Neighboring 101: How well do we neighbor?

Loree Gaikowski

Executive Director, WSACD

I recently joined a webinar in regard to this very subject. In the 1960’s, the definition of a good neighbor was someone who invited you to their home, visited you in your home, exchanged goodies, and cared. When given a survey, today’s definition of a good neighbor was someone who kept to themselves and you don’t see very often. The reason for the surveys and the study? Depression rates have skyrocketed in the last 60 years and society as a whole is dividing. They were looking at a correlation between the decline in neighboring; knowing people care (whether you like it or not), and feeling you are alone and no one cares.  It soon had me thinking in a small town like ours, we really are all neighbors. But how well do we neighbor?

Community development is crucial to the foundation of economic development. Are our residents happy here? All of them, born and raised and those who chose to make their homes here.  Do we care about one another’s happiness or do let some feel invisible? The bigger question may be..  is it intentional, a result of our society changes in the definition of neighboring, or a fear of change within our community? 

Dynamic businesses and dynamic people offer essential building blocks to community development. Do we welcome dynamics in Wessington Springs? Dynamics other than our own, like a transplant in a quiet neighborhood, can be a bit intimidating as we consider stretching our comfort zone or shutting it down altogether. Change makes us feel vulnerable. Yet, 60 years ago, in a world that was quickly changing, communities that embraced their neighbors thrived. They all didn’t need to “like” each other and be best friends, but they were challenged by a changing world to accept one another and their differences to create dynamic neighborhoods within their communities.

Growth in a small rural community relies on people. The people we have, the people we recruit, and the leadership we follow. I challenge you to think about your community neighbors (yes, even the ones that drive you crazy). How might things change if you each felt accepted and valued as neighbors? How might this movement begin to change the dynamics of our present-day community for the better? What changes would we see?

Summer Updates

From the Director’s Desk:

I will be the first to admit it has been a while since I last wrote. What a whirlwind of a summer Wessington Springs has seen. Your Chamber and Economic Development Corporation has been working diligently to make impactful differences in our community.

I was fortunate to receive a scholarship from the Economic Development Professionals Association of South Dakota to attend classes at BHSU this fall. The training was excellent. After 3 years of training in the world of Economic Development, I’m ready to lead my board and community forward in future development ventures and feel I now have the skillset to see success.

Any day now, we hope to close on a new office space on Main Street Wessington Springs. We are very much looking forward to this. We also have acquired the old law office on Main Street across from the grocery store. After having an asbestos study done from the DANR, we have learned that it will indeed be safe to demolish and we hope to redevelop the space so if you have any ideas, please share!

Other successes of the summer are the completion of our Housing Needs Study and our Discover More on Highway 34 campaign. First, the housing study affirmed the need for housing including single family homes, town homes, and duplexes for all income levels and has now opened the doors to access funding options. If you are interested in investing in either project please contact us. (You can view the final draft of the housing study under our Chamber & Development tab on our webpage at wessingtonsprings.com.) Second, Keloland News picked up on our work to promote Highway 34 and did us a HUGE favor with their stories highlighting the project shortly before Sturgis week. Currently, I am working to find more information about the “Buffalo Trail” and hope to join with Fort Pierre Tourism to work together and highlight the highway even further, hopefully increasing tourism throughout the highway. If you have any memories or information regarding that, please contact me.

Our summer events were a Rockin’ good time 😉. We were proud to be a part of the return of the (tamed down version) Leap to Lane’s in Lane, and our annual Foothills Day’s saw our first annual Foothills Days parade, Foothills Classic, as well as some successful golf tournaments. Rockin’ Ribfest served to be an excellent success as a fundraiser for our organization as we were fortunate to welcome Dustin Evans and The Goodtimes band and Surfin Safari to the event. We also enjoyed promoting our local Music in the Garden series and look forward to seeing that event grow. It is a very special thing to be able to showcase homegrown and regional talents. Our community is blessed with some of the very best.

As fall settles, we are looking forward to our community’s new annual Halloween events including the 4-H’s Trunk or Treat, the Chamber Halloween Walk and the recently founded Trail of Fears, spearheaded by our friends Cody and Deanna Hasty. Cody’s passion for all things Halloween has proven to be contagious and has got this director super excited to showcase our Old Grade Trail with some top notch spookiness!

