidgett

Because of the support he received and the community he found in the process, Lidgett is quick to offer support to anyone else interested in creating their own proton pack or organizing to celebrate their love of Ghostbusters.

“I have been in contact with a lot of people who have been very, very helpful throughout the process. All of them have been very cool, very generous with their time,” he says.

In particular, Lidgett struck up a friendship with another fan from Michigan who helped guide him through the tedious construction process. Once Lidgett finished his outfit—he didn’t just build a proton pack; he also crafted his very own costume, complete with exact replica boots and a jumper with his name on the patch—the friend sent him a pin to celebrate his accomplishment and commemorate the late Harold Ramis, the actor who originally played Egon Spengler in Ghostbusters.

Come Halloween, Lidgett will be gearing up. His proton pack illuminates with flashing lights and hums like a radioactive generator. The pack also features a hidden speaker controlled by his proton gun. It blasts the Ghostbusters theme song, a warning to potential O nefarious spirits: “I ain't afraid of no ghost.”

Visit gbfans.com for more information.

// OCTOBER • 2016 / 45 / BESTOFOMAHA.COM

PRO BASKETBALL PLAYER DEBUTS IN NEW LOCAL LEAGUE STORY BY MICHAEL WATKINS PHOTOGRAPHY BY BILL SITZMANN DESIGN BY KRISTEN HOFFMAN

OMAHA MAGAZINE

IF

THERE WAS A sport

at Boys Town, Isiah Gandy didn’t just play it. He excelled at it.

As a high school freshman, he was instrumental in Boys Town’s push through the state basketball playoffs to win the 2006 championship, the school’s first title in 40 years.

As a senior quarterback, he led the Cowboys football team to the Class C-1 championship (although they lost the final game).

He also ran cross country and participated in the triple jump and high jump in track and field. But his first—his strongest—sport was always basketball, a game he picked up on the local court near his childhood home of West Palm Beach, Florida.

“My dad played basketball, and we shot baskets in the backyard when I was a kid, so it’s something I’ve always loved,” says Gandy.

SPORTS

After Boys Town, he bounced around college programs. Following one year at Des Moines Area Community College, and two seasons on court with the UNO Mavericks, Gandy transferred to Minot State University in North Dakota for his junior and senior years.

Now, Gandy has the opportunity to play his favorite game in Omaha again—and get paid for it.

This fall, he will take the court with the newly formed Omaha Chargers of the National Basketball League of America. The first-year league starts this September with a short season ending in November.

“I’ve always had a hunger for basketball,” says Gandy, who has been coaching at his high school alma mater for the past two basketball seasons. “I love the work—the grind—involved with playing basketball and playing it well.

SEPTEMBER

Teams on the Chargers’ schedule are located in Sioux City, Kansas City, and Sioux Falls, and home games will be played at Ralston Arena.

"I LOVE THE WORK—THE GRIND— INVOLVED WITH PLAYING BASKETBALL AND PLAYING IT WELL." -Isiah Gandy

As a shooting guard, Gandy joins a squad with deep ties to the local community. Head coach Rodney Buford played basketball at Creighton University before an NBA career.

Point guard C.J. Carter graduated from Omaha Benson High School, was an all-star at UNO, and played professional basketball in Macedonia last season. Shooting guard James Parrott hails from Omaha, and several other teammates have links to regional basketball programs.

// OCTOBER • 2016 / 48 / OMAHAMAGAZINE.COM

Gandy initially came to Omaha via Boys Town when he was 15, and he excelled right away on and off the court.

“Boys Town was a great experience for me because I learned a lot of things that I didn’t get to do in a single-parent home in Florida,” says Gandy. “We never sat down to eat as a family at home, but we did at Boys Town, and that meant something to me. Overall, it was a good experience.”

We are a family-friendly practice dedicated to making a difference.

While he's excited to play before an audience that he considers to be his home crowd, Gandy also hopes to parlay his playing time with the Chargers into a chance at international pro leagues.

“I found out about the league in April when a friend sent me a link, and I was interested right away,” he says. “This is going to be a great opportunity to see the support the community gives to Oits sports teams on a professional level.”

Visit omahachargers.com for more information.

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// OCTOBER • 2016 / 49 / BESTOFOMAHA.COM

How Omaha History Paved the Way for Hollywood

IT

IS DIFFICULT TO imagine

Omaha’s once-bustling streetcar system. Scarce evidence remains: There are alleys downtown paved in brick with rail lines running down them, and some old buildings that were once car barns, but that’s about it.

If there is little physical reminder of streetcars’ heyday, there is nothing left of the labor unrest that enveloped the era, despite the fact that it was national news and left an astonishing legacy.

STORY BY MAX SPARBER PHOTOGRAPHY CONTRIBUTED BY DOUGLAS COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY DESIGN BY MATT WIECZOREK

The main character of this story is Gurdon Wattles. A native of New York and a graduate of Dartmouth, Wattles came to Omaha in 1892, finding work here as the vice president of one of the city’s banking concerns.

OMAHA MAGAZINE

HISTORY

WATTLES TOLD HIS MEN THAT HE WOULD NOT ALLOW A UNION There were several competing forms of transportation at the time. There was the Omaha Horse Railway, which provided something called “horsecars,” which were essentially streetcars drawn by horses. They had five miles of track running through the city, transporting almost a half a million Omahans per year. Then there was the Omaha Cable Tramway Co., which owned a cable car, the only one in the city. The Omaha Horse Railway eventually merged with the Omaha Cable Tramway Co. in 1889.

The city was a mess of rail lines and competing services, which would sometimes sue each other. Wattles joined the fray in 1890, buying controlling interest in one of the companies, and then taking advantage of a Nebraska legislative measure calling for all the lines to be consolidated. The result was the Omaha Traction Co., which was not only one of the nation’s earliest streetcar lines, but also one of it’s longest–lasting. Omaha still had streetcars in 1955.

The streetcar company grew to include 140 miles of tracks and 1,500 employees, and that was a lot of employees to keep happy.

In 1909, a national streetcar union called the Amalgamated Association of Street and Electric Railway Employees attempted to unionize local labor, but Wattles rebuffed the attempts in a way that was common at the time. He hired strikebreakers.

Wattles told his men that he would not allow a union. When they went on strike, he replaced them with laborers from New York, whom Wattles cheerily described as a “jolly lot of disreputable” and “always ready for a fight.”

The strikers were ready for a fight, too. On September 19, 1909, they rioted in downtown Omaha, attacking streetcars and battling strikebreakers. They continued to riot for four days, and largely had the support of the public, who refused to ride streetcars during the strike.

SEPTEMBER

But the strikers could not compete against cheap labor that was on hand to fill their positions, and by October the strike had ended. Wattles would write a book about it, crowing about his success. The book—titled A Crime Against Labor—argued for a standing national force of strikebreakers for similar incidents of labor unrest.

However, the strike damaged Wattles' reputation in Omaha. Once a city leader, he felt himself attacked by “socialistic and anarchistic elements.” In 1920, he moved to a small citrus grove in Los Angeles, and invested heavily in the development of the neighborhood, which expanded quickly and grew rich.

And that’s the strangest legacy of the 1909 strike: That neighborhood was Hollywood.

His mansion still stands there today.

O Visit douglascohistory.org for more information.

// OCTOBER • 2016 / 51 / BESTOFOMAHA.COM

the last of

Nuns

Sister Lucy

Sister JoEllen Retire

STORY BY CAROL CRISSEY NIGRELLI PHOTOGRAPHY BY BILL SITZMANN DESIGN BY RACHEL JOY

OMAHA MAGAZINE

THE

FEATURE

Nuns

HAVE LEFT THE BUILDING. For the first time in the 135-year history of Duchesne Academy, students have no interaction with members of the Religieuses du Sacre Coeur de Jesus (also known as the Society of the Sacred Heart).

That means no nun to greet students at the front door of the all-girls Catholic high school at 36th and Burt streets; no nuns to work the main office, teach in the classroom, or raise an eyebrow at tardy students scampering into the historic red-bricked school. None of it.

Sister Lucy Hayes and Sister JoEllen Sumpter performed those duties (and many more) during their various tenures at Duchesne dating back to the 1950s. But time inevitably forces even the most earnest and dedicated to answer another call, and both sisters heard the call of retirement.

“It’s time,” says Sumpter, 76. “I fell in a freak accident a couple of years ago and hit my head. I lost sight in my right eye.” In addition, mobility problems force her to use a walker.

HAYES, STILL SPRY AND ACTIVE AT 87, FOUGHT THE IDEA OF LEAVING DUCHESNE. SHE WANTED TO CONTINUE HER DAILY DUTIES AS SACRISTAN, EVEN IF IT MEANT LIVING IN OMAHA ALONE. BUT THE SOCIETY OF THE SACRED HEART MANDATES ITS MEMBERS LIVE IN A RELIGIOUS COMMUNITY. HAYES NOW LOOKS AHEAD TO MENTORING OPPORTUNITIES FOR BOTH OF THEM AT THE RSCJ RETIREMENT COMPLEX IN ATHERTON, CALIFORNIA.

SEPTEMBER

Hayes, still spry and active at 87, fought the idea of leaving Duchesne. She wanted to continue her daily duties as sacristan, even if it meant living in Omaha alone. But the Society of the Sacred Heart mandates its members live in a religious community. Hayes now looks ahead to mentoring opportunities for both of them at the RSCJ retirement complex in Atherton, California.

Losing nuns at the Catholic school signals a seismic shift of symbolic importance. The sisters’ departure plans became official in late August, when the provincial

// OCTOBER • 2016 / 54 / OMAHAMAGAZINE.COM

Introducing DIGITAL SMILE DESIGN to the Omaha Area!

leaders of the RSCJs handed over the responsibility of their spiritual vision to the lay administrators and faculty. Students, families, alumnae, and members of the Omaha Archdiocese gathered for the formal ceremony at St. Cecilia Cathedral.

Designing the ideal smile through digital scanning, photography and computer programs.

“They’re putting their charisms—or values— into our hands,” says head of school Meg Brudney. “Symbolically, (the Society of the Sacred Heart) no longer has a resource here.

But we know their goals and their values.

We live them every day.” Duchesne will remain part of the Sacred Heart network of 22 schools in the U.S., Brudney adds.

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Sumpter began living those values—educating the mind and the soul—at a young age. “I started at Duchesne in seventh grade in 1952, went through high school and then college,” she says, referring to the days when the campus included a primary school as well as Duchesne College. “We had some really powerful (nuns) there at the time, with very few lay people teaching.” She majored in biology and eventually earned two advanced degrees.

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Hayes, who grew up in Denison, Iowa, also attended Duchesne College, which closed in 1968, and fell in love with learning. “Our teachers tied all the subjects together, and somehow we came into this huge worldview, which just blew my mind,” she says. “It woke me up to, ‘Wow, this is what life is.’”

Both knew at an early age what they wanted to do with their lives, a decision formed by the loving nurture of the nuns at Duchesne.

Sitting in their cozy apartment on a tree-lined street in the shadow of St. Cecilia’s, the two weave a fascinating life story that straddles two eras of the Catholic Church.

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SEPTEMBER

// OCTOBER • 2016 / 55 / BESTOFOMAHA.COM

OMAHA MAGAZINE

FEATURE

Which meant no grandchildren?

“You got that right,” she deadpans.

Armed with a drama degree in 1951, Hayes immediately left for the convent. “My father wasn’t Catholic, either,” she says. “When I got on the train, he remarked, ‘You can always come home, you know.’”

But it was a long time before either woman would see their families again. They lived a cloistered life, having very little contact with the outside world except in the Sacred Heart schools where they taught—Sumpter in Lake Forest, Illinois, and Hayes in San Francisco, during which time she earned a master’s degree in history. Prayer, reflection, and Mass filled their highly structured routine.

The winds of change that blew through the Roman Catholic Church in 1965 as a result of the Second Vatican Council also changed the lifestyle of the religious women. Exhorted to “go out into the world,” they left the cloisters and lived among the people they served.

Their long, flowing black robes gave way to modern dress.

6

“A lot of nuns left because they couldn’t adjust,” says Hayes quietly.

The sisters’ paths finally crossed in the early 1990s when both returned to Omaha to be near ailing relatives. They rejoined the severely depleted religious community at Duchesne, filling in as needed in various capacities until they became the only two nuns left.

“We just adore both of them,” says Brudney, a 1983 graduate of Duchesne and one of many alums among the administration and faculty.

“The culture of the school is filled with love.

It’s a very respectful environment.”

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With Duchesne’s enrollment at an all-time high and applicants on a waiting list, the legacies of these gentle, beloved women and Owho preceded them all the Sacred Heart nuns will no doubt endure.

Visit duchesneacademy.org for more information.

// OCTOBER • 2016 / 56 / OMAHAMAGAZINE.COM

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OMAHA MAGAZINE

FEATURE

STORY BY LEO ADAM BIGA // PHOTOGRAPHY BY BILL SITZMANN // DESIGN BY MATT WIECZOREK

THE STORY OF athletics at the

University of Nebraska at Omaha has fluctuated from wild success to heartbreak (and back). All-Americans, post-season runs, and national title traditions collided with mismanagement and sparse spectator attendance.

Then a fresh Maverick joined the fray. Trev Alberts—one of the most decorated defensive players in the history of Huskers football and a former ESPN anchor—took the mantle of UNO’s athletic director in April of 2009.

Tensions bubbled behind the scenes. Chronic budget shortfalls clashed with fractious booster relations. Although new to his administrative role, Alberts knew enough about balance sheets and group dynamics to recognize systemic disarray and dysfunction.

“We were in trouble and we needed to find some solutions,” he says.

The current academic year marks five years since Alberts dismantled UNO’s beloved wrestling and football programs. Alberts looks back on his crucial decisions without regrets. But the “solutions” didn’t come easily. In 2011, the former football star had to cut the sport that defined his own athletic career.

He saw that the financial equation for UNO’s splintered athletic programs no longer worked.

A struggling Division I hockey program could not prop up the remaining Division II programs. Even with a hefty university subsidy, low athletic revenue painted a bleak picture amidst rising costs.

UNO’s bold response was to transition its entire athletic program to Division I by joining the Summit League in 2011. Because the conference does not accommodate wrestling or football, those two sports had to go.

News broke with awkward timing. Maverick wrestlers had just clinched the Division II national championship for the third straight year. A few hours after their victory, UNO Athletics began reaching out to notify celebratory wrestling coaches of the grim news.

SEPTEMBER

// OCTOBER / 59 / BESTOFOMAHA.COM

OMAHA MAGAZINE

Public rancor ensued. Coaches and student-athletes of the winning programs were left adrift. History, however, has proven the difficult decisions were healthy for the university and its athletics department.

Alberts found a key ally in chancellor John Christensen. The man who had initially recruited Alberts promoted him to vice chancellor in 2014, thus giving athletics a seat at UNO’s executive leadership table. “There needs to be absolute integration and now we have internal partnership, collaboration,” says Christensen.

Five years have passed. Athletics programs are stable. Sport teams no longer operate in silos. Alberts dismantled the barriers to build a strong overall athletic department: “When I got here, it appeared we had 16 different athletic departments,” he says. “There was no leadership. We hated campus. The mindset was the university leadership were out to get us, didn’t support us, didn’t understand us.

The athletic department would blame the university; the university would blame the athletic department.

“STRATEGICALLY, MY JOB WAS TO GET ON THE SAME PAGE AS PART OF THE UNIVERSITY TEAM.”

FEATURE

added academic support, the cumulative student-athlete grade point average of 3.4 is among the nation’s highest.

Alberts says that cutting the beloved football and wrestling programs meant “a really trying time, but galvanized the department and the university.” He continues,“We came together as a university. This was an institutional decision. It wasn’t John and I in a corner room deciding. We had a lot of people involved.”

Even with unanimous University Board of Regents approval for the athletic department shake-up, emotions ran high among constituents opposed to the cuts. Despite pleas to save wrestling and football, Alberts says, “The data was going to drive the decision-making.

We weren’t going to manage the outcome of a good process. We moved to Division I because the market had an expectation about what the experience would be like, and we weren’t able to meet that expectation.” Maintaining the programs, especially football, would have required larger expenditures at the next level and exacerbated the fiscal mess.

Everything was on the table during deliberations: “We looked at trying to stay at Division II and regaining profitability in hockey, we looked at Division III, we looked at having no athletics, and then we looked at Division I. The conclusion was Division I would bring us an opportunity to get at more self-generated revenue through NCAA distributions.”

-Trev Alberts

“Strategically, my job was to get on the same page as part of the university team. I asked John Christensen to define his goals. He said community engagement, academic excellence, and (being) student-centered. I had to explain to staff everything we do is going to try to help the university advance its goals and every decision we make, if it isn’t student-centered and doesn’t support academic excellence and community engagement, we’re going to ask ourselves why are we doing that.”

Since then, the athletic department has made major strides. The hockey team made the 2015 Frozen Four, men’s basketball contended for the 2016 Summit title and saw a 65 percent attendance increase, and other sports have similarly fared well. With

It was all about athletics better reflecting the “premiere urban metropolitan university” that Christensen says defines UNO. As the strategic repositioning set in, academics flourished, new facilities abounded, and enrollment climbed. Christensen says going to D-I was “a value-add” proposition.

“We looked at our peer doctorate-granting institutions and they were all Division I,” Alberts says. “The real value an athletics department has to a campus is essentially a brand investment. You have alumni come back, you have student engagement. That’s really the role you play. We are the front porch of the university.”

SEPTEMBER

What followed was the rebranding of UNO to associate more with Omaha and embrace what Alberts and Christensen call “the Maverick family.” The rebrand is encapsulated in the construction of Baxter Arena, a D-I sporting facility adjacent to UNO’s midtown campus that also provides a venue for community events.

The past five years were not without tumult.

Some longtime donors withdrew financial support in response to UNO cutting wrestling and football. Businessman David Sokol reportedly cut part of his pledged donation in reaction. But donors have since returned in droves.

Van Deeb, another longtime booster and a former UNO football player, was initially an outspoken critic of UNO cutting wrestling and football. “My big disappointment was not that it did happen but the way it happened.

Even being on the Maverick athletic board, we had no clue it was coming,” says the Omahabased entrepreneur.

“But that’s in the past,” says Deeb. “I couldn’t be prouder of where UNO is headed as an athletic department and as a university. I’m 100 percent behind the progressive leadership of Trev Alberts and John Christensen.

They’re all about the student-athlete and the future.”

Alberts realizes that some hard feelings linger.

“We have people who I don’t think will ever be a part of what we’re doing, and I understand that,” he says.

Regardless, there was enough community buy-in that private donations reached new heights ($45 million) and helped build the showplace Baxter Arena. Alberts cites the construction of Baxter Arena as a tangible result of the move to Division I. Deeb says Baxter Arena has propelled UNO to another level. “When you’re around campus or at a UNO event there’s a level of excitement I can’t describe,” he says. “It’s a great time to be a Maverick supporter.”

// OCTOBER • 2016 / 60 / OMAHAMAGAZINE.COM

The arena has proven a popular gathering spot for greater Omaha. This past spring, some 100,000 people attended high school graduations there, a realization of the chancellor and Alberts’ desire for greater community engagement.

Although few of UNO’s current students remember what campus was like before the rebrand, that doesn’t mean that Alberts or his team have forgotten. They still recognize the historic importance that the canceled sports provided to the university.

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In fact, Alberts joined Van Deeb and several other community leaders on a steering committee seeking to honor one of UNO football’s greatest athletes, Marlin Briscoe. “An Evening with The Magician,” will celebrate the school’s most decorated football player, an Omaha native and civil rights trailblazer, at Baxter Arena on Thursday, Sept. 22.

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As a quarterback at UNO (then called Omaha University), the Omaha South High School grad set 22 school records (including 5,114 passing yards and 53 touchdowns during his collegiate career). Briscoe became the first African-American starting quarterback in the NFL during his 1968 season with the Denver Broncos. He played for several franchises during a nine-year NFL career, spending the majority of time in the league as a wide receiver with the Buffalo Bills. He won two Super Bowls with the Miami Dolphins.

On Friday, Sept. 23, UNO will unveil a lifesize statue of Briscoe on campus. Alberts says he envisions that the sculpture might be added to “a champions plaza” whenever the south athletics complex gets built-out.

“This is not necessarily a UNO thing; it’s an Omaha thing,” Alberts says. “Marlin is a great person with a great story, and it’s been an honor to get to know him.”

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Under Alberts' leadership, the university does not seek to diminish the importance of those former storied programs. But he has to keep an eye toward the future. “I’m absolutely bullish on where we are today and where we can go,” says the optimistic Alberts. “We’re only scratching the surface. We O are an absolute diamond in the rough.”

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OMAHA MAGAZINE

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W

A LANGUAGE FAMILY: WILLIAM LYNN

THE MISSION STATEMENT

HEN A LANGUAGE dies, its

culture suffers a tragic loss.

The indigenous Omaha people —the Umoⁿhoⁿ—are thus in a precarious position. Although there are about 6,000 living members of the tribe, its language is in danger of passing into history. According to Glenna Slater, member of the Omaha Tribe, fewer than 12 tribal members are considered fluent in the language—and many who know the language are unable to teach it.

Slater is one of those rare fluent speakers alive today.

“We’re right here at the edge,” she says. “We lost one teacher in January.”

The Umoⁿhoⁿ settled the Great Plains during the 17th century before losing much of their territory to the U.S. government in the early 1800s, including where the city of Omaha sits today. The Omaha Reservation was established in 1854 and is seated in Macy, Nebraska.

Slater, now in her 70s, grew up on the reservation speaking Omaha as her first language, though she was never taught formally. She did not speak English until she began attending school. Slater eventually attended the University of Nebraska and began a lifelong career in social work, but the compulsion to educate runs through her bloodline. Her mother taught on the reservation as well. “I could never walk in her footsteps,” says the ever-humble Slater.

These days, she gives a weekly course at the UNO Community Engagement Center, teaching the Omaha language to learners young and old. She began teaching around 15 years ago, helping her older sister

Winona (now in her 90s) give lessons on the reservation.

Many of Slater’s students are older—in their 40s and 50s—but a new batch of younger people have also taken up the mantle. Some of her students are as young as 10 years old.

They practice with primers on vocabulary and grammar. They read narratives and traditional stories. “The students want to learn everything. When young ones want to go home and ask their parents, their parents are unable to help, because they were never taught formally or they aren’t fluent.”

Slater tells her students to keep their handouts and everything they acquire, for they may be called upon in the future to pass on the language. Her older students are already teaching their own grandkids, she says.

In tandem with classes at UNO, Slater is also involved in Umoⁿhoⁿ language instruction at Nebraska Indian Community College (NICC) in Macy. Established in 1973, NICC is an accredited land-grant institution providing two-year degrees to residents of the Omaha and Isanti (Santee Sioux) reservations.

She has also taught in South Sioux City, and at Metropolitan Community College in Omaha.

Slater speaks of the language with great respect and deference. “There would be something missing if I didn’t know the language,” she says, regarding her relationship with the Omaha Tribe and her ancestors.

“The language is very sacred: if you question the rules and reasoning behind it, you’ll be told it comes from up there,” Slater says, pointing to the sky. “And you won’t get more of an answer than that.” Slater’s respect for the language and Omaha tradition is mirrored in the class, too: “You can only tell the legends during the winter months. If you don’t respect this, strange things will happen.”

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// OCTOBER • 2016 / 63 / BESTOFOMAHA.COM

of the Dhegiha Preservation Society states: “the Osage, Omaha, Quapaw, Kaw, Ponca, and Northern Ponca peoples are bound to one another through a shared history, ancient social, political, and cultural relationships, and a common language, the latter of which is in jeopardy of extinction.”

Once a year, Dhegiha speakers and educators gather for a language conference.

The sixth annual Dhegiha Language Conference took place in Omaha at UNO’s Community Engagement Center on July 21 and 22.

“Our main goal is to create fluent Dhegiha speakers,” says William Lynn, chairman of the Dhegiha Preservation Society and an enrolled member of the Osage Nation.

The Omaha language is an offshoot of the Dhegihaspeaking branch of the ProtoSiouan language family. In comparison to European languages, it’s a bit like Danish, an offshoot of Scandinavian (North Germanic), which is a branch of the Proto-Germanic language family. The PoncaOmaha languages are mutually intelligible, and linguists generally group them together.

“It was great that the Ponca and Omaha hosted this year,” says Lynn (Osage).

“We’ve had it in Oklahoma for five years. Last year, the Omaha sent a couple of vans down to Oklahoma with 12 fluent speakers.”

ON THE HOMELAND: VIDA STABLER

UMONHON LANGUAGE DOCUMENTATION dates to James Owen Dorsey, Alice Fletcher, and Francis La Flesche (the first Omaha-Ponca anthropologist). “But many others have documented our language since then,” says Vida Stabler, Title VII Indian Education Director of Umoⁿhoⁿ Nation Public Schools.

The Omaha Reservation schools currently employ two full-time and two part-time Umoⁿhoⁿ language instructors to teach across roughly 20 K-12 classrooms each week. “We do not have enough teachers to meet demand on the reservation,” says Stabler, who has taught at the schools for 18 years. She recently helped to organize a new teaching group, ToUL (Teachers of Umoⁿhoⁿ Language), and says developing immersion programs will be crucial to language revitalization.

Three years ago, the Omaha Public Schools and the Umoⁿhoⁿ Language Cultural Center produced a language app called “Omaha Basic.” Over the past decade, Umoⁿhoⁿ Nation Public Schools and UNL partnered to complete the first Omaha language textbook (to be released in 2018). The projects relied on crucial contributions by the late Marcella Woodhull Cayou, Donna Morris Parker, and Susan Fremont. In 2017, Umoⁿhoⁿ Nation Public Schools is partnering with the Language Conservancy to produce an Umoⁿhoⁿ textbook for instructors and students.

OMAHA MAGAZINE

COVER

HER GOAL WITH THE CLASSES IS TO CONTINUE ENTHUSIASM FOR THE LANGUAGE, AND TO ENSURE ITS SURVIVAL FOR GENERATIONS TO COME. Preserving the language has been a difficult process. In addition to the generational challenges, a dictionary was completed only in the last decade, owing much to the contributions of Professor Mark Awakuni Swetland of UNL, who passed in 2015 yet remains a controversial figure among tribal leaders (due to concerns that a non-Omaha person might be profiting from the Omaha language).

Written documentation of the language is limited, and much of the knowledge is still fragmented across the recollections of surviving fluent speakers. Slater herself must defer to the wisdom of her siblings and peers in some cases. “You might know the language,” she says, “but you don’t know it all.”

Her goal with the classes is to continue enthusiasm for the language, and to ensure its survival for generations to come. “I just hope it can go on after me,” Slater remarks, “and I would be happy if I can get even two or three students to become conversational in it.”

Despite the challenges ahead, Slater remains optimistic. Several language revitalization initiatives are underway with the collaborative involvement of elders residing throughout the state. That’s in addition to lessons taught in Head Start, primary and secondary schools, community colleges, and in homes across Macy.

Slater hopes her teaching will expose more people to Omaha culture. “This has been the most fulfilling thing for me,” she says. “When students leave, they want to be hugged. Life is so hard, they need this extra O something. And I learn from them, too.”

Visit omahaponca.unl.edu for more information.

SEPTEMBER

// OCTOBER • 2016 / 64 / OMAHAMAGAZINE.COM

AN OUTSIDER’S VIEW: AUBREY STREIT KRUG

AUBREY STREIT KRUG

began studying the Omaha language as part of her ongoing Ph.D. in English at UNL. Her adviser suggested that she learn a Native American language, so she started taking classes with the late Mark Awakuni-Swetland, Ph.D., an anthropology professor of Euro-American descent (who had been adopted by Omaha elders).

Streit Krug says she was a minority in the class as a non-Native person. After Awakuni-Swetland’s passing in 2015, she remained among the 10-15 people working on a collaborative textbook.

The textbook’s copyright is owned by the Umoⁿhoⁿ Language Cultural Center and Umoⁿhoⁿ Nations Public Schools. The upcoming textbook and the Omaha-Ponca Digital Dictionary are the legacy of her mentor’s lifework.

“Studying Umoⁿhoⁿ is important because this is the land where we are situated.

My ancestors were German immigrants in the late-19th century, and I grew up in rural Kansas,” she says, noting that the Omaha language helped her to understand the root meaning of the Waconda Lake near her hometown (a Siouan word for “ holy” or “sacred”). “What I knew of the Great Plains was the history of Euro-American settlement.

But there is this beautiful, ongoing tradition of Native communities.”

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WOULD LIKE TO begin

by introducing myself.

My English name is Marisa Cummings. My Omaha or Umoⁿhoⁿ name is Miakonda or Moon Power. I was given my Buffalo Tail Clan name by my great-grandmother, Edith Walker Springer. My father is the late Michael Cummings, or Stampeding Buffalo. My father’s mother is Eunice Walker Mohn, or Buffalo Tail Clan Woman. My grandmother’s parents are the late Charles Amos Walker, or White Chest, and the late Ida Springer Walker, or New Moon. I am an Omaha woman. I am a Buffalo Tail Clan woman of the Sky people. I am the oldest child of eight children. I am the mother of four children.

As I wrote the paragraph to introduce myself, I was mentally translating from Umoⁿhoⁿ to English. The Umoⁿhoⁿ language is a beautiful conduit of culture. Self introductions are very important in our community. One must know who they are to know where they are going in this life. Language allows us to express ourselves to one another as human beings, to talk to the Creator, and express ourselves through song and ceremony. As language is a conduit for expressing thoughts and feelings, and relaying cultural knowledge, it is essential that our Umoⁿhoⁿ language is revered and preserved for our future generations. We must preserve our language to talk to our Creator through our ceremonies as we were instructed to do in our language.

My grandmother grew up hearing Umoⁿhoⁿ spoken as the primary language at home; it was her first language. She has told me about her parents waking well before sunrise and praying in Umoⁿhoⁿ in the kitchen. Her father, Charles Walker or Mongaska, was taken to Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Carlisle was a military-style school founded in 1879 by Capt.

Richard Pratt under the authority of the U.S. government with the founding principle that Native Americans were a vanishing race and their only hope for survival was assimilation to white mainstream culture. The first thing done was to cut off the children’s sacred hair.

The second step was to make them stop speaking their traditional language and converse

COVER

in English. My great-grandfather came back to the reservation after his stay at Carlisle and remained fluent in both Umoⁿhoⁿ and English. He served on our tribal council for over 25 years. My grandmother’s mother, Ida or Metexi, was sent to Genoa Indian Industrial School in Genoa, Nebraska. She also returned to the reservation and spoke fluent Umoⁿhoⁿ. Both of my great-grandparents survived assimilation and Indian boarding schools and retained their Umoⁿhoⁿ language in daily practice in and outside of their home.

Tragedy struck when my grandmother was 10 years old. Her mother passed away and left eight orphaned children. Her father decided to send her, at age 14, to Haskell Indian School in Lawrence, Kansas. There was no more playing in the timber, no more collecting wild plums and gooseberries. She was alone. She said that she often wondered what she did wrong. Was her father angry with her? Why would he send her away? My grandmother graduated from Haskell and moved to Sioux City, Iowa, with the courage to start a life for herself.

LANGUAGE ALLOWS US TO EXPRESS OURSELVES TO ONE ANOTHER AS HUMAN BEINGS, TO TALK TO THE CREATOR, AND EXPRESS OURSELVES THROUGH SONG AND CEREMONY.

leadership and that Native women will be at the front of the movement to bring back language and culture. He was very proud when I graduated with a degree from the University of Iowa.

As a young woman, I was always interested in our language. I would ask my grandma and great-grandma to tell me stories. I would sit at their feet or at the kitchen table in my grandma’s trailer while I asked one question after another. I think she got tired of me at times. I still am always asking questions of my grandmother. How do I say this? Do you remember this? She is the matriarch of our family. I am blessed that my children can be close to her and experience her unconditional love and knowledge.

In 1978, the Indian Religious Freedoms Act was passed. Our ceremonies, songs, and dances were no longer illegal. We could legally pray in the manner the Creator intended for us to pray. Yet, so many of the songs, ceremonies, and teachings were no longer practiced.

In my life journey, I have rediscovered my love of ceremony. I enjoy collecting and preparing medicine. I love that I have the ability to be a lifelong learner of culture and ceremony, but in order to make that true connection, I must relearn a language that is rooted in my DNA. I believe that we can relearn our sense of true self and heal both individually and collectively.

-Marisa Miakonda Cummings My father was born in 1955. He was considered a “half-breed,” as his father was a white man. However, his grandfather, Charlie Walker, took pity on him and gave him the Umoⁿhoⁿ Buffalo Tail Clan name Te-NugaNa-Tide. My father was an incredible man.

He received his master’s degree from Iowa State University and went to work for the corporate world. He always instilled in me the power of education and the importance of coming back to help the people with the education I received. I was raised to be of service and make a difference. My father also raised me like a first-born son. He made me tough, taught me to always speak up and use my voice, to be courageous and strategic. He told me that women have a strong place in

SEPTEMBER

My children have been born in a generation where our ceremonies are being revived and practiced. My children have been exposed to ceremonies, songs, dance, and love of our way of life. As I embrace our ceremonies and language, I know that I am also healing those who went before me. As I heal, I give reverence to ancestors whose hearts broke when they saw English replace Umoⁿhoⁿ in their homes, those who watched alcohol replace ceremony, and those who witnessed government commodities replace our sacred foods.

As we revive our sacred way of life, we renew and honor all of those who went before us.

O Visit omaha-nsn.gov for more information.

