48 Nebraskaland • March 2022
who lived there and passed through on hunts, to the French
explorers, early cattlemen, homesteaders and ranchers. He
wrote about the ecosystem and its origin, from the lakes and
marshes and fens in the valleys to the grass covered dunes to
the blowouts. He wrote about the fi sh and wildlife, and the
opportunities they provided. And he wrote about the men
and women who now live and work there.
He wrote stories about the black pioneers who homesteaded
near Brownlee, about several ranches and the people who
built them, and on the short-lived potash industry near
Lakeside and Antioch.
"I think it was a combination of the people and the
landscape," said Joe Hyland, a former colleague and long-
time friend. "He was fascinated by the people who lived that
life in the Sandhills, both early and to this day."
He would disappear for days in the Sandhills, far from
the nearest highway and motel, living out of the back of his
truck. In the fall, he hung his waders at several hunting base
camps in the search for ducks, geese, grouse and pheasants.
But his love for the obscure extended to the fi eld, where his
passion for hunting included snipe and diving ducks.
"He loved a lot of places in Nebraska," Van Winkle said.
"But he always told me this was his second home up here in
the hills."
History
True to his position, Farrar wrote about the history of
hunting, fi shing and boating in the state. He poured over
columns by Sandy Griswold that ran in the Omaha Bee
and World-Herald in the late 1800s and early 1900s to gain
more insight on hunting, fi shing and even wildlife
populations.
He wrote about many old hunting clubs, including Ducklore
Lodge on the North Platte River and The Merganzer Club near
Cody, both run by brewers from Omaha. On his own time, he
wrote a book on the Red Deer Club south of Valentine.
"He just spent an inordinate amount of time piecing
together little details about all of these clubs that haven't
existed for years," said Van Winkle. "He was a hound hunting
Storm clouds and a Sandhills blowout are warmed by the light of the setting sun west of Wood Lake in Cherry County. "Light is
everything," Farrar once said when talking about what makes a great photograph.
