Nebraska's Sand Hills Discovery Foundation: Continuing the vision of paleontologist and scientist Morris Skinner

By Barbara J. Skinner Lamb

But ask now the beasts and they shall teach thee; and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee: or speak to the earth and it shall teach thee: and the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee.” (Job 12:7–8, King James Version of the Bible)

Morris Skinner, a world-renowned paleontologist, believed in this particular chapter and verse in the Bible. He was not a church-going Christian, but he practiced all of the tenets of the Bible in his daily life. First and foremost, he was a very dedicated scientist who studied and searched for ancient life throughout the North American continent. He chose to live his life in Ainsworth, Neb. He adored his wife, Marie, who was also his scientific assistant, and taught his daughter and son to love the earth and science as deeply as he did.

Because of his reputation as a man and scientist, the Sand Hills Discovery Foundation wanted to build on Skinner’s legacy, carry out his vision of the science of the Sand Hills and continue to study the part of Nebraska that we live in.

In the beginning of our foundation, we had many ideas on how to develop our mission to provide comprehensive information about the Sand Hills area. Our original plan was to create a Sand Hills Visitor Center in the Ainsworth, Neb., area. When that was unable to happen, Keevin Arent, one of our members, suggested and helped us plan a conference in Ainsworth featuring studies of the Sand Hills. Since Keevin and his wife, Dottie, are avid Lewis and Clark students and participants in reliving the journey of Lewis and Clark, they had a valuable knowledge of and experience in how vital a conference would be to our organization and our purpose.

Marilyn Williams, Carolyn Hall and Linda Alberts are our current organizers for the three-day conference—two days of tours sandwiched around a day of informative talks on all aspects of this area. It is a demanding job, but they are competent and capable. We have a committee to find presenters for the conference and tours.

Our intention is to offer information both scientific and fun that appeals to all who attend our July event, including talks on geology, paleontology, anthropology, hydrology, agriculture, ichthyology, entomology, the life of the Lakota people and several additional areas of interest from the past and recent times. The University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Smithsonian Institute, Rochester Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology, The Nature Conservancy, and Nebraska Game and Parks are only a few of the organizations that have actively participated in our Sand Hill Conferences.

 If you are looking for a staycation and wish to learn more about the Sand Hills, come to the Middle of Nowhere and join us for the 2009 event July 8–10. We currently have five confirmed speakers: Mike Voorhees (on the Warren Hayden Expedition of 1857), Richard Fruehling, M.D. (on the medicine of the late 1800s), Phyliss Stone (on Native American use of prairie plants), Allen Dutcher (state climatologist) and Sarah Polak (from the Mari Sandoz High Plains Heritage Center at Chadron State College).

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