// OCTOBER • 2016 / 67 / BESTOFOMAHA.COM

2016

AKSARBEN

CORONATION & SCHOLARSHIP BALL OCTOBER 15, 2016 AT BAXTER ARENA

T

HE AKSARBEN CORONATION and Scholarship Ball is one of Omaha’s premiere events. This fundraiser assists the organization’s two college scholarship programs.

The ball recognizes families who make significant contributions to our community. Pictured here are second and thirdgrade pages, who were selected based on their parents’ volunteer involvement throughout the metro.

K athryn A. A lloway daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell R. Alloway

Eden M. A nderson

daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Mickey Anderson

Ava C. Brownrigg

daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Brian M. Brownrigg

Jonathon K. A pp son of Mr. and Mrs. Michael G. App

Blake P. Chandler

daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Eric R. Chandler

H arrison D. Dana

son of Mr. and Mrs. Andrew W. Dana

SEPTEMBER

Samuel J. Berliner

son of Mr. and Mrs. David S. Berliner

C aleb L. Clark

son of Mr. and Mrs. Timothy L. Clark

Sima D. Denenberg

daughter of Drs. Tippi M. and Steven M. Denenberg

// OCTOBER • 2016 / 68 / OMAHAMAGAZINE.COM

Isaiah M. Boyd

son of Mr. and Mrs. Matthew B. Boyd

E leanor F. C odr

daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James E. Codr

William G. Dittrick

son of Dr. George W. Dittrick and Ms. Glynnis S. Dittrick

E lizabeth C. Boyle daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Michael E. Boyle, Jr.

M argaret M. C odr daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James E. Codr

William T. Dunning

son of Mr. Eric B. Dunning and Mrs. Toba Cohen-Dunning

Omaha Magazine • Giving

Olivia A. Fahey

Parker M. G aney

R eagan L. Gloystein

R eese V. Gloystein

daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Brian J. Fahey

son of Mr. Brent M. Ganey and Mrs. Carrie N. Ferris

daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Jesse A. Gloystein

daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Jesse A. Gloystein

E mery L. Grace

daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Ryan T. Grace

Christian H. Gravelle

M arguerite C. H arr

Sophia J. M. H egarty

H arper L. Hinsley

Evelyn R. Jeffreys

A insley E. Jenkins

E llie L. Jung

daughter of The Honorable and Mrs. Burke J. Harr

K enley B. Molettiere

daughter of Dr. Courtney R. and Mr. Matthew J. Molettiere

C arter J. Pflug

son of Dr. and Mrs. John W. Pflug

E loise J. Sutton

daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Charles L. Sutton

daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Douglas S. Hegarty

L auren G. Murnan

daughter of Mr. and Mrs. David L. Hinsley

Gianluca A. Oberto

daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Jason L. Jeffreys

daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John B. Jenkins

daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Michael P. Jung

Ava E. O wen

H enry B. O wen

Lucy K. P eterson

daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Michael J. Murnan

son of Mr. and Mrs. Gustavo E. Oberto

daughter of Mr. and Mrs. D. Robert Owen

son of Mr. and Mrs. Tyler R. Owen

C ale M. R edding

Patrick E. F. Schermerhorn

G abrielle P. Semrad

Siena M. Sumner

son of Mr. and Mrs. Chad M. Redding

Luke W. Thomas

son of Mr. and Mrs. Leon P. Thomas

son of Dr. Mary T. Finnegan and Mr. Eric J. Schermerhorn

Jack P. Watson

son of Mr. and Mrs. Adam J. Watson

SEPTEMBER

son of Mr. and Mrs. Matthew D. Gravelle

daughter of Dr. Lindsay M. Semrad and Mr. Scott D. Semrad

daughter of Mr. and Mrs. David J. Sumner

L eah L. Wisdom

daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Marc T. Wisdom

// OCTOBER • 2016 / 69 / BESTOFOMAHA.COM

daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Kyle J. Peterson

Luke T. M axwell

son of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas G. Maxwell

OMAHA MAGAZINE

GIVING

CALENDAR SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2016

GIVING CALENDAR Sept. 25

Oct. 8

Alzheimer’s Association Midtown CrossingTurner Park

Autism Action Partnership Location TBA

2016 OMAHA WALK TO END ALZHEIMER’S

-act.alz.org

Sept. 25

CORPORATE CUP American Lung Association Aksarben Village

Oct. 6

SIGNATURE CHEFS AUCTION 2016

-aksarbenvillage.com

March of Dimes | Embassy Suites-La Vista

Sept. 29

-signaturechefsmarchofdimes.org

ARCHBISHOP’S DINNER FOR EDUCATION

Archdiocese of Omaha Embassy SuitesLa Vista -archomaha.org

Sept. 29

SPIRIT OF ST. FRANCIS DINNER New Cassel Foundation Scoular Ballroom -newcassel.org

Eat and support a good cause while participating in the Live Auction and Fund the Mission event. Over 20 local chefs will benefit sophisticated palates (and hungry guests) with money going towards improving the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth, and infant mortality.

Sept. 29

SCOTT BROTHERS LUNCHEON

A FUNDRAISER FOR HEROES: 3RD ANNUAL 9/11 MEMORIAL BENEFIT First Responders Foundation Omaha Police Mounted Patrol Barn

-firstrespondersomaha.org

Sept. 8

BREW HAHA: A BEER AND FOOD TASTING EVENT

Habitat for Humanity Stinson Park

Sept. 19

MEN FOR OTHERS GOLF CLASSIC

Creighton Preparatory School Omaha Country Club

FOURTH ANNUAL KVC KIDS CLASSIC GOLF TOURNAMENT KVC Nebraska Ashland Golf Club -nebraska.kvc.org

Sept. 9

NOTEWORTHY NIGHT Children’s Respite Care Center Il Palazzo -crccomaha.org

Sept. 11

THIRD ANNUAL 9/11 MINUTE OF SILENCE First Responders Stinson Park

AKSARBEN’S RIVER CITY RODEO & STOCK SHOW

-creightonprep.creighton.edu

Sept. 19

46TH ANNUAL BOY SCOUT GOLF INVITATIONAL

Boy Scouts of America Mid-America Council Shadow Ridge Country Club -mac-bsa.org

-habitatomaha.org

Sept. 9

Sept. 23-24

Sept. 22-25

LAURITZEN GARDENS ANTIQUE & GARDEN SHOW

AKSARBEN Foundation CenturyLink Center -aksarbenstockshow.com

Sept. 24

TOUCH-A-TRUCK

Child Saving Institute First Data/UNO parking lots -childsaving.org

Sept. 24

SPOTLIGHT GALA

Voices for Children in Nebraska Embassy SuitesLa Vista -voiceforchildren.com

Lauritzen Gardens Lauritzen Gardens

Sept. 24

Sept. 23

CHI Health Breast Center Lakeside CHI Health Lakeside Hospital

-omahaantiqueshow.org

2016 BIG RED TAILGATE

Completely KIDS Embassy SuitesLa Vista -completelykids.org

11TH ANNUAL JEWELS OF AUTUMN 2016

-chihealth.com

Sept. 25

SUPERHERO HEART RUN

Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Werner Park

-superheroheartrun.com

-autismaction.org

Oct. 8

15TH ANNUAL OMAHA BUDDY WALK Down Syndrome Alliance of the Midlands Location TBA -dsamidlands.org

Oct. 8

ACTION DAY

First Responders Foundation Omaha Public Safety Training Center

-firstrespondersomaha.org

Oct. 8-9

KIDS & CLAYS SHOOTING SPORTS TOURNAMENT Ronald McDonald House Charities Ronald McDonald House -rmhcomaha.org

Rebuilding Together Omaha Omaha Design Center

Oct. 9

Oct. 2

Omaha Area Youth UNO Strauss Performing Arts Center

-rebuildingtogetheromaha.org

Sept. 8

VINTAGE AFFAIRE GALA

WALK FOR THE ANIMALS

Nebraska Humane Society Nebraska Humane Society

-nehumanesociety.org

Oct. 2

AKSARBEN NEIGHBORHOOD TOUR Restoration Exchange Omaha Aksarben Neighborhood -restorationexchange.org

Oct. 6

BREAKING THE SILENCE WITH TOM ARNOLD

OAYO ALUMNI READING

-oaya.org

Oct. 9

KOMEN NEBRASKA RACE FOR THE CURE Susan G. Komen Nebraska Sponsor Expo inside Baxter Arena & Aksarben Village

-nebraska.info-komen.org

Oct. 9

ANNUAL BLUES & BARBECUE HARVEST PARTY

No More Empty Pots and the Florence Mill The Florence Mill

-tinyurl.com/bluesbbq

Community Alliance Mental Health Recovery Holland Performing Arts Center

Oct. 14

Oct. 7

-homegrownomaha.org

-community-alliance.org

FRIENDS OF SCOTTISH RITE DINNER & AUCTION Scottish Rite Foundation of Omaha Scottish Rite Masonic Center -scottishriteomaha.org

HOMEGROWN

Nebraska Children’s Home Society Nebraska Brewing Co. Tap Room Oct. 15

AKSARBEN CORONATION AND SCHOLARSHIP BALL

AKSARBEN Foundation UNO’s Baxter Arena -aksarben.org

-firstrespondersomaha.org

SEPTEMBER

// OCTOBER • 2016 / 70 / OMAHAMAGAZINE.COM

Oct. 20

LEAD THE CHANGE: WOMEN’S FUND OF OMAHA 2016 ANNUAL CELEBRATION FEATURING LISA LING Women’s Fund of Omaha CenturyLink Center -omahawomensfund.org

Oct. 20

PURE INSPIRATION ART EXHIBIT & FOODWINE PAIRING EVENT Center for Childhood Deafness Lied Learning and Technology Center -boystownhospital.org

Oct. 21

BREATH OF HOPE

Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Omaha Design Center

-nebreathofhope.eventscff.org

Oct. 22

OMAHA’S GREAT PUMPKIN Lutheran Family Services Village Pointe Roundabout

-ifsneb.org

Oct. 23

MONSTER MASH WALK AND RUN

Children’s Hospital & Medical Center Rockbrook Village

-monstermashomaha.com

Oct. 2

BENEFIT ART AUCTION Bemis Center Bemis Center -bemiscenter.org

Oct. 30

ALL ORCHESTRA CONCERT

Omaha Area Youth Orchestra Holland Performing Arts Center -oayo.org

RV Dealer

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KNOW SOMEONE WHO IS LOSING THEIR EYESIGHT? WE CAN HELP. Outlook Nebraska, Inc. offers: • Employment, training and experiences that allow the visually impaired to realize their personal and career goals.

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Our tradition

Expertise. Innovation. Compassion. After 125 years of caring for the Omaha area, these are the symbols of care at Methodist and why generations of families put their trust in us. It’s a tradition that’s made an impact on the health of Omaha today, and what drives us to advance our care and create a healthier tomorrow. bestcare.org/beyond ©2016 Methodist Health System

SEPTEMBER

// OCTOBER • 2016 / 71 / BESTOFOMAHA.COM

ERE YOU ARE H W T N E V EL UA XT EN NN RA TH U O Y N A 9 PL

N O I T N E T T A F O R E T N E C E TH PRES E N TE D B Y E OMAHA M AG A Z I N

CENTURYLINK

Unparalleled professional service meets state-of-the-art technology at CenturyLink Center Omaha. With a striking, contemporary design and over 346,000 square feet of meeting space, CenturyLink Center Omaha becomes an immediate topic of conversation at any event.

Exhibition Space - 194K sq ft Meeting Space - 64K sq ft Pre-function Space - 79K sq ft Outdoor Space - 9K sq ft

For more information, contact Denise Niebrugge, CMP, Vice President Convention Center Sales & Marketing at 402.599.6932 or dniebrugge@omahameca.com.

455 N. 10th Street | Omaha, NE 68102 | www.CENTURYLINKCENTEROMAHA.com SEPTEMBER

// OCTOBER • 2016 / 73 / BESTOFOMAHA.COM

TH

9

ANNUAL

PRES E N TE D B Y E OMAHA M AG A Z I N

MAHA MAGAZINE’S “BIG GIVE” is our annual directory of

O

charitable causes. We are proud to help connect volunteers and philanthropists to the many area nonprofits. Each page in this special section is devoted to a different organization. Read on to O points learn more about their mission statements, organizational backgrounds, of pride, upcoming events, and ways that you can make a difference.

75

100 Black Men of Omaha

87

Empowerment Network

76

Abide

88

77

The ALS Association MidAmerica Chapter

Film Streams, Inc.

89

Food Bank for the Heartland

78

98

Lutheran Family Services of Nebraska

99

Nebraska Children’s Home Society

100 Nebraska

American Red Cross

90

79

Assistance League of Omaha

91

Global Partners in Hope

80

Autism Action Partnership

92

Green Omaha Coalition

102 Ollie Webb

81

Ballet Nebraska

93

103 Omaha Against

82

CASA for Douglas County

Heartland Family Service

94

104 Omaha

83

Children's Scholarship Fund of Omaha

The Hope Center for Kids

95

ICARE Youth Services, Inc.

84

Completely Kids

96

85

CUES

86

Diabetes Education Center of the Midlands

97

Gesu Housing, Inc.

The Jewish Federation of Omaha The Kim Foundation

SEPTEMBER

Humane Society

101 The Nebraska

Urban Indian Health Coalition

Center, Inc. Hunger

Children’s Museum

108 Outlook

Nebraska, Inc.

109 Phoenix Academy 110 Project Harmony 111 Rejuvenating Women

112 Release

Ministries, Inc.

113 The Salvation Army

114 Santa Monica House

115 Siena/Francis

House Homeless Shelter

116 Together

105 Omaha Home

117 United Way of

106 Omaha Public

118 Youth Emergency

for Boys

Library Foundation

107 Open Door Mission

// OCTOBER • 2016 / 74 / OMAHAMAGAZINE.COM

the Midlands Services

100 BMO logo block.pdf

1

7/22/13

12:23 PM

OMAHA MAGAZINE

THE BIG GIVE

MISSION STATEMENT

WISH LIST

To improve the quality of life in Omaha by helping our youth reach their fullest potential.

We seek to achieve our mission through Mentoring, Education, Health & Wellness and Economic Empowerment programs.

» Mentors, Mentors, Mentors » $100 sponsors one mentee at Annual Gala » $500 sponsors five mentees at Annual Gala » $1,000 sponsors ACT prep classes for mentees » $2,500 provides workshops and learning activities for a school year » Computers » Laptops » iPads » Gift Cards » Sporting or cultural event tickets

UPCOMING EVENTS Striving for Success Summit September 13, 2016 100 Saturday Academy a Math & Reading Tutorial Program September 24, 2016 through April 29, 2017 African American History Challenge February 4, 2017

BACKGROUND

» Leadership and Mentoring Academy » Pathways to Success » 100 Saturday Academy » African American History Challenge » Real Men Read » Real Men Greet

8,683 contact hours. We had a 100% high school graduation rate, with 43% of our mentees receiving full ride scholarships. The 100 Saturday Academy served 130 Omaha Public School students, providing 14,208 student contact hours.

Mentoring is the foundation of what the 100 delivers to our community. The 100 is engaged in innovative one-to-one and group mentoring that serves young men and program participants. By exposing our youth to successful men, mentees develop healthy BRAG LINES PAY IT FORWARD personal relationships, and are taught to pursue positive life-long In 2015, the 100 served over 6,000 Volunteer to give one hour a week goals. The 100 offers the following individuals through its programs. to make a difference in a young programs: We provided 28,901 program man’s life. contact hours which was a 23% increase. Our mentoring programs impacted 1,210 individuals with SEPTEMBER

// OCTOBER • 2016 / 75 / BESTOFOMAHA.COM

Men of Honor Gala Fundraiser April 8, 2017

100 BLACK MEN OF OMAHA 2221 N. 24th St. Omaha, NE 68110 402-934-7065 100blackmenomaha.org Like Us on Facebook: 100 Black Men of Omaha Follow Us on Twitter: 100BMO

OMAHA MAGAZINE

THE BIG GIVE

MISSION STATEMENT

WISH LIST

Abide is an inner city, non-profit organization with a dream that one day, Omaha, Nebraska, would have no inner city! Our mission is to transform the inner city, one neighborhood at a time. Abide provides a holistic approach that focuses on developing healthy neighborhoods through four main areas: community building, family support programs, housing, and partnerships.

» Houses in North Omaha » New kitchen appliances for renovated lighthouses » Construction volunteers for Lighthouse projects » Volunteers for block parties » Paper goods for block parties » Raffle prizes for block parties » Gift cards to Walmart and Target for the Lights of Hope Christmas Toy & Gift card drive » Christmas yard decorations for the second annual Lights of Hope Light Display

UPCOMING EVENTS Step Into Village One Block Party Sept. 25, 2016

BACKGROUND

At the end of 2014, Ron’s son, Josh Dotzler became the CEO. Abide was founded in 1989 by Through Josh’s leadership, Abide Ron and Twany Dotzler. Through has expanded the Neighborhood a series of circumstances including Adoption strategy and recently the murder of their two neighbor moved to Turning Point, formerly girls, Ron and Twany felt the the Nebraska School of the Deaf. call to remain in North Omaha and be a part of transforming.

BRAG LINES These stories are outlined in Ron’s book, “Out of the Seats » Abide has adopted 102 and Into the Streets.” Abide’s neighborhoods in the 700 neighborhood strategy began in identified neighborhoods in 2007 with the transformation North Omaha. of one of North Omaha’s most » There is reduced violent challenging neighborhoods. crime in our 102 adopted Through Abide’s holistic approach neighborhoods. this neighborhood that was » In 2015, 8,635 North Omaha redlined by police as most violent residents participated was marked by police as most in Abide-sponsored changed. community events. » Abide engaged over 6000 volunteers in 2015 through SEPTEMBER

our community events, family support programs, and Lighthouse projects, refurbished homes occupied by families that have committed to being neighborhood advocates. » Abide has renovated 25 Lighthouses and moved in community advocates. We anticipate 3 more Lighthouses will be completed by the end of 2016.

Better Together Bash Sept. 29, 2016 Lights of Hope Campaign October-December 2016 Lights of Hope Christmas Lights Display December 2016

PAY IT FORWARD There are many ways you can help us in our mission to transform the inner city: volunteer, donate, or adopt a neighborhood. Visit our website to learn how you can be Better Together for our City!

// OCTOBER • 2016 / 76 / OMAHAMAGAZINE.COM

ABIDE 3223 N. 45th St. Omaha, NE 68104 402-455-7807 abideomaha.org

OMAHA MAGAZINE

BACKGROUND The ALS Association MidAmerica Chapter supports people living with ALS and their loved ones through services and education in Omaha and all of Nebraska. No stone is left unturned in the search for the cure of this progressive neurodegenerative disease.

BRAG LINES As the local chapter of The ALS Association, which spans across the United States with 39 Chapters, we are the only

MISSION STATEMENT

WISH LIST

ALS Association is leading the fight to treat and cure ALS through global research and nationwide advocacy while also empowering people with Lou Gehrig’s Disease and their families to live fuller lives by providing them with compassionate care and support.

» Donate: Your gift will help the ALS Association support research to find a cure for ALS and provide much-needed services to patients and their families. By becoming a part of the ALSA family and making your gift today, you will help sustain hope in thousands of people affected by ALS. » Advocate: Your voice counts! An ALS Association Advocate is a foot soldier in the battle to defeat ALS. An ALS Association Advocate is someone who is passionate about getting involved with government at all levels to draw awareness and resources to the people affected by this disease. » Participate: Join the legions of walkers in the annual Walk to Defeat ALS. Held annually in midAugust, The Walk generates hundreds of thousands of dollars for local services.

national non-profit organization fighting Lou Gehrig’s Disease on every front, giving help and hope to those facing the disease.

Locally the Omaha office has been serving the ALS population since 2001. The chapter hosts multiple support groups monthly to provide support and guidance to both people living with ALS and their caregivers.

An extensive equipment, home adaptation, and computerenhanced communication program helps to identify needs and avenues for acquiring necessary items, alleviating SEPTEMBER

THE BIG GIVE

some of the debilitating aspects of ALS such as mobility and communication.

Since 2008, the chapter has partnered with Nebraska Medicine to provide evidence-based, multidisciplinary care through the ALS Association Certified Treatment Center of Excellence.

Certified in 2014 as one of only 46 ALS certified centers, Nebraska Medicine has met the ALS Association’s clinical care and treatment standards, which are based on the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) Practice Parameters.

// OCTOBER • 2016 / 77 / BESTOFOMAHA.COM

UPCOMING EVENTS The Walk to Defeat ALS® August 2017

THE ALS ASSOCIATION MID-AMERICA CHAPTER 10730 Pacific St., #103 Omaha, NE 68114 402-991-8788 alsa-midamerica.org

OMAHA MAGAZINE

THE BIG GIVE

MISSION STATEMENT

WISH LIST

The American Red Cross prevents and alleviates human suffering in the face of emergencies by mobilizing the power of volunteers and the generosity of donors.

» Volunteers » Blood donors » Platelet Donors

UPCOMING EVENTS Red Cross Nebraska 100th Birthday!

April 10, 2017 Centennial Gala June 10, 2017

BACKGROUND

BRAG LINES

PAY IT FORWARD

American Red Cross, serving the Omaha Council Bluffs metro, has been turning compassion into action through its strong network of volunteers, donors, and partners in times of need.

We ensure that all members of our armed services and their families find support and comfort whenever needed; and that in an emergency, there are trained individuals nearby, ready to use their Red Cross skills to save lives. Finally, we help ensure that everyone has access to lifesaving blood and blood products.

American Red Cross provides about 40 percent of the U.S. blood supply, making us the single largest supplier of blood in the nation.

Become a volunteer. Help us prepare our community with lifesaving skills. To become an volunteer call 402-343-7700 or visit our website.

Last year, Red Cross volunteers served the Omaha metro by providing help, hope, and comfort to those affected by disaster. Red Cross provided help and hope to 144 families (458 individuals) who experienced disasters.

Donate blood. Each blood donation can save up to three lives.

To make your appointment visit redcrossblood.org/Midwest.

SEPTEMBER

Make a donation. An average of 91 cents of each dollar donated is invested in humanitarian services and programs. To make a $10 donation to Disaster Relief text REDCROSS to 90999 or visit our website.

// OCTOBER • 2016 / 78 / OMAHAMAGAZINE.COM

AMERICAN RED CROSS 2912 S. 80th Ave. Omaha, NE 68124 402-343-7700 redcross.org/neia

OMAHA MAGAZINE

THE BIG GIVE

MISSION STATEMENT

WISH LIST

Assistance League® of Omaha is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) volunteer service organization whose members identify, develop, implement, and fund ongoing philanthropic programs to serve specific needs of children and adults in the Greater Omaha area.

» Monetary donations » Volunteers » Tax deductible donations of house wares, adult clothing, and accessories to the Thrift Shop » Books for young children » Printing services

UPCOMING EVENTS Christmas Caravan Preview Party Nov. 2, 2016 Christmas Caravan Nov. 3, 2016 Style Show April 11, 2017

BACKGROUND Assistance League of Omaha is an all-volunteer organization serving Omaha since 1974.

The organization returns 100 percent of proceeds raised to the community through its philanthropic programs.

»

BRAG LINES

»

»

Approved as an Early Adopter of GuideStar Platinum 2016 Top‐Rated Award by GreatNonprofits, the leading provider of user reviews about nonprofit organizations.

Signature programs include: » Operation School Bell®, offering over 3,400 school children in need the

»

opportunity to shop for new » Operation Bear Hug, school clothes at JCPenney. furnishing over 1,300 Operation Recovery, stuffed bears to children in providing support to women crisis situations which are recovering from chemical distributed by the dependency Omaha Police ACT/PSAT Review Sessions, Department and eight other preparing students from emergency agencies.

27 area schools for college entrance examinations PAY IT FORWARD Assault Survivor Kits®, supplying clothing and There are many ways you can hygiene items to over 400 support the Assistance assault survivors which League’s work: are distributed through hospital emergency rooms » Become a member and use and shelters your time and talent to support Operation Teen Parent, our philanthropic programs encouraging teen parents to » Provide a monetary donation complete their educations $85 clothes one schoolchild and providing over 600 books » Attend the Christmas Caravan to read to their children and Preview Party and awarding five college » Support the Assistance scholarships League Thrift Shop with your donations and patronage SEPTEMBER

// OCTOBER • 2016 / 79 / BESTOFOMAHA.COM

ASSISTANCE LEAGUE® OF OMAHA 3569 Leavenworth St. Omaha, NE 68105 402-342-4288 alomaha.org

OMAHA MAGAZINE

THE BIG GIVE

MISSION STATEMENT

WISH LIST

AAP aims to improve the quality of life of persons on the autism spectrum and their families through education, advocacy, and support, thereby enabling them to be an integral part of the community.

» Donations to support autism programs, family events, and our resource center » Sponsors for our benefit for autism—A Vintage Affaire VIII » Volunteers for upcoming events » Silent auction items for A Vintage Affaire VIII » Employment opportunities for PACE

UPCOMING EVENTS Benefit for Autism— A Vintage Affaire VIII: Jockeys & Juleps Oct. 8, 2016 Autism Night at Defy Gravity Oct. 23, 2016 Annual Autism Summit Nov. 18, 2016

BACKGROUND Autism Action Partnership (AAP) creates autism awareness and works to develop and fund programs that fill critical gaps in Nebraska autism services.

This year, one in 112 children in Nebraska will be diagnosed with autism, underscoring the urgent need for increased and improved autism services.

BRAG LINES

professionals. We fund the Transitions program through the University of Nebraska-Omaha for young adults with autism.

AAP is proud to work with Legal Aid of Nebraska in providing a free legal clinic to individuals on the autism spectrum and their families or advocates. We debuted the Partnership for Autism Career Employment program (PACE), which provides the support, training, and pathways that may be necessary for adults with autism to lead a long-term, fulfilling career. PACE has 26 clients we are actively working with in various stages of employment.

In 2016, AAP continued to implement several programs for individuals affected by autism.

For the 2016-2017 school year, we accepted 225 Nebraska schools to participate in the “Circle of PAY IT FORWARD Friends” Social Skills Program, benefiting students with autism, AAP is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and their student peers, and school greatly appreciates private and SEPTEMBER

corporate donations. Your donation will benefit those affected by autism by supporting: » AAP’s Resource Center » The “Circle of Friends” Social Skills Program » Free Legal Clinic » Transitions program » Partnership for Autism Career Employment (PACE) » Family-fun events like autism nights at the Omaha Children’s Museum, Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium and Heartland Equine Therapeutic Riding Academy (HETRA).

Please visit our website, autismaction.org, for full details, or contact executive director Dave Pantos, Esq., dpantos@ autismaction.org.

// OCTOBER • 2016 / 80 / OMAHAMAGAZINE.COM

Autism Night at the Omaha Children’s Museum Dec. 11, 2016

AUTISM ACTION PARTNERSHIP 10110 Nicholas St., #202 Omaha, NE 68114 402-763-8830 autismaction.org

OMAHA MAGAZINE

THE BIG GIVE

MISSION STATEMENT

WISH LIST

As the region’s resident professional dance company, Ballet Nebraska brings the beauty, athleticism, and energy of ballet to Nebraska and Iowa audiences. Its mission is to provide enrichment through quality professional dance performances, educational programs, and community outreach.

» Season sponsorships » Production sponsorships » Choreography, costume, education, and artist sponsorships » Individual Donations » In-kind Donations

UPCOMING EVENTS Ballet Nebraska presents Swan Lake October 22, 2016 Nutcracker Holiday Tea Party November 27, 2016 Ballet Nebraska presents The Nutcracker November 20, 2016 December 3 & 4, 2016 Ballet Nebraska presents Momentum April 1 & 8, 2016

BACKGROUND Ballet Nebraska’s talented professional dancers hail from around the nation and abroad, making the Midwest their home to share the excitement of dance with others. Through the company’s expressive performing artists, acclaimed choreographers, and skilled teachers, Ballet Nebraska plays a key role in the cultural vitality of the region.

BRAG LINES Founded by visionary Artistic Director Erika Overturff, Ballet Nebraska’s repertoire includes international classics such as Giselle, Paquita, and George Balanchine’s Valse Fantaisie, but is also a hotbed for diverse new works by both upcoming and established choreographers,

including Ms. Overturff herself.

Her lively Nutcracker production attracts over 7,000 mainstage viewers, and a variety of outreach programs enable the company to reach an additional 7,000 students. This season promises to be yet another step forward as the company takes on Swan Lake, a ballet representing the epitome of classical excellence, and welcomes former New York City Ballet principal dancer Nilas Martins to stage a work for their spring Momentum showcase.

Ballet Nebraska provides outreach tickets and learning opportunities for hundreds of underserved members of the community through its partnerships with 23 social service agencies: Boys Town, Child Saving Institute, Heartland Family Service, to name a few.

SEPTEMBER

Ballet Nebraska increases its impact in the community through collaborations with other leading organizations, including Joslyn Art Museum, Omaha Performing Arts, Iowa Western Arts Center, Opera Omaha, and Omaha Symphony.

PAY IT FORWARD Ballet Nebraska is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. Join us today! » Become a season subscriber » Donate as an individual or corporation » Become a sponsor » Join the Ballet Nebraska Guild » Partner with our organization to bring dance to your audience » Attend a performance » Follow us on social media for updates and news

// OCTOBER • 2016 / 81 / BESTOFOMAHA.COM

BALLET NEBRASKA PO Box 6413 Omaha, NE 68106 402-541-6946 balletnebraska.org

OMAHA MAGAZINE

THE BIG GIVE

MISSION STATEMENT

WISH LIST

CASA advocates for the best interests of abused and neglected children in the foster care system through the use of trained, court-appointed, citizen volunteers. Volunteers provide a consistent voice for children during their journey through the legal system.

» » » » » » »

Hygiene products Socks Undergarments Diapers Wipes Paper products College dorm room needs » Winter coats, hats, and gloves

UPCOMING EVENTS 5K Superhero Run for Douglas County CASA July 8, 2017 CASA for Douglas County Informational Sessions Second Tuesday of each month

BACKGROUND CASA programs provide 30 hours of National CASA curriculum pre-service training along with the 12 hours of ongoing education per year are required to maintain CASA Volunteer status. CASA volunteers garner first-hand knowledge of a child’s situation by visiting them in their foster home, attending school and family team meetings, and speaking/collaborating with other professionals working on the case. Most importantly, the CASA volunteer prepares a court report with independent recommendations for each child they are assigned. These reports go directly to the child’s judge and have a significant impact on the outcomes of the hearing. Volunteer applicants must undergo a careful screening process which includes local,

state, and nationwide criminal background checks; child abuse registry checks, references, and a structured applicant interview.

To become a CASA volunteer, please contact one of the programs listed below to get started. CASA is in special need of male volunteers and individuals from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds.

PAY IT FORWARD October/November–Annual Holiday Party: Bring any new unwrapped toys, books, games, and $10 gift cards to the CASA for Douglas County office to be distributed to children in foster care.

December–Holiday Giving Tree: Pick a tag from the tree at the Sarpy County Juvenile Court and SEPTEMBER

purchase the items listed for a child in foster care in Sarpy County.

Become a CASA Volunteer Advocate–check websites for volunteer trainings and opportunities.

CASA for Douglas County hosts informational sessions on the 2nd Tuesday of each month at noon and 5:30p.m. at their main office.

The Bellevue Visitation Center is looking for individuals willing to volunteer for 4 hour weekend/ evening shifts to ensure the center is open and comfortable for those families/professionals utilizing it for visitations. It is open seven days a week 8a.m.-8p.m. and is located at 119 Mission Ave. Contact Tara DeBartolo for more information tdebartolo@sarpy.com or 402-933-6616.

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SARPY COUNTY CASA 1210 Golden Gate Drive Papillion, NE 68046 402-593-2259 sarpycasa.org

CASA FOR DOUGLAS COUNTY 2412 St. Mary’s Ave. Omaha, NE 68105 402-932-5683 casaomaha.org

OMAHA MAGAZINE

Adobe Illustrator, file extension .ai [or] .eps

THE BIG GIVE

MISSION STATEMENT

WISH LIST

Children’s Scholarship Fund of Omaha provides tuition assistance scholarships so children from low-income families can access the private or parochial K-8 education of their choice.

» Scholarship funding

UPCOMING EVENTS CHANCE Luncheon 2017 June 8, 2017

CHILDREN’S SCHOLARSHIP FUND OF OMAHA 7101 Mercy Rd., #305 Omaha, NE 68106 402-819-4990 csfomaha.org SEPTEMBER

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OMAHA MAGAZINE

BACKGROUND

MISSION STATEMENT

WISH LIST

Completely KIDS educates and empowers kids and families to create a safe, healthy, successful, and connected community.

» Digital and video cameras » iPads » Prize box prizes » Glue » Soccer balls » Basketballs » Footballs » Jump ropes » Markers » Paper » Paint and brushes » Art kits » Board games » Puzzles » Flash cards » Pencils » Crayons » Toiletries » Cleaning supplies » Birthday, holiday or field trip sponsors » Volunteers » Books » Backpacks » Water bottles » Colored copy paper » Card stock

» Strengthens families through classes, and Completely KIDS assists more case management, and than 2,000 children and families byconnecting them to the each year in overcoming barriers resources they need. to their success. Research shows Our organization’s face is that growing up in poverty can executive director Penny Parker. have a significant impact on a She leads a talented and highly child’s cognitive development, educated staff, which includes emotional well-being, and alumni of Completely KIDS physical health. Completely KIDS programs. has consistently seen the impacts of poverty on families and have BRAG LINES developed program components that specifically address each area Completely KIDS was the first of need.

