Consider the Runza: UNK professor uses popular fast-food item to teach Nebraska history

UNK associate history professor Nathan Tye brings Runzas for students in his Nebraska in the World class. The popular fast-food item is one of many examples he uses to teach them about the state’s global connections. (Photo by Erika Pritchard, UNK Communications)

KEARNEY – University of Nebraska at Kearney associate history professor Nathan Tye stood at the front of a classroom inside Copeland Hall.

Behind him, a giant image of a Nebraska fast-food icon appeared on the digital projector screen.

“Today we’re going to do a really robust, serious exercise,” Tye told the class of 33 students. “We’re going to consider the Runza.”

That’s right. He planned to use this popular bread pocket filled with seasoned beef, cabbage and onion to teach students about Nebraska history and the state’s global connections.

“Even in the smallest towns, there’s a Runza franchise, so it’s something most students are familiar with,” Tye explained. “Maybe it’s even been shot at them from a T-shirt cannon during a football game. But they’ve almost certainly never thought about a Runza on a deeper level. Why would you?”

The UNK faculty member wins over his audience by bringing them free food for the lesson – “It’s the best day of class for students,” Tye admits – then takes them on a journey spanning four centuries.

“As with all fast-food stories, it begins with Catherine the Great, the empress of Russia,” Tye notes. “Because that totally makes sense.”

THEY BROUGHT BIEROCKS

Born a virtually penniless Prussian princess, Catherine the Great became the ruler of Russia in 1762 after overthrowing her husband. She championed education and the arts and focused on expanding and modernizing her empire.

One of her early strategies encouraged people to leave the Holy Roman Empire and settle in the Volga River region of Russia, a sparsely populated area that resembles the Great Plains. Enticed by incentives such as free land, no taxes, exemption from military service, freedom of religion and self-governance, many ethnic Germans accepted the offer.

“In a continent that has been rife with religious warfare since the Reformation, this is an incredible opportunity,” Tye told his class.

These immigrants thrived in the Volga region for many years, until Alexander II became emperor in 1855 and revoked their privileges. That led to another mass migration, this time to the United States.

The Volga Germans began arriving in Nebraska in the 1870s, with communities such as Sutton serving as hubs for this population.

“All of the things that they received from Catherine the Great were available in Nebraska and the Midwest,” Tye said. “The landscape looks the same. The weather is the same. They had freedom of religion and freedom of speech. And land was easy to obtain through the Homestead Act.”

Recognized as excellent farmers with a strong work ethic, the German Russians brought hard winter wheat with them, along with the recipe for that savory pastry pocket, known outside Nebraska as a bierock.

“When people come to the United States, they’re bringing things with them. They’re bringing their language, their beliefs, their culture,” Tye said during his lecture. “What you’re eating right now is something that was baked at a fast-food restaurant down by the interstate about an hour ago. But it’s something that came out of the Volga region.”

WE’RE NOT BORING

So why does the history of the Runza matter?

It’s a quintessential Nebraska thing, Tye said, but it also represents our ties to a global society.

Tye started teaching his Nebraska in the World class in fall 2021 to get students thinking about the state in a new way. He aims to “intentionally upend” the misconception that Nebraska and its history are boring.

“People think we’re in flyover country, right? We’re in the middle of nowhere. Nothing happens here. And nothing is further from the truth,” he said. “I want students to look at the place where they’re going to spend, or have spent, four or more years and have a deeper appreciation for it. They might come from a small town or rural community, but they’re connected to everyone else in the world.”

With a focus on transnational history, Tye takes a local topic and looks beyond our borders to tell the rest of the story.

For example, everyone learns about World War II during high school. But did you know the planes that dropped the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, were built in Bellevue?

The Glenn L. Martin Company produced more than 500 Boeing B-29 Superfortress bombers, including the Enola Gay and Bockscar, at its assembly plant at Fort Crook, which is now Offutt Air Force Base.

“Those are globally important events,” Tye said. “The most devastating weapons ever used in warfare were built by largely young women – Rosie the Riveters – in Bellevue.”

Tye also talks about Ben Kuroki, the only Japanese American to serve in air combat missions in the Pacific theater. A Hershey native, Kuroki enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps and flew on a total of 58 missions in the European and Pacific theaters as a turret gunner on B-24 and B-29 bombers.

Students in the class learn about the Louisiana Purchase – from the perspective of Napoleon – and Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show when it was performed for Queen Victoria in England.

“We’re not talking about Buffalo Bill as the guy who has a big house in North Platte,” Tye said. “We’re talking about Buffalo Bill international celebrity.”

Other topics include the Oregon and Mormon Trails, Omaha-born suffragist and women’s rights advocate Doris Stevens and Nebraska’s national defense role during the Cold War and today.

YOU’LL HAVE FUN

Part of UNK’s general education curriculum, Nebraska in the World is offered during the fall and spring semesters, drawing interest from undergraduate students across all grade levels and numerous academic programs.

“It’s a history class that’s really designed for non-majors,” Tye explained. “That makes it fun because there’s a broad range of students.”

In addition to the free food and interesting stories, the course includes a research component and trips to the G.W. Frank Museum of History and Culture on campus and Trails and Rails Museum in Kearney.

Logan Osmera took the class last semester while completing a bachelor’s degree in history with minors in international relations and public history. He called it a “different take on Nebraska history.”

“A lot of times when you take Nebraska history courses, it’s the Oregon Trail and cowboys, then you might get to World War I and it kind of stops there,” he said. “With this course, there’s a larger context and more focus on what this all means. Why were there cowboys in Nebraska? Why did the Oregon Trail exist?”

The Big Springs native gives Tye credit for bringing excitement and intrigue to these topics.

“He’s very enthusiastic. That’s probably the best way to put it,” Osmera said. “He’s from Kearney. He’s from Nebraska. He’s probably the best person to teach a Nebraska history course because not only does he know the material like the back of his hand, he also cares. And you can tell he cares and he’s passionate about it through his lectures.”

Osmera has worked at the G.W. Frank Museum and Ash Hollow State Historical Park. He’s currently pursuing a master’s degree in public history through UNK, so the course aligns with his professional interests.

But he believes it’s a great choice for any UNK student.

“This is not going to be your average, boring history lecture course,” Osmera said. “You’re going to have fun, and you’re going to learn something in the process.”