Laubscher Collection: Nebraska, South Dakota and Wyoming

This home movie from the Laubscher Collection, likely filmed in the late 1940s to early 1950s in Kodachrome, captures a family’s road trip across Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wyoming, showcasing scenic landmarks and personal moments. It opens with "The Old Pine Tree," a notable tree encircled by a fence, followed by footage of the Nebraska State Capitol in Lincoln, featuring its distinctive tower. Views from the Capitol’s observation floor offer a panorama of the city, possibly Lincoln, where an unusual scene unfolds: a car ablaze in the street, surrounded by onlookers. The journey shifts to South Dakota with a sign marking "Entering Badlands National Monument," followed by striking vistas of the Badlands’ rugged terrain. Mount Rushmore appears next, with wide shots of the monument and close-ups of sculptors on scaffolds carving the presidents’ faces, underscored by a sign: "Trespassing Forbidden U.S. Gov't Property by order Gutzon Borglum," reflecting the site’s active construction phase under Borglum’s direction. The film concludes in Wyoming’s Yellowstone National Park, featuring signs for geothermal wonders like Dragon Mouth Spring, Brilliant Pool, Punch Mouth Spring, Lone Star Geyser, Daisy Geyser, and Grotto Geyser. Wildlife emerges with bears wandering on roads, alongside shots of Tower Falls, Thumb Paintpots, and the iconic Old Faithful erupting. This amateur travelogue blends natural beauty, human ingenuity, and quirky roadside incidents into a vivid Midwestern snapshot.