OmahaNebraska.com here with…
Dawn Myron. My title is the Senior Manager of Marketing and Brand.
Please tell me a little bit about yourself and how you came to be in your position.
I have been working in the non-profit world for quite some time, and in 2016 I came to the Durham Museum from the Salvation Army Kroc Center here in Omaha. I started as a graphic artist here, and I’ve held a few different roles in my time in the marketing area. One of the things that I love about this place is how generations connect. I think that the traditions that the museum helps to cultivate just are so heartwarming, and of course, the history that we tell. It’s so important to share that history and to get all generations excited. It’s work that I really love doing, and I love how there’s always something new at the museum, whether it be a new exhibit, a new event, or a new education program. I’m just really excited to be here.
Tell us a little bit about the lighting event today.
Okay. So tonight is the kickoff to our Christmas at Union Station, presented by FNBO. It’s an annual event. This will be the 50th year that the Durham Museum is doing Christmas at Union Station, but it is an event that predates the museum. The museum opened in 1975, but our home, Union Station, Union Pacific has been bringing in a tree to be the centerpiece of the Suzanne and Walter Scott Great Hall—that’s what it’s called now—a live tree has been brought in to be the centerpiece of the Christmas festivities since Union Station was a train depot in the 1930s, so it’s pretty special. Union Pacific, when they started the tradition, they would actually go to the Pacific Northwest and they would get a tree from the Pacific Northwest, bring it by rail here to Omaha. But today we don’t go as far to find our tree. We actually search for nominations here in the metro area. We usually have about 30 to 40 families who nominate their tree, and we go out and we look at them. We find the one that is the perfect tree.
We really got a special one this year for the museum’s 50th anniversary. It’s big, beautiful tree, and tonight we are actually going to light it up with over 1,000 feet of LED lights, and it’s got a beautiful tree topper on it with a big 50 on it to celebrate our anniversary. And at 7:00 we are going to light the tree, and that will be the start of Christmas at Union Station.
This season we have a lot going on. We’ve got cookie decorating.
We’ve got Jordi and the Jitterbugs, who are going to entertain us and help us rock around the Christmas tree tonight.
And we’ve got Santa. So if kids want to share their wish list with Santa, they can meet him down in Santa’s cabin and share everything that they’re looking forward to this Christmas. Also, new for our 50th, we have a brand new activity, and that is a sock skating pond.
I am quite curious about that.
Yeah, so it’s pretty fun, and it’s kind of a new twist on an old tradition, and we’re all about tradition here at the Durham Museum. We’re super excited about that. And then throughout the season, we’re going to have Santa every day. You can slide and glide on the sock skate pond all season long.
We’ve got some really fun exhibits too, some really interesting exhibits. A traveling exhibit, we have a hockey exhibit. It’s really interactive. And then we have a local exhibit that we curated that talks about Omaha’s history with hockey and kind of our trifecta of the Mavericks, the Lancers, and the Knights. And if sports is not your thing, we also have a beautiful exhibit that features the Aksarben gowns. It’s gorgeous, yeah. So a little something for everyone this season at the Durham Museum.
Thank you. A little bit about the tree and the family?
Yeah, so this year’s tree was donated by C.J. and Stephen Carr. They are from La Vista and just a really fun nugget at their home, which they are new homeowners. They just moved in a couple months ago, and when we had selected the tree, the previous owner had nominated it for Christmas at Union Station. When we selected it and found out that the home was being sold, we weren’t sure that we were going to get the tree, but when they heard about the tradition and what it means to be a Christmas at Union Station tree, they were completely enamored and wanted to participate as well. Plus, the tree was gigantic and just dwarfed their house. They didn’t have any space in between really their front door and the tree. It had totally overgrown its space in the yard and was starting to become problematic for the homeowners, so it was kind of a win-win for both of us. But we talk about history, and one of the really cool things about their home is that it was one of the first houses built in La Vista. A lot of tradition and history there too, which of course we love, being a history museum.
La Vista has a very interesting history all to its own, too.
Let’s see what else there is at the Durham. What’s coming up next?
After Christmas?
After Christmas.
Okay. So we are going to be announcing our 2026 exhibition lineup very, very soon. I’ll give you a little sneak peek as to some of the things. One of them that we’ve already announced is the Negro Motorist Green Book. And so that delves into the history of blacks traveling in America and kind of using the Green Book and the stories there. And we also are tying that in locally and talking about the locations here in Omaha that were part of that. We’re actually partnering with a few other entities to tell that story here in Omaha. In addition to that, we’re going to have some exhibits that, like the Green Book exhibit, are very history-focused, one related to the 250th anniversary of the United States. And then we’re going to also delve into some pop culture and the history related to pop culture. We’ve got a Disney exhibit we’re bringing in. We’re going to be doing something with Legos this year. And then we’re also planning on bringing back the White Christmas exhibit that was so popular, but we’re going to expand that. So quite a few fun things and interesting things we’re bringing into the new year.
Thank you very much. And are there any questions you wish I would have asked that I didn’t yet?
Let’s see… You know what? I would love to tell you a little bit about a few more activities that we’re going to be having in December. So this December, one of the things, if someone’s interested in stories like how Christmas at Union Station came to be, or how the museum kind of renewed this tradition, I really encourage people to check out our new “behind the scenes” tours. One of our museum educators will walk people through the hidden history behind that activity so you can get to learn a little bit more about it. So that’s a great thing if you want to come and sign up for that. In addition to that, we’ve got great winter camps for kids. I also would highly recommend that folks check out the Holiday Cultural Festival, which is December 5th. That is a tradition that in some form or another has been going on for 34 years, and it’s an opportunity to celebrate all the different cultures that make up the people of Omaha and the region. We have 35 cultural groups who are going to be joining us for that. There will be music, there will be gifts, there will be food. It’s just a really special event.
That’s one of my favorite events.
Oh, have you been to that?
I love that event.
Yeah, so very cool. I’m glad you have enjoyed that.
So many things here too. I was glad that I finally became a member.
Thank you for being a member. We really appreciate that.
Durham Museum
801 S 10th St.
Omaha, NE 68108
(402) 444-5071
https://durhammuseum.org
Check out events here!
https://durhammuseum.org/calendar
