03/10/2026
OLD SETTLERS’ DAY
“The heritage of the past is the seed which brings forth the harvest of the future. Ours is a goodly land and the fruit of the labors of the pioneers has been blessed beyond measure.” Mabel Vohland said it best when recording the history of Gibbon in 1971. Now, 155 years later, the spirit of the Soldiers’ Free Homestead Colony is still evident.
The Gibbon Heritage Center is hosting the Old Settlers’ Day Reunion on Tuesday, April 7. The Heritage Center will be open at 1:00 pm for tours, research, and celebrating the heritage of Gibbon. The program will begin at 7:00 pm with Roll Call of the descendants of the founding members of the colony. Following the opening segment Humanities Nebraska speaker, Paul Siebert, will present “Echoes of an Era.” This presentation is made possible by Humanities Nebraska, the Nebraska Cultural Endowment, and the Gibbon Heritage Center Foundation as part of the HN Speakers Bureau.
For more than 30 years, Paul Siebert’s quality blend of live family entertainment has delighted thousands with his unique style and vast repertoire. He is a multi-acoustic instrumentalist and singer/songwriter. Using the Nebraska State Seal and Flag as a backdrop, Paul presents a musical living history program of a family’s journey from Russia to Nebraska in the 1870’s. Using original and period music with up to 7 different acoustic instruments, storytelling, personal family history, period costume and extensive knowledge about blacksmithing/metallurgy, he presents an interactive family-centered entertaining program.
“Echoes of an Era” is one of approximately 300 programs offered through the Humanities Nebraska Speakers Bureau. The more than 165 available speakers include acclaimed scholars, writers, musicians, storytellers and folklorists on topics ranging from pioneer heritage to ethics and law to international and multicultural issues, making it the largest humanities speakers bureau in the nation.
Speakers are available to any non-profit organization in Nebraska. Each program lasts 30 minutes to an hour, plus a question-and-answer period.
The most frequent users of the HN Speakers Bureau are primary and secondary schools, colleges and universities, libraries, museums and historical societies, agencies for the elderly, rural organizations, churches, arts organizations and ethnic organizations. Humanities Nebraska sponsors the largest Speakers Bureau program in the U. S. according to the National Endowment for the Humanities.
For information detailing the available speakers and guidelines for booking them, please access the website at www.humanitiesnebraska.org (Speakers section) or contact Humanities Nebraska at 215 Centennial Mall South, Suite 330, Lincoln, NE 68508, phone (402) 474-2131, fax (402) 474-4852 or e-mail [email protected].
If you are a descendant of the founders of Gibbon, call Gibbon home, or have an interest in local history, plan now to help celebrate Old Settlers’ Day at the Gibbon Heritage Center located at the corner of Second and Court Streets.