Snow will be here before we know it and with that comes our Winter Park activities we LOVE to showcase. Ice skating and sledding are just around the corner as well as our Annual Hometown Christmas event at the Field House. I have to credit our local Kyle Evan’s Wagon Train group for creating much of the magic we see at that event. We also hope to raise funds to seek some remodeling of the field house.

Last year we began a Trail of Lights in the park. With a handful of displays, it was quite fun to take that drive through the park and see the beautiful lights. We do plan to do this again so be thinking about your display for this year.

As we bring 2021 to a close, we will be hosting our 2nd major fundraiser, Foothills Pheasant Fest December 17 & 18. We enjoy the friendships that have evolved from this competition, appreciate the money the teams bring into the community, and look forward to a good time by all this year.

I will also touch on 2022 memberships. We will be sending the renewals out soon with some changes to the memberships to simplify things. Be watching your mailbox for those next month. Memberships are vital to the success of our organization.  We work to market our community as well as local businesses and hope our work becomes impactful enough that we can see increased funding from both our city and county governments. Until then, our budget model relies heavily on our fundraisers and memberships.

I have no doubt I more than likely missed a couple topics, but lastly, I, and my board would like to send a very sincere thank you to those whom have reached out to show your support of our work and purpose in our community over the last year. We appreciate you more than words can ever say. It has been trying at times, but we have persevered and look forward to serving this wonderful community we call home for years to come.

God Bless,

Loree Gaikowski

Executive Director

WS Area Chamber & Development

It’s Polka Time in Wessington Springs!

By Loree Gaikowski

WS Area Chamber & Development Director

“Roll out the barrel” and head to Wessington Springs June 24 & 25 for two evenings of Polka Time with Mollie B and her band Squeezebox with Ted Lange. Taking the stage at 7 pm, Mollie B will dazzle with her talents as a vocalist, multi-instrumental musician, and all-around entertainer.  She and her husband Ted Lange, a two-time Grammy Nominee, host the Mollie B Polka Party TV show on RFD-TV; and their Squeezebox band was recently honored as the 2019 Best International Band of the Year by the International Polka Association. In addition to being featured on the Mollie B Polka Party, the band composed a song for and appeared in the Clint Eastwood film, “The Mule.”

The last time the entertainer visited Wessington Springs, the local American Legion became the destination for many. An area mostly known for its country western roots, around 300 polka lovers from all walks of life travelled to take in the Polka. Not only was the dance floor full, the community was smitten with Mollie B and her band as they inspired musicians both young and young at heart to see that instrumental music can be a whole lot of fun. “It gives people in the area the opportunity to hear one of the premiere musical talents going today. Not only does she play Polka, she covers other genres in her show and her vocal talents are second to none,” said Dana Fagerhaug, member of the Opera House board.

With two shows planned, music lovers can have two times the fun this year, but tickets are selling fast. After a long year of 2020, you won’t want to miss this opportunity to dust off those dancing shoes and spend an evening or two in Wessington Springs. Our local restaurants will be open for dining and look forward to serving you.

Don’t miss your chance to Polka with Mollie B, in Wessington Springs. Limited seating is available. Tickets may be purchased by calling Brian at 605-770-7448.

Local is a Choice

photo credits: True Dakotan

Loree Gaikowski, WSACD Director

It’s Christmas week, the pressure is on. You find yourself parked on main street, wondering where to start. As you step out of your car the lingering smell of hometown cooking in the air mixed with the Christmas decorations on display stir some excitement.  

As you enter a shop, familiar smiles greet you. Little do you know just how thankful they are to see you. But you do know that smile will know exactly how to help you find what you are looking for, and you find yourself returning the smile.

For many local business owners, they came into 2020 hoping for great things. Oddly enough, those great things came wrapped in all the blessings that matter and an incredible appreciation for local and visiting consumers.

Shop local. You hear it all the time. But what drives you to shop local? Why do you choose local? Have you ever stopped to think about the risk involved in opening your own business? The faith they must have in their community to make such a risk or what it means to the shop owner to see you walk through their door and invest in their shop?

For the consumer, shopping local may be a simple purchase at a shop and nothing more. Did you know that for every $100 spent locally, $68 of the stays in the local economy? That number gets even higher when the business owner can source locally made merchandise. Employee wages being spent locally, sales tax revenue circling back around to support local infrastructure and projects, and with solid infrastructure and local projects, tourists are inclined to come for a visit, or take the step of making our community home. A choice to shop local really does make a long-term difference, especially in small, rural communities.

