West Omaha Remembrances

[inspectorfenwick]

I grew up at about 115th and Center, actually about a "block" north of Center on Cryer Ave. My parents bought 1 acre and lived there until they passed away. Without going into a bunch of stories at this time, I would love to go back in time, and maybe "see" via photos some places from my youth.

Riviera Club (about 40th and Leavenworth, south side of Leavenworth. A man name "Yano" owned it. He had lost a leg in the war. It was a working mans night club/bar. Fond memories being there with my sister, mom and dad (must have been payday at Hart Construction).

District 60 (one room) School. 126th and Pacific. I went there from 1952 until that district was absorbed in OPS. Love to get a picture. I have some partial ones, but.......

Classmates at District 60....The Renards (Hugh, Jerry, Robin) their family ran the Boys Town Farm. Jim Fulton, whose home was right over the white fence from the school (friend on FB). Big John (forgot his last name). His mom and maybe dad, worked at Tomlinson Estate. Any of the Brunings, and there were two families of them. They farmed on Dodge about where Burke is now. I remember Patty, Danny, and Denny. Henry (Happy) Rowher who lived east of Tomlinson Estate.

Tiners Drive In (pictures?)
Golden Spike drive in
76th and West Dodge drive in
Rose Lodge
Dutch Mill (highway restaurant/ filling station run by Hank and Hazel Stolley. This is where I ate my first hash browns and first hamburger steak.
10 Mile Inn (pictures)
Hillside Stables
Clear Ridge Airport
South Omaha Airport
North Omaha Airport (back in the day, I soloed there)

Thought this might "prime the pump". I am 74 now, lucky to have grown up in Omaha.

[Garrett]

I grew up at about 115th and Center, actually about a "block" north of Center on Cryer Ave. My parents bought 1 acre and lived there until they passed away. Without going into a bunch of stories at this time, I would love to go back in time, and maybe "see" via photos some places from my youth.

Riviera Club (about 40th and Leavenworth, south side of Leavenworth. A man name "Yano" owned it. He had lost a leg in the war. It was a working mans night club/bar. Fond memories being there with my sister, mom and dad (must have been payday at Hart Construction).

District 60 (one room) School. 126th and Pacific. I went there from 1952 until that district was absorbed in OPS. Love to get a picture. I have some partial ones, but.......

Classmates at District 60....The Renards (Hugh, Jerry, Robin) their family ran the Boys Town Farm. Jim Fulton, whose home was right over the white fence from the school (friend on FB). Big John (forgot his last name). His mom and maybe dad, worked at Tomlinson Estate. Any of the Brunings, and there were two families of them. They farmed on Dodge about where Burke is now. I remember Patty, Danny, and Denny. Henry (Happy) Rowher who lived east of Tomlinson Estate.

Tiners Drive In (pictures?)
Golden Spike drive in
76th and West Dodge drive in
Rose Lodge
Dutch Mill (highway restaurant/ filling station run by Hank and Hazel Stolley. This is where I ate my first hash browns and first hamburger steak.
10 Mile Inn (pictures)
Hillside Stables
Clear Ridge Airport
South Omaha Airport
North Omaha Airport (back in the day, I soloed there)

Thought this might "prime the pump". I am 74 now, lucky to have grown up in Omaha.

The Durham Museum has an extensive collection of historic photos of Omaha and their digital collection would probably be your best bet

https://durhammuseum.contentdm.oclc.org/

[Omaha Cowboy]

Welcome to the forum..

Sounds like you need to make a visit again to see how much things have changed. Especially in the area you grew up in. I grew up in the same general area but just about a mile west of you. I just turned 60..but remember many of the merchants you mentioned..

Remember the old Shamrock Hotel on West Dodge basically across the way from Burke High? Jerico’s on about 117th and West Dodge is still going strong..

Ozark Smoked Meats just off 114th and West Center closed doors about 4-5 years back, sadly. Back in the day, they had excellent Burnt Ends and their beef jerky was top notch. They had fallen off in quality the last couple of years they were open though..

Do you remember the Turn Style and Hinky Dinky stores just down the road at about 122nd and West Center?.. The former Target Store off 129th and West Center.. How about the old Sam’s burger joint out in this same general area in the late 1960’s when basically nothing else was around but cornfields, lol..

There is this “Forgotten Omaha” page on Facebook that has nearly 90,000 members and great pics from Omaha’s past-

https://www.facebook.com/groups/ForgottenOmaha/


There is more to add.. this is a great thread idea..

Again- Welcome to the forum …

Ciao..LiO…Peace

[Busguy2010]

^ I find it fascinating that you grew up and still live in the same general area, even over the course of 60 years, I would have never guessed that SW Omaha could have been that developed, while also having cornfields surrounding at that time. I grew up, and still live in North Central Omaha, and may never leave. Pretty cool. Sounds like you are the exact same age as my parents.

[Omaha Cowboy]

^ I find it fascinating that you grew up and still live in the same general area, even over the course of 60 years, I would have never guessed that SW Omaha could have been that developed, while also having cornfields surrounding at that time. I grew up, and still live in North Central Omaha, and may never leave. Pretty cool. Sounds like you are the exact same age as my parents.

