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. 

Elia Peattie: Pioneer Journalist
By Susanne George Bloomfield
Elia W. Peattie moved to Omaha from Chicago in 1886 with her husband to work for the Omaha World-Herald. Robert would be the managing editor, and Elia would be a bylined editorial writer. Unafraid of controversy, Peattie tackled subjects such as the Wounded Knee massacre; capital punishment; prostitution; women's roles in the church, politics, education and the home; and the need for orphanages, shelters for unwed mothers and charity hospitals in the burgeoning young city. Bloomfield, Peattie's biographer, shares some of Peattie's writings and explains her historical and cultural significance. 

The History of Nebraska as Told by Peter A. Sarpy
By Darrel W. Draper
Dressed in period costume and speaking in his native French accent, "Peter Sarpy" describes the transformation of Nebraska from French colony to statehood. This dramatic one-act play uses humor, interactive audience participation and factual historical anecdotes to captivate youth and adult audiences alike. This living-history presentation is appropriate for schools, civic groups, churches, museums and festivals. 

William Jennings Bryan: A Nebraska Enigma
By Donald Fiedler
In this living-history presentation, Fiedler attempts to set the record straight about William Jennings Bryan. Bryan ran for president three times. Unfortunately, Bryan's place in history is anchored in the film "Inherit the Wind," a fictional account of the "Scopes Monkey Trial" in which he is cast as a buffoonish zealot. 

Hildreth Meiere: The Woman Artist Who had Eight Commissions for the Nebraska State Capitol
By Evelyn Haller
As a designer in tiles, Hildreth Meiere worked in a durable medium of architectural magnitude, including the original mosaics in the Nebraska State Capitol. Meiere is not as well known as many artists of her generation because her works are affixed to walls, ceilings and floors. They cannot be transported, and slides only partially convey the wonder of these achievements. Meiere's life (1892-1961) was filled with significant work accomplished when there were few women in her field. Haller talks about what Meiere did before and after she completed the eight commissions for the Nebraska State Capitol. 

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. 

Willa Cather and Quilts
By Evelyn Haller
Willa Cather's earliest memory of art was sitting under quilting frames as a child. This early experience of art as craft—listening to stories and looking at thoughtfully arranged materials of everyday life—remained with Cather. Throughout her life Cather chose to work in places that recalled the small space under the quilting frame, including the attic room in her Red Cloud home, the attic sewing room Isabelle McClung prepared for her in Pittsburgh and the tent where she wrote in Grand Manaan. Slides illustrate quilts Cather names in her fiction as well as related Cather sites and materials.

Hartley Burr Alexander: A Living History
By Robert Haller
Born in Lincoln and raised in Syracuse, Hartley Burr Alexander taught at the University of Nebraska for 20 years. He believed in building a civilization on the unique attributes of the Plains, geological and demographic. Known for the artistic program for the State Capitol, he also wrote and produced pageants and plays, explored the art and philosophy of Native Americans and developed distinct political, religious and educational ideas. He was the model of a philosopher in public life. 

Mari Sandoz: A Personal Reminiscence

By Ron Hull 

Mari Sandoz and Ron Hull became friends in 1956 and their friendship lasted through their final visit in New York City just before her death in 1966. During these years Sandoz and Hull created 18 half-hour television programs. This presentation is based on those conversations about her approach to creative writing, which she reveals a great deal about herself, her career and her life.

My Two Friends: Mari Sandoz and John Neihardt

By Ron Hull

John Neihardt, Mari Sandoz and Ron Hull produced many hours of television programs during the 1960s and '70s. The substance of these planning sessions provides anecdotes and stories about their lives and work. Sandoz and Neihardt were friends and their approach to their art and the methods they used were vastly different. The examples given are corroborated in Helen Stauffer’s "Mari Sandoz: Story of the Plains and Letters of Mari Sandoz."

Wright Morris: Small-Town Life Through the Eyes of a Nebraska Writer
By Nancy B. Johnson
Wright Morris often questions if the images of his boyhood as they appear in his works are real or imaginary. Many of the real images he writes about can be seen in early 20th-century photographs of Central City, Nebraska. In this presentation, these photos and more recent photos of artifacts described by Morris are paired with narrative passages from his works. Johnson uses images and words to create a picture of small-town Nebraska life as experienced by the writer. 

John A. Creighton: Blazing the First Internet
By Brian Kokensparger
Portraying John A. Creighton, Kokensparger helps the audience envision the building of the first “Internet”– the first transcontinental telegraph. Although his brother, Edward, was the chief superintendent of the project, John was in a unique position to observe the installation of the line, and did his share to help the Creighton crew win the race to Salt Lake City. At the end of this Chautauqua-style program, Kokensparger comes out of character to make connections between today's Internet and the telegraph network.

