Looking west on Nebraska street.

2006 Nebraska Street, a two story brick Queen Ann, has stood the test of time, and will likely stand for many tests to come.

The home was built in about 1890, although currently there is no solid information at hand to tell us by or for whom. We do know that the house was built in a time and place where Blair was referred to in print as “The City Beautiful” and “The Magic City”. We also know that Rick and Susan Nielsen own the big brick house today and they are happy to be living there with their two daughters, Galyn and Shaya.

When I introduced myself and explained my desire to write a brief article about a historical Blair Home they were up to the task and even invited a previous inhabitant, Denny Penray, to our parlor room chat. Rick and Sue purchased the home from Sue’s mom in 2002 after painting the house its stately tan and brown colors. We talked of many things but one of the most vivid topics was the color the house was painted back in the 70’s, described as Kelly Ryan blue, after the color of the surplus paint purchased from the farm equipment business. The remnants of a painted wall in a back mud room, which shares the exterior wall of the house, revealed a dazzling turquoise, a color much noted and long remembered by those with a 30 year memory.

Then there was the story of the found money. Rick and Sue have enjoyed harvesting fresh vegetables and Indian Head pennies from their back yard. Of additional note, there was the sizable sum of money found under the kitchen floor. Rick and Sue didn’t find the money but Denny’s step dad, Mr. Comstock, did, when he took up the linoleum in the kitchen. According to the story, the currency was actually scattered among the newspapers laid down on the floor in preparation for the linoleum. A non-liquid, long-term savings strategy, I would think. I won’t say exactly how much money there was, only that I believe the story. The hard wood floors of the dining room, I might add, are made of a slender board, of about 1 inch width, still flat, straight and looking good. They didn’t hold any money, but they did hold a rich story about wandering property lines.

Practitioners in the field say that real estate is immovable, indestructible and unique. But, there are times when the line between two plots gets a little fuzzy. In researching their property, Rick and Sue learned that the neighbor’s property extended past the ceiling lamp in their dining room, or about half way across their one inch floor boards. The story is not clear on the Who, What, When, and Why of the mix-up but suffice it to say that both houses involved are still standing (one, the newer, was at risk of demolition) and the line between them is now somewhere out in the yard where it belongs.

The floors were dancing, now if only these walls could talk. Well, apparently they can. In a recent remodel project, one of many, Rick retrieved a small sampling of newspapers from near the turn of the century. Think 1900 and earlier. The newspapers were used to insulate the kitchen wall, and according to Sue, “not very well”. One was the Omaha World Herald, March 6, 1896. Not much was readable due to its brittle and worn condition but I did manage to read that there was trouble brewing in Cuba’s, Havana Harbor. Another paper was the Omaha Daily Bee, April 3, 1898 two months after the mysterious sinking of the Maine in Havana Harbor. Remember the Maine? The page I could read did not have any news regarding the Maine, but I did learn in another edition of the Bee, that on May 6, 1900, for 2 cents worth of gas you could heat enough water for a ‘first class bath’, and kid’s button, paten leather shoes were 39 cents, I assume, a pair.

Rick also spoke of a German newspaper that reported on the war raging in 1942. That trophy hung on the Dining Room wall until its tattered and crumbling condition rendered it beyond preservation. I am guessing the German newspaper belong to Hans. That would be Hans Lamp who, records show, owned the house in, and presumable some time after, 19___.

It was suggested to the Nielsens, shortly after acquiring the house, that the old drafty thing ought be bulldozed and a new, modern, house built in its place. But, Rick and Sue wouldn’t have it and, perhaps through deliberate thought or perhaps through a stirring in the heart, knew that such a house, as she now stands, will never be built again. The passage of time rightly consumes some of our tangible even noteworthy structures in and around Blair, but certain things ought be prized and retained, not just for what they were but for what they are. They are part of us, part of our story, part of Blair, “The City Beautiful”.

The reference above to immovable, indestructible and unique applies to the land, but maybe, just maybe, it also applies to the big brick house at 2006 Nebraska Street, Blair, The Magic City.