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History Department Lecture: “Everything That’s Curious is Grist for My Mill”: A History of Jenner’s Park in Loup City, Nebraska

Founded by two wealthy British immigrants, Henry and Robert Jenner, Jenner’s Park operated in Loup City, NE, until 1941, serving for four decades as a popular destination for entertainment and education for rural and small-town Nebraskans. The park housed many different attractions, including exotic wildlife, Egyptian mummies, and a museum building styled after the British Museum as a cabinet of curiosity. This museum housed artifacts from all over the world, including ancient cuneiform tablets, a suit of Chinese armor, Congolese spears, Polynesian shrunken heads, and clothing allegedly taken from the body of a medicine man after the Wounded Knee Massacre. This talk will discuss the story behind the park, exploring how it serves as fascinating microcosm of the colonialist museums popular in the early twentieth century.

Presented by Dr. William Stoutamire and Logan Osmera (UNK)

Wednesday, March 6, 2024, 12pm.
Kearney Public Library
Free and Open to the Public

Sponsored by the History Department and hosted by the Kearney Public Library.

Any and all are invited to attend!

All talks are streamed and recorded on the Kearney Public Library’s YouTube channel.

History Department Lecture: The Red Shirt Winter Count and Repatriation

Broc Anderson will share a personal and research-based presentation about the newly re-discovered Red Shirt Winter Count in the Sheridan County Historical Society in Rushville, Nebraska. Winter counts are important Lakota community history records of important yearly events. After researching this little ledger book, Broc and the Sheridan County Historical Society worked together on the future of this important piece of Lakota history and heritage and ultimately returned the winter count back to the Delphine Red Shirt family in October 2022.

Presented by Broc Anderson (UNK)

Wednesday, April 10, 2024, 12pm.
Kearney Public Library
Free and Open to the Public

Sponsored by the History Department and hosted by the Kearney Public Library.

Any and all are invited to attend!

All talks are streamed and recorded on the Kearney Public Library’s YouTube channel.

Pioneer Baseball Game

The annual pioneer baseball game! Come see how the pioneers used to play as Trails & Rails Museums faces off against Stuhr Museum in Grand Island. There is no charge, but donations are encouraged.

History Department Lecture:“Becoming Vital Defense Territory”: The History of the Sioux Ordnance Depot

In 1942, the US government arrived in Sidney, Nebraska, and constructed the 20,000-acre Sioux Ordnance Depot. For 25 years, this ammunition storage site provided employment for a variety of individuals, contributed to the county’s economy, and became an important site in Nebraska’s military history. After closing in 1967, the site maintains most of the 800 original storage igloos and several buildings. This talk will discuss the history of this depot.

Presented by Tatiana Moore (UNK)

Wednesday, February 14, 2024, 12pm.
Kearney Public Library
Free and Open to the Public

Sponsored by the History Department and hosted by the Kearney Public Library.
Any and all are invited to attend!

All talks are streamed and recorded on the Kearney Public Library’s YouTube channel.

History Department Lecture: Postcards as a Window on American Popular Religion, 1898-1930

The period from 1898-1930 was the golden age of postcards. They created an inexpensive medium to communicate quickly, and religious institutions were quick to utilize their potential for marketing, fund-raising, and lobbying. Surviving postcards offer historians a fascinating window into the past, sometimes capturing the only remaining images of local events that would otherwise be inaccessible. This talk will illustrate the various purposes that religious groups found for postcards and discuss how these little pieces of cardboard help us to recover important facets of American cultural life a century ago.

Presented by Dr. James Rohrer, History (UNK)

Wednesday, January 10, 2024, 12pm.
Kearney Public Library
Free and Open to the Public

Sponsored by the History Department and hosted by the Kearney Public Library.
Any and all are invited to attend!

All talks are streamed and recorded on the Kearney Public Library’s YouTube channel.

Mosaic Winter Open House

Join us at our Winter Open House and celebrate with us as we go back in time to reveal the contents of the time capsule that was found in the cornerstone of Home Bethesda. We will have tours going on in Home Tabor and welcome the community to join us for a Kingdom Party service in the historical Zion Chapel. Hope to see you there!