Darryl Zanuck: Nebraska-Born Movie Tycoon
By Thomas Kuhlman
Kuhlman assumes the role of a behind-the-scenes Hollywood assistant to Darryl Zanuck, the Nebraska-born tycoon in the Golden Age of American movies. He tells of Zanuck's climb to the top at Twentieth-Century Fox, with many anecdotes. From silent films to Cinemascope, Zanuck gave the public what it wanted and more, including epics like "The Grapes of Wrath" and "The Longest Day." 

Meet Buffalo Bill
By Terry Lane
William F. Cody reflects on his life as express messenger, teamster, buffalo hunter, scout, actor, showman and builder of the West through a series of true-life adventures--from Bill’s perspective, of course. Length and content can be varied according to audience.

Grace Abbott: Children's Crusader
By Helen M. Lewis
Grace Abbott's Grand Island upbringing influenced her advocacy for education and social justice as  director of Chicago's Immigrant Protective League. Writing and speaking for social reform--from women's suffrage to world peace--Abbott became a leader in the struggle for federal child labor legislation. As Chief of the U.S. Children's Bureau, Abbott shaped public assistance programs, especially to protect children. The presentation, done in costume, conveys the continuing relevance of Abbott's work by exploring her efforts for the exploited. Lewis will adapt the program to meet the interests of the sponsoring group. 

Father Edward J. Flanagan of Boys Town, Nebraska

By Thomas J. Lynch

On December 12, 1917, Father Edward J. Flanagan founded a revolutionary boy’s home in Omaha, Nebraska. All boys were welcome regardless of their race or religion. This presentation will explore Father Flanagan’s views on racial and religious equality, and how they differed from accepted social norms of early 20th century America.

Buffalo Bill Cody Reminisces about His Early Life on the Plains
By Stuart C. Lynn
Stuart Lynn brings to life Buffalo Bill Cody in this living-history program, reminiscing about his youth and early years as a Pony Express rider, young soldier and buffalo hunter, as well as his experiences scouting for the Army in Kansas and Nebraska. Lynn brings Cody up to the famous buffalo hunt with the Grand Duke Alexis of Russia in 1872. 

The Amazing Library of Thomas Jefferson Fitzpatrick
By Jim McKee
Thomas Jefferson Fitzpatrick, longtime resident of Bethany, was a bibliomaniac. This college professor began with a solid collection of rare books inherited from his illustrious namesake. A lifetime of collecting later, he was living entirely in the kitchen of his house while the rest of the property was packed floor to ceiling and wall-to-wall with books. Only after his death in 1952 was the full extent of his obsession uncovered. 

Archway to Excellence: The Visions of Gov. Frank Morrison

By Gene O. Morris

Frank B. Morrison lived nearly a century (1905-2004), and he became one of the greatest visionaries in Nebraska history.  It was Gov. Morrison who came up with the idea for the Great Platte River Road Archway.  The arch is symbolic of Gov. Morrison’s magnificent visions, including his lifelong quest to have people become the masters of government and not its slaves.  A close friend of Morrison, Morris looks at this extraordinary life.

The Editor Who Stopped the Floods: The Harry Strunk Story

By Gene O. Morris

When the Flood of 1935 roared through the Republican River Valley, Harry Strunk sprung into action. The lifetime newspaperman was able to get reservoirs built to hold back the floodwaters. One of the lakes was named after Strunk before he died. “Give ‘em Hell” Harry Strunk of McCook remains the only Nebraskan to be so honored. This presentation looks at the colorful life of the Editor Harry Strunk.

Bess Streeter Aldrich: Biography
By Carol Miles Peterson
Petersen, Bess Streeter Aldrich's biographer, explores the writer's life and career in this program. From 1899 to 1950, Aldrich wrote and sold more than 100 short stories. Through books that depict rural life, she also recorded the cultural and historic heritage of Nebraska. 

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. 

Introduction to Nebraska Authors
By Laureen Riedesel
This program consists of readings from six Nebraska authors, with a short biography of each author and an introduction to each piece. Readings and authors include Mari Sandoz's "Winter Thunder," Willa Cather's "My Antonia," Wright Morris' "Will's Boy," John G. Neihardt's "All Is But a Beginning," Bess Streeter Aldrich's "A White Bird Flying" and Loren Eiseley's "All the Strange Hours." 

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. 

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. 

General Victor Vifquain: Nebraska's 1st Medal of Honor Winner
By Jeffrey Smith
Victor Vifquain was the first European settler in Saline County. He was eager to put his Belgian military training into practice when the Civil War broke out, so he enlisted as a private in the 53rd New York Volunteer Infantry rather than wait for muster in Nebraska Territory. He received a Congressional Medal of Honor and was promoted to brigadier general for his exciting but unsuccessful attempt to kidnap Jefferson Davis. This presentation by Vifquain's great-grandson tells the story and adventures of this Belgian immigrant to Nebraska who participated in the Civil War and the Spanish-American War in the regiment of William Jennings Bryan. 