Omaha nonprofit to provide a backpack food program and Programming: programming for children in homeless shelters. As a primarily » Provides a safe environment school-based program, we have with caring adult mentors. many unique partnerships with » Teaches kids and families area school administrators, and about healthy choices. other local agencies. » Provides enrichment activities that reinforce Last year, we served more kids what is being taught in the in our weekend and after-school classroom to help students food programs, enhanced services achieve success. for families, and piloted a teen SEPTEMBER

THE BIG GIVE

employment program for alumni of our program. Additionally, volunteers provided more than 6,100 hours of service. In-kind gifts totaled more than $176,000, many of which provided budget relief.

PAY IT FORWARD Omahans can give back through time or money. Opportunities include: » Reading Buddies/Centers » Weekend Food Program » Fundraising Drives There are always more kids and families in Omaha who need our help. We can’t do it without the backing of our donors and volunteers—people just like you.

Please contact us to find out more information about giving opportunities.

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UPCOMING EVENTS Big Red Tailgate Sept. 23, 2016 Author Luncheon March 2, 2017 Pinot, Pigs & Poets June 1, 2017

COMPLETELY KIDS 2566 St. Mary’s Ave. Omaha, NE 68105 402-397-5809 completelykids.org

OMAHA MAGAZINE

THE BIG GIVE

MISSION STATEMENT

WISH LIST

CUES delivers financial support and operational guidance to three of Omaha’s inner-city schools–Sacred Heart, All Saints, and Holy Name. CUES-supported schools provide quality education and pertinent programming for children with the hope to transform lives, building hope for a sustainable, successful future.

» » » » »

Athletic equipment Musical instruments Backpacks School supplies Monetary donations earmarked for tuition stipends

UPCOMING EVENTS CUES-A-PALOOZA September 2016 Holy Name Harvest October 2016

BACKGROUND

BRAG LINES

Started in 1975, CUES began by providing financial support and operational guidance to Sacred Heart School. In 2012, CUES expanded its mission to welcome two additional schools–All Saints and Holy Name are now CUES supported schools and receive annual grants and disbursements from yearly fundraising efforts like the annual Corporate Drive in October and The Gathering dinner and auction each spring.

Funds raised for the schools are applied to tuition or educational programming.

Enrollment for the three CUES supported schools for the 2015/2016 school year– 497 students » Average number of students who qualify for the Federal Free and Reduced Price Lunch Program – 91 percent Unique, specialty programming: » Literacy programming at all three inner-city schools SEPTEMBER

» Mentoring program at Sacred Heart » 1x1 iPad technology program at All Saints » STEM lab and maker’s workshop at Holy Name

PAY IT FORWARD CUES provided grants to Sacred Heart, All Saints, and Holy Name to support the 2015/2016 school year for tuition programming, general operating, and facility improvements.

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CUES 2207 Wirt St. Omaha, NE 68110 402-451-5755 cuesschools.org

OMAHA MAGAZINE

THE BIG GIVE

MISSION STATEMENT

WISH LIST

Diabetes Education Center of the Midlands is a community-based, nonprofit organization dedicated to enhancing the quality of life of diabetic individuals and their families by empowering them through health education to take charge of their lives.

» Financial contributions to provide assistance to people that need education (education is essential to help patients manage diabetes or prediabetes and live a good quality life) » In-kind printing or advertisement to promote our services to those in need » Updated educational materials (body part models) » Gift cards to use at our March seminar (groceries, massages, spa packages, etc.)

UPCOMING EVENTS Ongoing Classes for Diabetes and Prediabetes Dates can be found on our website.

BACKGROUND Diabetes Education Center of the Midlands (DECM) is Nebraska’s first nationally recognized education program and the fifth recognized program in the country. Our goal is to help people live long, healthy lives while managing their diabetes. In 2000, 4.9 percent of Nebraskans lived with diabetes. Today that number is double and more young people are developing Type 2 diabetes. Diabetes can lead to chronic conditions like heart disease, stroke, eye disease, neuropathy, sexual dysfunction and more. The good news is diabetes doesn’t have to control your life. With education, medication adherence, proper glucose testing and lifestyle

modifications, many folks are living healthy lives. DECM offers various services including group classes, one-on-one education, and a resource library. Classes are taught by board certified endocrinologists and certified diabetes educators.

BRAG LINES Our 2015 data has shown an aggregate reduction in blood glucose of 20-30 percent (average A1c reduction of 2 percent).

Patients successful in their lifestyle changes can reduce their dependence on medication.

Recently, a husband and wife were referred to DECM by their physician after repeated increases in their prescription insulin to maintain control. After attending SEPTEMBER

DECM’s comprehensive class, the couple admits; “we eat much differently now. That’s probably the hardest part.” Their efforts are paying off. The two have lost a combined 30 pounds in eight weeks. Their blood sugar will likely be outstanding at their next visit with their physician!

PAY IT FORWARD DECM’s services can mean possibly preventing diabetes, working productively while living with diabetes, or enjoying grandchildren.

Everyone knows someone affected by diabetes. Your contributions help provide scholarships to those that cannot afford to pay. Everyone deserves a chance to live well!

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Chronic Disease Business Symposium in conjunction with WELLCOM March 24, 2017 Patient and Provider Symposium March 25, 2017 Type 2 Diabetes Support Group Second Saturday of each month at 10:00

DIABETES EDUCATION CENTER OF THE MIDLANDS 2910 S 84th St. Omaha NE 68124 402-399-0777 diabetes-education.com

OMAHA MAGAZINE

THE BIG GIVE

MISSION STATEMENT

WISH LIST

Empowerment Network’s mission is working together to transform the City of Omaha into a great city, thriving and prosperous in every zip code and neighborhood; a place where all citizens are engaged and empowered, and have full access to the incredible opportunities that are available.

» Get connected: Attend and participate in community meetings and community-based initiatives » Get involved: Partner to provide more opportunities and positive experiences for youth » Get engaged: Become a mentor.

Join a neighborhood association

UPCOMING EVENTS African-American Leadership Conference Oct. 11, 2016 Christmas in the Village at 24th & Lake Dec. 3, 2016

BACKGROUND

build wealth and income; create strong families; prepare successful children; and, rebuild thriving neighborhoods.

We are a comprehensive community development organization consisting of residents, neighborhood groups, BRAG LINES community organizations, faith communities, educational We are recognized for our work institutions, law enforcement, on a local and national level. elected officials, governmental agencies, philanthropists, » Step-Up Omaha! has served and businesses. We create nearly 4,000 youth between measurable results and positive the ages of 14 and 21 change through connecting, » Gained the input and communicating, and collaborating engagement of over 3,500 with hundreds of partners. adults and 3,000 youth » Became a key collector and We are dedicated to facilitating provider of data, trends, and and implementing a communityother actionable information based strategic plan that will » Connected over 1,000 close long-standing gaps in people to career and employment, entrepreneurship, leadership conferences education, housing, and other and opportunities quality of life indicators. We work » Helped to improve collectively with our partners to: graduation rates; reduce SEPTEMBER

unemployment and gun violence; and served as a catalyst for community revitalization

10th Annual Empowerment Conference May 5, 2017

PAY IT FORWARD The Empowerment Network is a 501 c 3: » Support the Empowerment Network mission through a tax deductible donation » Sponsor a participant(s) and/ or become a worksite in the Step-Up Omaha! employment program serving youths ages 14-21 » Sponsor major community events and engagement activities throughout the year » Volunteer at signature events: Christmas in the Village, Native Omahans Days, Stroll Down Memory Lane, and Omaha 360 Harmony Week

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EMPOWERMENT NETWORK 105 N. 31st Ave., #101 Omaha, NE 68131 402-502-5153 empoweromaha.com

OMAHA MAGAZINE

THE BIG GIVE

MISSION STATEMENT

UPCOMING EVENTS

Film Streams is dedicated to enhancing the cultural environment of the OmahaCouncil Bluffs metropolitan area through the presentation and discussion of film as an art form.

Alloy Orchestra performs VARIETÉ Oct. 9, 2016 Feature VII TBA Visit our website for other upcoming events.

BACKGROUND Our organization oversees two wonderful and distinct cinemas: (1) the Ruth Sokolof Theater, the two-screen venue we opened in 2007 within the Saddle Creek Records complex in North Downtown Omaha, and (2) the historic Dundee Theater, Omaha’s last surviving single-screen neighborhood cinema, which we’re in the process of renovating and plan to reopen by 2018.

BRAG LINES » Film Streams’ unique Community Development program has fostered more than two hundred collaborative film-based events with nearly as many partners, including Meyer

Foundation for Disabilities, Joslyn Art Museum, Women’s Fund of Omaha, Nature Conservancy, the Refugee Empowerment Network, and Opera Omaha. » Film Streams offers dozens of Daytime Education Screenings each school year as well as Student Night, held the first Monday of every month, when full-time students can see a film of their choice free of charge.

Film Streams’ Education programs reached over 5,000 students in 2015. » Feature, a gala fundraising event centered on conversation about film, began in July 2008 when board member Alexander Payne invited actress Laura Dern to Omaha. Over the SEPTEMBER

years, our featured guests have included Debra Winger, Steven Soderbergh, Jane Fonda, director David O. Russell, and the cast of NEBRASKA–all invited by Payne.

PAY IT FORWARD Become a member, donate, or volunteer. As a nonprofit committed to screening films based on their creative, artistic, and social merits, Film Streams depends on the support of our membership program, individual donors, community volunteers, and grants.

Film Streams Members receive great benefits, including half-priced tickets to all regular screenings, 20 percent discounts on concessions, and advance sale periods for select premieres and special events.)

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FILM STREAMS, INC. 1340 Mike Fahey St. Omaha, NE 68102 402-933-0259 filmstreams.org

OMAHA MAGAZINE

BACKGROUND Food Bank for the Heartland acts as a central clearinghouse distributing food to 530 network partners across 93 counties in Nebraska and western Iowa. Our partners are pantries, emergency shelters, schools, and other nonprofit organizations that help people in their communities who are in need. More than 220,000 individuals in the Food Bank’s service area are considered food insecure, which means they may not know from where their next meal is coming.

We are committed to helping these children, families, seniors, veterans, and other individuals who are struggling.

Fighting hunger is a collaborative effort. We work with individuals, companies, foundations, food manufacturers and distributors,

THE BIG GIVE

MISSION STATEMENT

WISH LIST

The mission of Food Bank for the Heartland is to provide emergency and supplemental food to people in need across Nebraska and western Iowa. Our vision is to eliminate hunger in our community.

» Financial contributions: With each donated dollar you are providing three meals to feed someone in the Heartland struggling with hunger.

A donation of $160 sponsors a child in our BackPack program for the entire school year. » Volunteers: Without our extraordinary volunteers the Food Bank could not operate.

We have one-time and recurring opportunities throughout the year for individuals and groups of all sizes. » Food donations: Some of our most-needed items are peanut butter, canned proteins, macaroni and cheese, boxed meals, pancake mix, and canned fruits and vegetables.

retail and agricultural partners, and the USDA to procure donations of food, money and time. The Food Bank operates its own programs that serve vulnerable populations directly.

They include BackPack, Kids Cafe, Kids Cruisin’ Kitchen, Mobile Pantry, and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

» Fresh produce is the number one item distributed by the Food Bank. » During the 2015-2016 school year, our BackPack program provided food for 8,500 children each weekend. » Last year 36,623 volunteer hours were donated at the Food Bank.

BRAG LINES

PAY IT FORWARD

Our engaged and dynamic community of supporters is the heart of the Food Bank. Generous volunteers and donors are committed to the organization’s mission and are truly making a difference in the lives of our neighbors in need.

Learn more about our mission and operations by visiting our 76,000-square-foot headquarters in Omaha or go to FoodBankHeartland.org to read about the issue of hunger in the Heartland, to make a secure financial contribution or to sign up to volunteer. Join our community; together we can solve hunger.

» 18.3 million pounds of food were distributed in 2016.

SEPTEMBER

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UPCOMING EVENTS Eat Lunch, Fight Hunger food truck event September 6-9, 2016 Taste the Season, a Culinary Celebration October 6, 2016 Woodhouse BackPack Challenge VIII November 2016 Celebrity Chef featuring Marc Murphy March 2, 2017

FOOD BANK FOR THE HEARTLAND 10525 J St. Omaha, NE 68127 402-331-1213 foodbankheartland.org

OMAHA MAGAZINE

Gesu Housing, Inc. Non-Profit Affordable Housing

THE BIG GIVE

MISSION STATEMENT

WISH LIST

The mission of Gesu Housing Inc. is to provide economical, energy-efficient housing to North Omaha families. Our hope is that building these homes will continue the efforts of other non-profit organizations that seek to stabilize and restore neighborhoods throughout the city.

Financial donations can easily be made online.

Gesu Housing, Inc. • 5008½ Dodge Street, Suite B • Omaha, NE 68132-2920 Office Phone: 402.614.4776 • Fax: 402.614.4178 • www.gesuhousing.com

OPPORTUNITY

BRAG LINES

PAY IT FORWARD

Since 2002, Gesu Housing, led by Brother Mike Wilmot, S.J., has built 38 Energy Star 3.0 Certified homes in the Clifton Hills South neighborhood of North Omaha The area is racially diverse and economically challenged. The goal of Gesu Housing is to address the issues of poverty and neighborhood decline in North Omaha by turning renters into first-time homebuyers with an affordable mortgage payment; as well as in-filling vacant lots with new three bedroom homes.

Gesu Housing was given the 2016 Community Excellence Award from the State of Nebraska as well as from the City of Omaha.

The need for our services is great— and we need your help to make sure we can continue to help worthy families within our communities.

While other initiatives regarding community redevelopment and jobs are beginning to successfully take hold in North Omaha, affordable housing is the foundation without which other North Omaha economic recovery projects cannot succeed.

SEPTEMBER

Build a House Golf Event 7-31-17

EQUAL HOUSING

BACKGROUND

Studies have shown that the best way to stabilize a neighborhood is to provide families with quality, energy efficient homes in a neighborhood that is racially and economically diverse. Removing vacant lots and blighted houses and replacing them with new homes impacts the stabilization of neighborhoods with permanent residents.

UPCOMING EVENTS

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GESU HOUSING, INC 5008 Dodge St., Suite B Omaha, NE 68132 402-614-4773 gesuhousing.com

OMAHA MAGAZINE

THE BIG GIVE

MISSION STATEMENT

WISH LIST

GPiH brings hope to international communities by creating partnerships between people who can help and people who need hope.

» Sponsor a clean water well in West Africa » Medical professionals to volunteer to assist in providing health care in West Africa » Financial donations for health center in Togo, West Africa » Professionals to visit China with GPiH and assist in leadership training

UPCOMING EVENTS Global Leadership Seminar, Omaha Fall 2016 Red Carpet Showing of GPiH Documentary Winter 2016 Trip to China with Nebraska Governor’s Office November 2016

BACKGROUND

BRAG LINES

PAY IT FORWARD

GPiH believes in partnering with in-country leaders who are passionate about making a difference in their own communities, and have a plan to do so. We collaborate with highcapacity leaders, both globally and locally, who have a strong vision for making the world a better place and the drive to make that vision a reality. Through these partnerships we are able to achieve sustainable change at a systemic level.

Recently in West Africa, GPiH has been able to work with highlevel leaders to provide clean water solutions, medical centers, and renewable energy to nine different rural communities, reaching over 90,000 people. In Asia, we have been able to provide leadership training to thousands by creating healthy cultural exchanges between American business professionals and local Asian leaders.

GPiH is an Omaha-based nonprofit organization. We love to connect with Nebraskans who are looking to use their time, talents, and treasures on an international level. Whether traveling on a trip with GPiH to teach, consulting medically, or experiencing an international environment, we believe the world is a better place because of these relationships of hope.

SEPTEMBER

If you are interested in becoming an “Advocate for Hope” contact us. We would love your help with events, joining us on a trip, or having your company or organization sponsor an international project.

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Trip to West Africa to attend dedication ceremonies February 2017

GLOBAL PARTNERS IN HOPE 14441 DuPont Ct., #101 Omaha, NE 68144 402-980-5060

globalpartnersinhope.com

OMAHA MAGAZINE

THE BIG GIVE

MISSION STATEMENT

WISH LIST

The Green Omaha Coalition promotes a greener Omaha through collaboration, education, and advocacy.

» Become an active member » Join one of our three committees: programs, membership, and communications » Volunteer » Attend one of our events » Become a corporate sponsor

UPCOMING EVENTS Reel to Real Sustainability Film Festival October 2016 Green Home Tour & Smart Energy Expo November 2016 Earth Day Omaha April 22, 2017

BACKGROUND Formed in 2006, the Green Omaha Coalition (GOC) seeks to endorse sustainability efforts between corporations, nonprofits, and individuals.

Through productive partnerships and creative alliances, the GOC: » Collaborates: We strengthen the collective efforts of our members, the community, and like-minded partners. » Educates: We educate the public on environmental issues by promoting local green events, news, and opportunities. » Advocates: We inform community decisionmakers and voters on the importance of environmental sustainability.

Leaders who: » Endorse sustainability. » Host fun and informative events. » Distribute accurate, relevant information. » Network to connect members, the community, and decision-makers.

BRAG LINES Over the past year, the GOC: » Hosted the annual Green Home Tour » Co-hosted the Smart Energy Expo with the Omaha World-Herald » Co-sponsored Earth Day Omaha, helping to promote the event and organizing the demonstration tent

SEPTEMBER

» Co-hosted a collaborative Pecha-Kucha-style open house with Omaha Green Drinks » Co-hosted the Reel to Real Sustainability Film Festival with Nebraska Interfaith Power & Light » Distributed our weekly newsletter promoting local green news, upcoming events, and job opportunities » Sponsored the Nebraska Conservation Summit

PAY IT FORWARD Warning! Joining the Green Omaha Coalition may help preserve our local habitat and environment for future generations. Consider membership today.

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GREEN OMAHA COALITION P.O. Box 31394 Omaha, NE 68131 402-980-2818 greenomaha.org

OMAHA MAGAZINE

THE BIG GIVE

MISSION STATEMENT

WISH LIST

Heartland Family Service’s mission is to strengthen individuals and families in our community through education, counseling, and support services. We serve over 35,000 people annually from more than 15 locations in east central Nebraska and southwest Iowa.

» Casual and career clothing » NEW underwear and socks » Scarves, gloves, winter hats » Diapers, formula, baby items » Suitcases and duffle bags » Toiletries » Blankets » NEW pillows » Bottled water/ sport drinks » Non-perishable food » Single-serving snacks » Craft supplies » Bus passes » Gift cards » Tickets to events and activities

UPCOMING EVENTS Salute to Families Nov. 17, 2016 “Carnival of Love” Gala Feb. 11, 2017

BACKGROUND

BRAG LINES

PAY IT FORWARD

Since 1875, Heartland Family Service has been creating the path to a better tomorrow for children and families. We continue that legacy today at more than 15 locations throughout eastern Nebraska and southwest Iowa by providing essential services to individuals and families of all ages – from infants in our Family Works programs to seniors in the Generations Center – through the following program areas; Child and Family, Counseling and Prevention, and Housing and Financial Stability.

Eighty percent of our clients have annual incomes of $20,000 or less. Because we not only believe in, but also practice traumainformed care, we ask “What has happened to you?” and not, “What is wrong with you?” to each and every client that walks through our doors. Our expert staff and licensed therapists work with individuals and their families to help break damaging intergenerational cycles in order to become self-sufficient.

You too can help improve the lives of children and families through the gift of your time, in-kind donations, or financial support. » Join volunteer groups: To learn more about volunteering contact us at volunteer@ heartlandfamilyservice.org or 402-552-7418. » Purchase holiday gifts for our Adopt a Family programs. » Attend our monthly Good Works 101 Lunch and Learn sessions. » Follow us on our social media channels: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn. » Attend one of our annual events.

SEPTEMBER

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“Strike A Chord” Summer 2017 Safe Haven Golf Tournament Fall 2017

HEARTLAND FAMILY SERVICE 2101 S. 42nd St. Omaha, NE 68105 402-552-7400

heartlandfamilyservice.org

OMAHA MAGAZINE

THE BIG GIVE

MISSION STATEMENT

WISH LIST

The Hope Center for Kids strives to faithfully inspire hope in the lives of youth and children through education, employability, collaboration and faith.

The gift of time has a lasting impact on our youth and children. Serving as a mentor or volunteer is one way to invest in the next generation of our community. The Hope Center for Kids also welcomes you to support our youth and children by making a financial contribution.

UPCOMING EVENTS The Hope Center for Kids Gala Sept. 30, 2016 15th Annual Golf Classic June 12, 2017 Lunch and Learn events hosted quarterly

BACKGROUND

The Hope serves youth ages 5-19 by offering strengths-based The Hope Center for Kids started educational support and a safe with a vision in the heart of Pastor place to play and grow, both Ty Schenzel. He saw the need educationally and spiritually. for hope in the lives of youth Youth in grades 10-12 also and children who could not see have the opportunity to apply beyond their circumstances. and interview for The Hope This vision became a reality in Employment Academy, a two-year 1998 when The Hope opened program that prepares them for its doors. It is home to multiple successful employment. Youth learning spaces, including The attend classes on financial literacy Hope Employment Academy, a and healthy relationships, as well commercial kitchen and cafeteria, as employment skills training. and The Hope Skate roller rink.

The Hope Center for Kids now BRAG LINES serves over 2,700 youth, children, and families through its programs » Over 200 youth provided and community events. gainful employment through The Hope since 2012 SEPTEMBER

» 96 percent of high school seniors graduated on time in 2016 » 18,000 hot, homemade meals served each year » Over 6,500 hours served by volunteers in 2015

PAY IT FORWARD There are many ways you can make an impact by serving our youth and children firsthand. We work to place our volunteers and mentors in roles that maximize their strengths and positions. For more information, visit our website at hopecenterforkids.com.

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THE HOPE CENTER FOR KIDS 2200 N. 20th St. Omaha, NE 68110 402-341-3671 hopecenterforkids.com

OMAHA MAGAZINE

THE BIG GIVE

MISSION STATEMENT

WISH LIST

ICARE strives to maximize potential and eliminate self-defeating behaviors through anger management, career and skills programs, and mentoring.

» Bus tickets » Gas station gift cards » Scholarships to sponsor low-income youth. » Annual fundraiser financial support » Auction items for annual fundraiser » Copy machine » Classroom supplies (markers, pencils, construction paper, post-it easel pads) » Gift cards for teen incentives » Individually wrapped healthy snacks and 100% juice » Fieldtrip sponsorship

UPCOMING EVENTS Conference on Mass Incarceration Sept. 2016 Ladies Sing the Blues April 2017

BACKGROUND

BRAG LINES

PAY IT FORWARD

In 2010, Nebraska ranked third highest nationwide for incarceration of juveniles, drawing to the forefront the need for juvenile justice reform.

Education, not incarceration, is the key to placing youth on the path to success. ICARE offers educational, social, and vocational assistance for youth experiencing anger issues and exhibiting self-depreciating behaviors. Our workshops educate youth and young adults in the qualities needed for constructive personal interaction and successful integration into the community.

In ICARE, young people, especially those who have found themselves at odds with the justice system, learn to make better choices and decisions, and more importantly, find self-worth in themselves and understand why previous decisions had a negative impact on their growth, development, and success.

ICARE began in 2007 with four students at Girls Inc. and has since served over 300 youth in Omaha, expanding services to include McMillan, Monroe, and Morton Middle Schools.

Our goal is for students to complete the program with a sense of self, family and purpose. We assist participants in developing selfefficacy so they can step into the shoes of our future leaders, whether they choose to do so by becoming local business owners, teachers, politicians or community advocates.

We need your help to make this happen. Your support helps those most at risk for incarceration and dropping out of school. You can help us save a generation.

SEPTEMBER

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ICARE YOUTH SERVICES INC. 2001 N. 35th St. Omaha, NE 68111 402-968-2486 icareyouthservices.com

OMAHA MAGAZINE

THE BIG GIVE

MISSION STATEMENT

WISH LIST

To build and sustain a strong and vibrant Omaha Jewish community and to support Jews in Israel and around the world.

» Our play therapy room is in need of toys, children’s books, glue sticks, markers, colored paper and other art supplies. » Fresh flowers to be delivered to sick, elderly, and Holocaust victims.

Call 402-334-6447 for more information.

UPCOMING EVENTS Backyard Concert Series Sept. 11 & 18, 2016 2017 Annual Campaign Community Kickoff Sept. 25, 2016 Prejudice Elimination Workshop Sept. 22, 2016

BACKGROUND

BRAG LINES

PAY IT FORWARD

The Jewish Federation of Omaha (JFO) is a full-service organization serving the Jewish and Omaha community. We provide services and programs for all ages from early childhood education to a long term skilled care nursing home. In addition, we have one of the finest fitness centers in Omaha, year long youth programming, a 300-seat theater, a public art gallery, a weekly newspaper, meals on wheels, counseling services, and community advocacy.

» Provided over $300,000 in scholarships for education, summer camps and Israel experiences. » Delivered over 6,500 meals to local Jewish seniors in need of hot nutritious food. » Provided counseling for 165 clients in 2014-15. 89 percent are non-Jewish. » Over 10,000 students participated in Holocaust education programs and Anti-Defamation League workshops. » JCC membership and youth camps are open to everyone in the community. » Partnered with Children’s Hospital’s HEROES weight management program for youth. » Provided funding to social welfare programs for vulnerable communities.

The JFO is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and greatly appreciates individual and corporate donations. Your donation will benefit people in Omaha, in Israel and around the world.

Our core values of Judaism, collective responsibility, community, education, health and well-being, integrity, leadership, and stewardship inspires us to improve the quality of life for people in Omaha, in Israel, and in over 70 countries.

SEPTEMBER

The Legacy Project: A Dance of Hope Jan. 18, 2017

Other ways to support the JFO: » » » » » »

Volunteer Become a JCC member Subscribe to the Jewish Press Choose RBJH for your Rehabilitation needs Visit our campus for our many community events and programs; educational programs and classes, backyard concert series, film festival, Israel’s independence day, cultural arts, camps and youth services.

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THE JEWISH FEDERATION OF OMAHA 333 S. 132nd St. Omaha, NE 68154 402-334-8200 jewishomaha.org

OMAHA MAGAZINE

THE BIG GIVE

MISSION STATEMENT

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The Kim Foundation’s mission is to serve as a supportive resource and compassionate voice for lives touched by mental illness and suicide. Our vision is a community free of suicide that embraces the importance of quality mental health services and prevention.

» Host us for a presentation at your school, church, service group, or professional meeting. » Attend our fall event, A Time for Hope & Healing. » Share your stories in a guest article in our newsletter. » Donate to support our awareness efforts. » Spread the word about our suicide prevention campaign– 13minutes.org. » Become a member of our LOSS (Local Outreach to Suicide Survivors) Team. » Follow us on social media. » Sign up for our monthly newsletter.

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BACKGROUND

patients, community groups, law enforcement, and state officials to The Kim Foundation works to work toward a community free break down barriers of stigma of stigma, where knowledge and that lead to feelings of isolation understanding overcome fear and and hopelessness, and encourages myths. We connect individuals people to reach out for help. and families with needed We believe that mental illness is resources and build relationships treatable, and through resiliency with community partners to and hope, recovery and healing ensure a positive experience for are possible. those we strive to help. We host a regional suicide prevention BRAG LINES campaign–13minutes.org. Every 13 minutes someone dies by Our programs focus on education, suicide, and each year one in five awareness, and advocacy on Americans are directly impacted mental illness and suicide by mental illness. These are huge prevention. We work with numbers, and we have to create a schools, churches, survivors, community where individuals are SEPTEMBER

accepted and embraced, and change is made to save lives from suicide.

A community where mental illness is viewed as a medical condition, just as cancer, diabetes, and heart disease are.

A Time for Hope & Healing with Dr. Thomas Joiner Nov. 9, 2016 Embassy Suites LaVista 11:30am-1:00pm: Luncheon and Presentation 1:30pm-3:30pm: An in-depth conversation with Dr. Joiner, along with a suicide survivor panel and a suicide memorial activity.

PAY IT FORWARD If you share in our passion of building awareness around these critical issues, here are ways to get involved: volunteer at an event, share your story in our newsletter, host us for a presentation at your meetings, donate, attend our fall event, follow us on social media, and help spread the word!

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THE KIM FOUNDATION 13609 California St. Omaha, NE 68154 402-891-6911 thekimfoundation.org

OMAHA MAGAZINE

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Lutheran Family Services of Nebraska expresses God´s love for all people by providing quality human care services that build and strengthen individual, family and community life.

» 10-ride MAT bus passes » New car seats for children » Sponsorship of refugee families » Diapers, Pull-Ups, and baby wipes » Household furniture and toiletries » Children’s clothing (new/nearly new) » Gift cards for groceries and necessities » Winter weather clothing for refugee families

UPCOMING EVENTS Faith in Action®: Growing Health & Hope for All People Sept. 8, 2016

BACKGROUND Lutheran Family Services of Nebraska (LFS) is a faith-based, not-for-profit, multi-service human care organization with 18 locations across Nebraska and Council Bluffs, Iowa. Through three core competencies— children services, behavioral health and community services to new Americans—LFS staff members strive to improve lives.

LFS children services strengthen families and restores safe and happy childhoods through a continuum of care from prenatal to adulthood. These include children who have been sexually abused, traumatized, suffer from behavioral health challenges, or were placed in and out of home care. LFS is there to strengthen families and create permanent homes for children.

In 2015, behavioral health services were provided to 7,853 individuals in the form of substance use treatment, crisis Since 1892, Lutheran Family response, mental health and Services of Nebraska has served children and families. What began community support. In addition, confidential trauma treatment and as orphanages in Fremont and peer support services are available Omaha has become a statewide outpouring of God´s love through to veterans, active military and their loved ones. dozens of programs, hundreds of staff members and thousands of As the largest resettlement volunteers. As community needs organization in the state, LFS have changed over the years, so resettled 783 refugees from 11 too have our programs.

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countries in 2015. In the same year, 2,873 new Nebraskans were connected to housing, healthcare, employment and legal services.

LFS is accredited by both the Council on Accreditation for Children and Family Services and the Better Business Bureau.

The organization is a recipient of the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce’s Greater Omaha Business Excellence Award for both 2015 and 2014. In 2013, LFS received the Better Business Bureau’s Integrity Award.

Omaha’s Great Pumpkin®: Shining the Light on Foster Care and Adoption.

Oct.22, 2016 Fandango® and Wicker & Wine® Nov. 4, 2016

PAY IT FORWARD Volunteer opportunities are listed on our website. Opportunities include co-sponsoring refugee families, mentoring, babysitting children and clerical assignments.

Financial support is always welcome.

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LUTHERAN FAMILY SERVICES OF NEBRASKA (LFS) 124 S. 24th St., #230 Omaha, NE 68102 402-342-7038 lfsneb.org

OMAHA MAGAZINE

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Nebraska Children’s Home Society provides safe and loving care to children of all ages.

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Blankets Diapers Gift cards Infant toys Learning toys New infant and toddler clothing New youth clothing, underwear, and socks Pack’n plays Toddler toys Winter coats

UPCOMING EVENTS HomeGrown October 14, 2016 National Adoption Awareness Month November 2016 Project Elf Gift Drive December 2016

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Nebraska Children’s Home Society is changing lives through child-centered, family-focused programs. When you support the Children’s Home, women and teens facing the crisis of an unplanned pregnancy have information and support in developing a plan for parenting or adoption; abused and neglected children find safety and permanency in safe and loving homes; parents overcome barriers and nurture their children’s growth and development; children begin school ready to learn; adoptive, biological and foster families are strengthened and supported; youth set and achieve educational goals and become confident young adults; and members of the adoption circle (adoptive parents, birth parents, and adopted persons) receive guidance, counseling, and support in their lifelong journey.

In the words of those who know us...

“The services, support, and love provided at NCHS has truly been a blessing.”

-Pregnancy Services Client “This is a positive environment for the girls from all stages of life. It gives them someone to talk to in times of trouble.”

-Teen Chat Mother “The education we have received about adoption, especially open adoption, has been life-changing.”

-Adoptive Parent “NCHS has a wonderful program and is a huge support before, during, and after placement! Thank you for helping us expand our family through adoption!”

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“NCHS is the best! I don’t think I could handle the ups and downs, frustrations, and stressful times without the support of everyone who works at NCHS.” -NCHS Foster Parent

National Foster Care Month May 2017

“I love how much they each genuinely care for my children. I appreciate all they do for my children daily. They have a passion for children and it shows. They are unlike any center I’ve ever come in contact with.”

-Infant and Preschool Parent

PAY IT FORWARD With a firm commitment to the belief that a child’s needs must come first, Nebraska Children’s Home engages in advocacy for vulnerable and at-risk children. All children deserve safe and loving care. The work of the Children’s Home depends on the generosity of donors, assistance is needed from concerned and generous citizens like you.

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NEBRASKA CHILDREN’S HOME SOCIETY 4939 S. 118th St. Omaha, NE 68137 402-451-0787 nchs.org

OMAHA MAGAZINE

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The Nebraska Humane Society protects, enriches, and saves the lives of animals in the communities we serve.

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Blankets Towels Canned cat food Vienna sausages Canned chicken Canned tuna Soft dog treats Kong toys Peanut butter Kitty wand toys

UPCOMING EVENTS Walk for the Animals & 5K Run Noon-4p, NHS Campus Oct. 2, 2016 Dining With Dogs Saturday, April 29, 2017 Ales for Tails Summer 2017

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The Nebraska Humane Society is a world-class facility offering safety and care for animals in the community who need our help. NHS also provides animal control services to Omaha and all of Sarpy County, upholding the laws enacted for the protection of people and animals. As an open entry shelter, we don’t turn anyone away who needs a place to go. Ever. We provide education, encourage adoptions, and promote responsible pet care for our community.

