‘Prairie Town’ photographer to discuss
Red Cloud, Neb., images

  (May 12, 2008) – Jeff Haller will present a program about his photographs of life in a small prairie town at 3 p.m. Sunday, May 18 at the Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center on the Missouri Riverfront. Admission will be free.

     Thirty-six of Haller’s photographs are now on exhibition at the Center in “Somewhere in the Middle of America: Life in a Prairie Town.” The show explores Red Cloud, Nebraska, the photographer’s boyhood home and home of writer Willa Cather.

     Red Cloud has a population of some 1,000 and is located 18 miles from the geographic center of the 48 contiguous states. Cather brought the town’s pioneer existence to life in such works as “My Antonia” and “O Pioneers!”

     “In some ways, nothing has changed since Willa Cather’s day,” says Haller, a University Nebraska-Lincoln graduate.

Wheat Harvest by Jeff Haller, is one of 36 images in “Somewhere in the Middle of America: Life in a Prairie Town,” a photo exhibition at the L&C Center. Haller will present a program at 3 p.m. Sunday, May 18 at the Center. (Photo by Jeff Haller)

     Yet, new themes also emerge in Haller’s photographs: an aging population; the diminishing role of the small family farmers; and a decline in small business.

     Haller made the Red Cloud pictures as part of his master’s project at Ohio University School of Visual Communications, Athens, Ohio. He wanted to explore how people interacted with one another, with their history and environment. He was interested in seeing how Cather’s literature intersected with everyday experiences of real people of today.

     “At the same time, I explored my own history. I grew up in Red Cloud. It was home to generations of my family. For many years, it was my world,” says Haller.

          The L&C Interpretive Center and the adjoining Betty Strong Encounter Center are located on Sioux City’s Missouri Riverfront, exit 149 off I-29. Admission and parking are free. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday; noon to 5 p.m. Sunday; closed Monday. For more information, visit www.siouxcitylcic.com or call 712-224-5242.

Return to top