Nebraska Author Visits Fourth Grade Students
by Stacia Millius
March 13, 2008
Nebraska author, Stephanie Grace Whitson, visited R-4 School on Wednesday, February 24, to talk to all Holdrege fourth grade students about Nebraska history. Fourth graders from R-7 and Washington Elementary were guests of the R-4 students.
Even though Mrs. Whitson was born and raised in Illinois, she dazzled the students with her knowledge of Nebraska history, pioneers, and Native Americans. She told of the trials people went through traveling on the Oregon Trail and homesteading in Nebraska. The students heard stories about snakes in sod houses, frequent disease and death in young children, and how the lifestyles of women changed as they left their homes back East to move to the Great American Desert.
Mrs. Whitson said she always loved to write letters, reports, and stories growing up, but never planned to be an author. Her books came out of the research she did when she was home schooling her own children and teaching them Nebraska history. Mrs. Whitson has written 18 books, most of which are Nebraska historical fiction. Several of these books can be found in the Holdrege Public Library.
