Family Visit…Omaha and St. Louis

We try to visit our grandsons in Omaha every year right after school lets out for the summer.  It’s the best way to be able to spend some quality time with David III and Emmett Lee as well as our son David II and daughter in law Amy… We completed the trip again this year… If you’ve followed my blogsite, we took a circuitous route to Omaha, spending time in Natchez, Waco and Fort Worth along the way.  

Unhappily, our computer’s hard drive crashed and we lost all of our photos of historic sites, attractions, family, restaurants, etc., from south central Oklahoma up through Kansas, Nebraska, the Omaha area, our drive to St. Louis through Missouri, more family…and then back to our home in East Tennessee.  I’m guessing that we lost about 600 photos…

Such is life!  What follows is a very abbreviated post (photo-wise), recapping our visit to Omaha based on a few photos that David II had on his phone.

Laurie had sent David II this photo from her phone, otherwise we wouldn’t have it.  This is the main dining area of the restaurant at Ree Drummond’s “Mercantile” in downtown Pawhuska Oklahoma.  As you may or may not know, Ree Drummond lives with her family on a big ranch and she’s the star of the very popular cooking TV show “The Pioneer Woman”.

We thought that Joanna and Chip, (of TV’s “Fixer Upper” fame), had made a big impact on the Waco Texas economy.  Waco is a relatively large town south of Dallas-Fort Worth whereas, in comparison Pawhuska Oklahoma is a small town in the center of Oklahoma’s Osage Indian Reservation.  Not only is this town small, it’s definitely seen better days!  Its current population is roughly 3,605 down from 6,414 in 1920.   Downtown Pawhuska is currently undergoing a major revitalization and The Mercantile appears to have been the spark!

The Mercantile is an extremely well run and merchandised retail establishment that is focused on the kitchen and cooking.  The staff throughout were all helpful, friendly and attentive.  In addition to the retail space, this big old refurbished brick building has a large bakery upstairs and then there is the restaurant itself…”From Ree’s Kitchen”.

When we arrived a little before 3 PM on a Tuesday, there was an hour wait for a seat in the big restaurant.  When we finally got in line at about 5 or 5:30 PM, there was still an hour wait!  Employees passed out water and umbrellas to customers(to keep the sun off )that were lined up outside.  We rarely wait long for a meal…but in this case we’re really glad we did!  

You can check out the menu on line, so I will limit my comments on the food.  I had a great Spicy Caesar Salad ($6.00) and one of the very best and biggest Chicken Fried Steaks (ribeye) I’ve ever had. ($17.00) Laurie had a terrific Bowl of French Onion Soup ($6.00) and an amazing French Dip sandwich with great thin sliced roast beef and rosemary spiked au jus. ($12.00)

The Mercantile is open Mondays through Saturday.  The restaurant serves breakfast from 7 AM until 11 AM and then lunch and dinner for the rest of the day.  Check out the website for The Mercantile at www.themercantile.com. 

I’d put together a short list of restaurants to try while we were visiting the family in Omaha.  These are our grandson’s David III and Emmett Lee sitting at the counter for their breakfast at Bailey’s Breakfast and Lunch at 1259 South 120^th Street in Omaha.  Although it was highly rated, we thought that it was just OK although portions were large.  Amy had picked out a better venue for another breakfast during our visit.  FYI…Bailey’s website is at https://baileysbreakfast.com/. 

We also went to the well-respected LaCasa Pizzaria one night for dinner.  Another pick by me…another restaurant that although highly rated, was just OK for us.  Check it out for yourself.  LaCasa Pizzaria is located at 4432 Leavenworth in Omaha.  Website: www.lacasapizzaria.net. 

One big attraction that we explored while in Omaha was the Durham Museum.  This big museum is located in the old Union Pacific Union Station at 801 South 10^th Street.  Union Station opened in 1931 and it was heralded as an architectural gem.  At its peak during World War II, this big railroad passenger depot handled more than 10,000 passengers per day.

Now it’s been transformed into a museum that covers the Omaha region’s heritage, to include American Indian culture, the movement west by pioneers, and its growth as a regional economic powerhouse.  The Dunham is affiliated with the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C.

 

Note the restored art deco ceiling in the Great Hall…the huge former Union Station waiting room. 

I ‘borrowed’ this photo of the entire Great Hall in Omaha’s former Union Station from the Dunham Museum’s website.  What a beautiful room!

Emmett Lee obligingly posed with this sculptural ‘little girl’ still waiting for her train or perhaps to greet an incoming passenger. 

