<i>Japanese Hall and History Project</i>. Legacy of the Plains Museum, Gering, NE

On a snowy December day in 2019, dozens of residents lined the streets to witness the moving of the Japanese Hall from its original location in Scottsbluff to Gering, Nebraska.Built by the Japanese Americanization Society of Scottsbluff in 1928, the Japanese Hall had been at risk of demolition until efforts to relocate it, led by Vickie Sakurada Schaepler, a third-generation (sansei) Japanese American from Nebraska, who brought it to the Legacy of the Plains Museum (LPM) grounds. 1 Its relocation was obvious for many; the Japanese American community of western Nebraska was well-known for its contributions to agricultural development in the early twentieth century, and the LPM already featured a small exhibition of their connections to the region in its main building.An advisory council representing families connected to the Japanese Hall or those deeply interested in preserving this history united to develop a rigorous fundraising campaign.With this support, the LPM and the volunteer-based Japanese Hall Advisory Council transformed the project into a permanent exhibition highlighting the histories of Japanese in Nebraska and the High Plains from the 1890s to the present. 2 From the outset, the primary goal was to feature the Japanese Hall as the exhibition's main artifact.Volunteer John Miyoshi, another sansei from Nebraska, assisted a general contractor in restoring the original beadboard ceiling and pinewood floors.New insulation, electrical wiring, and drywall honoring the original layout further readied the hall for the public.Setbacks due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the abrupt closure of the company that completed the entryway display introduced challenges to the project, which delayed the original timeline.Eventually, Kansas-based Upland Exhibits completed the exhibition, and the 1