KEARNEY — “From Beyond the Grave,” may sound like the latest zombie movie, but for the Buffalo County Historical Society’s Trails and Rails Museum, it was a chance to celebrate local history in a unique fashion this past weekend.
Re-enactors brought several of Kearney’s early pioneers to life at From Beyond the Grave event at the Kearney Cemetery.
This is the fifth year the program has been offered by the Trails and Rails Museum. The event involved a walk to each grave on the tour. Costumed actors will stand in front of each grave and present the story of who they were representing.
Those from Kearney’s past who were portrayed include Nancy Hull, Maud Burrows, John Dryden, Lyman Cunningham, Alfred T. Anderson and Austin Gallentine.
This year, gravesites and pioneers were selected with the help of Community Engagement Director at Trails and Rails Broc Anderson, Kearney Cemetery Superintendent Steve Baye, and Lisa Atchison, a board member with the museum.
The museum offered a special thanks to the City of Kearney, Steve Baye, Lisa and Dan Atchison, Pat Neff, Phyllis Havercamp, Connie Jelkin, Heath Smallcomb, Heather Smallcomb, Jeff Ensz, Chuck Prochaska and Bill Wood.
Local History
In the materials for the event, it was noted that by 1860, central Nebraska was an open prairie, inhabited by Native American tribes and crisscrossed by immigrants traveling west.
“While many travelers decided to stay or come back, Kearney as the community we know today did not officially form until the Union Pacific transcontinental railroad passed through central Nebraska,” Trails and Rails stated.
“Founded as a small and unincorporated junction in 1871, Kearney quickly grew and became a village,” Trials and Rails stated, “Kearney then officially incorporated on Dec. 3, 1873 with 245 residents and continued growth with a population of over 30,000 today.”
