30 Nebraskaland • April 2021
I
t was January 1993. I was in my
fi rst month of a dream job as a
staff photographer and writer
for Nebraskaland Magazine, and
I was fl ustered. Then editor Don
Cunningham had placed a large stack
of hardbound Nebraskaland volumes
on my desk and asked me to become
familiar with the material so I could
pitch him a few of my own story
ideas. Not wanting to fail my fi rst
assignment, I pored over roughly two
decades of issues and hundreds of
stories over the next couple of weeks,
and I consumed every word and photo.
I was born and raised in Nebraska,
but scrolling through those pages I
saw our state and its lovely sweep of
country like I had never seen it before,
from the rugged pine-studded buttes
of the Pine Ridge at Chadron and Fort
Robinson state parks to the broad-
shouldered forested bluff s along the
Missouri at places like Niobrara, Ponca
and Indian Cave, and its undulating
prairies and the immense wealth of
water that braided it all together. I
also was amazed at the tremendous
diversity of plants and animals that
these lands harbored, from huge bull
elk to ancient pallid sturgeon to the
daintiest of orchids, and I was humbled
by the diverse voices of our people past
and present and their fi erce, intimate
connections to the land.
But when I had fi nished reading, I
went to Don's offi ce, defeated, and said
that I had no new story ideas to off er
because the magazine had already
told them all. Being the gentle and
wise man that he was, Don looked up
at me over his professorial reading
glasses from his standup desk and said
with a smile, "But those are not your
stories, Mike. Go explore. You'll fi nd
them." He was right. Several months
later in December, my fi rst two articles
appeared in Nebraskaland, a photo
essay "A Day With Eagles" from Lake
McConaughy State Recreation Area,
and "Let it Snow!", where I tried to
cross-country ski in our state parks
around the state.
Scott Witthoff , then of Lincoln, enjoys winter camping at Indian Cave State Park in January 1993.
My fi rst cover image
on Nebraskaland's December 1993
issue.
My fi rst cover image
