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NARRATOR: Coming up on Nebraska Stories,
tracking Nebraska's most elusive wildlife,
a young player finds maturity off the court,
inspiring change through skateboarding,
the art of fashion illustration,
and uncovering a long held family secret.
(rousing guitar rock)
(bouncy melodic piano)
NARRATOR: The rolling grassland of western Nebraska,
is a vast and seemingly infinite space.
Part of the western high plains,
the region is known for howling winds,
large farms, and few humans.
It's also where a species native
to the high plains is fighting for survival.
LUCIA CORRAL: My name is Lucia Corral.
I'm a student from University of Nebraska at Lincoln.
I'm part of the Nebraska Cooperative Fish
and Wildlife Research Unit.
NARRATOR: Corral came to Nebraska
on a Fullbright scholarship, from Guatemala.
She has her master's in wildlife ecology.
For her doctorate, she's tracking down
one of Nebraska's most elusive predators,
(box being dragged)
the aptly named, "swift fox."
CORRAL: A swift fox is the smallest canine
species in the northern great plains.
It's a very small fox, the size of a cat, basically,
a domestic cat.
It's no taller than twelve inches.
It's about the size of a cat.
It's really small.
It's yellowish colored, yellowish-grayish,
with more white in the belly,
in the inner parts of the body.
NARRATOR: A nocturnal creature, swift fox
are considered an endangered species in Nebraska.
Most of the historical evidence
about them is anecdotal,
and spotting one in the wild is rare.
(gentle melodic xylophone)
NARRATOR: For the last year and a half,
Corral has been trying to pinpoint
where exactly swift fox are calling home.
But, since she's searching and area
the size of West Virginia, Corral needed to
develop a system to gather the necessary data.
To do that, she and her research assistant,
Alan Harrington, are using camera traps.
ALAN HARRINGTON: The cameras are motion-sensored cameras.
They also have a heat sensor, a thermal sensor
on there, so any detection to set off the cameras
is gonna be through motion or heat.
NARRATOR: Camera locations are chosen
based on a variety of factors, like the size
of the property, the landscape, and land use.
Existing structures, close to game trails, work best.
CORRAL: Let's place it.
Swift foxes try to avoid tree lines, usually.
And they move more in open areas,
relatively flat areas with short grass,
trying to avoid predators such as coyotes.
(Hammering in stake)
NARRATOR: In front of each camera,
a stake is driven into the ground,
and scent lures are set.
In this case, skunk scented petroleum jelly.
INTERVIEWER: What about the smell of skunk?
HARRINGTON: The smell of skunk, it's great.
I actually really love it now.
You know, initially, you're kind of like, "whoa."
It hits you in the face, but once you
greet it everyday, it just really
becomes a part of you.
* MUSIC
NARRATOR: Corral and Harrington
have set up cameras at more than 12,050 locations
in 24 counties, gathering hundreds of thousands
of digital images.
More than 25 species of mammals,
and several bird species, have also been documented.
Swift fox have been seen at 33 different locations.
CORRAL: But we have found foxes in the habitats
that we know they are suitable habitats for the species.
Short grasses, mixed grasses, open areas, flat areas,
pastures with cows, cattle,
overgrazed pastures.
Loamy, sandy soil which, it's good for them to,
they live in dens, they also select for places
with those kind of soils.
(Truck driving up)
NARRATOR: Corral says depending on it's location,
a swift fox den could impact future
human developments as well.
CORRAL: So it's important to have
the basic information to do any informed
decision to do any type of management
or conservation, we need to have the
basic information, where they are.
And why they are selecting those areas.
And how they're moving in the landscape.
And how they are doing in terms of population.
So this is kind of the basics we need to know.
How many, and where.
And that's why we are just starting
with the distribution of where we can find them.
NARRATOR: Driving hundreds of miles a day,
(Truck door shutting)
getting in and out of trucks,
(Truck driving away and pounding in stake)
pounding skunk scented stakes into the ground.
CORRAL: Place to put the stake, ha ha ha.
Looks good.
NARRATOR: It's taxing work, but necessary.
CORRAL: They have been around.
We don't know much about them here in Nebraska,
in terms of distribution, and abundance of the species.
But we need to know, because it's part of,
it's one of those pieces in the puzzle,
that makes the ecosystem keep functioning.
Does that answer the question?
