66 NEBRASKAland • JULY 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 and photos adjusted for reproduction. All photos will be returned.
This is a photo of me with a northern pike I caught in February 1967 at
Rock Creek Lake State Recreation Area. I was fishing with Floyd Nicholson
for trout at the time when a northern took the bait. A long battle ensued, and
when the victory was won, I was eligible for Master Fisherman honors with this
14-pound, one-half-ounce, 37-inch-long northern. It was caught on an eight-
pound line. At that time, I lived and taught school in Imperial.
– Dwight Hatch, Ogallala
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Attached are three photos taken during what
had become an annual trip to a ranch north of
Johnstown to get our Christmas trees. The trip
started during my last year as a science teacher
at Ainsworth High School. We went to a ranch
on Plum Creek where two of my students had
lived and were allowed to get a couple pine
trees. We moved to Grand Island in 1962 and
in 1963 decided to make a daylong trip to the
Plum Creek ranch the Friday after Thanksgiving.
On our last trip in 1965, my wife, Ann, fixed
lunch, a thermos of milk and coffee, and water
jugs, and we drove north to Plum Creek. After
talking to the rancher, we went Christmas tree
hunting and found our trees on the ridge above
the creek. After cutting our trees, we did some
exploring and found several fossils. This started
a fossil hunt which resulted in our collecting
eight or 10. On our way home via some back
roads, we got an up-close view of a private
small herd of bison.
The tree picture included Sue, Jean, Mariann,
Ann and Judi. Another shows mom and the girls
looking. The third photo shows Mariann and
Sue with a couple of the fossils collected. This
trip was one of many around Nebraska while we
lived there.
– Al Pogge, Quincy, Illinois
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