Nebraska Stories tells compelling personal stories of Nebraskans and Nebraska life … contemporary and historical.
It could be a yarn shared over a backyard fence, or a tale related from grandparent to grandchild. Maybe something talked about over the water cooler at work, or even an anecdote at such a somber occasion as a funeral. Stories play an important part in life – they help us to remember, to dream and to learn.
Each episode of the series presents several stories about the people and events of Nebraska that are distinctive of the Cornhusker state – the blizzards of 1888 and 1949; the last one-room school; controversial political figures; Sandhill Cranes; Bellevue's historic Fontenelle Forest; or one of the NU football team’s legendary walk-ons.
Nebraska Stories features newly produced video segments, as well as drawing upon the wealth of material available in the NET Heritage Library archives. Video and descriptions for future episode segments will be added as they become available.
To watch the July episode (#109) – except for "My Antonia," for which we don't have Web use rights – just click below.
On the Ropes
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UNL Volleyball Coach John Cook is often acknowledged for his "mental" approach to the game. Beyond the X's and O's, Coach Cook has figured out a way to bond his team every year – both on the court and off. NET Sports turned the camera on the Husker Volleyball team ('09-10) as they take on the UNL Ropes Challenge Course.
For more: Visit NET's site for UNL Women's Volleyball
For more: Visit the official UNL Women's Volleyball site
Shifting Sands
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“My problem,” smiles Sarah Switzer Sortum, “is that I had too good a childhood.” This 4th generation rancher reflects on her decision to return to the family ranch near Burwell. Sortum and her brother Adam are hard at work making changes on their ranch that embrace new conservation methods and eco-tourism to ensure a sustainable future for their growing family.
For more: Visit the Switzer Ranch website
Hear That Train a Comin'
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In this segment from the NET archives, we jump onboard the biggest steam engine in operation – Union Pacific's steam locomotive Challenger No. 3985 as it travels across Nebraska.
For more: http://www.uprr.com/aboutup/excurs/up3985.shtml
My Antonia
(Video clip not available)
Her real name was Annie Pavelka — the world knows her as My Antonia. In this excerpt from NET's biography of Willa Cather (Willa Cather – The Road Is All) we explore how a great writer creates her characters.
For more: About Willa Cather
Let's Meet at the Fountain
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Ice cream cones, fireflies, buzzing cicadas, and plumes of water lit in rainbow colors. Fisher Fountain in Hastings, Nebraska continues to draw people together seventy years after it was built. The rainbow fountain is a place of memories – some wonderful, some not so wonderful. The best time to visit is on a warm summer evening.
For more: Visit the site for Hastings' Fisher Fountain
For more: Visit the Adams County Historical Society
The Fisher Fountain is the largest fountain of it's kind between Denver and Chicago. To listen to an NET Radio story about the Fisher Fountain, click here.
Coming Up on Nebraska Stories!
The next episode (#201) of Nebraska Stories is scheduled to premiere in September 2010 on NET1. This episode will feature the following stories:
- Special Olympics – We follow a South Sioux City athlete as he competes in the Special Olympics held in Lincoln this July.
- Afghan Journey (from NET's Afghan Journey, 2005) – We look back at the story of two young Lincoln journalists who traveled to Afghanistan in 2005 when that country was a very different place than it is today.
- Omaha's World's Fair – A look at the world's fair of 1898 held in Omaha.
- A Top Recruit – A profile of a talented young musician from Greece recruited to UNL’s School of Music as if he were a five-star quarterback for the Cornhuskers.
- Lost on the Great Plains – Geographer David Wishart shares an essay about the struggles of living so far from the sea, adrift instead on the terra firma of Nebraska.
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