PAX (17): Bambi, Touche, Gunner, Othello, Bald Eagle, Betamax, Doll Face, Tik Tok, Frosty, Vila, Good Lookin’, West Ham, Animal, Julep, No Cry, Wentworth, Polaroid
QIC: Polaroid
YHC welcome the Pax to Beverly Hills for this pre Halloween beatdown. Mission, creedo and principles shared. Some history would be shared throughout the beatdown as we mosey’d zombie style to various notable parts of the park.
1: History of Hanscom Park Shared Throughout
-Omaha’s oldest remaining park was formed in November 1872, when land developers Andrew J. Hanscom and James G. Megeath donated 57.6 acres near Park Avenue and Woolworth Streets to the city of Omaha. The land was part of their 400-acre development called “Hanscom Place,” but was too hilly to be used for residential construction.
-From World-Herald archives, it would appear that the Hanscom Park grounds were first opened up as a public space in 1879 but it wasn’t until 1889, according to the Federal Writers’ Project, that Hanscom Park was formally landscaped and park facilities added.
-No charge was made for the property, but the gift was upon condition that the city expend in improving it the sum of three thousand dollars in 1873.” There were differing dollar amounts for different years, at times increasing to continue “to forever keep the property in good order…”
Warm O Rama: Windmills, Big Ones, Sun Gods, Michael Phelps
Zombie Run Up The Hill to Stop Two
2: 1916 South 32nd Ave
-James Megeath donated 40% of the land that today exists as Hanscom Park and we stand behind the residence he built in 1900. And this cabin we see is one of great mystery in the Hanscom Park lore. This very cabin has moved locations many times over the years until it landed in it’s present location today. Hanscom Park once was home to a Boy Scout Cabin. It’s exact location within the park remains a mystery to this day. Many feel that it existed near the corner of Park Ave and Woolworth – home to the parks caretaker and Hanscom Park Witch. More on that later.
-Zombie Jacks (Plank Jacks) x10
-Death Presses (Merkins) x4
Complete 3 Rounds
-Grave Diggers x 10
Zombie Run to Stop Three
3. Julius Demise
-Julius Meyer was found dead in Hanscom Park on May 10, 1909. He was discovered with two bullets wounds in the chest and in the head. Julius had recently got over a long pneumonia battle and had fears it would return. This is attributed as the main cause of his passing. Prior to ending his life Julius visited his brothers cigar store on 30th and Farnam- from here he made his way to Hanscom smoking the cigars along the way. He was found face down in the grass by of the greenhouse.
His death was officially recorded as suicide, although this is a point of mystery and argument. Julius, who never married, was a well-known Indian interpreter, said to speak at least six Siouxan dialects and was close with numerous Native American chiefs. He also founded Omaha’s first symphony orchestra and opera house, was a founder of the synagogue, now known as Temple Israel and very active in Omaha civic affairs and the Jewish community.
-Doomed Symphony Dips x 10
-Grass Grave Get Ups x 4 (Turkish Get Ups)
Complete 3 Rounds
-Grave Diggers x 10
4: Greenhouse Hanging
-Let’s Meet Peter M. Jensen -Hanscom Park Gardener, the city’s expert florist and caretaker of city parks grounds once called this building home.
He felt that proper care of plants called for the hard work he gave to them. His wife reported when his flowers were wilting and trees burning up in the hot sun due to the drought, her husband became despondent. When he saw that many of them could not bounce back, he made his fateful decision.
“Yesterday illness and grief over the suffering of the flowers and trees from drought impelled him to end his life. His body was found in the boiler room of the greenhouse where he had hanged himself.”
-Shriveling Stem Squats x 10 (Copperhead Squats)
-Deadly Greenhouse Drops x 4 (Burpees)
Complete 3 Rounds
-Grave Diggers x 10
Zombie Run to Stop Five
5: Devil’s Hill
-In 1912 Joseph Sitler’s car ran over the curbing of Woolworth and Park Avenues and dropped into the heavily wooded corner of the Hanscom Park. What did he find there? Did he crash into a makeshift Boy Scout Cabin? Did he find the Witch of Hanscom Park? In this very same spot, Mrs. Houston was killed in a streetcar accident in 1913. Miss Daisy Blair drank poison at the corner of Woolworth and Park Avenues in May of 1919 in an effort to end her own life after a quarrel over peanut butter. Why has this corner been the subject of so many mysteries over the years?
-Wicked Witch’s Nutty Lunges x 10
-Murder Merkins x 4
Complete 3 Rounds
-Grave Diggers x 10
Zombie Run to Stop Six
6: Gang Trouble
-It was a chilly 2nd of December in 1931 when gang warfare reached new heights at the expense of Harry Lapidus, local philanthropist and president of the Omaha Fixture and Supply Company. A carload of gang members riddled his automobile and shot the businessman 3 times. The mystery shook the city of Omaha and led to national outcry from the states governors and senators and citizens.
-Gangsta Glute Bridges on Park Avenue x 10
-Hitman Hand Release Merkins x 4
Complete 3 Rounds
-Grave Diggers x 10
COT
Take a moment to step back and reflect on where you’ve been on the way to where you want to go. As we ventured around the AO we took a second to learn about where we are fortunate to accelerate each week. When that self doubt creeps in take a moment to look at your successes!
Polaroid closed in prayer.