I didn’t always live in the same area I grew up in..I do now.. But-

I lived in Omaha’s urban core area from the mid/late 80’s through the 1990’s and moved back to my old West O neighborhood in 2001..so I was away for quite awhile- my mid 20’s through my 30’s. I didn’t move back to my childhood neighborhood until I turned 40 and became a homeowner..

Yes- it’s incredible to remember what this area was like in 1969 when we moved here from the Westgate neighborhood (I just turned 8 years old). There were empty lots and cornfields west of 129th and West Center Rd back then. Most all of it was undeveloped farm land. Today, West Center Rd stretches all the way out to 204th St. I actually had coffee in a brand new Starbucks which just opened in a strip mall on 204th St off West Center Rd last week..

I do find it interesting living in the neighborhood I grew up in. It was kind of weird at first coming back..it just “feels” like home though. You probably have that same feeling living in the same area you grew up in too.. And believe it or not, I still have neighbors alive today, still living in this neighborhood who are in their 80’s, and remember me when I was an 8/9 year old kid, lol. Now that is interesting to say the least …

Ciao..LiO…Peace

[inspectorfenwick]

I appreciate the responses. I have attached photos of District 60, 126th and Pacific, just north across Pacific from the Highland Country Club. I used to caddy there but the Boys Town kids had first rights. The other photo is a Boy Scout hike. Pictured are Richard Strough (killed in a car wreck at 16), Jim Fulton, and Larry Wengel. In the District 60 group photo, there are Blumers, Gerhard's (twin brother and sister), Fulton, me with the suspenders playing with my ear, two families of Brunings, and Renards. Others will come to me later.

[damonhynes]

How about the Mystery Major service station ("Direct from the pipeline!") on West Dodge across from Boys Town?

[bigredmed1]

How about the Mystery Major service station ("Direct from the pipeline!") on West Dodge across from Boys Town?

Right next to the 10 mile inn?

[damonhynes]

How about the Mystery Major service station ("Direct from the pipeline!") on West Dodge across from Boys Town?

Right next to the 10 mile inn?

Might have been--sounds plausible.

[inspectorfenwick]

10 mile inn was at the NW corner of 132nd and Dodge. Boys Town filled up the SW corner. Wish someone had pix of the billboards along Dodge as you came into Omaha out there. I do believe those gas stations were further up the hill....west.

[nativeomahan]

Oh boy, this thread could sure suck some of my time!
I bought my parent’s s home about 30 years ago, so I live where I grew up, in the Sunset Hills area. As a child I watched the pasture with horses on the north side of Pacific (we kids used to cross 2 lane Pacific street to feed grass to the horses) turn into Regency, at about the same time Pacific was widened from I-680 east to about 95th street. My mom’s best friend lived off of 115th and Hascall, and we were over in that neighborhood a lot as kids. My mom grocery shopped at Central Market in Rockbrook (with the tank of live lobsters) when it was there (anyone remember Lyle’s Patio restaurant in Rockbrook?), then shifted to Food City in Bel-Aire Plaza, and later to the huge Baker’s when Baker’s Square opened. That was near the edge of town in the 1970s.
Shakey’s Pizza and DQ were popular spots our family frequented, just south of West Center Road on 90th Street (now an aging Hy-Vee).
My family had an ownership interest in Rose Lodge in the 1960s, so we are there a fair amount, despite my mom hating chicken. The chairs with the metal ribbed backing were so uncomfortable! All of the soda pop was served in glass bottles.
Cliff’s Chicken was also very popular, and operated out of an old farmhouse located in front of the Golden Spike Drive In theater (no “theatre’s” in those days) north of 114th and Dodge Road, which basically was the west end of town into the 1970s.
I remember the old roadside motels that dotted Dodge Road from about 120th all the way to 204th Street.
Lots of memories.

[inspectorfenwick]

If you fed the horses at about 108th and Pacific, do you remember when there was a Driving Range on the north side of Pacific? Milt's Driving Range, as I recall, and it was not a permanent building and I recall might have moved out to 114th just south of Dodge. There was also, at one time, a horse arena on the east side of 114th south of Dodge. Back to Pacific, continuing to the west, up the hill towards 114th, about half way up the hill on the north side of Pacific, was Roys Mobil and I think there is still a gas station there. This was pre-Interstate. If you were a kid on a bike in West Omaha, you would ride miles and miles to get a cold bottle of pop......usually for a dime. My best friend Richard Strough and I used to ride our bikes all the way to Countryside Village. The Omaha buses turned around there before heading downtown. We got to be friends with one of the drivers and every Saturday, we leaned our bikes against the stone veneer walls of the drugstore and rode the bus downtown to see a movie and see the amazing downtown. On our own. We knew our bikes would be there when we returned and they always were. It was quite a ride though. Richard lived at about 116th and Pacific (north side) and I lived at about 115th and Center.

[Brad]

continuing to the west, up the hill towards 114th, about half way up the hill on the north side of Pacific, was Roys Mobil and I think there is still a gas station there. This was pre-Interstate.

They just tore it down in the past week.

