Three traveling baseball exhibitions on view in the metro this spring chart a history with local overtones and signals a comeback for a local organization. The exhibits are courtesy of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. Omaha's own Great Plains Black History Museum is presenting the photo shows at family-friendly venues. The exhibits are happening in the heat of the baseball season, too. The last few weeks of their run coincide with the College World Series. The history of black baseball is told in Discover Greatness and the life and times of Kansas City Monarchs player-manager Buck O'Neil, who co-founded the Negro Leagues museum and served as its goodwill ambassador, is celebrated in Baseball's Heart and Soul. Both exhibits show May 20 through June 26 at Conestoga Magnet School, 2115 Burdette Street, in the heart of Omaha's black community. Conestoga's an apt host site as Negro leagues teams barnstormed through North Omaha, sometimes playing exhibitions with the Omaha Rockets, a semi-pro black independent club. The Monarchs and other Negro leagues teams stayed at black boarding and rooming houses in North O, including one operated by Von Trimble's parents. Trimble says he has fond memories of meeting legends Satchel Paige and Josh Gibson, playing catch with them in his yard, riding with them to the ballpark on the team bus, and sometimes sitting in the dugout during games. Trimble's expected to share his anecdotes on some future date at Conestoga. Then, too, the school's only a few blocks from the black museum's long closed home, where artifacts from Omaha native and Cooperstown member Bob Gibson, who was offered by the Monarchs, were displayed. A third exhibit, Times, Teams and Talent, offers an overview of the Negro leagues. It can be seen during eight Omaha Storm Chaser games May 17 through May 24 on the main concourse, behind section 114, at Werner Park, 12356 Ballpark Way in Papillion. That exhibit then moves to The Bullpen at the Omaha Baseball Village, adjacent to TD Ameritrade Park, for the June 15-26 CWS. Intentional about having a strong youth focus, organizers recruited 36 youth ambassadors from 11 area schools, all but one in OPS, to be paid greeters and tour guides at Conestoga. An anonymous donor funded an April 30 motorcoach trip that 22 of the youth made to the Negro Leagues museum in Kansas City, Mo. "We wanted to give our youth ambassadors some first hand knowledge about the exhibits and the museum," says Beatty. "We wanted them to understand our level of commitment to them and the fact this is a serious effort They got to tour the museum, to hear directly from its president, Bob Kendrick, and to receive some training from staff there. As an added bonus they got to meet two players from the latter years of the Negro Leagues." As an Omaha Public Schools administrator and product himself (1966 Omaha Central graduate), Jerry Bartee is pleased the district is heavily involved in showcasing the exhibits. He says when Beatty asked him to be the organizing committee's honorary chair he couldn't resist because of his own deep connections to baseball: he was scouted by none other than Buck O'Neil and went on to a short career in the minors. "Obviously I love the game of baseball. I appreciate all the pioneers but particularly the African-American players that paved the way for future generations, including my own," Bartee says. "Negro Leagues baseball was really a rallying point for black America and brought a sense of pride to the black community. "The historical value of it all is immeasurable. I am so pleased the Omaha Public Schools is a partner in this endeavor. What we hope to accomplish with all this is for parents and grandparents to talk about these times with their children and grandchildren."

read more: Negro Leagues Baseball Museum Exhibits on Display for the College World Series; In Bringing the Shows to Omaha the Great Plains Black History Museum Announces it’s Back