Mariah Monahan, played by Cherrie Beam-Callaway, speaks to an audience at the Utica Senior Center on July 25 as part of the Utica Heritage Days celebration. Beam-Callaway has been a Humanities Nebraska speaker for 35 years.
Mariah Monahan crossed the ocean from Ireland in 1845 to settle in Nebraska. Her family was forced out of its homeland when the potatoes rotted and turned to mush in the ground, leaving nothing for them to eat.
Monahan, portrayed by Humanities Nebraska speaker Cherrie Beam-Callaway, spoke to Utica residents and visitors during Utica Heritage Days July 25. She couldn’t waste any time though, peeling potatoes as she spoke to keep up with her chores.
She told a dozen stories about hardships on the unrefined prairie – the wildfires, the tornadoes, the blizzards and the starvation.
She also charmed the audience with tales of the good times – the dances, the new babies and the wonderful gift of a mop.
“Life was hard for us, but we got through it because we were friends to each other,” Monahan said. “No matter how little you have, you can make do. And we did.”
The program was the final installment of a three-part series about Monahan’s life and the history of Irish settlers on the Nebraska plains. It is one of 150 Humanities Nebraska programs by people like Beam-Callaway, who interviews residents of the state to learn about their lives.
“You are part of Nebraska history,” she said. “It’s your duty to tell your stories.”
