America 250 plans shift into high gear

The United States Semiquincentennial is kicking off in the new year with the Hamilton County, Nebraska America 250 Committee setting the pace for Hamilton County.
Thanks to the committee members and community support throughout the year, Plainsman Museum director Tina Larson said it has been a wonderful experience leading up to 2026.
“We have had a great time,” Larson said. “The banners went out over a period of months. Some of the street pole banners went up and Aurora is now putting them back up (after Christmas).”
Along with completing its delivery of 18 personalized banners to local schools, emergency services and 85 pole banners throughout Hamilton County, the committee sold between 50 and 70 of its “Our Signature Recipes” cookbooks during its Thanksgiving weekend sale.
“I think it’s going to pick up more now that the rest of the country and the state (is getting involved),” Larson said. “You’re going to start seeing it a lot more and I think now people are catching on to it.”
Later in the month, the committee will get together to send out window clings to businesses throughout the county in advance of the celebration.
“They’re five-by-seven-inch window decals and we’re going to be sending those to organizations and businesses to put in their windows,” Larson said. “We have 750 of those to give away, so they’re doing a massive mailing and hopefully people will start seeing those. Maybe they will go in the windows of the delivery trucks around town, service trucks.”

Upcoming projects
The America 250 committee is ready to bring more fun activities and projects for the community to participate in, leading up to July 4.
For this year’s Memorial Day, the committee will be placing America 250 markers by veterans’ graves in every cemetery in the county.
“We are raising the funds and grants right now to pay for that,” Larson said. “At the moment, my count is 1,500 markers are needed for the entire county. I’m going to work with the veterans groups and the cemetery caretakers to get a better final count. We have our own emblem for that.”
The committee is also planning on unveiling its visual time capsule that is currently being produced by B&B Productions, run by Brian and Connor Kreikemeier.
“We have interviewed 41 people from across the county in various areas and now we’re almost done,” Larson said. “We have got to the schools to get their perspective and then it will move into the town building perspective, ag, business perspective and wrap up probably on our end with the museum.”
The capsule will serve as a message to future generations about the county’s innovation and the the lives lived by longtime families in the county.
“I think people are going to find it entertaining,” Larson said. “It will be good for people to step back and see how important right now, whatever we’re doing, how important that is to the future, because we’re going to look back on what was done to provide for me in this moment, to set the stage for me in this moment.”
Larson said the capsule is set to be completed before July 4.
While originally planned for this year, Larson stated that the Plainsman will not be hosting the traveling exhibit, “Many Voices, One Nation.”
“After further review, it was decided that it didn’t fit with what we are creating for our local history exhibition,” she said. “We will be modeling our history exhibition after the one created by The Daughters of the American Revolution specifically the style of presentation. We’re modeling ours after theirs as far as presentation.”
Larson said the Plainsman is still affiliated with the Smithsonian Institution and is currently in training for the Smithsonian’s “Museum on Main Street” traveling exhibit “Spark!”, which will be featured at the Plainsman in February of 2027.

Multiple anniversaries
Along with the celebration of America’s 250th anniversary, the Plainsman will be also be celebrating its 50th anniversary this summer as well as the 40th anniversary of the Wesley Huenefeld Agricultural Museum.
“There’s a ton going on historically for Hamilton County and we just hope people realize that,” Larson said.
Larson said museum volunteers have been working hard to give the museum a fresh look in time for its own anniversary.
“The whole inside of the rotunda has had a facelift,” Larson said. “If you look over the last five to six years, we have upgraded the entire facility from one end to the other, the windows and everything. That, in and of itself, is a long story, because we have a lot of before and after pictures of everything that we have done for five or six years, because people love those before and after pictures.
“What we want to emphasize is that we feel very much that we have been gifted our history from those who came before us,” she continued. “It’s super important that we now bring it to the next level,” Larson said. “It’s not like we’re replacing anything. We’re just enhancing everything that we have been given for the next many decades. A lot has gone into it. Right now, we have 43 volunteers who are serving on committees and working here in many, many different capacities.”
“People have been more than willing to adjust schedules and make sure that this happens,” Larson said. “There’s more to come and I feel like we have done extremely well as a county, getting on board and creating this moment in time that we can be proud of. When it’s over, we will have a gift for the future.”
The Plainsman will continue selling t-shirts, stickers, magnets, mugs, stadium cups and the cookbooks at the museum until everything is sold out.
More information about America 250 and ideas for more localized celebrations can be found at plainsmanmuseum.org/hcn-celebrate-america-250.