Once upon a time there was a Kones Korner every four or five miles in East River, South Dakota. Kones Korner without guns, that is.

Each was a clubhouse for the neighborhood, a place to play pool, spread rumors, eat supper when you're otherwise alone, play pinochle in winter, buy milk and bread and leave your excess tomatoes.

You could even cash a check for $25, so long as you bought a beer or pop — which is less than an ATM fee.

Our clubhouses are disappearing in a hurry. My neighborhood place was Vedin's Corner at the junction of Highways 46 and 81, about 15 miles north of Yankton. I never knew the Vedins personally. Archie and Nadine Auch ran it in my youth and for years after that. They renamed it Archie's but we still called it Vedin's. Then they sold it to the Grans and it was renamed Gran's Station, but we still called it Vedin's. The Grans sold it to someone else a few years ago and I never even knew their names. They didn't hang around for long.

This afternoon the auctiooners plan to sell the antique bar and other furnishings. It's really no one's fault. Apparently you just can't do enough volume on gas, beer and burgers to provide the income and benefits a family wants and needs in 2008.

But the demise of Vedin's makes me appreciate places like Kone's Korner south of Watertown, where the Carter family found a way to keep the station open. They did so by parlaying it into one of the Midwest's best gun shops. Many years ago, Curt Carter hung a gun or two on a nail above the cash register. After his guns sold, he hung a few of the neighbors' guns on the nails. Soon he had to pound more nails in the wall. You should see the nails today. And the guns! Some say it is the most diverse collection of "for sale" guns to be found anywhere within a day's drive.

We've lost Vedin's. But if you have a country station in your neighborhood, take them some nails. And help them figure out something to hang on those nails.

It's quite a sight. The bird — actually what you see from the ground is a beak and two huge wings — floats high over the water. Is it dozing in thin air?

And then, using the very laws of gravity that didn't apply a moment earlier, those wings dive into the water ... a sudden explosion of splash and feathers ... and then the big wings work their way back into the air with a fish firmly hooked in its quick, sharp talons.

Boaters on the Missouri rarely get to see such a display, but that could change thanks to an ongoing program between South Dakota and Idaha wildlife officials. Today's Yankton Daily Press & Dakotan reports that 20 young osprey have just been released to nests near Lake Yankton, below Gavins Point Dam, thanks to a delivery from Idaho. The young raptors will be watched for six weeks. This fall the surviving birds will migrate to Mexico where all good osprey winter. The hope is that Yankton makes a good impression on them so they will return here when they become sexually active at about age two.

Osprey are not so rare in South Dakota. They've been seen on Black Hills lakes, and below the dams on the Missouri. Like its cousin the bald eagle, the species was nearly lost due to widespread use of DDT in the 1960s and 1970s.

Game officials are asking Yankton outdoorsmen to keep a watch for the gawky young osprey. The birds shouldn't be on the ground unless they're eating a fish, a biologist told the P&D. If you spot one that seems lost, don't try to console or pet him; remember, they have fish hooks for feet. Just call the authorities.

Writing a daily journal of some sort on the internet isn't the easiest thing in the world. it's a good disciplinary exercise, however. Like jogging every morning before breakfast. It focuses the mind.

Lots of internet bloggers start out hell's-afire and then fizzle in a few weeks or months. Others just muddle along, occasionally typing something worth reading.

But one writer offers a steady stream of wit, sarcasm, political commentary, history, travel ideas and cultural observations. In just the past few days, he has given fresh perspectives on everything from the war in Iraq, child sex stings, the foolishness of outdoor restaurants and movie theaters, and of course .... why the chicken crosses the road.

If you haven't guessed, it's Steve Hemmingson. Here's a sampling:

Small towns are like that, more than meets the eye, like when Hank Engesmoe…the gopher bounty hunter in the little town by the lake…runs into Larson’s Third Generation Grocery Store on a Sunday morning asking Joann: “Do you have a spare book of matches? I have to light candles down there.” “Down there” being Singsaas Lutheran Church, a couple of miles out in the country…or maybe it was the big church a couple of blocks away.

Or this conversation a few minutes later and a couple of doors down at Irene’s Café by Julie:

Pam, the first lady of Hendricks: “Steve’ll have his usual!”

Julie, the first lady of catering: “Already got it on!”

Pheasant hunting is a $219 million industry for South Dakota, and the state plans to celebrate its 100th anniversary of the successful introduction of pheasants this fall with a Pheasantennial.

