Our May/June issue includes a feature on spiritual places in South Dakota. We gathered several beautiful photos of architecture and nature across the state to represent our religious heritage. Here are some that didn’t make the magazine.
The Community Caves of Spearfish Canyon are among the best-kept secrets in the Northern Hills, probably because they are so difficult to reach. The hike is just a half-mile, but it is nearly vertical and the path is strewn with rocks shed from the canyon. Bonny Fleming shared these photos from a recent visit with the Black Hills Photography Club.”Freshly fallen snow and a layer of ice made the hike rather hairy. I think it’s safe to say that no one escaped without at least one slip or slide,” Fleming says.
The first settlement in the Dimock area was in 1879, when a large group of German immigrants came from Wisconsin to South Dakota. They built a wooden church to accommodate their Catholic community, but in 1908 the church was destroyed by fire. The current Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church was built of lasting brick and stone in its place. The magnificent chapel, consecrated in October of 1909, is adorned with stained glass and canvas murals sent from Germany. Photos by Dan Ray.
Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway ranks among the most beautiful 20-mile stretches in the USA. The route is a wildly popular fall foliage drive, but its white landscapes in winter are lovely, as well. Next to Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse, it may be the most photographed place in the Black Hills. Photos by John Mitchell.
Mike Pedersen, of Nora, has always liked Christmas. When he set up an old pipe organ in the town’s former country store in 1989, he decided to throw a big party. People have been joining him for holiday sing-alongs ever since.
Nora, southwest of Alcester in the middle of Union County, was never a big town. Today the population is five according to the town sign. The Nora store closed in 1962. It’s now listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and Pedersen accepts free will donations at the sing-alongs for upkeep and restoration. He has festively decorated the charming shop with toys and gifts from past sing-along guests. An old pot bellied stove warms the room, neighbor women bring cookies and Pedersen makes the coffee and cider. Guests shout requests and Pedersen plays them on a beautifully restored organ. When his fingers get tired he makes room for somebody else. A young man named Nick, blind since birth, shared a few solos with the welcoming crowd last weekend. Other young guests later accompanied the organ with flute and trumpet.
Pedersen has extended this season’s open house for two more days. Guests are invited to enjoy this unique holiday experience Friday, Dec. 18, and Saturday, Dec. 19, at 6:30 p.m. Nora Store is 4 miles east of Union Grove State Park at 30707 475th Avenue. Call Pedersen at 605-670-1455 with questions.
Photos by Rebecca Johnson. To see a short video from last Sunday, click here.
The annual Christmas at the Capitol began with just 12 trees in 1981. Today nearly 100 decorated trees fill the Capitol rotunda and three floors of historic hallways. This year’s theme is “Christmas Around the World.” Its centerpiece is a 29-foot Colorado blue spruce from Baltic located in the Capitol rotunda. The public is invited to view the holiday display from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily through December 26. Several special events are planned for the season, including the 18th annual Ag Pie Day on December 12 when free pie, ice cream and coffee is served from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Photos by Andy Ogan.
Hoven’s “Cathedral of the Prairie” is visible for miles at night. It isn’t really a cathedral; just a prairie church. But Monsignor Anthony Helmbrecht, who presided over the Catholic parish for half a century, hoped one day Hoven might be a bishop’s home. Bishops have visited, and in the Jubilee Year of 2000, Bishop Robert Carlson declared St. Anthony’s Church a destination for Catholic pilgrims. But no bishop has resided in Hoven, and the Cathedral of the Prairie remains a small-town church — one of extraordinary beauty and grandeur. Photos by Dan Ray.
South Dakota Magazine finished its 2015″Fair Tour” with a Labor Day weekend visit to the South Dakota State Fair in Huron. We met all sorts of interesting people. Here are just a few of them. Photos by Bernie Hunhoff.
