Author Archives: Colton Hall

Mary Williams, 84

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mary williams obit

Mary Williams, age 84 of Sioux Falls, formerly Winner, SD, passed away Sunday, Aug. 6, 2017 at Dougherty Hospice House. Family greeted friends 5-7 pm with a prayer service at 7 pm Friday Aug. 11, at Miller Southside Chapel 7400. S. Minnesota Ave., Sioux Falls. Funeral services were held 1:30 pm Saturday, Aug. 12, at United Methodist Church Winner, SD.

Mary Louise (Thiede) Williams was born Sept. 29th, 1932 near Burton Neb. to William and Doris (Donneaud) Thiede. Mary was the second daughter of four, Ruth Williams, Ruby Richardson deceased), and Kathy Titus.

Mary attended a one room school near the Thiede farm. Then she attended and graduated from Springview Nebraska High School class of 1950. Five days after graduation Mr. Lillibridge from the Burke bank drove down to her parent’s house and asked her to work there since she knew shorthand. After two and a half years she wanted to use her scholarship that she had received and enrolled in Wayne State. While attending Wayne State she saw her future husband playing drums at a dance in Wewela. During intermission he came down and bought her a sandwich. She said it was love at first sight and said it was hard to go back and finish at Wayne State, but she did and then worked in Winner for Bill Assman.

On Aug. 25th 1954 she married the “drummer” in a double wedding with her sister Ruth marrying Eldon’s brother Jim. The four of them lived and worked on the William’s family ranch. Mary and Eldon worked side by side in everything then did, she was the best “hired man” and band roadie he could have ever had. They worked hard all week then hit the road on Saturday nights to wherever the Rhythm Ramblers were playing.

Mary was very active at Redeemer Lutheran Church in Clearfield and so many other community events, The Clearfield Hall and Farmers Union. The four Williams also started Williams Seed Corn and mom loved operating the forklift to load orders. She also taught at several one room country schools. She knew so much about so many things. She worked outside all the time yet had a huge garden and canned anything she could fit in a jar. She kept the smoke house stocked, and wired the new addition to the house in the seventies. She could weld and put a new motor in her dish washer like it was nothing. She would work side by side with Eldon and walk in and have huge meal ready in minutes. She enjoyed sewing, crocheting and embroidery. She nursed many a calf back to health and could drive tractors, silage trucks and of course her four-wheeler. After many years of using horses, Mary and Eldon enjoyed their four-wheelers. She loved the outdoors, she was a great teacher, mentor and was very strong in her faith.

She was a wonderful Mom to her three children, David (Janice), Mitchell, SD, Eileen (Tom) Donley, Sioux Falls, SD and Michael (Deb), Sioux Falls, SD, grandchildren, Christopher (Mandy) Williams, Sophia and Sawyer, Plankinton, SD, Nicole (Nic) Norton, Jackson, Juliet, Oliver, Kearney NE, Luke (Sara) Williams, Ames, IA. She is also survived by her sisters, Ruth Williams, White Lake, SD, and Kathy Titus, Springview, NE; many nieces and nephews; and a host of other relatives and friends.

She was preceded in death by her husband Eldon, her parents, parent’s in-law, her sister, Ruby Richardson, and her brothers in-law, James Williams, Elmer Richardson Howard and Titus. www.millerfh.com

SDPB SCREENS KEN BURNS’ THE VIETNAM WAR IN ROSEBUD

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KEN BURNS

SDPB presents a free, 60-minute preview of never-before-seen footage from THE VIETNAM WAR, the new 10-part, 18-hour documentary film series directed by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick.

The screening is Friday, Aug. 25, at 11 a.m. at the Rosebud Sioux Veterans Affairs Building, located at 2 Legion Avenue in Rosebud, near the Rosebud Fairgrounds. The event is being held in conjunction with the Rosebud Fair, Wacipi, and Rodeo.

The screening is free and open to the public. A light meal and reception for veterans and their families follows the screening. During the reception, SDPB producers will be on-hand to record interviews with Vietnam War & Vietnam Era Veterans, and others who have stories to share.

In addition to the screening, Francis Whitebird will provide opening remarks. A member of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, Whitebird served 19 months as a Combat Medic during the Vietnam War and has been awarded a Combat Medical Badge as well as a Purple Heart. Whitebird’s father, Noah Whitebird, was a WWII Lakota Code Talker and Whitebird’s grandfathers fought in the Battle of Little Bighorn and the Battle of Rosebud. Whitebird’s two sons, Brendan and Colin Whitebird, served in Iraq. A graduate of Flandreau Indian School and South Dakota State University, Whitebird holds a Master’s in Education from Harvard University. Whitebird was appointed Commissioner of Indian Affairs by Governor George Mickelson and currently serves on the South Dakota Historical Society Board of Trustees.

4H Camping

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4H

More than 200 youth from 23 South Dakota Counties attended the 2017 4-H Camp hosted by the South Dakota 4-H Program held at Camp Bob Marshall in Custer.