Successful is the operative word in the above sentence. Through our years of publishing this magazine, whenever we mention our pheasant beginnings we get calls and letters from people who disagree.

"I remember when grandpa said that he and his neighbors raised some ......," is the way the discussions usually start. Or someone says, "My dad saw a pheasant in 1902 in ....." It's surely true. Lots of enterprising individuals and communities tried to hatch the pheasant industry before 1908. But wolves, coyotes, egg-loving coons and other critters — not to mention the occasional blizzard and drought — kept the Chinese ringneck from propagating.

George Washington is credited with being the Father of Pheasants in America. He had several pairs shipped from England to Mount Vernon during his tenure as president.

According to notes we've collected, South Dakota's earliest stocking program happened in 1891 near Sturgis. N.L. Witcher told the Sturgis paper that he was about to receive the birds, and he asked all sport-loving men to refrain from shooting them. He hoped they would drive out the grouse, which he said "are not really game birds."

In 1898, a fellow known as Dr. A. Zetlitz brought two cocks and four hens from Illinois to Sioux Falls. He eventually released 10 birds by the convergence of Split Rock and the Big Sioux rivers. Some were later found as far south as Yankton.

The first successful releases occurred in Spink County in 1908, and that's what we'll celebrate this fall. I'm not sure what the GF&P has in mind for a celebration, but the centennial is worthy of a party.

Surely you're tired of our preaching that travelers should take the back roads and visit South Dakota's small towns. So let's take it one step further. Don't even ignore those really tiny towns that still dot the countryside.

Merrill Gillfillan visited such towns for his book Magpie Rising: "Hamlets are utterly distinct entities," he wrote. "Detached and austere, they occupy an ecological niche between the town and the isolated, self-sufficient ranch/farm complex housing two or more generations. Hamlets are gratifying in scale and honest. They are silent and deafeningly humble. They fade and dry up and revive like sporadic streams; it doesn't matter, they live on the faint border of ghost towns to begin with. Someone moves away. Forty years later they come back. 'Hullo, Carl.'"

Here are a few quirks and attractions we've found in towns under 100 population:

Oral (Fall River County): The town's 60-some residents greet one another in the post office through the morning hours. Actor Jarrod Emick (Damn Yankees) is a native son.

Mansfield (Spink/Brown county line): You'll find a hall where Lawrence Welk played, a charming old Mansfield State Bank and a collection of old buildings restored by one family.

Hoover (Butte County): Down to about four people, but still lively. The Hoover Store celebrated its centennial in 2002, and the first Saturday of October is set aside for a gala reunion. Up to 200 come for a BBQ, music, horsehoes and dancing.

Davis (Turner County): Last we heard, the locals still put on a community play every year in the Winterstock Theater. Charles Larsen of nearby Hurley has written many of the scripts.

Glenham (Walworth County): The big old brick school has been converted to a spacious and rustic lodge known as the Blue Blanket Inn. Guests can play basketball in the gym or do math on the blackboards.

Watauga (Corson County): We hear that its quaint little restaurant/gas station has closed, but still an interesting stop with a beautiful old Catholic church and one of the original Yellowstone Trail markers in the little park by the road.

Ree Heights (Hand County): The grocery store has a big bottle collection (1,000 or more) and local ranchers' brands are burned in the Roundup Bar.

Vivian (Lyman County): You've passed by it a hundred times on I-90 but never stopped, right? The townspeople of all ethnicities celebrate Syttende Mae, the Norwegian Independence Day.

Vienna (Say Vy-anna or the locals will know you're an out-of-towner. Not that they'll care. Everyone's welcome for coffee and treats on weekday mornings in the post office.

New Holland (Douglas County): This is a Dutch community and a big, beautiful Dutch Reformed Church stands in the center of town. The pastor is fluent in Dutch because he spent several years in the Netherlands.

Onaka (Faulk County): David Waldman once wrote a poem, "Things To Do In A Town Of 80 People In The Late Fifites In Onaka, S.D." Like read poetry, perhaps, or invent a haystack mover? Joe Waldman did the latter. But he didn't bother to patent it, and never got rich.

Turton (Spink County): The birthday of St. John the Baptist has been celebrated in the towering, grand St. Joseph Church since 1919. Early settlers were French, and Frenchmen have liked frogs ever since their earliest kings wore robes decorated with green amphibians. Turtonites (all 60 or so) hold a frogtown festival every June.

