August-September 2026 • Nebraskaland 67
Best Shot in the Family, 1943
My mother, Joy (Loft)
Elstermeier, was the "best shot"
in the family. This picture was
taken in 1943 while she was
hunting with her brother, Dan
Loft, and her husband, Hamie
Elstermeier, north of Ord. She
used a vintage Iver Johnson
matted rib 12-gauge shotgun. I
learned to hunt with that same
gun in the 1960s, and I still use it
when I hunt today.
– Robin Elstermeier, St. Paul
Pheasant Limit, 1961
Terrance J. Feeken, 19 years old, shot
this limit of pheasants in a cornfield
north of his parents' farm east of
Dorchester in November 1961.
– Gary Koci, Lincoln
