P R E S E R V I N G H E R L E G A C Y The National Willa Cather Center

For information about the archival treasures shown in this brochure, visit the Willa Cather Foundation online at www.WillaCather.org. “I am not exaggerating, Carrie, when I confide to you that I would rather go home to Red Cloud than to any of the beautiful cities in Europe where I used to love to go.”

Cather wrote these words in an April 1945 letter to her lifelong friend, Carrie Miner Sherwood.

“Willa Cather’s literature gives voice to the values that define America’s frontier heritage. By reading her words and promoting her contributions to western culture, we commemorate the pioneering spirit that distinguishes us as a nation.”

Laura Bush

“The Center will have something for everyone. As an archive and museum, it will become the permanent home to some of Willa Cather’s most personal treasures, items made famous in her stories, and artwork inspired by her vision of the prairie. For scholars, it will be a chance to explore, first-hand, some of her most insightful original works and papers.”

Ken Burns Honorary National Chair

Cover photograph of Willa Cather as a child: the Cather family collection, Willa Cather Foundation Collection of the Nebraska State Historical Society. Photograph of Willa Cather on page one: Archives & Special Collections, University of Nebraska–Lincoln Libraries. Photograph of Ken Burns by Cable Risdon. All other photographs courtesy of the Willa Cather Foundation. “Our family has a passion for South Central Nebraska, and Willa Cather’s life and writing keep this special place vibrant and alive for the rest of the world. This project will promote the author’s legacy and spotlight our great state to an international audience. I hope you will join me in supporting it.”

Joanne Berkshire, Honorary Campaign Chair

ather’s literary reputation is unchallenged. To keep pace with the growing interest in her life and work, the CFoundation’s facilities must also grow. By undertaking a capital campaign to restore a historically significant building adjacent to our headquarters in the Red Cloud Opera House building, we are now establishing the National Willa Cather Center to provide scholars, students, literary enthusiasts, heritage travelers A New and casual visitors with: Ÿ a state-of-the-art archive to safely house scores of original Chapter documents and objects related to Cather’s life and work Ÿ exhibition and gallery space for traveling exhibits and display of archival materials Ÿ classroom and multimedia space Ÿ new backstage facilities for the adjacent Red Cloud Opera House Ÿ expanded bookstore space.

The new facility will also include street-front retail spaces for commercial tenants and three second-floor loft apartments for scholars-in-residence and other visitors.

The historic “Moon Block” is a prominent building adjacent to the Foundation’s home at the Red Cloud Opera House, at the very center of Red Cloud’s Main Street Historic District. When this once-proud structure is restored and given new life as the National Willa Cather Center, it will become a vital central destination for international scholars as well as area residents and heritage travelers from near and far.

1 he Willa Cather Foundation oversees the largest collection of nationally designated Thistoric buildings and sites devoted to any American author.

Preserving & The “Willa Cather Thematic Group” is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and Promoting includes four historic districts and 26 individually designated buildings and sites. Of these properties, Our Past Cather’s childhood home is designated separately as a National Historic Landmark, one of only 20 in Nebraska and 2,500 nationwide. The childhood home was one of the important sites purchased by the Foundation in our early years and now owned by the Nebraska State Historical Society, from which we receive annual support.

2 In addition to hosting visitors to Red Cloud at many of these sites, the Foundation has a full agenda of programming and publications exemplifying our commitment to academic and artistic excellence as well as our deep ties to the central Great Plains.

Ÿ Year-round educational programs, seminars and workshops for scholars and non-scholars The Ÿ Tours of historic buildings and sites Ÿ Foundation’s Restoration of the Cather Memorial Prairie Ÿ The Willa Cather Newsletter & Review, published three Activities times annually Ÿ Art gallery, bookstore and gift shop (and their online counterparts) Ÿ Music and drama in the Red Cloud Opera House Ÿ Web-based programs including a virtual tour of Cather’s Red Cloud

3 “No study of Cather is complete without a trip to Red Cloud. The National Willa Cather Center will be a wonderful, rich archival collection for academics as well as the general public.”

