Nebraska: Connecting to the Land Through Stories (with Greg Wagner)

When Greg Wagner's great-great-grandmother made her dying wish to be buried not in a cemetery but beneath an oak tree on their Nebraska homestead, she planted more than roots in the soil. Greg is a sixth-generation Nebraskan whose family has maintained the same land for 158 years through blizzards, armed robberies, and economic crashes. As someone who's spent 46 years caring for Nebraska's natural resources through the Game and Parks Commission, Greg brings a unique perspective on how place shapes family identity. We explore how his grandmother's death in 2005 launched his genealogical journey, uncover the resilience required to keep land in a family for over a century and a half, and discover why every single Wagner descendant has chosen to remain in Nebraska. This conversation reveals how the stories we inherit from our ancestors become the compass that guides future generations home.

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