In 2015 NHS: » Adopted out 10,477 pets » Spayed/neutered 6,203 dogs and cats » Performed 1,722 specialized surgeries » Fostered 1,919 animals in 209 homes » Provided free behavior help to 1,132 callers

NHS is a private nonprofit corporation. Animal control is funded through the cities who contract for those services, but all shelter programs, including rehabilitating and rehoming of animals, are funded through private donations. Our volunteers donate time and talent to walk dogs, enrich cats, adoption counsel, help market pets, and foster those needing TLC in their homes! Your help becomes hope when you donate: » In honor or memory » Monthly » Planned giving » Corporate sponsorships

We also returned nearly 3,000 pets to their owners; offered low cost training classes, low cost spaying and neutering, a free pet food pantry, were a safe haven for animals of domestic violence, and provided pet safety and animal care presentations to schools.

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Details at www.nehumanesociety.org

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NEBRASKA HUMANE SOCIETY 8929 Fort St. Omaha, NE 68134 402-444-7800 nehumanesociety.org

OMAHA MAGAZINE

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NUIHC’s mission is to elevate the health status of urban Indians to its highest possible level.

» » » » » » »

The Nebraska Urban Indian Health Coalition

Monetary donations Hygiene items Food items Socks Slippers Raffle prizes Undergarments (male/ female various sizes) » 15-passenger van

UPCOMING EVENTS Empowerment 4 Life Native Youth Conference Nov. 11, 2016 Hoops 4 Life 3 on 3 Basketball Tournament Nov. 12, 2016 National HIV/AIDS Awareness Day event March 17, 2017

BACKGROUND The Nebraska Urban Indian Health Coalition (NUIHC) is a private, 501(c)3 organization. We provide health care and services targeting the urban American Indian and Alaska Native population in the greater Omaha metropolitan area, LincolnLancaster metropolitan area, and Sioux City, Iowa. We have been serving our community since 1986. Although some services and programs are offered to eligible tribal members only, many programs are available

to everyone regardless of race, color, sex, national origin, disability, religion, sexual orientation, or ability to pay.

BRAG LINES We are very proud of our programs and services that include: Inpatient treatment, outpatient treatment, transitional housing, Soaring Over Meth & Suicide Youth Program, Tired Moccasins Elders Program, transportation, and HIV/STI testing. We have an amazing board and staff. The SEPTEMBER

communities we serve, and our funders, support us. We are grateful for the opportunity to serve.

PAY IT FORWARD There are many ways you can help NUIHC and give back to the community we serve. We accept not only financial gifts but the time of generous individuals. Share your talents/expertise or volunteer with our clients, elders, or at our Wellbriety family nights or community outreach events.

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THE NEBRASKA URBAN INDIAN HEALTH COALITION 2240 Landon Court Omaha, NE 68102 402-346-0902 nuihc.com

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To enrich the lives of individuals with developmental disabilities and their families through support, programs and advocacy.

» Adult classroom supplies » Curriculum materials » Book sets of 12 books for Book Clubs ($70 each) » Braille translation ($80 per book) » Adult life jackets » Basketballs » Double-sided basketball jerseys

UPCOMING EVENTS Superhero Pancake Breakfast September 24, 2016 Honey Sunday November 6, 2016 Ollie’s Dream Gala First or second Saturday of June

BACKGROUND

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PAY IT FORWARD

For 70 years, Ollie Webb Center, Inc. has been an advocate and resource for people with intellectual disabilities and their families. The organization was born out of a merger of two agencies: The Arc of Omaha and Career Solutions, Inc. It was named after a Nebraskan who spent her life fighting for opportunities and became a face of people with developmental disabilities.

Today, the non-profit serves families at every stage. Parents can utilize networks to help them be their child’s advocates and gain emotional support. Starting at a young age, programs are designed to help children increase their social skills through a variety of activities including basketball teams, performing arts, and mentorship opportunities. When they reach adulthood, there are services to help them gain life skills, find employment and live independently.

There are a variety of ways to help Ollie Webb, Inc. ensure that people achieve their full potential.

Supporters can become a member of the organization, with levels starting at $25.00. Donations are always welcome, and there are several fundraisers through the year that offer additional opportunities to give. Gifts of time are always appreciated and volunteers can call 402-346-5220 to help.

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OLLIE WEBB CENTER, INC. 1941 S. 42nd St., #122 Omaha, NE 68105 402-346-5220

OMAHA MAGAZINE

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Omaha Against Hunger engages in the fight against hunger by incorporating volunteers in hands-on food packaging events producing highly nutritious meals that are distributed locally and internationally to people in need.

» 26-foot box truck with power lift gate » Power Pallet Jack » 50 pound bags of rice at $15.89/bag. Each bag helps in creating 550 meals. Contact us for information. » Sponsors for school meal packing programs » Businesses, churches, sports teams, scouts, and community groups of 10 – 500 people to join us in the fight against hunger by donating time and resources to package meals with Omaha Against Hunger

UPCOMING EVENTS Phase II Pack-a-Pallet Campaign Sept. 15-Nov. 15, 2016

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PAY IT FORWARD

Omaha Against Hunger is a non-profit humanitarian relief organization. We are a volunteerdriven effort to package and distribute Kids Against Hunger’s highly nutritious food to starving people around the world, and to food-insecure people in our community through food pantries and food banks. An Omaha Against Hunger Packing Event combines charitable giving, volunteerism, team building, and fun, all while contributing “hands-on,” in helping people in need.

» From June 2015 through June 2016, 4,617 people volunteered to package over one million highly nutritious meals that were distributed right here in the Heartland, in Haiti, and in Mali, Africa. » During Phase I of our 2016 Pack-a-Pallet Campaign, 1,280 volunteers packed 304,334 servings of the nutritious meals we package. » Once packaged, the food is picked up by our partners, Food Bank for the Heartland and Orphan Grain Train, for distribution to hungry people in the Heartland and to starving people in Haiti.

» A $54 donation provides a box of 216 meals at just 25 cents per meal. » With a $540 donation, 10 volunteers can package 2,160 servings of highly nutritious meals in one hour. » With a $1,728 donation, 30 volunteers can package a full pallet of 7,182 meals in 90 minutes. » A sponsorship of $6,250 supports a partnership with Heartland schools to provide students with information about world hunger and local food-insecurity, and a handson food packaging experience for the students, allowing them to package a total of 25,000 meals.

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Business and Church Holiday Meal Packing Events December 2016

OMAHA AGAINST HUNGER 2544 S. 156th Circle Omaha, NE 68130 402-960-9574

omahaagainsthunger.org

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To engage the imagination and create excitement about learning.

» Omaha Children’s Museum greatly appreciates donations that enhance and support our exhibits and programming throughout the year. As part of our 40th anniversary celebration, the museum would love to see photos that our visitors have taken throughout the museum. Photos can be submitted via social media using the anniversary hashtag #OCMTurns40.

UPCOMING EVENTS Kidchella Music Festival Sept. 10, 2016 Great Friends to Kids Luncheon Sept. 12, 2016 Imagination: Celebrating 40 years of Play temporary exhibit Oct. 15, 2016April 16, 2017

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One of the great things about Omaha Children’s Museum is our ability to create change. Whether inside the museum walls or out in the community, we truly believe we can impact the youth of our community through fun and educational family programming that stimulates growth and development. Our talented and creative staff members combined with generous support from the Omaha community is what truly makes Omaha Children’s Museum a unique place for young children.

Omaha Children’s Museum celebrated its best year yet in 2015, serving over 300,000 visitors, a record 10,000 member families, and over 100,000 individuals through off-site community outreach programs, securing our spot as the most visited museum in the state of Nebraska. The museum is currently celebrating its 40th anniversary as a special place where children can engage their imagination in an exciting learning environment.

What can Omahans do to help?

Come visit us! The best way to support Omaha Children’s Museum is by walking through our doors and seeing the many ways that children can learn through play. We believe growth and support go both ways and we strive daily to create exhibits and programs that are fun, imaginative, and educational for our guests. Other ways you can support Omaha Children’s Museum are through the purchase of an annual membership, volunteering your time, or making a financial contribution.

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Santa’s Magic exhibit Nov. 25-Dec. 23, 2016 For the Kids Benefit May 6, 2017

OMAHA CHILDREN’S MUSEUM 500 S. 20th St. Omaha, NE 68102 402-342-6164 ocm.org

OMAHA MAGAZINE

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Our mission is to support and strengthen youth, young adults and families through services that inspire and equip them to lead independent and productive lives.

» New and/or gently used furniture and household items » Gift cards for clothes, shoes, backpacks, etc. » Gift cards and/or ticket donations for youth to attend various events, entertainment opportunities, theaters, etc., in the community » Nonperishable household items (personal hygiene, cleaning supplies, clothes, furniture, etc.) to fill our Youth Mart.

UPCOMING EVENTS Imagine Our Youth Fundraising Gala September 15, 2016 Celebrity Dunk Tank as part of Omaha Gives!

May 24, 2017 Annual OHB Golf Classic June 7, 2017

BACKGROUND Founded in 1920, the Omaha Home for Boys provides care and support for at-risk youth ages 12-24 as part of its mission of strengthening youth and families.

The Omaha Home for Boys is committed to providing services to young men and women through family-style, communitybased programs supported by education.

As we approach our 100th anniversary in 2020, we will continue to adapt and change to meet the needs of youth and families throughout the community. The Omaha Home

for Boys is a private, nonprofit, nonsectarian organization providing services to youth regardless of race, religion, or ability to pay.

BRAG LINES The commitment and support of our staff and local and national donors and corporate partners to serve the best interests of youth and their families in the community have made the Omaha Home for Boys a success for almost 100 years.

Without their devotion, our three programs— Inspiration Hill Residential Care (boys ages SEPTEMBER

12-18), Jacobs’ Place Transitional Living (young men and women ages 17-20) and Branching Out® Independent Living (young men and women ages 14-24)—would not be thriving and successful.

PAY IT FORWARD Support us through tax-deductible donations and attend and sponsor our annual golf outing (each June) and fall gala (September).

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter (@ omahahomeforboy) and Linkedin to learn more about the Home and our great history of saving lives!

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OMAHA HOME FOR BOYS 4343 N. 52nd St. Omaha, NE 68104 402-457-7000 omahahomeforboys.org

OMAHA MAGAZINE

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The Omaha Public Library Foundation raises funds and advocates for Omaha Public Library.

An unrestricted gift to the Omaha Public Library Foundation is the best way to demonstrate your support. The Omaha Public Library Foundation accepts cash donations, bequests, memorials, stock transfers, and planned gifts. For more information: foundation@ omahalibrary.org or 402-444-4589.

UPCOMING EVENTS Omaha Reads features “All the Light We Cannot See”

by Anthony Doerr Sept. 1-30, 2016 1877 Society hosts Animus: Film vs. Book at Aksarben Cinema featuring “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” Oct. 20, 2016 1877society.org

BACKGROUND Since 1985, the Omaha Public Library Foundation (OPLF) has provided significant private funding totaling nearly $10 million for one purpose: enhancing Omaha Public Library.

The Omaha Public Library Foundation believes a healthy and vibrant public library system contributes to the betterment of our community, aids in economic development, provides public gathering spaces, and creates a sense of community pride.

BRAG LINES Citing a passion for education and literacy, the late Virginia C. Schmid of Omaha awarded a $1 million bequest to the Omaha Public Library Foundation in January 2016. Per Schmid’s

wishes, the gift is designated exclusively to Omaha Public Library’s A.V. Sorensen Branch in support of books, capital expenditures, and other branch improvements. This $1 million gift marks the largest single contribution the Omaha Public Library Foundation has received in its 32-year history. Library leadership have begun discussions on how best to use the $1 million gift.

PAY IT FORWARD As an organization wholly separate from Omaha Public Library and the City of Omaha, OPLF seeks private support for improvements and enhancements which cannot be provided through local government funding.

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Designations are always welcome, but a gift given wherever most needed provides Omaha Public Library the flexibility to respond to critical needs or special opportunities that arise.

OPLF provides funds for remarkable programs and projects thanks to general or unrestricted donations.

Giving categories include: » Childhood literacy, programming, and services » Teen literacy, programming, and services » Adult literacy, programming, and services » Technology » Community outreach » Summer Reading Program » Genealogy

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OMAHA PUBLIC LIBRARY FOUNDATION 215 S. 15th St. Omaha, NE 68102 402-444-4589

omahalibraryfoundation.org

OMAHA MAGAZINE

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Open Door Mission is a Gospel Rescue Mission that meets the basic needs of individuals and families while inspiring HOPE for lasting change.

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Board games Baby dolls and Barbies Fleece throws Sports balls Watches Men’s socks and underwear Hair dryers and curling irons Make-up sets Turkeys Canned vegetables Canned fruit Instant potatoes Canned meat Boxed meals MAT bus tickets Phone cards

UPCOMING EVENTS A United Golf Classic Oct. 3, 2016 Ladle of Love Oct. 23, 2016 Auction & Dinner Sept. 28, 2016

BACKGROUND Open Door Mission is a Gospel Rescue Mission providing basic needs and life-changing programs for the homeless and needy, with long-term solutions that break the cycle of homelessness and poverty.

Our desire is to be a bridge for people trying to reclaim the basic necessities of life, restore their God-given dignity and hope, and rejoin the community as full and active participants.

Candace L. Gregory, President/ CEO, is a national advocate for the homeless. She uses her extensive experience in community prevention programs to break the cycle of homelessness and poverty. She longs to build a bridge of hope to others and

develop innovative ways to make it happen through partnerships and collaborations.

BRAG LINES Each day, Open Door Mission’s campus offers 816 safe shelter beds to homeless men, women, and children, serves over 2,000 nutritious meals, and provides preventive measures to more than 275 people living in poverty.

Every month, Open Door Mission partners with more than 865 volunteers logging over 6,000 hours making a difference right here in their community. Please visit our website and click on the volunteer button to see how you can have a life-changing volunteer experience today.

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PAY IT FORWARD From September through November, Open Door Mission expects to provide more than 191,000 hot, nutritious meals to the Heartland’s hungry—and an additional 60,000 in December.

We invite you, your family, church, or business to get on board to help supply canned vegetables, canned fruit, instant potatoes, canned meat, and boxed meals so we can stock our warehouse for the holidays and winter months.

To help provide food, shelter, and other services for the homeless at Open Door Mission, visit our website.

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OPEN DOOR MISSION 2828 N. 23rd St. E. Omaha, NE 68110 402-422-1111 opendoormission.org

OMAHA MAGAZINE

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ONI strives to positively impact everyone who is blind or visually impaired.

There are many ways to get involved with Outlook Nebraska: » Purchase our blind-made products » Support us financially: outlooknebraska.org/ donations » Sponsor Tee It Up Fore Sight or Vision Beyond Sight » Schedule a tour » Become a Vision Ambassador: Help us spread the word about our mission and raise awareness » Attend an Empowerment Lunch

UPCOMING EVENTS Vision Beyond Sight Banquet Nov. 18, 2016 Tee It Up Fore Sight Annual Golf Tournament June 8, 2017

BACKGROUND

members facing vision loss, and their families. We can help them Outlook Nebraska, Inc. navigate the challenges of vision (ONI) empowers anyone in loss and understand the resources the community facing vision and tools available to help them loss to gain confidence in their achieve their goals. We teach capabilities and achieve their life several types of technology that goals. Through employment, enable the blind of any age to adaptive technology training, use computers, smartphones, recreational, and cultural magnification devices, scanners, opportunities designed specifically and document readers. for the visually impaired, ONI strives to enhance the lives of our PAY IT FORWARD blind neighbors. ONI produces and sells janitorial paper products You can help the 15,000 and nearly 70 percent of our individuals in the Omaha area workforce is legally blind. who are visually impaired by sharing the word about our BRAG LINES programs and providing financial support.

ONI, through its Enrichment Programs, offers free education Contribute to our enrichment and training for our community programs fund to support SEPTEMBER

services that help the blind learn to use computers and smartphones, experience live theater performances with audio description, participate in sporting and recreational activities, enjoy learning how to draw and create pottery, and so much more.

Help us fund the expansion of our facility to accommodate the growth of these programs for the community by contributing to our Bridge the Gap Capital Campaign.

The new facility will triple our adaptive tech training capacity and add flexible community space to offer additional training, education, and awareness events. Through this campaign, ONI hopes to create a more inclusive community for our visually impaired neighbors.

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Vision Beyond Sight Banquet Nov. 10, 2017

OUTLOOK NEBRASKA, INC. 4125 S. 72nd St. Omaha, NE 68127 402-614-3331 outlooknebraska.org

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Phoenix Academy educates and inspires students with learning differences to realize their full academic potential and become successful in school and in life.

Financial donations: » $11,000 (actual cost to educate one student) » $7,800 (full tuition for one student) » Donations for scholarships Other donations: » School supplies for low-income students » Office supplies » Technology upgrades » Classroom supplies

UPCOMING EVENTS Scholarship Luncheon February 1, 2017 Omaha Gives!

May 24, 2017

BACKGROUND Phoenix Academy doesn’t just believe children can triumph over difficulties in reading or math, they know they can. When Phoenix Academy began in 1991 with one student and one teacher, our founder, Patti Clark, saw a need for this understanding in the Omaha community. It is because of our curriculum and small class sizes that we are able to continue her mission today as a non-profit, private, K-8 grade school, that helps students with learning challenges get back on track. We are unique in that children attend school here for two years, on average, as they work to gain skills to achieve proficiency. Teaching

takes place in a nurturing learning environment using Spalding, an intensive phonics program, and focusing on reading, writing, spelling, and math.

really care about the students and how they learn. It has been a big support to my son and my family. I highly recommend them to anyone.”

-Tiffany, mother

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At Phoenix Academy young minds take flight. Don’t just take our word for it. Read what a parent has to say:

Our annual Scholarship Luncheon helps to fund students who are otherwise unable to afford our tuition. Previous speakers have included Laura Bush, Erin Gruwell, “My son has been attending Phoenix and Dr. Joann Deak. This year, our Academy for two years. He struggled speaker is Angela Lee Duckworth, in public schools and now is an A psychologist and author of and B honor roll student! It has “Grit: The Power of Passion and made him academically successful.

Perseverance.” See wish list of other This is an amazing school and the ways to donate or contact us to staff are amazing as well. They go volunteer! above and beyond for the kids and SEPTEMBER

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PHOENIX ACADEMY 1110 N. 66th St. Omaha, NE 68132 402.390.0556

phoenixacademyomaha.org

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Project Harmony is a child advocacy center whose mission is “to protect and support children, collaborate with professionals, and engage the community to end child abuse and neglect.”

» Travel size hygiene items » Toothbrushes and toothpaste » Clothing/pajamas for children birth to 18 years of age » Underwear/ undershirts » Blankets » Diaper, tote or duffel bags » Backpacks » Gift cards to Target for groceries for families » $5 gift cards to Target, Walmart, Starbucks, orScooters for teens » Pack ‘n Plays » Juice boxes » Individually wrapped snack packages » Bubbles/ sidewalk chalk

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Project Harmony is a nonprofit, community-based organization that has served more than 26,000 children during the past 20 years by providing a child-friendly environment in which speciallytrained professionals work together to assess, investigate, and resolve child abuse cases. In one centralized location, Project Harmony co-houses with Omaha Police Department Child Victim/ Sexual Assault Unit, Nebraska Health & Human Services/ Child Protection Service Initial Assessment and Child Abuse Hotline, Lutheran Family Services, and Child Saving Institute.

Project Harmony grew out of the vision of several Omaha community professionals and advocates to create a better system of protection for abused and neglected children. Today, Project Harmony is one of the largest Child Advocacy Centers in the nation. This is not due to an overwhelming volume of child abuse, but due to the level of collaboration that comes together to address the issue–collectively.

Project Harmony would not be where it is today without the generous support of the Omaha community. Together, we can end child abuse.

To allow for ongoing partnering and expansion of services, Project Harmony needs your continued support through monetary and inkind donations. Anyone can have the opportunity to help a child–to help that child find the courage to use their voice–and to see the vision of what potential that child can have. Thanks to the vision of Project Harmony, anyone can be that someone. One Child. One Voice. One Vision. Be Someone.

Due to the terrific response of the program and partnership growth, Project Harmony has been able to serve over 4,000 children in the last year and provided training to more than 10,000 professionals.

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Children in immediate need of refuge are welcomed by professionals in our Triage Center.

Each child is provided a light meal, new clothing, hygiene items, school supplies, and a backpack. We rely on your donations from our wish list to give the kids these items that they need and deserve.

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UPCOMING EVENTS 20 Year Celebration Gala Friday, November 4, 2016 Speaking of Children April 5-7, 2017 Hops for Harmony June 7, 2017 Project Harmony Golf Invitational June 13, 2017

PROJECT HARMONY 11949 Q St. Omaha, NE 68137 402-595-1326 ProjectHarmony.com

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MISSION STATEMENT

WISH LIST

Rejuvenating Women provides hope and restoration for survivors of human trafficking and reaches women who desire redemption, healing, and freedom from their past.

» » » » » » »

» » » »

Funding Cleaning supplies Laundry detergent Home and lawn maintenance New bras, underwear, and socks Twin bedding A transportation vehicle for the women for out-of-home appointments.

Toiletries Winter attire Security needs for the home Journals

UPCOMING EVENTS Beautifully Broken, The Key to Freedom Banquet Sept. 1, 2016

BACKGROUND

BRAG LINES

PAY IT FORWARD

Rejuvenating Women is committed to providing hope and restoration to those enslaved in human trafficking. We do this by utilizing best practices through our 24-month residential, holistic, trauma-informed care program along with individual and life group mentoring. We also offer victim advocacy, life skills training, Krav Maga self-defense classes through Dynamic Fitness, and free licensed counseling in the home and at our satellite office.

Partnering with several organizations and government agencies, including all divisions of law enforcement, enables us to support and help women and girls escape the brutality of human trafficking. We have grown and strengthened our board over the past year to be able to reach out to women more effectively than ever. Our dream of acquiring a restoration house was accomplished recently, so we are now able to give women a place to rebuild their lives in community together with a solid aftercare program.

RW is funded through private donors, but we also benefit from Amazon Smile and TAGG donation programs. Our home is the first and only of its kind in the entire state of Nebraska. A big goal of ours is to expand our base of support and to raise funds to pay off the restoration house and cover monthly operational costs.

SEPTEMBER

RW needs volunteers who can donate their time and talents to areas such as mentoring, leading groups, speakeing, working on projects, teaching classes in the restoration home, social media, and networking.

// OCTOBER • 2016 / 111 / BESTOFOMAHA.COM

REJUVENATING WOMEN P.O. Box 207 Boys Town, NE 68010 402-345-4673

rejuvenatingwomen.com

OMAHA MAGAZINE

THE BIG GIVE

MISSION STATEMENT

WISH LIST

Release Ministries is a non-profit 501(c) (3) organization seeking to affect at-risk youth with the life-changing message of Jesus Christ, releasing them to be who God intends them to be.

» Monetary donations » Volunteer mentors » Prayer partners

UPCOMING EVENTS 18th Annual Bill Ellett Memorial Golf Classic Summer 2017

BACKGROUND

BRAG LINES

PAY IT FORWARD

Release Ministries began in 1994 with two guys, a Bible, and a boom box. They used Christian rap music and God’s word to reach the youth at the Douglas County Youth Center. Our long-term vision is to see at-risk youth, future generations, and society transformed through a relationship with God and loving adults.

Release quickly became aware of the need for mentoring, Bible studies, and after care beyond the walls of the DCYC. Today we minister in 19 locations, have mentored nearly 500 youth with more than 60 active mentoring matches, and operate three family-style ministry homes.

We reach roughly 350 kids per week in multiple ways across the Metro Area (Douglas, Sarpy, and Pottawattamie counties). In 2015 we helped 129 families and more than 600 at-risk youth.

There are many ways you can support Release Ministries:

SEPTEMBER

» Volunteer to be a mentor » Become a prayer partner and support the many staff and volunteers working directly with at-risk youth and families in the Metro. » Make a monthly donation to Release Ministries: » $10 monthly provides Bible study incentive program for two youth » $20 monthly trains and matches one mentor with a youth for a year » $35 provides one hour of family counseling each month.

// OCTOBER • 2016 / 112 / OMAHAMAGAZINE.COM

RELEASE MINISTRIES, INC. 3223 N. 45th St. Omaha, NE 68104 402-455-0808 releaseministries.org

OMAHA MAGAZINE

THE BIG GIVE

MISSION STATEMENT

WISH LIST

The Salvation Army, an international movement, is an evangelical part of the universal Christian church. Its message is based on the Bible. Its ministry is motivated by the love of God. Its mission is to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to meet human needs in His name without discrimination.

» Gift cards for groceries and gas » Cleaning products » New bath and kitchen towels » Non-perishable food » Summer fans » Bottled water

UPCOMING EVENTS Tree of Lights Kickoff Nov. 11, 2016 Adopt A Family Radiothon Dec. 1-2, 2016 D.J.’s Hero Awards Luncheon May 11, 2017

BACKGROUND

BRAG LINES

PAY IT FORWARD

The Salvation Army is a faithbased nonprofit organization that provides social services and meets human needs without discrimination. The Omaha Salvation Army serves an average of 170,000 people each year through a broad array of social services that include providing food for the hungry, relief for disaster victims, assistance to the disabled, outreach to the elderly, shelter for the homeless, and opportunities for underprivileged children. Our Divisional Commander in Omaha is Major Greg Thompson.

For 128 years, The Salvation Army has offered programs to serve the hungry, homeless, and hopeless in the metro. In Omaha, 86 cents of every dollar spent is used to support over 20 programs and services. A new community resource center, the Burrows Center for Help and Hope, recently opened in the Benson neighborhood. Last year, more than 23,000 volunteers donated over 47,000 hours of time through bell ringing and other volunteer opportunities.

We have many volunteer opportunities through our various programs and services.

To learn more about volunteering, contact Kay at 402-898-6000.

The Salvation Army encourages donations of new school supplies, backpacks, non-perishable food, summer fans and bottled water.

Donations are always appreciated and accepted year-round. You may also make a $10 donation via mobile phone by texting the word OMAHA to 80888. Message and data rates may apply.

SEPTEMBER

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THE SALVATION ARMY Western Divisional Headquarters 10755 Burt St. Omaha, NE 68114 402-898-7700 Burrows Center for Help and Hope 6101 NW Radial Highway Omaha, NE 68104 402-898-6090 salarmyomaha.org

OMAHA MAGAZINE

THE BIG GIVE

MISSION STATEMENT

WISH LIST

Santa Monica administers a caring, comprehensive program for women who desire to confidently and successfully live without the burdens of addiction through a long-term treatment program that empowers them to live productively, without the use of drugs or alcohol.

» Feminine hygiene products » Razors » Cleaning products » Laundry detergent » Umbrellas » Paper products » Undergarments

UPCOMING EVENTS Fundraiser April 2017

BACKGROUND Santa Monica provides a holistic treatment experience that utilizes proven practices to improve women’s mental, physical, and spiritual health. We utilize multiple therapeutic strategies to improve our clients’ cognitivebehavioral patterns and to address their physical and psychological traumas. We help women develop a sense of personal accountability with structured programming that focuses on practical life skills, twelve-step participation, and employment. Santa Monica’s

halfway house program can last from 6 to 12 months; the length of stay for each woman is individualized based on her needs and her progress in treatment.

BRAG LINES Santa Monica was awarded a three-year accreditation by CARF for residential treatment of alcohol and other drugs. Santa Monica will also relocate the Halfway House program to our newly renovated location at 401 S. 39th Street, and begin our three-fourths way house SEPTEMBER

from our current location at 130 N. 39th Street. The transition in August is due to the support from our community, the dedication of staff and the vision of our volunteer board.

PAY IT FORWARD While Santa Monica has made significant progress in the expansion of services we are not at the finish line yet. The helping hand is valuable to our nonprofit.

Monetary or material donations will help us reach our goals and go beyond.

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SANTA MONICA HOUSE 130 N. 39th St. Omaha, NE 68131 402-558-7088 santamonicahouse.org

OMAHA MAGAZINE

BACKGROUND The Siena/Francis House Homeless Shelter, with six facilities at 17th & Nicholas Streets, is the region’s largest provider of emergency housing for women, youth, infants, and single men. The Siena/Francis House is a community-based, non-denominational, 501 (c)(3), charitable organization, and is not aßliated with any national or “parent” organization.

BRAG LINES » The Siena/Francis House has two model emergency shelter facilities which provide safe, clean, and secure housing for its guests. » It is the case that—each and every day and evening of the year—the Siena/Francis House serves more meals and provides more nights of

»

» »

»

MISSION STATEMENT

WISH LIST

The mission of the Siena/Francis House is directed toward a concern and care of the poor following the example of the scriptures. This mission is realized in feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless, and clothing the needy. This mission extends beyond merely answering physical needs to the acceptance and affirmation of the human person, the creation of an atmosphere of hospitality, and the provision of purpose and meaning in the lives of people who struggle for survival. It is also the mission of the Siena/Francis House to call the greater Omaha community to a social consciousness and to enlist help and support in the care of the homeless and the indigent.

» Canned fruits » Canned vegetables » Cold-weather clothing (used) » Individually wrapped, pre-packaged food items (for sack lunches) » Toilet paper » Powdered laundry detergent » Cooking oil » Tennis shoes (for men, all sizes) » Tennis shoes (for women, sizes 5 to 8) » Salad dressing (all flavors) » Razors (for men and women) » Shaving cream » Bar soap » Disinfectant cleaners (e.g. Pine Sol) » Styrofoam cups » Paper towels » “Zip-Lock” bags (all sizes) » Silverware (used) » Pain relievers » Hair brushes » Socks (for men) » Underwear for men and teens (sizes 28, 30 and 32) » Underwear for women (sizes 5 and 6) » Work boots (for men)

shelter to our community’s homeless men, women, and children than any other homeless shelter in the Omaha metropolitan area.

The Siena/Francis House operates Nebraska’s largest residential mental health/ chemical addictions treatment program, administered by licensed professionals.

The Siena/Francis House has a 110-person employment training program.

The Siena/Francis House’s Rehousing and Reintegration Services program is administered by licensed mental health and addictions specialists.

The Siena/Francis House’s Rehousing and Reintegration Services team helps over 400 families and individuals each month with veterans benefits, Social Security assistance, SEPTEMBER

THE BIG GIVE

education assistance, domestic violence matters, child care, family reunification, transportation, and obtaining identification. » The Siena/Francis House has developed a vast network of suppliers who donate the food to enable us to provide more than 425,000 meals in 2016.

PAY IT FORWARD The Siena/Francis House provides our basic human services of emergency shelter, food, and clothing at no cost to the homeless families and individuals needing our services. As such, we rely primarily on the generosity of the community for our operational expenses. Having sußcient supplies is crucial. For example, each month we need 2,600 rolls of toilet paper and enough soap for 5,760 loads of laundry.

// OCTOBER • 2016 / 115 / BESTOFOMAHA.COM

SIENA/FRANCIS HOUSE HOMELESS SHELTER 1702 Nicholas St. Omaha, NE 68102 402-341-1821 sienafrancis.org

OMAHA MAGAZINE

THE BIG GIVE

MISSION STATEMENT

WISH LIST

Together provides Emergency Resources and Navigation to working families living in Extreme Poverty to rebuild Housing Stability.

» Sponsors and volunteers for upcoming events » Support our programming through financial contributions » Participants on our board and/or committees » Gardening supplies/tools » Food (non-perishable and perishable) » Furniture » Hygiene items » Kitchenware » Baby items » Vacuums » Cleaning supplies

UPCOMING EVENTS Driving Out Homelessness Golf Outing October 3, 2016 Silver Screen Event November 2016

BACKGROUND Together is currently in its 41st year of helping people in our community, and does so with a data-enhanced, streamlined approach. Together helps move individuals and families from dependency to sustainability and on to self-sufficiency. This is done through case management, financial assistance, navigation services, food, furniture, bus tickets, and identification.

Together also operates a Veterans Program, which provides a wide range of services designed to promote housing stability to very low, or no, income veterans and their families. All of Together’s programming operates on a Housing First model, an approach that focuses on housing clients

first, and then addressing the client’s other needs.

BRAG LINES In 2015 Together helped: 1,093 clients with rent assistance, 709 with utility assistance, 240 with ID’s/birth certificates, 2,915 with case management, and 1,734 with navigation support. With the help Together provides, we were able to keep 97.11 percent of the individuals and families Together served out of the emergency shelters. Together’s goal is to maintain a minimum 90% housing stability rate, and we continue to surpass our goal.

Together completed 121 SNAP applications for clients with an approval rate of 65%. This SEPTEMBER

is a 10% increase from last year, when the 2014 SNAP approval rate was 55 percent. SNAP applications converted to meals for 2015=128,782 meals placed on tables of food insecure households.

In collaboration with Surreal Media Lab, Together produced and released “Out of Frame: Unseen Poverty in the Heartland,” a film based in Omaha that shows stereotypes of poverty are no longer the case.

For more information, visit outofframedocumentary.com.

PAY IT FORWARD

TOGETHER

Visit www.TogetherOmaha.org for a listing of events, volunteer opportunities, and other ways to support Together’s mission.

812 S. 24th St. Omaha, NE 68108 402-345-8047 togetheromaha.org

// OCTOBER • 2016 / 116 / OMAHAMAGAZINE.COM

OMAHA MAGAZINE

THE BIG GIVE

MISSION STATEMENT

WISH LIST

To impact poverty, United Way of the Midlands focuses the efforts of many to help our neighbors stand strong by addressing basic needs and fostering success in the classroom and workplace.

