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The Llano Estacado, or "Staked Plain," of Texas and eastern New Mexico spreads two hundred miles across what early visitors called "an ocean of land." No other place on Earth is quite like it. Humans first inhabited the area more than twelve thousand years ago. Subsequently, settlers came to convert the grassland to ranches and then to sprawling farms. Every new generation performed its duty at this cultural crossroads, from the trade routes established by the comancheros to the fateful meeting between Buddy Holly and Elvis Presley at Lubbock's Cotton Club. Noted West Texas historians Paul H. Carlson and David J. Murrah compiled and edited fifty-six brief stories presenting the Llano Estacado's heritage at its liveliest and most unfamiliar.

Adored for its tremendous beauty, the Hiawatha Valley also harbors a rich and varied history. Native Americans settled on the sandy shores of the Mississippi River and gave rise to the legend of Wee-no-nah. Later settlers arrived by steamboat and horse cart to tame the rugged hills and valleys and raise the finest of America's crops, industries and children. The "gandy dancer" of early railroading drove his spikes, and pickle makers fed the troops in early war efforts. All the while, the Mighty Mississippi beckoned to hardy explorers, Mark Twain among them. Join local author Kent Otto Stever as he blends historic events, places and people with personal reflections on everyday life in the valley.