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The Adventure Safari is working on a Dinosaur Dig on the ranch, from now
through July 3, 2008! For more information contact us by
e-mail or call (605) 374-3911
Spring 2008
Our First 10 Years
Ribbon cutting at the Grand Opening of the Grand River
Museum ten years ago. Pictured are Ed Schmidt, Christina and Tristen Lopez,
Tottie Lenerville and Lisa Schmidt.
Over ten years ago when Lisa and I first thought of starting
a museum we had no idea where it would lead or what obstacles we would find. I
think a lot of things start out that way. The idea was easy but it was the
execution of the idea that was hard. But if it were easy I think it would not
have been meaningful for us or to our objective. While the hard work was not a
surprise, the support we received was, and it came from some places where we
least expected. It came from real people.
When we first conceived the idea, we were told to consult
the experts. This advice came mostly from those particular experts, the very
ones who were needing justification for their education and worth. The ones who
felt they could benefit from a salary and an opportunity. As non-experts we
defaulted to the experts opinions and started the Grand River Museum. We did
paperwork and jumped through the legal hoops, and borrowed money and risked our
livelihood.
But we were convinced, by the experts and our own submission
to their authorities that this was our contribution. The experts would continue
in their own way when the idea was realized and the money available. Once you
accept this type of top down hierachy of society it is easy to convince yourself
of your own rightful place in it. The museum became a reality. Then the reality
of this hierarchal illusion became evident too.
The first year is always the hardest. The experts told us
that. The experts were right. The money steadily floated out the window, the
educated personnel were satisfied that we could just print some more I guess,
because they insisted that their jobs didn’t include the insurance of their own
salaries. The hard times had come. The experts left. That’s what they do. They
give advice and counsel and condescend but do not assume risk. The peasants are
for that. The security of job and money is one perk of being an expert. I hope I
will never be an expert.
The self pity portion of this story was hard but short. The
coming nine years were stressful but they were offset with satisfaction too. We
immediately had real people coming to our aid. Real people who encouraged and
legitimized this project. This helped us to gain confidence in our own abilities
and also to ask for help from others. We were surprised at the response. Retired
teachers and small business owners, farmers and ranchers and main street
icons all came to help. Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts and 4-H clubs and different
school groups lent their support. People from all different churches and
political parties and the complete spectrum of society gave money and time.
People who never even lived in Lemmon but, grew up in the nostalgia of the small
town twentieth century did too. The confidence they showed in our dream was
overwhelming. We will never be able to individually pay it back. But we can show
it in our own loyalty to this town and this continuing project. We could never
quit the way the experts did because we were descended from, and obligated to
the graciousness of this community.
The emancipation from the experts was very liberating and
allowed us to take this museum in a direction that was dictated by a different
authority. We depended on God heavily during this time and we felt the presence
of the prayers of others. We felt that to acknowledge this was to search the
reasons for doing it in the first place. For our local community. We felt the
community needed a say in the direction and it came in the form of letters and
correspondence from our friends, the ones who never gave up on us. We were under
no restriction to what the museum used as its authority so with the
encouragement of others we chose the Bible. And we thought outside the box.
There were very few Creation based museums in the world at that time and we
stuck our neck out. And the response was very favorable. Since that time there
has been the development of many others, some multi million dollar entities and
an incredible increase in Creation based missions of all types. This recent
phenomena did not happen in a vacuum but it is the result of a growing minority
in science that are questioning naturalistic philosophy. We are glad to have
been a part of this relatively new and revitalizing movement. We now are one of
the oldest Creation based museums in the world and are quite surprised when we
are contacted by people and organizations wanting to do something similar. We
always respond the same way.
“Don’t do it. For gosh sake buy a boat or something for your
family.” Of course we’re just kidding. We are actually overwhelmed and humbled
by the request for advice. But we always assure them that we are no experts. We
use the Bible as our authority and our conscience and community as our motive.
Who we view as experts may have changed but not our faith in
humanity. You, our friends and neighbors and families have given us great
confidence in that. Let us all realize our God given potential and use our
talents for each other. Thanks for the ten years and we will be looking forward
to twenty more.