» Young Professionals volunteers » Women’s Leadership Council volunteers » Holiday Helpers volunteers (Nov. 1 - Dec. 23, 2016) » MLK Week of Service volunteers (Jan. 9 - 16, 2017) » Day of Action volunteers (June 21, 2017) » Day of Caring corporate volunteer teams (Aug. 25, 2017) » Loaned executives (for fall 2017) » Year-round volunteers

UPCOMING EVENTS United Way Annual Meeting Oct. 21, 2016 Holiday Helpers Nov. 1-Dec. 23, 2016 Martin Luther King, Jr. Week of Service Jan. 9-16, 2017 Day of Action June 21, 2017

BACKGROUND

BRAG LINES

PAY IT FORWARD

United Way of the Midlands connects people across the Omaha-Council Bluffs area with essential health and human services. To help local neighbors build a pathway out of poverty, UWM works alongside strong nonprofit, corporate, and civic partners to address people’s basic needs; and helps them achieve their best in school and at work.

Learn more about how they’re growing stronger and read about their positive stories of change on the UWM website.

When people and organizations support United Way of the Midlands, they help write stories of positive change for many people in the Omaha-Council Bluffs area. By funding strong programs that address poverty, UWM helps local neighbors take a big step – to secure food, safe housing, and health care; improve their reading skills; or leave a troubled past behind and get a good job. Together, the local community grows even stronger than it is today.

As donors, people can make sure there are essential health and human service programs available to thousands of people in the metro area to help them break free from poverty. As volunteers, they can make a difference through a variety of meaningful service opportunities at great nonprofit and civic organizations in our community. To get involved and learn more, please visit our website.

SEPTEMBER

// OCTOBER • 2016 / 117 / BESTOFOMAHA.COM

Day of Caring Aug. 25, 2017

UNITED WAY OF THE MIDLANDS 2201 Farnam St., #200 Omaha, NE 68102 402-342-8232 unitedwaymidlands.org

OMAHA MAGAZINE

THE BIG GIVE

MISSION STATEMENT

WISH LIST

YES serves homeless and at-risk youth by providing critically-needed resources which empower them to become self-sufficient.

» Double and twin bed sheets and comforters » Shower curtains » Laundry detergent » Storage totes / laundry baskets » Feminine hygiene products » Mattress protectors » Gift cards » Alcohol-free mouthwash » Travel size tissue » Large bottles of hygiene items » Lip balm » Hand sanitizer » School supplies: notebooks, folders, flash drives, and pencils/pens » Men’s and women’s underwear » Towels » Bottled water, and juices

BACKGROUND

BRAG LINES

PAY IT FORWARD

Each night, hundreds of youth in the Omaha metro are homeless.

Youth Emergency Services (YES) is the only nonprofit in Omaha with the sole focus of helping homeless youth succeed. YES exists to help these youth turn their lives around. YES works to become a positive influence in each of their lives and help guide them toward the road to success and self-sufficiency. YES envisions a community which understands and embraces this vulnerable population, creating an environment where youth homelessness no longer exists.

Last year, YES served more than 1,600 homeless and nearhomeless youth by providing them with the resources they need to get back on their feet. Of those youth, YES was able to…

» Monetary donations: Your cash gift is vital to the mission of ending youth homelessness.

Additionally, many companies will match your generous donation. Gifts can be made via YES’ website and placed in honor or in memory of a loved one or special occasion. » Event sponsorship/attendance: YES hosts three annual events, including a golf outing in May, Dance for a Chance in August, and a luncheon in November.

For more information about the events, sponsorships, or event tickets, please visit www.yesomaha.org.

» Reunify 61% of youth living at the Emergency Shelter with family or friends. » Serve over 800 meals a month at the Street Outreach Center. » Transition 17 youth into their own, permanent apartment in the community. » Provide 15 new, young mothers with parenting and financial education classes. » Help 37 youth secure employment as a requirement of the Transitional Living Program and Maternity Home.

SEPTEMBER

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UPCOMING EVENTS Breaking the Cycle Luncheon Nov. 4, 2016 Annual Golf Outing May 1, 2017 Dance for a Chance Aug. 4, 2017

YOUTH EMERGENCY SERVICES 2679 Farnam St., #205 Omaha, NE 68131 402-345-5187 yesomaha.org

SEPTEMBER

// OCTOBER • 2016 / 119 / BESTOFOMAHA.COM

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La Vista!

SPECIAL OFFER: New Executive Members receive a $20 Costco Cash Card.* Or, new Gold Star and Business Members receive a $10 Costco Cash Card.* Join before we open, daily 9 to 6.

14510 F St., Suite 107 Omaha, NE 68128

Ask about our Costco Anywhere Visa Card by Citi. ®

* Offer is valid only for nonmembers for their first year of membership. Limit one offer per household. Offer is nontransferable and may not be combined with any other offer or coupon. You must join in person with a Costco representative. Costco Cash Cards are not redeemable for cash. A Costco membership is $55 a year. An Executive Membership is an additional $55 upgrade fee a year. Each membership includes a free Household Card.

Please include sales tax in all applicable states. Costco accepts all Visa® cards, Costco credit cards, cash, checks, debit/ATM cards, EBT and Costco Cash Cards. Awareness Code: 62000

Offer expires: December 31, 2016 • Offer valid at: La Vista

GOOD NEWS:

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Visa® is now the only major credit card accepted at Costco.

September/October 2016 VOLUME 6 • ISSUE 5

EDITORIAL

MCKINNIS

ROOFING

SIDING

WINDOWS

Executive Editor DOUG MEIGS Associate Editor DAISY HUTZELL-RODMAN

GUTTERS

402.513.6620 www.mckinnisroofing.com

Contributing Editor SANDY MATSON

13315 B Street, Omaha, NE 68144

164 S 1st St Blair, NE 68008

Editorial Assistants JARED KENNEDY ALEC MCMULLEN MICHAEL NICHOLS Editorial Interns LUKE BULLER LINDSAY WILSON Events/PR Intern ALESHA OLSON Contributing Writers CHELSEA BALZER • MARIAN HOLDEN, ASID PATRICK MCGEE • CALLIE RIETFORS GARY ROSENBERG • KARA SCHWEISS WENDY TOWNLEY

CREATIVE Thank You For Voting Us

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OmahaHome September/October 2016

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from the Editor

H144

Sandy Matson

“Autumn is the second spring when every leaf is a flower.”

H158 H138 FEATURES H144 THE KOHLLS

Midcentury Wonder

H158 LIVING GREEN

The Zanottis'

Backyard Escape

Thank you for reading OmahaHome. This standalone magazine is also featured as a section of Omaha Magazine.Want to read the entire magazine?

Visit: omahamagazine.com/ digital-flip-book

DEPARTMENTS H126 SPACES

A Home for Husker Healing

H132 ARCHITECTURAL STYLES

Jacob Maag’s Craftsmanship Appeals to Modern Architects

H138 AT HOME

The Ortons: Tiny House, Big Life

H154 NEIGHBORHOODS

Sheelytown: Polka Parties and Meatpackers

H156 HARVEST

Foraging and Fermenting Wild American Grapes

H164 TRANSFORMATIONS

Clean, Classic Design with a Contemporary Twist

G

— Albert Camus

R AB YOUR FAVORITE hot drink and cozy up by the fire pit. Fall is officially here! It’s funny how fast each season goes, and we find ourselves right back in fall (which is my favorite time of year).

Slowly each leaf will fall from its tree, leaving bare branches. So, how do we recognize the beauty in the simple pleasures of what remains?

The Ortons in this issue of Omaha Home do just that. They show us what more and more people are catching onto. Simplifying their lives and living a very minimalistic life, they still find the beauty in their surroundings while appreciating the “stuff" that is not for sale.

Now for the majority of us who are not quite ready to give up our “stuff” and space, the Kohlls have brought back to life, both inside and out, an architectural staple in their mid-century redo.

And what would a Sept./Oct. issue be without showcasing some Nebraska football pride? We thought it would be fun to feature a Husker “Fan Cave,” not to be confused with man cave, although it could be considered the same.

Tait Reif’s is just one example of what this season means to so many of us Nebraskans.

As always, if you have any ideas—or a hidden talent—let us know. We would love to hear your feedback. You could even get chosen to be in our next issue of Omaha Home.

Sandy

Spaces story by Callie Rietfors / photography by bill sitzmann / design by Rachel Joy

The Winning8 Fan Cave A Home for Husker Healing

September/October 2016 • omahamagazine.com

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Spaces

N

EBR A SK A FOOTBA LL FA NS’

nationally recognized devotion to their team—the “Sea of Red” spilling from Memorial Stadium throughout downtown Lincoln on game days, and the subsisting pride of the `90s glory days—is epitomized

by Tait Rief of Seward, Nebraska.

Reif was a kid in the `90s, a kid captivated by the era’s Huskers heroes. His bedroom and basement are a testament to Nebraska football pride. Huskers décor fills the rooms: National Championship mugs, vintage Cornhusker Beverage soda bottles, rugs, pillows, pins, and team pennants—which, as a kid, Reif ordered each week by conference standings, always placing Nebraska first. In his bedroom, a bookcase displays three encased autographed footballs—signed by Joel Makovicka (fullback, 1994-1998), Grant Wistrom (rush end, 1994-1997), and Sam Koch (punter, 20012005)—and a copy of the book Hero of the Underground signed by author Jason Peter (defensive tackle, 1993-1997).

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OmahaHome September/October 2016

Reif ’s most cherished pieces of his collection—and his first autographs—are signed 1997 offense and defense posters. During a tour of Memorial Stadium when he was nine, Reif had his picture taken in then-head-coach Tom Osborne’s office and by the championship trophies, and then stood outside the weight room with his posters as the players came out. They signed his posters, and Scott Frost—all sweaty—patted his shoulder. “I was just in awe for the next week or two and never wanted to wash my shoulder again.”

Reif hung up the posters with tacky in his room, circling Tom Osborne’s autograph in excitement.

The `97 posters now hang framed in the basement, where Reif’s expansive collection continues. On the same wall is a Husker quilt, each block signed by members of the 2001 football team, a hutch displaying a miniature Nebraska helmet signed by Tommie Frazier (quarterback 1992-1995), a Memorial Stadium poster signed by head >>>

"Tait’s always been a Husker fan. He always told me that he was going to be on the football field at Memorial Stadium one way or another."

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As a freshman in 2001, Reif was involved in a Seward High School bus accident that left him with partial paralysis and short-term memory loss. In his bedroom and the basement are two identical small black-framed collages. Each collage depicts black-and-white photographs of Husker players including Rodgers, Wayne Meylan (middle guard, 19651967), and “Thunder” Thornton (fullback and lineback, 1960-1962), foregrounded with a color photograph of Jeff Kinney (halfback, 1969-1971) in the 1971 Game of the Century.

“DETERMINATION” is printed in bold red lettering across the bottom of the image, followed by the quote, “The Harder You Work, The Harder It Is To Surrender.” Reif says that he values these words, as they “always inspired me to keep focused . . . during recovery.”

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<<< coach Mike Riley (his collection’s most recent addition), and a framed note signed

by Ahman Green (I-back, 1995-1997) that reads, “Keep it going!!” On the opposite wall sits another hutch with more autographed footballs, including the signatures of Zach Wiegert (offensive tackle, 1992-1994), head coaches Osborne, Bo Pelini (2007-2014), and Frank Solich (1998-2003), and most of the 2001 team starters; a square of `90s Memorial Stadium turf; and ball caps signed

by Osborne and Heisman winners Johnny Rodgers (wingback, 1970-1973), Mike Rozier (I-back, 1981-1983), and Eric Crouch (quarterback, 1998-2001).

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His dad, Tom, recalls, “Tait’s always been a Husker fan. He always told me that he was going to be on the football field at Memorial Stadium one way or another—either as a player, because he was a pretty good football player himself before his accident, or (Tait) said, ‘If I have to, I’ll play in the band or be a male cheerleader.’”

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Much of Tait’s memorabilia was acquired after the accident. His collection is both meaningful and joyful. As for expanding it, he says, “I’d like to add a picture of me shaking Mike Riley’s hand.”

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September/October 2016 • omahamagazine.com

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Architectural Styles story by Gary Rosenberg / photography by bill sitzmann / design by Rachel Joy

JACOB MAAGâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S CRAFTSMANSHIP APPEALS TO MODERN ARCHITECTS

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OmahaHome September/October 2016

September/October 2016 â&#x20AC;˘ omahamagazine.com

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Architectural Styles

Jacob Maag held impressive credentials. His training included a four-year apprenticeship in Baden, Switzerland, where he earned top marks in his class.

Maag then attended the Art Academy in Milan, Italy, and worked for sculptor Angelo Magnioni. He returned to Switzerland and then came to Omaha.

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ISTINCTIVE ELEMENTS OF a residence in the Aksarben

After the Westmans agreed to include their home on Restoration Exchange Omaha’s Fall Neighborhood Tour, they started piecing together the answers.

Since purchasing the home in 2006, the Westmans have been both fascinated and puzzled by the architectural embellishments of their 742-square-foot brick house. Those features—including brown sandstone trim around the front door and decorative plaster crown moldings in the foyer, living room, and dining room—seemed out of place for a small dwelling.

Restoration Exchange Omaha (REO) rewards those who open up their homes with a portfolio containing information and newspaper clips about the home’s architecture, history, and occupants. Last fall, University of Nebraska at Omaha honors students conducted research on the homes in the Aksarben neighborhood as part of a servicelearning project for REO. UNO junior Justin Korth prepared the research for the Westman home.

neighborhood attracted architects Eric and Trina Westman when they were house hunting.

While the couple sat in their living room, they would look up at the plaster cornices and contemplate.

“I sat here staring at the walls a lot,” says Eric, a project architect at Alley Poyner Macchietto Architecture. Trina adds, “We literally stared at it for 10 years, thinking, ‘Why? Where? Who?’” Visiting friends and colleagues were equally mystified. Why would a house of this size, in this neighborhood, have such grand features?

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OmahaHome September/October 2016

Korth’s research detailed the history of the original residents who lived at 1310 S. 63rd St. Edwin and Regina James built the home in 1939 and lived there for 25 years. Edwin was an assistant dean at Omaha University. His father, W. Gilbert James, was twice the acting president of the university and its first dean of the School of Fine Arts. >>>

September/October 2016 â&#x20AC;˘ omahamagazine.com

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Architectural Styles

<<< Regina James was a librarian at the University of Nebraska College of Medicine. Her parents were Freida Maag and her husband, master craftsman Jacob Maag.

Trina read the report, which included an extensive obituary of Jacob, and began a quest to find out more about him. “I started reading a little more and went down to the library that same week. They had a file on him, a couple of articles and some pictures of him carving,” she says. She also ran across a document called “Mallet and Chisel: A Fifty Year Saga of Architectural Sculpture by Jacob Maag.” Primarily a transcript of a 1962 interview with Maag by members of the Greater Omaha Historical Society (now the Douglas County Historical Society), the document includes an indepth interview with Maag and listings of his stone carving and ornamental plaster work.

“I think now we have an answer, and it makes sense,” says Trina, who works for the City of Omaha Planning Department. “His daughter, her first home— she was building it in 1938 and that’s when he was doing this kind of work. ‘Sure, your little 742-square-foot house, I’ll put up some fancy plaster work and stone trim,’” she imagines Maag saying.

Maag held impressive credentials. His training included a four-year apprenticeship in Baden, Switzerland, where he earned top marks in his class. Maag then attended the Art Academy in Milan, Italy, and worked for sculptor Angelo Magnioni. He returned to Switzerland and then came to Omaha at the urging of his uncle, John B. Kuony, one of Omaha’s earliest pioneers.

Maag left his mark on some of Nebraska’s most impressive and enduring buildings.

He created stone carvings for St. Cecilia Cathedral, Central High School, the University of Nebraska Stadium, the

Scottish Rite Cathedral, and dozens of others. He created ornamental plaster moldings for Union Station (now Durham Museum), the State Capitol, and Burlington Station, among many others. He could carve wood and inscribe metal. In fact, one would be hard pressed to find a material Maag could not manipulate into some artistic statement. A true Renaissance man, he even wrote poetry.

Maag moved to Albion, Michigan, in 1961 to live with his younger daughter, Jacqueline. He continued to fashion works, mostly in alabaster and marble, in his retirement. He died at age 98 in 1980.

To date, no documentation of the archway or plaster cornices at the Westman home has been found. There is mention in “Mallet and Chisel” of a cast cement fireplace in the home, one of many Maag fashioned. The fireplace is no longer there, though the Westmans see evidence of where it once stood on the north wall of their living room. They speculate that Edwin and Regina James took it with them when they moved to Texas in 1965.

The Westmans plan to build an addition in the next few years and may include a stone fireplace on the far wall.

Maag railed against modern architecture and its “straight up and down” look.

He called the new buildings of the day “crackerboxes with holes.” He told the Omaha World-Herald in 1961, “I believe a person should remember the arch over the door he enters.”

Thanks to Jacob Maag, the Westmans can remember the arch over their door and other impressions he left behind. OmahaHome

RESTORATION EXCHANGE OMAHA’S 2016 FALL TOUR: THE AKSARBEN NEIGHBORHOOD Date: Sunday, Oct. 2 Time: Noon-5 p.m.

Eric and Trina Westman’s home is one of 11 sites on the tour, which features a variety of residences in the Aksarben neighborhood (between Leavenworth and Center streets, running from 50th to 72nd streets). Styles include Tudor revival, bungalow, Spanish colonial, and foursquare. The starting point, Mount Calvary Lutheran Church, is also featured.

TOUR SITES: 5525 Leavenworth St., Mount Calvary Lutheran Church 5501 Leavenworth St., owned by Jennifer Bauer 1301 S. 52nd St., owned by Sarah Cavanagh 5848 Hickory St., owned by Scott Swanson 5844 Pine St., owned by Royce Cannerley

1310 S. 63rd St., owned by Eric and Trina Westman 6239 Poppleton Ave., owned by Kim Riege 6024 Poppleton Ave., owned by Katie Blesener and John Royster 5611 Leavenworth St., owned by Rebecca Anderson 5522 Marcy St., owned by Steven and Amy Thompson 5542 Marcy St., owned by Russell Hollendieck Tickets are $15 apiece or two for $25, with a discount available for Restoration Exchange Omaha members.

Tickets can be purchased the day of the tour at Mount Calvary. They include a tour booklet with the histories of the tour sites and a history of the neighborhood. The route is 2.6 miles and accessible by walking, bicycling, or driving. A free shuttle to the locations will also be provided.

Visit restorationexchange.org for more information.

September/October 2016 • omahamagazine.com

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At Home story by Wendy Townley / photography by Bill Sitzmann / design by Rachel Joy

The

Ortons TINY HOUSE, BIG LIFE

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OmahaHome September/October 2016

At Home

W

H I LE MOST HOM EOW N ER S —E SPECI ALLY married couples—decide to down-

size in their 40s, 50s, or even their 60s, newlyweds Lucas and Andrea Orton opted to do so much earlier.

The Omaha couple had only been married four months when they left their 850-square-foot rental in midtown and began building a 280-square-foot house on wheels.

By today’s tiny house standards, that’s slightly larger than most.

Lucas, 33, and Andrea, 34, love the outdoors. They met near the Elkhorn River and married there in May 2015.

While camping at Lake Cunningham one morning, they noticed a number of RVs parked outdoors. It was then they began discussing their dream of tiny house living.

Neither Lucas nor Andrea watch much TV. They were not aware of the tiny house trend until they began researching their next steps online. >>>

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OmahaHome September/October 2016

Lucas and Andrea Orton show their custom-built tiny house during their household downsizing (prior to moving in).

In September of last year, construction of the Ortonsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; tiny house began. Lucas quit his job as a sound engineer to pursue building the tiny house full-time.

At Home

<<< “We started looking into (tiny houses) and said, ‘Oh, wow. This is a thing,’” Andrea recalls.

Soon after, Lucas and Andrea hosted a garage sale at their midtown home. Organizing items for the garage sale was the first of what would be many eye-opening experiences of separating their stuff: what to keep and what to sell.

“We were literally pulling stuff out of the house for four hours,” Andrea explains. “And we’ve gotten rid of truckloads since the garage sale. One minute you’re saying, ‘I love this.

I’m going to keep this.’ And eight months later, it’s ‘I don’t really love that.’”

In September of last year, construction of the Ortons’ tiny house began. Lucas quit his job as a sound engineer to pursue building the tiny house full-time. The couple moved in with Lucas’ father in northwest Omaha, first building the tiny house in the barn. Once the walls, roof, and windows were complete, they hitched the house to a truck and pulled it permanently outdoors. Friends and family unexpectedly showed up to witness the big (or should we say small?) move.

“Pulling it out of the barn and dealing with centimeters of clearance, it was like giving birth,” Andrea says with a grin.

The tiny house now sits a few hundred feet from the barn.

Lucas works on the house just about every day, with their spunky French Bulldog/Boston Terrier mix, Gus, by his side.

Lucas used to remodel houses, so mastering the basics proved fairly easy. The rest—such as plumbing and electrical—he learned how to do from blogs, websites and online videos.

When it is finished, the house will feature contemporary interior design, with white walls, dark flooring, and natural woods. LED lighting has been installed throughout, but an abundance of windows allows natural light to stream in during the day.

They plan to add a modular front porch, which will provide additional seating outdoors (weather permitting).

For Lucas (an Omaha native) and Andrea (a Louisiana transplant), building and living in a tiny house has two primary purposes: consolidating their lifestyles and living without debt. The couple has budgeted around $30,000 for the project, and they have been paying for supplies and materials as they go. Most items were purchased locally at The Home Depot and Lowe’s, while others have been ordered online (including windows and the air conditioner). The house has standard electrical but has been wired for solar energy.

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OmahaHome September/October 2016

“I like to shop, and I work in a retail environment. But even when I go to the store now, I don’t spend nearly as much or get nearly as much as I normally would because it’s not going to fit.

We’ve been going through multiple stages of purge, just tapering, tapering, and it’s still too much.”

-Andrea Orton

And while more is continually added inside (and outside) the house, the purging continues, which Andrea describes as “one crazy ride.”

She adds that getting rid of their belongings has been almost spiritual: “I like to shop, and I work in a retail environment. But even when I go to the store now, I don’t spend nearly as much or get nearly as much as I normally would because it’s not going to fit. We’ve been going through multiple stages of purge, just tapering, tapering, and it’s still too much.”

Lucas and Andrea’s worldly possessions now reside in eight large bins in their temporary bedroom.

“Well, that’s not completely true,” Andrea says after a brief pause. “There’s a little bit more spilling into another room, and I’m trying to reel that in. There’s a get-rid-of pile, and every day I’m adding to it.”

Lucas and Andrea continue to research other pieces of living in a (tiny) house on wheels, among them mail delivery and internet access.

They eventually plan to purchase a large pickup truck that will allow them to tow the house as needed, and even store larger items in the truck’s bed.

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They expect to park their home at its current address, live in it through the winter, and move it elsewhere in 2017—likely on vacation while exploring parts of the United States.

For homeowners (and even apartment dwellers) intrigued by tiny house living, Lucas and Andrea have a bit of advice: Draft a lengthy list of pros and cons. Look at tiny houses online. Tour them if they’re nearby. Finally, minimalize and consolidate all belongings, and try to live in a single room. OmahaHome Visit tinyhouseswoon.com for more information.

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OmahaHome September/October 2016

THE KOHLLS MIDCENT URY WONDER story by Daisy Hutzell-Rodman photography by bill sitzmann design by Rachel Joy

September/October 2016 â&#x20AC;¢ omahamagazine.com

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feature

Every where in the house, light and lighting fixtures prevail.

Mimran-Kohll claims lighting is like jewelry to her, and she shops at Design Within Reach for her fixtures.

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ON T R E A L N AT I V E BR IGI T T E Mimran

spent hours in front of students, teaching them about spatial arrangement, points, lines, and angles. As a busy math teacher, grading papers took precedence over interior decorating.

That all changed in 2007. She married Total Wellness owner Alan Kohll, changed her name to Mimran-Kohll, and timewarped into a house with 1970s flair.

Mimran-Kohll knew she wanted to leave a mark on the home, but didn’t quite know how. No longer teaching, she enrolled in online interior design classes. Following a year of thinking and learning, she discovered what she wanted to do with her home.

Mimran-Kohll took the 1950s house back to its roots, with a modern twist. She wanted light and color in the house that once featured lots of wood. To do this, she planned the main room without the wall separating it from the kitchen. >>>

September/October 2016 • omahamagazine.com

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Feature

<<< “It was nice, it was Prairie Style,” Mimran-Kohll says of the structure. “I just couldn’t stand being in a kitchen where I couldn’t see outside.”

The wall spoke of years past. The couple found within it a Zeta Beta Tau fraternity paddle and toys. They removed layers of plaster and orange wallpaper.

Once the wall came down to open up the space, Mimran-Kohll looked at the rest of the room and realized the built-in wood cabinets now looked too formal for her whimsical, retro redo.

Out they came.

Removing the wood cabinets made room for a brighter, airier kitchen with multiple stainless-steel appliances and large countertops. The space’s clever design provides a variety of stations. The main portion of the kitchen contains a prep station for dinners, with a two-drawer dishwasher, a fridge hidden behind cabinetry, and a cooktop built right into the white quartz countertops.

“Quartz is non-porous,” Mimran-Kohll says. “I would have loved marble, but I couldn’t keep up with it.” >>>

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OmahaHome September/October 2016

Feature

<<< Marble, a porous material, stains easily and requires lots of maintenance.

On the other end of the kitchen is a breakfast nook. A separate refrigerator contains juice, milk, and other dairy products. A freezer in that area holds several varieties of ice cream. Nearby is Mimran-Kohll’s baking station, with drawers for spices and flours.

The expansive dining room contains a curio cabinet and two cabinets that curiously resemble each other.

“They sent mismatched legs,” Mimran-Kohll says of the purchase from Design Within Reach. Because of the mix-up, the company sent a second, perfect cabinet, which now resides where it was meant to go, near the fireplace.

The outdoors shine into the great room. The back wall was replaced with large glass panels, and beyond the glass is a patio and a large turquoise pool, used daily during nice weather.

Alan Kohll competes in triathlons and, in fact, is president of Race Omaha, which organized the USA Triathlon Age Group National Championships. The pool measures 60 feet across so Kohll can train in his own backyard. >>>

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OmahaHome September/October 2016

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September/October 2016 • omahamagazine.com

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In the lower level is a bathroom with lots of room. “I specifically made it this size so when people come to swim they have somewhere to change,” Mimran-Kohll says.

Weight-training equipment can also be seen in the corner of the basement. In place of Kohll’s former “man-cave,” Mimran-Kohll wiggled in a kitchen and a living space, mostly used for entertaining, and the weighttraining equipment was scooted towards the back corner.

The downstairs fireplace is one of MimranKohll’s favorite features, especially the tile surrounding the hearth. The handmade, period-appropriate tile came from Heath Ceramics in California, and once MimranKohll saw it, she fell in love with the product…but not the price.

“I wanted it for the upstairs, but it was too costly,” she says.

Back upstairs, daughter Abby’s room features bright colors and lots of musical instruments.

“She is really talented,” Mimran-Kohll says.

“She loves the Beatles.”

A white midcentury-looking chair and ottoman hold special memories. “This was my parents’,” Mimran-Kohll says. “They were upholstered in orange.”

Everywhere in the house, light and lighting fixtures prevail. Mimran-Kohll claims lighting is like jewelry to her, and she shops at Design Within Reach for her fixtures.

While still working with spatial relations and geometry, Mimran-Kohll has slowly gained an appreciation for the artistic side of her brain.

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Neighborhoods

sheely story by Chelsea Balzer photography by Bill Sitzmann design by Rachel Joy

E

VER SINCE THE days of pioneer

trails, immigrants from all over the world have managed to make their way to Omaha—smack-dab in the middle of the U.S.—to forge a new start for themselves and their families.

Today, the descendants of earlier generations of Omaha immigrants continue to build on the roots planted by their forebears.

Areas of town where many locals’ ancestors once lived and worked have been restructured within the city’s changing landscape, leaving behind unique traces of history and communities determined to maintain a connection to their heritage. One such local area is Sheelytown.

The City of Omaha annexed Sheelytown in 1887. Interstate construction in the 1960s cut through the neighborhood’s main street, flattening storefronts and homes. Much of the old Sheelytown is now buried under an endless stream of interstate traffic zipping past.

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OmahaHome September/October 2016

Sheelytown was once an important center of opportunity for Polish Americans. In the 1860s, the Stockyards thrived, and many in need of work headed here to be a part of that growth. The neighborhood—from Edward Creighton Boulevard to Vinton Street, and from 24th to 35th streets—was already occupied by Irish immigrants, but quickly expanded, promising steady income to the many arriving families.

their time away from work. They enjoy getting together.” In other words, Polish people work hard and play hard.

For Szalewski, this is a part of what he loves about polka: “People feed off the energy from the band. We grew up with it, and the Polish tradition brings us together.”

Joseph Sheely, the area’s namesake, owned one of the meatpacking plants near Hanscom Park. Families there were hardworking, but low-income, and therefore generally looked down upon by the wealthier residents of Omaha. Still, they made their own fun, and even developed a reputation for throwing rambunctious parties and dance events.

Polka music, however, is not the only part of his family lineage that remains with him.

“It’s very heartwarming when you walk into a South O establishment and they know your dad.” Other members of the Sheelytown band also have family ties to the neighborhood, including violinist Patrick Novak. Patrick is the son of accordion player Leonard Novak, a local musician who used to perform with The Polonairs.

John Szalewski, a second-generation Polish American and member of a local polka band named Sheelytown, says this kind of energy is representative of Polish culture. In his mind, Polish people are “hardworking, and enjoy

These days, most of what remains of Sheelytown is the memory of what it once was. Szalewski continues, “I think most of the people that talk about the area talk about its history.” Still, he hasn’t lost the feeling of

town

polka parties & meatpackers

On the south side of Dinker's Bar & Grill, artists began work on the Polish Mural Project during the summer.

belonging, and says, “I don’t ever feel ill-atease going into that area.”

For younger generations, the memories are present, but not quite as clear.

Ryan Dudzinski, Omaha resident and thirdgeneration Polish-American, is able to recall more general aspects of his heritage through stories and recollections of Polish family members. His great-grandparents came to Sheelytown as a young family with small children in the early 1900s.

“They couldn’t speak English. My grandfather (Edward) Dudzinski spoke fluent Polish, as could all of his brothers, but my dad (James) never learned it.” He says they all settled in South Omaha and remained there, with most of their descendants still in the area today.

Like so many immigrants, some level of assimilation was a necessary part of survival, and many traditions were ultimately lost.

Dudzinski says grandpa Edward insisted

that his father speak English only. While this meant that Ryan Dudzinski never learned the language, he understands why.

When asked to describe how he experienced Polish culture, Dudzinski echoes Szalewski’s sentiments, “There’s lots of drinking, singing, and dancing. They are fun people.” Regarding the cuisine, he’s not as much of a fan: “There’s lots of meat in tube form.”

Today, one of Sheelytown’s biggest draws is Dinker’s Bar & Grill, a family-owned establishment at 2368 S 29th St. The current owners are great-grandchildren of a Polish immigrant by the name of Synowiecki. The most popular fare at Dinker’s is quintessentially American—hamburgers—but Polish sausages with kraut are also on the menu.

Just as it occurs within families, much of what originally united the immigrants in South Omaha has given way to time. The melting pot of ethnic groups present here

allows disparate backgrounds to commingle and adapt to an evolving cultural climate.

Still, the essence of what the Polish community brought to Sheelytown has not been lost entirely. It continues to be passed along by many who were raised here, and those who want to see future generations maintain an association with their history.

Though it may be hard to spot, Sheelytown holds onto a sense of pride in its Polish traditions and continues to celebrate them today.

If you look for it, you can see the community's impact on our diverse city, and you may even be able to catch the Sheelytown polka band warming up for a night of traditional Polish mayhem. OmahaHome Visit sheelytown.net for more information.

September/October 2016 • omahamagazine.com

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Harvest story by Patrick McGee / photography by Doug Meigs

FORAGING AND FERMENTING WILD AMERICAN GRAPES WINEMAKING FROM PRAIRIE TO TABLE

I

F YOU'VE EVER been interested in making wine

from wild grapes, Frank Sobetski says this is a good year to start.

For nearly 25 years, Sobetski has been supplying local winemakers at Fermenter's Supply & Equipment (84th and J streets in Omaha, behind Just Good Meats).

He sells kits, equipment, and supplies to experts and novices alike. He also offers useful advice on foraging and fermenting.

Blue ribbons hang on his back wall, behind the counter of the small, tidy shop. The ribbons recognize the proprietor’s mastery of oenology (i.e., the study of wines).

Sobetski has tasted a variety of local wines as the superintendent of the Nebraska State Fair Winemaking Competition for the past 33 years. He knows what to expect from local vintages.

He has cultivated grapevines year-to-year since the mid1980s, and he opened Fermenter's Supply & Equipment in 1992. Sobetski has been serving winemaking wisdom soaked in his scientific knowledge ever since.

FORAGING WILD GRAPES Wild American “fox” grapes differ from store-bought table grapes and wine grapes, which are largely of European origin. Wild grapes are more tart and less sweet than domestic varieties used in commercial winemaking. Fox grape varieties are known for having an earthy and sweet muskiness. The distinct aroma is called “foxy.”