Guy Reynolds, Director, Cather Project, University of Nebraska–Lincoln

he Moon Block was developed and built Our Vision: in 1886 by John W. Moon, a real estate Tinvestor and Michigan State Senator who would go on to become a U.S. Congressman. Built Scope, Scale just three years after Willa Cather and her family moved to the area, the Moon Block would become a Red Cloud landmark and symbol of the town’s promise. The Moon Block was home to numerous offices and retail businesses, and Cather would eventually weave it into her novels and short stories. Soon it will enjoy a bright new life as the National Willa Cather Center. & Promise

4 A Bright Future for a Special Place

t the heart of this undertaking are the archival papers, photographs, textiles and artifacts that constitute the A Foundation’s collection. The Cather family and other donors have been most generous to the Foundation for many years, contributing to the collections begun by our founders and making the need for state-of-the-art archival facilities ever more pressing. The Foundation’s Board of Governors has made a priority of creating up-to-date storage and display facilities in our expanded home to keep our treasures safe for years to come and accessible to visitors and scholars. A proper archive also will enhance our ability to attract newly identified archival materials to the Foundation’s collection.

5 Project Budget

Expenses Architect Services $609,600 Stabilization, Construction $5,387,400 Soft Costs $271,000 Construction Management $100,000 Financing $100,000 Maintenance Reserve Fund $150,000 Furnishings/Fixtures/Equipment $100,000

Total Expenses $6,718,000

Income Federal Grants $885,000 Historic Tax Credits $1,000,000 Private Capital Campaign $4,833,000

Total Income $6,718,000

All figures are estimates; final amounts may vary.

6 There is no question that the Willa Cather Foundation is critical to the economic vitality of Webster County and the surrounding region. The international organization draws more than 10,000 visitors to Red Cloud every year and the majority of its annual operating budget goes directly into the local economy.

he Willa Cather Foundation works tirelessly to preserve the settings that Cather fondly remembered and wrote Tabout so compellingly. The National Willa Cather The Center will be the heart of the Foundation’s properties and treasures, and will enable generations to enjoy and experience Foundation the very town, prairie and locales that Cather loved.

The Willa Cather Foundation is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization that promotes appreciation of Cather’s work and strives to preserve the historic sites and archival materials associated with the life and times of this beloved Pulitzer Prize- winning author. The Foundation’s programs and resources directly serve more than 70,000 people every year, and our website is in constant use by readers worldwide. Our offices and operations in Cather’s childhood hometown of Red Cloud, Nebraska (population 1,131) have been critical in sustaining the economic, civic, and cultural development of South Central Nebraska.

A twenty-eight member Board of Governors leads the Willa Cather Foundation, which has six full-time staff, eight part-time staff, and more than sixty active volunteers. A sixteen-member Advisory Council and an additional board with special focus on the Willa Cather Memorial Prairie assist with setting direction and representing the diversity of interests, locations and professions attracted to Willa Cather and her work.

7 National Willa Cather Center Campaign Steering Committee Honorary National Chair: Ken Burns, Walpole, New Hampshire Campaign Co-Chair: Ruth H. Keene, Omaha, Nebraska Campaign Co-Chair: John A (Jay) Yost, New York, New York Thomas Reese Gallagher, New York, New York Jane Renner Hood, Lincoln, Nebraska Jill Hornady, Grand Island, Nebraska Lynette Krieger, Hastings, Nebraska Steven B. Shively, Logan, Utah Frank Sibert, Kearney, Nebraska