Wasta (Pennington County): Way more amenities than you'd expect in a town of 756. They have horseshoe pits and sandboxes in the park. There's an Easter Egg Hunt every spring, and on New Year's Eve someone rings the school bell at midnight for the adults. Years ago the Methodists had a fundraiser on election day and the Attorney General squelched the fun because he thought it reeked of electioneering.

We could go on .... but look for yourself.

Looking for a unique, homespun celebration this weekend? We can heartily recommend the Herrick Squeal Meal, the most non-commercial and wholesome activity you're likely to find in all of America.

Writers should not use superlatives, but this is the real squeal.

A handful of people in Herrick (pop. 105, east of Gregory in Gregory County) have been organizing the Squeal Meal for a number of years. We've been there twice, and it was fun. The band of volunteers have done their best to restore a few of the town's modest architectural treasures, including the 1907 grain elevator made of 2x4s that is now an art gallery and gift shop.

The weekend festivities (Saturday and Sunday) include a pork barbecue, a morning bike/hhike, tours, kids' games, a hog calling contest, a parade, street dance and golf tournament. Most of the participants are people who grew up in the area and gather for a summer homecoming. But don't let your lack of Herrick ancestry keep you away.

Today we resurrect the popular Where-Izzit in South Dakota online game show. Be the first person in the universe to guess the location of this photo and win a major prize. Submit your guess by hitting the "comment" button below. Don't worry if your guess doesn't instantly appear. Each guess is recorded, timed and dated by our technical staff.

Yes, the first to guess correctly (or to agree with us if we're mistaken on the location) wins a yet-to-be determined prize. Friends and co-workers at South Dakota Magazine are ineligible but they can cheat by e-mailing their friends and relatives if they wish.

We haven't decided quite yet if the prize will be a new Cadillac or one of our best-selling books. But either way, you'll be handsomely rewarded for guessing correctly.

11 a.m. clue: It is in East River.
1:21 p.m. clue: There once was a dance hall nearby.
2:14 p.m. clue: It is not along or near the Big Sioux River, nor is it in the Sioux Falls area.
4:44 clue: It is along the Jim River. The old dance hall still stands, and there was even a race track there at one time.
8:00 a.m.: We have a winner. It is Tacoma Park near Groton. See more info in the comments section.

Political pundits on the blogosphere are enjoying a Hay Day over the question of whether U.S. Senator Tim Johnson will show up at DakotaFest to debate his challenger Joel Dykstra. Today, former KELO broadcaster Doug Lund offers a reasoned analysis of the delicate situation.

DakotaFest is a three-day farm show held in a big field on the outskirts of Mitchell. It normally attracts 35,000 people. This year it is set for August 19-21.

Will Sen. Johnson show up despite the fact that he is recovering from the after-effects of a brain injury and surgery? Should he show up? Will anybody who doesn't read the blogs even care?

DakotaFest's political debates are held in a big tent. They usually attract a live audience of a few dozen to a few hundred. The unveiling of a better fly killer draws a bigger crowd.
But the debates are also aired over powerful WNAX Radio, and the news media often covers them well because they are the first big event of the autumn election season.

Again, will Sen. Johnson show up? Does anybody really care?

This situation is a stark contrast to the political debates of a century or so ago. We interviewed Sig Anderson, a widely respected governor and judge, when he was very old in the late 1980s. he told us of how he came to Canton, S.D., as a young boy from Norway. He learned adequate English, but he spoke it with a thick accent and he was teased mercilessly by his peers even though they were mostly of Scandinavian heritage.

"The Norwegians and the Dutch, they don't amount to much!" teased the other children.

The insults hurt young Sig, and they also challenged him to speak better English. But hearing good English in his little ethnic farming community was not easy so he began to attend the political debates in the town hall. He said he tried to memorize the grand words that he heard, and the way they were pronounced. Then he practiced behind the barn, and in the fields and before he slept. And he became a great debater, an eloquent speaker and an inspirational and caring leader of South Dakota.

So the political debates mattered in ways the politicians never imagined. It wasn't their positions or ideas so much as how they spoke.

If Sen. Johnson decides to debate at DakotaFest, his halting words will also inspire many people. The message that will echo across the tent, and throughout radio-land, is this: it's not what happens to you in life but how you choose to deal with it.