October 25, 2016 • Page 10 shop online at www.missourivalleyshopper.com To Show Posterity What Manner Of Men They Were By Gov. Dennis Daugaard I never tire of Mount Rushmore. My family tries to visit Mount Rushmore a few times each year, and I host an annual gathering for business prospects at the monument. I couldn’t tell you how many times I’ve visited, but I can say the splendor of South Dakota’s biggest tourist attraction hasn’t worn thin for me. It is breathtaking in all seasons. Under blue skies, on cloudy days, or at night – it always amazes. Oct. 31 marks the 75th anniversary of the completion of Mount Rushmore. The 14 years of work on the monument began in 1927. Gutzon Borglum and his men encountered a number of obstacles throughout those years. Being unlike anything that had been done before, its completion was not inevitable. During the years of the Great Depression, funding was an ever present concern. The project ran out of money on several occasions. Just as the economy began to recover, the nation’s highest priority shifted from economic recovery to national defense – another costly endeavor. Opposition to the project existed at the federal and local levels. At the outset, officials from the Forest Service and U.S. Department of Agriculture opposed the creation of a memorial in the Black Hills. Besides the financial and political hurdles, the work itself was extremely challenging and dangerous. Workers had to remove 800 million pounds of stone in precisely the right way. The job involved handling dynamite and hanging off the mountain on a cable. As one man new on the job described it: “Somehow you never had any faith in that cable, and you could look down and see just where you’d fall to . . .” Perhaps the most devastating setback of all was the death of Gutzon Borglum, who passed away on March 6, 1941, before the project could be completed. With Borglum’s death, the naysayers’ voices seemed amplified. Commentators and editors doubted the future of the monument and their doubts were echoed by the public. Borglum’s son, Lincoln, took the helm when his father passed away. At just 29 years of age and with only $50,000 of funding left, Lincoln Borglum was left with a difficult task. Work on Washington’s lapels, Lincoln’s head and some of Roosevelt’s features remained, and it wouldn’t be long until he would need to lay people off. Seven months later, on Friday, Oct. 31, 1941, at 4 p.m., the work on the world’s largest sculpture was completed. The industry and determination of the Borglums and the risks taken by the workmen had finally paid off. Seventy-five years have passed and this monument is still telling the American story. Each year millions of Americans visit the Shrine of Democracy and learn about the founding, expansion, preservation and unification of our country under the leadership of presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln. Mount Rushmore serves, as Gutzon Borlum had said, “to show posterity what manner of men they were” – both the men enshrined on the mountain and those who carved it. AUCTIONS If you read this you know... advertising pays! Call the Missouri Valley Shopper at 665-5884 or stop by to place your ad today! 319 Walnut St. • Yankton Historical Society Book On The Great Depression, New Deal Now Available PIERRE, S.D.—In “A New Deal for South Dakota: Drought, Depression, and Relief, 1920–1941,” R. Alton Lee examines the New Deal’s effect on families, farmers, miners, youth, women, American Indians and others living during the Great Depression. Published by the South Dakota State Historical Society, Lee’s book evaluates South Dakotans’ efforts to avoid both starvation and federal dependence as they endured the worst natural and economic disaster of modern times. At the height of the depression, New Deal programs supported nearly half of the state’s population. With drought, grasshoppers and low commodity prices delivering the final blows in a long economic slump, many residents fled. Others held on with the aid of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s relief programs, administered by politicians like Tom Berry, South Dakota’s colorful Democratic governor. “The Great Depression is a time that many of the state’s residents lived through or grew up hearing stories about,” says Jay D. Vogt, director of the South Dakota State Historical Society. “Lee takes our collective memory a step further to look behind the scenes at what made possible the aid that helped many families survive and stay to raise the next generation.” The built landscape and economic underpinnings of present-day South Dakota are legacies of this era. Civilian Conservation Corps and Works Progress Administration projects expanded the state’s infrastructure with dams, civic facilities and highways that are still used today. Other programs offered additional opportunities for young people, women and minorities. The story is one of desperate times, intense rivalries and rare moments of cooperation as a devastated Great Plains state fought to keep from going under. Lee is professor emeritus of history at the University of South Dakota in Vermillion. He has written widely on the political history of the Great Plains. “A New Deal for South Dakota: Drought, Depression, and Relief, 1920–1941” is available for $24.95, plus shipping and tax. It can be ordered directly from the South Dakota Historical Society Press at www. sdhspress.com or by calling (605) 773-6009. Follow the South Dakota Historical Society Press on Facebook (SDHS Press) and Twitter (@sdhspress) for more. Email jennifer.mcintyre@ state.sd.us for publicity and author contact information. A Crusty Fall Freeze: Barnyard Humor By Daris Howard It was late October and Butch and Buster, my two friends, had come to visit after school. They weren’t really farm boys. They grew up in the backwoods of a state farther east, so when it came to cattle, they might as well have grown up in the city. They did like to come out to the farm, but it almost always ended up turning into a dare session between them. That October we had already had a couple of cold nights, well below freezing, and Butch and Buster joined me to check the cows. The