Willa Cather Foundation Board of Governors President: Thomas Reese Gallagher, New York, New York Vice President: Lynette Krieger, Hastings, Nebraska Past President: Susan Maher, Duluth, Minnesota Secretary: Glenda Pierce, Lincoln, Nebraska Treasurer: David Porter, Saratoga Springs, New York Virgil Albertini, Fairway, Kansas Marion A. Arneson, Wayne, Nebraska Mark W. Bostock, Windsor, Colorado Max Despain, Monument, Colorado Richard C. Harris, Sea Cliff, New York Jill Hornady, Grand Island, Nebraska Advisory Council Andrew Jewell, Lincoln, Nebraska Bruce P. Baker II, Omaha, Nebraska Charles Johanningsmeier, Omaha, Nebraska Laurie Smith Camp, Omaha, Nebraska Ruth H. Keene, Omaha, Nebraska James Fitzgibbon, Red Cloud, Nebraska Fritz Mountford, Hastings, Nebraska David B. Garwood, Red Cloud, Nebraska John J. Murphy, Santa Fe, New Mexico Joel Geyer, Lincoln, Nebraska Julie Olin-Ammentorp, Manlius, New York Jane Renner Hood, Lincoln, Nebraska Charles A. Peek, Kearney, Nebraska Ron Hull, Lincoln, Nebraska Guy Reynolds, Lincoln, Nebraska Betty Kort, Hastings, Nebraska Ann Romines, Alexandria, Virginia Mellanee Kvasnicka, La Vista, Nebraska Nancy Sherwood, Omaha, Nebraska Lucia Woods Lindley, New York, New York Steven B. Shively, Logan, Utah Dale McDole, Overland Park, Kansas Kate Sommer, Omaha, Nebraska Gary L. Meyer, Red Cloud, Nebraska James P. Southwick, Heber City, Utah Nancy S. Picchi, New York, New York C. Kay Stahly, Kearney, Nebraska Rhonda Seacrest, Lincoln, Nebraska Robert Thacker, Canton, New York John N. Swift, Whittier, California Lu Williams, Red Cloud, Nebraska Gary W. Thompson, Lincoln, Nebraska John A (Jay) Yost, New York, New York Joseph R. Urgo, Asheville, North Carolina

8 How You With your help, the campaign for the Can National Willa Cather Center will be a success. Help

Make a pledge. Make a gift to the cam- Naming and Recognition Opportunities paign, pledged over a five-year giving We greatly appreciate your investment in the National Willa period and structured in a payment sched- Cather Center and are happy to offer you the following special ule of your choosing. You may satisfy your recognition of your gift: pledge through payments by check, direct deposit, or credit card. We will be happy to Your gift of Naming Opportunity $1,000,000 or greater The Archives & Library Complex send you reminders of pledge payments as they become due. $500,000 or greater The Opera House Art Gallery $400,000 or greater West Lobby Main Entrance Make a gift of securities. Gifts of appreci- Main Archives Room ated assets such as stock help you avoid costly gains and significantly help the $250,000 or greater Loft Apartments (each separately) campaign at the same time. We will be $100,000 or greater Upper West Lobby happy to assist you in transferring assets to Green Room complete your gift. Willa’s Corridor Exhibition Room Make a customized gift of other property. $50,000 or greater Performer Dressing Room The Willa Cather Foundation appreciates Retail Entrances (each separately) in-kind donations as well as real and per- sonal property. Please contact us about the $25,000 or greater West Entrance Vestibule Foundation’s guidelines for accepting West Lobby Elevator these special gifts. Donor Wall Recognition Gifts of $1,000 or greater will be recognized collectively on a Make a deferred gift. A planned gift or donor wall to be prominently displayed within the entrance: other type of deferred giving arrangement Gifts of $10,000 to $24,999 Sustainer may fit your financial and planning needs. Gifts of $5,000 to $9,999 Investor These can be structured in a variety of Gifts of $1,000 to $4,999 Builder ways, including a bequest in a will, a trust Donor Book Recognition ar rangement, and other income- Gifts of up to $999 will be included in a commemorative donor producing vehicles such as life insurance book to be published following the campaign and recognized and annuities. In considering a planned according to the following levels: gift, we will work with you and your advi- Gifts of $500 to $999 sors to structure a gift that best ensures Gifts of $100 to $499 your tax and estate planning needs. Gifts of up to $99

To learn more about giving options or to arrange a gift, please contact: Ashley Olson, Executive Director 866-731-7304 toll-free | 402-746-2653 | [email protected]

Willa Cather Foundation | 413 North Webster Street | Red Cloud, Nebraska 68970 “There are always dreamers on the frontier.” — O Pioneers!

P R E S E R V I N G H E R L E G A C Y The National Willa Cather Center

The Willa Cather Foundation 413 North Webster Street Red Cloud, NE 68970

402-746-2653 | 866-731-7304 [email protected] www.WillaCather.org