The Big Sounds of Bobby Layne and More

Nebraska Stories

Air Date: 02/21/2019

The Bobby Layne Orchestra has played ballrooms across the United States for over 65 years and it’s been quite a journey for band leader, Bobby Layne. Over his long career Layne has guided many orchestra members through multiple eras and genres of music. Today Layne continues to travel coast to coast with his band playing music that keeps the dance floor crowded - A pair of brothers set out to find Ci’tonga, a creature they say is similar to Bigfoot or Sasquatch. Their company, Rez Squatching, takes tourists into wooded areas around Macy to seek out the beast. They’re certain Ci’tonga exists. Can they convince the skeptics? - When is an apple tree more than an apple tree? How about when it’s a descendant of the tree that inspired Sir Issac Newton’s law of gravity in the summer of 1666. Only a handful of “Flower of Kent” trees exist in the world and one can be found right here in Nebraska on the campus of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. - An Omaha couple’s reputation for adventurous, fearless collecting has raised eyebrows of the art world. On a modest budget, Laura Vranes and John McIntyre transformed their love of art into an immense collection of works from a variety of unknown, emerging artists.. In the last decade, this middle-class couple has quietly amassed what is said to be one of the most important contemporary art collections in the Midwest. - While students at the University of Nebraska, Louise Pound was greatly admired by Willa Cather. In a youthful letter penned by now the famous author, we get a glimpse into Cather's world and her desire for women.