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Carcasses in the Creek, Noem in a Box
October 16, 2013
... pasture to drag fifty rotting carcasses that used to be my mortgage payment out of a poisoned creek.
But I am being asked by Congresswoman Kristi Noem, as are you, to pay for a "safety net" to make sure blizzards and other bad fortune don't put West River ranchers out of business. That makes their business our business.
It's hard to read the numerous accounts of ranch hardship following the pummeling, freakish ...
South Dakotans Will Survive
October 16, 2013
A blizzard named Atlas tests the spirit of our expansive state.
Digging out in Deadwood
October 10, 2013
Kate Jones snapped these photos of Deadwood after last weekend's blizzard.
Finding Support After the Storm
October 9, 2013
How to help South Dakota ranchers who suffered a severe blow in last week’s blizzard.
South Dakota Web Roundup
July 12, 2013
... blogger Fran Hill’s backyard.
Doug Lund remembers the joy he and the late Phil James brought dancers during their 20-year musical friendship.
Madison’s Dairy Queen sells more blizzards than any other on Miracle Treat Day, a fundraiser for the Children’s Miracle Network. This year, owner DeLon Mork has recruited a special guest to go skydiving with him if Madison stays on top ...
The Advantages of the Prairie Pantry
May 29, 2013
... remember that I had already made the purchase. My pantry has been influenced by living in a town without a grocery store and fear of running out. Both my husband and I recall winters of our childhoods with blizzards that left us stranded, but thanks to the preparedness of our mothers, we were never without food. We inherited that gene. The prairie pantry bulges.
Garlic Spaghetti with Beans and Arugula starts out ...
Buying a Lawyer for Your Town
May 1, 2013
... in Vermillion.
Fred joked that he was already in Martin when Custer came through. "My advice was 'George, don't go,'" he told us. Actually, Fred's father came to Martin in 1909. They ranched until a blizzard nearly wiped out their cow herd. Then they moved to town and ran a cream station. Fred got his law degree from USD in 1949. More importantly, he met a music major from Iowa and together they moved to ...
Fifty Years in South Dakota
April 9, 2013
... imbecilityFrom dust and debt and drought and dying kine,Aridity, frigidity — yet I, in my stupidityHave lived here fifty years and like it fine.
I nearly froze my gizzard in one riproaring blizzard,But that was in the year of Eighty-eight.Thought I was never wealthy I’ve been absurdly healthyLike nearly all people in the state.If skies went dry and coppery, if fields got all grasshoppery,That ...
South Dakota's Winter Golf Secret
March 21, 2013
... those.) If you hit a solid 3 iron into the 190 yard away green, you will find your ball somewhere in the woods, down the hill behind the green. (Jake got one of those too.)
A GREAT WAY TO SPEND A BLIZZARD DAY
When the snow is up to your windowsill in eastern South Dakota, remember that out west, in our state’s banana belt, there are hackers and duffers teeing it up at Red Rock. But no matter what ...
Not Enough Juice
February 14, 2013
... the weather channel rather a long time to figure out that it could goose a little more drama out of wind and ice by giving storms names that sound like Japanese monsters.
I didn’t really mind the blizzard, much. In fact, it looked to me like the Good Lord’s way of declaring an impromptu holiday. Of course, I didn’t have to go out to plow roads or look for stranded cars driven by folks who ignored ...
A Spirited Pioneer Promoter
January 15, 2013
... Brookings and a companion set out for the Yankton area to locate a town in an area that was soon to be ceded by the Native Americans. This trip was begun in January of 1858, and the two soon encountered a blizzard that froze Brookings’ feet, which both had to be amputated.
Though such a plight would have scared many men from the unsettled Dakota Territory, Brookings was never to be scared away. He rose to ...
Why They Don't Let Dads Buy Prom Dresses
January 9, 2013
... dress will appear, worn by somebody else, at the same local prom. This is apparently unacceptable and a violation of some teen honor code. Never mind that the prom is now about a week away and a blizzard is forecast to move into the area that night. Daughter and The Understanding One trek off through the Summit Hills for another chance at a dress at the Jean’s Bridal lottery (are you keeping track ...
Our Favorite Winter Sport
January 3, 2013
By Roger Holtzmann
Remember that old pioneer tale about the guy who gets trapped in a blizzard? He's lost, can't get a fire started and is unable to find any kind of shelter. As a last resort he shoots his horse (or in some versions, a cow) in the head, cuts him open and survives by utilizing ...
A Somber Winter Read
December 27, 2012
The Children's Blizzard is heartbreaking, but well worth your time.
What Will Winter Bring?
December 6, 2012
... provide our subscribers if we could predict what the winter will be like. Old-timers tell me that if we watched the animals we could do that.
Some say that when pigs squeal in winter, there will be a blizzard.When sheep cluster together, expect a snow storm.When cows quit giving milk, expect stormy, colder weather.When a cat sits with his tail to the fire, expect bad weather.
For centuries, farmers have tried ...
Memories Atop Rose Hill
October 24, 2012
... long ago Spearfish put Rose Hill to another use. Since November 1876, this has been the town’s cemetery.
For a long time I thought it unbelievably ironic that the first person buried here, a Mr. Blizzard, actually died in a blizzard. It reminded me of the stale, dark joke about how strange it was that Lou Gehrig died of the very disease that bore his name.
As readers swifter on the uptake than I may ...
The Buffalo vs. the Bull
... them as an unprecedented opportunity for mucho dinero. Philip's sporting proposition was quickly joined, and arrangements were made for publicity and use of the Juarez bullring.
Unfortunately, a severe blizzard required Scotty Philip's presence on the ranch that January, so he was unable to make the trip to Mexico. In his stead, he dispatched his nephew, George Philip, to look after family interests and those ...
The Home Kids of Dell Rapids
... years old, living on a farm southwest of Mina with his parents and his younger brother, Darwin. Then the boys’ mother, only 28, died in childbirth along with their infant sister. Days later, on a blizzardy February night, their house burned down. "Dad farmed us two boys out," recalled Earl Hormann. "Back in them days, it was pretty slim pickings. We went from house to house. Finally, they just couldn’t ...
Dairy Queen in the Body Politic
July 26, 2012
... This nationwide event raises money for Children's Miracle Network, which helps local families cover costs when they have to take their kids to the hospital for serious injuries and illnesses. You buy a Blizzard, and the money goes to CMN. Pretty cool.
The Madison Dairy Queen has led the nation in Miracle Treat Day fundraising every year since 2006. Madison DQ owner DeLon Mork has found the right combination ...
Dakota Territory's "Most Interesting Man"
May 9, 2012
... tales must be read with a grain of salt. In his chapter on the hanging of famed Black Hills outlaw Lame Johnny, Sutley describes that particular trip to the Hills and recounts how he endured a ferocious blizzard. After the storm, he took his horse to a creek in a valley for water. As they came back up the hill, he heard the Cheyenne to Deadwood stage rumbling along the frozen path. Then vigilantes stopped the ...
