The May Brother's Building

04/07/2026

Today, Nancy and I accepted an Excellence In Historic Preservation award from the Daughters of the American Revolution at The Louis E. May Museum

01/08/2026

Milady, After Dark: ♥️ Valentine’s Pop-Up ♥️

On Saturday, February 14th we will be open late from 5-11pm to offer you & your sweetie a special Valentine’s night filled with live jazz, a limited speciality cocktail menu, casual games, and bites all while immersed by our beautiful, candlelit venue.

We kindly ask you reserve a spot for the evening so we have an idea of how many to expect. Milady will be closing at 3pm and reopening at 5pm for this event.

We hope to serve you on this special night of love! ♥️

https://forms.gle/vwg8haSGt31RYdyb7

12/13/2025

11/08/2025

We added a new section of seating to The Milady Coffeehouse. We simplified our sound booth and in doing so opened up another seating area.
A little history, the cage that is surrounding this area was originally upstairs in the old Kresge accounting department protecting their safe.

06/19/2025

Stop asking how to get people to care more and give them more to care about.

At a recent conference, a woman stood up and asked our panel “How do I get people in my town to care?” It’s a question I’ve heard a hundred times and it’s the biggest obstacle in revitalization. Because let’s be honest, it’s hard to fix a place when nobody gives a damn.

The truth is, people didn’t just stop caring. There was no mysterious gene deletion that made this generation apathetic. The people haven’t changed, the places have.

Our grandparents lived in towns that were lovable, walkable, sociable, full of character and meaning. They didn’t want to leave. The place earned their affection. It was worth caring about.

Today? The pretty buildings have been torn down for parking lots. The businesses are corporate chains. The neighborhoods are sprawling subdivisions. The sense of ownership is gone. The soul is missing.

And then we scratch our heads wondering why no one’s emotionally invested anymore.

Here’s the thing, people are responding rationally to the environment we gave them. We’ve stripped away the things that made their town lovable, then act shocked they don’t feel love.

Caring isn’t just some warm fuzzy bonus, it’s core to our health as human beings. The less we care, the sicker we become, mentally, socially, physically. We are biologically wired for connection, pride, and meaning. Without them, we withdraw, isolate, and decay right along with the places we live.

So no, stop trying to convince people to care about a place that hasn’t been cared for. That’s backwards.

If you want people to care, give them something worth caring about.

Start fixing things. Start painting. Start planting. Start cleaning, restoring, building. You don’t need 100% consensus, you need momentum.

The pendulum has swung too far. We’ve replaced bulldozers with endless meetings, and now we’re stuck. Our places are unhealthy because we’re afraid to act without everyone’s blessing. But consensus doesn’t build anything, action does.

Make the town lovable again. Reclaim ownership. Beautify the streets. Welcome local developers back in. Create gathering spaces instead of more roads.

When a place begins to heal, its people do too. Caring isn’t just the result of improvement, it’s the fuel and the reward. And it starts with all of us.

So stop asking how to get people to care more and give them more to care about.

03/26/2025

Spring is in the air at the May

01/22/2025

11/30/2024

Santa has entered the building

08/12/2024

Today, we celebrate Joseph T. May's birthday.

Joseph T. May, then 20 years old, first came to Fremont in 1868 to start a small retail grocery called "Staple and Fancy Groceries. His brother, Jacob Kent May also came to Fremont in 1869 to form the May Bros. grocery company and they moved the store to Sixth Street and Park Avenue (then called F Street). In about 1870, William Lew May and Charles H. May joined their brothers in the grocery business.

In 1881 they built a large three-story brick structure where "Staple & Fancy Groceries" had stood. The business eventually
grew into a major wholesale grocery operation.

According to "History of the Elkhorn Valley." Joesph T. May, married Ione Maduro Gately in March 1873 at Holy Springs Miss. and had four children, son John G, son Joesph H, daughter Maude, and son Louis E.

Joseph T. May built what was known as the May home on 1129 N. Nye St. in 1882. He later sold his interest in May Bros. in 1890 and entered the banking field. He was vice president of the Fremont National Bank, president of the First National Bank of Arlington and was an officer of several banks across the state. In state and national banking circles, he was known as "Uncle Joe”, and was regarded as one of the oldest active bankers in the west.

He was an original founder of the Nebraska Building & Loan Association in 1891 and in 1892 was incorporator and
president of "The International Cure Company, devoted to the treatment of in-temperate users of "strong drink and
narcotics."

04/26/2024

Meet Eric the Destroyer. A new addition to our decorative venue.

04/26/2024

Hosting a poetry reading session for Midland University

04/13/2024

Nancy and I enjoyed a morning behind the counter, at The Milady Coffeehouse, make mini donuts. These are some of the options we are thinking about offering in the future. We are always looking to keep our space and offerings fresh of new ideas.