"The feeling of the rain on you is sweet. It seems to bring feelings you had when you were a baby. It carries you back into the dark, before you were born."
- O Pioneers!
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About The Willa Cather Foundation

The Willa Cather Pioneer Memorial and Educational Foundation (Willa Cather Foundation) was founded in 1955, through the efforts of a small group of volunteers in Red Cloud, Nebraska, led by Mildred R. Bennett. Today the Foundation is directed by a thirty-member Board of Governors that incl...

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Mildred Bennett

Mildred Bennett, the charismatic founder and long-time President of the Willa Cather Pioneer Memorial and Educational Foundation, could have literally stepped out of a Willa Cather novel. Like some of Cather's heroines, Mildred was a strong, fiercely independent, intelligent woman, who lov...

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Board of Governors

The Willa Cather Foundation's Board of Governors is a diverse group of individuals dedicated to promoting the life, times, and work of Willa Cather. These professionals and scholars reside from coast to coast and donate their time and talents to perpetuate the success of our educational an...

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Willa Cather Foundation Staff

 Ashley Nolan, Director of Finance & Administration Jennifer Pankoke, Office Manager Stephany Thompson, Director of Foundation Programming Cheryl Wilson, Buildings & Sites Curator  Opera House Schedule and Bookings Stephany Thompson  Willa Cather Newsletter and Review Editors I...

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