Prairie Forge by James J. Kimble

Author:James J. Kimble [James J. Kimble]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: History
ISBN: 9780803248786
Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
Published: 2014-02-19T00:00:00+00:00

15. Numerous climactic events took place across the state in the drive’s closing days, including Plattsmouth’s Skrap Karnival parade. Image reprinted with permission from the Omaha World-Herald.

As the scrap drive came to a close, it was increasingly apparent that the people of Nebraska had responded to the widespread rhetoric of crisis in an unprecedented fashion. Indeed, noted Editor & Publisher, “the final two days of the campaign found Nebraska working at fever pitch, with volunteer men and women scouring for scrap throughout the day and far into the night.” The World-Herald’s unofficial standings reflected this dramatic increase in activity. During the early portion of the contest, the statewide per capita figure had crept upward by only about 3 pounds per day. In August the daily increase jumped to about 4 or 5 pounds. But not until county reports gradually began to emerge from the final scrap barrage did the state’s average truly begin to surge. In standings published on August 10, there was a 17-point jump over the previous day’s average. On the same day, the number of counties with individual averages over 100 pounds per person leapt from 18 to 28, and the reports were still coming in as the various county chairmen worked furiously to catch up from the late deluge of scrap.17

The impressive upswing in results was a bona fide cause for celebration in the World-Herald’s scrap headquarters. Even Doorly’s various detractors could not deny that the crescendo had been tremendous. At long last, it seemed, the newspaper’s desire for a scrap-themed musical performance, clashing cymbals and all, had been granted.18 Even better, however, was the fact that the state’s metaphoric orchestra had done it all with a twist: as it turned out, the tune they were playing was not a moving symphony but a spirited military march.

Out of Many, One Army

One of the many sports figures caught up in the scrap drive’s thunderous crescendo had the curious name of Bosco. No one remembered where the name had come from, and Bosco remained silent on the matter. Neither was he listening as the drumbeat of public opinion to draft him forcibly into the war effort grew louder and louder in the scrap campaign’s closing days. But when the World-Herald proclaimed, on August 6, that the “opportunity is passing swiftly for the removal of a civic eyesore,” it was clear that the situation had become serious.

The unfortunate Bosco was, of course, a sculpture, and he was almost universally loathed by the good people of Omaha. He had been placed on his pedestal in Elmwood Park in 1927 as an expression of gratitude to the city from the Omaha Amateur Baseball Association. Unfortunately, once it was put on display, the figure had instantly looked less like a fearsome home run hitter and more like a hapless player who had just struck out in embarrassing fashion. “Bosco the Fly-Swatter,” jeered the World-Herald’s Frederick Ware. There he “stands . . . mocking every baseballer who ever took a batting stance.” Maybe “Bosco should be set forthwith to making cartridge jackets, shell casings, [or] bearings.

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