MUSIC
SHARON ANDERSON-TOWERY: There's someone that wants to have
Jason's name on the back of their shirt.
JESSICA THOMPSON: I think Logan wanted,
like a connection to the team.
I think he thought it was cool
that he actually knew somebody
that would be on the team.
JASON TOWERY: I mean, he's always there
after the game, waiting for me,
with his shirt on, and he's usually
the first person I say "hi" to.
He's always been there for me this year.
NARRATOR: Jason Towery, then a senior
small forward at Lincoln High,
expected his maturing to happen on the court.
In fact, it would happen off the court.
After he noticed his name on the back
of a young boy's shirt.
TOWERY: I noticed him, I think,
it was one of those beginning games.
He was in the gym and I saw the shirt,
so I kind of talked to him, and actually,
for from there on we just kind of stayed close since.
NARRATOR: They began a friendship,
and Jason has taken on a roll that
was absent from his life as a young man,
as well as Logan's.
JESSICA THOMPSON: So my mom and I have had custody
of Logan since he was about six months old.
His father passed away and then his mom,
she didn't make very good decisions,
so my mom and I have been taking care of him.
SHARON ANDERSON-TOWERY: It's really nice for me to see that he,
somehow, he figured out to be a male mentor
without having someone in the household
to show him.
TOWERY: I remember when I was his age
I looked up to older people too.
And having somebody do the same thing
to me it just, it's kind of unique.
LOGAN CHILDS: Well sometimes we play basketball
and sometimes we got to the movies
and it's like having a big brother.
TOWERY: There you go.
TOWERY: We decided we were going to go
to his school and bring a basketball,
and I had signed it,
and I knew he'd like it.
I just kinda wanted to do something
that made him feel kind of special.
THOMPSON: Logan was just over the moon,
because he thought it was so cool,
that Jason would at least take the time out
and see him and meet his friends.
LOGAN: Jessie told me that there was going to be a surprise,
and I didn't know what it was,
so he's just kind of surprised me.
For the longest time, I didn't even think it was true.
That felt great.
NARRATOR: Jason and Logan also began
to share a journal back and forth
as a way to keep their lines of communication open.
TOWERY: I believe we started that right after
the basketball season.
I didn't seem him for a little while,
and I think the journal just kind of,
he had wrote me, asking me how everything was,
and so from then on, we just kind of
passed it back and forth.
LOGAN: In the notebook, he said that I was like
a little brother to him that he never had.
And I felt like he was my big brother.
MUSIC
TOWERY: There you go.
Shot's looking better.
THOMPSON: I think Logan now wants to be a role model
for other kids.
In a sense, he sees what it's like
to have a good male role model in his life.
ANDERSON-TOWERY: I'm really pleased as a parent to see my son give back.
To give back to the community,
and to give back as a mentor.
TOWERY: He's taught me that
where ever I go, somebody has eyes on me.
You hear that a lot, but you don't really notice it
until it's actually happening.
(slow music)
(slow hip hop style music) (sounds of skateboarders)
NARRATOR: When you think of a skateboarder,
what do you think of?
A hooligan?
A troublemaker?
Well, a movement that began in Lincoln,
called Skate for Change, is changing not only
the way skateboarders are seen by their communities,
but more importantly, changing the lives of the homeless.
MIKE SMITH: Skate for change is an opportunity
for those kids to prove people wrong.
It's great to see 40 skaters skating
downtown and business owners
wonder what's going, and then those
40 kids stop at a street corner and give
socks and a blanket to homeless person.
I mean, that's changing perspective,
and changing the way people think
about young skateboarders.
IAN CASS: It's a lot more than skating around downtown.
TREVOR KERNS: I just believe that Skate for Change means
helping the unfortunate, and helping those
that need our help.
DAWSON ELDORADO: It feels better to give than to receive.
NARRATOR: Mike Smith's love for skateboarding
began at a young age in Imperial, Nebraska
and it never left him.
SMITH: And we were just kind of had to
create our own fun and come up with whatever
we could do just to stay out of trouble
and so we sort of did everything.
NARRATOR: While playing college basketball
at Grace University in Omaha,
Mike developed a need to give back.
He fulfilled that need through community outreach.
SMITH: I started at Campus Life.
