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From the OAH Regional Meeting Cochairs W e are delighted to welcome you to the OAH Midwest Regional Confer- ence in Lincoln, Nebraska, July 6 -8, 2006. The theme of the meeting, "Historic Heartland: Celebrating a Century of the OAH," commemorates the founding of the OAH, the history of the American Midwest and the Great Plains, and the multiplicity of voices that have combined to shape our history over the generations and to interpret our history for the next generation to come. Nearly a century ago, representatives of seven state historical societies gathered in Lincoln, hoping to organize a new historical association to encourage collabora- tion, improve professional standards, and highlight our regional and national histories. Little did they know that the organization they founded, the Missis- sippi Valley Historical Association, and the new historical journal they eventually created, The Mississippi Valley Historical Review, would outgrow the Midwest, take on national dimensions, and evolve into the Organization of American Historians and The Journal o f American History. What originated at the Nebraska State Histori- cal Society in 1907 has become the largest professional association of American historians in the nation, numbering eleven thousand college and university pro- fessors, high school teachers, archivists, public historians, students, and institu- tional subscribers. The 2006 OAH Midwest Regional Conference returns us full circle to celebrate the OAH's origins, history, and midwestern roots. The program presents an exciting array of sessions, speakers, and events that highlight the range of historical topics that our profession explores, as well as the variety of ways in which we interpret, teach, and share what we know about the substance and practice of American his- tory. The opening, plenary session surveys the origins and history of the OAH, as well as providing informed perspectives about the organization's future. Nearly forty sessions explore compelling historical topics, including the civil rights movement, gender and sexuality, politics and war, Native American history, the westward movement, African American history, and agriculture, as well as present- ing state -of- the -art methodological perspectives on teaching, community history, oral history, digital scholarship, and public history. Plenary luncheon speakers will include Devra Weber, University of California, Riverside. Two special events will celebrate the time and the place of this conference. On Fri- day evening, a reception at the Nebraska State Historical Society will commemorate the centennial of the founding of the OAH and recapture the excitement of that pivotal moment. On Saturday evening, we will conclude the meeting with an old - fashioned barbecue, with all the historic trimmings, at Homestead National Monu- ment. This authentic heartland event is sponsored by the National Park Service, the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, and Nebraska Wesleyan University. The 2006 OAH Midwest Regional Conference in Lincoln promises intellectual stimulation amid the pleasures of the heartland. Historians of all varieties —col- lege and university professors, high school teachers, archivists, public histori- ans, students, and anyone with an interest in learning and sharing unique per- spectives on American history —are welcome to Lincoln and the OAH Midwest Regional Conference. ❑ Victoria Brown, Grinnell College Kenneth Winkle, University of Nebraska, Lincoln Program Committee Cochairs Victoria Brown Kenneth Winkle