56 Nebraskaland • April 2024
PORTRAITS FROM THE PAST
Carp fishing in Columbus,
1959
This picture is from Pawnee
Park in Columbus. Often the
Loup River would flood the
park in the spring, filling
the pond with carp. The
pond provided many days
of adventure to me and two
neighbors, Mark Shields and
Ronnie Braun.
Leave early morning after
paper route, then pack a lunch,
ride our bikes, and bring a
can of corn and poles to fish
off the bridge that went over
the pond. This must have
been a good day. There is still
a rock water fountain in the
park. Lunch always provided
a slippery climb to the top of
the fountain for a drink. Many
a good summer's day spent at
Pawnee Park.
I would have been 9 or 10
since I have a July birthday.
– Steve Shadle,
South Sioux City, Nebraska
Pheasant hunting near Greely, 1975
This picture was taken south of
Greely on opening day when we limited
out — one of our last good trips. We
started with our dads in the early 1960s
hunting at Verbas's farm.
Our group left to right: Jim McDonald
(back), Bert Thompson, Terry Steele and
Bill Thompson; Ed Christensen (front),
Leroy Raabe and Bob Thompson. Gary
Geise took the picture.
Terry and Bill have passed away. Bert
Thompson is 99 and lives in O'Neil.
– Ed Christensen, Phoenix, Arizona
