The heart and soul of the Cather Foundation can be found in the annual Willa Cather Spring Conference at the Cather Historic Site in Red Cloud. It is here that entrenched traditions of the Foundation are reinforced: kolache and coffee on Saturday morning, the service at Grace Episcopal Church, the St. Juliana Choir, the Passing Show Panel, country tours, banquets and luncheons comprised of the best of local cooking, and original performances on the stage of the Opera House Auditorium. Most important, members of the Cather Community from near and far renew acquaintances and share experiences. The Opera House and other historic buildings host a variety of presentations followed by open and invigorating discussions. In fact, the public discussions are uniquely robust.
We invite you to step into the heart of the Middle Ground and attend the 2008 Spring Conference. Below is a brief summary of the upcoming 2008 Spring Conference. Check this website for the official schedule and call 402-746-2653 to register. You won’t be sorry.
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The 2008 Willa Cather Spring Conference in Red Cloud, June 5, 6 and 7, promises to be one of the best ever! Literary experts from across the country will descend upon Red Cloud, all planning to share lively conversations with participants.
This year’s theme is “Cather and Her Contemporaries,” which includes discussions that involve authors such as William Faulkner, Bess Streeter Aldrich, Sarah Orne Jewett, Ernest Hemingway, Edith Wharton, and others—all contemporaries of Willa Cather. The Willa Cather Spring Conference is known for events that include animated public discussions. Keynote speaker for the Passing Show Panel is Dr. Charles E. Peek, professor of literature at the University of Nebraska at Kearney, who will lead a panel of distinguished Cather Scholars. The Passing Show Panel will be held in the restored 1885 Red Cloud Opera House. Other discussions will take place at various historic Cather-related buildings throughout the community, including the Cather Childhood Home and the Harling House, setting for My Ántonia. In addition, Joel Geyer, one of the producers of the nationally acclaimed NET film of Willa Cather’s biography, The Road is All, will be on hand to host the showing of the film Saturday afternoon.
A special focus of the Conference on Friday is the Country Tour of sites related to Cather’s novel One of Ours. Included on the tour is the George P. Cather House, a key setting for the novel. This home has not been on the Cather Spring Conference tour for a number of years and promises to be a highlight of Friday events. Richard Harris of the Web Institute in New York City will be available for the Country Tour. On Friday afternoon, Harris will be the Keynote Speaker for One of Ours, with discussion to follow. Rare artifacts directly connected to World War I, which have been collected by Harris, will be on display, and Barb Sprague of Red Cloud will be at the piano, playing World War I popular music throughout the Conference.
The Conference is being held in June to accommodate a Cather Symposium on Thursday, June 5th. Scholars from throughout the United States will be reading and discussing papers especially prepared for this event. The day culminates with a Vespers Service conducted by Dr. Peek, with hymns led by the popular St. Juliana Choir.
The Gallery at the Cather Center will feature the work of British artist Steve Joy. Joy’s paintings are monumental in scale and impact and present a rare opportunity to view work done by a celebrated international artist. Joy will be in the Gallery to discuss his work on Friday at 10:00 a.m. A reception for the artist is planned for 4:00 p.m. in the Gallery on Saturday of the Conference.
Participants will not want to miss special banquets, receptions, the locally prepared salad luncheon, and special tours available during the three-day event.
Capping the three-day Spring Conference is a dance theatre work by Laura Diffenderfer called A Wagner Matinee, which involves video, photography, and dance. The program is inspired by Willa Cather’s short story, “A Wagner Matinee.” Already a portion of the performance has been previewed in New York City. Following the premiere performance of the entire program on the stage of the 1885 Red Cloud Opera House at the conclusion of the Spring Conference, the program will eventually return to New York City. Tickets are available to the public. Call the Opera House Ticket Desk at 402-746-2641.
A Chocolate and Wine Reception follows the performance on Saturday evening.
For a detailed schedule of events and lodging information, visit http://www.willacather.org/ or phone toll-free 1-866-731-7304. Pre-registration for the Conference is requested.
Monday, May 12, 2008
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Joy
I have said before that the Middle Ground of the Cather Foundation is indeed broad—reaching out from its center in Red Cloud to the far corners of the world. But sometimes, the “world” comes to Red Cloud.
Today the Middle Ground of the Cather Foundation announces an exhibition of international art and joy—or, Joy with a capital “J.” To be precise, I want to talk about Steve Joy, a British artist whose work will be featured at the Red Cloud Opera House Gallery in June, as a part of the annual Willa Cather Spring Conference, scheduled for June 5-6-7. (See the 2008 Spring Conference Schedule at www.willacather.org.)
Joy is a painter who has worked and taught on three continents. He says of himself that he has for twenty-five years been “exhibiting his unique brand of exotically evocative art all over the world.” He has exhibited his work in galleries in Norway, Switzerland, Spain, Belgium, the United States, as well as in his native England. Joy travels between England and his studios in Omaha and New York.
