- This is a production of South Dakota Public Broadcasting.

- Dakota City will soon be on wheels.

Those words on the front page of the Dakota City advance of May 7th, 1886 would prove prophetic.

Dakota City, you see had courted the Milwaukee Road railway, but Parkston just two and a half miles away was chosen for the site of the local depot.

And just months later after that choice, the entire business district had moved to Parkston.

Editor Johnny Hipple paper had it right.

And like the other businesses, he moved the paper's offices and renamed it the Parkston Advance.

All the remains of that Dakota City today, is the cemetery.

Early Parkston businesses included Charles PEs Tin Shop.

There was Carl Schlimm Gun's Saloon.

The flower mill fell victim to a fire in 1916, but the Parkston canning company canned sweet corn and pickles till mid-century.

Pony Creek has been infamous for jumping its banks.

It flooded Parkston several times through the years the worst in 1960 when several homes were inundated, the local Lions Club then held a broom sale to sweep the city clean.

In 1983, when the dam washed out at nearby Demic Lake, the town got together to repeat the old sweeping routine.

In 2022, the Parkston celebration of freedom brought a replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall to town.

Three years earlier, Parkston was proclaimed a purple heart city at a Veterans Day ceremony for area wardees and gold star families.

Amateur baseball has a long history here in Parkston where the mudcats still draw a crowd at the park known as the pond.

The team won state championships in 1968 and again in 2012.

There was a golden age of baseball in the early 2000.

Parkston fielded three teams.

They were all named after Phish and they would slug it out at the pond.

In the seventies, the spotlight shown bright on American Legion youth teams.

They won titles in 72 and 77.

Well, the old Dakota City may be long gone, but the town that replaced it probably could have had the same name.

You see, Parkston is surrounded by fields of green while sporting its own little field of dreams.

It would be hard to find a more Dakota City.

Welcome to Dakota Life and Greetings from Parkston.

- This program is made possible with support from our members and by First Dakota National Bank, supporting the dreams of families, businesses, and communities since 1872.

And by Maxwell and Boar Agency providing farm and crop life and health, personal and commercial insurance.

- Local businessmen, James Weidenbach was instrumental in moving buildings from Dakota City here to Parkston.

The business he started is now known as Weidenbach Concrete Works and it's still in the family.

Intergenerational family businesses like Farmer State Bank and the Maxwell Boar Agency are anchors on Parkston's downtown Main Street.

Newer businesses include heirs flooring, and the natural apo carry.

There's Rose Foreman Park near the water tower and there's a new pocket park on the corner of First and Maine with a mural by local artist Nicole Heitzman.

Some of the older buildings in town constructed after the Dakota City era are two former banks.

They were both built in 1904.

One of these across the street from the Pocket Park is now the home to a museum founded by the late Kenneth Klaus.

Klaus is a Parkston native.

He had a long and renowned career as a pianist, composer, and teacher of classical music.

Klaus partner Bernard James was a commercial artist and a painter.

James work often featured shadowy for boating undertones.

After James passed away in 1994, Klaus set out to establish a Klaus James Archive and Art Museum.

And his choice was to have it here in his hometown of Parkston.

He bought the old bank on the corner of First and Maine and the building was refurbished with beautiful curved glass windows installed on the main floor.

The building has new owners now and a new purpose ahead, but it will live on as an architectural landmark in downtown Parkston.

Coming up, we'll visit the parks of Parkston and historic church not far away near Milltown and a community Christmas event with a very special menu, but first documenting stories shared through the generations.

That's the mission of Kay Atkins Brown.

Her family roots run deep through the history of the Parkston area.

She talked with SDP B'S Lura roadie at a research room in the Center for Western Studies at Augustana University.

- From the Mayflower to the Pasch Flowers.

By 1910, the Adkins Mattis and Mye families owned 2,475 acres in Forster Township near Milltown, South Dakota.

- Kay Adkins Brown is reading from her website.

The retiree created it during the long months of Covid shutdown.

She updates it monthly with stories and photos.

- This is a site and a place for stories about people, ordinary people who lived through the extraordinary history of the United States.

