Trails and Rails Museum, Buffalo County Historical Society, (Brian Neben, Central Nebraska Today)
KEARNEY — The Buffalo County Historical Society (BCHS) is pleased to announce the opening of two compelling pop-up exhibits at the Trails & Rails Museum, each exploring powerful stories of place, people, and the legacies that continue to shape central Nebraska.
The Yanney Family History
In Memoriam of Michael B. Yanney (1933–2026)
This exhibit honors the remarkable family of Michael B. Yanney, a grandson of Lebanese immigrants who journeyed from a late-19th-century Nebraska sod house to international prominence as a business and civic leader.
This pop-up exhibit traces Yanney’s journey from immigrant roots to global influence, highlighting the values of perseverance, curiosity, and civic responsibility that defined his life.
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Beneath the Fields: Stories from Fort Kearney Land
Featuring Objects from the Hubert Hecox Collection
History is not always preserved behind glass—it is sometimes uncovered in the soil.
This exhibit explores land once part of the Fort Kearny military reservation, located near the Oregon Trail and Mormon Trail. Over time, this landscape witnessed the movement of soldiers, emigrants, Native peoples, and, later, homesteading families who built farms and communities across the plains.
The Hecox family lived and worked this land, forming personal connections with many early settlers. Over decades of farming, Hubert Hecox developed an unusual perspective on history—one shaped by what surfaced in his fields. From his tractor seat, he noticed bullets, tools, horseshoes, and other objects emerging from the soil, each a tangible trace of earlier lives.
Please direct any questions to Andie Trembley, Community Engagement Director, atrembley@bchs.us or 308-234-3041. For more information, please visit our website, www.bchs.us, or follow us on Facebook at “BuffaloCounty HistoricalSociety.”
