Last summer I took a fantastic visual road trip. I did not get in the car and drive; rather, I followed a three-part show titled “Prehistoric Road Trip” on PBS. It featured YouTube personality Emily Graslie traveling through the Dakotas, Montana, and Wyoming in search of ancient fossils. The information was fascinating, but I became more intrigued when, in the final episode, Graslie spent part of her time in Agate Fossil Beds National Monument near Harrison, Nebraska. One of the experts she spoke to in that episode was University of Nebraska at Omaha professor Larry Bradley, Ph.D. Bradley has an interesting story beyond having appeared on a public television program, which is why he is the subject of our Adventure story this issue.

I love vintage magazines. Among my possessions are a copy of Rolling Stone from September 1995, two copies of Vogue from the late 1960s (one has a fashion spread, but not the cover, with Audrey Hepburn), and a copy of Look from the 1960s. The Look magazine is one of my favorites. It isn’t in perfect condition and doesn’t have a lot of big names in it, but the articles are intriguing. Apparently I am not the only person interested in this photography-focused lifestyle publication. Lincoln-based photographer and journalist Bill Ganzel is finding the people behind many of the stories produced in the magazine. People like Alan Stone, an announcer and DJ at many psychedelic shows in San Francisco who still has eclectic music tastes, but has given up his rock ’n’ roll lifestyle and is active in his Jewish faith. Ganzel, who lives in Lincoln, shared his tale of collecting these stories in one of our main features.

John Tierre Miller was the driving force behind Johnny T.’s Bistro and Blues in Jackson, Mississippi, a place that has hosted celebrities such as Morgan Freeman and Steve Harvey. Miller, who spent his early childhood in North Omaha, has returned to the area and opened a Johnny T.’s here. His journey from Omaha kid to college tennis player to entrepreneur is in our dining section.

One of my other favorite stories in this issue is our Nostalgia story in 60+ about playground equipment. Writer Kara Schweiss brought the idea to the table a couple of months ago, and the lively discussion that came out of that idea turned it into an article. I remember a tall merry-go-round painted in primary colors at the park in Linden, Iowa, where my father’s family had reunions during summers when I was a kid. The height of this spinning contraption fascinated me, and I looked forward to finishing the potluck meal so I could go outside and play on it. Many staff members also had memories of burning their legs on hot metal slides, jumping out of swings from high in the air, or becoming dizzy from merry-go-rounds.

Happy spring to our readers. There are a lot of great articles in this issue.

This article originally appeared in the March/April 2022 issue of Omaha Magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.