- Atkins Brown shares stories of many Parkston and Milltown citizens and events.

- It always kind of was beyond my family, but it's still about my family.

What you can do with an area like the last story that I did on the website was that, my brother played basketball in 1954 or 1955, they went to the state championships.

When you have a core person, you can't help but not tell the story of all the people around them and the community around them.

It becomes not only stories about my family, but about the entire community.

- Inspired by the stories her father, Pete Atkins shared with her as a young child, long before creating this website, Atkins Brown began archiving family letters, photographs and newspaper clippings and albums.

She even published a book of stories and recipes.

The MO Project.

- I realized that I had all the stories.

I mean, I'm the last generation that remembers the generation before us and the people who were in World War I and the people who in World War II.

And I remember those people and I remember the stories and I thought, if I don't get those stories out, then when I go, that's going to be lost to history.

So it became, I think, really important this last year to say, and probably because of my age, that I need to start telling these stories.

- To honor her father's passion for history and storytelling.

This 74 year old wears her father's red wool 1929 Parkston football letter sweater as she conducts research at the Center for Western Studies.

Atkins Brown is looking for historical photos of a 1911 train wreck to accompany a story she's working on for her website that talks about the importance of the railroad to early years of Parkston.

And even though she hasn't lived in Parkston for many years, Kay Atkins Brown says, sharing the stories of the communities her family called home for generations keeps her connected.

- There is nothing more wonderful than a sense of place.

South Dakota has had a lot of people that have exited from South Dakota, but I don't think that sense of place ever goes away from somebody.

And I think that it gives you a confidence in knowing that you belong to a place and there's a sense of history in a place And when you know the stories and you go back there, then I think it becomes even more important to you as an individual to give yourself kind of a sense of I belong somewhere.

- It's her hope that for generations to come.

The history shared through stories on her website provide a similar connection to those who call Parkston and Milltown communities home.

- Brown's research will be archived at the Center for Western Studies.

You can also see it online.

For many years The Corner Cafe on first in Maine, kitty Corner from the Klaus James Museum was the heart of Main Street.

Today local historian James Weis owns the building.

He's amassed a large collection of parkston memorabilia and hopes one day the collection might be displayed in a local history museum.

Off Main Street, Parkston are proud of their womb to tomb healthcare system.

It includes a well-staffed hospital, wellness clinic, nursing home, and assisted living center.

Not bad for a town of about 1500.

And what better example of working together than the one that's built right into the town name of Parkston.

In 2021, the Parks Foundation made some additions to the historic local park.

The new amphitheater was created and carefully designed to match the W p A era stone architecture of the older structures in the park with shade and space to set up your lawn chairs.

You can enjoy a beverage and live music on summer Thursday nights.

- Creating places where memories can grow and you can create memories in certain places by doing things a certain way.

And, and that was part of, I think what guided this amphitheater idea was that it will be a place in the future that we can make great memories.

- There are a lot of parks in Parkston and new park spaces are being planned while improvements are made to existing parks like the New Amphitheater.

- Well it was because we were having Summer Fest events out here and we would bring in a sound stage and then we'd have a band play at the sound stage.

And we had it in, well I know three different locations, three years in a row.

And someone said, what about putting something permanent up?

You know?

And it'd be a place you could make your announcements, you could host your little games or activities and then you could have music and it'd just kind of be a centerpiece for everything.

- By day.

Ember Dale is a wellness director at Avera, but she never misses a chance to put her creativity and enthusiasm to work for the community, like the background work on the amphitheater project.

- Wouldn't it be cool to have something here all the time?

And so I started getting pictures and googling and figuring out what what was in my mind for a structure.

And this pretty much came to, came what I had in mind.

We could use it for so many things, so many activities.

- There have been a variety of events held there too.

But Amfa Thursdays is the headliner.

It's a free concert series every Thursday evening during the summer.

And the entire East Park complex includes playgrounds, the pond, which is the home field for the Parkston Mudcats and much more.

But then came along the idea for another park.

- Was nearing retirement and kept saying, what else does Parkston need?

What does Parkston need?

And it was Ryan Murtha who he was visiting with him one time and Ryan said a park.

