60 NEBRASKAland • MARCH 2017
Send contributions to: Portraits from the Past, NEBRASKAland Magazine, P.O. Box 30370, Lincoln, NE 68503-0370. Or e-mail to
Tim.Reigert@Nebraska.gov. Photos should show people enjoying Nebraska outdoor activities, such as camping, boating, hunting or fishing, and must have
been taken before 1980. We will give priority to unusual photos or activities. When possible, please include a story about the photograph and identify the
people, places and approximate date it was taken. Text may be edited, photos adjusted for reproduction. All photos will be returned.
This picture was taken in October
1941 on the Gunder Qualset Ranch
on Beaver Creek, west of District
18 school house near Petersburg,
Nebraska.
Standing next to the car (left to
right) is my uncle Omer Qualset and
my brothers Bob and Billy Hamilton,
ready to head out for a hunt.
As I remember, we liked to hunt
the local Sandhills blowout ponds
for early ducks before they froze
over. On a blustery day with lots
of ducks in the area many hunters
would be scattered throughout the
hills on these ponds. Those hunters
would keep the ducks moving from
pond to pond so hunting could be
good for several hours. Uncle Omer
prided himself on getting two ducks
with one shot. Memories of those
days of our youth will linger forever.
– W. C. Bill Hamilton,
Ankeny, Iowa
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