Nebraskaland

46 Nebraskaland • October 2021 W hen you take children hunting, you better have a checklist. Warm clothes? Check. Warm boots? Check. Snacks? Check. Diaper bag? Excuse me? Baby food? Beg your pardon? Pacifi er? Are you nuts? Jesse and Casey Campbell of Grand Island aren't nuts, but that's what their packing list has included since they took their son, Harris, hunting for the fi rst time — when he was 2 months old. By the time Harris went on that goose hunt in February 2020, Harris already had been ice fi shing. And a few weeks later, he went on his fi rst rabbit hunt. Not quite 2 years old now, the toddler has added fi shing, camping, and turkey, sharp- tailed grouse, prairie chicken, pheasant, quail and squirrel hunting to his list of escapades. He's even been to a sandhill crane viewing blind and noodling for catfi sh in his parents' home state of Illinois. His outdoor-loving parents have taken "start them young" to an entirely new level. THE CAMPBELLS met at the University of Illinois while Casey was fi nishing graduate school and Jesse a bachelor's degree. Casey took a job as a civil engineer with Ducks Unlimited and moved to Nebraska in 2014. The following year, Jesse made the move and is now the director of communications for a law fi rm. Casey grew up hunting and fi shing in southern Illinois and continued both of those pursuits in Nebraska. Jesse fi shed and camped while growing up on a small farm near St. Louis. She had wanted to try hunting, but never had the opportunity. Once in Nebraska, she began tagging along on hunts with Casey nearly every weekend, bringing her camera for the fi rst year. "He didn't burn me out, but he tried hard," Jesse said. In spring 2016, she put down the camera and picked up a shotgun. "Once we had some success turkey hunting, I think she was pretty well hooked," Casey said. Each season opener that followed, the two headed to the fi eld together. They married in 2018 and, a year later, their fi rst child was on the way. That joy was accompanied by a fear for Jesse, who describes herself as an adult-onset hunter. One thing she likes most about hunting is spending time with Casey. "When I was pregnant, I was very concerned about how our hunting lifestyle would change," she said. "I didn't necessarily want to be restricted to being home with Harris all of the time and feeling left out because I wasn't hunting if Casey was hunting. I couldn't necessarily imagine going by myself, either." As the due date approached, hunting seasons opened, and Jesse and Casey kept going. She was dove hunting at 27 weeks pregnant, pulling on waders and slogging through a Rainwater Basin marsh for early teal season at 29 and 30 weeks, tagging two turkeys at 31 Start Them Young By Eric Fowler

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