Swanson Russell

You could say hunting and fishing are in our DNA – quite literally. Our founder, Gus Swanson, was an avid outdoorsman. It’s a passion he shared with his son, Mark, who currently serves as a Production Manager in our Lincoln Office. To this day, brands in the Outdoor Recreation field remain one of our key “areas of focus” as an agency.

In this four-part Orange Dot series, Mark will share stories of hunting and fishing from his youth. We hope that, collectively, they serve as an explanation of our roots in outdoor recreation and the proud tradition we carry on as part of the Swanson name.

I don’t ever remember a time when my father, Gus, didn’t have a hunting dog. The first hunting dog I can remember is Penny, our lovable Sherman tank golden lab. She was an excellent retriever with a special talent for dragging my brother, sisters or myself by her leash during walks.

During one of our bird hunts, my dad, my brother, Kirk, and I were going hunting in southeastern Nebraska. Penny was riding in the backseat. We pulled up to a farmhouse that had a white picket fence encasing the front yard and stopped to ask for permission to hunt on their land.

As my dad swung open the gate and made his way to the front door, he scattered some chickens that were feeding in the lawn. The running chickens were too much for Penny. When she spotted them, she exploded out of the rear seat, leaping over my brother and me to start the chase.

Kirk and I watched in horror as Penny quickly decimated several chickens, barely pausing between each attack. With impeccable timing the farmer opened the door to find dad standing there while Penny brought up one dead chicken after another to lay at his feet.

Without missing a beat, Dad told the farmer that he was hoping to get permission to hunt on his land, and added that he would also like to buy some chickens!

Luckily, the farmer just laughed and told Dad that we were welcome to hunt on his property. The farmer then started telling Dad where he had seen a covey of quail that morning and what spots might be good to try. Gus asked the farmer if he would like to hunt with us. It wasn’t long before the farmer was walking with Dad and Penny back to the car, shotgun under his arm.

A friendship was started that morning that lasted the rest of my father’s life. We’ve been hunting with the farmer and his sons for more than 30 years. Many times during our hunts, while following the dogs along a hedgerow or creek bed, we’ll still laugh about Penny and the chickens.