When our local businesses are alive and doing well, our community will flourish. I understand not everything can be bought locally, but it may surprise to find out how much actually can be, and how willing our local business owners are to move heaven and earth to get sought after items here for you. 

In a collaboration with our local newspaper, The True Dakotan, Wessington Springs Area Chamber & Development has been highlighting local business owners in our “Passion for Business” series. We hope to introduce you to the smiles that greet you at the door, encourage you to go in, look around and see what you may find. Most importantly, create a dialog between consumers and businesses, encouraging conversations on how our businesses can better serve you.  

Isn’t that what it’s all about? Why they take the risk of owning a business, relying on the local community for their very livelihood? Because the bittersweet reward of a greeting smile when you walk through their door, reassures them they are a valued piece to the puzzle of our community, helps them find their pulse and know they are still alive and well.

So I ask, are you doing your part to shop local when you have the opportunity? Are you appreciating the investment of the smile behind the business, and the sponsorships they do for local events, activities and even the local Christmas tree on main street?  

How might we engage conversations to encourage small business shopping throughout the year, and not only on the holidays?

Time for Wessington Springs to Shine

Time for Wessington Springs to Shine

By Loree Gaikowski, Director, WS Area Chamber & Development

Our 2nd Annual Foothills Days celebration will soon be underway.  It’s an opportunity for Wessington Springs to shine as various groups from our community come together to collaborate and create a jam-packed weekend of fun. New and old traditions mix to create an atmosphere of fun and excitement for all ages. Kicking off this year’s weekend on Friday, will be the Mayor’s Classic golf tournament at the Country Club followed by the always fun family night at the Fireman’s funfest held this year at the City Park. Saturday morning wake up to City-Wide rummage sales, sidewalk sales and then take in the classic cars, tractors and motorcycles at this year’s Foothills Classic Show n’ Shine event held at the high school beginning at noon. Following the show, will be a Classic Cruise as participants cruise the town, showing off their sweet rides.

Throughout the day, the scrumptious smell of smoking ribs will be filling the air as our competitors give their best in our Rockin’ Ribfest at the City Park.  Beginning at 5pm the public is welcome to come join the fun. 11 Years New, featuring our very own hometown connections Jessica (Long) Schultz and Jeremy Baker, take the stage from 6-9pm. New this year, we will also be featuring local beef. Foothills Cattle Producers will have a booth selling beef burgers to attendees, Horizon Health Care will be handing out bottled water to ward off the heat, and for the kids and kids at heart, a kettle corn and lemonade stand, and the Humm-Dinger will be serving snow cones.  Also helping with the heat situation will be our very own WS Volunteer Fire Department who will be running our beer garden. Camping spots are available in the park on a first come first serve basis. Other camp spots and motel rooms are available with reservations. Contact the Chamber for more information on those.

So come on out, bring the family and make it a weekend in the safe outdoors space of Wessington Springs for Foothills Days, July 31st and August 1st.

Back to Normal or a New Normal?

Back to Normal or a New Normal?

 Written by: Loree Gaikowski, Director, WS Area Chamber & Development

As we look back on the last few months, the world seems to have turned upside down. In a community where change is hard, we changed. When our businesses were faced with uncertainty, we stepped up. Your choice to shop local in our community while we went through unchartered times, made a difference. You made a difference.  

With Covid 19, came opportunities to reinvent ourselves and how we do business, how we choose to protect ourselves and our neighbors, a chance to reevaluate our priorities, a new appreciation for handshakes and hugs, and as we approach Independence Day, a new appreciation for our freedom. As we move forward with celebrations that allow us to come together as a community once again, know the safety of our community is of the upmost importance.  Hand sanitizer stations are available across town and masks are available from the Chamber and Development office by request. While Covid 19 is probably here to stay. Also here to stay, is a determination to succeed, to be creative in how we do business, support for our local businesses; knowing the difference we can make in their success, and a community that has pulled together to make a difference for the tomorrow’s yet to come.

Normal may look differently now, but many of the lessons learned in a short amount of time will help us be better humans, neighbors, friends, and community. We are open for business, ready to welcome new business, and most importantly ready to welcome new and familiar faces who have chosen to make Wessington Springs their home.

