1988 Distinguished Nebraskans Award Recipients Reuben A. Snake, Jr. and Rose Blumkin Reuben Snake’s tireless efforts for American Indian rights were not fully realized until after his death but his legacy carries on today. As his nickname, “Your Humble Serpent,” illustrates, Snake carried humility and humor throughout his life as an American Indian activist. The Winnebago native’s work resulted in passage by the U.S. Congress in 1994 of the American Indian Religious Freedom Act, which essentially overruled the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Oregon v. Smith to provide for the sacramental use of peyote. Rose Blumkin’s success in Nebraska business is nearly without parallel and certainly no one in the state carried as much name recognition as she did with her simply, friendly nickname: Mrs. B. Born in Russia in 1893, Blumkin immigrated to the United States in 1917, came to Omaha not long after and in 1937 used a $500 loan to start the Nebraska Furniture Mart. With the motto “Sell cheap and tell the truth,” the Furniture Mart grew from 3,000 square to its current 75 acres. Blumkin sold her enterprise to Warren Buffett in 1983 for $60 million only to open “Mrs. B’s Warehouse” in 1989. She also sold that to Mr. Buffett, this time for $5 million, and returned to work at Nebraska Furniture Mart almost until her death in 1998 at age 104. Back to list

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