- Kathy Boar's late husband Pat wanted to leave a legacy to his hometown when.

- When we were brainstorming about it.

And he had already been diagnosed with his cancer, but someone did say, so what do you think we should name the park?

And his response was Papa's Park, cuz he was papa.

- And while construction is underway there, Pat's son, Michael is looking ahead.

- One pipe dream would be to continue on with getting a couple more baseball fields and softball fields in our community.

We aren't able to host any like state tournaments or any big tournaments through the years because we just have kind of one set field for each of our squads and stuff.

So, you know, baseball and softball's a really big thing in Parkston we've won multiple state titles in the last 10, 15 years throughout the different softballs and baseballs.

And we've got, I think probably 200 kids involved with it right now.

And so it's, it's not going anywhere and.

- What's next?

And that is a very difficult question for us.

There are a few projects like we need to do more to this park as far as shade.

A lot of our crowds get set kind of far back.

We'd like to get them closer to us, but we need to provide some shade.

I have some visions on some other things yet but can't reveal those quite yet.

- But it's not so much about the park spaces as it is about creating those memories.

- It's been a part of my life for my family, absolutely from, downtime in that we have to go to the park and play on the playground or go to the ball field or go to the pool.

Certainly go out to the pond, watch the Mudcats play, come out to the Ampa Thursdays and you know, dance with my daughter on the stage or you know, interact with the community members and see old friends.

And just to see other people having fun together makes me have fun like smile.

Just to see them all kind of people kind of gathering around and having fun or maybe busting a move and cutting loose a little bit.

It just brings Joy.

- Milltown Island Park out of Peninsula between 12 Mile Creek and the James River is another site of a legendary ghost town in Parkston periphery.

Founded in the late 19th century, Milltown was briefly the county seat of of Armstrong County.

Now if that doesn't sound familiar, Armstrong County existed for just four years before it was annexed by Hutchinson County.

The Milltown Hu Wite colony was established in 1886, but the colony moved to Canada in 1918.

The Milltown Island Pavilion Park was built in 1920, then rebuilt after a fire three years later for 75 years The Pavilion, which became known simply as Milltown hosted musical acts stretching from the big band era through swing and rock and roll.

Milltown was prone to flooding but somehow managed to hang on through cultural shifts, changes of ownership, and the end of the small town Dance hall era.

Doors closed for the last time in 1995.

All that's left here now is a picturesque Riverside Park and 75 years of musical memories.

But nearby just above the banks of the James River stands the United Brethren and Christ Church.

The first services were held there in the 1880s and they've continued every Sunday since.

And it's all thanks to a dedicated congregation who value their rural church.

- Well we all went down to the river, was where the old bridge was.

We were standing at the top and there were two that were baptized.

Now here, I guess it shows where he dunked him under the water.

- Darlene Youngy describes the last baptism, the Milltown United Brethren in Christ Church congregation witnessed on the banks of the James River, just across a gravel road from the church.

baptisms, weddings, funerals, Milltown, United Brethren and Christ Church has served this rural farming community since 1880.

And as the population of this community has decreased, so has the congregation.

But members like Young are dedicated to keeping its doors open, And Bell tolling Young grew up in the church and at 85 she cleans the church Weekly, turns the heat up the Saturday before services and helps schedule ministers.

Her brother Dean Simmons supplements weekly offerings to compensate pastors and pay for building heat and maintenance.

Whether there are 10 or 30 in attendance, members are determined to hold services each Sunday.

- Bill Town Church as it has celebrated some hundred and 50 years and there was never anything preached from this pulpit other than the gospel.

- Morris Bieber is one of five ministers who take churns sharing the weekly sermons here.

The congregation became too small to support a full-time minister in the 1970s.

So Bieber preaches the third Sunday of each month.

He says he looks forward to the opportunity.

- That makes it just fun.

I mean it, you know the, the hits history of the Milltown Church.

The fact that it is the only United Brethren church fact.

The church was built in 1880 and it's still the original building, the original pews, the original pulpit.

I mean that's pretty amazing stuff.

And it isn't every church where you have the opportunity to use an outdoor biffy.

