Student cadets pose in uniform on the lawn in front of Omaha High School in this 6 1/2" x 4 1/8" black and white photograph. One cadet in the center is holding a large American flag. Two trees are visible between the cadets and the brick wall of the school.
Omaha Public School Archive Collection / Educational Research Library
Local Accession/Call Number
Archive Files: JROTC File
Historical Notes
This photograph depicts Company A, a group of military cadets from Omaha High School. The flag held by one of the cadets was won in the first year of drill competition. There were 5000 spectators at the Omaha Coliseum at 20th and Burdette Streets for this event. The cadet program at Omaha High School - a forerunner of the Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC) - was instituted in 1886 and lasted two years. In March of 1894, the program resumed under the authority of the U.S. Secretary of War. Enrollment was voluntary. Drills were held two or three times a week after school hours, along with frequent lectures on various military subjects. In April 1895, there were 179 boys in the program. Each cadet was required to purchase his own uniform at a cost of $13.55. According to the 1895 Omaha Public School Superintendent's Report, the uniform consisted of "the West Point cadet uniform of gray blouse and trousers and dark-blue cap with suitable devise.