3:00-3:30 PM ( Tabor Tours)
3:30 – 4:30 PM ( Kingdom Party Service led by Pastor John Gosswein)
4:30- 5:00 PM ( Time Capsule Reveal with President & CEO , Linda Timmons)
5:00- 6:00PM ( Tabor Tours)

Séance at the Frank Museum – An Eerie Evening of Spiritualism

Have you ever wanted to attend a Victorian Era Séance? Or experience the historic spiritualism that was so popular in the late 1800s U.S.? Here is your chance to do both! For the first time, the Frank Museum will be hosting and presenting two 1890s  séance recreations- the first on Friday 10/27 and the second on Saturday 10/28. Join us as we delve into the eerie world of Victorian Era Spiritualism and host a recreation of a traditional 1890s séance, complete with medium to lead us, and you might even experience some “spirit” interactions! Free refreshments and a Q&A with Director April White will follow the event.

Event will be in-person at the G.W. Frank Museum in the first floor dining room, and pre-registration is required to attend. $10 for audience member seating, and $15 for VIP seating to sit at the table alongside the medium and experience the séance first hand, and spaces are very limited. At this time we can only accept cash or check and payment is expected upon arrival to the event. Event is 18+, and ADA accessible. Doors open at 8:30pm, séance starts at 9:00pm, with Q&A to follow until 10:30pm. To reserve your place for this event, or if you have any questions, please email Director April White at frankmuseum@unk.edu.

Wounded Knee and Impact of Northwest Nebraska

Kearney Public Library welcomes Broc Anderson who will be presenting about the complex economic and social relationship between Northwest Nebraska and Pine Ridge Reservation from the 1870’s to early 20th Century. Broc is the Community Engagement Director for the Buffalo County Historical Society and Adjunct Professor for the University of Nebraska at Kearney History Department

Erth’s Dinosaur Zoo LIVE

Erth’s Dinosaur Zoo LIVE guides your family on a breathtaking tour through pre-historic Australia. You’ll observe, meet and interact with an eye-popping collection of amazingly life-like dinosaurs and other creatures presented in a theatrical performance that will thrill and entertain kids while stimulating their imaginations in ways that will forever connect them to their world. Brought to life by a team of skilled performers and puppeteers, and designed with the help of professional paleontologists, Erth’s DINOSAUR ZOO LIVE’s puppets are so extraordinarily realistic you may feel the urge to run and hide – but don’t! Because you won’t want to miss a minute of this fun, unique, entertaining and educational live show created by Erth Visual & Physical of Sydney, Australia.

Children Stories, Animal Stories and Traditional Lakota Stories

Celebrate Native American Heritage Month with Oglala Lakota storyteller Jerome Kills Small. Mr. Kills Small tells children’s stories and animal stories that have been passed down for generations as part of the Lakota and Dakota Sioux traditions. Among the types of stories covered are ikomi (trickster tales) and ohunkanka (old legends).

Monday, November 13, 2023 | 3:30 p.m.
Kearney Public Library | 2020 1st Ave, Kearney
Free & Open to the Public

Jerome Kills Small is an Oglala Lakota from Porcupine, South Dakota, on the Pine Ridge Reservation. A 1997 graduate from the University of South Dakota, with an M.A. in Selected Studies, and retired after 20 years at USD. He taught Lakota Language, American Indian Thought, Siouan Tribal Culture, Early Native American History. He is featured in the book, Wounded Warriors: A Time for Healing, and has a story in the Silver Anniversary Anthology published by the SD Humanities Council. Mr. Kills Small has parts in the videos: Sucker Punched, Nagi Kicopi (Calling Back the Spirit,) Lost Landscapes, and Bones of Contention: Repatriation and Reburial (BBC.) Jerome is a storyteller for public schools, museums, and colleges. Jerome translates, explains, and sings Lakota ceremonial, sweatlodge, powwow, rabbit, round dance, warrior, vision quest, and sundance songs. He sings with the Iron Wing Singers of Wagner, SD. He is a powwow organizer, announcer, arena director, and helps in conducting Lakota ceremonies. He portrayed Tecumseh, a Shawnee Chief and British General. He also portrayed Dr. Charles Alexander Eastman, the first Dakota Medical Doctor. Mr. Kills Small is on the board of Directors for the Native American Advocacy Program, www.lakotanaap.org.

Humanities Nebraska (HN) provides major funding for this program. HN receives support from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Nebraska State Legislature, the Nebraska Cultural Endowment, and private donations. “Children Stories, Animal Stories and Traditional Lakota Stories” is one of approximately 300 programs offered through the Humanities Nebraska Speakers Bureau. The more than 165 available speakers include acclaimed scholars, writers, musicians, storytellers, and folklorists on topics ranging from pioneer heritage to ethics and law to international and multicultural issues, making it the largest humanities speakers bureau in the nation.