Last fall, early in the semester, I fell woefully behind with this blog though I did keep up on You Tube and on Facebook with all the events I usually highlight here. I will now begin the process of catching up, so you see a mixture of dates and events for the next few months.
On the evening of October 25, I went with a colleague to and took pictures of Coryell Park, one of those gems that too often go unnoticed--in my fifteen years at Peru State, I had never visited this special place. My visit to this beautiful site open to the public for everything from quiet picnics to large weddings and receptions in spring through the beginning of fall underscored its special place in Southeastern Nebraska. As the following pictures indicate, Coryell Park combines natural beauty with beautiful structures, from the stone-sided chapel to a rustic foot bridge.
CORYELL MAUSOLEUM
At this site, you can read about the beautiful chapel and the history of this park located six miles southwest of Auburn and some three miles from Brock. (From Auburn: 6 miles west, and 3 miles north--you will see a sign from Highway 136 west of Auburn.) Wealthy from wise investments in the oil business, the Coryells created the park as a final resting place for them and as a permanent and attractive affirmation of their love for the area from which they came. The Coryell's endowment in support of the park's maintenance ensures its continuing as a source of pleasure and enrichment for the area.
Coryell Chapel
At the following link, you will find a slide show of the park and a couple shots of an old rock quarry located on the back road to Auburn. The images reinforce the park's place as one of Southeast Nebraska's Seven Wonders.
Welcome to Mole Day Festivities At Peru State College
October 23, 2007
Dr. Dennis Welsh and the Mole Day Crew
On Tuesday, Dr. Dennis Welsh and and a group of Chemistry students organized Mole Day (click on the link to learn more about this special day), which celebrates Avogadro's Number (6.02 x 10^23), a basic measuring unit in chemistry. Mole Day was created to foster interest in chemistry and celebrates the wonderfully mysterious and important number in the image below, which you can also eat.
As the following pictures indicate, the day featured plenty of chemistry fun, including games, experiments, and lots of Mole-inspired food.
To see more of the festivities or just to enjoy more Mole Day images, check out the slide show. And to view a video of the Mole Day Magic Show, just click below. The short film clip features explosions, from a burning dollar bill to a lava flow; for an explanation of the chemistry involved, you will have to tackle a scientist, or give Dennis a call.
Choral Concerts at Peru State College, October 21, 2007
The Concert Choir
The Madrigal Singers
And
The Misty Blues
The Misty Blues
Dr. Tom Ediger Directs the Choral Groups
This afternoon, October 21, 2007, the Peru State College choirs put on a wonderful show. And here you can view a slide show of the three choirs. And if you see any photographs you like, simply download by clicking the appropriate button.
The Madrigal Singers
Enjoy the following three short videos from this exciting concert. First, listen to the Concert Choir; next you can hear the Madrigal Singers; and the Misty Blues Show Choir concluded a great afternoon of music in the Peru State College Theater.
THE ROLAND SHERMAN MEMORIAL AREA and THE TRACE TRAIL One of Southeast Nebraska's Seven Wonders
After the rains, I took a walk on the Trace Trail; the wet brings out nice details on the Roland Sherman sculptures. Sherman, a local Peru artist and self-professed Missouri River Rat, created these various pieces over twenty years ago, adorning the wonderful sandstone cliffs along the Trace Trail.
This past summer, after Roland Sherman's death last year, saw the creation of the Roland Sherman Memorial Area, one of many gems available in this corner of Nebraska. I am therefore pleased to have nominated this special place as one the Seven Wonders of Southeastern Nebraska.
And on December 6, the announcement came that The Trace Trail and the Sherman Memorial Area earned a place as one of the Seven Wonder. Please visit the preceding site and thank you to everyone who supported the Roland Sherman Memorial Area and the Trace Trail.
In a follow-up article on the Seven Wonders context, the Lincoln Journal Star published a piece on the results and devoted a paragraph to the Roland Sherman Memorial Area and the Trace Trail. You can read the article here; the author includes for the interested most of the links on this page.
And on Sunday, May 25, the Lincoln Journal Star included this article by Kendra Waltke on Roland Sherman's sculptures. I am pleased to note that the article's slide show includes three of my photographs. This article should interest many in paying the area a visit.
To view the 1,000-foot Roland Sherman Memorial Area requires only a fifteen-minute walk along the Trace Trail southwest of the Trail Head in Peru. This area along the trail features Sherman's sandstone sculptures, from the skeleton of The Golden Arm to the colorful Genie Hollow 12; the Genie appears in an area recently open to the public. These sculptures merit your visit, where while appreciating Roland Sherman's creations, you can also enjoy a pleasant walk or bike ride along the beautiful Trace Trail.
