NEBRASKAland Magazine is dedicated to outstanding photography and informative writing with an engaging mix of articles and photos highlighting Nebraska’s outdoor activities, parklands, wildlife, history and people.
Issue link: https://mag.outdoornebraska.gov/i/1545859
96 Nebraskaland • June 2026 Mixed Bag In September 2006, I nervously walked into my first Nebraskaland Magazine content meeting. In front of me was more than 160 years of expertise. Bob Grier was a technical wizard behind the camera and in Photoshop. Jon Farrar was an award-winning author whose books on birds and wildflowers had set the bar insanely high. Beside him was Mike Forsberg. Ken Bouc, who hired me, was there, along with Eric Fowler and then-editor Doug Carroll. Sitting in the back was Rocky Hoffmann. Rocky said little, occasionally writing notes but rarely adding to the conversation. His eyes were intent, listening more than talking as ideas bounced around the room. Afterward, I was cornered by Forsberg and Farrar in different conversations, and then by Fowler, all offering their suggestions, and demands, on what my roles should be. But not Hoffmann. He quietly headed back to his North Platte office with thoughts of the magazine seemingly gone. And for good reason, for he ran both the state's largest trap shoot in Doniphan each year as well as the Game and Parks district office in North Platte. Soon after, I received the text and photos for a story scheduled for nine months later. The piece wasn't even close to being due, yet that was just what Hoffmann did, and what he meant to this publication. Writing is hard enough. Add photography and it becomes a creative two-step. Nebraskaland has, for a very long time, demanded these two skills from its staffers, and no one did it as consistently as Hoffmann. His stories and images on hunting, fishing and the state park system graced the pages of Nebraskaland for nearly four decades, building the backbone of each issue. But it was his researching that left me just as floored as evidenced in pieces such as his March 2008 story, "Wood Engravings of the Past." "Precursors to today's photojournalism practices," the article read, "woodblock engravings brought to life (and readers across the world) many aspects of early Nebraska life that otherwise would have remained virtually unknown." The words were accompanied by stunning woodblock illustrations whose complexity and artistry confounded the mind. It was another example of how Hoffmann was able to tackle any type of story he thought Nebraskaland readers would appreciate, and do so with passion. And nine months ahead of schedule. An editor's dream. A Word on Rocky Hoffmann By Jeff Kurrus TOP: "Shooting Antelopes from a Railroad Train in Colorado." ARTHUR BOYD HOUGHTON, THE GRAPHIC, 29 JULY 1981 MIDDLE: "The First Buffalo." ARTHUR BOYD HOUGHTON, THE GRAPHIC, 29 JULY 1981 BOTTOM: This engraving by William M. Cary shows antelope hunters luring a herd into range with one hunter lying on his back, feet peddling the air.