The Spring Conference itself will bring individuals from throughout the United States and occasionally from a number of foreign countries. Guests, as well as presenters, will include professional scholars, teachers, and lay people who study and enjoy the work of Willa Cather. Thus, it is quite fitting to also include an artist of national and international repute.
Joy says of his painting that “ . . . My current works include the somewhat romantic idea that exotic and mysterious places can be contained within painting—giving us all a taste of the unknown without having to make the journey ourselves. My paintings evoke thoughts of sacred places, abbeys, cathedrals, darkened candlelit rooms; and the perfume of incense and spices from the East . . . Most of all, I was thinking of silence—the kind of silence I connect to icons, especially the great icons of the Byzantine period.”
If you plan to visit the Cather Center Gallery when Steve Joy is exhibiting his work, plan to experience paintings that are exciting and monumental in size. Joy, always aware of his surroundings, will also be bringing some work inspired by the Great Plains. He will lecture on “Cather and Her contemporaries in the World of the Visual Arts” on Friday, June 6, in the morning from 10:00 to 11:00 in the Opera House Gallery.
Following Joy’s exhibition in Red Cloud, his work moves to the Joslyn Art Museum, June 28 – September 21, 2008, where a full-career exhibition will be featured, along with Joy’s new book, Steve Joy Paintings, 1980-2007: Uncreated Light. This newly released book includes beautiful reproductions of his works and places that have inspired Joy, including sites in Mexico, New York, Morocco, France, Spain, Norway, Italy, India, and Japan.
Please join us at the Cather Historic Site in June and experience Steve Joy’s impressive exhibition.
Today the Middle Ground of the Cather Foundation announces an exhibition of international art and joy—or, Joy with a capital “J.” To be precise, I want to talk about Steve Joy, a British artist whose work will be featured at the Red Cloud Opera House Gallery in June, as a part of the annual Willa Cather Spring Conference, scheduled for June 5-6-7. (See the 2008 Spring Conference Schedule at www.willacather.org.)
Joy is a painter who has worked and taught on three continents. He says of himself that he has for twenty-five years been “exhibiting his unique brand of exotically evocative art all over the world.” He has exhibited his work in galleries in Norway, Switzerland, Spain, Belgium, the United States, as well as in his native England. Joy travels between England and his studios in Omaha and New York.
The Spring Conference itself will bring individuals from throughout the United States and occasionally from a number of foreign countries. Guests, as well as presenters, will include professional scholars, teachers, and lay people who study and enjoy the work of Willa Cather. Thus, it is quite fitting to also include an artist of national and international repute.
Joy says of his painting that “ . . . My current works include the somewhat romantic idea that exotic and mysterious places can be contained within painting—giving us all a taste of the unknown without having to make the journey ourselves. My paintings evoke thoughts of sacred places, abbeys, cathedrals, darkened candlelit rooms; and the perfume of incense and spices from the East . . . Most of all, I was thinking of silence—the kind of silence I connect to icons, especially the great icons of the Byzantine period.”
If you plan to visit the Cather Center Gallery when Steve Joy is exhibiting his work, plan to experience paintings that are exciting and monumental in size. Joy, always aware of his surroundings, will also be bringing some work inspired by the Great Plains. He will lecture on “Cather and Her contemporaries in the World of the Visual Arts” on Friday, June 6, in the morning from 10:00 to 11:00 in the Opera House Gallery.
Following Joy’s exhibition in Red Cloud, his work moves to the Joslyn Art Museum, June 28 – September 21, 2008, where a full-career exhibition will be featured, along with Joy’s new book, Steve Joy Paintings, 1980-2007: Uncreated Light. This newly released book includes beautiful reproductions of his works and places that have inspired Joy, including sites in Mexico, New York, Morocco, France, Spain, Norway, Italy, India, and Japan.
Please join us at the Cather Historic Site in June and experience Steve Joy’s impressive exhibition.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Restored Red Cloud Opera House Celebrates 5th Anniversary
On May 3, 2003, the newly restored 1885 Red Cloud Opera House was officially reopened and dedicated. The reopening five years ago was highlighted by an outdoor dedication, during which a number of dignitaries from throughout the state and the nation spoke and Marcy Thompson’s fifth grade class cut the ribbon. On stage that evening was James Ford’s production of The Bohemian Girl, which had also been produced in 1898 by the Anderson Company with Willa Cather herself in attendance.
The dedication was truly a gala event. There was much to celebrate that day. Twelve years of planning, fundraising, and plain hard work had gone into the project. Local individuals and people from throughout the country had contributed time, energy, and resources to make the restoration possible. At times, many had considered this to be the impossible dream, but it became a reality because the Cather Foundation Board of Governors, the Cather Foundation membership, and friends of the Foundation simply would not give up.
