Ralston Independence Day 2017

Ralston Independence Day

HAPPY 150TH BIRTHDAY, NEBRASKA

A SUPPLEMENT OF SUBURBAN NEWSPAPERS JUNE 21, 2017

Parades, fireworks, picnics, dances and more... find an event schedule inside METRO CREATIVE CONNECTION

Chamber plans a jam-packed, old-fashioned holiday Happy Independence Day from your friends at the Ralston Area Chamber of Commerce! We have been hard at work planning for the best Independence Day Celebration yet. We hope you will join us.

We encourage you to stop by on July 3 and 4 for our old-fashioned celebration complete with live music, games, pie-baking contest, quilt show, dances, food and fun. And of course, you can’t forget about our main event — the largest parade in Nebraska!

Independence Day begins with the Optimist Fun Run & Walk, a children’s parade and live music at the gazebo prior to the 1 p.m. parade.

The entire Ralston community is also very proud of our Fireworks Spectacular, which continues to be among the best in the metro area.

The fireworks show at dusk will again be synchronized to music over KAT 103.7 FM. For more information and a complete event schedule, go to www. ralstonareachamber.org.

The chamber is selling raffle tickets, and I encourage you to purchase them at the chamber office, 5505 Miller Ave., or during the July 3 and 4 events. Prizes for the raffle include a catered cookout for 50, a grill, Chris Isaak tickets and much more! Proceeds help defray the cost of events,

the parade, and additional community programs and projects.

We look forward to seeing you, your family and friends and hope you will enjoy these wonderful, fun-filled family events!

Thank you, Amy Roeder, President, Ralston Area Chamber of Commerce

Welcome from Ralston mayor Hello, all! We want you to know that everyone is invited to this year’s festivities in Ralston.

Our Independence Celebration begins July 3 with a family picnic, children’s games, pie-baking contest and an ice cream social in Ralston Park, followed by a family dance on Main Street.

The next day begins with a fun run through Ralston streets, followed by a children’s parade, the huge Independence Day Parade, water fights and the spectacular fireworks display at Ralston Arena.

Join us and have a wonderful, safe celebration with your family and friends.

Thank you, Don Groesser, Mayor of Ralston

FUN RUN

The Optimist Independence Day Fun Run/Walk is held first thing in the morning on Independence Day in downtown Ralston. One Mile Walk/Run begins at 7:50 a.m., Three Mile Race at 8 a.m.

FIREWORKS STAND LOCATIONS June 25 to July 4 8 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Omaha Roller Girls 73rd Street, south of Q Street

Surprised architect ready for grand marshal duties

By Tom Knox WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

Junior Lancers Hockey Team 72nd Street, north of Harrison Street

Larry Jacobsen is the 2017 Grand Marshal of the Ralston Independence Day Parade.

RAFFLE TICKETS The Chamber is now selling raffle tickets at the chamber office, 5505 Miller Ave., and during the July 3 and 4 events. Prizes include a catered cookout for 50, a grill, Chris Isaak tickets and much more! Proceeds help defray the cost of events, the parade, and additional community programs and projects.

Raffle prize drawing will be at 1 p.m.

July 5 at the Ralston Area Chamber office. Need not be present to win.

Larry Jacobsen, a recently retired architect, was surprised last year when he was named Citizen of the Year by the Ralston Area Chamber of Commerce.

Along with that honor, Jacobsen will also be the grand marshal of the city’s Independence Day parade on July 4.

Jacobsen and his wife, Connie, have called Ralston home for 45 years. “I’ve been at the parade, standing at the curb watching it go by every year,” said Jacobsen. “But I’ve never sat in a convertible waving at the crowd.”

Jacobsen has been involved a number of community initiatives. “As a retired architect, I have helped the city find different ways to make downtown more inviting,” he said. One project had Jacobsen taking photos of downtown buildings, cataloging their historical significance.

