Nebraskaland

20 Nebraskaland • June 2026 In the Field The name has become so familiar to Nebraskans that most don't even ponder how it came to be. The magazine's name change from Outdoor Nebraska to NEBRASKAland in 1964 came five years after the Game and Parks Commission had taken on the task of tourism promotion for the state. The new moniker was part of what was being touted by Game and Parks director M.O. Steen and others as the most dynamic tourism promotion campaign ever. "NEBRASKAland … where the West begins." In promoting the June 1964 issue of the magazine, the agency supplied the media with a photo of Gov. Frank Morrison looking over the shoulder of a reader to see the new publication. It had been expanded to 60 pages, up from 28 just a few years prior, and included a 12-page spread about the state capitol building. Also part of the branding effort were a billboard campaign and a traveling exhibit to 15 sport and travel shows — D a l l a s, C l eve l a n d , L o s A n g e l e s and points between. Representatives handed out four-color western-themed travel folders titled "NEBRASKAland's Big Howdy," and agency artist Frank Holub produced a sheet of 21 stamps showing the state's historical, cultural and scenic gems. A NEBRASKAland symbol featuring an oxen-drawn wagon superimposed on the state's boundaries was copyrighted. The campaign also brought the birth of NEBRASKAland Days, which started in Lincoln before moving to North Platte in 1968. Now run by organizers in that city, it continues to be one of the state's top community celebrations. In 1971, the state's tourism responsibilities moved to the Nebraska Department of Economic Development. As the Legislature was considering that move, Dick Schaffer, chief of the Game and Parks' Division of Information and Tourism, stated the case for keeping things the way they were in a Lincoln Journal Star article. "How do you do it?" he asked. "If we run a story in NEBRASKAland promoting Lake McConaughy, will we draw fishermen — or tourists? And when does a man cease being a fisherman and become a tourist?" One of Schaffer's proudest initiatives was the NEBRASKAlander program, w h i c h e n c o u r a g e d b u s i n e s s e s t o serve as tourism centers in addition to the ir other offerings. More than 200 businesses earned the right to d i s p l a y t h e b i g N E B R A S K A l a n d e r Tourist Information signs by meeting thresholds of quality and passing a written exam. The program won the state the highest award by the National Assoc iation of Travel Organizations, and Schaffer was named travel director of the year. To d a y, t h e p r i m a r y d u t i e s f o r attracting people from afar fall under t h e Ne b ra s ka To u r i s m Co m m i s s i o n , which continues to partner with Game and Parks in many ways under its Visit Nebraska name. It remains a challenge, though, to m a ke a c l e a r d i s t i n c t i o n b e t we e n tourism and outdoor recreation in a state that is so rich with the latter. In that spirit, the magazine still carries the Nebraskaland name, albeit with fewer capital letters, and does its part to attract people to "where the West begins." From Outdoor Nebraska to NEBRASKAland By Justin Haag

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