Voices on the Prairie Wind

In this episode, David Wolf talks with Nick Sakarada about his family's history here in the North Platte Valley.  Nick is a second-generation, Nisei, Japanese American.  His father came over to work the railroads, and the family eventually settled in Colorado.  They moved up to the Scottsbluff, Nebraska area to farm.  He has been here ever since and shares his stories about farming, his and his family's service during Wor...

Barb Netherland joins David Wolf and Vicki Schmitt to talk about the Overland Trails, the Paul and Helen Henderson Collection, and the importance of diaries in depicting everyday life on the trail.  The Henderson Collection features thousands of documents, maps, diaries, and other pieces of information on the Oregon, California, and Mormon Trails.  Several volunteers have spent thousands of hours indexing the collections, and it is...

Brian Croft talks with David and Vickie about the history of maps in Nebraska. He was born in Omaha, Nebraska, but has spent the last 16 years teaching Composition, Literature, and Nebraska History at Western Nebraska Community College in Scottsbluff.  He lives with his wife, Erica, and their two children, enjoying the wide spaces and abundant wildlife afforded by the Panhandle.  An avid collector of maps and ephemera focusing on N...

Pete Cawiezel, a Morrill, Nebraska, and rural Sioux County native.  Pete has been a very active community member since 1998.  He serves as the Director of the Morrill Museum located in the Morrill Public Library.  He is currently serving his second term as President of the Morrill Public Library Board.  Not stopping with Morrill, Henry, Lyman, Lingle, Southeast, and Torrington, Pete also is active in the Harrison community as a mem...

David Wolf, Director of the Legacy of the Plains Museum, is joined by Jerry Lucas. 

It was not long after the Lewis and Clark Expedition when American, British, and French trappers and traders started to use the North Platte River as a highway to the Rockies.  Jerry Lucas, local historian, and trapper interpreter joins us to talk about the early fur trappers and traders, some of the big personalities, and the many myths surrounding ...

David Wolf, Director of the Legacy of the Plains Museum, is joined by Eric Grunwald, Lead Interpreter at Scotts Bluff National Monument in Gering, Nebraska, to talk about the history and relevance of the Scotts Bluff National Monument.

Scotts Bluff National Monument has been a landmark for humans from native Americans to emigrants on the Oregon, California, and Mormon Trails, and is still a beacon for travelers today.  Eric Grundwal...

David Wolf, Director of the Legacy of the Plains Museum, is joined by Vicki Schmitt and Jack Preston to talk about the impact of the Homestead Act and its impact in the western Nebraska/Wyobraska area. 

The Homestead Act was one of the major contributors to settlement in Wyobraska, and both of Jack’s great grandparents homesteaded in Scotts Bluff County, Nebraska. He has done extensive research into the early settlers in Scotts Bluf...

David Wolf, Director of the Legacy of the Plains Museum, speaks with Gary Warrner.  Gary’s family moved to the area in the early 1880’s and settled in south-central Scotts Bluff County.  Gary’s chronicles both sides of his grandparent’s journey to the area and talks about his personal journey which has taken him to the oil fields in Texas and back to the area where he opened his own business.  After he retired, the call of ranching...