The stories are distinct, but their origin is the same: a neighborhood so vibrant, so unified that individual accomplishments and devastations touched every house from Tech High to Kountze Park. A neighborhood where, depending on the night, they might see Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Ray Charles, James Brown, Joe Louis, Jesse Owens or Jackie Robinson – just walking down 24th Street. A neighborhood despite its humble size and remote location in middle America, became a progressive beacon in the national protest movement, recognized by would-be presidents and would-be revolutionaries.
Peony Park, an Omaha amusement park that closed in the 1990s, was strictly segregated until July 26, 1963. Black people were allowed in parts of the park but were banned from the pool.
However, 59 years ago today, 10 members of the NAACP Youth Council swam briefly in the pool and celebrated a significant victory in Omaha’s early march toward racial equality.
A lifeguard “escorted” the group of teens into the pool.
Previously, Black people had tried without success to fight Peony Park’s ban.
One month before the July 26 swim, two Black Offutt Air Force Base airmen had initiated anti-discrimination legal action against Peony Park after they were denied entrance to the pool during an outing with White airmen. The City Prosecutor’s Office filed a civil rights charge against the park.
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Herb Rhodes and fellow members of the NAACP Youth Council challenged the racist ban earlier in July 1963 by trying to enter the pool. When they were denied entry, they and carloads of other young people peacefully stayed outside the gates, causing a long backup of would-be swimmers on a simmering summer day.
Then-Gov. Frank Morrison said the amusement park appeared to be violating anti-discrimination laws. Rather than let Black people in, Peony Park officials closed the pool as demonstrators chanted outside.
Peony Park tried to get around the law by reopening as a private pool but eventually conceded and began admitting Black people. Rhodes was among the first from the youth council to enter the once-segregated waters. He went back only once after that, but his children could go there as they wished in the future.
Bob Paris was a 22-year-old ex-Marine who had recently returned to Omaha. He worked full time at the Veterans Hospital to save money for college and helped with the youth council.
Paris said the incident involving the Offutt Air Force Base airmen and others solidified the resolve of youth council members.
“It wasn’t about swimming in the pool,” Paris said. “It was about one thing: denying us access.”
Integrating Peony Park’s pool was the young people’s contribution. Their success rippled across the city and for the moment, splashed through an unspoken but ever-present barrier that separated Black people from White people.
Photos: Peony Park swimming pool through the years
1932 PHOTO: The Peony Park swimming pool.
1950 PHOTO: Jim Schwertley watches the water as a lifeguard at the Peony Park swimming pool.
1960 PHOTO: Former Omaha swimming instructor Bill O’Hearn and several of his former students at a 10-year reunion of the Old Peony Park Swim Club, then known as the Fehrs Swim Club. Attending were Judy Macy Betterndorf; Patti Dwyer Karkreader; Janet Vincent O’Donnell; Bobbie Henderson Powell; Kay McCabe; Roberta Kiddoo; Carol Powers; Sharon McCoy; Theresa, Martha, and Colleen Werve; and Edalou Hastings.
1964 PHOTO: Herb Rhodes ran track for then-Omaha University, now known as the University of Nebraska at Omaha. He mainly ran the 880, but at one time held the mile record at Omaha U. Rhodes graduated with a bachelor’s degree in history in 1965. In the summer of 1963, Rhodes was among a group of young Black people who challenged racial segregation at the Peony Park pool.
1968 PHOTO: Peony Park was a magnet for teens on hot days. The park’s famous swimming pool was built over “a huge underground lake,” according to Joseph Malec Sr. On especially hot days, cold water from adjacent wells was pumped into the pool to lower the temperature.
1968 PHOTO: John Beasley, left, and Dale Anders. Anders was one of 10 Black youths to swim for the first time in the Peony Park swimming pool in July 1963.
1969 PHOTO: People wait in line for the slide at the Peony Park swimming pool.
1987 PHOTO: Omahan Mary Lynn Riley enjoys a cool, swirling ride on the waterslide at Peony Park.
1990 PHOTO: Peony Park’s speed slides had drops of about three stories before leveling off into 6 inches of water.
2004 PHOTO: Betty Jo Moreland Hawkins, who worked as an academic counselor at UNO, is a longtime Omaha civil rights activist. She was just a teen when she helped integrate the Peony Park swimming pool in 1963. As an adult, she worked with city officials on race relations.
2008 PHOTO: North Omaha cattleman and entrepreneur Herb Rhodes, who helped defeat racial segregation at the Peony Park swimming pool in 1963, also ran the half-mile for Omaha University, led the City of Omaha Human Relations Board and used skills from a long corporate career to create private success.
2012 PHOTO: Pool tickets were among the memorabilia for sale at an auction of Peony Park items.
