08/16/2026
This was on the page of Everything Harvard.
I'm not sure who the author was but the Harvard Historical Society and the Harvard Alumni Historical Committee appreciate their kind words and support. ❤️
Harvard Museum: A Place You Need to See
A remarkable beginning, a growing collection, and a community working to keep Harvard’s history alive
By an Independent Reporter — Harvard Herald
Every town has a history.
But keeping that history alive takes people willing to save the photographs, preserve the artifacts, remember the names and tell the stories before they are lost.
In Harvard, Nebraska, that work has found a home at the Harvard Historical Society Museum — and it is a place people need to see.
Perhaps fittingly for a museum devoted to interesting stories, the museum itself has a pretty good beginning.
It Started With a Hearse
In April 2024, Zack Rudy went to the former funeral home in Harvard to look at a hearse that was for sale. During that visit, he learned the building itself was going to be sold.
What began as a conversation about a hearse soon became something much bigger.
Former funeral director Derek Apfel ultimately gave Rudy the building. At about the same time, Ruby Adam, chairperson of the Harvard High School Alumni Historical Committee, was looking for a permanent place where Harvard alumni memorabilia and other pieces of local history could be preserved and displayed.
Those conversations came together quickly. Rudy later described the formation of the Harvard Historical Society as something that happened in roughly 15 minutes and a couple of handshakes.
And from that remarkably simple beginning, Harvard gained something that could serve the community for generations.
Work on transforming the former funeral-home building began in earnest in May 2024. Walls were removed to improve the flow of the building, rooms were cleaned and remodeled, painting was undertaken, and volunteers began turning the structure into a place capable of preserving and displaying Harvard history.
Today, the museum is located at 512 N. Harvard Ave., in the former Alberding/Apfel Funeral Home building.
More Than a Room Full of Old Things
Calling it simply a collection of “old things” would miss the point entirely.
The museum is becoming a collection of Harvard’s story.
There are pieces connected to Harvard High School and its alumni, photographs and memorabilia from the community, local artwork and a collection highlighting books written by Harvard alumni and townspeople. One display museum supporters have said they are especially proud of is the military exhibit.
That military history is especially meaningful in a community with Harvard’s connection to World War II and the former Harvard Army Air Field.
The building also includes classic automobiles associated with Rudy’s Classic Autos, giving visitors another interesting piece to see while exploring the museum. The Historical Society has continued working to develop displays throughout the building, including plans for exhibits upstairs.
The museum is also home to Harvard history publications. The Historical Society and Harvard High Alumni have worked to preserve written history as well, including Harvard history books and pictorial collections that help put names and stories alongside the artifacts visitors see.
But what makes the museum special isn't necessarily any single item.
It's what all of those items represent together.
They represent the businesses that once lined Harvard's streets.
They represent the students who walked through Harvard's schools.
They represent farmers, veterans, teachers, families, business owners and community leaders.
They represent generations of ordinary people whose lives, taken together, created the town we know today.
History Can Disappear Faster Than We Think
One of the easiest things for a community to lose is its history.
Buildings are torn down.
Businesses close.
Families move away.
Boxes of photographs get thrown away because nobody remembers the people pictured in them.
Documents disappear.
And stories that everybody in town once knew can be forgotten within only a generation or two.
That is precisely why organizations such as the Harvard Historical Society matter.
The Society says its mission is to preserve historical facts and memorabilia connected to Harvard, Nebraska, and Harvard High School, and to preserve, protect and display that history for others to enjoy. The museum also accepts historically significant items with a Harvard connection.
That work deserves the community's support.
Take Your Kids. Take Your Grandkids.
If you grew up in Harvard, visit the museum.
You may recognize people in photographs. You may remember an old business. You may see something from your school years or discover a part of Harvard's history you never knew.
If you didn't grow up here, visit anyway.
It is one of the best ways to understand the community you now call home.
And especially — take the kids and grandkids.
It is one thing to tell a child that Harvard has been here for generations. It is another thing entirely for them to stand in a museum and see the photographs, uniforms, books, memorabilia and possessions left behind by the people who were here before them.
That is how history becomes real.
A Museum That Belongs to Harvard
There is something particularly appropriate about Harvard's museum being created the way it was.
It wasn't the result of some enormous government project.
It grew from local people talking to one another, recognizing an opportunity and deciding Harvard's history was worth saving.
A building became available.
Someone was willing to help.
People had historical material that needed a home.
Volunteers went to work.
And Harvard gained a museum.
That is small-town community spirit at its best.
The museum continues to grow, which also means Harvard residents have an opportunity to help shape what future generations will know about this community.
If your family has photographs, documents, school memorabilia or historically important Harvard items tucked away in an attic, basement or closet, don't automatically assume nobody else would care about them.
Someday, that photograph or document may be one of the few surviving pieces of an important Harvard story.
Go See It — and Support It
The Harvard Historical Society Museum deserves more than a passing mention.
It deserves visitors.
It deserves families walking through its doors.
It deserves people contributing photographs and historical information.
It deserves volunteers and community support.
Because preserving history isn't really about saving old objects.
It's about saving the stories attached to them.
Harvard has been home to generations of people who worked, raised families, attended school, served their country, operated businesses, farmed the surrounding land and built a community on the Nebraska plains.
Their stories are worth remembering.
So if you've never visited the Harvard Historical Society Museum, make a point to do it.
If you've already been there, go back as the collection continues to develop.
Bring your children.
Bring your grandchildren.
Bring someone who hasn't been back to Harvard in years.
Take some time to look around, ask questions and remember.
Because someday the history being made in Harvard right now will belong to another generation.
Thanks to the people working at the Harvard Historical Society Museum, much more of the history that came before us has a chance to survive.
Harvard's history is worth preserving.
And the Harvard Historical Society Museum is a place you need to see.
— Harvard Herald | Independent Reporter