Nebraska's wild grapes are predominantly from the vitis labrusca and vitus vuplina species of American grapes. They are hardier than European vitis vinifera

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OmahaHome September/October 2016

grapes associated with European, South American, and Californian wines. Nebraskan vitis labrusca and vuplina can better withstand Nebraska's frigid winters and brutally hot summers. Concord grapes are a wellknown cultivated variety of vitis labrusca.

The ripening of wild grapes is known as “veraison” in viticulture and véraison in French. In Nebraska, veraison generally occurs from August to September.

Harvest enough grapes and, with a bit of effort, aspiring winemakers can produce a unique wild grape wine that is unlike any familiar European wine.

In July 2016, Sobetski predicted a good year for wild grapes in Nebraska because of “fortunate rainfall.” In early fall, the ripe blue-black clusters of wild grapes begin sagging from vines stretched between fence posts and tree branches.

The low-hanging fruits can easily be collected by hand.

Wild grapes are often found near rivers and streams, or associated woodlands. Plant guidebooks or a Google image search can assist with identification, and grapes are typically plentiful once located.

UNDERSTANDING FERMENTATION Sobetski says that in order to produce a palatable wine from wild grapes, the “must” (i.e., the juice solution) should be made chemically like European grape juice, which remains the standard.

Balancing the must is complicated by a number of factors. Wild grapes are more acidic and contain less sugar than European grapes. Sobetski says this condition can be ameliorated by adding water and sugar to the must.

The equipment generally needed for the initial fermentation stage is a primary fermenter (an airtight container to which a fermentation lock can be affi xed), a fermentation lock (a simple device through which gasses may escape but not go back through), and a mesh sack to hold grapes in the fermenter. Measuring cups, spoons, and scales are also necessary. A length of food-grade tubing and sealable bottles are needed to bottle the wine.

A hydrometer—a buoyant glass tube that is calibrated to measure the amount of suspended solids versus straight water in a solution—is “the most important tool in winemaking,” according to Sobetski. Reading a hydrometer can tell a winemaker when fermentation is complete.

Sobetski says that one can make wine without a hydrometer, but to pursue the hobby in earnest, a hydrometer is essential.

“Sanitization is the most important thing,” Sobetski says. “Soap and water is not enough.” Phosphoric acid is a safe, nontoxic sanitizer that can be used. Diluted household bleach sanitizes effectively as well.

Everything that may come into contact with the wine must be thoroughly sanitized or the wine is at risk of becoming infected. Infection will ruin a batch of wine, effectively destroying an entire grape harvest.

MAKING FOXY WINE Making wild American grape wine is not diffi cult. First, sanitize all of your equipment. Then remove your grapes from the stems and wash them. Place the grapes in a mesh sack. Place the mesh sack in your primary fermenter. Crush the grapes in the sack, releasing as much juice as possible. Add water, sugar, pectic enzyme, and yeast nutrient.

Add the crushed Campden tablet and mix thoroughly. Cover the primary fermenter.

After 24 hours, pitch the yeast into the solution, attach a fermentation lock, and seal the fermenter. Wait a few days. If you are using a hydrometer, fermentation effectively stops when the density reading (known as “specific gravity”) reaches below “1.000.”

Further fermentation in secondary and tertiary fermenters before bottling would improve the wine’s quality. But the additional steps can add several months (or years) to the process. Then, the wine can be siphoned into bottles using a small length of tubing.

Store a few bottles. Share the rest. They will run out fast. The sweet, “foxy” tartness pairs well with autumn weather and is sure to please your holiday guests. They will never forget their first sip of wild American fox grape wine, and neither will you.

Visit fermenterssupply.com for more information. OmahaHome

WILD AMERICAN GRAPE WINE RECIPE Frank Sobetski recommends the Winemaker's Recipe Handbook as a starting point for wild fruit wine recipes. The brief handbook costs less than $5 and is easy to read. Sobetski says that this book “assumes the reader has knowledge from other sources,” including knowledge of fermentation processes and equipment.

Nevertheless, a novice winemaker can follow these recipes and expect “reasonable outcomes,” says Sobetski. His recommended wild-grape wine recipe is derived from the handbook. The following recipe makes one gallon of wine: •

6 pounds wild grapes. Forage them.

•

6 pints water. Avoid tap water if possible.

•

2 pounds white sugar.

•

½ teaspoon pectic enzyme. This breaks down the fruit fibers and releases the juices.

•

1 teaspoon yeast nutrient. This is a fertilizer for yeast.

Sobetski says it “makes yeast happy.”

•

1 crushed tablet of Campden. This is a pre-measured sulfite dose that kills off wild yeast. Sobetski notes that it is impossible to make a sulfite-free wine, as yeast naturally produces sulfites.

•

1 package wine yeast. Montrachet is recommended for most wild-fruit wines. For grape wine, Pasteur can create a redder wine due to better extraction.

All supplies can be obtained via Fermenter's Supply.

September/October 2016 • omahamagazine.com

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Feature story by Kara Schweiss / photography by Bill Sitzmann / design by Rachel Joy

THE ZANOTTIS' BACKYARD ESCAPE

September/October 2016 â&#x20AC;˘ omahamagazine.com

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Feature

W

HEN LES AND Ce Ann Zanotti built a

house in Glen Oaks Estates (south of 99th Street and West Center Road) in 1972, the couple— from Iowa and Missouri, respectively—had only lived in Nebraska for a few years, and they were not really sure how long they would stay in the community. They both say, emphatically, that they never envisioned themselves still living in the same house four and a half decades later.

“I don’t think we thought that far ahead,” Ce Ann says.

“I was just starting a new business, so I didn’t know if I was going to be in business two years from then or not,” Les explains.

The new business venture, Management Recruiters, thrived all the way to Les’ retirement. So as the Zanottis prospered through the years and put down deeper roots in Omaha, they modified and added on to the original house and landscaping.

“We really kind of underbuilt, to be honest,” Les says.

“Our house is just an ordinary house; it’s not something that’s a showpiece. But our backyard is spectacular.”

The lot was a draw from the very beginning, Ce Ann agrees, recalling that the greenery was so abundant even before construction started that, during a site visit, she lost sight of a handbag she momentarily placed on the ground. And the Zanottis were thrilled to get the lot “for a steal” from its previous holder, a prominent local business owner in the midst of a divorce and eager to liquidate.

Les may describe his house as “ordinary,” but the 3,400-square-foot, two-story, French Country-style residence boasts lovely features, such as a mansard roof and leaded glass front windows. Neighborhood covenants required that the house be set back 75 feet from the street, leaving plenty of room for now-mature trees and plants in the front. The sloping, 1.3-acre wooded property proved perfect for tiered landscaping in the backyard, the site for a breathtaking flower garden that’s matured beautifully over the last 10 years and become the envy of neighbors and visitors.

“It’s been at its best for the last three or four years, but it took a long time,” Ce Ann says. >>>

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OmahaHome September/October 2016

The Zanottis admit that they looked into building again in other neighborhoods—in the past.

Every time they looked, they never found anything quite like what they already own.

September/October 2016 â&#x20AC;˘ omahamagazine.com

/ H161 /

Feature

<<< The large lot was also conducive to the house itself, evolving through a series of remodels that included a 1984 add-on, which doubled the size of the family room and created another eating area, and a 1990 project that converted a bathroom and bedroom into a larger bathroom and closet. A swimming pool came and went (their now-adult daughter loved it, but pools don’t mix well with squirrels and walnut trees or blackbirds and mulberry trees, Les says) and the original, one-car garage was expanded to a three-car garage at some point.

The pinnacle, however, was the unique 2002 addition.

“That was our last and final addition. That probably is the best room in the house,” Les says.

Ce Ann adds: “It’s octagonal-shaped, there are windows on every side of the octagon (except the entrance), and a spiral staircase going down to the wine cellar. It’s kind of unusual.”

The Zanottis admit that they looked into building again in other neighborhoods—in the past. Every time they looked, they never found anything quite like what they already own.

“What kept us here was the lot,” Les says, and his wife agrees. “We like our trees, we like our lot, and we like our central location.” OmahaHome

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OmahaHome September/October 2016

“What kept us here was the lot.We like our trees, we like our lot, and we like our central location.”

-Les Zanotti

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Transformations story by Marian Holden, ASID photography by Paul Piskorski, Amoura productions

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Marian Holden ASID, Designerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Touch Transformations is a regular feature of Omaha Home that spotlights a recent project by a local ASID interior designer. Text and photos are provided by the designer.

CLEAN, CLASSIC DESIGN WITH A CONTEMPORARY TWIST / H164 /

OmahaHome September/October 2016

September/October 2016 â&#x20AC;˘ omahamagazine.com

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Transformations

T

HE ST Y LE OF this newly con-

structed home reflects the clean, classic taste of the homeowners with a contemporary twist. The homeowners' main issue was a strong preference for neutral colors.

Whenever they previously tried to inject color into their décor, they quickly grew tired of it.

I chose to embrace their love of neutrals and add interest with contrast and texture. For example, I chose a soft gray on the walls, but a dark, rich, wide-plank floor to add warmth.

The fireplace remains neutral in color but adds interest with its stacked and staggered rough stone pattern. The light stone next to the dark floating wood shelves adds crispness to the space.

Color was strategically placed in the intricate great room's ceiling to accentuate the architecture. The same deep blue-gray color was added to the dropped ceiling above the pendant lights in the kitchen. The kitchen is spacious enough to house a 10-foot island.

To add a splash of contemporary design to a classic white kitchen, the cooktop tile was laid vertically in a herringbone pattern.

The same concept was used on the exterior: crisp white and gray stacked stone, bright white trim, and a smoky gray vertical siding.

All the design elements came together using timeless, classic neutrals, and a few splashes of soft cool colors. The homeowners couldn’t be happier with their new home! OmahaHome

All the design elements came together using timeless, classic neutrals, and a few splashes of soft cool colors.

/ H166 /

OmahaHome September/October 2016

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T

Gwen Lemke Contributing Editor, 60PLUS In Omaha

HEY SAY TIME flies when you’re having fun; or as my father used to say, it goes faster the older you get.

Fall is already here, AGAIN. The weather is comfortable and everything is beautiful with the jewel-like colors of the season’s foliage.

This is my favorite time of the year.

The autumn charity season is beginning, and you’re sure to find a charity you want to support in “The Big Give” section of this magazine.

This issue is packed with good reading about active lives of Omaha’s 60+ crowd.

There are the Geschwenders, who have added aronia berry farming to their busy real estate careers.

Lee Polikov’s story is a reminder that it is important to enjoy what you are doing. He takes great pleasure from his career as Sarpy County attorney, and he has no plans to retire.

A MIRACLE FRUIT

The Geschwenders fall in love with aronia berries

GO BACK TO SCHOOL Join UNO’s Senior Passport Program

THE BOHEMIAN CAFE Remembering a Czech Icon in Omaha

Remember Johnny Rodgers? “The Jet” is now working as vice president of new business development at Rural Media Group. He is also busy with many other things—writing a book and public speaking. He says "at 60 you’re smarter than you’ve ever been."

Robert Runyon talks about his plan for retirement: He is writing a memoir and taking university classes.

Maybe 60 really is the new 40.

Berry Farm A LITTLE BLACK

The Geschwenders’ Health-Conscious Passion

BY CHELSEA BALZER PHOTOGRAPHY BY BILL SITZMANN DESIGN BY RACHEL JOY

SEPTEMBER

// OCTOBER • 2016 / 172 / OMAHAMAGAZINE.COM

T

OMAHA MAGAZINE

products claim to slow the process of aging and avert health concerns. What if the solution was as simple as a little black berry? Kurt and Tina Geschwender think that may just be the case.

HESE DAYS, COUNTLESS

The Geschwenders’ introduction to this wonder fruit came by way of chance. In 2010, Kurt was at a neighborhood picnic where his friend, chiropractor Bill Caster, introduced him to a cancer survivor who told him about the health benefits of aronia berries. Kurt’s interest was piqued, and he decided to do his own research on the fruit (which is also known as a chokeberry).

Although neither Kurt nor Tina ever suffered from cancer, they have lost multiple loved ones to the disease and live a health-conscious lifestyle. As they further researched aronia berries, they became convinced that they had discovered an untapped market with incredible healing potential.

Studies claim aronia berries improve circulation, balance blood pressure, and assist in decreasing inflammation in the body. Even more research has come through recently, but there remains a lot to be learned about the positive effects of this unique berry.

The Geschwenders decided to take the leap into berry farming. They knew they could use land on their property to cultivate bushes. Five years and 1,500 bushes later, they can barely keep up with the demand for their product.

Outside of their agricultural startup, the Geschwenders run a successful real estate company. With such busy lives, Kurt jokes that the berries made him question his sanity in the beginning. After all, the crops required him to wake at the crack of dawn to water each row by hand.

Still, Tina and Kurt are clearly passionate about educating the public and providing something that helps members of their community take charge of their health. Tina says she welcomes public inquiries about the berries by phone at 402-451-5300.

This year, the Geschwenders experimented with a new berry-picking strategy. The regulars at the Florence Mill Farmer’s Market set up a booth to collect names and contact information from folks interested in picking berries.

Berry ripening varies by year, typically occurring between late-July and mid-August. When the fruit was ripe, they notified their contact list that the “youpick” season had begun. They charged $2.50 per pound SEPTEMBER

ACTIVE LIVING

and donated 50 cents from each pound to the Florence Mill Farmer’s Market.

RECIPE

Aronia berries have officially caught on as one of America’s favorite new superfoods, and the Midwest has become the hub for this booming industry. The North America Aronia Cooperative was formed in Omaha in early 2014 and includes 10 surrounding states. Some of the nation’s largest distributors also grow in the area.

Native to North America, the berries thrive in the Midwest. Once on the vine, it takes three weeks for them to ripen. Once ripe, they roll off the vines easily.

On their own, the berries taste tart yet bittersweet. It’s no wonder; these tiny berries have the highest recorded antioxidant level of any fruit. Red wine drinkers may appreciate their sharp quality, but anyone can enjoy the many recipes that include aronia berries.

Tina says she does not eat them on their own but uses them as a versatile ingredient. She turns to cookbooks, and her own experiments, to discover new ways of working them into her diet.

“Any baking I do, I use aronia berries. They mix really well with other fruit.” The recommended daily dose is 15 to 20 berries, but Tina says she will add more to her morning smoothie, “because if a little is good, a lot is better.”

Tina also lets Florence Mill market-goers sample her signature strawberry pecan aronia bread, a recipe she perfected over a two-year period. She swears she will never share the recipe: “It just took too long to get it right!”

The bread itself is extraordinarily moist, and dense without being heavy. It’s sweet, and the berries can clearly be noted, but the pecans and cinnamon cut through any tanginess, creating a more subtle, wholesome profile of flavors. Tina takes orders for the bread at the market, but her stock is limited. She light-heartedly laments that friends and family keep her busy with orders year-round.

America is still getting to know this super berry, but there is good reason to give it a try. The Geschwenders would be thrilled to share what they know, and may even dish out a new recipe or two.

Visit aroniacoop.com for more information.

// OCTOBER • 2016 / 173 / BESTOFOMAHA.COM

TINA’S ARONIA BERRY BREAKFAST SMOOTHIE INGREDIENTS: 1 cup skim milk 1 banana 8 ounces (or one 8-ounce container) of cherry or blueberry Greek yogurt 1 cup of ice 15 to 20 aronia berries

DIRECTIONS: Blend all ingredients for one minute. Serve immediately in tall glasses.

OMAHA MAGAZINE

FACES

JUNK BONDS How Lee Polikov Left the Family Business

SEPTEMBER

// OCTOBER • 2016 / 174 / OMAHAMAGAZINE.COM

BY ANTHONY FLOTT PHOTOGRAPHY BY BILL SITZMANN DESIGN BY RACHEL JOY

I

12 Months Same as CASH! long to discover some dirty business in Sarpy County Attorney Lee Polikov's past—and that’s a good thing.

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More than a century ago, Polikov’s paternal grandfather, Benjamin, left a small village outside Kiev, Ukraine, and came to the United States. A peddler in his native land, he did similar work here, earning enough to bring his wife and three children to the United States as well.

Eventually, Benjamin began Aksarben Junk Co. at 13th and Webster streets. His son Abraham—Lee’s father—joined the business.

“I’VE HAD A FORTUNATE CAREER, BOTH IN LAW ENFORCEMENT AND PROSECUTION AS THE CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER. IT GIVES ME A LOT OF SATISFACTION.”

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-Lee Polikov Lee remembers accompanying him on the half-Saturdays his father would work. “We’d sit and watch the scale,” he says. Mostly, though, his father wanted him to “stay out of the way.”

Abraham wanted something different for his son: “Get an education, assimilate, adapt, and grow,” Polikov says.

Polikov has done that and more, establishing a career peddling justice rather than junk.

He’s done so as Sarpy County’s attorney since 1999. He was first appointed to the position but has since earned re-election four times.

“I’ve had a fortunate career, both in law enforcement and prosecution as the chief >>> SEPTEMBER

// OCTOBER • 2016 / 175 / BESTOFOMAHA.COM

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// OCTOBER • 2016 / 176 / OMAHAMAGAZINE.COM

OMAHA MAGAZINE

FACES

<<< law enforcement officer,” he says. “It gives me a lot of satisfaction.”

Even if it’s not initially envisioned.

the

career

he

A 1966 Omaha Westside graduate, Polikov earned a business degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a commission as first lieutenant with the U.S. Army while serving in ROTC. Next came a degree from UNL College of Law. “My goal, my ambition, was to do federal law enforcement,” he says.

But the feds, he recalls, were under a hiring freeze then. Instead, Polikov made his way to Sarpy County, where Pat Thomas had taken over the sheriff’s office. Polikov joined him as an administrative assistant, but with an agreement that he’d be there just a year until he started looking again for a federal gig.

“That just never happened,” says Polikov, who eventually became chief deputy and counsel in the office.

Pat Thomas remained Sarpy County Sheriff for 32 years. Polikov stayed with him until he was appointed to his current post. Today, he manages a staff that includes 23 attorneys and 75 support staff. “Which is really a rather large law firm,” he says. “I’ve got a great team.

We feel we’ve been able to provide a good, safe community for people.”

Kindness, conversation & care for your loved ones.

402.350.8230

bloomcompanion.com

SUBSCRIBE SUBSCRIBETODAY! TODAY!

ng; his child, his wife, his Cole Seatstone has lost everythi pivof suicide, his very survival will to live. On the brink book full old, dusty, worn, purple ots on the fulcrum of an refugee boy who is also teetering of parables, and a young discovers that miracles still on the edge of life. Cole speaks… power. Truth still happen. Stories still have Master.

These are the Tales of the

Polikov says he has no plans to retire.

– with emotional Vincent Wesselmann explores “In Tales of the Master, Douglas allegory. The narrator and influence of fable and clarity and heart – the power of encounters in smallseeking it, through a series finds redemption without a few nods toward O. ancient mystical texts. With town Iowa that parallel .” is a celebration of storytelling Henry, Tales of the Master Schaffert - Timothy Books The Swan Gondola, Riverhead

omamag.com/save

TALES OF THE MASTER

Polikov is 67 now and has been Sarpy County’s attorney for 17 years. A great time, perhaps, to call it quits and spend days of leisure with his wife of nearly 40 years, longtime Mannheim Steamroller director of communications Terry Calek?

Don’t miss a single issue of Omaha Magazine

“It’s a great job. I enjoy it immensely,” he says.

“I like the association with the staff and what we do, and those successes go beyond putting people in prison or setting people up to go to prison. It’s helping people that need help.”

wonder, not in one sitting, with joy and sadness and “…I read Tales of the Master could heal. Doug Wespages were medicine that but in small doses as if the spin you about, keep you that will suck you in and selmann has woven a tale your heart with truth when the dizziness, and warm questioning while shaking your mind clears...”

- Diana Greenwood Collins Insight, Zondervan/Harper emotionally and spiriI became more and more the “…As the chapters flowed, they journeyed through lives of Cole and Ali as tually enveloped in the these purple-bound pages… a sense of infinity within Master’s tales… There is the Master resonates with sacred mysteries… Tales of filled with the world of our desire to know the truth…” the inner hum of our nagging - Britny Cordera-Doane Wingmakers, Pinyon Publishing

Wach Cover, Book Design by Roxanne Author’s Photo by Sandy Aquila

Visit sarpy.com/attorney for more information.

SEPTEMBER

A Novel

WESSELMANN

n, aka Otis Twelve, has Douglas Vincent Wesselman Rein The North American published short fiction Cofrom Bleak House and view, and in anthologies prizes in the UK including simo Press. He has won Londebut novel prize at the a Dagger Award, and a of rock/vaudeville member founding A Fair. don Book Wesselmann’s career includes band, The Ogden Edsl, past, television. In the distant 35 years in radio and and Paul Newman’s he was a Benedictine seminarian bodyguard for an afternoon.

e - The Book of Ston -

DOUGLAS VINCENT

Tales of the Master is the latest novel

by Otis Twelve, the nom de guerre of KVNO radio host and Omaha Magazine columnist Douglas Vincent Wesselmann.

Purchase Tales of the Master at the Bookworm (90th and Center), Barnes and Noble, and online at Amazon.com (in print or Kindle).

WESSELMANN

// OCTOBER • 2016 / 177 / BESTOFOMAHA.COM

Johnny Rodgers Keeping Up with “The Jet,” aka the “Ordinary Superstar”

OMAHA MAGAZINE

J

FACES

BY TIM KALDAHL PHOTOGRAPHY BY BILL SITZMANN DESIGN BY RACHEL JOY

OHNNY RODGERS TURNED

65 this year. He looks great. The 1972 Heisman Trophy winner and Husker football legend is also busy. He likes it that way.

“Well, I think that retiring, to me, is being in the position to do the things you want to do. I don’t think that retiring is getting somewhere and doing nothing,” Rodgers says. He then adds with a chuckle: “The law of use says, ‘If you don’t use it, you lose it.’ And I’ve found that a lot of people, as soon as they retire and start doing nothing, they die.”

Rodgers is far from retired…and he’s aiming to live to age 100. He works as vice president of new business development for the U.S. and Canada at Rural Media Group Inc., which operates both RFD-TV (the huge rural-focused television network) and Rural Radio on SiriusXM. He also recently published a book and audio book, titled, Ten Minutes of Insanity. The self-help book and audiobook provide insights into moments when a person can “mess themselves up” or “set themselves up.” Rodgers speaks from youthful personal experience coupled with an older man’s perspective.

Referring back to his college years, a “mess yourself up” situation is “like the gas station fiasco that I was involved with,” he says. The opposite, positive kind of moment is “like the punt return against Oklahoma. You’ve got to be pretty insane to stand back there and wait for them to come.” He adds that each scenario “presents dramatic results, just in a different way.”

Rodgers has a website in the works (which should be live this fall) aimed at providing help and perspective to business leaders, entrepreneurs, and athletes. “What I really want to do is to help athletes—professional athletes of football, basketball, baseball, all of them— transition from sports to public speaking,” he says.

“And to be able to set up mechanisms for them to be able to tell their stories.”

Denny Drake, who has worked with Rodgers for more than 20 years on a variety of charitable and business projects, says Rodgers has always been open to trying new ideas, and to receiving critiques and wisdom from SEPTEMBER

“AT 60, YOU’RE SMARTER THAN YOU’VE EVER BEEN,” HE SAYS. “AND AT 20, YOU’RE ABOUT AS DUMB AS YOU’VE EVER BEEN.” -Johnny Rodgers others. Drake is the president and CEO of the marketing company Performance Solutions Worldwide. He is also connected to the Jet Award (named after Rodgers), which honors the top return specialist in college football, and the Johnny Rodgers Youth Foundation.

Rodgers serves as the youth foundation’s president; Drake is its CEO. “Johnny is a really good idea guy. He’s a good visionary of things,” Drake says. The two men are also working together on Authentic Collegiate Jeans, a venture to provide jeans with school and university logos that should launch this fall.

With all that is going on in his life, Rodgers says he remains thoughtful about maintaining himself, too.

When he was young man, it was about being a highcaliber athlete. Now, it is about being a quality person.

He’s a fan of fish and organic chicken, but might only eat one traditional meal a day. For additional nutrition, he consumes kale and greens, frozen cherries and blueberries, and other healthy foods in liquid form in the morning, and fruit or protein bars in the afternoon, prior to dinner. He also tries to drink at least a half a gallon of lemon water every day.

Rodgers plays tennis, golf, and racquetball weekly, and plays at a higher level now after having knee replacement surgery this past year. Rodgers says (with a smile) that 60 is the new 40.

“At 60, you’re smarter than you’ve ever been,” he says.

“And at 20, you’re about as dumb as you’ve ever been.”

Visit thejetaward.com for more information.

// OCTOBER • 2016 / 179 / BESTOFOMAHA.COM

JOHNNY RODGERS HAS LONG BEEN KNOWN FOR HIS UNIQUE TAKE ON MANY SUBJECTS. BELOW ARE SOME OF HIS QUIPS TO REPORTER TIM KALDAHL.

ON MIKE RILEY, THE UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA’S HEAD FOOTBALL COACH: “Mike is probably a mix between Osborne and Devaney, as I see it.”

ON THE FUTURE OF NEBRASKA FOOTBALL: “I think our future is so bright that we’ve got to wear shades.”

ON CURRENT CONCERNS ABOUT THE SAFETY OF FOOTBALL: “I can’t think, overall, that it’s any more dangerous than it always has been, and I think that that risk factor is what people liked all the time. The possibility that, you know, you could get jacked.”

(Rodgers chuckles.)

ON GOOD HABITS FOR LIFE: “And you don’t want a habit that’s taking you down. You want to create the type of habits that build you up, so you have to make a change.”

ON STAYING MENTALLY FOCUSED AND GOAL SETTING: “Thoughts are not just things. Thoughts are the cause of things. So if you can hold a thought long enough, you can have it.”

A LESSON IN LIFELONG LEARNING

BY JESSI THOMSEN PHOTOGRAPHY BY BILL SITZMANN DESIGN & ILLUSTRATION BY RACHEL JOY

SEPTEMBER

// OCTOBER • 2016 / 180 / OMAHAMAGAZINE.COM

OMAHA MAGAZINE

FEATURE

ROBERT S. RUNYON

AND THE

SENIOR PASSPORT PROGRAM

R

OBERT S. RUNYON, posing in an austere-looking suit

and tie, gazes down upon patrons from his portrait in the University of Nebraska at Omaha library. In contrast, the flesh and blood version introduces himself as “Bob” and sports a T-shirt with the phrase “Literally Great…

Figuratively the Best.” The UNO English Department shirt fits the wordsmith and lifelong learner like a glove.

“I’ve always had books on a pedestal in my mind,” says Runyon, who served as dean of the university’s library from 1978 to 2000.

Runyon laughs, “Before I retired, I thought, ‘I’ve got to prepare for retirement so I have a reason to get up in the morning.’”

Chuckling, he continues, “I’m a lazy, sloppy, indolent person.

And unless I have a reason—unless I have a purpose, a life purpose—I’m just going to vegetate.”

Nowadays, Runyon doesn’t have time to vegetate. He travels with his wife (Sheila), takes classes, and writes his memoir.

Despite Runyon’s appreciation of books, he has not always written them. Five years ago he saw a flier for a personal writing course at UNO. He asked instructor Elizabeth Mack, “Would you allow a 70-plus-year-old guy to come into your class?”

That’s exactly why UNO offers the Senior Passport Program.

Founded in 2001, the program allows seniors (age 65 and older) to take two courses per semester at a cost of $25 per year. The only requirements are an available seat in the class, instructor approval, and a desire to learn.

These classes jump-started Runyon’s work on his memoir: “I think I’ve got about 10 essays cobbled together, and I’ve got probably six or eight more in the hopper in various stages of completion.”

Runyon says, “You can be creative in your later years. The brain is continuously growing and changing. To me, that is a pivotal thing to think about, in the process of aging and, especially, of learning.”

Julie Masters, professor and chair of the Department of Gerontology at UNO, explains, “Just as we need to exercise physically, we need to exercise cognitively.”

Each year, anywhere from 60 to 100 seniors “cognitively exercise” through the Senior Passport Program. The program also impacts the instructors and other students in each class. Masters says, “The Passport Program, in a way, allows for an infusion of the benefit of experience within the classroom environment.”

Runyon has since taken several creative nonfiction courses with professors John Price and Lisa Knopp: autobiography, nature writing, travel writing, and spiritual writing.

Runyon connects with other students through writing, learning, and experience. “The power of words is where it all resides with me,” says Runyon. “You find something that raises your passion.”

“All of that was a strong experience,” says Runyon. “The encouragement I got from those people was enormous.” Knopp even marked “As” on Runyon’s essays.

Visit unomaha.edu/registrar/ students/senior-passport.php for more information.

Runyon says, “Senior Passport students aren’t graded, but I’m not sure I told her that because I liked getting As.” SEPTEMBER

// OCTOBER • 2016 / 181 / BESTOFOMAHA.COM

“I THINK I’VE GOT ABOUT 10 ESSAYS COBBLED TOGETHER, AND I’VE GOT PROBABLY SIX OR EIGHT MORE IN THE HOPPER IN VARIOUS STAGES OF COMPLETION.” -Robert Runyon

OMAHA MAGAZINE

SEPTEMBER

NOSTALGIA

// OCTOBER • 2016 / 182 / OMAHAMAGAZINE.COM

SOON AFTER TERRY KAPOUN AND HIS FAMILY ANNOUNCED THEY WERE CLOSING BOHEMIAN CAFE, OLD AND NEW FACES ALIKE BEGAN PACKING THE OMAHA LANDMARK TO SAVOR ONE LAST GRAVY-SLATHERED BITE OF CLASSIC CZECH COMFORT FOOD.

Vitame Vas…At Least For a Short Time

BY NIZ PROSKOCIL PHOTOGRAPHY BY BILL SITZMANN DESIGN BY RACHEL JOY

O

MAHANS RECEIVED A

shock in early May when they learned yet another longtime local restaurant would shutter its doors. Soon after Terry Kapoun and his family announced they were closing Bohemian Cafe, old and new faces alike began packing the Omaha landmark to savor one last gravyslathered bite of classic Czech comfort food.

In recent months, the restaurant has served hundreds of meals each day. On Father’s Day, lines snaked out the door, resulting in 600 plates of food coming out of the kitchen.

Letters and phone calls have poured in from fans around the country wanting to share memories of the cafe.

“It’s just amazing,” Terry says of the outpouring. “It brings tears to your eyes.”

Several visitors have driven or flown hundreds of miles to slide into a booth and dig into one of the cafe’s signature dumplings before it closes on Sept. 24. The closing is partly due to dwindling customers and aging owners.

Czech immigrant Louie Macala opened the business in 1924, in a space just north of its current location at 13th and William streets.

The cafe, later owned and operated by Josef and Ann Libor (Kapoun’s grandparents), moved to its present spot in 1959.

In 1966, Terry’s parents—Mert and Robert Kapoun—took over, followed by Terry and his siblings: Bob, Ron, and Marsha. Bob tends the bar while Marsha hosts and oversees the office. Terry makes dumplings and fixes anything that breaks. Ron has served as head chef for 37 years.

Customer favorites include tender roast pork, duck, and beef; sweet-and-sauer cabbage; SEPTEMBER

Czech goulash; and kolaches. Servers clad in traditional Czech-style outfits offer baskets of light rye bread—perfect for dunking into a cup of liver dumpling soup.

For many guests, the restaurant’s appeal goes beyond its food. They appreciate the old-world charm, friendly service, and distinctive decor.

Ceramic floral tiles, bright blue paint, and an arched doorway greet visitors. A sign reads vitame vas, Czech for “we welcome you.”

Inside, there are painted plates, a decanter collection, plants, and knickknacks like those you might find at grandma’s house.

The Kapoun siblings, now in their 60s, are ready to retire but want Bohemian Cafe to go on. “It’s so unique,” Terry says. “There’s nothing else like it—the atmosphere, the experience.”

Until the final day, the family will continue cranking out dumplings as fast as customers can eat them.

“It’s the people we’re going to miss,” Terry says.

Longtime customer Cindy Findeis is sad to see the restaurant close. Findeis grew up in Carter Lake, Iowa, and has come to the cafe since she was a young girl. Now living in North Platte, Nebraska, she and her husband, Tim, happily drive five hours to eat there as often as possible. “It’s well worth it,” she says.

The cafe has been like home for the Findeis and their family, a place to celebrate birthdays and other special occasions.

“It has a special place in our hearts,” she says.

“There’s a lot of memories.”

Visit bohemiancafe.net for more information.

// OCTOBER • 2016 / 183 / BESTOFOMAHA.COM

OMAHA MAGAZINE

SECTION

with

Travel and Transport

Experience the northern lights of Iceland with Trafalgar

Explore stunning Iceland on this journey through the striking island nation. Walk the streets of Reykjavik on a sightseeing tour through the city, where you’ll stop at the breathtaking Hallgrímskirkja church, atop a hill in the city center. When sun sets, search for the Northern Lights as you traverse among steaming geysers and crystal glaciers.

Enjoy a VIP visit to the Viking World museum to learn more about this gorgeous country’s rich culture and history. Visit the Golden Circle, where you’ll see the once-in-a-lifetime spectacle of the continental divide between North American and Eurasia. With even more amazing sights to see, like smoldering volcanoes, misty ice caps, and thunderous waterfalls, this Icelandic experience will truly be one you will never forget!

CORPORATE TRAVEL | EVENTS | LOYALTY | VACATIONS travelandtransport.com/vacations Located at 72nd & Mercy | 402.399.4555 SEPTEMBER // OCTOBER • 2016 / 184 / OMAHAMAGAZINE.COM

OBVIOUSLY OMAHA Oktoberfest

AS THE AIR turns crisp, and leaves begin to fall, mugs of cold beer start flowing for Oktoberfest.

