BELARUS (WOWT) – Pioneering businesswoman Rose Blumkin was born on this day in 1893.
Blumkin was raised in a village in what is now Belarus before immigrating to the United States in her 20s.
After arriving in Seattle, the Red Cross transferred her to Iowa, where her husband lived.
The two then moved to Omaha, where they started a used clothing store.
Blumkin founded the Nebraska Furniture Mart in 1937, which grew out of her husband’s business downtown.
She once told First Alert 6 about how she persevered, even though her competitors told banks not to lend her money,
“Was I ever mad! I used to tell them every time I’m able to stab you, I will… some day, I’ll put you out of business and I did. They could not stand my competition.”
In the 1970s, Nebraska Furniture Mart consolidated its Omaha operations into one store on 72nd Street, and many people became familiar with her selling carpet.
Blumkin kept working well past her 100th birthday.
She died in 1998 at age 104.
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On July 4, 2026, our country will celebrate its 250th birthday. Every day leading up to it, First Alert 6 will take a look at the people and events that shaped our area.
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