I knew I wanted to work with youth,
I didn't know under what capacity,
or how that was going to work out but,
I've had a lot of great adults help me
kind of make it in life, and so that was why
I felt like I had to an opportunity to turn around
and do the same thing for a lot of young people
in Lincoln and in Omaha.
NARRATOR: Mike's passion for outreach
and skateboarding were beginning to merge.
SMITH: I got a phone call like, four years ago
that was, there was a skate park here in Lincoln
and the executive director called and was basically like,
"Hey, our skate park's closing down,
if you want our ramps, you can have them."
And he said, you gotta keep them in Lincoln
do something positive for kids,
and that is what got my mind going,
that, "Hey maybe I can create something
"really cool in Lincoln involving skateboarding
"potentially outreach or whatever."
NARRATOR: When Mike moved to Lincoln,
he brought skateboarding and outreach together.
SMITH: Skate For Change completely
was just kind of an accident.
Every Tuesday I would skate around by myself
and just hand out food and water and socks
and hygiene kits and stuff to the homeless guys
that were on street corners, and a buddy saw me
and it was just kind of me and him.
And we'd skate around then a couple more,
then a couple more, the it just kind of kept growing
and then you know, you'd show up on a Tuesday
to go do Skate For Change and there'd be like
40 people wanting to go and be a part of this.
Kids would show up with their own socks,
and their own shirts, and their own clothing
to give it away, and it was when I started to see this,
I started to realize, these kids have a lot of power
and a lot of potential to do something big.
(Yelling) MUSIC
NARRATOR: Today this Lincoln skate park,
called The Bay, reflects growth not only in
Mike's skateboarding passion,
but growth in his mission to give back.
ELDORADO: One day I was just skating at
The Bay, some guys were telling me about it
and saying, "Hey, let's go give some food and water
and stuff to homeless people." and said,
"That sounds like fun." and I ended up going
and I just loved it ever since.
NARRATOR: After Skate For Change exploded
in Lincoln, chapters began to pop up
all across the country, and even into Canada.
SMITH: We've grown to Detroit, and to Seattle,
and to Chicago, Kansas City, Denver.
It's pretty crazy to see it, but because
of the internet, kids'll see what we're doing
and realize that it's not hard.
You know, this isn't a hard concept,
it's pretty simple, you get stuff and you go give it away,
and you just build relationships while you're doing it.
NARRATOR: Relationships that those giving,
and those receiving, will always remember.
SMITH: Two years ago, it was a really warm Thanksgiving.
The day before Thanksgiving our whole crew
went down underneath the bridge
and just kind of spent time with the guys,
and one of the kids asked what they
were doing for Thanksgiving and all the guys just said,
"Oh, we'll probably spend it right here."
And when we skated off, the kid told me
he wanted to have a Thanksgiving meal
under the bridge with these guys,
and asked it we could help.
And so, everybody just started putting it out
on their Facebook and their Twitter,
and like 12 hours later we had five turkeys,
and mash potatoes, and the entire thing,
and it was like 20 something skate kids,
and 40, 50, 60 homeless guys all came together
under this bridge on Thanksgiving day,
and that was where, that was my wife and I's
first Thanksgiving and it was like,
a lot of these kids spent Thanksgiving day
down underneath this bridge with these guys,
and I think that to me was probably
one of the most special Skate for Change moments.
It was an idea a kid had, watching
that whole thing play out was pretty cool.
NARRATOR: As the movement grows,
and moments like this are created
nationwide, Mike hopes to quietly
fade out of the spotlight.
SMITH: I would love to see Skate For Change
happen all over the world, and no one
would need to know where it started
or who I was, or how they even got on
a part of the Skate for Change crew.
That to me is the endgame.
NARRATOR: But as far as the Lincoln
Skate For Change crew,
they know exactly who to credit.
KERNS: Mike.
Mike Smith.
He helped me a lot with it, and
I dunno, he's just a great guy.
CASS: I've had a different outlook on like,
people downtown.
ELDORADO: Through Skate For Change, I've learned to be
more thankful for things, and not take
many things for granted.
Cause as long as people are just,
it's surprising to see how happy they are,
when they really have almost nothing.
You know, it's just really inspiring.
NARRATOR: So maybe now you'll
want to ask yourself again.
When you think of a skateboarder,
what do you think of?
- [Homeless Person] Yeah, they won't quit.
- [Homeless Man] Alright boys, thank you!
