46 NEBRASKAland • MARCH 2018
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
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From left to right are my uncle Johnny Johnsen (founder of Nebraska
Bookstore and Johnsen Publishing), Folmer Lerager (his brother-in-law),
Glen Mooberry (employee and CPA at NE Book) and Jim Reinkardt (the
criminologist who wrote a book about Charlie Starkweather's killings).
Pheasant and quail hunting was a great sport in the 50s and 60s near
Cordova!
One more note: Johnny's (and my dad's) grandfather, Johannes
Johnsen, immigrated to America from Denmark to avoid being drafted
into Kaiser Wilhelm's army. Johannes got off a train near Beaver Crossing.
He was hungry but had only a quarter to his name. Years of hard work
allowed him to give each of his eight children a quarter section of land
near Cordova.
– Sara Johnsen Freeouf, Crete
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The attached photo shows Hastings residents
Charlie Jenkins (left with light coat), Bob Butz (center
– my father), and Vernon Burt (camo coat) with a limit
of mallards and Canada geese taken from their Platte
River blind located on the Cottonwood Range owned
by the Dr. Ted Peterson family of Holdrege. Their land
was between Elm Creek and Overton. The birds were
probably shot around middle to late November. While
it was common to get your limit of greenheads it was
something special to get the geese in those days. It
was legal to shoot hens, but we always tried to only get
drakes. We had a $10 fine payable to Ducks Unlimited
for those who accidentally shot a hen.
– Bob Butz, Holdrege
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This is a photo of me and my first deer taken in November
of 1965. I was 17.
We were hunting in the hills southwest of Scotia. The photo
was taken by my friend John Steffen at his grandfather John
Burton's farm south of Scotia.
I have enjoyed hunting here in Nebraska every year since.
– Leon A. Bresley, Omaha
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