Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer
Research Department

Research Department Historical Focus Research Program Description of Holdings Our Want List Frequently Asked Questions Featured Artifact Research Department News Hall County Marriages, 1860-1870 Hall County's Pioneering Women Eye of the Beholder The Bicycle Corps (A Montana PBS documentary) Limited Edition Art Series Questions or Comments about the site? Please e-mail the Webmaster. Copyright 2000 © Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer Research Department. All rights reserved.

Eye of the Beholder: Can you guess what is going on in these photographs? One of the best parts about working in a photo archive is attempting to interpret the images we are preserving.  Sometimes we find some strange ones.  With a little bit of imagination and a whole lot of research, we are able to connect the images captured on film with events in history.  Now it is your turn to be the historian.  Here are a few of our favorite images, can you guess what is going on?  Remember, the interpretation is in the eye of the beholder.  Good Luck! September 2000: Is this the scene of: a. the Great Schimmer's Lake Robbery. b. a door to door firearm sales man. c. grown men playing cops and robbers. d. a movie shot at Schimmers Lake. Answer Are these men: a. demonstrating a new washing machine b. mixing pancake batter. c. helping out on the Annual Moving Day. d. proof positive that, even in 1945, men did laundry. Answer Is this a photograph of: a. the Corn Palace.  b. a little girl dollhouse made of corncobs. c. an early Nebraska settler's corncob cabin. d. how to use corn as a house covering. Answer April 2000: Is this a photograph of:  a. the terrible Flood of 1902  b. the results of a bizarre tornado.  c. a Halloween prank.  d. a 19th century parking ramp. Answer Is this lady:   a. wearing a wacky 19th century fashion trend.   b. a living advertisement for a photo studio.   c. the inventor of the hands free camera.   d. a famous female photographer. Answer   What is going on here:   a. a typical Sunday carriage ride.   b. a funeral procession.   c. the Queen of Sweden's visit to Grand Island.   d. the first prize float for the Grand Island Street Fair parade. Answer Return to Stuhr Museum Research Department To contact us: Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer Research Department P.O. Box 1505 3133 West Highway 34 Grand Island, NE 68802-1505 (308) 385-5316  fax: (308) 385-5028

Research Department webmaster: Karen Keehr

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If you guessed "C." a Halloween prank, there's no tricking you.  This strange scene was captured on film ca. 1900 on the first day of November, the day after Halloween.  The town's little ghosts and goblins must have worked all night to put the buggy on the roof of the rural schoolhouse.  For an added measure of mischief, they also raised a farm wagon to the roof of the school's outhouse.

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Did you guess a wacky fashion trend?  Good, because you would have been wrong.  If you guessed B. a living advertisement for a photo studio, good job!  This strange advertisement portrait was taken by Max Leschinsky, one of  two brothers who operated photo studios in Nebraska and in Grand Island from the 1880s until the 1930s.  The women's name remains a mystery.

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No, the Queen of Sweden never visited Grand Island.  Meet the winners of the 1900 Grand Island Street Fair "Floral Parade."  According to the Grand Island Independent news story, this carriage adorned in pink chrysanthemums was entered by Mrs. Oscar Roeser, wife of Bee Hive Grocery Store owner.  The Street Fair was a Grand Island Commercial Club Promotion held August 27-31, 1900.

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  Boys will be boys.  These six men are posing for the camera at the Harrison Cabin on Schimmers Lake.  Originally built as an ice lake, Schimmers Lake was a popular local summer retreat.  Many Grand Island residents enjoyed boating, swimming, and all kinds of summer mischief, including playing cops and robbers.
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Come on, tell the truth, did you really guess that these men were B. mixing pancake batter in an old washing machine tub?  Good Job!  Well, do you have a better way to mix enough batter to feed the entire town of Cairo, Nebraska at the 1945 Pancake Feed during their Fall Festival?
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No, your eyes do not deceive you, this really is a miniature house made of corn ears. Grand Island grocer, H. B. Kerr built this (A.) Corn Palace for the 1889 Hall County Agricultural Society's Fair.  It just goes to show, Corn is King in Nebraska, and H. B. Kerr had too much time on his hands.
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