October 2021 • Nebraskaland 61
Duck Hunting on the Platte 1929.
(Above, left) The year was 1929, and it was a bountiful one for my
grandfather's family. This photo is of my grandfather, Lester Ernst
(center), and my great uncles, Roy (left) and Werner (right) Ernst, on
a duck hunt on the Platte River near Duncan. The crate on the ground,
directly in front of my grandfather, holds a call duck used to lure
waterfowl. And as you can see, the call ducks served their purpose well,
as 14 ducks were collected.
Even though I wasn't alive at the time of this hunt, I have had the
pleasure of using live decoys on a barnacle goose hunt outside Amsterdam
in the Netherlands. Just like the photo taken in 1929 indicates, the live
decoys were an effective way of attracting game.
(Left) This photo was taken on the same duck hunt in 1929. It is of my
great uncle, Roy Ernst, wading through the Platte River.
(Above) My grandfather was an avid hunter as evidenced by this photo
of him just after a late 1929 goose hunt. He passed on his love for hunting
to my father, Game and Parks Commissioner Jim Ernst, and me. Now, I
have passed that love on to my son and daughter.
– John Ernst, Columbus