Actually, those mugs of Oktoberfest beer will flow throughout September. The event began as a public wedding celebration for Germany royalty on Oct 12, 1810. Subsequent celebrations have traditionally begun on the third weekend of September and concluded on the first Sunday of October. In Omaha, however, you can find festivities all month.

01. GERDA’S GERMAN RESTAURANT AND BAKERY

since, the organization has held a Deutsche Tag, or German Day, every year. Deutsche Tag is now celebrated in conjunction with their Oktoberfest.

This event for the whole family (not just the 21-and-up crowd) features games and face painting. The food menu features roast pig, schnitzel, and German potato salad. Admission is $5 each day for adults, which does not include beer or food. 402-333-6615

5 p.m. to 1 a.m. Friday, Sept. 9; 4 p.m. to 1 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 10 5180 Leavenworth St.

One of Omaha’s largest Oktoberfests, this event has been going for more than 20 years. The celebration runs late into the night with music from the Dave Salmons Polka Band. Wash down a variety of German beers with Bavarianstyle baked chicken, schweinshaxe (ham shank), or spaetzle, the German-style noodles made by the German-born Gerda herself. No admission.

02

-germanamericansociety.org

04. CRESCENT MOON AND HUBER-HAUS OKTOBERFEST

-gerdasgermanrestaurant.com

4 p.m. to 2 a.m. Friday, Sept. 23; noon to 2 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 24 3578 Farnam St.

02. LUCKY BUCKET BREWING CO.

The Huber-Haus, adjoining the Crescent Moon, celebrates Oktoberfest for the 15th time this year. They serve Hofbrau, Spaten, Warsteiner, Paulaner, Hacker-Pschorr, and Weihenstephaner beers on tap along with plenty of favorite German foods. Admission is $5 for adults ages 12 and older and does not include food or beer.

-beercornerusa.com/huber-haus

6 p.m. to 11 p.m. Friday, Sept. 9 11941 Centennial Road, Suite 1

The beer is brewed on site. There are also sausages, pretzels, cocktails from Cut Spike Distillery (which shares a building with the brewery), and live music by Barry Boyce Band. Walk-in admission is $5 per person. Ticket bundles are selling on Groupon for $12 dollars (admission for two with two commemorative glasses) or $22 (admission for four with four glasses).

Commemorative glasses do not come filled with beer.

-luckybucketbrewing.com

01

03

04

05. BENSON OKTOBERFEST 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. Friday, Sept. 30 1302 North 60th St.

The annual fundraiser for the Benson Community Garden gives new meaning to term “beer garden.” Grilled brats and live music—with performances by the Polka Police—will entertain the whole family. Children under the age of 18 must be accompanied by an adult.

Admission is $5 perOperson.

-bensongardens.org

03. 132ND GERMAN DAY CELEBRATION AND OKTOBERFEST AT THE GERMAN-AMERICAN SOCIETY 5 p.m. to midnight Friday, Sept. 16; 11:30 a.m. to midnight Saturday, Sept. 17 3717 S. 120th St.

The German-American Society of Omaha was founded in 1884 as the “Omaha Plattdeutscher Verein.” Ever SEPTEMBER

// OCTOBER • 2016 / 185 / BESTOFOMAHA.COM

05

SEPTEMBER

// OCTOBER • 2016 / 186 / OMAHAMAGAZINE.COM

OMAHA MAGAZINE

FOOD | PROFILE

The Renaissance Butcher STORY BY TAMSEN BUTLER PHOTOGRAPHY BY BILL SITZMANN DESIGN BY KRISTEN HOFFMAN

EN STOYSICH CAN tell a lot about a person based on what type of meat they request while standing at his counter. “When someone asks for a tri-tip steak, I ask them what part of California they’re from. Or if they ask for scrapple, I know they’re from Pennsylvia.” He will further know they’re from eastern Pennsylvania if they want their scrapple made with oatmeal instead of cornmeal.

K

A lifetime in the butchering business has made Stoysich a bit of an anthropologist as he learned what people like based on where they were raised. A person does not casually gain this type of knowledge by chance.

Stoysich started sweeping the floors at his dad’s Stoysich House of Sausage at age 8 and was finally allowed to start learning the art of butchering at age 12. He’s been at it ever since, having taken over the shop around 10 years ago. In fact, it is all he has ever wanted to do. When asked what he would be if he could not be a butcher, his reply was, “Dead.”

Make no mistake about it; there is a big difference between a butcher and a meat cutter.

Stoysich is a bona fide butcher, trained by both his father and the other butchers in the shop as he grew up and attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Just because someone stands behind a meat counter and wears a white apron doesn’t mean that person is actually a butcher. He says there is a lot more to it; proper butchering is an art.

“If you want to have some fun, go up to the meat counter at a grocery store and ask for a cut-up chicken. They’ll look at you with a blank stare and then wave toward the case.”

“I know butchering has been a dying art for quite a few years,” Stoysich admitted. “A lot of people don’t know how to cook anymore.”

He says that foodies will come in and buy

Stoysich explained that the difference between a meat cutter and a “A MEAT CUTTER SAYS, ‘I’VE WORKED AT A PACKING butcher is simple: “A HOUSE AND CAN HANDLE A KNIFE.’ A BUTCHER SAYS, meat cutter says, ‘I’ve worked at a packing ‘I CAN TAKE THAT KNIFE AND MAKE YOU MONEY.’ house and can handle -Ken Stoysich a knife.’ A butcher says, ‘I can take that knife and make you money.’ If someone tells things like sweetbreads or ox tails, but for the me they’re a butcher I ask them to tell me most part, the practice of making a roast on what an English roast is. If they can’t answer, Sunday and having the meat feed the family they’re probably a meat cutter.” until Wednesday is not as common as it once was. Mostly, Stoysich finds himself selling award-winning sausage and steaks.

When asked what people get from his shop that they can’t get anywhere else, Stoysich puffed up his chest, smiled, and replied, “Me!” Omaha’s Amy Riehle says that Stoysich House of Sausage has a solid place in her childhood memories. “Growing up, I've always had a love for the place. Every time I walk into the place, the scents of delicious meats take me back to when I would visit with my mom, or when I went to grade school across from the 24th and Bancroft location and would stop in after with friends for snacks. When we go there now, we always go for the Polish sausage, but end up with a lot more. It's the closest thing to our homemade Polish sausage that we can get.”

No matter what his customers crave, it’s likely Stoysich can deliver. “Back in the `70s there was a large group from England at Offutt Air Force Base, and they wanted their bangers and their bacon. This was before the Internet— now you can get any recipe you want. Back then, they were kind of hard to come by. I told them: ‘Give me a recipe, we’ll make it up, and if it tastes right to you, then we’ll just keep it.’ So that’s how we learned to make English bangers and English bacon.”

People visit Stoysich when they want to eat something reminiscent of their homeland, whether it is haggis, or beef hearts, or tongues, or just a great steak. No request is too unusual, he says. “After 50 years, nothing’s really strange—different, but not strange.”

O Visit stoysich.com for more information.

SEPTEMBER

// OCTOBER • 2016 / 187 / BESTOFOMAHA.COM

OJâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

ENCHILADA

GOT A LOTTA COTTAGE CHEESE STORY BY MYSTERY REVIEWER | PHOTOGRAPHY BY BILL SITZMANN | DESIGN BY KRISTEN HOFFMAN

OMAHA MAGAZINE

G

FOOD | MYSTERY REVIEW

ROUND BEEF AND cot-

tage cheese on an enchilada. The combination sounds strange, but it tastes amazing.

Creamy, melted cottage cheese oozes over hearty meat and shredded lettuce, tucked into a flour tortilla. Douse the whole plate with ladles of finely chopped hot salsa (made fresh everyday), and dig in.

The menu warns in all-caps: “GUARANTEED A GUT-BUSTER!” It stretches across the plate like a log, coated with a blanket of cheddar and sprinkled with black olive slices.

Twin mounds of rice and refried beans huddle beside the delicious monstrosity.

Ever since I learned of cottage cheese enchiladas, OJ’s Cafe on the edge of the Missouri River has called to me like a siren song for fat kids.

Mexican food is fairly common in the Midwest nowadays, but OJ’s Cafe was a trendsetter. Located next to the Florence Mill, just south of I-680’s 30th Street exit near the Mormon Bridge, OJ’s wood-paneled facade harkens back to the days of the Wild West.

The recipe for cheese and beef enchiladas belonged to the owner’s mother. The owner, 70-year-old Olga Jane Martinez (whose married name is Vlcek) was born in Anaheim, California. She opened the cafe 40 years ago. Vlcek says they added the Western-style facade a few years after opening.

Mexican food was hard to find in Omaha back then. The restaurant was situated in the site of a former dairy that sold milk, eggs, ice cream, hamburger, and cheeseburgers. At first, Vlcek followed suit. She kept the menu and added a daily special. Mexican dishes were the Thursday and Friday special.

“Then customers started asking for more Mexican food,” Vlcek says. “I said, ‘You know what? I am going to try to make a business of this.’ So, I cut everything else (about a year after opening).”

OJ’s now offers a full menu with tacos, burritos, vegetarian options, nachos, and a wide range of Mexican fare. The kitchen will even switch out flour tortillas for corn upon request.

Walk inside OJ’s today and find heavy wooden lacquer tables and booths. Kitschy decorations abound. Ceramic suns cover one wall.

Promotional mirrors for imported Mexican beer cover another. There’s a stained glass window with cacti and a sombrero, a crucifix, family photos, and lots of other trinkets contributing to the down-home atmosphere.

SEPTEMBER

// OCTOBER • 2016 / 189 / BESTOFOMAHA.COM

OJ'S CAFE 9201 N 30TH ST. 402-451-3266 OJSCAFEOMAHA.COM FOOD SERVICE AMBIANCE PRICE OVERALL

$$ 5 STARS POSSIBLE

OMAHA MAGAZINE

FOOD | MYSTERY REVIEW

A waitress asks for our order. I know what I want, but ask her suggestion anyway. She recommends the cottage cheese and chicken enchilada. I pause for a moment. I didn’t know the meat choice could be switched. I take a risk. Chicken and cottage cheese it is.

NOVEMBER 4 & 6, 2016

GIACOMO PUCCINI

When I order a plate of tortilla chips, I ask for a mix of corn and flour ($3.75) and a Pacifico on-tap ($3.75 glass) from an ample selection of Mexican beers. The beer arrives in a frosty mug. A margarita ($4) with salt on the rim follows with the entrée.

Word to the wise couple: Those with smaller appetites should consider splitting the enchilada ($10.25). After essentially chugging half of the dish, I slow to contemplate the merits of beef vs. chicken and cottage cheese. The chicken is fairly bland, aside from the rich cheesiness common to both. I still prefer the beef (which seems more savory, possibly cooked with more seasoning); however, I’m not disappointed. Being perfectly honest, I dump so much homemade salsa on my plate that it probably doesn’t matter what I’m eating.

MAIN FLOOR SEATS STARTING AT $19 TICKETS: 402-345-0606 | TICKETOMAHA.COM

operaomaha.org

To wrap up the meal, a sombrero ($5.50) arrives. Luckily, I’m eating with a dinner companion. We share the two heaping scoops of vanilla ice cream towering over a cinnamon and sugar-coated tortilla, all drizzled with Mexican caramel.

25 YEARS OF SERVING PETS AND THEIR OWNERS Completely stuffed, I wonder about the origins of my favorite enchilada. Who better to ask than Olga Jane Vlcek herself. She still works at her namesake restaurant every day (OJ’s is open Tuesdays through Saturdays, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., with a mid-day break that closes the cafe from 2 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.)

“That’s my signature enchilada,” Vlcek says of the beef and cottage cheese enchilada, which happens to be her favorite, too. The cottage cheese and beef enchilada was on the menu in the early days of OJ’s, but it wasn’t popular. “Ironically enough, I couldn't sell them,” she says with a laugh. “People wouldn't buy them, so I took it off the menu.” She made a commitment to herself that if her restaurant became established, she would bring back her mom’s enchilada O recipe. And that’s exactly what she did.

SEPTEMBER

THANK YOU

FOR VOTING US THE

BEST OF OMAHA!

Offering First Class Lodging and Daycare along with Spa Services, Training and Outdoor Activities on 10 beautiful Acres Just Minutes West of Omaha 26910 W. Center Rd. Waterloo, NE 68069 402-359-4155 | cottonwoodpetresort.com // OCTOBER • 2016 / 190 / OMAHAMAGAZINE.COM

9443UBCB2BAd_fnl.pdf

1

12/1/14

5:08 PM

Located “Just a Wink from the Link”,

we have everything you might desire for lunch & dinner, a night out or in planning your next event.

Happy Hour Specials

Everyday 4PM-6PM Friday & Saturday 10PM-12AM

HAPPY HOUR SPECIALS M-F 3p-6p LATE NIGHT FOOD MENU TUES-SAT

$2 Off any Wine by the Glass | $3 Domestic Beers | $4 Wells $5 Select Martinis | $4 Hummus or Chorizo Nachos $5 Bruschetta or Spinach and Artichoke Dip $6 Margherita Flatbread or Duck Tacos

www.noshwine.com 1006 Dodge St | 402.614.2121

SIP.TASTE.SAVOR.

$1 Off ALL 75+ Craft & Domestic Beers

.

.

$3 Wells $5 Wines $7 Top Shelf Spirits

se Happy Ho ver ur Re

Walking Distance to CenturyLink Center & TD Ameritrade Park

402.346.9116 | 501 N. 13th Street | theMattOmaha.com 2016 Winner

/oldmattressfactory

KETV 7 • Baxter Arena

SEPTEMBER

@Matt_factory

// OCTOBER • 2016 / 191 / BESTOFOMAHA.COM

Select Appetizers

402.916.4PAR (4727)

120th & Giles | beyondgolfomaha.com

OMAHA MAGAZINE

Get a Little Saucy.

SPEZIA SPECIALTIES FRESH SEAFOOD • ANGUS BEEF INNOVATIVE PASTA • RISOTTO

Come enjoy our beautifulGNOCCHI outdoor patio!

• FRESH SALMON DAILY

Italian Food, Seafood, Steaks and more

SATURDAY LUNCH [11am–4 pm]

$10

OFF ANY TICKET OVER $25 NO CASH CASH VALUE. VALUE.EXPIRES EXPIRES12/31/2011 10/31/16 NO

DINING

AMERICAN DJ’S DUGOUT - $

636 N 114th St. (402-498-8855) 1003 Capitol Ave. (402-763-9974) 10308 S 23rd St. (402-292-9096) 2102 S 67th St. (402-933-3533) 180th & Q St. (402-292-9096) Hwy 75 & Oak Hill Rd. (402-298-4166) Catch all of the action at four Omaha locations. Featuring burgers, sandwiches, wraps, salads, appetizers, and an impressive drink menu along with HD TVs and projectors. Home to Blazin’ Pianos, Omaha’s only dueling piano concept. djsdugout.com

FLATIRON CAFE - $$

402-344-3040 1722 St. Mary's Ave. Our classics endure for a reason...The Flatiron Cafe staff has been serving well prepared contemporary cuisine, in one of Omaha's most beautiful dining rooms, since 1995. We are committed to old school hospitality, taking care to honor your most special or casual occasions, with all the attention and style that our talented staff can provide.

Robustly delicious food, in the historic Hotel Flatiron, close to our exceptional downtown theaters, hotels, and commerce. Tuesday through Saturday evenings from 5pm- reservations suggested at opentable. com or 402-344-3040. theflatironcafe.com.

JAMS- $$ COCKTAIL HOUR

7814 Dodge St.(402-399-8300) MONDAY – SATURDAY 1101 Harney St. in the Old Market (402-614-9333) 4 – 6 PM Jams is an Omaha restaurant legacy. An American Grill that offers a ALL COCK TAILS, GL ASS WINE melting pot of different styles and varieties of food dishes made with AND BEERS ARE HALF PRICE high-quality ingredients that pair well with award winning wines or creative cocktails.

LE PEEP - $ CALL FOR RESERVATIONS • 402-391-2950

177th & Center St. (402-934-9914) 156th & W. Dodge Rd. (402-408-1728) 120th & Blondo St. (402-991-8222) Le Peep puts a wholesome perspective on your favorite neighborhood breakfast and lunch spot. Fresh. Simple. Elegant. Inviting. We put the emphasis on people, both patrons and staff. We focus on providing each of our guests the fresh food and friendly service that they have come to expect. Open daily 6:30am-2pm

CENTRAL LOCATION • 3125 SOUTH 72ND STREET • EASY ACCESS OFF I-80 • 72ND STREET EXIT

LOUIE’S WINE DIVE - $ MC, V

402-884-8966 16820 Wright Plz. Creative gourmet comfort food, and a funky, fun atmosphere. Great wines, many of which come from small vineyards, at a great value.

Gourmet comfort food is made fresh, using eco-friendly and local ingredients whenever possible. Mon. 4-10pm, Tue.-Thur. 11am-10pm, Fri./Sat. 11am-11pm, and 10am-8 pm.

MILLARD ROADHOUSE - $ MC, V

1/2 Price Cocktails Daily 4-6 pm

Sunday Brunch 11-2 . Bottomless Mimosas and Bloody Marys

Catering

. Private Party Rooms . Walk-Ins Welcome 3125 South 72nd Street

. Call today to make your reservation

(Easy access off I-80, take 72nd Street Exit)

402.391.2950

SEPTEMBER

402-891-9292 13325 Millard Ave. The all-American neighborhood grill Millard Roadhouse is perfect for the whole family, with huge portions, great service and even better food.

From roasted chicken to fried green tomatoes, there's something for every taste, and trust us, you're not going to leave hungry. Also serving Sunday brunch and the best happy hour in the area. Mon.-Wed. 11-9pm, Thur.-Sat. 11am-10pm, Sun. 10am-9pm.

DINING GUIDE LEGEND

$=$1-10 • $$=$10-20 • $$$=$20-30 • $$$$+$30+ MC=Master Card • V=Visa AE=American Express • DC=Discover Card

// OCTOBER • 2016 / 192 / OMAHAMAGAZINE.COM

OMAHA MAGAZINE

OMAHA MAGAZINE

DINING

SECTION

COM E M I N G LE W ITH A D E LI CI O U S D EAL .

THE SURE THING $44

OUR 3-COURSE PRIX FIXE MENU Enjoy soup or salad, a signature entrée and dessert.

After all, everyone loves a sure thing.

402.342.0077 | 222 South 15th Street | Omaha, NE | SullivansSteakhouse.com Restrictions apply. ©2016 Sullivan’s Steakhouse

SEPTEMBER

// OCTOBER • 2016 / 193 / BESTOFOMAHA.COM

OMAHA MAGAZINE

Located “Just a Wink from the Link”,

we have everything you might desire for lunch & dinner, a night out or in planning your next event.

DINING

LO-LO’S CHICKEN & WAFFLES - $

402-991-9400 7051 Ames Ave. What came first? The chicken or the waffle? Lo-Lo’s Chicken and Waffles has the juiciest, most flavorful fried chicken and the fluffiest, melt-in- your-mouth waffles, which has created an underground soul food revolution–one that’s slowly spreading downright deliciousness across the country.

STELLA’S - $ MC, V, AE, DC

402-291-6088 106 S Galvin Rd., Bellevue Since 1936, we’ve been making our Stella’s world famous hamburgers the same way. The family secrets have been handed down to each owner to ensure that your burger is the same one you fell in love with the first time you ever tried Stella’s. And if it’s your first time, we know you’ll be back! Mon.–Sat. 11am–9pm., Sun. closed. stellasbarandgrill.com

UPSTREAM BREWING COMPANY - $$

514 S. 11th St. (402-344-0200) 17070 Wright Plz. (402-778-0100) Upstream features an extensive menu of new American pub fare including appetizers, thin-crust pizzas, superb steaks featuring Omaha Steaks, fresh fish, pasta, salads, sandwiches, and a great children’s menu. Fresh, handcrafted beer and root beer on tap. Extensive wine list. Call ahead for group reservations or to be placed on our waiting list. Visit our classic, upscale poolroom located on the second level.

501 N. 13 Street | 402.346.9116 theMattOmaha.com th

/oldmattressfactory

@Matt_factory

VARSITY SPORTS CAFE & ROMAN COIN PIZZA - $$

4900 Dodge St., Omaha, NE 68132 (402-934-9439) 9735 Q St., Omaha, NE 68127 (402-339-1944) 14529 F St., Omaha, NE 68137 (402-505-6660) 3504 Samson Way Bellevue, NE 68123 (402-932-1944) VSC & RCP has been in business for over 20 years with four metro locations—in your neighborhood. From our made-from-scratch dough and signature marinara sauce, to our quality toppings and real cheese, we have perfected the hand-tossed pizza! We have state-of-the-art satellite service so you can watch all the games on our HD televisions. Sun.Thurs. 11am-1pm, Fri. & Sat. 11am-2am. varsityromancoinpizza.com.

ICE CREAM TED AND WALLY’S - $ MC, V

brews cafes chef profiles cocktails dining reviews farmers markets recipes taverns treats

FOOD&DRINK

402-341-5827 1120 Jackson St. Come experience the true taste of homemade ice cream in the Old Market. Since 1986, we’ve created gourmet ice cream flavors in small batches using rock salt and ice. We offer your favorites plus unique flavors like margarita, green tea, Guinness, and French toast. Special orders available.

ITALIAN DON CARMELO'S PIZZERIA - $

402-933-3190 10821 Prairie Brook Rd. Omaha's first and finest New York-style pizza, stromboli, calzones, oven-toasted hoagies, Philly cheesesteaks, pasta, salads, beer, and wine. We also feature take-out and delivery and can cater your special event, large or small. Tue.-Thur., 11am-9pm Fri. & Sat., 11am-10pm, Sun., Noon-8pm.

LA CASA PIZZARIA - $$ MC, V

402-556-6464 45th & Leavenworth St. La Casa Pizzaria has been serving Omaha it’s legendary Neapolitanstyle pizza and pasta for 60 years now. We offer dine in, carry-out, party facilities, catering and now pizza shipments to the 48 contiguous states. Open Tues.- Sat. at 11am and Sun. at 4:30pm lacasapizzaria.net

DINING GUIDE LEGEND

$=$1-10 • $$=$10-20 • $$$=$20-30 • $$$$+$30+ MC=Master Card • V=Visa AE=American Express • DC=Discover Card

SEPTEMBER

// OCTOBER • 2016 / 194 / OMAHAMAGAZINE.COM

OMAHA MAGAZINE

OMAHA MAGAZINE

DINING

SECTION

Thank you Omaha for voting us Best Family Restaurant!

“Serving The Best Chicken in Town Since 1997”

13325 Millard Ave. • 402-891-9292 www.millardroadhouse.com Omaha’s Only

Authentic German Restaurant

Locally Owned Since 1976

THE ORIGINAL

Whiskey Steak Thanks for Voting Us

#1 BREAKFAST 8 YEARS

Oktoberfest

September 9th and 10th!

in a Row!

LIVE MUSIC, GERMAN FOOD & DRINKS:

Baked Chicken, Ham Hocks, Strudel Full bakery, Fresh Bread, Donuts, and Cakes!

4:00 PM UNTIL THE BEER RUNS OUT

10 min from downtown Omaha

5180 Leavenworth

402-553-6774

www.gerdasgermanrestaurant.com

Hours: Mon.-Fri. 11am-2pm Cocktail Hour: 3pm-5pm Dinner nightly from 5pm Reservations Accepted Gift Cards Available

177th & Center • 934-9914 156th & Dodge • 408-1728 120th & Blondo • 991-8222 Voted Best of Omaha 4 years in a row

2121 South 73rd Street.

402-391-7440 | DroverRestaurant.com SEPTEMBER

// OCTOBER • 2016 / 195 / BESTOFOMAHA.COM

Drive-Thru Open (Center St. Only) Open Daily 6:30am-2:00pm Serving Breakfast & Lunch All Day!

OMAHA MAGAZINE

Serving Nebraska's Great Steaks and American Classics!

DINING

LO SOLE MIO RISTORANTE ITALIANO - $$

402-345-5656 3001 S. 32nd Ave. Located in the middle of a neighborhood, surrounded by charming homes. Everyone is greeted with homemade bread, a bowl of fresh tomatoes and basil, a bowl of oven-roasted garlic cloves, specialseasoned olive oil, and at night, a jug of Chianti! The menu includes a large variety of pasta, chicken, veal, seafood, and even a delicious New York steak. Traditional dishes such as lasagna, tortellini, and eggplant parmigiana are also available. Lunch also offers panini, salads, and one of the best pizzas in town. Patio seating, full bar, and a great wine list complete the atmosphere. No reservations, except for private rooms.

Homemade Ice cream and PIes • 5914 center • Petrows.com • 402.551.0552

OMAHA’S ORIGINAL STEAKHOUSE

• Proudly serving visitor & locals for 90 years.

• Featured on CNN.com Best Meat Cities in America • Serving hand cut steaks, aged on premise and slow roasted prime rib with pride.

402-731-4774 www.johnnyscafe.com 27th & ‘L’ St., Kennedy Frwy, ‘L’ St. Exit 8 Minutes from Downtown Omaha.

PASTA AMORE - $$ MC, V, AE

402-391-2585 11027 Prairie Brook Rd. Pastas are made fresh daily, including tortellini, fettuccine, and capellini. Daily specials and menu items include a variety of fresh seafood and regional Italian dishes, such as linguini amore and calamari steak, penne Florentine, gnocchi, spaghetti puttanesca, and ossobuco. Filet mignon is also offered for those who appreciate nationally renowned Nebraska beef. To complement your dining experience, the restaurant offers a full bar and extensive wine list. Be sure to leave room for homemade desserts, like the tiramisu and cannoli. Lunch: 11am-2pm Dinner: 4:30pm Reservations recommended.

PITCH - $$ MC, V, AE, DC Best Of Omaha 10 Years Running

WHERE WHERE GOOD GOOD FOOD FOOD AND AND GOOD GOOD SERVICE SERVICE NEVER NEVER GO GO OUT OUT OF OF STYLE. STYLE.

402- 590-2625 5021 Underwood Ave. Open Table Diners Choice 2014 HotSpot Restaurants in America. Keeping up with the traditional way the first pizzas in Italy were made, our pizzas are cooked in a coal-fired oven. The menu also features seafood, handcut steak, housemade pastas, and a burger full of flavor! Our goal is to provide you with local, housemade, and imported ingredients. We offer a Happy Hour menu through the week. And, our bar provides an array of in-house concoctions as well as your traditional libation! Our wine selection is well-thought and most impressive! You will enjoy Pitch! Mon. 3pm-10pm Tue.-Thur. 11am-10pm, Fri.-Sat. 11am-11pm, Sun. 3-10pm. pitchpizzeria.com.

SPEZIA - $$$ MC, V

402-391-2950 3125 S. 72nd St. Choose Spezia for lunch or dinner, where you'll find a casual elegance that's perfect for business guests, get-togethers, or any special occasion. Exceptional food, wine, and service, with a delectable menu: fresh seafood, Certified Angus steaks, innovative pasta, risotto, gnocchi, cioppino, lamb, entrée salads, Mediterranean chicken, flatbreads, and fresh salmon daily. Enjoy a full bar, Italian and California wines, Anniversary Lovers Booth (call to reserve), private dining rooms, and wood-fired grill. Open Mon.-Sun. Cocktail hour: 4-6pm, when all cocktails, glass wine, and beers are half price. Evening reservations recommended.

Stella’s Bar and Grill

“Serving World Famous Hamburgers since 1936” 106 Galvin Rd • Bellevue, NE • 402-291-6088 • Open Monday-Saturday, 11:00 am - 9:00 pm

Lunch Mon-Fri 11-2 Dinner Mon-Sat 5-10

5203 Leavenworth st.

Omaha, NE 68106

www.jcocoomaha.com SEPTEMBER

ZIO’S PIZZERIA - $$ MC, V

7834 Dodge St. (402-391-1881) 12997 W. Center Rd. (402-330-1444) 1109 Howard St. (402-344-2222) Delivery, dine in, and carry out. Serving New York style pizza by the slice or whole pies, calzones, hoagies, pastas, salads, and garlic breads. Our pies are hand-stretched and baked in old-world ovens. We offer 35 of the freshest toppings; taste the freshest pizza at Zio’s! Family dining, open seven days a week. Lunch specials and beer and wine available.

DINING GUIDE LEGEND

$=$1-10 • $$=$10-20 • $$$=$20-30 • $$$$+$30+ MC=Master Card • V=Visa AE=American Express • DC=Discover Card

// OCTOBER • 2016 / 196 / OMAHAMAGAZINE.COM

OMAHA MAGAZINE

OMAHA MAGAZINE

DINING

SECTION

SERVING LUNCH DAILY 402.884.8966 16920 Wright Plz. Omaha, NE louieswinedive.com Serving the Metro Area for More Than 20 Years!

Sports Bar

SUBURBAN NEWSPAPERS

2016 Winner

OMAHA.COM

TBL

KETV 7 • Baxter Arena

WE DELIVER

DUNDEE LOCATION 402.934.9439 4900 Dodge Street Omaha, NE 68132

.

GIFT CERTIFICATES AVAILABLE

RALSTON LOCATION 402.339.1944 9735 Q Street Omaha, NE 68127

MILLARD LOCATION BELLEVUE LOCATION 402.505.6660 402.932.1944 14529 F Street 3504 Samson Way Omaha, NE 68137 Bellevue, NE 68123

WWW.VARSITYROMANCOINPIZZA.COM

EST. 1993 6 OMAHA AREA LOCATIONS!

Downtown - 10th & Capitol - 402-763-9974 Aksarben Village - 67th & Center - 402-933-3533 Miracle Hills - 114th & Dodge - 402-498-8855 Millard - 180th & Q - 402-933-8844 Bellevue - 23rd & Cornhusker - 402-292-9096 Plattsmouth - Hwy 75 & Oak Hill Rd. - 402-298-4166

Farm Fresh Foods You Love To Eat

DJSDUGOUT.COM

3461 S 84th St, Omaha, NE 68124 402.393.0640 . farmhousecafe.com

SEPTEMBER

// OCTOBER • 2016 / 197 / BESTOFOMAHA.COM

Sports Bar

2016 First Place KETV 7 • Baxter Arena

OMAHA MAGAZINE

DINING

MEXICAN FERNANDO’S - $ MC, V, AE

7555 Pacific St. (402-339-8006) 380 N. 114th St. (402-330-5707) Featuring Sonoran-style cooking made fresh daily. Catering and party rooms also available. Mon.-Thu., 11am-10pm; Fri.-Sat., 11am-11pm; Sun., 4-9pm.

LA MESA - $$ MC, V

158th & W. Maple Rd. 156th & Q Sts.(402-763-2555) 110th St. & W. Maple Rd.(402-496-1101) Ft. Crook Rd. & Hwy 370 in Bellevue (402-733-8754) 84th St. & Tara Plaza in Papillion (402-593-0983) Lake Manawa Exit in Council Bluffs (712-256-2762) Enjoy awesome enchiladas, fabulous fajitas, seafood specialties, mouth-watering margaritas, and more at La Mesa! Come see why La Mesa has been voted Omaha’s #1 Mexican restaurant 13 years in a row!

Sun.-Thurs. 11am-10pm, Fri. & Sat. 11am-10:30pm lamesaomaha.com

MARGARITA'S MEXICAN RESTAURANT - $

2505 S. 132nd St. (402-991-3555) 4915 S. 72nd St. (402-393-7515) Margarita's is a business with more than 7 years in the food world.

We offer authentic food at two nice locations in Omaha where you can enjoy a nice moment with your family.

SEAFOOD CHARLIE’S ON THE LAKE - $$

402-894-9411 4150 . 144th St. Charlie’s is the only fresh-fish-daily seafood restaurant in Omaha.

Features a relaxed yet contemporary atmosphere that is fun for all ages. Besides fresh seafood, Charlie’s is the home of the James Bond-style martini (shaken, not stirred) in over 20 varieties in addition to over 60 wines. Mon.-Thu., 11am-10pm; Fri. 11am-11pm Sat., 4:30pm-11pm.

SPECIAL DINING CRESCENT MOON ALE HOUSE - $

Named top 100 hottest restaurants in america - 3 years in a row catering / personalized wine dinners available

402-345-1708 3578 Farnam St. Founded in 1996, we’ve grown into Beer Corner USA with the additions of The Huber Haus German Beer Hall, Max and Joe’s Belgian Beer Tavern, and Beertopia, Omaha’s Ultimate Beer Store. With more than 60 beers on tap and Omaha’s best reuben sandwich, we are a midtown beer lover’s destination. Hours: Mon.-Sat., 11am-2am. Kitchen hours: Mon.-Wed., 11am-1pm; Thurs.-Sat. 11am-midnight. Closed Sun. beercornerusa.com.

FETA'S GYRO & CATERING - $$

743 N. 114th St. (402-504-4976) 119 S. 40th St. (402 558 5623) Fast casual restaurant serving Greek and American foods. Featuring homemade baklava! The 119 S. 40th location has a drive-thru for your convenience.

open at: 10am saturday and sunday

PASTA AMORE

lunch Mon-Fri: 11AM-2PM Dinner Mon-Sat: 4:30PM-Close Thank You Omaha for 30 Years of Patronage!

Rockbrook Village (108th & Center)

402.391.2585

www.pastaamore.com Like Us on Facebook SEPTEMBER

GERDA’S GERMAN RESTAURANT & BAKERY - $

402-553-6774 5180 Leavenworth St. Omaha’s only authentic German restaurant; a little piece of Germany in Omaha. Gerda herself makes homemade spaetzle, schnitzels, and rouladen Fresh-made soups, red cabbage, sauerkraut, and dumplings are a few other treats. Stay for a dessert of Black Forest cake or grab fresh bakery for breakfast on your way out. Check hours at gerdasgermanrestaurant.com.