His interest in architecture has driven his involvement with Restoration Exchange Omaha and various restoration projects.

“There is a great sense of community pride in the area,” said Jacobson. “I’ve noticed in the past year a relighting of the fire a bit. That all points to a positive future for Ralston. And long term viability of the entire area as well.”

M E T R O C R E AT I V E C O N N E C T I O N

Freedom & Independence rotellasbakery.com

Louis Rotella Sr.

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Have a Great Independence day! – From your Friends at Rotella’s Bakery.

EVENT SCHEDULE

Here’s what happening in Ralston to mark the occasion MONDAY, JULY 3

TUESDAY, JULY 4

Frank & Velma Johnson Ralston Archives Museum — Open 4 to 6:30 p.m., Park Drive and Woodlawn Avenue.

Optimist Independence Day Fun Run/Walk — Independence Square, 77th and Main Streets Gazebo, sponsorships available. For more information, call 402-680-1023 or 402990-4154. Free T-shirt with entry. One Mile Walk/Run begins at 7:50 a.m.; Three Mile Race at 8 a.m.

Picnic in the Park — Live music

by John Worsham Collective, entertainment and pie- baking contest in Ralston Park, 80th Street and Park Drive. Pie judging at 4:30 p.m. (pies must be at the park between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m.) Picnic, music and ice cream social, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Picnic served by Trinity United Methodist Church.

Quilt Show — By Independence City Quilters and Friends at Baright Public Library, 5555 S. 77th St., from 10 a.m. to noon.

Children’s Parade — No registration required. Event is for kids in sixth grade and under. Mayor Don Groesser will lead the parade. Line-up is 9:30 a.m. at the chamber office, 5505 Miller Ave. Parade begins at 10 a.m.

Family Street Dance — Featuring Ralston’s own DJ Gordie Z, 7 to 11 p.m., 77th and Main Streets. This is a non-alcohol event, admission is free. Sponsored by Ralston Area Chamber of Commerce.

Music at Independence Square – Live music by Joey Gullizia & the G Notes from 11:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. at 77th and Main Streets. Free admission.

Independence Day Parade — 56th Annual Parade starts at 1 p.m. at 80th and Highland Streets and ends at 73rd and Main Streets.

Sponsored by Ralston Area Chamber of Commerce. Parade emcee is KAT 103.7.

Grand marshal and Citizen of the Year is Larry Jacobsen.

Fire Department Water Fights — Immediately following Independence Day Parade, 77th and Main Streets. Sponsored

by Ralston Volunteer Fire Department.

Chicken Dinner at the American Legion — Served from noon to 4 p.m., 74th and Q Streets. Chicken fingers available. Sponsored

by Ralston American Legion Post No. 373 Auxiliary.

Liberty Whitley was ready for the Ralston Independence Day Parade last year with her patriotic face paint.

Outdoor Beer Garden and Live Music at the American Legion — Live music from 5 to 11:30 p.m., 74th and Q Streets. Enter at the door for live music. $5 cover charge.

Sponsored by Ralston American Legion Post No. 373 Auxiliary.

Fireworks Spectacular — Begins at dusk, about 9:30 p.m. Ralston Arena, 72nd and Q Streets. Synchronized to music from KAT 103.7 FM. Grand Finale Sponsor: Great Western Bank

WEDNESDAY, JULY 5 Raffle Drawing — 1 p.m. Ralston Area Chamber office, 5505 Miller Ave. Need not be present to win. Sponsored by Ralston Area Chamber of Commerce and Business Members

S U B U R B A N N E W S PA P E R S

A total of 42 pies, 20 of which were contest entrants and 22 that were donated, were for sale by the slice during last year’s Picnic In the Park. This year’s picnic and pie contest will be Monday, July 3.

EVENT SCHEDULE

Parade is the main event

Above right, the Ralston High School cheerleaders and dance team perform a routine for the parade judges last year. They were among several teams competing.