- [Homeless Male] Thanks guys.
- [Homeless Man] And the beautiful lady.
Good luck guys.
- [Homeless Person] We're glad to see you guys
come down here.
God bless you all.
MUSIC
(lively music)
NARRATOR: In the 60s, 70s, and 80s
ads like these filled the newspapers
and magazines of the day,
driving consumers to purchase the latest
designer shoes or clothing.
It was the way retailers lured shoppers into the stores.
(lively flute and organ)
NARRATOR: And Omaha fashion illustrator Mary Mitchell
was the hand behind those alluring sketches.
MARY MITCHELL: I had about 15 retailers calling me
and doing their ads, and they would appear also
in the Lincoln Journal, plus the local magazines here.
NARRATOR: Retailers would drop off a garment
at her studio for her to create a rendering.
Mary drew the clothing consumers wanted to wear,
with the faces of people we might want to be.
MITCHELL: If you're picking up a newspaper
and you see and illustration in comparison to a photograph
you sort of put yourself more into the illustration,
because you're seeing a photograph of a person.
Whereas, the illustration you think,
"Well maybe I would look pretty good in that dress."
MUSIC
NARRATOR: While fashion photography
could show every detail, fashion illustration
was much more about highlighting select details.
MITCHELL: In fashion illustration, the artist
shows you what she feels about this outfit.
And she may do a little bit more
pizzazz or umphf or more detail.
Like for instances, if there was embroidery design,
you would see that better, rather than a photograph.
NARRATOR: While these sketches
were designed to sell clothes,
they also contain a high level of artistry.
BARBARA TROUT: It's a true art of manipulating the eye.
As an illustrator, you're trying to move the eye
through the composition, just like an artist
is trying to move the eye through the composition.
Starting at the left, probably the rendering
of the garments at the left, and maybe
some more detail at the right,
and the text at the right.
Mary's late illustrations, she takes some
creative license and become both
interpreter and a bit designer, I think.
You could almost name the fur,
like you name that it was chinchilla,
or you could name that it was mink,
and that was her talent of the detail
and the depth that she could get.
With just using her 935 pencil, in black and white
she could get all that detail,
which, I think, is remarkable.
NARRATOR: And these drawings were something
Mary simply couldn't part with.
MITCHELL: It was a crime to throw them away.
It was a lot of work, a lot of hours, put in those.
So I kept them in my studio downstairs, in a drawer.
I put so many hours and time and work into this,
and I didn't want to throw them out.
I think of it as art, it really is.
NARRATOR: With more than 1,000 renderings,
spanning three decades, industry experts say
this collection is an important one.
TROUT: It's significant for the breadth of her work,
and that this work occurred in the 60s, 70s,
and early 80s when illustration was
in the mainstream of fashion marketing.
Mary's wonderful approach to interpreting designs,
there's depth, there's fluidity, there's movement,
and there's energy, which not every illustrator
can master, and she mastered that.
NARRATOR: While the retail world relies on
fashion photography to sell clothes these days,
Mary isn't ready to put down her brushes just yet.
MITCHELL: It's expressive.
It gives me something to do that I enjoy.
It's like reading a book, and if you enjoy reading a book,
I enjoy drawing.
It's a pleasure.
And it's just a joy to sit there and draw
something like this and think,
"Oh, I wish I could wear that."
NARRATOR: Don't we all.
MUSIC
MUSIC
(gentle solo piano)
(gentle solo piano)
(gentle solo piano)
BARBARA EYMANN MOHRMAN: I began to work on this book
when I learned that my cousins did not know
the exploits during the Eymann boys during World War II.
I started by interviewing my uncles, aunts,
and cousins to gather the story.
And I came to realize, it was really
a story about the dust bowl.
MICK EYMANN: You kind of even hate talking about it
but it's been so long it don't bother me now.
But it was terrible.
BONNIE EYMANN: I remember the hot southwest winds
just wilting everything, every year.
DORIS EYMANN: The wind and the sand actually would cut that
corn off or else it would bury
the corn with the sand.
My father was so discouraged,
I never saw him cry, until after one of those storms.
MOHRMAN: I learned so much about what
it was like on this farm in Oakdale, Nebraska.
But more importantly than that,
it was a journey to discover who my grandfather was.
Because as children, we never mentioned his name.
