Student Makes Fun Discovery in Cather Collections

By Caitlin Steiner

William Kelly, a graduate student in the UNL Department of History, was working with new items for
the Charles Cather collection when he came across a fun discovery, a short rhyme in an autograph book written in Willa Cather’s hand. Kelly works as an intern in the Archives & Special Collections, has an interest in Cather, and has been assisting Mary Ellen Ducey, University Archivist, by doing an in-depth review of items to add to the collection. During Kelly’s closer look, an old pocket autograph book caught his eye. The book belonged to Willa’s brother Douglass Cather, and dated back to 1890. The autograph book is similar to how students of today would sign each other’s yearbooks with farewell messages and poems. 

Dear Douglass

Learn your lessons, mind your teacher 

marry a girl & pay the preacher,

 die and fly to the “golden shore”

 and don’t be a sell [sic] anymore.

The medical advice of your sister WM Cather Jr. 

Last summer, Kelly interned in Red Cloud, Nebraska at the National Willa Cather Center. It was here
where Kelly learned much about Willa’s life. 

“I wouldn’t have been able to pinpoint why this was so unique, had it not been for that experience in
Red Cloud,” stated Kelly. 

The most striking piece of Willa’s message was her signature. Willa signed off her poem as,
“The medical advice of your sister WM Cather Jr.” Willa would have been around the age of 16 at
the time, starting to adopt male styles, and aspiring to become a doctor. This is shown through her
medical advice and referring to herself as William (WM) Jr. 

“To have the smallest contribution to people’s understanding of Willa Cather...is pretty cool,” said Kelly. 

Kelly has enjoyed working with the Cather collection and reading Willa’s books. 

“I always hated to read fiction, until I read Willa Cather,” said Kelly, “now she makes me proud to
be a Nebraskan.”