- A musician Bieber also provides special music with his friend Merlin TV.

- Jesus.

- And church pianist Ruth Bookman.

Because the pulpit was designed more than a century ago for the original pastor, a man of short stature, an eight inch block of wood was long ago added to its base throughout the decades, many have leaned on this pulpit as they shared lessons from the Bible, including the father of famous American aviators, Orville and Wilbur Wright, local historian, school teacher and pastor, Dan Flyger.

- You may have heard of a couple of their famous people that were part of that denomination.

One of 'em was a fellow by the name of Francis Scott Key.

He was a Sunday school superintendent in the United Brethren Church and was a him writer for the United Brethren.

Milton Wright came here and preached in this church here in Miltown, South Dakota.

- When Milton Wright preached at the Milltown Church in the 1880s, there were perhaps five United Brethren and Christ churches in the state.

Today the Milltown Church is the only remaining church of this denomination.

And it's the only church in Milltown.

Most of its members began attending as children.

This is the case for Jennifer Martinez.

- My husband and I have have looked into several different churches and, and we keep coming back here.

My kids are very active and a part of this.

My son helps ring the bell.

He helps read and like the Advent Candles, just we love being a a part of this small church.

And the the old hymns that we sing.

Sometimes some of the churches that we've gone to have these amazing praise bands and these songs that you'll hear on on the radio.

If you listen to the Christian channels, we sing from the hymnals.

- It seems only right.

The traditional hymns be sung in a church nearing 150.

But in a building of this age, the furnace can only heat one floor at a time.

So when the service is over, a member covers the sanctuary heat vent.

so that the congregation can enjoy yet another tradition.

Each Sunday a potluck is served in the basement at the Milltown United Brethren in Christ church.

- Parkston has a well-earned reputation as a town that honors its veterans World War I Veterans established America Legion Post 1 94 over a hundred years ago, VFW Post 32 98 came along a little later.

Parkston is also home to the South Dakota National Guard's 153rd Engineer Battalion.

Tom Hafner is a Parkston resident and is served as the VFW commander for the state of South Dakota.

He told us he thinks Parkston is one of the more supportive communities for veterans, especially for a town this size.

Veterans organizations and community members support programs for Veterans Day and Memorial Day nursing home visits and school and youth baseball programs too.

In July, 2022, Parkston held a week long celebration of freedom featuring a full scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall.

There was live music and many other events too.

Local Vietnam veteran Jerry Tree Wasser was awarded three purple hearts for his service.

He said he didn't have much time to contemplate the awards at the time that he earned them.

In his words, they just patch you up and back you Go.

Tree Wasser said he couldn't go and see that Veteran's Memorial wall.

There were just too many familiar names on it.

He does have a quilt that some local women made in honor of his service.

It was presented to him years ago.

He keeps it folded and in a package though he said he just wants to keep it nice.

Parkston is famous for their community events.

The commercial club or other groups have something of interest almost every month of the year and many more in the summer.

On this wintery night, it's Charles Dickens, a Christmas Carol featuring local actor Daryl Fick Baum, accompanied by members of the South Dakota Symphony.

Another star is the food.

- We all have our favorite foods, especially during the holidays.

- You know the ham, Turkey.

- Mom's, cream rolls - Oh not a big Turkey person, So little Philly cheese date sandwiches on the Blackstone you know.

- Chrome, you'll have to look it up.

- Food like the holidays, music and good stories.

- Well bless Soul Fred.

Who is it?

It is.

I uncle I've come to dinner.

- They have the unique power to bring people together.

Even a blizzard can't keep the people of Parkston from coming out to enjoy a food that has become legendary to locals.

- Jim Baer's Prime Rib.

- It's Jim Baer's Prime Rib or Jim's prime rib.

- You know Jim Bammer.

Jim Bamer makes the best prime rib probably in South Dakota.

I among many would say that the benchmark to any prime rib you ever eat was Jim Baer's.

Anywhere you'd go, you'd say, well this is not as good as Jim's or not even close to Jim's.

It's just a treat.

Anytime there's an event like something like this, everybody's always more than willing and wanting to get Jim Baer involved.

