once dated a girl who lived in that house," Justin Stofer
said from beside me as we drove the back roads of
Fillmore County to our next bird-hunting spot.
The statement wasn't braggadocios. Nor longing. It was
simply information shared from my bird hunting guide last
season.
But when he said it, I couldn't help but feel a twinge of
jealousy.
While I consider myself a nonnative native of Nebraska,
having lived here for more than 20 years, I grew up driving
the back roads of a township of sorts north of Memphis,
Tennessee, named Shelby Forest. As a kid-turned-teenager-
turned-adult, friends and I drove these back roads hunting
and fishing on any number of public and private lands.
This past winter, I had the good fortune of re-visiting this
area with my son, pointing to fishing holes that I remember
fondly that he'll never remember again and even taking him
to our public duck hole that I hadn't seen in 25 years.
So, when Justin made that simple throwaway statement
as we drove the gravel roads of his youth, I began to listen
'I
Story and photos by Jeff Kurrus
A Family Tradition
Still Making Memories
Justin Stofer, his German shorthair, Mojo, son Teegan, Soren Frahm, pudelpointer Penny and Shane Frahm after
a day of hunting in Saline, Thayer and Fillmore counties. PHOTO COURTESY OF JUSTIN STOFER
42 Nebraskaland • December 2025
