7-31-18

From the north side. Red Cloud, Nebraska.

From the northwest side. Red Cloud, Nebraska.

In the early 20th century, the American author Willa Cather became both popular and a noted literary figure--perhaps easier then than now, but still a remarkable achievement! She spent much of her childhood in this house in Red Cloud, Nebraska, in the late 19th century, when the plains were being settled. Her childhood experiences inform much of her fiction, and her "pioneers" trilogy (O Pioneers!, Song of the Lark, and My Ántonia) draw directly from that time. Indeed, she was one of the first to incorporate the immigrant experience into her tales. Red Cloud today is proud of their "favorite daughter," and there's a big museum and interpretive center, which includes some of the places in 19th century Red Cloud that were important to her development. The inserts on the left show different views of this house; the one on the right is an interpretive sign. Alas, they don't allow pictures inside the house!