“Camping programs offered through South Dakota 4-H provide youth the opportunity to gain valuable life skills in a safe environment,” said Donna Bittiker, SDSU Extension State 4-H Program Director. “The youth choose to attend camp because they want to have fun, which they do, but typically camp attendees don’t realize until they are much older the lifelong value of their youth camping experience.”

This camp was open to both 4-H members and non-members ages 8-12.

The theme, Imagination Station, encouraged youth to explore several activities including areas of science. Activities included: solar ovens, electrical circuits, tie dying, soap carving, a nature hike, drone discovery and much more.

“4-H exposes youth to a multitude of topic areas, which allows them a hands-on approach to career exploration,” said Hilary Risner, Regional 4-H Youth Program Advisor.

Youth also had the opportunity to partake in recreational activities in Bismark Lake, such as canoeing, swimming and fishing.

“Camp gives youth an opportunity to broaden their horizons,” Bittiker said. “Youth learn valuable skills, such as making new friends, sharing personal space with others, managing personal items and exploring new adventures that may be outside of their comfort zone.”

Following camp, youth were surveyed. Campers indicated that through 4-H Camp, they had a high ability to make new friends, a willingness to try new things and an ability to share their ideas respectfully.

“These are three components of personal development that 4-H strives to accomplish with youth through hands-on experiences such as camp,” Risner said.

Armstrong Prepares for Deployment

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a. j. armstrong

A former Colome resident, A. J. Armstrong, was one of the soldiers of the South Dakota Army National Guard’s 200th Engineer Co., who will depart for a nine-month assignment in the Middle East.

Armstrong is the son of Alan and Diane Armstrong of Colome and is a graduate of Colome High School.

The 31-year-old Armstrong, who has served 12 years in the National Guard, will leave behind his wife and four kids. A story on Armstrong was featured in Saturday’s Mitchell Daily Republic.

The guard unit’s assignment in Kuwait will be to help assemble, maintain, repair and replace standard U.S. bridging systems.

A deployment ceremony was held Saturday in Pierre with Gov. Dennis Daugaard speaking.

Serving as a first lieutenant and the group’s executive officer, Armstrong was one of many soldiers who volunteered for the deployment and will be in charge of training the team for bridge building.

In 2016, Armstrong was recognized by the South Dakota National Guard as the lieutenant of the year.

“We are looking forward to going over there,” said Armstrong.

“For me, it just feels like it is the right thing to do to serve my country. I feel a need to pay back what the country’s done for me—all of the knowledge and experience I’ve gained, I want to give that back.”

Tom Green, Youth Group Stop in Winner

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tom green family with jo green

By Dan Bechtold, Editor

Tom Green has followed God’s calling and is a youth minister in Cushing, Okla.

Green received his education in Winner and is the son of Jo Green, Winner and the late Dennis Green.

Sunday morning Green, his family and members of the youth group from the First Assembly of God church in Cushing were in Winner to have lunch at the Methodist Church. The group were on their way to Rapid City to spend a week doing mission work.

There are 16 students on the trip. Green said they will talk to the Boys and Girls Club of Rapid City and one day will feed the homeless. They will clean up a park and do other service minded work.

They group will stay at a church in Rapid City plus will take a trip to Mount Rushmore.

Green explained for some of the kids this is their first trip outside of Oklahoma.

A lunch of barbeques, pasta salad and fruit at the Methodist Church were enjoyed by the group.

Tom Green is a 1990 graduate of Winner High School and a 1994 graduate of the University of South Dakota with a degree in music education.
He was a substitute teacher in Minnesota and then worked for a seed company. The family moved to Colorado where he worked for Oppenheimer Funds for seven years.

From Colorado, the family moved to Norfolk, Neb., where he became a deacon and a youth leader at an Assembly of God Church.

Green started the school if ministry in Nebraska and got his credentials through the Assembly of God.
“God gave me a call to start my schooling,” he said.

Green is now working on getting his license to work in the church.

He saw on a web site that the church in Cushing was looking for a youth minister. He accepted the call and has been there for one year.

Cushing is located southwest of Tulsa and has a population of about 8,000. The oil pipeline is city’s largest employer.

Green and his wife, Julie, have two children Kaleb and Jessica.

Funnyman Featured at Elks Rodeo

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jelly bean with elks rodeo story

Adam Carlson (Jelly Bean) had long thought about getting in the arena and performing as a funnyman and in 2011 he decided to start working towards his dream.

Jelly Bean will be the funny man at this years Winner Elks Rodeo July 28, 29 and 30 at the Tripp County rodeo arena.

By the summer of 2012, he was able to start performing in different areas in North and South Dakota, Wisconsin, Missouri and Minnesota. He has been chosen to work the Minnesota high school rodeo finals twice, the Midwest bullriders final, the Rice bullriding glory bound tour finals and the WOJO rodeo circuit finals twice.

