Letter from John G. Neihardt to Lucile ALy, June 7, 1965

Yes, you are a part of me, and not a "tiny" one. That was beautifully and truly said, and it means a very great deal to me.

My "live" class in Epic America ("The Mountain Men") left a happy glow all through my "innards." They actually gave me a big ovation at the end of the last class period. Since then, many have come to me and thankthanked me for the course This is a surprise to me, because I have been worried over leaving so much out of the one-hour course. (It should be two-hours, and I've asked for the change when I return in February.)

The doings in Bancroft are, apparently, flourishing. The tree of life is planted; the brush has been cleared out around the little house, and much grading has been done by bulldozers, I'm told. The highway marker has not yet been placed, but should be soon. It is ready to install — has been for several months.

The Laureate Tour will cover the state rather thoroughly, I'm told — both larger and smaller places. It is sponsored by the Governor, the Centennial Commission, and the Hist. Society. Stanley Smith is in charge. He will conduct me on the tour, transporting me, arranging everything. All I'm to do is my lecturing. Under such circumstances I'm sure I can do a lot of talking and reading.

My "Memorial Library" is developing nicely. About 3/4 of the collection is processed and permanently placed. It will be a lovely place for a friend to go for a quiet visit with my ghost!!

You really ought to see our horses and colts now. It ['s?] has become a very distinguished group of fine animals. I have three new colts — two hackneys, one American Saddle filly. The latter is superb. There are 8 Stonewall King crosses in her pedigree; so you see she is very much inbred. There was a chance that this might work out for good or bad. It is definitely for good. I'll call the beautiful filly, Mary Madaleva, after the great Catholic woman who was especially friendly to me, for some reason or other. (She died three years ago) It was this lady who told me that if I were a Catholic, they would keep me going steadily all over the country!

More later.