Cause by far the best primary rib.

- After having had it myself.

I agree.

But unlike Scrooge's transformation, the man behind this meal, says it didn't just happen overnight.

- Well, I learned how to cook New York steaks and ribeyes.

First place I worked at needed help in the kitchen and started learning from the guys in there.

I started doing prime rib in 91 and then when I took over the Bowlen alley, Larry Lbeck was the cook there.

And he showed me the rest of the way to go, what temperature I really needed to get to and his type of seasoning, my type of seasoning.

We started taking one with both of 'em together and got it to birds.

Got a good clientele, I liked it.

- But he says that it all starts with the selection at the store.

- Just by quality.

I like to look for a nice pad eye in the middle.

Cause then as a cook it bulges and all that juice stays in there.

I just like to have one that's about like your arm, nice and thick and slender.

So like when you're doing a catering job, you can just go, well done all the way up with it, stick here.

And then these are all the rare screen you people.

It's a trick.

There is a tip for you.

- And that tip isn't just for us.

Jim's kids have been listening all along.

- Well, they all cook.

I got a daughter that's a chiropractor and I got a daughter that's a cardiovascular tech at Sanford, and my youngest son is a teacher here in Parkston.

Actually, my oldest son Jason went into guards, To be a cook to graduate out of cooking school.

He had to come up with a recipe and he got this recipe from Roast beef.

which was one of my sellers out there at the bowling alley.

I don't cook at Thanksgiving.

Jamie and Jessica and those guys didn't do that.

But when Christmas comes, we do a prime rib.

Today I'll just sit back and sit on a recliner wall.

- But there's one chair that remains empty during the holidays.

- Yes, that was my son that I lost in Iraq.

Yes, that's Jeremiah Jimmy.

He, he passed away for us.

They was gone a parable day, at least minus 10 with the wind blowing and the gentleman's held a flag.

You know, they did everything perfect to the team.

And this town helped me out a lot after that loss.

- And in that loss, Jim and his family turned to find an entire community, had their backs.

- This town does a lot of food deals for people when they needed some help.

They helped me out.

This town helped me out a lot.

- It's a very supportive community.

- And I've been pretty much everywhere in the United States, but parkston have brought me back home.

- People come together, rally together, especially when they need it the most.

- I've traveled a lot of places, I've been to some interesting parts of the world, but you get to come back home and realize that, you know, it's pretty darn good right here in small town America.

- And maybe therein lies the true American dream.

Not in having it all, but in having a true home.

A community where in good times and bad people show up and share in their time, their traditions and they share their food.

- We need that as humans, I think we need those things, the food traditions especially maybe because it's so homey, so basic to us all.

- But when I asked Jim the real secret behind his prime rib, this is what he had to say.

- No, you gotta squeeze by as much as you're gonna get outta it.

Gosh, I appreciate it.

Thank you.

- They say that the way to people's hearts is through their stomachs.

And if that's true, I believe the Jim Bammer has won over the hearts of an entire community.

- And it's good on Mag as the good old city had ever seen that he knew how to keep Christmas.

If any man and I ever possessed the knowledge, and may that be said of all of us.

- It's easy to see that Parkston wants to be a great place to live Whether you work here or maybe commute from your job in Mitchell, just 20 miles or so up Highway 37.

Parkston is also a self-sustaining community.

So I like to say it has at least one of everything you need.

Overall though, in Parkstonian speak, you'll hear about good schools, a good healthcare system, clean, quiet streets and friendly neighbors.

You'll find longstanding family names in the phone book and many new additions too.

Some grew up, went away for a while, but have come back.

And like other new residents, they've found a place to call home and raise a family.

When you include the Ag Center economy, the amateur baseball history, and the obligatory pilgrimage of out-of-state pheasant hunters, Parkston adds up to be about as Dakota as a South Dakota community could be appropriate having been spawned by its four bearer, the Apley named Dakota City.

You can revisit stories about Parkston and the other communities we stop at at sdpb.org/dakota Live.

Thanks for coming along.

I'm Larry Rohr for all of us at Sdpb.

Thanks for watching.