Today the Opera House is alive with activity. The Foundation offices, located on the ground floor, provide the “command center” for worldwide Cather-related activities. The gallery and auditorium are hosts to a wide spectrum of local, regional, and international talent. The facility plays host to a variety of business and professional groups. Weddings have been held there, politicians have spoken there, and, of course, the Spring Conference is centered in the facility. All of these activities and more reflect the same kinds of events that dominated the Red Cloud Opera House back in the late 1800s and early 20th century. Cather was at home in this facility then, and we like to think that she would be pleased with the events occurring there now. The restored Opera House has turned out to be exactly what those who made it possible expected.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Moon Block
Willa Cather renames Red Cloud again and again to establish settings for her various novels and short stories. In her fiction, Red Cloud becomes Black Hawk, Sweet Water, Hanover, Frankfort, and the list goes on. As a result, a certain amount of imagination, and maybe even a sprinkling of magic, has attached itself to this famous small town on the Nebraska Prairie. Adding to the magic is the Moon Block, located next to the restored 1885 Red Cloud Opera House. Moon Block . . . the name itself tempts one’s imagination to lift the little town right off the prairie and leave it hovering just beneath the moon—anyway the name has always struck me in just that way, though I don’t know that Cather would have carried it quite that far.
However, though the name sounds romantic enough and Cather certainly makes reference to it in her writings, any association with magic is soon dispelled when one learns that the name is derived from a man by the name of John Moon who named his building after himself. Moon built the Moon Block in 1886, just three years after Willa Cather and her family moved to Red Cloud. Cather would have been about thirteen when the structure was completed; and since the Moon Block takes up a good portion of one block on the west side of Webster Street, its construction would have caused some excitement in the burgeoning small town. The Moon Block held both offices and storefronts early on. Thus, it is in the completed Moon Block structure that Cather would have visited the office of Dr. McKeeby who would become Dr. Archie in The Song of the Lark, for example.
Located just to the north of the restored 1885 Red Cloud Opera House, today the Moon Block stands for the most part unnoticed—certainly undistinguished from the other store fronts located on this main thoroughfare. The Moon Block sports five business bays on the street level, three of which house the Red Cloud Hardware Store which has been in continuous existence since 1885, first physically beneath the historic Red Cloud Opera House itself and later moved to the Moon Block. The other two bays are empty at this time.
Overall, the two-story conglomerate is not in the best shape at this time, but this situation is about to change. The Moon Block is scheduled for renovation starting in this decade. The Cather Foundation has been the recipient of recent Congressional funding plus private contributions that now total over one million dollars, which represents approximately one-fourth of the necessary funding to restore the historic site. The main goal of the project is to create much needed archival space on the second level, but the restoration is essential, in part, because it shares a common wall with the newly restored Opera House. Obviously the structural problems of the Moon Block have become a concern.
Once the Moon Block is restored, the building offers many advantages to the Cather Foundation and many possibilities for economic development in Red Cloud. Because the Moon Block does share a common wall with the Opera House, the stage of the Opera House can be expanded on the north side and a green room added as well as dressing rooms. A freight elevator to the second floor will alleviate the problems of transporting sets and other stage materials to the second floor auditorium. The Red Cloud Hardware Store will be renovated, the Cather Foundation Bookstore expanded, and there will still be room for another business on the street level. Potential loft apartments in the second story have attracted considerable interest of Red Cloud area residents looking for good quality housing.
For the Cather Foundation, though, the planned archive offers a final solution to preserving its many precious Cather-related artifacts. A large section of the upper level is designated for the archive where internal light and climate can be effectively managed.
The name Moon Block might sound like it comes from someone’s exotic dream, but it is a definite structure identifiable in time and space. The real dream that so many hold is to make it come alive as a functioning part of the community of Red Cloud and, at the same time, save a national designed historic site that will become a repository for historic treasures important to our national literary heritage. If you want to learn more about how you can help this project become a reality, contact the Cather Foundation online at http://www.willacather.org/ or call toll free at 1-866-731-7304.
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Travels with Ann
This past summer I had the opportunity to meet Willa Cather’s Virginia relatives, thanks to Ann Romines. Ann lives in Alexandria, Virginia. She is a professor of English at George Washington University, she is one of the most outstanding Cather scholars in the country, she is a member of the Cather Foundation Board of Governors, and she is an expert on Willa Cather’s Virginia connections. I was quite pleased when she invited me to attend the 50th Cather family annual reunion near Winchester, Virginia. As readers know, Cather was born in Virginia; lived there until she was almost ten years old; and, later in her writing career, completed a novel set in the area of Virginia where she lived as a child.
As the road trip up from the Washington DC area began, I knew almost immediately that I was with an accomplished tour guide. We soon passed Willow Shade, the home Cather lived in for most of her nine years in Virginia. I had toured this home earlier during the Virginia-based Cather International Seminar in 1997.
Ann was anxious to show me Cather’s great grandmother’s house and quickly found it. The house is the prototype for Sapphira’s house in Cather’s Sapphira and the Slave Girl. Ann pointed out where the mill would have stood, though it is gone now.
We also viewed the house where Cather was born in what is now Gore, Virginia. (The name was changed from Back Creek Valley to Gore in the 1890’s.) Efforts are underway to save this home. There is much work that needs to be done fairly soon, I would guess.
On the road again, Ann continued to share the history of Cather’s family. We found the Round Hill Fire and Rescue Company building, which the Cathers had obviously rented for the day. Ann carefully carried in her blueberry buckle in high hopes that it would be a success. A success, of course, means that she would have an empty pan at the end of the day—and she did! I can verify that it was a delicious blueberry buckle.
Once inside, the scene was typical of my experience with family reunions. There were tables across the entire front of the large room where women were busy arranging casseroles, salads, cakes, and pies—all homemade from prized family recipes. I was soon to be initiated into the revels of home style Virginia cooking.
The main activity was eating. Once we had gorged ourselves and agreed that the food was wonderful, games were played and announcements made. There was a drawing for prizes. Being from Nebraska, I was excited to win the prize for coming the farthest distance.
As the reunion began to wind down, Cather family members were bustling around distributing the last of a very large supply of applebutter. The Cather family has an annual applebutter-making event. Ann and I left each carrying a jar of applebutter, the warmth of goodbye hugs, and invitations to come again next year. Ann also remembered to bring her empty dessert dish back to the car.
On the highway again, the tour continued and we were soon off on a side road, heading toward grave yards where Cather’s Virginia relatives were buried. Ann informed me that we had turned onto Hollow Road, one of the oldest roads in Virginia. We were traveling for the most part through deep Virginia forest with incredibly tall trees lining both sides of the road.
Occasionally the forest broke for an extended golden meadow, basking in afternoon sun. Ann knew exactly where to go when we arrived at the two graveyards, and we were soon again among Cather’s relatives—a silent reunion this time. Regretfully, we had to return to the highway.
Back in Winchester, I wanted to find the Larrick Tavern, which was founded in 1742. The Larrick name is common in the area of Bladen, Nebraska. In fact, my husband is related to the Larricks from that area. His mother used to talk about her Virginia relatives. I don’t have proof positive, but I suspect that the Larricks of Virginia and the Larricks of Bladen are from the same family. That would make sense. The Cathers were not the only Virginians to come to Nebraska.
We made a last stop at a roadside fruit stand, bought a half-bushel of Fredericks County peaches, which we then split between the two of us. I was made to understand that these peaches were the best peaches grown in Virginia. Yes, they were very good. Then it was back to the Washington DC area.
Back in Nebraska, visitors to the Cather Historic Site can receive guided tours through Red Cloud and the sixty-mile country tour of Cather sites. The tours become virtual tours through Cather’s six prairie novels. Ann’s tour provided the same experience for Cather’s Virginia novel, Sapphira and the Slave Girl. I have also experienced Quebec, Mesa Verde, the Sante Fe area, Paris, and Provence. In each instance, the sites beautifully reflect specific Cather novels and each area claims the famed author. The “middle ground” is indeed wide.
Food is served at the Cather Family Reunion.
Ann talks with Cather relative Louise Cather. John Jacobs, Cather scholar from Shenandoah University, stands in the background at left.
Larrick’s Tavern in Winchester, Virginia.
Hollow Road, which we traveled to reach the cemeteries where many of Cather’s Virginia relatives are buried.
As the road trip up from the Washington DC area began, I knew almost immediately that I was with an accomplished tour guide. We soon passed Willow Shade, the home Cather lived in for most of her nine years in Virginia. I had toured this home earlier during the Virginia-based Cather International Seminar in 1997.
Ann was anxious to show me Cather’s great grandmother’s house and quickly found it. The house is the prototype for Sapphira’s house in Cather’s Sapphira and the Slave Girl. Ann pointed out where the mill would have stood, though it is gone now.
We also viewed the house where Cather was born in what is now Gore, Virginia. (The name was changed from Back Creek Valley to Gore in the 1890’s.) Efforts are underway to save this home. There is much work that needs to be done fairly soon, I would guess.
On the road again, Ann continued to share the history of Cather’s family. We found the Round Hill Fire and Rescue Company building, which the Cathers had obviously rented for the day. Ann carefully carried in her blueberry buckle in high hopes that it would be a success. A success, of course, means that she would have an empty pan at the end of the day—and she did! I can verify that it was a delicious blueberry buckle.
Once inside, the scene was typical of my experience with family reunions. There were tables across the entire front of the large room where women were busy arranging casseroles, salads, cakes, and pies—all homemade from prized family recipes. I was soon to be initiated into the revels of home style Virginia cooking.
The main activity was eating. Once we had gorged ourselves and agreed that the food was wonderful, games were played and announcements made. There was a drawing for prizes. Being from Nebraska, I was excited to win the prize for coming the farthest distance.
As the reunion began to wind down, Cather family members were bustling around distributing the last of a very large supply of applebutter. The Cather family has an annual applebutter-making event. Ann and I left each carrying a jar of applebutter, the warmth of goodbye hugs, and invitations to come again next year. Ann also remembered to bring her empty dessert dish back to the car.
On the highway again, the tour continued and we were soon off on a side road, heading toward grave yards where Cather’s Virginia relatives were buried. Ann informed me that we had turned onto Hollow Road, one of the oldest roads in Virginia. We were traveling for the most part through deep Virginia forest with incredibly tall trees lining both sides of the road.
Occasionally the forest broke for an extended golden meadow, basking in afternoon sun. Ann knew exactly where to go when we arrived at the two graveyards, and we were soon again among Cather’s relatives—a silent reunion this time. Regretfully, we had to return to the highway.
Back in Winchester, I wanted to find the Larrick Tavern, which was founded in 1742. The Larrick name is common in the area of Bladen, Nebraska. In fact, my husband is related to the Larricks from that area. His mother used to talk about her Virginia relatives. I don’t have proof positive, but I suspect that the Larricks of Virginia and the Larricks of Bladen are from the same family. That would make sense. The Cathers were not the only Virginians to come to Nebraska.
We made a last stop at a roadside fruit stand, bought a half-bushel of Fredericks County peaches, which we then split between the two of us. I was made to understand that these peaches were the best peaches grown in Virginia. Yes, they were very good. Then it was back to the Washington DC area.
Back in Nebraska, visitors to the Cather Historic Site can receive guided tours through Red Cloud and the sixty-mile country tour of Cather sites. The tours become virtual tours through Cather’s six prairie novels. Ann’s tour provided the same experience for Cather’s Virginia novel, Sapphira and the Slave Girl. I have also experienced Quebec, Mesa Verde, the Sante Fe area, Paris, and Provence. In each instance, the sites beautifully reflect specific Cather novels and each area claims the famed author. The “middle ground” is indeed wide.
Food is served at the Cather Family Reunion.
Ann talks with Cather relative Louise Cather. John Jacobs, Cather scholar from Shenandoah University, stands in the background at left.
Larrick’s Tavern in Winchester, Virginia.
Hollow Road, which we traveled to reach the cemeteries where many of Cather’s Virginia relatives are buried.
Monday, December 10, 2007
The Willa Cather Memorial Prairie
"This country was mostly wild pasture and as naked as the back of your hand," said the author. "I was little and homesick and lonely and my mother was homesick and nobody paid any attention to us. So the country and I had it out together and by the end of the first autumn, that shaggy grass country had gripped me with a passion I have never been able to shake. It has been the happiness and the curse of my life." —Omaha Bee, October 29, 1921.
The “middle ground” includes the Willa Cather Memorial Prairie. Much has changed on that 607-acre tract of mixed-grass landscape next to the Kansas boarder in Webster County. If you have not visited lately, a trip to this particular “middle ground” might be worth your time.
For my own part, I admit that I am not completely familiar with every inch of the Cather Memorial Prairie. I know the east end next to Highway 281 very well because when I taught, my students “camped” there each fall for an hour or so to do assignments. However, until a year or so ago I had not investigated the western section. Then one day in June of 2006, my husband Ron and I decided to walk to the west end. We shared a picnic lunch and then set off.
As we left the more familiar land next to the highway, we encountered fairly rough terrain. Soon we came to hillsides covered in wild flowers. One hill was covered with wild roses in full bloom—reminding me of Emil and Marie in O Pioneers!. The grass became taller and lusher as we neared the windmill (which one can barely see from the east entrance to the Prairie). We discovered a second deep valley with a creek winding through it from south to north. My goal was to see if we could find some antique barbed wire fences. Those western fences, however, were relatively new. I was both disappointed in not finding old wire and pleased at the same time because new fence is usually trouble-free. It was an exhilarating, long walk. We looked up at a perfect turquoise blue sky that day with the wind bending the grass below and us too as we headed into the breezes. We decided to follow the fence to the north side and then head back toward our vehicle.
* * *
As most members and friends of the Foundation know, the Cather Memorial Prairie was purchased some thirty-two years ago by the Nature Conservancy through the generosity of Frank Woods, Jr. In 2005 the Nature Conservancy turned the land over to the Cather Foundation, along with a significant endowment, which will enable the Foundation not only to maintain the land but also to improve it. To this end, a Prairie Management Committee has been established with a membership that has very impressive credentials in the area of grasslands management.
Over the years, many non-native plants have invaded the Prairie. The “mission” of the Prairie Management Committee is to restore the native grasses and eliminate those plants foreign to Nebraska mixed-grasslands. So, how does one go about doing that? The answers are multiple and not particularly simple.
First the Management Committee took a walk one fine day to begin identifying native plants vs. invasive plants. Everyone was impressed by the variety of native plants found and the rarity of some of these plants. For my part, I went along with the experts on the walk, determined to learn to identify plants on this vast expanse. I took with me a pencil and drawing paper. Eventually I gave up. Now, however, Cindy Bruneteau has put together a pamphlet that lists many of the native plants and includes color photographs. Today, using her guide, anyone can take a walk on the Prairie and identify many spectacular and rare plants. (For more information about these plants, interested individuals can contact Cindy Bruneteau, Education Director at the Cather Foundation. Cindy is the Cather Center representative on the Prairie Management team.)
Ridding the Prairie of invasive plants requires multiple solutions. Jim Fitzgibbon, chair of the Prairie Management Committee has invoked some of those solutions. He has almost single handedly cut down well over a thousand cedar trees, which have been spreading rapidly throughout South Central Nebraska in recent years. In addition, he has hand-sprayed and/or spaded up tons of noxious weeds.
Controlling invasive grasses requires some long-term solutions, one of which is cattle grazing. I admit that at one time I was determined to remove the cattle from this property. I can remember taking students to the Cather Prairie when there were no cattle and therefore no “cow pies” and few insects and other pests. When cattle were re-introduced, these irritations grew—more cow pies, more insects, etc. However, I have relaxed my opposition. Cattle, like the native buffalo of long ago, are an important part of the ecological health of the landscape. If grazing is properly controlled, cattle can help eliminate some of the non-native grasses and encourage growth of native plants. Again Jim Fitzgibbon enters the picture. Jim has helped with and/or supervised the building of fences to divide the prairie into three relatively equal-sized paddocks. Next year the land will be leased and cattle will be rotated among the paddocks in a timely fashion with the goal of controlling non-native grasses. Farmer/ranchers in the area confirm that this system can work to eliminate unwanted grasses.
Water is another major issue on the Cather Prairie. It is interesting to note that this tract of land has only one windmill and a reputation for not having sufficient underground water to furnish more windmills. However, we have learned to our surprise that natural springs abound. The general consensus had been that there are three natural springs on the Cather Prairie. Then Jim Fitzgibbon located eight more! By fencing off some of these springs, Jim has been able to keep cattle from tramping the springs shut and cutting off the water flow. The free-flowing springs are now beginning to provide ample water in the paddocks for cattle. When the Prairie was transferred to the Cather Foundation, we were in the midst of a long period of drought; however, with the recent rains and the working springs, water abounds, as evidenced by the accompanying photograph.
If you really want to take a walk on the Cather Memorial Prairie, you might be interested in the hiking paths that have been designed and will soon be created. Already, this stretch of land is a Nebraska birding site. Creative ideas continue to come forth for other ways to improve the quality of the landscape. The future of the Cather Memorial Prairie is bright. However, there is still much to do. If you are interested in volunteering, contact Cindy Bruneteau at the Cather Center; contributions are welcome and will be used wisely to continue improvements on what we hope will become one of the most outstanding examples of unbroken mixed-grass prairie in the country—a fitting tribute to the great American author whose name is indelibly stamped on this rich, “wine-stained” stretch of earth.
The “middle ground” includes the Willa Cather Memorial Prairie. Much has changed on that 607-acre tract of mixed-grass landscape next to the Kansas boarder in Webster County. If you have not visited lately, a trip to this particular “middle ground” might be worth your time.
For my own part, I admit that I am not completely familiar with every inch of the Cather Memorial Prairie. I know the east end next to Highway 281 very well because when I taught, my students “camped” there each fall for an hour or so to do assignments. However, until a year or so ago I had not investigated the western section. Then one day in June of 2006, my husband Ron and I decided to walk to the west end. We shared a picnic lunch and then set off.
As we left the more familiar land next to the highway, we encountered fairly rough terrain. Soon we came to hillsides covered in wild flowers. One hill was covered with wild roses in full bloom—reminding me of Emil and Marie in O Pioneers!. The grass became taller and lusher as we neared the windmill (which one can barely see from the east entrance to the Prairie). We discovered a second deep valley with a creek winding through it from south to north. My goal was to see if we could find some antique barbed wire fences. Those western fences, however, were relatively new. I was both disappointed in not finding old wire and pleased at the same time because new fence is usually trouble-free. It was an exhilarating, long walk. We looked up at a perfect turquoise blue sky that day with the wind bending the grass below and us too as we headed into the breezes. We decided to follow the fence to the north side and then head back toward our vehicle.
* * *
As most members and friends of the Foundation know, the Cather Memorial Prairie was purchased some thirty-two years ago by the Nature Conservancy through the generosity of Frank Woods, Jr. In 2005 the Nature Conservancy turned the land over to the Cather Foundation, along with a significant endowment, which will enable the Foundation not only to maintain the land but also to improve it. To this end, a Prairie Management Committee has been established with a membership that has very impressive credentials in the area of grasslands management.
Over the years, many non-native plants have invaded the Prairie. The “mission” of the Prairie Management Committee is to restore the native grasses and eliminate those plants foreign to Nebraska mixed-grasslands. So, how does one go about doing that? The answers are multiple and not particularly simple.
First the Management Committee took a walk one fine day to begin identifying native plants vs. invasive plants. Everyone was impressed by the variety of native plants found and the rarity of some of these plants. For my part, I went along with the experts on the walk, determined to learn to identify plants on this vast expanse. I took with me a pencil and drawing paper. Eventually I gave up. Now, however, Cindy Bruneteau has put together a pamphlet that lists many of the native plants and includes color photographs. Today, using her guide, anyone can take a walk on the Prairie and identify many spectacular and rare plants. (For more information about these plants, interested individuals can contact Cindy Bruneteau, Education Director at the Cather Foundation. Cindy is the Cather Center representative on the Prairie Management team.)
Ridding the Prairie of invasive plants requires multiple solutions. Jim Fitzgibbon, chair of the Prairie Management Committee has invoked some of those solutions. He has almost single handedly cut down well over a thousand cedar trees, which have been spreading rapidly throughout South Central Nebraska in recent years. In addition, he has hand-sprayed and/or spaded up tons of noxious weeds.
Controlling invasive grasses requires some long-term solutions, one of which is cattle grazing. I admit that at one time I was determined to remove the cattle from this property. I can remember taking students to the Cather Prairie when there were no cattle and therefore no “cow pies” and few insects and other pests. When cattle were re-introduced, these irritations grew—more cow pies, more insects, etc. However, I have relaxed my opposition. Cattle, like the native buffalo of long ago, are an important part of the ecological health of the landscape. If grazing is properly controlled, cattle can help eliminate some of the non-native grasses and encourage growth of native plants. Again Jim Fitzgibbon enters the picture. Jim has helped with and/or supervised the building of fences to divide the prairie into three relatively equal-sized paddocks. Next year the land will be leased and cattle will be rotated among the paddocks in a timely fashion with the goal of controlling non-native grasses. Farmer/ranchers in the area confirm that this system can work to eliminate unwanted grasses.
Water is another major issue on the Cather Prairie. It is interesting to note that this tract of land has only one windmill and a reputation for not having sufficient underground water to furnish more windmills. However, we have learned to our surprise that natural springs abound. The general consensus had been that there are three natural springs on the Cather Prairie. Then Jim Fitzgibbon located eight more! By fencing off some of these springs, Jim has been able to keep cattle from tramping the springs shut and cutting off the water flow. The free-flowing springs are now beginning to provide ample water in the paddocks for cattle. When the Prairie was transferred to the Cather Foundation, we were in the midst of a long period of drought; however, with the recent rains and the working springs, water abounds, as evidenced by the accompanying photograph.
If you really want to take a walk on the Cather Memorial Prairie, you might be interested in the hiking paths that have been designed and will soon be created. Already, this stretch of land is a Nebraska birding site. Creative ideas continue to come forth for other ways to improve the quality of the landscape. The future of the Cather Memorial Prairie is bright. However, there is still much to do. If you are interested in volunteering, contact Cindy Bruneteau at the Cather Center; contributions are welcome and will be used wisely to continue improvements on what we hope will become one of the most outstanding examples of unbroken mixed-grass prairie in the country—a fitting tribute to the great American author whose name is indelibly stamped on this rich, “wine-stained” stretch of earth.
Monday, November 26, 2007
My Ántonia and the BIG READ
“There was nothing but land: not a country at all, but the material out of which countries are made.” — My Ántonia
One of the most positive and exciting things happening in our country right now is the BIG READ sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). According to the NEA website, “The Big Read is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts designed to revitalize the role of literature in American popular culture and bring the transformative power of literature into the lives of its citizens.” In carrying out this mission, the BIG READ has embraced sixteen American novels with the intention of offering grants to organizations such as libraries and literary societies to present programming connected to any one of the sixteen books. These books are representative of the best that American literature has to offer. I have decided to write about this because the NEA has chosen Willa Cather’s My Ántonia as a selection for the BIG READ.
The choice of My Ántonia is an especially wise decision. The quality of language and imagery in this novel is without precedent. Moreover, the narrative of this American tale is uncommonly inspiring. In the beginning of the novel Cather talks about the beginnings of a country and the materials necessary to mold community: "There was nothing but land: not a country at all, but the material out of which countries are made." She then goes on to define for the reader what those materials are. I believe she is talking about three basic elements: land, people, and culture. These are, of course, the elements that make up the beginnings of every society. To see these elements coagulate in My Ántonia is to relive the making of America in every locale across this broad land and with all of the diversity associated with land, people, and culture—a nice reminder to citizens today of what we are all about.
It is important to emphasize that Cather, in telling the story of My Ántonia, is the rare American novelist who describes the beginning of a society in uncommonly positive and inspiring terms. The novel ends in triumph. The reader comes away with hope and the expectation of a bright and abundant future for a new society founded in the heart of America.
I am particularly interested in the cultural aspect of the novel. In My Ántonia Cather asks her characters to share their stories—stories of the old world and the new; stories having many ethnic origins. As individuals, we repeat our own stories and we learn the stories of others. These stories together become the myths and legends we all know in common. The stories are part of our culture and define who we are as Americans; and one of Cather’s special gifts in My Ántonia is her ability to tell stories in ways that make abundantly clear the positive aspects of our diversity as Americans. Yes, NEA made a prudent decision when they chose My Ántonia for the BIG READ—through this beautifully written novel, we learn something of who we are in the context of hope and bright anticipation of what we can become.
Because My Ántonia is being read in communities across the country, the Cather Foundation is taking part in the BIG READ in a variety of ways. Our own Cather scholars from the Cather Foundation Board of Governors are making presentations and are participating in BIG READ panels. I have given presentations myself. The “Willa Cather and Material Culture” photography exhibit of special artifacts connected to Cather’s life and literature is now traveling from state to state as part of the BIG READ initiative.
If you have not checked out the BIG READ website, you might want to go to http://www.nea.gov/national/bigread/index.html. For more information about how you can use Cather Foundation resources to enhance programming connected to My Ántonia in your community, contact us at http://www.willacather.org/ or email wcpm@gpcom.net.
One of the most positive and exciting things happening in our country right now is the BIG READ sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). According to the NEA website, “The Big Read is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts designed to revitalize the role of literature in American popular culture and bring the transformative power of literature into the lives of its citizens.” In carrying out this mission, the BIG READ has embraced sixteen American novels with the intention of offering grants to organizations such as libraries and literary societies to present programming connected to any one of the sixteen books. These books are representative of the best that American literature has to offer. I have decided to write about this because the NEA has chosen Willa Cather’s My Ántonia as a selection for the BIG READ.
The choice of My Ántonia is an especially wise decision. The quality of language and imagery in this novel is without precedent. Moreover, the narrative of this American tale is uncommonly inspiring. In the beginning of the novel Cather talks about the beginnings of a country and the materials necessary to mold community: "There was nothing but land: not a country at all, but the material out of which countries are made." She then goes on to define for the reader what those materials are. I believe she is talking about three basic elements: land, people, and culture. These are, of course, the elements that make up the beginnings of every society. To see these elements coagulate in My Ántonia is to relive the making of America in every locale across this broad land and with all of the diversity associated with land, people, and culture—a nice reminder to citizens today of what we are all about.
It is important to emphasize that Cather, in telling the story of My Ántonia, is the rare American novelist who describes the beginning of a society in uncommonly positive and inspiring terms. The novel ends in triumph. The reader comes away with hope and the expectation of a bright and abundant future for a new society founded in the heart of America.
I am particularly interested in the cultural aspect of the novel. In My Ántonia Cather asks her characters to share their stories—stories of the old world and the new; stories having many ethnic origins. As individuals, we repeat our own stories and we learn the stories of others. These stories together become the myths and legends we all know in common. The stories are part of our culture and define who we are as Americans; and one of Cather’s special gifts in My Ántonia is her ability to tell stories in ways that make abundantly clear the positive aspects of our diversity as Americans. Yes, NEA made a prudent decision when they chose My Ántonia for the BIG READ—through this beautifully written novel, we learn something of who we are in the context of hope and bright anticipation of what we can become.
Because My Ántonia is being read in communities across the country, the Cather Foundation is taking part in the BIG READ in a variety of ways. Our own Cather scholars from the Cather Foundation Board of Governors are making presentations and are participating in BIG READ panels. I have given presentations myself. The “Willa Cather and Material Culture” photography exhibit of special artifacts connected to Cather’s life and literature is now traveling from state to state as part of the BIG READ initiative.
If you have not checked out the BIG READ website, you might want to go to http://www.nea.gov/national/bigread/index.html. For more information about how you can use Cather Foundation resources to enhance programming connected to My Ántonia in your community, contact us at http://www.willacather.org/ or email wcpm@gpcom.net.
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