Sunday, August 19, 1934

Didn't go to church or Sunday school. Ollie came over in the evening and we played pinochle a while.

Rose Gorelick Blumkin
AKA "Mrs B."
Founder of Nebraska Furniture Mart

The legendary Nebraska Furniture Mart got its start in 1937 when Russian immigrant Rose Blumkin ("Mrs. B") began selling furniture at a slight markup from a shop basement. Her motto: "Sell cheap and tell the truth!" The famed 450,000-sq.-ft. Omaha location (called the Mart) was built in 1968 and rebuilt by Mrs. B and her son in 1975 after a tornado hit. Two decades later, an electronics and appliance store was added in Omaha; the 77-acre location boasts some 500,000 sq. ft. of retail space. The firm also operates stores in Des Moines, Iowa, and Kansas City, Missouri. Omaha investor Warren Buffett (owner of Berkshire Hathaway) bought a majority stake in Nebraska Furniture Mart in 1983.