Saturday, December 10, 2011
Country Inn & Suites
5353 N 27th St.
Lincoln, Nebraska
8:30 A.M. - 12:45 P.M.
Seminar Topics:
Narrow and Wide Sections
Design or Mistake?
Jerry Penry
Surveyors have encountered areas in Nebraska where some
sections are narrow or non-existent, while other areas have sections that can
be up to two miles wide. Are these sections the result of a planned
design or a mistake? Jerry will discuss two separate areas in Nebraska
that affected 250 sections in eastern part of the state and 96 sections in
central part of the state.
Monuments of the Missouri River Commission
Gene Thomsen & Jerry Penry
Placed in the 1890’s, the monuments of the Missouri River
Commission are some of Nebraska’s most precise survey points, but are also the
least understood. Gene and Jerry will discuss how to recognize the bench
marks and triangulation stations of this agency, how they were used to map the
Missouri River, and how they can still be used today.
Aurora Magnetic Station
Gene Thomsen
The Aurora Magnetic Station is a century old survey monument
placed at Aurora, Nebraska in 1911. Gene will discuss the importance of
this monument, how it was used by early surveyors, and this year’s
remonumentation and dedication project. He will also discuss the
work of the U. S. Coast & Geodetic Survey when they endeavored to place a
monument in every county across the entire United States.
Guest Speakers:
Jerry Penry
Lancaster County
Jerry Penry grew up near Atkinson in
north-central Nebraska. After graduating from the land surveying program
at Southeast Community College in Milford in 1985, he spent the next 12 years
working for several Lincoln-area private engineering firms. In 1994 he
gained his Nebraska registration as a licensed land surveyor. In 1997 he
began his employment with Lancaster County Engineering. Jerry has helped
organize several historical events pertaining to Nebraska surveying and has
been a frequent contributing author to The American Surveyor
magazine. His interests include surveying history as well as documenting
WWII history. Jerry lives in Milford, Nebraska.
Gene Thomsen
Nebraska Department of Roads
Gene Thomsen is a life-long resident of Nebraska who grew up
on a farm between Fairmont and Exeter Nebraska. He attended Kearney State
College, and graduated from Southeast Community College with an associates
degree in Civil Engineering and Surveying. Gene worked in private practice
before joining the Nebraska Department of Roads Design Division in 1974. He has
been a Registered Land Surveyor in Nebraska since 1983 and became a Deputy
State Surveyor in 1988. His interest in survey history has inspired me to write
articles for the Professional Surveyors Association of Nebraska as well as
“Nebraska History” published by the Nebraska State Historical Society.
