Brown Bag History Series

Bring your lunch and learn! These seasonally recurring events bring highly-qualified speakers to the library to share varied topics of cultural, historical, or scientific interest. These free programs are a partnership of the University of Nebraska at Kearney's History Department and the Kearney Public Library. #HistoryRemembered

Brown Bag Lunch Option 1

Dr Nathan TyeNathan Tye (UNK)

  • Wednesday, May 10, 2023
  • Noon–1:00 pm
  • Kearney Public Library

Willa Cather's Kearney 

Known to readers for her re-imaginings of Red Cloud, Nebraska in classics like My Ántonia and O Pioneers!, Willa Cather is one of Nebraska's most beloved authors. Closely identified with Red Cloud and Lincoln, Cather also had deep connections to Kearney residents. Coinciding with Cather and Kearney's 150th birthday celebrations, this talk will illuminate the lives of Cather's friends and family in Kearney as well as her two visits to the community in the 1920s and 1930s.

Nathan Tye is an assistant professor of history at UNK. Tye was born and raised in Kearney, Nebraska. He holds a BA from Creighton University and a PhD from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Dr. Tye specializes in Nebraska History, the history of the American West and Midwest, Labor History, Gender and Sexuality History, as well as Digital and Public History.

His research documents the fascinating but misunderstood lives of hobos, tramps, and other transient workers that traveled across the West and Midwest by hopping trains from the 1870s through 1930s.

Upcoming Dates and Speakers

  • Wednesday, June 14
  • Wednesday, July 12