A rare view of the stars

Just in time for Beatrice's 150th anniversary, the Gage County Museum recently acquired something rarely seen since 1857.

An 1857 United States flag which originally flew on a cottonwood tree near where the museum now stands is the focal point of an exhibit, “Beatrice: They Call Her Home,” on display at the museum beginning Thursday and continuing through the end of the year.

The flag now lies in a glass case created by former museum director Kent Wilson.

The flag originally had 31 stars, Lesa Arterburn, current museum director, said. Two more stars were added later as new states were admitted to the Union, while one star was added to represent Beatrice.

When plans for a proposed historical museum did not come to pass after the city's Diamond Jubilee in 1932, the flag was added to the Deitz-Mayerhoff collection, which was donated to the Homestead National Monument of America in 1948.

Kept in storage, the flag was rediscovered by Laureen Riedesel, president of the Friends of the Homestead, and returned to the museum last year.

Riedesel explained she was asked in early 2003 to give a presentation on Beatrice and the flag to a local group. Conducting research at the Homestead monument, she soon found a copy of the Beatrice Express newspaper from 1901 that described the 1857 proceedings in which the flag was displayed for the first time.

Along with a review of the proceedings was a description of the flag which was said to have a picture of a bird on it.

When Riedesel read the article to Cristy Sweet, who was then a museum technician at the Homestead monument, Sweet commented that the monument had a flag with a similar design.

As the two women continued to investigate, they soon realized what they had.

“The minute Cristy said the flag came from the Mayerhoff collection, I knew it was the flag,” Riedesel said.

“The first thing I said to her was, ‘Let's find out what it is, we have to meet' because I figured that we were going to get this flag back (to the museum).”

Once the flag was found, the next step in returning the flag to the museum involved taking the legal steps necessary to allow it to be released from the Homestead monument.

First, Homestead museum technician Keely Rennie-Tucker posted a description of the object and its history on the National Park Service's Web site to ensure no other national park or monument wanted the flag before it was given to the Gage County museum.

Then, representatives from the National Park Service visited the museum to ensure the object would be well-lit and free from humidity to aid in preservation.

Mark Engler, Homestead National Monument of America superintendent, said the process took about six months to complete.

Engler said he was glad he flag returned to the museum, which he believes is its right home.

“We recognized that the true history of the flag was really in Gage County and the city of Beatrice,” he said. “The museum is really where the flag should be kept. Many of the objects we have at the monument have special stories. This is another example of an exciting story.”

Arterburn said she was amazed at the size of the flag -- 12 feet long and nearly 9 feet wide -- after she learned it had been found.

“I tend to look at it in the sense that Beatrice always likes to do things in a big way,” she said.

Arterburn said other objects in the exhibit consist primarily of articles loaned to the museum and items that are in the museum's permanent collection but not regularly on display.

While the content of the exhibit was dictated by the items people loaned to the museum, Arterburn said the main objective is to showcase the contributions of people who have lived in Beatrice over the years.

“The reason for the name of the exhibit is the people who came here really made this town their home, not only the founding fathers who came here in 1857 but people throughout the city's history,” she said.

Along with the flag, the exhibit also contains personal mementos from the descendants of some of the first people to call Beatrice home -- the members of the Nebraska Association.

Traveling from Nebraska City along what is now Indian Creek, the association members named Beatrice after the daughter of Judge J.F. Kinney, who was the president of the association.

Among the items that remain intact from those early days are a sewing box owned by Catherine Hart Towle, wife of association member Albert “Pap” Towle; a wooden cradle used by her daughter, Helen Towle Weston, who married fellow association member Jefferson “J.B.” Weston; personal items from Harrison Cook, who served as the driver for the Nebraska Association; and a chest of drawers belonging to association member Dr. Herman Reynolds and his wife, Naomi.

Other items in the museum include several mementos that some long-term residents of Beatrice might recall.

Some of the more unique items include a paper sack and a nightgown with its original price tag from the Fair Store that was in the 500 block of Court Street in Beatrice from 1921 to 1932, a chair from Scott's Barber Shop and a pinball machine from the former Beatrice Billiard Parlor that was at 416 Court St. from 1939 to the mid-1940s.

Another item is a magazine written in Braille that was once owned by Ernest Walker, who was a blind piano tuner in Beatrice from 1935 to 1969.

“A lot of these items came from people who either fell in love with a particular store or a person,” Arterburn said.

The exhibit also includes a collection of promotional items and souvenirs of Beatrice, its businesses and more well-known landmarks. These items range from toothpick and cigarette holders to china plates.

Some of the more recent items on display are those contained in the 1957 time capsule. The capsule was opened on Jan. 1 of this year after being buried on the museum grounds.

Much of these items pertain to the 1957 Beatrice Centennial and include such things as advertising posters describing the festivities that occurred at that time.