July 2019 • Nebraskaland 69
This picture is of my son, Joshua, taken the first
day of the first youth hunt season. We were living
in McCook at the time. Josh is now a lieutenant
in the U.S. Army Rangers. Hunting and being in
the great outdoors of Nebraska enabled him to
succeed as an{ Army Ranger, lifelong athlete{ and
graduate of Doane.
– Michael Hartwell, Lincoln
This is my dad – Ernest E. Harmon of Syracuse. He loved
his dogs and always had coon hounds. All of my life until he
died at 83 he had to make sure his two dogs had homes. With
my help we did just that. This picture was taken sometime
in the 1950s after a nighttime coon hunt. Usually he had a
companion with him – it started with his Uncle John, and
the last person was Uncle John's grandson, Don. In between
my two sons Don or Gary went with him.
During my childhood we went to many dog races where
they laid a coon scent trail, and the dogs would follow. The
first one would get it treed and then bark.
Later, he would go to water races, usually a pond with the
same results as the dog races. Always using a live coon. All
during my childhood Dad had a coon to work with his dogs.
Sometimes I had to feed it, and the coon did not like me very
well!
Dad won a lot of trophies from dog races and water races.
– Irene Fisher, Humbolt