DINING GUIDE LEGEND

$=$1-10 • $$=$10-20 • $$$=$20-30 • $$$$+$30+ MC=Master Card • V=Visa AE=American Express • DC=Discover Card

// OCTOBER • 2016 / 198 / OMAHAMAGAZINE.COM

OMAHA MAGAZINE

OMAHA MAGAZINE

DINING

SECTION

THANK YOU OMAHA FOR VOTING US BEST PIZZA 24 STRAIGHT YEARS!

Best Greek

Hand-stretched New York style pizza

Family Owned Since 1983

Catering ~ Party Room Available Homemade, Fresh Food ~ Always 3821 Center St. 402/346-1528

GreekIslandsOmaha.com

CALZONES · PASTA · SALADS · LUNCH SPECIALS APPETIZERS · BEER · WINE · MARGARITAS

391-1881

330-1444

7834 Dodge St.

O’Connor’s Irish Pub 1217 Howard St. • Omaha, NE 68102 402-934-9790 • oconnorsomaha.com

12997 W. Center Rd.

344-2222

1109 Howard St. (Old Market)

HAPPY HOUR EVERY DAY FROM 4PM-6PM 0010-2015UpstreamAd-OmahaMag-5x4.917_fnl.pdf

Family Owned & Operated Authentic Italian Cuisine Party Rooms Available Carry Out Available

Serving Lunch & Dinner

Mon-Sat

3001 S. 32nd Ave • Omaha, NE 402-345-5656 NEW HOURS MON-THUR 11AM-10PM FRI-SAT 11AM-11:30PM HAPPY HOUR DAILY 3:30PM-6:30PM REVERSE HAPPY HOUR FRI & SAT 9:30PM-11:00PM CLOSED SUNDAY

MODERN AMERICAN WITH A MEDITERRANEAN TWIST

3623 N. 129 ST. OMAHA, NE 68164 402.991.9088 | SALT88.COM

SEPTEMBER

// OCTOBER • 2016 / 199 / BESTOFOMAHA.COM

1

4/7/15

3:51 PM ZIOSPIZZERIA.COM

OMAHA MAGAZINE

DINING

GREEK ISLANDS - $

402-346-1528 3821 Center St. Greek cuisine with specials every day at reasonable prices. Well known for our gyro sandwiches and salads. We cater and can accommodate a party for 65 guests. Carryout and delivery available. Mon.-Thu., 11am-9pm; Fri.-Sat., 11am-10pm; Sun., 11am-8pm.

HORSEMEN’S PARK- $

Old Market

Now Open in Benson

1120 Jackson Street • 402.341.5827 6023 Maple Street • 402.551.4420 9 Years In A Row

tedandwallys.com

n Sandwi ube ch Re

2016 First Place KETV 7 • Baxter Arena

Try Omaha’s Favorite Reuben!

402-731-2900 6303 Q St. One-dollar pints, $1.75 domestic bottles, and $2 well drinks for our happy hour Mon.-Wed., 5pm-8pm. Tuesdays are 25-cent wings from 3-8pm, Wednesdays are Steak Night after 5pm, Thursdays are 75-cent tacos and $1.75 margaritas after 5pm, and Fridays are Prime Rib Dinner after 5pm Daily specials seven days a week. Open at 10am horsemenspark.com

JAIPUR INDIAN RESTAURANT AND BREWERY - $$$

402-392-7331 10922 Elm St. A casual restaurant in a relaxed atmosphere. Dinner entrees include fresh vegetables, grilled Colorado lamb sirloin, sushi-grade ahi, tandoori marinated grilled salmon, and tandoori grilled beef tenderloin to name a few. A wide selection of wines and liquor, as well as on-site brewed beer. Lunch: Thurs. and Fri., 11am-2pm Dinner: Sun.-Thurs., 5pm-9:30pm; Fri and Sat., 5pm-10:30pm.

J.COCO - $$$ Sonoran Style Cooking Made Fresh Daily.

Omaha’s largest selection of craft beers.

Catering and Party Rooms Also Available.

7555 Pacific St. 399–8006 380 N.114 St. 330–5707

3578 Farnam St • 402-345-1708 www.beercornerusa.com

Omaha, Nebraska

Bringing Italy to Omaha

MARRAKECH GOURMET - $$

Since 1919

NEW LOCATION! NOW OPEN! 40th & Dodge • 402.558.5623

Tues-Thurs: 8:30am-8pm Friday: 8:30am-8:30pm Saturday: 7:30am-8pm Sunday: 7:30am-6pm

402-884-2626 5203 Leavenworth St. The building that once housed a beloved neighborhood grocery has a new future. Built as a grocery back in 1925 it is now home to J. Coco. Our seasonal menus, rooted in tradition, showcase our natural ingredients. Local, organic, and sustainable when available. We feature craft bar tending, house made desserts and pastas. We celebrate traditional… With a modern twist. Lunch (M-F 11am-2pm) - Dinner (M-Sat 5pm-close) jcocoomaha.com

(Drive thru at this location) 114th & Dodge • 402.504.4976

Fresh, Greek, Fast!

402.345.3438 621 Pacific St, Omaha NE orsibakery.com

Eat In - Catering

M-Th & Sa: 11a-8:30p Fri: 11a-9p fetasgyros.com

402-502-0739 504 N 33rd St Sit back and prepare for an authentic Moroccan dining experience.

Choose from a savory array of traditional entrees such as chicken, lamb, and vegetarian dishes, influenced by a variety of Mediterranean flavors. We invite you to relax and enjoy an evening of fine food and extraordinary hospitality. Visit today! Sunday-Saturday 11am-10pm. marrakechgourmetomaha.com

NOSH RESTAURANT AND WINE LOUNGE - $$

402-614-2121 1006 Dodge St. Located in downtown Omaha blocks away from the CenturyLink Center Omaha, Holland Performing Arts, and the Old Market—Nosh is the perfect place to gather and celebrate good times. Guests are sure to enjoy our comfortable relaxing atmosphere, diverse wine list, impressive cocktails and food that will please any palate. noshwine.com

O’CONNOR’S IRISH PUB - $

402-934-9790 1217 Howard St. Comfortable, relaxing atmosphere. Great before and after games. We offer pub style food—burgers, reubens, daily specials, and homemade soups—as well as all the traditional Irish favorite libations: Guinness, Harp, and Irish whiskey. Grill hours: Mon.-Thu., 11am-10pm; Fri.-Sat., 11am-10pm.

SUBSCRIBE TODAY! NOVEMBER /

DECEMBER 2015

A Fusion of Moroccan and Mediterranean Flavors

LAUREN GARRISON Surly Lass, British Sass BOBSLEDDING? IN NEBRASKA? Olympic Gold Medalist Curtis Tomasevicz

DINING GUIDE LEGEND

BEST DOCTORS OMAHA 2015-2016

Don’t miss a single issue of Omaha Magazine

402.502.0739 504 N 33rd St. Omaha, NE marrakechgourmetomaha.com

Rev. John Jenk

FROM OM ins AH

NOTREto DA A ME

omamag.com/save SEPTEMBER

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// OCTOBER • 2016 / 200 / OMAHAMAGAZINE.COM

Stack it High on Rotella’s Honey Wheat Nugget!

OMAHA MAGAZINE

OMAHA MAGAZINE

DINING

O

SECTION

S s h r e e lves! c o r G l a c o L r u o Y n

The Strength of a Family Tradition...Since 1921

SEPTEMBER

// OCTOBER • 2016 / 201 / BESTOFOMAHA.COM www.rotellasbakery.com

OMAHA MAGAZINE

DINING

SALT 88 - $$

402-991-9088 3623 N. 129th St. Brought to you by the owners of Hiro 88, Salt is a New American adventure in cuisine. Its a restaurant supported by a friendly staff, savory appetizers, and, most importantly, free cotton candy at the end of your meal. Guests are sure to notice that not only is the food unique, but its ambiance feels modern and inviting, making your meal not just delicious, but memorable. salt88.com.

TRAVEL DESIGN LOUNGE - $$

78th & Dodge

11th & Harney

402-548-3280 16950 Wright Plaza Suite 151 Travel Design Lounge is a full service travel agency combined with a full bar and coffee shop. Come in anytime to enjoy drinks with friends over happy hour or let us guide you in planning the vacation of a lifetime.

“Get Tripsy” and be inspired to travel!

STEAKHOUSES 801 CHOPHOUSE - $$$$

402-341-1222 1403 Farnam St. Designed with a 1920s-era New York chophouse in mind, 801 is the epitome of elegance. You will not forget the crisp-white-tablecloth, fine-dining experience. From our USDA prime-grade beef and jet-fresh seafood from all over the world, we are truly the best Omaha has to offer. Open seven nights a week.

BROTHER SEBASTIAN'S - $$$

402-330-0300 1350 S 119th St Relax in the cozy old world comfort of an early California monastery with friendly “monks” that pamper you in subdued, romantic surroundings, and savor the fresh, full flavors of U.S.D.A. Choice Nebraska Angus Beef seared over an open flame. Brother Sebastian’s Steak House and Winery is locally owned and has been recognized as one of Omaha’s best restaurants for a delicious, romantic dining experience. Join us with your party of two or fifty and we’ll help make your special occasion enjoyable and memorable.

Reservations accepted. Lunch: Mon.-Fri. 11am-2pm. Dinner: Mon-Thur.

5-9pm, Fri.-Sat. 5-10pm, Sun. 4-9pm.

CASCIO'S - $$

STEAKS • CHOPS • SEAFOOD ITALIAN SPECIALTIES

402-345-8313 1620 S. 10th St. Cascios is Omaha's No. 1 steakhouse. We have been serving Omaha for 69 years. We feature steaks, chops, seafood and Italian specialties. We have seven private party rooms, seating for up to 400 people and plenty of parking.

7 private party rooms Seating up to 400 Lots of parking

THE DROVER RESTAURANT & LOUNGE - $$$ 1620 S. 10th Street

402-345-8313

www.casciossteakhouse.com

402-391-7440 2121 S. 73rd St. Famous for the original Whiskey Steak. Truly a one of a kind Midwestern experience. Excellent food, wine, service and value. Rare...and very well done. Lunch: Mon.–Fri. 11am– 2pm Cocktail Hour: 3-6pm Dinner: Nightly at 5pm. Reservations accepted.

JOHNNY'S CAFÉ - $$$ MC, V, AE

Always a Large Selection of Fresh Fish

402-731-4774 4702 S. 27th St. Years of quality dining and hospitality make Johnny's Café a restaurant to remember. We serve only the finest beef the Midwest has to offer. Aged steaks and prime rib are the specialties, with homemade bread and pies to complete a meal. An excellent wine list adds to the enjoyment at one of Omaha's original restaurants. Hours: Mon.-Sat., 11am-2pm and 5pm-9:30pm.

DINING GUIDE LEGEND

$=$1-10 • $$=$10-20 • $$$=$20-30 • $$$$+$30+

4150 SOUTH 144TH STREET • OMAHA • 894-9411 SEPTEMBER

MC=Master Card • V=Visa AE=American Express • DC=Discover Card

// OCTOBER • 2016 / 202 / OMAHAMAGAZINE.COM

Upcoming Events Omahaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s newest upscale lounge is open & ready to show you the world!

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402.548.3280 traveldesignlounge.com

A NEBRASKA CITY LANDMARK SHOWS THE TEMPESTUOUS NATURE OF

American History story by Jared Kennedy photography by Bill Sitzmann Design by Rachel Joy

OMAHA MAGAZINE

t

O SPEAK IN archetypal clichés—with-

out knowing where you came from, it can be difficult to understand where you are going. Nestled just south of Omaha in Nebraska City lies a piece of history that offers a window into the American love affair with slavery, and the fight for its abolition.

ADVENTURE

MAYHEW CABIN HISTORY Until it opened to the public, Mayhew Cabin was nearly always used as a residence. In 1937, the Nebraska State Department of Roads began surveying for a new Highway 2 from Lincoln to

Built in 1855, Mayhew Cabin was once a stop on the famous Underground Railroad. Back then the cabin may have been inconspicuous, but as you drive through what is now Nebraska City, the small cottage sticks out like a sore thumb.

Nebraska City. The original survey book

Cathy Briley is the vice president of the board of directors for Mayhew Cabin. She says the relationship between slavery, racism, and present day prejudice makes Mayhew Cabin a valuable teaching tool in educating children about this segment of American history.

City, Bartling proceeded to move the

“Racism in all forms is wrong,” Briley says. “Slavery was abolished, so why does our museum matter? It matters because unfortunately, people of several colors still face racism today.”

maintaining its original longitude and

Walking around the different displays and artifacts in the Mayhew welcome center, Bill Hayes could go on for hours explaining every detail regarding the rich history of the abolitionist movement. He has a master's degree in history, and volunteering at the museum is a hobby.

“The site (Mayhew Cabin) was privately owned from the late 1930s until 2002,” Hayes says. “What we want to do is try to focus on the history of slavery, and how you have the movement of people being opposed to it.”

laid out the center of this new highway within 15 feet of Mayhew Cabin, which was then owned by Edward Bartling. In order to save what he felt was a historic piece of Nebraska cabin back off the proposed roadway.

Removing all of the siding and additions that had been added to the cabin over the years, Bartling rolled the cabin straight north approximately 25 feet, orientation. He opened it up in 1938 as a tourist location and proceeded to recreate the famous cave with which it had been associated.

“Racism in all forms is wrong. Slavery was abolished, so why does our museum matter?

It matters because unfortunately, people of several colors still face racism today.”

Hayes says the geographical placement of Mayhew Cabin makes it a critical stop on the Underground Railroad.

“Nebraska City was an important stopping point because across the river is Iowa, and any more south you would cross back into Missouri (a pro-slavery state).”

Walking into the cabin, the air seems inundated with mixed feelings of hope, fear, and freedom—emitted by those who sought safe harbor there. The furnishings are basic: two rocking chairs, a trunk, and a small bed in the loft upstairs. In the cellar below there is a shocking surprise. A tunnel, now accessible to the public, once led escaped slaves from the ravine 40 yards away right into the cellar itself.

Briley says the museum focuses less on the horrors of slavery, and more on the stories of those who risked their lives to aid in the freedom of slaves.

“John Kagi, our hero at the museum, sacrificed his life fighting for the freedom of others,” Briley says. “He gave so much. He was jailed, beaten, shot, hunted, and eventually killed for his involvement in the abolitionist cause.”

According to Hayes, Mayhew Cabin represents an ongoing legacy that needs to be part of American culture.

“We talk about equality, freedom, and justice,” Hayes says. “Those may not be very many letters, but those are big words. They’re big ideas, and that’s what this country has always thought of itself representing.”

O

Visit mayhewcabin.org for more information.

-CATHY BRILEY SEPTEMBER

// OCTOBER • 2016 / 206 / OMAHAMAGAZINE.COM

WALKING INTO THE CABIN, THE AIR SEEMS INUNDATED WITH MIXED FEELINGS OF HOPE, FEAR, AND FREEDOM— EMITTED BY THOSE WHO SOUGHT SAFE HARBOR THERE. SEPTEMBER

// OCTOBER • 2016 / 207 / BESTOFOMAHA.COM

TREAT YOUR FAMILY TO SOME

SARPY COUNTY FUN THIS FALL!

SUMTUR AMPHITHEATRE

FONTENELLE FOREST

VALA’S PUMPKIN PATCH

B E L L E V U E • G R E T N A • L A V I S TA • PA P I L L I O N • S P R I N G F I E L D • O F F U T T A I R F O R C E B A S E SEPTEMBER

Located just a few minutes south

Every Sunday - Acoustic Music, 2-5 pm, Soaring Wings Wine & Brewery, Springfield Every Saturday thru Sept. 24th Farmers Market, Bellevue Sept. 1-2-3-4 & 5 Storm Chasers Home games Sept. 16-17 & 18 Ukulele Festival at Sumtur, Papillion Sept. 17 & 18 Fall Festival at Gifford Farm, Bellevue Sept. 24 Far Fest and Art Show, Papillion

of Omaha, Sarpy County awaits with a wonderful mix of fun things to see and do. Tour a museum or gallery.

Dine in an elegant restaurant. Play a round of golf. Spend a day at a family fun center. From parks, lakes, and wineries to malls, specialty shops, and theatres, Sarpy County is the perfect destination for your next getaway!

402-332-5771 • GOSARPY.COM

HAUNTED HOLLOW

OCTOBER Every Sunday - Acoustic Music 2-5 pm Soaring Wings Wine & Brewery, Springfield Oct. 2 & 9 Midwest Winds Kite-Fliers One Sky, One World Fly, La Vista Oct. 16 Trick or Treat with the Animals, Gifford Farms, Bellevue Oct. 16 Beer, Bands, and Bonfires, Sumtur Amphitheater, Papillion Great Pumpkin Round Up & Ranch of Terror, Bellevue Berry & Pumpkin Patch, Papillion Haunted Hollow, La Vista Vala’s Pumpkin Patch, Gretna Scary Acres, Omaha

STATE OF NEBRASKA

AS THE LEAVES change in Nebraska, many of

NEBRASKA STATE FAIR.

Aug. 26-Sept. 5. Grand Island, NE. The annual 11-day event takes place at Fonner Park and includes entertainment for the whole family and the most extraordinary food. 308-384-1555 -statefair.org

the time honored events in Sarpy County return.

The wait is over: Vala’s Pumkin Patch is open, Trick or Treat with the Animals is back at Gifford Farm, and Scary Acres and Haunted Hollow are back to some old and new haunted adventures.

Meanwhile, Bellevue Berry Farm has the pumpkins and the haunted house all together. Outdoor music is happening at Soaring Wings and Sumtur Amphitheater, featuring the smells of fall and a possible crackle in the air. You can view all the Sarpy County events at gosarpy.com.

HARVEST FAIR. Sept.

17-18.

Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer. Grand Island, NE. Stuhr is celebrating the fall with a two-day Harvest Fair. Some events include pumpkin baking and decorating, a midway and exhibits in Railroad town, an outdoor movie, and much more. Admission is $8 for adults, $6 for children and free for Stuhr Museum members. 308-385-5316.

-stuhrmuseum.org

OLD WEST BALLOON FESTIVAL. Sept.

2-4.

Scottsbluff, NE. The festival features 20-30 hot air balloons for a morning sunrise launch, two concerts, and activities for the entire family. 308-665-808 -oldwestballoonfest.com

LABOR DAY LIVING HISTORY WEEKEND.

Sept.

3-5. Homestead National Monument of America.

Beatrice, NE. This Labor Day, enjoy a weekend of hands-on activities and special programs that are fun for the whole family. Immerse yourself in the lives of the pioneers by candle dipping, making cornhusk dolls, butter churning, and more. All activities are free. 402-223-3514.

-nps.gov

PATRIOTS DAY REMEMBRANCE LUNCH. Sept.

11. Strategic Air and Space Museum. Ashland, NE. Come help honor the fallen victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, as well as the veterans who have served throughout the years. The program includes a light lunch at 12:30pm followed by a presentation over national security at 1pm. 402-944-3100.

-sacmuseum.org.

APPLEJACK FESTIVAL. Sept. 16-18. Nebraska City, NE. Nebraska City’s historic AppleJack festival celebrates the kickoff of the apple harvest.

Along with an all-apple list of foods, the festival also includes a parade, street dances, a classic car show, live music, and more. 402-873-6654 -gonebraskacity.com

NEBRASKA STATE HAND CORNHUSKING CONTEST. Sept. 17. Gothenburg, NE. The 2016 Nebraska State Hand Cornhusking Contest will be held in conjunction with Gothenburg's Harvest Festival. 308-537-3505.

-facebook.com/NECornhusking

SEPTEMBER

12TH ANNUAL MISSOURI RIVER OUTDOOR EXPO. Sept. 17-18. Ponca State Park. Ponca, NE. The Missouri River Outdoor Expo is the largest outdoor expo in the Midwest with more than 85 handson activities including outdoor education, sports, and recreation. Admission is free, however, a valid park permit is required to enter. 402-755-2284.

-missouririverexpo.com

DOBBY’S FALL FESTIVAL.

Sept. 17-18. Dobby’s Frontier Town, Alliance, NE. Dobby’s Fall Festival is the third weekend in September with many features and exhibits including live entertainment, wagon rides, old time photos, and much more. Admission is free but donations are appreciated. 308-762-4321.

-dobbysfrontiertown.com

// OCTOBER • 2016 / 209 / BESTOFOMAHA.COM

OMAHA MAGAZINE

HAUNTED HOUSES IN THE OMAHA METRO *Opening hours and admission may vary by day

SCARY ACRES

Sept. 12-Nov. 1, 17272 Giles Road Scary Acres delivers 20-acres of attractions. Admission: $11 for Master’s Castle, $10 for House on the Hill, $10 for Haunted Woods, $25 for combo pass. 402-896-9666 -scaryacres.com

MYSTERY MANOR

Sept. 18-Oct. 31, 716 North 18th St. The Midwest’s longest running haunted attraction, Mystery Manor was built in 1887 and is home to terrifying history. Admission: varies by day. 402-346-2666 -mysterymanoromaha.org

HAUNTED HOLLOW

Sept. 25-Oct. 31, 12501 Old Giles Road Set at an actual farm from the 1880s, Haunted Hollow has multiple attractions: barn mazes, bonfires, movies, and a haunted house. Admission: $25. 402-896-1920 -hauntedhollowomaha.com

RANCH OF TERROR

Sept. 23-Oct. 31, 11001 S. 48th St. Ranch of Terror offers a haunted house, haunted hayrack rides, and pumpkin-picking. Admission: $12 per attraction, $22 for a combo pass. 402-331-5500 -ranchofterror.com

CARNIVAL OF TERROR

Sept. 25-Oct. 31—1209 Jackson St. Carnival of Terror was created by the producers of MTV’s “House of Terror” and located under Hollywood Candy in the Old Market. Admission: $13. 402-390-2388 -carnivalofterror-omaha.com

COBWEB CASTLE

Beginning mid-Sept.Oct. 31, 500 South 20th St. The Omaha Children’s Museum offers a family-friendly haunted house for all ages. Admission: TBA. 402-342-6164 -ocm.org

CA MP FE A R Beginning mid- Oct., 23301 West Maple Road Camp Fear is located at RiverWest Park in Elkhorn and offers a haunted house, theater, and overnight camping. Admission: TBA. 402-953-4731 -campfearomaha.com

EXPLORE

OK T OBERFE S T. Sept. 23 -24 . Nor folk , NE. Oktoberfest celebrates the area’s German heritage along with the fall harvest every year. There is something to do for the whole family with live music, German food, a beer garden, and more. 402-371-4862.

-norfolkareachamber.com

KEITH URBAN WITH BRETT ELDREDGE AND MAREN MORRIS. Oct. 8. Pinnacle Bank Arena.

NEBRASKA SHAKESPEARE PRESENTS HAMLET.

18TH ANNUAL HALLOWFEST. Oct. 8 and 15.

Sept. 29. Red Cloud Opera House. Red Cloud, NE. Come watch Shakespeare’s masterpiece at the Red Cloud Opera House. A workshop for high schoolers will be available prior to the performance. Admission is $20. 402-756-2641.

-willacather.org

Ponca State Park. Ponca, NE. The 18th annual Halloween Celebration features haunted hayrack rides, pumpkin rolling, pumpkin carving, campsite decorating contests and much more. 402-755-2284.

-outdoornebraska.gov

TRAIL OF TREASURES.

Sept. 30-Oct. 2. Brownville, NE. The Trail of Treasures includes a 14-county area spanning Nebraska’s Heritage Highway 136. Along the way, there will be garage sales, yard sales, and much more. 402-335-0745.

-heritagehighway136.com

WASHINGTON COUNTY HERITAGE DAYS. Oct. 1-2. Fort Calhoun, NE. Taking place at Fort Atkinson State Historical Park, come enjoy two full days of historical fun for the entire family. 402-468-5740.

-wcheritagedays.org

PRAIRIE LOFT HARVESTFEST.

Oct. 2. Hastings, NE. Come help honor the area’s heritage with events including a farmer’s market, hayrack rides, farm animals, food, and much more. Admission is free. 402-463-0565.

-prairieloft.org/Prairie_Loft/Prairie_Loft_Home.html

MAROON 5 WITH SPECIAL GUESTS TOVE LO AND R. CITY. Oct. 4. Pinnacle Bank Arena. Lincoln, NE. The Grammy Award-winning group from Los Angeles brings their pop rock style to the Pinnacle Bank Arena. 402-904-4444.

-pinnaclebankarena.com

LINCOLN CALLING MUSIC FESTIVAL. Oct. 6-8. Lincoln, NE. Get ready for the annual, non-profit music festival that is Lincoln Calling. The festival occurs across multiple venues in downtown Lincoln with an abundance of genres.

-lincolncalling.com

SEPTEMBER

Lincoln, NE. Four-time Grammy Award winner and American idol judge, Keith Urban, brings his “ripCORD World Tour 2016” to Pinnacle Bank Arena. 402-904-4444.

-pinnaclebankarena.com

NBA PRESEASON GAME: MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES VS DENVER NUGGETS. Oct. 12. Pinnacle Bank Arena. Lincoln, NE. Enjoy the Timberwolves' first ever trip to Lincoln as they play host to the Denver Nuggets. 402-904-4444.

-pinnaclebankarena.com

NEBRASKA MILK FEST. Oct. 22-23.

Orchard Hill Creamery. Unadilla, NE. Come celebrate Nebraska’s dairy producers with two days of music, food, and fun for the whole family. 402-440-9409 -nebraskamilkfest.com

DES MOINES JERRY SEINFELD. Sept.

9. Des Moines Performing Arts Center. Des Moines, IA. Stand-up comedian Jerry Seinfeld, known for his observational comedy that relates to audiences everywhere, makes his way to Des Moines.

-desmoinesperformingarts.org

WORLD FOOD & MUSIC FESTIVAL. Sept.

16-18. Downtown Des Moines, IA. This year's festival will feature cuisine from around the world as well as live entertainment, cooking demonstrations, and fireworks on Saturday night. 515-286-4949 -worldfoodandmusicfestival.org CARRIE UNDERWOOD—THE STORYTELLER TOUR/STORIES IN THE ROUND. Oct. 7. Wells Fargo Arena. Des Moines, IA. The winner of seven Grammy Awards, 17 Billboard Music Awards, 11 Academy of Country Music Awards, and many others, comes to Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.

-iowaeventscenter.com

// OCTOBER • 2016 / 210 / OMAHAMAGAZINE.COM

CORN HARVEST.

Oct. 8. Living History Farms.

Urbandale, IA. Explore the importance of corn to farmers in the 19th century. Help shell and grind corn while surveying the potential corn crop and the tools needed to process corn in the past. 515-278-5286 -lhf.org

KANSAS CITY K ANSAS CIT Y IRISH FEST. Sept.

2-4 .

Kansas City, MO. Celebrate the 12th year of the festival named the “Best Ethnic Festival” in Kansas City since 2010. 816-561-7555.

-kcirishfest.com

K ANSAS CIT Y RENAISSANCE FESTIVAL. Saturdays and Sundays Sept. 3-Oct. 16.

Bonner Springs, KS. A 16-acre village fills with activities for the entire family, such as music, magic, and of course food. 913-721-2110.

-kcrenfest.com

KC BEER FEST.

Sept. 10. Downton Area. Kansas City, MO. Over 200 hand-picked craft beers from the world, live music, food booths, and plenty more.

-kc-beerfest.com

STEVE MARTIN AND MARTIN SHORT. Sept.

23. Arvest Bank Theatre at the Midland.

Kansas City, MO. A one-night-only show called, “An Evening You Will Forget for the Rest of Your Life,” involves musical numbers and more from longtime comedians and friends. 816-471-9703.

-visitkc.com

DAVID BOWIE: A MUSICAL ODYSSEY WITH THE K ANSAS CITY SYMPHONY. Sept. 24.

Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts.

Kansas City, MO. A full rock band performing all the classics, in honor of Ziggy Stardust.

-tickets.kcsymphony.org

SEPTEMBER

// OCTOBER • 2016 / 211 / BESTOFOMAHA.COM

OMAHA MAGAZINE

INSTAGRAM

#OMAMAG

SHARE YOUR PHOTOS OF OMAHA AND BE FEATURED HERE.

@sherry_591

@boipinoy

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@lolasblest

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instagram.com/omahamagazine

SEPTEMBER

// OCTOBER • 2016 / 212 / OMAHAMAGAZINE.COM

nebraska’s underground railroad

October 8th & 22nd

Paranormal Ghost Hunt Classes Open May to October

Thursday-Sunday, Noon to 5pm mayhewcabin.org for information

Mayhew Cabin with John Brown’s Cave Museum

402.873.3115 2012 4th Corso Nebraska City, NE

SEPTEMBER

// OCTOBER • 2016 / 213 / BESTOFOMAHA.COM

OMAHA MAGAZINE

NOT FUNNY

A HOLE TRUTH

BY OTIS TWELVE PHOTOGRAPHY BY BILL SITZMANN

“T

HERE ARE TWO things every-

Now, it is also true that most of the opinbody has…” Those are the ions we have are not original. Mostly, we wise words of my grandfather, just parrot other people’s opinions that our Johannes, who hated Kaiser Bill, sources are repeating from other sources that loved bacon ends, and worked are sourced somewhere in the same mysterithe hard soil of northern Iowa ous underworld where dirty jokes come from. for most of his life. I won’t For example, it’s likely that we all have some complete his sentence political opinion that because people are easily pithy, made-up quote SURVEYS AND POLLS SUGGEST afrom offended these days by Abraham Lincoln, references to certain Thomas Jefferson, or THAT 95 PERCENT OF US anatomical features of Nelson Mandela will HAVE AN OPINION ABOUT the human animal. back up. As Lincoln himself once said, “There are EVERYTHING. WE OPINE One of those things is an things everybody ABOUT SUBJECTS LEFT AND two opinion. I’ve got one— has…” Again, I can’t an opinion that is—that RIGHT WITH BARELY A BREATH complete the sentence. matches up with about IN BETWEEN. any subject. So do you.

You may have noticed We’re all opinionated. that I have not mentioned religion. That’s because Faith is a special case. Our own In fact, we live in the Golden Age of religious beliefs are just that, beliefs deeply Opinions. They’ve never been easier to access: held—a whole different basket of loaves and Facebook, Twitter, blogs, pundit TV, talk fishes. Our creeds are beyond any mere earthly radio, YouTube, and your inebriated uncle opinion, except perhaps what we thought at every family gathering no matter whether about last week’s sermon. We do, however, it’s a funeral or a feast. have any number of opinions about other people’s religions because…well, just because.

Surveys and polls suggest that 95 percent of us have an opinion about everything. We You may have also noticed that I have not opine about subjects left and right with barely mentioned “facts.” There is a simple explaa breath in between. Vapor trails in the sky, nation for that. When it comes to opinions, head football coaches, the kids today, whether “facts” don’t matter. They are troublesome pumpkin spice flavor has any place in a sane things that, most of the time, don’t fit comworld, and politics—whatever the subject, fortably into our mental pockets. Besides we have our own personal take on the matter. when my grandfather said, “There are two The five percent who answer “no opinion” are things everybody has…” trust me, he was bald-faced liars. At least, that’s my opinion. As stating a fact.

O for “undecided” voters, don’t get me started.

As the Mean Farmer once said, “They know.

Anyway, that’s my opinion.

Oh, you know they know.”

SEPTEMBER

// OCTOBER • 2016 / 214 / OMAHAMAGAZINE.COM

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OMAHA MAGAZINE

SECTION

OMAHA WESTROADS MALL S AT U R D AY & S U N D AY O C T O B E R 2 2 ND & 2 3RD

Join us for our Grand Opening Weekend. You’ll find more than 11,000 ingenious storage and organization products in 16 lifestyle sections and all the expert advice you need to live organized.

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We’re proud to donate 10% of Grand Opening Weekend sales from our new store to Omaha Children’s Museum.

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©2016 The Container Store Inc. All rights reserved. // OCTOBER • 2016 / 216 / OMAHAMAGAZINE.COM

Clean, Affordable Natural Gas Comfort in your home.

Did you know?

• You can dry two loads of laundry with a gas dryer vs. one load with an electric dryer.

• Your clothes have fewer wrinkles with no static cling.

• Your dryer’s operating costs are 73 percent lower annually.

We offer a $300 rebate with the purchase of a new natural gas dryer! Visit our website to download the rebate. mudomaha.com

Your best body!

Enjoy a slimmer silhouette in time for the holidays. $100 LovelySkin Gift Card

with purchase of any of the following treatments:* CoolSculpting | CoolMini | Kybella *$1,500 minimum purchase

Achieve your best body in time for the holiday season!

Minimize stubborn fat on the body and achieve a slimmer figure with CoolSculpting.

Address stubborn fat on the chin and enjoy a more contoured profile with CoolMini or Kybella.

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Board-certified dermatologist and cosmetic surgeon, Dr. Joel Schlessinger, has the experience and expertise to help find the best treatment for you.

Best of Omaha Winner 2016 Six Different Categories ......................................................

Stop by or call for a consultation.

402-334-7546 | 2802 Oak View Drive www.LovelySkin.com/Cosmetics

Skin Specialists and LovelySkin Spa are under the direction of Joel Schlessinger, M.D., Board-Certified Dermatologist and Cosmetic Surgeon. Copyright Š 2016, Skin Specialists, P.C. *Limited time offer. One per person. Call today to schedule a consultation or visit LovelySkin.com/Cosmetics for more information.