A message to our graduating class of 2020

Every Reason I Go Back

by Loree Gaikowski, Director, Wessington Springs Area Chamber and Development Corporation

It has been your senior year. Many ups and downs along the way but many of these last few months have been difficult. Soon your journey into adulthood will begin and your current life will become memories… Memories of home.

There is a Jake Owen song I love called “Every Reason I Go Back”.  It speaks of everything small town. Nothing really changes, everything feels the same, same friends, same parents caring too much about where you’ve been and what you’re doing. And then he says this… It’s every reason that I left, and EVERY reason I go back. As you spread your wings and fly, absence will make your heart grow fonder. It may only be a few months, or it may be years that pass but your memories of home will push their way back to the surface of your heart and I’m here to tell you that’s ok. Let them.

Yes, you missed some pretty important events these last few months, but you also were granted a gift. You will be the first generation leaving high school with a clear understanding of remote learning aka remote work. With this comes freedom to live and work wherever you choose or take your trades you have learned along the way and open your own business in a community that will love and support you. Opportunity does await you in rural South Dakota. If I asked you what businesses you or your parents would like to have had access to in our community while growing up, odds are you could easily name a few. Local development corporations in many rural areas have the know how and tools to help you get started. You hold the key to filling those voids for us.

Your life is your journey. You have been firsthand witnesses to seeing a community rise to save their own during difficult times. You lived it, you felt it. Tuck that feeling in your heart, for that is the feeling of home. It will shape you, guide your decisions, you may find yourself taking it for granted a time or two, but it will always be a part of you and it will always be here.

So go, spread your wings and fly. Discover your own paths knowing you always hold a key to your home, where you grew up.  Where every reason you left just may be every reason you come back.

A Community Rising

Local youth show their thanks with their signs during the EMS parade. From left to right - Raylee Fagerhaug, Nathan Gaikowski, Carter Gaikowski, Rylan Fagerhaug, and Madilyn Gaikowski

by Loree Gaikowski, WS Area Chamber & Development Director

The hills of Wessington Springs will soon have yet another story to tell. A story of community, creativity, family, and even opportunity.

In a matter of days our world as we knew it was completely turned upside down. A world we only knew on the news suddenly appeared in our home state of South Dakota. Our neighbors in Beadle county were some of the first to see it. With its arrival, our children were sent home from school, activities and gatherings cancelled, small businesses closed their doors to in-house shoppers and diners, no handshakes, no hugs, and for heaven’s sake stay six feet away.

We found ourselves feeling overwhelmed, numb, scared and completely speechless. As we began to adjust, we found ourselves enjoying the simple things in life; family meals at the table, family walks, playing backyard ball - enjoying the simple presence of one another and beginning to find value in our “new normal”.  We have witnessed a community rising to order take-out meals from local restaurants; businesses taking the leap to create a presence online to reach customers and offering curbside pickups. A beautiful sight in a now empty town, families taking to the streets on Saturday nights to remind friends and neighbors they are not alone; a calling to the entire community we are facing this together and we will get through it together.

We are writing the pages of our own stories. The pages that will say what we made of this time in history. Stories that will remind us and generations after that amid all this chaos, we found opportunity to become better humans, better parents, better neighbors, and friends. The future feels uncertain, but with our unwavering faith it is certain we will get through this together.

We are thankful for our healthcare workers who find themselves on the front lines, our teachers who are teaching from a distance, EMS, fire department, law enforcement, city workers, the linemen keeping the lights on, clergy working to keep God in our hearts and homes, and most of all small business owners who fight to get up and smile every day because suddenly every day they go to work has become precious. To all of you - thank you. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. In our stories we tell and the stories our children will tell...  YOU will be the heroes.  

Discover More on Highway 34…

Photo by the True Dakotan

Spring is just around the corner. Many of us are busy with school activities, the daunting task of spring cleaning, and planning our summer.

This year, I’d like to invite you to spend some time in Wessington Springs, a community nestled in the hills on Highway 34.  Whether it’s one day or a few, we have no shortage of summertime fun, facilities to host those big family events, beautiful scenery, and a big, beautiful park to share. 