The slide show at this site (which I revise on a regular basis) includes pictures from the Trace Trail but features shots of the various sculptures the Roland Sherman Memorial Area celebrates, including the Peru State Bobcat pictured here.
On Tuesday, October 23, while walking again on the trail, I saw for following two sculptures that have recently become more visible and that I had never photographed:
The Sherman family informs me that Roland Sherman did not create the following sculpture; if anyone knows the artist, please let me know.
Fun with the Roland Sherman Area continues. Toying with a new software program and with iMovie, I experiment with a video of the many sculptures in the Roland Sherman Area. In general, the video follows the course of the trail from north (Peru Trail Head) to the south, the end of the memorial area.
The family of Roland Sherman recently gave me a disk with many images from the Trace Trail and Roland's sculptures right after he made them between fifteen and eighteen years ago.
I continue to work on my videos and completed in February the first version of what I call for now The Trace Trail Trilogy. You can view the latest versions of the trilogy by scrolling down to the concluding section of this (always getting longer) post, where you will find the three films in shortened form. I hope that you will enjoy them all.
The other day while I walked, this image some fifty feet off the Trace Trail and up in the woods caught my attention. Perhaps we have another sculpture here? Probably, the sculpture pictured here represents a false start or a faded project, for Roland Sherman actually began carving in the area in the late 60's and early 70's. From what I have gathered from his late wife and family members, he enjoyed watching his creations in the sandstone fade over time. The final burst of creativity began shortly after Roland Sherman retired when someone began a sculpture and he completed "Sara" on the left to see how the person who had started a sculpture might respond.
The Trace Trail Trilogy
I created over the past month, three video presentations that use my photography in the form of movies to celebrate a bit the Trace Trail, a beautiful place to visit.
Part One: The Roland Sherman Memorial Area
See the preceding sections--where you will also find a version of this video--of this posting for further information about this wonderful section of the trail located very close to Peru, NE.
Part Two: Some Flora and Fauna of the Trace Trail
This short video features some of the common and beautiful flowers found along the trail; in addition, you will also see some photographs of the trail. My good friend Dr. Bill Newman contributed pictures of flowers.
Part Three: Common Birds of the Trace Trail and Area
This movie contains pictures of birds photographed in my back yard here in Peru, NE, that I have also seen on the Trace Trail.
On Friday, October 12, St. Peter School hosted its Literature Festival Chapter Two that featured many writers, artists, story tellers, and others.
The exciting presenters included, among others, Nebraska State Poet Bill Kloefkorn and former Poet Laureate of the United States, Ted Kooser. In this photograph, I rub shoulders with Bill Kloefkorn at my display for the Latte for Literacy evening event:
The real stars, however, were the organizers of this special celebration and the wonderful talented students at this excellent school. This year's event also featured the Thursday night Latte for Literature gathering where presenters and parents shared conversation and good things to eat. We all look forward to another successful festival next year, Chapter Three. You can see some pictures of the enthusiastic fourth and fifth graders with whom I had the pleasure of working.
On Tuesday, October 9, Aeolian--Tom Ediger and Dave Edris--gave a wonderful recital in Benford Hall for an appreciative audience. You will find a slide show posted here. And below, I added video clips of a couple selections. Enjoy them. You can also watch the video of Tom and Dave on You Tube by clicking here.
As I discovered the past couple days, not everyone knows about the Windmill in the Rose Garden, Ken Anderson's sculpture. The Rose Garden features a fountain at one end and Anderson's Windmill at the other.
At this site, you will find some images of the garden and the surrounding area. Ken's sculpture is part of Windmills Across Nebraska--Winds of Life, Nebraska’s first ever statewide arts and tourism project. Learn more about the project at this link. The following pictures offer a nice contrast between the late-summer images of the windmill and the ones I took on November 21, the time of the first snow you can see at this link. I also updated the slide show linked at the beginning of this paragraph, so you can see the contrast.
And below, click on the short films, for the Fountain sprays water, especially on a windy day, and the Windmill moves with the wind, as the short videos indicate. To see the video on You Tube, which offers a clearer image, just click here.
On October 1, the Peru State Jazz Band entertained people at the Hotel Stevenson in Falls City to celebrate the hotel's recent sale upcoming major renovation. Governor Heineman spoke at the gathering, and the Jazz Band provided atmosphere and music. At the following link, you can see pictures of the event; and click on the video below to hear some of the fun.
This video and the linked photographs come from the Misty Blues practice session. You can view some photographs here, and clink below for a quick video of a couple of their routines for the first appearance this year coming up on October 21.
Watch for notices, for you will not want to miss the fun.
CORYELL MAUSOLEUM
Coryell Chapel
Coryell Park Foot Bridge
Old Rock Quarry Near Coryell Park
