Be sure to mark your calendars and bring the kiddos to a pre-Christmas visit with Santa on December 23. This year marks the return after eight years to City Hall in Wessington Springs. With the dissolving of the Wessington Springs Area Chamber of Commerce in March 2015, several organizations were approached to take over events which the Chamber had coordinated. Springs Area Community Club (SACC) agreed to take over Santa Saturday, holding it in conjunction with their chili feed at the Senior Center in recent years.

Carrying on the decadeslong Christmas tradition of decorating the lobby tree at American Bank & Trust in Wessington Springs, the fourth grade class spread holiday cheer as they dressed the tree with handmade ornaments made at school. This year’s ornaments included close-in stars/ snowflakes painted with glitter, mini yarn stocking hats and snowman top hats.

The tree sparkled in the bay window of our modest home on Dakota Avenue in Wessington Springs. After being decorated shortly after Thanksgiving, the pine needles were beginning to dry and fall to the floor below.

A drive around Wessington Springs, Alpena, Lane and the countryside in between during Christmastime is sure to stir up delight in kids of all ages who enjoy the beauty and wonder of holiday exterior illumination. If you haven’t done so already this holiday season, make a thermos of hot chocolate, pile family and friends into the car and take a spin around your neighborhood. From Nativity scenes to Rudolph, there’s something for everyone to help brighten the night.

I didn’t give the marble-topped table tucked in the back of the True Dakotan much thought during the five years spanning between 2015 (the year I bought the newspaper business and the building that came with it) to 2020 (the year a fire in the basement led to a full building renovation).

On October 11, Penny Borkowski (shown at right) celebrated her 80th birthday by flying with her daughter Barb Berndt (center) and the True Dakotan to Amarillo, TX, to cheer for Brett Borkowski (pictured at left) and other South Dakotans who competed in the Cowboy Mounted Shooting AssociationWorld Championship. They also toured the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame and Museum and viewed the second largest canyon in the United States, the scenic Pala Duro.

Since Wessington Springs High School senior Hannah Heezen (pictured at right) was 10-years-old, she and her family have traveled hundreds of miles each year to attend breakaway clinics to help her improve at the rodeo sport she loves.