We kick off our summer with the SDRA Foothills Rodeo May 30-31. In all honesty, it’s an event that reminds us why we choose to live in rural South Dakota and why we love it so much! It’s not just the rodeo, you will see our community at it’s best. We have a rich history in the sport of rodeo and love to show it off. If you’d like to stay for the entire weekend, we have full-service camping in our park and other lodging available in town as well!

Spring and summer nights provide beautiful backdrops, especially if baseball is your thing.  There isn’t a better place to be then in our grandstand on David Jost Field, eating sunflower seeds and watching our amateur baseball team, the Springs Owls play.  Their season begins mid-May and lasts throughout the summer.

Now onto Shakespeare Garden and Anne Hathaway Cottage. To have a place as serene as this in the state of South Dakota is remarkable. To have a place like this in our own community…  priceless.  The garden is beautiful, the cottage leads you to believe you have been transplanted to the England countryside, and the ladies that create the magic? They work tirelessly to see that the legacy of Shakespeare Garden in Wessington Springs will be around for generations to come. I invite you to come appreciate the innate beauty of it all. Reservations may be made to book a tour of the garden and/or experience “high tea” in the cottage. In July, weekly Music in the Garden performances begin.  Enjoy performances by local, as well as regional artists, the smell of flowers from the garden mixed with locally made food and an atmosphere where you can relax, appreciate the music, and experience an arts culture we cultivate here in Wessington Springs and are extremely proud of.

Of course, our 4th of July celebration is always, always a fun time! This year we will be celebrating an “All School Reunion.”  If you grew up in Wessington Springs, take this as an opportunity to come home, remember the good times, make peace with bad, and appreciate the community that helped build you.  We welcome you to take part in our Annual Parade and Old Settler’s Games. Stay tuned for other exciting events coming soon for the weekend!

Finally, the highlight of our summer will be our 2nd Annual Foothills Days! Join us July 31st- August 2nd. There truly is something for everyone at this event. Plein Air Art, Arts in the Park at Shakespeare Garden, Foothills Classic car show, Firemen Funfest, City Wide rummage sales, show off your BBQ skills and compete in our Rockin’ Ribfest (or just come eat some yummy ribs)and listen to a favorite band, 11 Years New in the park. It’s a jam packed fun weekend in the City of the Foothills and Sunday morning we give our thanks at a community church event in the ballfield.

These are just the highlights of what’s bound to be a summer that passes us by way too quickly. So come, slow down a bit, take in the small town charm of Wessington Springs, South Dakota and spread the word that you really can Discover more on Highway 34.

For more information on any of the events listed visit www.wessingtonsprings.com.  

Standing the Tests of Time

In Wessington Springs, we pride ourselves in our hills. At any given time of the year, winter, spring, summer or fall, we love them. Dearly. In them lie the secrets to our town. The history you may say that led our path to what it is today. Those hills served a purpose back in the early days for the Native Americans and early settlers to the area. They saw the beginnings of a community, they saw the boom and the bust in the early 1900’s and were a last sight out of town as soldiers left for war, and yet the first sight of home as they returned.  Classic cars of the 50’s and 60’s found themselves parked high in the hills while others were parked low surrounding the fence at the ball field. They said goodbye to Vietnam soldiers as they too headed off to war and were here as our country began to feel the tides of change. Most recently, they have seen the devastation of a tornado, and found strength to recover in the community that holds them dear. Local children have grown up with the tales and legends of our hills and many have returned home to pass those same stories on to eager ears yearning to know more.  For those who have chosen a path of moving away, the glance at a picture of those hills, causes the heart to skip a beat as memories of home come to life.

As our winter season drives on, our hills have seen a welcome breath of new life as the sound of giggles, friendship, and community fill the air on any given weekend. Both the young, and young at heart can be found barreling their way down our sledding hill and back up again on our Ruby Gold Ski lift. Adding to the fun, the old swimming hole has been filled with water to create our own little skating pond. Magical memories of home are filling the minds of those who come and whom will one day come home to share with their next generation. With the memories, comes an appreciation and understanding of the feeling of community; it’s grounding effect, it’s inspiration and pure joy.

Time passes on, generations come and go, but our hills will always be our hills. A reminder that a community as special as ours can withstand the tests of time as we learn from our memories, rely on our friends and family through the hard times, and find joy in uniting together in love and appreciation for our community…  our home.