Omaha Exploration

An old building along Calhoun Road in Ponca Hills dates back to at least 1894 and possibly even earlier. Located at 11909 Calhoun Road, it provided farmers in the area with a convenient stop for supplies or food they may have forgotten while in town. Today, most of us recognize it as the Forgot Store Bar & Grill.

Florence realtor Claude Nethaway is said to have owned the store at the turn of the century. While he may not have been the original owner, he was responsible for naming it the Forgot Store. It has been said that he arrived at the name after seeing two signs outside Tom Price’s Saloon across the creek. Those traveling to town saw a sign that read “First Chance,” while those on the return trip home saw another that read “Last Chance.”

Claude stocked his store with essentials such as flour, sugar, eggs, tea, coffee, cigars, and even equipment necessary for farming, including hoes and spades. Years after selling the store in 1906, he was suspected of murdering his wife, Nellie, while blaming a Black “tramp,” Charles Smith, who just happened to be in the area. Claude had taken a prominent role within the white mob that viciously lynched Will Brown in 1919, an event that sparked one the city’s worst periods of racial violence.

Its next owner, C. F. Erickson, was said to have made the store, which was surrounded by trees, a very attractive place. He installed a soda fountain and even served ice cream in the summer. In 1912, a two-story addition was added to the front of the building. The upper story became a large hall operated by the Ponca Improvement Club. They used it to entertain and hold dances for young people with the goal of keeping them on the farm.

According to North Omaha History, the building had become both a roadhouse and a flophouse by the early 1920s. It found new life in 1925 when Dr. Harvey Pritchard and his wife restored it to its original purpose. Before moving there, he had practiced medicine in Wisner, Nebraska, for 25 years. He stocked his store with items people often forgot, including shoestrings, collar buttons, mouse traps, coffee, and marbles. He also operated a filling station from the property. After he passed away in 1927, his wife Louise continued to run it until her own death in 1929.

After that, the store was run by Ed Larson and J. J. Chambers. Around this time, most references in old newspaper archives simply refer to the Forgot Store as a landmark for people traveling to other places. Other articles mention the many accidents that occurred at the “Forgot Store curve” in the road.

Over the next few decades, it changed hands several times. Wendell and Marge Hunt operated it through the mid-1970s. They added an addition to the back of the building, which they turned into the Ponca Valley Bar. The front of the building continued to operate as the Forgot Store. From 1975, John and Darlene Hickey ran the business. The Cullen family, George, Mike, and Alice, provided some stability and operated the establishment for the next 28 years.

Before Junior Mathiesen took over, it served as the temporary home of Finicky Frank’s before that business moved north to its own building at 9520 Calhoun Road. The current owner had previously owned the Anchor Inn nearby. When he took over in 2018, he brought with him his popular and intoxicating watermelon drink. In addition to changing the menu to feature homemade recipes, Junior renovated the restaurant and added a patio with a fireplace.

Interestingly, this longtime Ponca Hills fixture is where the 1975 number one Billboard hit “Convoy” was written by Chip Davis and Bill Fries. The song was performed by Bill Fries as the character C. W. McCall and later inspired a movie starring Kris Kristofferson and Ali MacGraw. Chip donated the gold record from the hit song to the Forgot Store, where it remains on display.

Today, the Forgot Store remains a popular spot despite being off the beaten path. It continues to host benefits for multiple causes and remains an active meeting place for the community.

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