Clues to Clara: The Rediscovery of Local Women's History
By Laureen Riedesel
While researching the origins of the Beatrice Public Library, Riedesel and Diana Church came across a footnote naming Clara Colby as the founder, uncovering a chapter in Nebraska history that was nearly lost. Clara Bewick Colby was one of the most active and versatile participants in the women's suffrage movement in the United States. This presentation introduces us to a remarkable woman. Riedesel also shows how state, regional and national resources can be used to rediscover local history.

Everyday Lives of Western Women
By Anita Sue Clement
We don't often think of women in the 1880s as wage earners, but necessity thrust many women into the workforce. In a time when welfare was unknown and life insurance was uncommon, the loss of a husband or a father could force a woman to seek employment for survival. Other women of the West had more conventional home lives, caring for their families. This presentation combines slides with narrative to explore the lives of Western women in the home and on the job in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Frontier Military Posts (and the Women Who Called Them Home)
By Marla Matkin
This presentation is designed to introduce audiences to the lives and times of these extraordinary women. Audiences learn about the different classes of women on post, their day-to-day routines, their social interactions and, on a more personal note, how they functioned under Victorian and military constraints. At the conclusion of the program, Matkin demonstrates a Victorian tea, which was a source of comfort, relaxation and reflection for officers’ wives. 

The Heart's Compass: Women on the Trails
By Deb Carpenter-Nolting & Lyn Messersmith
This is an account of pioneer women crossing the Plains in the 19th century. Carpenter-Nolting and Messersmith present original poems, songs and stories, as well as actual diary entries of women who journeyed on the Oregon Trail.

Libbie's Story
By Marla Matkin
This is a Chautauqua-style program about Elizabeth Bacon Custer, the wife of Gen. George Armstrong Custer. As "Libbie," Matkin introduces her audiences to the Civil War, the 7th Cavalry, the Kansas Plains, the Little Bighorn and her husband and Golden Cavalier, General Custer. Based on historical fact, it is a personal account of the Custers from the first furtive glances of romance to Libbie’s last remembrances as widow, author and lecturer. 

The Life and Legacy of Annie Oakley  

By Charlotte Endorf

She was described as the “greatest woman rifle shot.” A star attraction of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show, Oakley thrilled audiences around the world with her daring shooting feats. A champion in a man’s sport, she changed ideas about the abilities of women in the 19th century, yet she opposed female suffrage. Her fame and fortune came from her skill with guns, yet she was a Quaker. Endorf's presentation guides the audience through these dichotomies and dispels myth to reveal the real Annie Oakley.

The Life and Work of Dr. Susan LaFlesche Picotte
By Martha Ellen Webb
Did you know that the first Native American woman doctor was an Omaha Indian from Nebraska? Dr. Susan LaFlesche Picotte (1865-1915) was the daughter of the famous Omaha Chief Iron Eye. Schooled on the East coast, "Dr. Susan" returned to Nebraska, struggled to provide medical care for her people and won the respect of the Indians and non-Indians whose lives she touched. The hospital she built in Walthill is now called the Picotte Center and is on the National Register of Historic Landmarks in honor of her accomplishments.

Louise Pound, Nebraska Athlete and Scholar: Biography
By Evelyn Haller
Louise Pound was the first woman elected to the Nebraska Sports Hall of Fame. The confidence she gained from her notable athletic achievements, including a man's letter in tennis at the University of Nebraska and many long-distance bicycling awards, contributed to her setting high academic goals for herself and persevering to their attainment. At a time when women rarely went on to higher education, she excelled, achieving a doctorate in German language (philology) in record time. On her return to the University of Nebraska, Pound coached women's basketball and disagreed with the policies of Mabel Lee who was among the first women trained in physical education. Academically, Pound gained national recognition for her pioneering contributions to the study of American language and folklore.

Louise Pound, Nebraska Athlete and Scholar: Living History
By Evelyn Haller
Louise Pound was the first woman elected to the Nebraska Sports Hall of Fame. The confidence she gained from her notable athletic achievements, including a man's letter in tennis at the University of Nebraska and many long-distance bicycling awards, contributed to her setting high academic goals and persevering to their attainment. Haller brings this notable Nebraskan to life in a Chautauqua-style portrayal.

Louise Pound: The Iconoclast

By Marie Krohn

A quest for individual excellence led Louise Pound to ignore Victorian Age gender restrictions and become a world-class athlete. She also developed an international reputation as a philologist, folklorist, and educator and advanced the use of American English over British English. She was a compassionate friend of her students and colleagues.

Mary Bewick Bridges White
By Laureen Riedesel
In period costume (late 1890s), Riedesel portrays Dr. Mary Bewick Bridges White, sister of Nebraska suffragist Clara Bewick Colby, with an emphasis on women's rights and the split between practitioners of homeopathic medicine and the American Medical Association at the turn of the century.

Myths of Women's Madness on the Plains
By Nancy B. Johnson
This presentation examines the myths of Plains women—as they are promoted by authors of fiction and history—and the realities, based on recently published works, including diaries and journals. Johnson shows that the lives of Plains women were as varied as the pieces of a crazy quilt. She focuses on Nebraska women 1870-1900. This program is designed for adults.

Rheta Childe Dorr: The Struggle for Suffrage
By Maurine Roller
Nebraska native Rheta Childe Dorr was a dedicated disciple of Susan B. Anthony at the tender age of 12. Dorr devoted her life to the fight for women's rights. As a journalist, she compiled an impressive record of firsts. She was the first American woman to cover World War I from enemy lines in France, the first American woman to cover the Bolshevik Revolution from Moscow and the organizer of the first women's suffrage parade in Washington, D.C. Roller retells Dorr's story with Dorr's own words, wit and poignancy. In the telling, she illustrates how the issues of Dorr's day still are valid.

Sharpie: Nebraska's Queen of the Air
By Diane R. Bartels
This slide or Power Point presentation is based on Bartels' extensive research and book about Evelyn Sharp, a pioneering, teenaged aviatrix who became a war hero. Sharp taught men to fly and was one of the first women to ferry U.S. Army Air Force fighters during World War II, freeing men for combat. 

A Visit With Lady Vestey
By Beverly Beavers
In costume and in character, Beavers portrays the life of Evelene Brodstone and her rise from Nebraska farm girl to British nobility. No Cinderella romance surpasses the story of the stenographer who became the highest paid woman executive of her time. Brodstone later married Lord William Vestey and lived in a castle in London.

Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History

By Deb Carpenter-Nolting and Lyn Messersmith

Stories, songs and poems about women who left footprints on history by stepping out of place. Consider Ann Eliza Young, Brigham Young's 19th wife, who was instrumental in getting polygamy outlawed, "Baby Doe" Tabor, sometimes called The Silver Queen, or Dr. Mary Edwards Walker, the only female to be awarded our nation's Medal of Honor. Nebraska's Tad Lucas, lady bronc rider, was the only person inducted into all three Cowboy Halls of Fame. Nebraska also claims Susan LaFlesche Picotte, the first Native American woman to become a physician. If you’ve never heard of Helga Estby, who walked across America in 1996, it's probably because her achievements were hidden by her family. Her story segues into a discussion of Tillie Olsen's views about ways that creative women are often silenced.