Good Morning.
I am headed today to my younger son's wedding. He has been a single dad for many years and has raised a daughter who is now sixteen. Eighteen months ago he connected with a woman he'd known in high school but never dated and the rest is history.
The festivities will be held in Pierre, and the first order of business here is that the capital city of South Dakota is pronounced
PEER, not Pee-AIR. This can be distressing to people who struggled through French, but it is what it is. Many say ROUT instead of ROOT, and nobody has ever determined whether you eat a CREPP or a CRAPE.
Pierre is located on the Missouri River and sits below the largest earthen dam in the world. Above the dam is a huge reservoir that provides excellent fishing, waterskiing, and beaching. The college-age set used to gather every summer to
indulge their foolish selves for a weekend and I assume that tradition has continued. Otherwise the place was and still is populated by families with all manner of watercraft, dogs, picnic gear, and an abundance of sun screen. Pierre gets hot
in July and August.
Pierre is at the junction of the Midwest and the Old West, and one time a couple of cowboys rode their horses up the steps of the capitol and into the rotunda. They were legislators and apparently late for a committee hearing. Another time some Democrats made off with the saddles that were on display at a restaurant catering to the political clientele. Democrats in South Dakota are usually spotted in the wild with coyotes and other menacing creatures. The coyote is the mascot of the University of South Dakota and is pronounced KY-ote.
Oahe Days in Pierre was always a big deal. There was a road race across the top of the dam, a raft race for people who constructed vessels from every reasonably floatable material, and a buffalo chip flip contest. For you coastal types, this involved hurling dried up bison remainders down the main street of the capital city. I checked this year's schedule and the event appears to have been eliminated, regrettably or thankfully depending on your point of view.
Uncle Matt owned a gift shop and an ice cream place and was listed in the phone book under U. Jay Mickelson, the Latin teacher, hosted, and still hosts, a banquet every spring where everyone is required to wear a toga. Bill Srstka and his wife had an election party every four years where guests had to fill out a political questionnaire. Someone was given The Coveted Millard Fillmore Award, but I can't remember whether it was the winner or the loser. Dottie Howe oversaw the holiday
season at the capitol building where local businesses, non-profits, and civic organizations still decorate a hundred Christmas
trees that line the rotunda and corridors and busloads of people come to see them. The Pierre Players, still going strong, put on productions on a par with the best community theater in the country, most notably, I clearly recall, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. The Elks Club was the center of weekend social life with big steaks and live music, but today it's an elegant private establishment where the reception will be held tomorrow.
The Pierre high school colors are green and white, and like every other capital city denizen, I wore the supportive sweatshirts and hats during my time, but I'm an old lady now and I shall wear purple to the wedding.
Best regards,
Elisabeth
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