TRUE DAKOTAN PHOTO/CRAIG WENZEL

 THE 2010 COMMUNITY AWARDS BANQUET, sponsored by the Wessington Springs Area Development Corporation (WSADC) and the Chamber of Commerce was held at the Springs Inn Saturday night, March 6. Shown above, from left, are Loretta Couch (community volunteer of the year award), Erin Bergeleen (banquet emcee), Jean Ferguson (employee of the year award), Irene Scott (special award for longtime service with hospital auxiliary) and Allen and Bernece Rasmussen (award for years of service to Wessington Springs Community Foundation).

 L.N. Nesselroad, a popular Wessington Springs businessman of the early twentieth century, was known as the Springs Fat Man, as this 1957 Wessington Springs Independent story/picture states. Nesselroad, who obviously was not camera-shy, was picked out of an old photograph that was brought to the True Dakotan last week. Marvin Mentzer found some glass negatives in his basement and shared them with us. Nesselroad was identified as the driver of a Cadillac automobile in what was a photograph taken in 1909 or 1910. We concluded the photo was either 1909- or 1910 by a sign above the True Republican newspaper office that said, “H.A. Short, Proprietor”. The Jerauld County history books say Short owned the newspaper in those  years. See the rest of the story in your True Dakotan next week. –Craig

 A deer visited the house owned by Irving Reese at 517 1st NE (across from the Jerauld County Clinic ) early Tuesday. The doe stayed about five minutes and then moved down Green Street.  The deer also left a deposit at the house, which you can see in the picture. Photo courtesy John Paulson, Wessington Springs.

Weskota Manor Avera volunteer helps former teacher stay in touch with students

FORMER SCHOOL TEACHER KAREN (HEEZEN) FASTNACHT (center) is back in the education business, thanks to the generous assistance of a Weskota Manor Avera activity volunteer. When Karen’s teaching career ended due to injuries sustained in an automobile accident on August 14, 2007, she eventually became a resident at the local nursing home. Manor activity volunteer Loretta Couch (right) helped devise a project where the former school teacher corrects papers from the local elementary school. Corrected papers are completed with a sticker. When school is in session a “Mrs. Fastnacht’s Room” (front/left) completes the theme. When she is not doing volunteer work at the Manor, Loretta also works part time in the activities department. Also shown in the photo are Karen’s daughter, Michaela (left) and her husband Mike Fastnacht. Loretta and her husband, Rick Couch, a Springs-area native, moved here in 2008.

ELECTRIC TROLLEY IN SPRINGS? Myron Kleppin brought in this old picture postcard that shows an electric trolley going straight through Main Street in Wessington Springs. The lack of automobiles on the street mean it was in the late 1800s or early 1900s. The photographer probably was having fun with people of the time by cutting and pasting in the trolley.

True Dakotan photo/Duke Wenzel -- The "contraption" that has provided the free ride up the sledding hill (looking downward... note the panoramic scene overlooking the prairie) for a couple of generations.

BY CRAIG WENZEL

TRUE DAKOTAN EDITOR

Remember this? Back in the 1950’s –when I was just a kid, REALLY– there was a local guy who did excavating and digging, building roads, earthen dams, and whatever else needed to be done. A.J. Gebhardt was a bit of a genius, actually, able to fabricate about anything you –or he– could imagine. So the Wessington Springs city park had this big hill that kids used for sledding in the wintertime, but A.J. –and probably some of the town council members– decided a rope lift would be good. And they were right. Once A.J. set his mind to it the rope lift would carry us kids back up the hill for another run.

 BY CRAIG WENZEL – TRUE DAKOTAN EDITOR

I’ve always been ready for a sled ride down the big hill in the Springs city park, at least in the winter when there is sufficient snow on the ground. The Christmas blizzard that we had over the holiday was a tough one, but it did provide the basic needs for a fast ride on an aerodynamically designed piece of plastic.

Our three-and-a-half year old grandson Layne and his nine-month old baby sister, Londyn, stayed with us overnight after their parents, Matt and Amber, went back to Pierre.

Which do you think? Was Duke out taking pictures of this beautiful frosty area in Jerauld County at 7:45 a.m. or 5:10 p.m. last week?