Blair- Dana College (Omaha, Norfolk, Elkhorn: house, transfer, schools)

[gwander]

One of my kids is looking at Dana College. Please tell us about the town of Blair. What is it like? The People? the History? Culture? Fun things to do? If you live there and have pictures of the town and the college you are willing to share, I'd appreciate it.
Thanks.

[tpabes]

Blair is a nice town of around 7,500 people. It is a growing town, and is close to Omaha. Here are a couple sites from Blair:
Denied:1up! Software
City of Blair
Denied:1up! Software
You will probably go to Omaha for fun things to do, since it is so close. The college should also probably have plenty of events going on for your child. Anyone I have encountered has been friendly for the most part, but I only have been to the auto dealership (huge auto dealer there) and some restaurants. Any more ?'s just ask.

[gwander]

Thanks so much tpabes! You have given me some wonderful sites to look at.

[Katiana]

My daughters both went to Lutheran colleges (not Dana), and tbapes is correct, the colleges have lots of activities for the kids.

[NebSwede]

I graduated from Dana eons ago and the area has grown and changed since then. Blair is a decent enough town, slowly turning into a bedroom community for Omaha. Blair itself has the usual small municipal amenities: library, civic organizations, and so forth, and it has in the past been known for an excellent school system. Longtime Blair families represent a somewhat typical Western-Northeran European ethnic blend with a strong Danish presence. A bit on local history: it reflects Native culture, early Western expansion and exploration, and mid-1800s settlement. The Omaha and Winnebago reservations are an hour's drive north. Lewis & Clark, as well as Zebulon Pike, passed by on the Missouri River, and the 1850s saw the rise of river steamboat boom towns such as DeSoto, just south of Blair. The wreck of the steamboat Bertrand and its contents can be seen at a museum at nearby DeSoto Bend, which is also a national wildlife refuge. The area is the site of the first American fort west of the Missouri River, which was Fort Atkinson near the present village of Fort Calhoun. Danish settlement and culture in the region is presented at the Danish-American museum in nearby Elkhorn, Iowa, although the college also preserves some Danish traditions.

[tpabes]

Great answer NebSwede, I learned a little something about history of Blair. Also, welcome to the forum.

I also wanted to add Gwander, that Blair has all the basic shopping and has job opportunites if your child would be looking for one. Then if they want more options NW Omaha is a short drive away.

[Abide402]

I use to go to Dana College but quickly transfered out to UNO. I believe the TOWN of Blair to be a small, trashy isolated place. All there is for students to do in that town is drink. This is in direct response to the school being thirty miles away from civilization. Unless, you are giving them a car and endless gas money your child is going to drink to silence the boredom. If your child is in sports, and you believe that they will not drink/binge drink you are deathly wrong, as the sports teams' players are the most alcoholic of the student body.

[billiefan2000]

Blair is a cool small town

much like Norfolk has stuff like Subway and Burger King

but has a lot of local stores also

Fort Calhoun and Tekamah is great towns also, though they dont have much as Blair Nebraska does

[PanTerra]

Here is the house in which my father grew up, in Blair. I think it is still there. He did go to Dana and then went on to UN.

[tspowell]

My husband grew up in Blair and it is a very nice place to live. My brother in law father was a professor at Dana and it is a very nice school. Dana is a very good school to go to. There is alot of history in Blair and the surrounding communities. The school will have a lot of things for your child to do. Unlike abide402 who it sounds like all he or she did was drink through Blair. If abide402 transferred to UNO if you don't think there is drinking and binge then you have another thing coming. If you wanted to you could of enjoyed Dana obviously you didn't want to be in a small town and couldn't handle. So Blair wasn't for you. But it is a very nice town. I lived in Omaha all my life and Blair is much better. My children went to Millards Schools and I like Blair schools much better... So living in Blair is a lot better that living in Omaha.