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2004 Neligh and Beatrice
Chautauquas
July
2004
Great Plains Chautauqua visited Neligh and Beatrice Neligh, in northeast Nebraska, hosted the 2004 Great Plains Chatuauqua July 2-6 at Riverside Park. Neligh also is home to the Pierson Wildlife Learning Center, and the historic Cowboy Trail winds through the south side of town. The community of Neligh planned a weeklong schedule of events surrounding the event's visit July 2-6. Main events were held at Riverside Park, which has a renovated chautauqua-style pavilion and a grandstand with a seating capacity of 1,500. In addition to the daytime workshops and the evening entertainment and keynote presentations by Chautauqua scholars, Neligh hosted historical tours, an antique car show, a tractor display, a quilt show and demonstrations, a scavenger hunt, a parade, a fishing contest and other events. “From Sea to Shining Sea” is the theme for the regional Chautauqua, focusing on the period 1790-1850, including the Lewis and Clark Expedition and the opening of the West. With emphasis on America’s continent-wide expansion, the Nebraska Humanities Council addresses the expedition’s bicentennial and its westward exploration and encounter with native peoples. The scholars and the historical figures they portray are Jeffrey Smith as William Clark, mapmaker and co-leader of the Corps of Discovery; Charles Everett Pace as York, a slave and the only African-American member of the Corps; Selene Phillips as Sacagawea, a Shoshone Indian and the only woman on the expedition; Jerome Kills Small as Tecumseh, the Shawnee leader who worked for an independent Indian territory; Jerome Tweton as John Jacob Astor, the richest man in America at his death in 1848; and Tonia Compton as moderator and as Dolley Madison, wife of President James Madison and First Lady from 1809 to 1817. On Friday evening during the Great Plains Chautauqua week, William Clark is interpreted by Smith; on Saturday John Jacob Astor is interpreted by Tweton; on Sunday York is interpreted by Pace; on Monday Tecumseh is interpreted by Kills Small; and on Tuesday Sacagawea is interpreted by Phillips. Beatrice, in southeast Nebraska, hosted the event July 9-13 at the Southeast Community College campus. Beatrice also is home to historic Chautauqua Park and the Homestead National Monument of America, the only National Park Service site in eastern Nebraska. The evening entertainment and keynote presentations by Chautauqua scholars were held in the large blue-and-white striped tent on the SCC grounds, while daytime workshops were held at several locations, including Homestead National Monument of America, Chautauqua Park and the Beatrice Public Library. Also held throughout the week were historical walking tours of downtown Beatrice and Chautauqua Park, a concert featuring the music of John Phillip Sousa, a main street bazaar, croquet and badminton tournaments, and other events. Partial funding for the 2004 Great Plains Chautauqua in Nebraska came from memorials to the Nebraska Humanities Council in honor of Jean Andersen and from an anonymous donor. Signing in Beatrice was made possible by the William R. Patrick Foundation’s support of the Nebraska Cultural Endowment. |
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Phone 402-474-2131 or e-mail nhc@nebraskahumanities.org. |
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