Daniel Hilger, left, gets more cardboard boxes to package bags of popcorn inside a workshop at his farm in Butler County on May 15. Daniel grows and packages his own brand of gourmet popcorn, with the help of his wife Mary Jane Hilger, center, and son Marcus Hilger, right.
Molly Hunter
Daniel Hilger stands to the left of the large machine his family uses to funnel specific portions of popcorn kernels into the plastic bags consumers will buy. His wife Mary Jane sits at a machine sealing the bags after their son Marcus fills them.
Molly Hunter
Marcus Hilger operates a device his father, Daniel, constructed to funnel exact amounts of popcorn kernels into each bag of gourmet popcorn before they are sealed. Daniel used part of a washing machine and an old center pivot to build it.
Molly Hunter
Marcus Hilger, right, catches kernels in a plastic popcorn bag before passing it to his mother, Mary Jane, to be heat sealed. The Hilgers have the popcorn packaging process down to a science.
Molly Hunter
Mary Jane Hilger seals a bag of popcorn before handing it off to her husband, Daniel Hilger, to be placed in a box for shipment.
Molly Hunter
Daniel Hilger grabs a freshly-sealed plastic bag of popcorn from the heat sealer's conveyor belt before packaging it inside a cardboard box.
Molly Hunter
A box of popcorn awaits two more bags before Daniel Hilger tapes it closed and places it with other boxes on a forklift beside him. Hilger's gourmet popcorn can be found in supermarkets around Nebraska.
Daniel Hilger, left, gets more cardboard boxes to package bags of popcorn inside a workshop at his farm in Butler County on May 15. Daniel grows and packages his own brand of gourmet popcorn, with the help of his wife Mary Jane Hilger, center, and son Marcus Hilger, right.
Daniel Hilger stands to the left of the large machine his family uses to funnel specific portions of popcorn kernels into the plastic bags consumers will buy. His wife Mary Jane sits at a machine sealing the bags after their son Marcus fills them.
Marcus Hilger operates a device his father, Daniel, constructed to funnel exact amounts of popcorn kernels into each bag of gourmet popcorn before they are sealed. Daniel used part of a washing machine and an old center pivot to build it.
Marcus Hilger, right, catches kernels in a plastic popcorn bag before passing it to his mother, Mary Jane, to be heat sealed. The Hilgers have the popcorn packaging process down to a science.
A box of popcorn awaits two more bags before Daniel Hilger tapes it closed and places it with other boxes on a forklift beside him. Hilger's gourmet popcorn can be found in supermarkets around Nebraska.