(twangy acoustic guitar)
MICK EYMANN: He farmed a place right where we lived,
but he worked for, he worked on a grass fence there.
MOHRMAN: He was a man who had a dream.
He wanted a farm.
He wanted to support this family of 12
in the best way he could.
My grandmother was a very loving person.
And where Chris was the strict disciplinarian,
she provided that little extra ounce of love,
and nurturing and caring.
MICK EYMANN: We were all very close,
I remember there were 10 of us in that house
and I don't know where we all slept,
but we did, you know?
It was upstairs somewhere.
DORIS EYMANN: Chris was a hard worker.
I can remember him going out to milk the cows
and things when I was there.
MOHRMAN: And then the dust bowl hit.
The grasshoppers were the devastation to crops.
MICK EYMANN: They ate everything,
They just ate, cleaned everything.
CHUB EYMANN: They were big buggers.
And when they flew up and lit on you,
they could pick a place and pinch you,
you can feel it.
MICK EYMANN: We'd poison them but, you know,
they just kept coming.
MOHRMAN: They tried to grow crops every year,
but it was so dry.
When things were at the worst,
is when Hattie seemed to be at her best.
Her dream changed from, "How am I going to
"educate these children, and get them
"to the best life I can possibly give them."
To, "How am I gonna feed, and clothe,
"and keep these kids alive?"
DORIS EYMANN: You wonder how she was able to but,
she baked bread, and she canned a lot of vegetables
and that type of thing.
MOHRMAN: They had always raised chickens,
and hens, and she raised more.
MICK EYMANN: We milked cows, we had cream, and
we'd take that to the store on Saturday night
and create the cream and the eggs for groceries.
MUSIC
MICK EYMANN: My dad worked for the government,
building roads, just for a few bucks,
until he could buy something to eat.
MOHRMAN: All those dreams he had
of owning his farm someday,
those dreams were devastating.
There was no way that was ever gonna happen.
MUSIC
MOHRMAN: They knew that he was in a decline.
DORIS EYMANN: He kinda held back, he wasn't too interested
maybe in getting out.
MOHRMAN: Patti was always watching for him.
When he was in a black mood, she would
tell the boys, "Watch your dad."
MUSIC
BONNIE EYMANN: The Eymann family was the
only family in Antelope County that had
four boys in the service at the same time.
MICK EYMANN: Four brothers was in the war.
They had just...
MOHRMAN: It was tough on you.
MICK EYMANN: Got to him, yeah.
MOHRMAN: There were times he would go in the cellar,
and he just wanted to be alone.
DORIS EYMANN: He was just having kind of a
nervous breakdown over it all.
MUSIC
MOHRMAN reading journal: Hattie began to speak
in a worried voice.
"Turk, dad did not come in for
"dinner today and I'm worried.
"I have a bad feeling this time."
They lifted the lifeless body of their father.
He was light as a feather,
as the boys carried him from the barn,
up to the house.
Turk said, "He's gone, and he's
"never to be mentioned again."
And with that, the door was closed
on a secret, that would not be revealed
for nearly 65 years.
MOHRMAN: The difficult things are hard to talk about,
but through the book, we were able to
talk about those difficult times,
and I think it really helped us all work through them.
CHUB EYMANN: But other than that, I'm proud of my folks.
MICK EYMANN: Yeah.
MOHRMAN: I think that my grandfather
and my grandmother would be so proud
of their 10 children.
MICK EYMANN: The whole family's done well.
And I know the folks would appreciate that very much.
MOHRMAN: And I think he would
see himself in those children.
I find the Odell Cemetery hauntingly beautiful.
And I think about the people and the sacrifice.
And I can walk up there and look over the graves
and I know, "This is my family.
"This is where I came from."
I value their history.
I value their legacy, and I have a lot of peace coming here.
A lot of peace.
NARRATOR: Watch our stories online at
netNebraska.org/nebraskastories
and go to Facebook to like us, and leave a comment.
Join the Nebraska stories conversation.
Nebraska stories is funded by the
Margaret and Martha Thomas Foundation.
The Nebraska Office of Highway Safety,
and Humanities Nebraska.
Sustained funding for arts coverage on Nebraska Stories is
provided by the H. Lee and Carol Gendler Charitable Fund,
the Nebraska Arts Council,
and Nebraska Cultural Endowment.
(uplifting guitar rock)