When Omaha was growing up, the intersection of North 16th and Cuming Streets used to be a POWERHOUSE of productivity in North Omaha. One of the businesses that made this intersection great was the Badger Body & Truck Equipment Company. Here is a short history of the company.

Badger Auto Body Company, North Omaha, Nebraska — Here’s a bus made by Badger, built on a modified truck from the Omaha Ford Motor Company Assembly Plant across the street. And a slouching guy next to it with a flat straw hat.

Started in the late 1910s, Harry Rosenfeld founded Badger Body and his company quickly became a presence among the city’s vehicle manufacturers. Adding cabs to simple Ford truck, the company quickly began constructing delivery boxes, passenger bodies and many other parts. Their modifications allowed Fords to become more useful, versatile and accessible for farmers, small business owners and others throughout Omaha and across the Midwest.

Badger Auto Bodies, North Omaha, Nebraska — This is a Badger thresher on a 1920s Ford Model T, another example of their work.

Badger modified Ford trucks from the Omaha Ford Motor Company Assembly Plant across the street on the southeast corner of North 16th and Cuming Streets. In addition to truck modifications, they also manufactured farming and construction equipment. In the 1930s, Badger sold the Silver Dome Travel Coach, too.