38 Nebraskaland • October 2022
driver's license. (Neighboring South Dakota didn't issue
driver's licenses until 1954.) The 1930 license shown above
was issued to a Burwell woman. It had no photo and a
physical description that focused only on skin color. On the
back was a form for a driver's previous violations, a handy
feature before law enforcement offi cers could easily access a
database. To protect the non-laminated license, it came in an
envelope with a little window.
Not only were licensing and registration more primitive in
the early days, so were the methods to recover stolen cars.
The postcard shown above was printed for the Omaha chief
of police and mailed to county sheriff s across the region. This
one was addressed simply to "Sheriff , Falls City Neb." We
don't know if Mr. Millard ever got his car back.
N
Read more stories by searching "automobile" at History
Nebraska's website, history.nebraska.gov
Driver's licenses had grown more elaborate by 1930. History
Nebraska 9663-11-(10) and 9663-11-(11).
Looking north toward the state capitol on 15th Street in
Lincoln, circa 1912. The car has a nonstandard license plate
that lists the manufacturer. History Nebraska RG3474-47-
025-015. OPPOSITE PAGE: Nebraska license plates through
the years. Graphic by Ben Kruse, History Nebraska.
After Millard's car was stolen from in front of the Brandeis
Building in downtown Omaha, the police chief mailed
postcards to county sheriff s. History Nebraska 9663-11-(10)
