New Smokin’ humanities program well received

Around 35 people attended a presentation at the Imperial Theatre Saturday as part of the Smokin’ on Broadway offerings.
Jeff Barnes is a fifth-generation Nebraskan, former newspaper reporter, editor, trustee with the Nebraska State Historical Society, past chairman of the Nebraska Hall of Fame Commission, former marketing director for the Durham Museum, speaker and award-winning author and photographer of three historical books.
Barnes’s focus is on the history of Nebraska and the American West.
His latest book, “Cut in Stone, Cast in Bronze: Nebraska’s Historical Markers and Monuments,” was released in September 2020.
It features information on over 250 of Nebraska’s monuments, markers, statues and plaques.
These historical markers are scattered across the state and show the exploration, cultures, conflicts, settlement and organization of Nebraska, Barnes said.
Much of this information had never been gathered until recently.
These sites are not typically found on the highways of Nebraska or other easy-to-find spots, Barnes said.
“They are located where the history took place—in fields, on country roads, hidden among city streets, in wooded bluffs overlooking the Missouri or on the open buttes of the Nebraska panhandle,” he said.
“This is our hidden Nebraska heritage,” said Barnes.
The book features the location and GPS coordinates of each monument to allow the reader to visit the sites.
His goal in writing is to, “get people off the Interstate and get them to go where history happened,” he said.
Barnes gave the attendees a slide presentation on many historical markers and monuments around Nebraska, their location and the interesting, often forgotten, stories behind them.
Those watching the presentation were treated to rarely seen landscapes around the state with fascinating stories to help bring them to life.
Barnes had a number of his books on hand for purchase, including a book signing.
“Response from people who attended was very positive,” said Beth Falla, library director. “The comments I received spoke of how interesting it was and well worth the time.”
Funding for the program was provided by Humanities Nebraska and sponsored by the Lied Imperial Public Library.