even more intently, because I knew what it was like to have
these memories. Yet, having not grown up here, I couldn't get
enough of Justin's nostalgia that returns to him every hunting
season.
"As a kid, one of my grandfathers was a gunsmith and the
other owned a mechanic shop in Geneva," Justin said. "Dad
says the only time he would shut the mechanic shop down
was the opening day of pheasant season. It's been a long-
standing tradition for us."
As a kid, Justin walked alongside his brother, Jon — 7
years older than him — on many bird hunts throughout the
county. Being part of the farming community, where Justin
eventually worked as a teenager, everyone knew everyone,
and having places to hunt was easy.
"We hunted all the time," Justin said.
Like all hunters seem to have, Justin and his family
nicknamed their frequently traveled areas. Farmer's, the
Milligan Ponds, the Big Pasture, Konzak's and more. The same
roads he traveled then are the same ones he travels now.
And the memories constantly resurface, like when the
family became dog owners for the first time.
"My buddy and I were driving out near Sandpiper WMA,"
Justin said. "I worked on a farm near there, and a Brittany
[spaniel] came out of the ditch. No collar. No nothing. Either
someone had dumped her or she got lost hunting. So, we
loaded her up, took her to the vet and put up signs. But
nobody claimed her.
"She had no training. But was a fantastic dog."
Justin hunted that dog through his teens and 20s,
Ella Stofer, Justin's daughter, has continued the
family's hunting tradition by deer hunting with dad
each year and trapshooting. PHOTO COURTESY OF JUSTIN STOFER
44 Nebraskaland • December 2025