The Smith-Gilreath Family Band plays patriotic tunes along the parade route as it has for many consecutive years.

S U B U R B A N N E W S PA P E R S

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Above, the Nebraska Candy Corn Queens showered the crowd with love as they rolled through the Ralston Independence Day Parade last year.

Left, the Tangier Shriners rolled down Miler Avenue in downtown Ralston in their signature miniature convertibles during the city’s annual Independence Day parade. This year’s parade will begin at 1 p.m. on July 4. Numerous groups, businesses and organizations participate each year in the parade.

Tim Edwards

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As we celebrate America’s founding, a Ralston history THE EARLY YEARS Ralston sits on land once owned by Omaha’s first physician, Dr. George Miller.

According to Alice Shooter’s “Early History of Ralston, Nebraska, 1865-1950,” in May 1907 Dr. Miller sold 282.35 acres to investors, who in turn sold the land to the Ralston Investment Co. (of which the investors were officers). The sale needed to be corrected after it was discovered that it contained land leased for the icehouse on Seymour Lake and a strip of land that served as an approach to the lake.

The corrected deed was for 272.13 acres. May 1908 brought the incorporation of the Ralston Investment Company.

Eventually the name was changed to Ralston Townsite Company, which began selling city lots in 1908. Twenty new homes were built that year.

Ralston became incorporated in 1912.

See History: Page 8 Downtown Ralston circa 1920

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Deerfield was the original name of the vi lage that later officially became known a Ralston.

The Ralston Townsite Company loane money to Charles A. Ralston & LeBaron o Chicago for the construction of Ralston Ca Works, according to Alice Shooter’s book.

Sitting on 35 acres, the firm known as Lo comotive Cars & Contractors was to emplo 400 people in locomotive construction and railway repair shop.

But the four buildings that were to mak up the car works were never constructe for lack of capital, according to Shooter research.

Yet investors involved with creating th town were so impressed with C.A. Ralsto that the townsite company was named in hi honor. Thus, the village of Deerfield becam known as Ralston.

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History:

BANKRUPTCY

Ralston is the first city in the United States to have declared bankruptcy.

On Dec. 7, 1934, papers were signed by the mayor and city board members declaring the city insolvent.

On Nov. 5, 1935, a celebration of sorts took place. The mayor and other city leaders publicly burned bonds worth $240,000.

The city was free of debt and able to move forward.

The bankruptcy earned the city a spot in “Ripley’s Believe It or Not.”

Continued from Page 6

SEYMOUR LAKE According to Alice Shooter’s “Early History of Ralston, Nebraska, 1865-1950,” Seymour Lake was formed in 1892.

A group of businessmen, drilling for oil or water, struck an artesian well.

At the height of its popularity as a destination, the grounds at the lake included a clubhouse, bath house, water slides and amusement park.

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1913 TORNADO

On March 23, 1913, a tornado tore through the prospering town, hitting downtown hard, destroying several buildings and taking seven lives.

The icehouse at Seymour Lake was damaged, but much of the ice remained intact.

Factories, stores, lumberyards and the post office were all affected, many destroyed.

The same tornado later hit Omaha, killing more than 100 and destroying many buildings.

Bath house at Seymour Lake.

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In 1908, a franchise was granted to investors for creation of a railcar line from Ralston to Omaha.

The General Construction Company was given four acres of land near Seymour Lake to erect an electric light and powerhouse.

The following year, General Construction Company assigned a contract to the Nebraska Traction & Power Company for construction of a street railway system in Ralston.

Nebraska Traction & Power Company sought to construct an interurban railway from Seymour Park to Omaha.

Construction began by August 1909 and was complete about a year later.

Another line, which ran from Omaha to Papillion and passed through Ralston, was completed in 1912.

Eventually, popularity of the street railway system waned as cars became more popular.

In 1926, the streetcar operator switched to operating buses. The rail lines were eventually abandoned.