Figures like the little girl or these 2 servicemen are scattered throughout the Waiting Room.  They are motion activated and they carry on a conversation like one they might have had back in the early 1940s. (I borrowed this photo as well…)

Among the many exhibits at the Dunham Museum is this model of the Grand Court at the Trans-Mississippi and International Exposition that was held in Omaha back in 1898.  Believe it or not given the challenges of travel at that point in history, over 2,600,000 people came to Omaha to view the 4,062 exhibits during the 5 months of the Exposition!  To learn about this historical event, just go to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trans-Mississippi_Exposition. 

I have no idea what model ship had to do with Omaha and its past…but I do like well-built model ships!

The Museum has many galleries, each specializing in part of Omaha’s and America’s history.  There is the Trans-Mississippi Centennial Gallery, a gallery with rare books and coins, another on trains and their impact on Omaha, an old time grocery store and so forth…a total of 25 galleries and halls to explore.

I don’t know why David III looks so glum while Emmett looks so upbeat… Because of that ‘look’, I just had to publish this photo of our grandsons with an bison (buffalo).

One gallery explores the history of transportation and commerce in Omaha over the years.  Being an ex-Montgomery Ward associate who ‘went down with the ship’ back in early 2001, I took some pleasure in seeing this photo of a big downtown Omaha Montgomery Ward Store…

Of course, this was the former Union Station…the biggest and busiest railroad depot for Omaha back in the day… One had to expect a locomotive with some railcars somewhere in the Dunham Museum. 

Union Pacific Steam Locomotive #1243 (ca. 1890) is displayed along with Union Pacific Caboose 25559 from 1962, Union Pacific 1202 Pullman National Command Sleeper from 1956, Southern Pacific Lounge Car 2986 (1949), and a Pullman Cornhusker Club Observation Car from 1924.

David II took this photo of Laurie and I as we ‘rode along’ in a Omaha and Council Bluffs Railway and Bridge Company Streetcar from the 1940s. 

We enjoyed our tour of this facility.  The Dunham Museum is closed on Mondays.  It is located 801 South 10^th Street in Omaha Nebraska.  Phone: 402-444-5071.  This museum’s website is at www.DunhamMuseum.org. 

Our next big adventure in Omaha was a family visit to a big annual art fair in the downtown area… I took this photo just because it’s a nostalgic Omaha beer brewery sign from the past and it’s been nicely maintained.

This is a nice view of downtown Omaha.  If I have my geography right, this is part of the downtown Heartland of America Park.  The 43^rd Annual Omaha Summer Arts Festival stretched for blocks along Farnam Street on the right of this photo.  It wasn’t all art but it was well done and very interesting…

Note: Omaha’s greater metropolitan area has an estimated population of around 900,000, living in 8 counties in both Nebraska and Iowa.  The city is home for the headquarters of 4 Fortune 500 companies: the huge conglomerate that is Berkshire Hathaway; one of the world’s largest construction companies, Kiewit Corporation; insurance and financial firm Mutual of Omaha, and; the USA’s largest railroad operator, the Union Pacific Corporation. 

Laurie bought a couple items, including a bit of handcrafted and attractive jewelry.  My purchase was based on my interest in this band and their performance.  Fellow blogger and friend, Big Dude (http://bigdudesramblings.blogspot.com/) had told us about Native American band with dancers that he and his bride Bev had enjoyed during a visit to the Dakotas a year earlier. 

It turned out that this was the same group…the award-winning Native American music group Brulé.  David II took this photo of Laurie and me talking to one of the dancers who accompany the music.  The band is in its 20^th year and I will guarantee that you don’t have any music like this in your CD rack or on-line music files.  I purchased the “Best of Brule Vol. 1”.

To learn more about this band, just go to their website at https://brulerecords.com/home or check out their music at www.BruleRecords.com. 

Well…I’ve run out of photos so I can’t do justice to high end “eat” Restaurant in tiny Dodge Nebraska (On Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/eatindodge)

I can tell you that Stroud’s at 301 North 175^th Street in Omaha was not a great dining experience. (http://stroudsrestaurant.com/omaha/) To think that Stroud’s in Kansas City used to be one of my favorite places to eat…

I also can’t fully describe how good the pizza was at Dewey’s Pizza in Kirkwood Missouri. (www.deweyspizza.com)

In addition, I can’t share my photos of all the beautiful autos on display at the St. Louis Car Museum and Sales located at 1575 Woodson Road.  Many of the cars were just spectacular!  Check out their website at www.stlouiscarmuseum.com.  My favorite automobile was the 1935 Mercedes-Benz 500K Special Roadster…priced at a mere $1,995,000!

One of the biggest misses has to be the photos at the huge and expansive St. Louis Art Museum.  I had captured copious photos of paintings, native crafts, sculpture, furniture, armor, pottery and much more.  To learn more about this world class art museum, go to www.slam.org.  Important Note: Admission to this museum is Free!

Of course, I’d also taken photos of historic places and railroad depots along the way…but they’re gone as well.  So, that’s about it for now.  Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them.

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave