Published Wednesday, April 10th, 2024
The conference will be held April 27 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Ramsey Theatre.
Wayne State College will be the site of the 43rd annual Neihardt Spring Conference “Monuments in Word, Deed, and Stone” from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, April 27, in Ramsey Theatre, located in the Peterson Fine Arts Building.
Those interested in attending still have time to register at www.neihardtcenter.org/events. There is a registration fee, and the registration deadline is April 17.
In 1923, John G. Neihardt and members of the Neihardt Club of Nebraska Normal College (now Wayne State College), placed an “altar to courage” in Lemmon, S.D., commemorating frontiersman Hugh Glass. Glass’ astonishing journey of survival was told in Neihardt’s “The Song of Hugh Glass” in his literary epic “Cycle of the West.”
The Glass monument contained a time capsule. Neihardt left specific instructions for how that capsule was to be opened 100 years later – a feat attempted in 2023 that turned out to be quite a challenge. Participants will hear about the monument’s interesting journey to its new home at the Neihardt State Historic Site.
Conference speakers include Neihardt family members, professors, historians, and students, who will engage the audience in thinking about how we memorialize people and history – in word, deed, and stone.
For more information about the conference, visit www.neihardtcenter.org/events. The conference is being sponsored by the Wayne State College Honors Program and the John G. Neihardt Foundation.