Former CSC dean tells how Sandoz Center was developed

Now a resident of Florida, Green was the dean of the School of Liberal Arts and chairman of the Mari Sandoz Heritage Society from 1991 through early 2002, and was instrumental in developing the center, which opened a few months after he had left the Chadron State campus. Because of the leadership he provided, following his talk Green was presented the Spirit of Mari Sandoz Award, the highest award given by the Sandoz Society,

Green said that although he grew up on a ranch in northern Texas and was exposed to storytellers all his life, he hadn’t read Mari Sandoz’s work until he was a graduate student at the University of Oklahoma.

While teaching history at the University of Central Oklahoma prior to coming to CSC, he said he strongly advised his students to read at least three of the author’s books. They are:

* “Old Jules,” which he called the single best book about the settler experience on the Great Plains, “warts and all;”

* “Crazy Horse” because it is a biography of an Indian leader written by an empathetic white author; and

* “Cheyenne Autumn,” because, he said, “it is the best book ever written about both the tragedy of the reservation experience and the indomitable spirit of Indian peoples against overwhelming odds.”

During his presentation, Green told of his experiences while meeting Mari’s sisters, Flora Sandoz and Caroline Sandoz Pifer, and others who were determined to create the Sandoz Center. With their assistance, many artifacts and memorabilia that are now on display in the center were collected. Then came the fund-raising efforts and the long-awaited project became a reality in the summer of 2002.

Green added that not everyone he encountered was enthusiastic about the project early in his tenure at Chadron State. He said he told them they should be grateful that the region had a literary interpreter who had told the world about this “beautiful area (that is) full of history and fascinating personalities.”

Finally, Green said the pieces began to fall into place. Highlights included receiving a $10,000 contribution from the DeMarco family in Omaha whose late uncle, Romano, had immigrated from Europe and once told his family “All I know about America I learned from reading books of Mari Sandoz.”

Another major boost occurred in 1998, when the college received a $25,000 grant from the Nebraska Department of Economic Opportunity to hire Jeanne Bishop, a Chadron nativeand CSC graduate to head the fundraising. Green recalled that legislation introduced in congress by then U.S. Sen. Bob Kerrey, resulted in two federal grants that ignited the efforts.

Green said the Sandoz Center, which he saw for the first time this past weekend, is spectacular and what he called, “a constant fountain for cultural enrichment.”

He added that it will be left to younger generations to continue making it “an integral and invaluable part of the scholarly and historical life of the region.”