Lunchbox Lecture: Beets Reign on Fremont’s Street Fair of 1900

Date and Time

• Tuesday, May 19, 2026  12pm - 1pm

Location

Details

In September 1900, the city of Fremont threw a street fair unlike any other—a jubilant six-day celebration of sugar beets and the new sugar beet factory that had just opened in town.

Join us at the Nebraska History Museum as Dr. Mark Griep brings this sweet slice of Nebraska history back to life on May 19th at 12 pm. Event admission is free.

We’ll explore the St. Eeb Ragus Street Fair (sugar beets spelled backwards), how the “Knights of St. Eeb Ragus” boosters planned for the festival, what happened during the festival, some of the merchants involved, and a selection of the street acts they hired.

Griep’s research on this topic is featured in the summer issue of Nebraska History Magazine. NSHS household-plus members receive four issues of Nebraska History magazine per year. To learn more, visit https://history.nebraska.gov/membership/.

Special thanks to the Nebraska State Historical Society Foundation for providing funding for this event series and the recording to broadcast on LNKTV.