It's the final day of the month, and WHAT a month! It started out with a couple days at the Missouri Valley History Conference in Omaha; not so great for sales, but good for contacts and talks about topics that interest me. That was followed in the month by a presentation to the Military Officers Association of America, a great group which also gave me one of their challenge coins as a souvenir (VERY cool - I collect these things!)
The next weekend had me at the Council Bluffs Public Library. I'm thinking March Madness or the nice weather kept people away, because there were only THREE people in attendance and all of them had the last name "Barnes" - my folks and my second cousin Alvin. This was probably the most informal talk I've ever given, but it worked out alright - I hadn't seen Alvin in years and it was a good opportunity to catch up.
I closed out March with a big trip to the west - the first day included a booksigning at the Hastings store in Kearney and a talk at the Kearney Public Library to a great crowd. The second day I made an impromptu call at the Dawson County Museum and got them set up with some books and posters; that night was the State DAR Convention in North Platte. By the way, I love the DAR - my mom and daughter are both members and the group has done more than any other in installing markers at the historic sites. I presented "Forts of Nebraska" to the organization and was seated with a fairly prestigious group, including Adrian Smith, congressman for the Third District, and the state senators for the region. One of them - LeRoy Louden - I expect to see at the Fort Rob History Conference next month! Anyway, GREAT sales to the ladies - hope to come back again someday.
I had a fun signing at A to Z Books in North Platte the next day, talking for about an hour to the three people who were there (not counting Dickens the cat). I stopped at Fort Kearny on the way back and got them set up with some books, and even made several stops along the way to see the Sandhill cranes.
The day after I got back I presented at the Sarpy County Museum on the forts of the region. We had a full house there - two head counts set it at 32, so I was very happy with that.
Next month, April, I've got presentations in Council Bluffs, Beatrice and Fort Robinson. Hard to believe there's nothing scheduled for Omaha - I'll have to work on that!
