Presenters - 2027
Speakers are subject to change
Randall Soland
Randy grew up in Nauvoo. Recently, he and his wife Jody returned to Nauvoo for their retirement years. Randy has multiple graduate degrees in Psychology, Counseling and History. He has been a full time private counselor for 42 years. He works with a variety of mental health issues. In addition, he is part-time college instructor teaching psychology, history and film. He is the author of the book, "Utopian Communities of Illinois-Heaven on the Prairie."
Lester Ramsey
I grew up playing with my toy John Deere tractor in the grape vineyards of Nauvoo while mom pruned grapes in the spring and picked grapes in late August or early September. Mom also worked in the Nauvoo Grape Growers Association Warehouse that was a block and half west of our house on Parley Street. And come late May, just as school was ending for the year, there were always jobs picking strawberries for us kids from the Flat. I attended Nauvoo Grade School and graduated from Nauvoo-Colusa High School. From there it was on to Western Illinois University and a 47-year career as a high school teacher of mathematics, physics, and Spanish. My wife and I have written over 160 short stories. Some of these stories include our parents, our childhood years, our da ting years, our marriage and honeymoon, our parenting years, our teaching years, and our many answered prayers. Some of our stories have been shared with our school students, in sermons with our church members, and at least half a dozen stories have been published.
Alan Moberly
Alan Moberly is a Kansas native who has lived in Nauvoo since 2017 and considers Nauvoo his home. In 2018 he became a Correspondent for the Hancock County Journal-Pilot and has written over 700 newspaper articles.
Pat Hallman
Pat Hallman is just another old man with a story to tell.
John McCarty
John McCarty… Lifelong resident of Nauvoo. Attended Nauvoo Public Grade School and then Nauvoo-Colusa Jr. & Sr. High. After graduating in 1978 I entered into the working world for 5 years at the Nauvoo Cheese Company before going fulltime with my T shirt and sign business Outlaw Tees. I married Connie (Hopp) Haas in 1996 and became an instant father of 4 children and we added a fifth child in 1997. Owned and operated a T shirt business for 38 years and have been doing signs since 1972.
Rita Souther
One of Rita’s earliest childhood memories was of pickup truck rides to the Roscoe Cemetery to watch her mother and neighbors clean up the cemetery where her grandparents were buried in Missouri. The Southers moved to Roseville, Illinois in 1956, and was soon introduced to the magic of Nauvoo. She became fascinated with genealogy at age 13 when her mother and cousin talked about researching their family. She has a BA Archaeology, but that early interest in genealogy developed into 35-year career as a professional a genealogist: first, at the Daughters of the American Revolution followed by almost 25 at the Bureau of Indian Affairs in Washington, DC. She retired to Nauvoo in February 2017, and got involved with the Nauvoo Historical Society, where she now serves as its president.
Mike Wiant
Schooled and trained in anthropology and archaeology at Illinois State and Northwestern universities (B.S. and M.S. at ISU; M.A. and Ph.D. at NU), Michael Wiant spent most of his career exploring Indigenous history in the Midwest, particularly in the Illinois River valley. In 1982, he began a 35-year career at the Illinois State Museum, serving as Curator of Anthropology (1983-2002), Director of the Illinois State Museum—Dickson Mounds (2003-2015), and Interim Director of the Illinois State Museum (2015-2017). His research interests include the development of Native American culture, landscape history, and, more recently, the profound changes to Native American life from the 17th through the 19th centuries.
Rebecca Willamson
Rebecca is a single working mother. In her spare time she does genealogy, sews, quilts and gardens. She owns The Cambre House and Farm outside of Nauvoo, IL. It is an event venue, available for weddings and other events. The Cambre House also hosts events like painting nights, ghost tours and open houses during the summer. She is presently the Nauvoo Tourism director.