Bright Leaves Flying: An Introduction to U.S. Poet Laureate, Ted Kooser

By Mary K. Stillwell

Nebraska resident Ted Kooser made headlines when he was named U.S. Poet Laureate in 2004. Stillwell places Kooser within the rich tradition of Nebraska poetry and provides an introduction to the poet and his work, focusing on "Winter Morning Walks: 100 Postcards to Jim Harrison" and "Local Wonders: Seasons in the Bohemian Alps."

The Conversation Through Time: An Introduction to Poetry of Nebraska

By Mary K. Stillwell

When Ted Kooser was named poet laureate, we were reminded that Nebraska offers a well-stocked literary breadbasket, heaped with books of poetry, fiction and nonfiction.  Mary K. Stillwell focuses on our state’s rich heritage in song and poetry, from Pawnee times to present-day writers who continue the conversation about who we were and who we are into our time.

Antonia's Czech Tulip Quilt
By Antonette Willa Skupa Turner
The granddaughter of immigrant Annie Pavelka, featured in Willa Cather's "My Antonia," describes the quilt her grandmother made using brightly printed feed sacks and dressmaking cuttings. Turner tells the story behind the quilt and what it illustrates about her grandmother and about immigrant life in Nebraska in the early 20th century.

My Babicka, Antonia
By Antonette Willa Skupa Turner
It was Willa Cather who taught English to the immigrant Annie Pavelka and who later captured the young Czech woman's strength and spirit in "My Antonia." Turner, Pavelka's granddaughter, describes the friendship between Cather and her grandmother, tells stories, shows artifacts and inspires her young audiences to read Cather's works. 

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.

Wright Morris: Nebraska Novelist and Photographer
By Joseph J. Wydeven
Wright Morris (1910-1998) was both a writer and a photographer.  This presentation focuses on Morris’s work in both media, particularly those works he called his photo-texts, including The Home Place (1948) and God’s Country and My People (1968). Some attention is also given to his best novels, Ceremony in Lone Tree (1960) and Plains Song for Female Voices (1980).  This appreciative and richly illustrated program should appeal to a wide variety of audiences.

Kate M. Cleary: Nebraska Writer and Humorist
By Susanne George Bloomfield
Many people are familiar with Nebraska women writers Mari Sandoz, Willa Cather and Bess Streeter Aldrich, but few know that other women were successfully writing and publishing in Nebraska at the turn of the century. Kate M. Cleary moved as a bride to the new town of Hubbell in 1884, where she had six children and wrote stories and poems about the West. Many of her humorous satires on society and frontier life were published in national magazines and newspapers. George, Cleary's biographer, traces the author's life, pays tribute to her "rural-urban vision" from a prairie village and discusses her contribution to American literature. 

The Burkhardts: An African-American Epic
By Dawn Connelly
The extraordinary lives of Rev. Oliver and Ann Burckhardt come to life in a colorful slide presentation depicting the significant contributions this African-American couple made to the Lincoln, Omaha and Brownlee communities during 1890-1949. Rev. Burckhardt was one of the founding fathers of Lincoln's NAACP and the Lincoln Urban League, and he organized the Saint James Church in Brownlee in 1910 for African-American settlers. Anna taught art in her studio in Lincoln for 40 years and was nationally known for her portrait oil paintings and china painting. 

Nebraska's Winding Road to Statehood: In the Footsteps of a Female Settler
By Sara Brandes Crook
Barbara Kagi Mayhew Bradway, a female settler, recounts the issues of Nebraska's territorial days. In a first-person portrayal, Sara Brandes Crook recounts Bradway's impressions as an early permanent white settler. She also explores the Underground Railroad. Bradway was the older sister of John Kagi, who was a close confidant to John Brown. 

Daniel Freeman: America's First Homesteader
By Darrel W. Draper
Hear Daniel Freeman's amazing story as Darrel Draper portrays "Old Number One" in full costume. It is a Chautauqua-style, humorous and historically factual account of America's first homesteader and the impact of the Homestead Act in settling the West. 

J. Sterling Morton, Author of Arbor Day
By Darrel W. Draper
This history program introduces the audience to the life of J. Sterling Morton, from his birth in upstate New York to his rise to power and fame in Nebraska. Within five years after his arrival at Bellevue, Morton was twice elected to the Territorial Legislature, appointed Clerk of Supreme Court, became Territorial Secretary and was made acting Governor at the age of 26. The founder of Arbor Day would later become secretary of agriculture. Draper lends insight into Morton's failures and successes.