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Saturday, June 25, 2011

Civil War Conference - Alliance, Nebraska - July 8-9, 2011

If you love genealogy and history, this is one conference you won't want to miss! The Heritage Seekers Society and the Knight Museum and Sandhills Center in Alliance, Nebraska are hosting a two day Civil War Conference on July 8th and 9th. Coming up soon! One you won't want to miss.



Titled "Remembering the Civil War...150 Years Later", this will be a premium offer for anyone interested in this part of history. We have been planning this conference for many months and it will be a first for our brand new museum facility. We have one of the finest new museums in the midwest and invite all to join in our conference as we honor the Civil War Sesquicentennial and the memories of those who fought.

We are offering seventeen (17) educational, genealogical and historical presentations over the two days (lunch included both days) and you can attend all classes and presentations, no need to choose only a few. We will have many great prize drawings for attendees throughout the conference. Our 11 speakers are all professionals and well qualified  in their field of study and will offer classes on genealogy researching as well as historical presentations for your enjoyment. This is a top quality conference and we invite everyone to contact us for more information.

To our local residents, your new museum is hosting this awesome event and we encourage you to support the facility and come see what is new!

Here is a sample of what we are offering along with even more...

Civil War research classes

History of the Kansas/Missouri Border Wars

Historical programs on Civil War quilts, along with a quilt show and a local quilt shop will display their wares.

Civil War character portrayals

Classes on the GAR and Lincoln's war time rule

Program featuring firearms of the Civil War........

plus much more

We hope to see you all there on July 8th and 9th for a great learning experience.
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For a 4 page copy of our brochure in PDF format, click on the word Brochure below. You can save and print it if you like. It takes a minute to load so be patient!

Brochure

If the link fails, email me!

Email me:   clchopkins@gmail.com  I will email you a copy of the brochure in PDF

Contact for more info:
Knight Museum and Sandhills Center
Alliance, Nebraska
308-762-2384
museum@cityofalliance.net

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Remembering My Dad..Father's Day 2011

On this Father's Day of 2011, I hold the memory of my Dad so very near to my heart and even now, twelve years after his passing I miss him every day. My Dad was one of the truly special people in the world and a great Dad to his three children. Even now as I will soon near 60, my oldest brother nears 75 and we have lost one sibling...I look back and we were blessed and given the greatest gift of all, our Dad.


Frederick Dale Coleman
born March 9, 1914 in Broken Bow, Nebraska
married Irene Dorothy Moore- March 20, 1936- Alliance, Nebraska and lived his life, worked and raised his children in Alliance, Nebraska
died Oct 5, 1998 in Denver, Colorado
buried in Alliance Cemetery- Alliance, Nebraska

Daddy was of course special to each one of us in our own way but to all three of us he taught the greatest things in life. We learned to love the outdoors and nature, our love of hunting and fishing and the respect for our natural world, those things all came from our Dad. He saw them all with eyes of wonder and  a heart full of love for what was around him. His lessons about history, loving our country, learning about it's past and protecting it's future were all precious to us and imparted to us that same ability to hopefully pass that love of history and country down to our own children and grandchildren. My brothers and I were so very fortunate that our Dad gave to us all those treasures as nothing could have been a better legacy. We were loved and we were taught to love and respect our family, our Mom and ourselves.

Dad was a man of so many talents and a love for life, yet his first priority was always his wife and children.

His talents, skills and loves were many:

-Dad worked in his youth a a motorcycle delivery man with his own business

-house and interior painter as a young man, learning from his father-in-law

-raced motorcycles for years, and rode the first motorcycle to the top of the highest point in the Black Hills in the 1930's

-toured with a motorcycle for nearly 70 years, often with Mom or me along for the ride

-he was an artist and painter all his life

-Dad made beautiful hand tooled leather goods which he enjoyed as a lifelong hobby

-he was a hunter and avid fisherman from the time of his youth and taught his children to follow in his footsteps

-The family went along on hundreds of fishing and camping trips and learned the history of the mountain man with Dad as we attended many a re-enacted rendezvous

-we all learned to make things with our hands and do repairs if necessary, Dad was always there to encourage the job

-he played the violin and the banjo with great joy

-collecting western art, coins, firearms, and banjos kept him busy in his spare time, his own private hobby room was filled with the things he loved to collect

-learning history was always foremost in his love of reading, he treasured any book that he was given and read them all

-he tinkered with photography, leaving behind several thousand slides and he and mom kept many albums of photos

-he even tried his hand at wine making...many years ago

-he was great to help Mom with the yard work and weed killing, even though the occasional flower bed also bit the dust

-Dad loved all his grandchildren and followed their lives with enthusiasm as to sports, band etc and even though he could not be there for all the events, he followed with enthusiasm

-pride and upkeep of his home, vehicles, motorcycles, and campers taught his children to appreciate what they had later on

-my dad was a hardworking conductor on the Railroad for nearly 50 years, and well respected by all his friends and fellow workers

-his children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren.... and my Mom, those were his greatest treasures 

-Mom was the love of his life..for almost 70 years, including 63 years of a loving marriage

These are but a few of the special attributes and loves of my Dad, it would take volumes and much better words than I can write to truly impart what a great Dad he was and how much he was loved and is missed on this Father's Day of 2011.

Freddie Coleman, my Dad, with his painting, 1957
At the early age of not quite five years old, my Dad painted a picture for me which I count as my most prized possession. It says: "to Cheri by Dad 1957" and it has hung in a place of honor in my home for 40 years now as it did in my own bedroom at home all the years of my youth. I love looking at the American Indian lady as much today as I did many years ago...because she carries within her eyes the love from my Dad. ♥