Membership Drive Begins
Our main fundraiser is the annual membership drive. To those
of you faithful members and any new ones that might occur, we humbly thank you
before hand for your confidence and assistance. Remember, that memberships
include several perks, including updating your contributions on the donor board
and gift shop savings. One other membership gift is your name in a drawing for
several prizes. Our main prize this year is a bronze bust of Casey Tibbs
commissioned by John Lopez, artisan extraordinaire. The first membership
applications to be turned in will be at the bottom of the basket, and that is
where we always reach when drawing out a name for the prize. So my advice is to
send early and often. Kind of like the presidential primaries, vote early and
often. This is the end of my letter because I’m getting punchy. Anything from
now on out will be subject to revision by the editor. Most probably just
eliminated.
Chuck and Koreen Anderson displaying the picture they won
for the membership drive in 2007.
Lemmon Centennial
The GRM had an awesome 2007 centennial weekend. We started
off the celebration on Friday by unveiling a John Lopez sculpture and selling
Indian Tacos. John had more scrap metal and bronze pieces on display in the
museum as well. We rolled out the “red carpet” for our centennial visitors to
give them a big taste of Lemmon’s culture.
It takes lots of people to roll out a “red carpet” and we
want to thank those people who just continue to give of their time and talents
to keep this project afloat. Jim and Kim Petik are not just board members of the
museum, they continue to get their hands dirty, from Taco dinners to painting
the building. Doyle and Tottie Lenerville are there to serve the tacos and run
errands and believe me, they did lots of running. Deb Wheeler and Noelle Benson
worked in the kitchen, or should I say horse trailer, cutting up all the fresh
vegetables for our famous tacos. John, as one of our board members, helps with
everything and anything. He also adds a touch of class to the museum with his
art pieces. Thank you to those who helped make this a very memorable time for
our visitors.
Appreciation
We want to take this opportunity to thank Ed and Phyllis for
their steadfast loyalty to this project. They have opened the doors daily and
greeted every visitor with respect and courtesy. As history lovers they both
share easily the history of this area.
Retiring from the ranch, they did not however take it easy.
They dedicated their time and effort toward the continuation of this museum and
without them it would not be what it is. These past ten years would not have
happened if they hadn’t been willing to give to a cause with no thought of
recompense.
Ed and Phyllis celebrate their 50th anniversary
together in August of this year. Ten of those were helping to put the GRM on the
map and keep it there.
Comment from Our Younger Visitors…
The ‘Aussies’ are the grandchildren of Rudy and Elsie
Sackman from Australia.
A Look Ahead
This is our tenth anniversary year. It has been a long and
adventurous road and we wanted to celebrate these ten years with some new and
improved displays and attractions. It will be hard to top the full metal
dinosaur that we were so blessed with last summer but our plans have always had
the sky as the limit. We still hope to make a major addition in square footage
and aesthetics to keep up with the progressiveness of the town. The highway
looks beautiful and so does main street. The town has a positive feeling and an
energy for the future. My commendations to all the business people that have
contributed to this feeling. Your efforts and enthusiasm will benefit your
children and your neighbors. The Grand River Museum wants to be a part of the
future. But we all deal in reality and in reality it takes hard work. This
museum has been about hard work and anything worth having is worth working for.
Now we are going to work on the next ten years.
Plans for Rodeo Display
This year we are wanting to construct a Rodeo display to
celebrate the local participants, past and present, who enjoy South Dakota’s
official sport. Our membership drive will have a drawing for a bronze bust of
Casey Tibbs, the South Dakotan who put our state on a national map and made
rodeo a major attraction to the general public. This bust was created by John
Lopez, our resident artist and overused brother and uncle.
We are wanting photos and other memorabilia from this local
area to flesh out this display. If any of you have a favorite rodeo photo,
especially early history ones, we would love to have a copy for this exhibit. We
can make copies of early photos or you can leave more recent official 8 x lOs
with us. Also, early rodeo bills and programs especially from Lemmon and
surrounding areas.
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Welcome
to the Grand River Museum