Omaha daily bee., 1920-01-25
Omaha Woman, Pioneer, Reninisces On
Days When Fashionable Residences
Stood Where Factories Now Thrive
Oand
At Ninth Douglas SreetsTwo Street Cars Quit Running F. NJ
Churches Gradually Crowded Into Suburbs Increasing Business Section

and was only recently razed for the
new FL Beudor apartments.
"As this mansion was perhaps the
most pretentieus all select functions
were held there. The homes of the
kennards, Meredith, Sutphen, Hans
com, Schneider Cunning, O. F.
Davis, Horbach, Campbell, Burns,
Byrne, Reed, Calm, etc, were in this
neighborhood.
when Mrs. Parmalee, who lived
where now is the Hotel Loyal, pre-
dicted business in the vicinity of Six
|tcenth and Capitol avenue. we
thought her predictions would never
materialize.
Two Street Cars.
"The street car service during the
coal shortage prolonged only two
hours more than when Omaha
boasted of car service with two cars
which turned in at 9 p. m. and were
run into an open shed on Fifteenth
street between Dodge and Capitol
avenue. It was such an event when
the cars began their runs everyone
was entitled to free ride.
THE distance in early days COM
pared to now seems amusing. What
is now an easy walking distance from
the city years ago required horse
and vehicle to cover the same space.
My father had occasion to visit
Colonel Gilmore, who lived in a
house that was formerly the gov
ernor's mansion, and was located on
Twenty second and Webster, but a
rig" had to be: procured from the
livery barn before the long journey
could be undertaken.
"The barn for the mansion was re-
modelled and today is small brick
cottage on Twenty-second street be-
tween Webster and Burt and has
more than so years to its credit.
Many of the early settlers had
their stables. DR.. Peck, Reuben
Ward and Judge Redick were all
admirers of the horseflesh, particu-
larly those of the racing kind. One
rig l we'll remember was large
old-fashioned carriage and a pair of
white horses. They were driven
through the town by DR.. Lowe.
"Harney street could boast Of
three hotels in close proximity be-
tween Twelfth and Fifteenth, the
s.. Charles, Douglas and Farnam.
The proprietor Of the last named
was the father of Beecher Highly.
"The heating proposition today
must remind few of Omaha's early
settlers Of the time when wood was
all that was available and princi
pally green cottonwood. cannot
conceive how we kept warm, unless
more and heavier clothing was
worn. | am sure the winters were
more severe and the snowfall we
are having this year is like the old
fashioned winter when drifts were
as high as the top rails Of fence
and frozen hard enough to walk on.
Business Crowded Churches.
"The churches Of Omaha have had
to change locations frequently as
business made it necessary. The
Lutheran, afterward called kountze
Memorial. was first located where
the Millard hotel stands. Being too
much in the business district, new
church was built on Sixteenth and
Harney and the congregation
thought they had moved far away
from commercial locality, but they
were soon crowded out and erected
the present church on Twenty-sixth
and Farnam, but business is still
following them and it looks as if
they will be compelled to make an
other change.
The First Methodists had their
place of worship OH Thirteenth
street, the site of the old Omaha
National bank. Being too near the
business center a church was built
on Seventeenth near Dodge, but the
government selected that block for
the Postoffice and the church