Press Release

Wonderful natural color comes to the Kimmel Gallery in the form of the photography of Stephen Hassler of Peru, publisher and photographer for Your Country Neighbor monthly publication.

“Every summer from first grade through my junior year of high school, I collected butterflies. I dreamed of becoming a biologist, traveling the country to follow butterfly migrations. But I wasn’t sure how one made a living collecting butterflies,” he said.

“Eventually, I got the wild idea to start a newspaper,” said Hassler. “That meant I had to learn photography, which turned out to be a joy. I began by photographing businesses, then barns, windmills, and other rural scenes. Before long, my lens turned to birds, trees, wildflowers—and of course, butterflies. Every summer, my paper features their images. I no longer use a butterfly net; I capture them with a camera.”

Recently, Hassler was invited to give a talk on butterflies, which inspired him to organize more than 125 images from his archives. From those, he selected 35 for this show.

“These prints represent my very best, all photographed right here in Southeast Nebraska,” he said.

On Sunday, June 22, at 2 p.m., Hassler will present a talk in the Kimmel Gallery on over 20 butterfly species plus insights on where and when to find them in the wild. Questions and Answers segment will follow. The program is free and open to the public.

The photo exhibit will run through June 28 during the regular Library service hours of Monday -Thursday 9-6; Friday 9-5 and Saturday 9-1. 923 1st Corso in Nebraska City. Questions? Please call 402-873-5609.