ABOVE: Golden yellow cottonwood
leaves sparkle on a fall evening.
LEFT: Elmer Burcham, who died
in 1883, is one of three Burcham
children buried in a cemetery on
the north side of the lake. While
several headstones have been
stolen through the years, according
to genealogy web sites, 14 people
from four families are buried
there, the first in 1868.
RIGHT: Matt McGinn of Lincoln
shows off a stringer of channel
catfish caught from the bank in
front of his camp. The lake holds
good populations of catfish and
walleye, as well as a few bass and
bluegills.
into their decoys. In the spring, those same
hunters might trade their honks for purrs, putts
and gobbles when turkey season opens. In the
winter, you'll hear the crunching of cleated boots
and the whir of an ice auger as anglers probe
the depths through holes they make in the ice.
And those Canada geese can make a real
racket. Many of them nest and raise their broods
at the lake, especially on islands built during a
1991 aquatic habitat improvement project that
was among the first of many that has improved
fishing on this and other lakes in the Salt Valley.
For many of us, the noises are exactly the kind
we want to hear. If it's not for you, don't worry.
Oftentimes, you will find you only have to share
the lake with the geese. Or at least it will seem
that way. And you'll hear nothing but deafening
silence. And that's why people go. ■
JULY 2015 • NEBRASKAland 35
