If you haven’t driven through South Omaha lately, the murals are worth the trip. Large, colorful, and hard to miss, they adorn the sides of buildings at Dinker’s, Orsi’s and along South 24th Street, among others. Each one represents one of the many immigrant communities that have defined South Omaha from the time the Union Stockyards opened in 1884.
The stockyards grew quickly after Omaha businessmen purchased undeveloped farmland south of the city on the cheap. Over the next 30 years, South Omaha’s population exploded. In 1890, it had grown to more than 8,000 and by the time it was annexed by Omaha in 1915, it was 40,000. In 1956, its stockyards had grown to the largest in the world.
The growth of the stockyards and meatpacking plants required lots of labor. While the conditions were harsh, the pay was decent and didn’t require formal education or specialized skills. As a result, it drew people from Poland, Czechia, Italy, Ireland, Lithuania, Croatia, Mexico and beyond…