It’s tough to imagine the Jerauld County area without two of its vital cornerstones: health care and agriculture. Thankfully, the two mainstays are thriving and were the focus of two community celebrations Monday in Wessington Springs.
Hundreds of area folks flocked first to the Wessington Springs Health Care Campus to enjoy a free burger and hot dog cook out, games, prize drawings and family-friendly activities. Local health care providers and employees from Avera Weskota Memorial Hospital, Horizon Health Care’s Jerauld County Clinic, Jerauld County Dental Clinic and Weskota Manor Avera collaborated together to coordinate and host the event, showcasing the unique partnership under one roof.
More photos and information about the Health Care Campus Block Party in the October 4 print and e-edition of the True Dakotan.
Celebration of Ag
Immediately following the Health Care Campus Block Party, a Celebration of Agriculture drew a crowd to the Wesington Springs High School (WSHS) vo-ag shop, where the rich history of the local chapter’s FFA program was revered.
“We had an excellent turnout, over 200 people” said Brady Duxbury, WSHS Ag Instructor and FFA Advisor. “The reason for the celebration was to reach back to our FFA Chapter’s foundations. Our program was created in 1916, before the first FFA chapter was even founded in 1928. This community has been educating students on the value of agriculture for well over 100 years and we wanted to showcase all of that.”
In addition to historic photos, scrapbooks, videos of former students saying the FFA Creed and FFA record books from throughout the decades, the event also featured a free meal and the public reveal of artist and WSHS alumna Kenzee Schafer's mural, which is painted on two 30-foot parallel walls leading into the shop, depicting images from the history and success of Wessington Springs’ FFA Chapter.
“There were a whole bunch of pictures we didn’t have labels for and the community definitely helped us out with the photo ID. My favorite part were the videos of the old FFA Creeds,” said Duxbury, explaining the tradition of freshman students being videotaped reciting the FFA Creed. “We got the VCR going and people would stand by the former versions of themselves.
For the BBQ sandwich meal, all meat was locally produced and donated with all other ingredients purchased locally in Wessington Springs.
“Twenty pounds of meat had been ground that morning at Mettler’s Locker on Main Street,” Duxbury pointed out. “The BBQ recipe was a family recipe from a Springs community member. It really had that “Farm to Table” feel and we are excited in years to come to further hit that truth of Farm to Table at future events.”
The long awaited public reveal of the FFA mural painted by artist and WSHS alumna Kenzee Schafer was embraced and celebrated by the community as a whole.
“The biggest thing I heard about the mural was that the pictures didn’t do it justice, seeing it in person was overwhelmingly positive for attendees,” Duxbury said. “One of the FFA state officers in attendance said it felt like the present of the program and the growth of the future of the program encompassed in one piece.”
The artist herself was in attendance and enjoyed the night’s festivities.
“It was great to see so many people there. A lot thought it was pretty unique and told me they are glad to have the mural here in Springs at the school,” Schafer said. “I love the FFA program, it was so much fun. We have a very strong ag program to start with and I’m glad I was able to embrace that a little bit a little more. I’m grateful my plan for the flow, color and movement of the mural translated well and will be there for generations and years to come.”
To further showcase the rich agricultural history of the area, Duxbury invited displays from Jerauld/Buffalo 4-Hers, Jerauld County Pioneer Museum and the future Western Heritage Museum.
“It was a true celebration of ag. My favorite was the green corduroy coat that Jim Burg won in a tractor contest decades ago. I’ve never seen green corduroy coat like that,” Duxbury said. “It was unique and cool and something that hasn’t been made for awhile. Blue corduroy is pretty much in my blood but I’ve never seen green.”
Duxbury said he’s grateful for all the people willing to attend the event and those who donated and supported it without even asking.
“I’m very appreciative of all the people that made this event so successful and so fun.”
