Helen Plasters Nemzek

Helen's love for UNL, and Love Library, dated back to 1943, when she came from her small rural hometown of Stella, NE on a Regents Scholarship. The Love Library building was newly completed, but it wasn't open to students. Rather, it was used as a billet for the Army Specialized Training Program soldiers who were stationed there.

Helen recalled the soldiers marching to classes, counting cadence. She also remembered a sorority "hour dance" when, one by one, the "boys of Company C" asked her to dance. At the end of the evening, they invited her to be their Sweetheart candidate.

Decades later, when UNL announced the renovation of Love Library, Helen was quick to send a donation along with her story. During a follow-up phone interview, the Foundation's representative discovered that Helen's voice, honed through theater and debate at UNL, was still undimmed at age 87.

In fact, being the Sweetheart of Company C was just one of many honors Helen received during her career at UNL. She was the first woman to win the Missouri Valley Debate Conference, using a case created by Ted Sorensen, later John F Kennedy's head speech writer. She starred in theater productions, including My Sister Eileen, and she counted Theater Department Chair Dallas Williams an important mentor. She met Johnny Carson at UNL and became close friends with him and his first wife when she began a career in radio after graduation. At KOLN, Helen did woman-on-the-street live interviews, offering Lincolnites “A Penny for Your Thoughts." She also co-hosted a morning show with her first husband, Don French. After working at stations in Lincoln, Omaha, and Iowa, Helen moved to the Fargo, ND area. In 1959, she married Jim Nemzek and moved to Moorhead, MN, where she remained until her death.

She remained close to her roots in Nebraska, with annual trips home to Stella. She frequently recited the Gettysburg Address, from memory, at the Stella Cemetery on Memorial Day, the last time at age 90.

As Helen's children, Dr. Laura French, Dr. Jean Nemzek-Hamlin, and Dr. Robert Nemzek, searched for a suitable memorial, UNL was a logical choice. An initial contact was made with the University Foundation.

“Once they mentioned Love Library, we thought, 'that’s it!'” explained French. A visit and tour and many conversations narrowed the plan to a study area for students.

Erin Colonna, the Libraries graphic designer and exhibits specialist, designed a memorial display that tells Helen's story from the first day of country school to her days in front of the microphone. Brent Morgan, the Libraries facilities manager, took inspiration from the radio show to incorporate the copper tones of pennies in the colors of the furniture.

On November 28, 2022, family and friends of Helen Plasters Nemzek gathered with staff from the University Libraries and University of Nebraska Foundation to celebrate Helen’s inspiring life and legacy of support to Love Library.  The event included remarks by Joye Fehringer, Director of Development, University Foundation; Elizabeth Lorang, Associate Dean of Libraries; and Laura French.  Helen's three children cut the ribbon in front of the memorial plaque, officially dedicating the space.

The siblings were pleased and impressed with the central location of the study area and the design of the plaque. Most important, Nemzek-Hamlin observed, "the study booths were filled with students as soon as the ceremony was completed. Mother would have loved that!"

“Although not literally home in the same way for today’s students, we aspire to create the same sense of belonging, community, and safety that Love Library offered those first 1,600 troops in the training programs,” explained Lorang, “We are so appreciative of the generosity of Laura French, Jean Nemzek-Hamlin, and Robert Nemzek, who have made Helen’s space possible and whose support of our students will be felt for many years to come.”

The study area was made possible with funds from the Helen Plasters Nemzek UNL Libraries Excellence Fund, which will continue to support Love Library. Donations to the fund can be made here: https://nufoundation.org/fund/01159540/