Fremont, Nebraska (and thusly Fremont High School of Fremont, Nebraska) is named after John C. Fremont. Fremont seems to me to be a historical figure who has become fairly unfamiliar to people in the present day, although he lived what would at a minimum be called an interesting life—fighting in the Mexican-American war, leading expeditions out west, getting rich in the California gold rush, and serving as the governor of the Arizona territory and one of the first pair of United States Senators from California.

Though he was born in Savannah, Georgia, he was fervently anti-slavery. (Clearly his record on Native American issues is a different story.) It’s likely that his anti-slavery position cost him the presidential election of 1856, where he ran as the Republican candidate and did not win a state south of Maryland.

By 1861, he had been appointed commander of the Department of the West, and in response to the Battle of Wilson Creek in Missouri, he issued a proclamation declaring martial law. Also included in that proclamation was a clause that emancipated the slaves of anyone found taking up arms in Missouri. (It also declared that they would be shot, though this appears to have been less controversial.)

Abraham Lincoln was concerned that a proclamation of emancipation in the early stages of the war could cost the Union the support of slave states who had not seceded, so he asked Fremont to modify the proclamation to delete the slavery part. Fremont stuck with his conscience, writing in a September 8, 1861 letter:

You can see the original letter here, and here you can see Lincoln’s response, where he agreed to Fremont’s request: “Your answer, just received, expresses the preference on your part, that I should make an open order for the modification, which I very cheerfully do.” Lincoln eventually removed Fremont from his post.

Side note: Lincoln signed his letter “Your obedient servant.” Was this a little sarcasm from Old Abe? It looks like Lincoln was in the habit of signing letters this way, but that would have been a nice piece of snark!

See more designs from the Fremont set here.

The original name of Central City was Lone Tree, Nebraska, but in 1875 a petition was approved to change it. According to the page-turner that is the 2016 Merrick County, Nebraska Comprehensive Plan, the petitioners felt that, “Lone Tree, gives the impression that the area is so desolate that it can afford support to only one solitary tree, and that the inhabitants are a wild, rough, uncouth, and uncivilized people.” I’m not sure “Central City” was the answer they were looking for, but I guess it stuck. The people of Central City now observe a “Lone Tree Days” festival every July.

See more designs from the Central City set here.

Omaha Magazine has an interesting article about a clock tower that used to be at Central. It’s a quick read, and if that sounds interesting to you, you should definitely check it out. When I was investigating its claim that former U.S. President Rutherford B. Hayes had visited the tower, I came upon the subject that I will focus on instead: Hayes’s abandonment of a career in politics for the pursuit of raising chickens.

When Hayes visited Omaha in July 1891, the Omaha press was frustrated by his steadfast refusal to talk politics. And so, they harped on his chicken farming in what seems to me to be a bit of a belittling way. From the July 8 Omaha World-Herald:

Years before, the New York Times reprinted a Brooklyn Union item from July 21, 1885:

One such request received a letter in reply: “DEAR SIR: I am very sorry not to be able to comply with your request. We raise only enough for our own use—not any for sale. Sincerely, R.B. Hayes.”

This cover of humor magazine Puck from 1889 depicts Hayes and his chickens, with the caption: “REHABILITATION BY COMPARISON. UNCLE SAM.—Mr. Hayes, I want to apologize. I used to consider you about the weakest specimen of a President we ever had; but I’ve changed my mind lately!” I presume this was a shot at then-current President McKinley.

Incidentally, Hayes’s hometown of Fremont, Ohio, was named after none other than John C. Fremont.

See more designs from the Central set here.

Omaha North alumnus Neal Hefti did a lot of things, but most likely the Hefti achievement that you are most familiar with is his composition of the Batman TV theme song. His 2008 New York Times obituary noted:

His brother said:

He also composed the theme for The Odd Couple, which I think is pretty great, too.

See more designs from the North set here.

The Ryan class of 1965 organized a 50th reunion after the closed school’s demolition was scheduled. I thought that a couple of the Ryan graduates’ quotes from an article about the reunion was poignant. After talking about what a special time high school is and saying that they were saying goodbye to all those things as well as the building, one of the alumni said, “It's really us we’re hanging onto.”

See more designs from the Archbishop Ryan set here.

South High is the alma mater of Marlin “The Magician” Briscoe, first black starting quarterback in the NFL. Briscoe’s time at quarterback didn’t last long, seemingly largely because of racial reasons. In 2006, Nike honored him in a series of ads featuring a fictional Briscoe High football team. The Magician himself made a cameo in the ads, appearing in a scene with Urban Meyer and his former coach Don Shula—Briscoe caught four touchdown passes for the famous 1972 undefeated Miami Dolphins team.

See more designs from the South set here.

John Philip Sousa and his marching band performed at Omaha Tech in October, 1928. He presented his autographed baton to Evelyn McDonald (“the only girl oboe player in Omaha,” per the Omaha World-Herald), who reported, “I am thrilled to death.”

Upon arriving in Omaha, Sousa had some things to say. The World-Herald reported on his remarks in a October 9, 1928 article:

On October 11, the Omaha Evening Bee-News had this to say about his comments:

I was interested in Sousa’s passing claim that, “I pitched ball until I was 46.” As it turned out, Sousa was a baseball fanatic, and his band fielded its own team. Here they are in 1904, with Sousa right in the middle of the first row.

Sousa wrote an article called “The Greatest Game in the World” in Baseball Magazine in February 1909. I’ve been frustrated by my inability to find a digital copy of the article, although I have found a scan of the cover and index. Nevertheless, I will take a website’s word that the article included this response to some naysaying about his pitching abilities later in life:

See more designs from the Omaha Tech set here.

Last week I went to the movie theater and saw Past Lives and Asteroid City. Loved them both!

Ye gods and little fishes! See you next week! Tell your friends!