cows were mooing, usually a sign that they are out of water, and just as I figured, the watering trough had a slight crust of ice over it. While I was looking for something I could use to break the ice, Buster seemed to be staring intently at the corral. Eventually, he walked over to a flat, frozen cow pie. “Hey, Butch,” Buster said, picking up the cow pie, “look at this cool toy disk.” “That’s not a toy disk,” I said. “It’s a frozen cow pie.” “What’s a cow pie?” Buster asked. “Cow poop,” I replied. “Also known as cow chips, ordure, or meadow muffins.” Butch started to laugh. “Buster is playing with cow poop. He’s the cow poop man.” “Well, it looks like a toy disk,” Buster said. “And I bet I can cow poop you up side the head with it.” Buster immediately let it fly in Butch’s direction and barely missed hitting his brother. “Oh, yeah?” Butch said. “I can throw better than you.” Butch picked up a frozen cow pie and flung it in Buster’s direction. It fell far short, and Buster jumped up and down, laughing. “You can’t even throw it far enough. You’re Butch, loser of the Olympic cow chip toss.” Soon frozen cow pies were flying back and forth almost as fast as insults. Meanwhile, I was hunting for something to break the ice, glad I wasn’t in the middle of their competition. “Hey, guys, I need to go find an ax to break this ice,” I said. They paused their chipathon, so I pointed at a large brown mound about thirty feet across. “My dad told me to make sure that you don’t walk across the manure pit.” “What’s a manure pit?” Butch asked. “It’s where the wet manure flows out of the barn,” I replied. “Usually it’s wet, but it’s frozen over.” I left to get the ax, and when I returned with it, I was shocked to find both of them standing a few feet from each other over the center of the manure pit. Of course, when I say I was shocked, I would have been if it had been anyone except Butch and Buster. “What are you doing out there?” I yelled. “Buster dared me,” Butch said. “He said I didn’t have the guts to cross it.” “And Butch said he was braver than me and could cross first,” Buster added. “Well, get off of there,” I said. “We can’t,” Buster replied. “Every time we move we can hear it crack.” “I’ll get a board,” I replied. I found a fourteen-foot-long two-by-six. I carefully pushed it across the crust toward them. It reached within a couple of feet of them. At almost the same instant, they both yelled, “Me first!” and stepped toward the board. Suddenly, the crust gave way, and they both disappeared. My heart pounded until they reappeared sputtering and shivering. “Grab the board,” I yelled. They did, and I pulled them out. “My dad’s going to kill me,” I said, as I rushed them to the house to get them cleaned up. Looking at their ruined clothes, Buster said, “I don’t think our dad’s going to be thrilled.” That night my dad asked what had happened, and I told him the story. “Well,” he said, “you should know that when I tell you to keep them from doing something, the last thing you want to do is tell them not to do it, because then they will.” He then laughed. “But I guess they learned their lesson, because their dad said that when they got home their old granny scrubbed them until they were all pooped out.” MV Shopper Making Your Family’s MV Shopper Comfort Our Family’s Business! M I S S O U R I VA L L E Y M I S S O U R I VA L L E Y 79.51 ACRES NORWAY TOWNSHIP TURNER COUNTY LAND AT AUCTION Our family has decided to offer the following land for sale at public auction in the Wieman Auction Facility located from Marion, SD 1-mile south and ½ mile west on Hwy. 44 on: Save Up To $2750 in Incentives Includes utility & manufacturing rebates on quality home comfort systems Wednesday November 16TH 10:30 A.M. It is our privilege to offer this powerful, high quality, tract of land located in the tightly held Norway Township. This property offers the best soils found in Turner County and would make a great add-on piece for the farmer or investor. Great eye appeal, and predictable yield potential year after year! No disappointments come take a look. LEGAL: The S ½ of the SW ¼ Section 13, 98-54 Turner County, SD. LOCATION: From Hurley, SD go 4-miles west, 1-mile north on the east side of the road or at the junction of 451st Ave and 282nd St. • 73.86 acres tillable with 4.86 acres in trees in the NW corner balance found in RROW. • Soil production rating of 84.5. Predominant soil Clarno-Bonilla loam (88). • Annual Taxes are $1,818.36. New buyer to receive full possession for the 2017 crop year. • Property is currently enrolled in ARCH County with the FSA office. Ariel and soil maps, FSA info and wetland maps are found in buyers packet. • Property is bordered on the west by 451st Ave and the south side by 282nd Ave, both are gravel township roads. • If you have been searching for a quality tract of land that would command top rental rates or be one of the top performing tracts in your operation come take a look! TO INSPECT THE PROPERTY: We invite you to inspect the property at your convenience. Buyers packets can be mailed out by calling the auctioneers at 800-251-3111 or you may visit www.wiemanauction.com. TERMS: Cash sale with 15% (non-refundable) downpayment with the balance on or before December 16th, 2016. Warranty Deed to be granted with the cost of title insurance split 50-50 between buyer and seller. Seller to pay all of the 2016 taxes. Buyer to receive full possession for the 2017 crop year. Sold subject to owners approval, and easements, and restrictions of record. Come prepared to buy and remember the auction to be held at Wieman Auction Facility. RAYBURN FAMILY ETAL – OWNERS Serving Yankton, Vermillion & The Surrounding Areas HEATING & COOLING 920 Broadway, Yankton • 605-665-9461 www.larrysheatingandcooling.com REAL ESTATE RENTALS AUTOMOTIVE EMPLOYMENT MERCHANDISE COUPONS the Missouri Valley Shopper and missourivalleyshopper.com is your complete source for buying and selling. Everything you need is just a click or call away! Wieman Land & Auction Co. Inc. Marion, SD 800-251-3111 www.wiemanauction.com Place an ad today by calling Ward Law Office Closing Attorney 605-326-5282 MV Shopper 605.665.5584 M I S S O U R I VA L L E Y