Life in Nebraska has always been good, even when times were tough. We’ve shown you vintage photos of many different decades here at Only In Nebraska, but today we’re looking at a decade that was relatively smooth sailing for most of us: the 1980s.

1. A monochrome shot of a rural Nebraska road in 1982.
flickr/Baer Tierkel
Some people might see this shot as desolate and boring, but I think the textured landscape of the Sandhills is really beautiful.
2. A family goes camping in the Sandhills in 1987.
flickr/Ali Eminov
Other than that awesome late-'70s model car, this looks a lot like camping today.
3. A little guy stands by the Oregon Trail marker at Windlass Hill (Ash Hollow) in 1986.
flickr/Richard
Parents have been making their kids stand next to this marker for pictures since it was first placed here.
4. A crowd in Omaha takes in a Capitol Punishment show in 1986.
flickr/Dale Stewart
The punk band's fans look pretty excited.
5. Sisters lean on the bison statue in Pioneers Park in Lincoln, 1987.
flickr/Jenn (Yana)
I'm pretty sure I had the same blue and white long-sleeved tee when I was a kid in the '80s.
6. A rural road in Lyons in 1985.
flickr/John W. Schulze
Farmland looked much the same then as it does now in the softly undulating hills of northeast Nebraska.

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7. Iowa players stand in the sea of red at Memorial Stadium in 1980.
flickr/Iowa Digital Library
This Iowa vs. Nebraska game took place in Lincoln on September 20th.
8. The town of Wilber, Nebraska in 1982.
flickr/goodharbor
Good old Wilber has actually changed a bit since this picture - the museum facade is different now and the grain elevator is now showing its age.
9. The Czech Days parade in Wilber, 1987.
UNL Czech Heritage Project
Some things in Wilber have remained largely the same. You'll still see the residents in their costumes every summer during Czech days.
10. Vice President George H.W. Bush visits Omaha in 1988.
flickr/IIP Photo Archive
He would go on to win the presidency just 11 days after this rally.
11. The Amtrak Depot in Hastings in May, 1980.
By Roger Puta - Amtrak's (BN's and ex-CB&Q's) Hastings, Nebraska Depot -- 4 Photos, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=52283345
I've always thought this was a lovely station, though this isn't exactly its best angle. Look at those great cars!
12. Members of a tribe make their entrance at the Omaha pow wow in August, 1983.
Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=235424
This was before the intertribal pow wow was held at the Fort Omaha campus of Metro Community College. Does anyone know where this was taken?
13. An old barn south of Geneva, Nebraska in September, 1982.
By Tequask - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=47033001
What do you think the chances are that this building is still standing?

Although it wasn’t that long ago (at least those of us who were kids back then would like to think so), the ’80s definitely had their own distinctive look. If you love old Nebraska pictures, take a look at these collections from the 1970s, the 1960s, the 1950s, World War II, and of farming in Nebraska in the Depression.

Do you have any of your own Nebraska photos from the ’80s? We’d love to see them in the comments on our Facebook page!

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