Amanda VanderBroek will present a program, “Historical Myths of the American Funeral: My Research Back in Time and Closer to Death” on March 5, 2026, at 6:00 p.m. at Morton-James Public Library Kimmel Gallery, 923 1st Corso in Nebraska City, Nebraska.

Throughout American history where funerals were held at home and professional medical care was often inaccessible, we have believed that people in the past were “closer to death” than we are today. But in what ways is this true?

After a brief overview of the American funeral from pre-colonial times to the modern day, this presentation settles on the decades between 1890-1920. The presentation will look at how people in the American midwest and plains approached funerals at this time including how families grieved, where people were buried, and if they really were buried without their shoes on. This program is free and open to the public, and lasts about one hour.

Amanda VanderBroek is an independent researcher who studies the history of several topics including disability, gender, cemeteries, and funerals in the American plains region between 1890-1920. She has been writing and speaking about various issues in disability studies for over ten years. She holds a masters in Critical and Creative Thinking from the University of Nebraska at Omaha.