American History Books

Over 150 years ago, the area now known as Chadron was vast, open grassland. Nearby water sources, Chartran Creek and Bordeaux Creek, were named for the French fur traders whose main customers were nomadic tribes the French called the Sioux. When gold was discovered in the Black Hills, the area quickly changed. The military outposts Fort Robinson and Camp Sheridan were established to control Indian Agencies for Red Cloud's and Spotted Tail's bands. Cattle replaced buffalo on the rich grasslands. The railroad pushed its way west, and the rest, as they say, is history.

For more than 100 years, students at the University of Nebraska at Kearney (formerly Kearney State and the Nebraska State Teachers College) have worn the blue and gold of the Antelopes. Within these pages are more than 200 photographs that chronicle the storied history of athletics at the University of Nebraska at Kearney. Legendary coaches such as Fred Fulmer, Charlie Foster, Al Zikmund, and Jerry Hueser are highlighted along with the star athletes they coached, including Pat Panek, Frank Lydic, Larry Snell, Randy Rasmussen, Tom Kropp, and Bart Kofoed.
Also appearing in these pages are coach George Van Buren, who, beginning in 1910, helped shape the early sports program, and lesser-known but equally important athletes such as multisport standouts Earl "Irish" Carrig, Ronald "the Farnam Flash" Lewis,
and Ray Adams. Besides athletes, coaches, and championship teams, the intense rivalry with Hastings College is highlighted throughout. A Century of Sports at the University of Nebraska at Kearney offers a compelling visual history that will take the Antelope faithful on a journey back to the glory days of the school's athletics.

Lincoln, Nebraska's capital, grew from 45,000 to 55,000 residents in the years 1910-1925. The state's second-largest city, Lincoln was also home to Nebraska's second-largest African American community--a "small town" within the midwestern city. Local race relations were a study in contradictions. Public education and residential neighborhoods were relatively integrated; employment and social institutions were increasingly restricted. Within this setting, a laborer named John Johnson--a native of Lincoln and son of a black Civil War veteran--produced remarkable images as an itinerant photographer of the Lincoln scene, especially of its black community. Johnson left very little written record, so knowledge is fragmentary of his working techniques and of his collaborators or assistants. But his visual legacy takes people through the streets, onto the front porches, and into the backyards and living rooms of a vibrant community.