The presentation will begin at 2 p.m. at Plum Street Station, Sixth and Plum streets. The program is free and open to the public.

Robbins' topic will be "The German Language Press in Grand Island." A native of Germany, Robbins has done extensive research and German-to-English translations for Stuhr Museum and for her recent book, "Marching With the First Nebraska: A Civil War Diary."

The book's diary entries were written in German by August Scherneckau, the only man from Grand Island's German settlement who served in the Civil War. Scherneckau was a member of the 1st Nebraska Regiment.

For the "Voices From the Past" program, Robbins will discuss the notable German newspapers that served Grand Island until World War I. At that time America's patriotic fervor and anti-German sentiments forced the German-language newspapers to close.

Grand Island's German newspapers all shared a desire to preserve and promote German heritage and culture, but also instrumental in the assimilation process by providing information about the immigrants' adopted country.

Robbins name is familiar to Independent readers who follow her weekly column titled "Days Gone By," inaugurated in 2007 in connection with Hall County's sesquicentennial celebration.