On Tuesday, the Norfolk Public Library partnered with Humanities Nebraska to bring the first event of its pre-Chautauqua program, a deep dive into historical moments through lectures and literary readings. Humanities Nebraska has been revitalizing its Chautauqua program for many years in various parts of the state. The last time Norfolk saw these presentations was in 2014.
The theme for this program is “Weaving a Nation.” It explores lesser-known stories and backgrounds of past American figures who helped shape the nation. Guest speaker Tom King told the life of Andrew Carnegie from his early childhood to his path to fortune in a first-person point-of-view lecture.
Carnegie, as told by King, grew up in a humble and poor family. His father, William, was a handloom weaver. But when the cotton gin was created to make hand-made tasks like William’s seamless, Carnegie’s father struggled to make a steady income.
When Carnegie saw his father struggle, he knew he had to make a change, and Carnegie got straight to work earning $1.20 a week at a textile company. Carnegie eventually moved to the steel business in 1872.
He grew extremely wealthy and is remembered as a pioneer of the steel industry. Carnegie was nicknamed the “wealthiest man in the world” after he sold his successful steel company to John D. Rockefeller in 1901 for $480,000,000.
After his sale, Carnegie spent a large sum of his money on philanthropy directed toward universities and public libraries. The Carneg.