42 Nebraskaland • November 2020
it. He's learned a lot over the years."
He learned some of that watching his father and
grandfather, Gene Bartels, who operates an outfitting
business, Kripple Duck Adventures, guiding deer, turkey,
waterfowl and pheasant hunters. Started in 2003, the business
was mothballed a few years ago when family obligations,
including activities Blaine and his siblings were involved in,
took priority. Blaine helped with that business, serving as a
turkey guide for the first time when he was 14.
Blaine restarted that business and started guiding a few
waterfowl and turkey hunters when he was a sophomore. One
client, a representative of The Allen Company, manufacturer
of hunting and fishing equipment, brought a film crew along,
and Blaine is now featured in promotional video on the
company's YouTube channel.
Kobe helps out with the guided duck and goose hunts, help
that is needed when you're working with a 16-foot cargo
trailer loaded with 12 dozen full-body duck decoys and 24
dozen full-body and shell-goose decoys and layout blinds.
"Usually if it's just the two of us, we kind of have to limit
ourselves to what we put out because we've got to think
about how many we've got to pick up," Blaine said.
That collection of gear grew from an opportunity in the
"backyard" of the Dorn's rural home near Wauneta. Kobe's
grandfather, Harold Nordhausen, owns farm ground across
From left, Clevenger and Blaine and Chad Dorn watch for turkeys from a high vantage point above Frenchman Creek.
Clevenger watches for turkeys from a ground blind
along Frenchman Creek near Wauneta.
