Frank House director, 308.865.8284 OR sullivankw@unk.edu
UNK– “The Franks helped usher in Kearney’s boom period in the 1880’s only to lose everything in the panic of the 1890s,” said KrisAnn Sullivan, director of the Frank House museum. “Given the current economic conditions, what better place to discuss smart money lessons from the past than in the Frank House museum!”
The panel will be the closing presentation for the annual $martMoney Week, sponsored by the UNK Center for Economic Education. The hour-long panel discussion is free and open to the public.
Panelists will include: Lori Sizer, a UNK graduate who has studied the history of Kearney, the Franks and their home; Matt Morehouse, a UNK graduate student in political science who will speak from a political/social view; and Mary Rittenhouse, director of the UNK Center for Economic Education, who will speak from an economic perspective. Kami Lammers, a lecturer in the Department of History, will moderate the discussion.
“The financial lessons from the 1890s will be compared and contrasted to the current national and global economic environment,” Rittenhouse said. “Panelists will discuss how lessons are borrowed from the past.”
“The Frank House cost between $35,000 and $40,000 to complete in 1889,” Sullivan said. “Adjusted for inflation, the cost of the house would be approximately $798,000 to $912,000 if built today. The Frank family lost the house as the result of the financial depression of the 1890’s.”
