As we prepare to open the new addition to the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home, we will be running a series of articles reflecting on our community’s history of senior care. To help us fully understand the significance of where we are today, this series will look back at the journey that brought us here and the previous generations who made this moment possible. Special thanks to the Nebraska Jewish Historical Society archives and Jewish Press archives for providing source materials for this article.
One hundred and twenty-six years. More than a span of time, it is a living thread connecting us to the people who came before us – their courage, their sacrifices, their hopes, and their unwavering belief that the future could be built with care. Across that time the world has changed in ways they could scarcely have imagined: inventions have transformed how we live, travel, and connect; wars and movements have tested and reshaped communities; science and medicine have extended life and expanded possibility. Yet beneath all that change something timeless remains: the responsibility to care. With this responsibility comes the need to remember where we came from, the moments that shaped us, the people who carried us forward, and the legacy we are now called to honor and preserve.
Part I: 1900 – 1950…