[inspectorfenwick]

My mom grocery shopped at Central Market in Rockbrook

Shakey’s Pizza and DQ were popular spots our family frequented, just south of West Center Road on 90th Street

The first building just south of Center at 108th had a small market in the lower level, called "Jerry's Market" as I recall. My friend Dave Olan got a job there and beat me to the punch. Next door was a three chair barber shop. The lower level of this building faced north. The upper level faced south and there was a drug store with a soda fountain, which, to me, should still be required BY LAW!!!

I need to question you about the location of the DQ at 90th and center......my memory says it was on the NORTH side of Center, at least in the early days. West (just a bit west) of 90th was Lucy's Tavern. My Dad would stop there on his way home from work and have a beer. Just west of Lucy's was the Cavalier Motorcycle Club clubhouse (all of this on the NORTH side of Center). The Cavaliers had a log clubhouse, as I recall, and a round circle pit to ride their hogs around in a circle.

To the EAST of 90th, and most like east of 84th, on the SOUTH side of Center, was Bilz City. Anyone remember Bilz City?

I recall that both 84th and 120th had the "awful tunnels" under the UP RR tracks.

Just a note about Food City at 120th.....as a teenager, I bagged groceries at the Bakers on 84th just south of Center. There was a checker named Betty who brutalized the baggers, always in front of the customers. As a young man, even I realized that was not the way to handle people. As a much, much, much older adult, I had the occasion to shop at Food City at 120th and Center. Since I had already moved from Omaha to Broken Bow at that time, I must have been shopping for my mother. Anyway, I am in the check out line, and the hairs on the back of my neck stands up because I hear a voice from heck and it is Betty and she is now terrorizing baggers who are 20 years younger than me. When it was my turn to face her, I mentioned, out loud, and loud enough for others to hear....."do you really think that the customers want to hear you berate these young men?" And I told her I was going to talk with the manager about her. And I did. I always believed that what "goes around, comes around"....yes, it felt good.

[zippy]

I grew up at 93rd and Pine, and remember many details about the area. In 1975, DQ was behind a gas station on the SE corner of 90th and W Center, and Shakey's was the next building south. The NW corner had an Amoco station with the House of Pie just to the west. Putt-Putt Golf was further back on the NW corner.

I don't remember exactly what year this was, but when construction started to make Frederick Street cut through to 84th, Shakey's put up a sign to direct traffic. It said "Access to Shakey's". DQ then put up a sign saying "Excess to Dairy Queen"

[Bob from Omaha]

Reading these posts I was thinking that absent Mcdonalds on 70 something and dodge the only restaurants we ever ate in were individually owned. I guess maybe once in a while there may have been some other chain but I honestly can't remember. There were so many local places that were really good. Some named here and some elsewhere. It's too bad so many have closed. I'm sure there are new ones that are locally owned but it's a whole new world.

I'm glad I grew up when I did. The 60s and 70s, for me, were a great time to grow up in Omaha. Not just the restaurants but just the whole package. I grew up not far from Crossroads, back to back with Western Hills School.

[bigredmed1]

That era was good over all. If you lived in Millard,there were limited number of restaurants that were easy to get to, but still most were local and offered a personal take on a type of food. I miss the proponderance of local places.

[inspectorfenwick]

I grew up at 93rd and Pine, and remember many details about the area. In 1975, DQ was behind a gas station on the SE corner of 90th and W Center, and Shakey's was the next building south. The NW corner had an Amoco station with the House of Pie just to the west. Putt-Putt Golf was further back on the NW corner.

I don't remember exactly what year this was, but when construction started to make Frederick Street cut through to 84th, Shakey's put up a sign to direct traffic. It said "Access to Shakey's". DQ then put up a sign saying "Excess to Dairy Queen"

My reference for NORTH of Center was way before 1975 as I was long gone from Omaha by then. We would go to the one on the north side and I am pretty sure I was not even driving yet so it would have been in the early 60's. You walked up to the window to order, very small place. We also hoped that our Dilly Bar would have a ___________. (name the missing two words to show your age).

[inspectorfenwick]

While Irvington MIGHT be considered "West Omaha" I would be remiss to not mention the "homestyle" at the ice cream place there. I think I dated a girl from Irvington whose folks ran the tavern on the west side of the street. Anyone else eat a "homestyle"??? I am guessing that had about 1200 calories. It was SOOOOOOO rich.

[inspectorfenwick]

That era was good over all. If you lived in Millard,there were limited number of restaurants that were easy to get to, but still most were local and offered a personal take on a type of food. I miss the proponderance of local places.

Millard had the Stockade and the Millrose Ballroom. Don't remember if there was food at the Millrose. When I was growing up, shopping was done at Duffy's Market (building is still there). Went to church at St Pauls Lutheran, the only church in Millard at that time. Got my hair cut and Corky the cross eyed barber at his shop on one of the cross streets west of the RR tracks. Max Herrington had the Rexall drug store. There was Ganns gas station (might have that one wrong). The two story school building was Millard High when I was little. My kindergarten school teacher shown in the photos from District 60 above, Mrs Siebert, retired to Millard in a little house.