Dr. Lucile Aly 1132 22nd Avenue East Eugene Oregon 97403
Dear Lucile:

I have just had your most recent letter read aloud to me again, and I feel renewed. It interests me to know that you and Bower have read the manuscript and that it was being sent back to the publisher for second reading.

I am hoping that I may hear soon what the publisher thinks about the book.

We do need to talk for there is a good deal to say before we catch up with each other.

The most exciting thing just now is the possiblity, I suppose I should say probability, of having a record album made by United Artists. They threaten to send $10,000 advance money next week. I hope they're not just dreaming.

We have recieved a copy of the British editinon of BLACK ELK.It's a very nice piece of book-making.

I do wish I could see Stewart again and the honorary grand baby, too. They say I have a way with babies.

There has been nothing unkind or unfriendly said about my little book. It's really cheering to read what they say. People seem to feel rather happy after reading it, and I am glad for that.

The purpose of this letter was to feel a little closer to you again. Do say the nicest things to Bower for me. You know how I feel about both of you. I wonder if we will ever meet again.

Affectionately

Gaki
JGN:nh
Dear Mr. Neihardt:

Through the kindness of Governor Exon, I have received a copy of your new book, All is But a Beginning. Needless to say, I am delighted to have this fine volume as an addition to my library, for your contributions to American literature and your studies on the American Indian have properly earned you the respect and admiration of your fellow citizens. I look forward with great anticipation to reading your autobiography and, in the meanwhile, I welcome this occasion to extend my very best wishes to you.

Sincerely,

Richard Nixon Mr. John G. Neihardt Skyrim Route 7 Columbia, Missouri
copy for your Neihardt file M. M. Y.

Neihardt Foundation Buys Land for Center

by MAXINE KESSINGER

The Board of Directors of the John G. Neihardt Foundation have announced that land has been purhased for the future development of the Neihardt Center at Bancroft.

The buy has been made possible by the generosity of one of the town's civic-minded citizens, George P. Diedrichsen, who shared costs with the Foundation in the purchase of the three lots and house of Margaret Buchholz at the auction sale on Oct. 13. Also the Foundation has obtained the option to buy the three south adjoining lots from Leo Buchholz.

This land transaction is the assurance for future growth and development of the Neihardt Center. Tenative plans include the building of a shrine, a research library and a museum where scholars and tourists can come to learn, study and to experience Neihardt and his work. Much of Neihardt's manuscripts will be housed in the new center.

Dick Cavett has been named the Honorary Chairman of the national fund raising effort.

The Neihardt Center will be a unique tribute to the Poet of the Prairies who has used his art to communicate facts and history through the medium of words. He has vitally contributed to the understanding and preservation of our midwestern heritage.

Foundation Buys Land in Bancroft

Neihardt Center To Grow

Bancroft — Acquisition of three blocks of land across from Neihardt Center here represents what the John G. Neihardt Foundation considers

Bancroft LINCOLN
a major step in its plans to enlarge the center.

The land was purchased by the foundation from Margaret Buchholtz of Bancroft. A Bancroft cattle buyer, George P. Diedrichsen, shared half of the $2,750 cost, according to Maxine Kessinger, a foundation director.

The foundation also took an option to buy three more blocks directly across from the downtown center, which consists of the Sioux Prayer Garden and the restored cottage study where the Nebraska poet laureate wrote his most famous works in the early part of the century.

Tentative plans for the expansion, announced on Neihardt Day last August, call for a Neihardt shrine, a research library and a museum, Mrs. Kessinger said.

"Indications are, and we are hoping, that it will be one the top cultural centers in the Midwest," she said.

The center, established with the prayer garden in 1965, draws several thousand tourists annually now, she added.

The foundation is sponsoring a nationwide fund-raising campaign under honorary chairman Dick Cavett to carry out its plans, which Mrs. Kessinger said, "represent a great tribute to our poet laureate, who did so much to put our historical heritage into words."

Across Nebraska

Neihardt Center Expansion Planned

Bancroft — Land has been purchased for the future development of the Neihardt Center at Bancroft, according to the board of directors of the John B. ​ Neihardt Foundation. George P. Diedrichsen of Bancroft shared costs with the foundation in the purchase of three lots and a house recently. Tentative future expansion plans for the center include a shrine, research library and museum where scholars and tourists can learn and study the works of Nebraska's poet laureate.