Adams is on his 16th year of teaching health and physical education along with coaching varsity track and Special Olympics at Aitkin High School. He tries to use humor every day to get his lessons across to his students. When not working at chasing the rodeo dream, he and his wife and four kids enjoy horseback riding, camping, playing on the lake, watching the kids compete in different activities and relaxing.

He is looking forward to meeting people in Winner.

Kingsley Enjoys Working for Heartland Waste

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marti kingsley

By Dan Bechtold, Editor

Marti Kingsley likes the flexibility that her job as office manager of Heartland Waste Management offers.  Heartland Waste is the garage service for Winner and area towns.   In the past, the company did not have an office manager. She handles the day to day office duties such as answering the phone and helping individuals with their questions.

Persons who are interested or have questions about garbage routes can call Kingsley at 842-3692 or her cell at 840-2165.
Kingsley and her husband have three children—Shaleena, age 11; Raelynn, 10 and Bode, 7.

Winner/Colome Stays Alive in State Legion Tournament

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sl sunday fans

Winner/Colome Legion baseball team has made it to the final four of the State B Legion tournament at Leahy Bowl in Winner.  The Royals played Vermillion Monday night for the right to advance to the state championship.  On their way to the final four, Winner/Colome defeated McCook/Miner and Platte-Geddes and lost to Spearfish.

In the Royal’s first game on Friday night, they defeated McCook/Miner 5-3.  A three run first inning set the Royals up for the victory.

The team had seven hits with Riley Calhoon having two singles and Carter Brickman had two RBIs.   Pitching for Winner/Colome were Carter Brickman who threw 4 1/3 innings to earn the win, giving up 3 runs on 5 hits, 2 walks and no strikeouts. Kelly O’Bryan earned the save in relief pitching 2 2/3 innings giving up no run, o hits 1 walk and 1 strikeout.

Saturday Spearfish shut out Winner/Colome 10-0.

Winner/Colome had 5 hits and O’Bryan had 2 singles.

Ty Bolton threw 2 1/3 innings and gave up five runs on 7 hits, 8 walks and 1strikeout. Drew DeMers threw 1 1/3 inning and gave up 3 runs on 3 hits, 1 walk and 1 strikeout. Levi McClanahan threw a third of an inning. Cale Meiners threw two innings giving up 2 uns on 3 hits.

The Royals bounced back on Sunday as they defeated Platte-Geddes 10-5. The Royals got a nice cushion as they scored several runs in the opening inning.

Winner/Colome had 10 hits. Calhoon, McClanahan and DeMers all had 2 hits and nick Lantz had 2 RBIs.  In pitching, O’Bryan threw one inning, Calhoon threw 6 innings in relief to get the win and give up five runs on 5 hits, 2 walks and 2 strikeouts.

“It’s been a great three days so far for our guys and feels special to still be alive in the final four with so many great teams here,” said coach Drew Weber.  “We beat McCook/Miner in a thrilling game on Friday night with some great pitching by Carter and Kelly and we got some timely hits from our entire order,” said the coach.

“The Spearfish game didn’t go as planned but we bounded back with a hard-fought victory over Platte on Sunday. So far, I’ve been very impressed with our pitching and defense but our offense has come through with some clutch hits too. We’re not sure how it’s going to end up but we have already proven we are one of the best teams in the state and I’m very proud of our kids,” said Weber.

On Monday, Spearfish played McCook/Miner in the 5 p.m. game and at 7:30 p.m. Winner/Colome took on Vermillion.

The championship was played at Leahy Bowl on Tuesday, July 25. Be sure to follow the Winner Advocate for all the pictures and the latest scores from the Winner/Colome Royals.

Pheasants Win Two Games

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am derek graesser

Winner/Colome amateur baseball team won two games in the Sunshine League tournament in Parkston.

The Pheasants defeated Dimock/Emery 16-1 in 6 innings on Sunday.  The Pheasants advanced to the District 5B championship.

Derek Graesser didn’t allow a hit in the game.  Zach Harter had a three run home run to highlight the scoring. Graesser and Dillon Lambley each had two doubles while Lakin Neugebauer had three hits and Reed Harter added a two hits.

The Pheasants had eight runs in the sixth inning to end the game early.

Winner/Colome will face Alexandria at 7:30 p.m. Friday for the district title.

Winner/Colome picked up an 11-1 victory over Platte in the first round of the district tournament on Thursday in Parkston.

The Pheasants Jared Donahue was the winning pitcher. He pitched all eight innings, struck out 15 batters and gave up three hits.

Offensively, Austin Richey had a three run home run, drove in four runs and added a single. Austin Calhoon, Derek Graesser and Geno Katz all had two singles. Calhoon had an RBI and Katz dove in two runs. Winner/Colome collected 11 hits.

Jr. Legion Splits Games

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jr letion in s fll m morehart phtoo

The Winner Junior Legion baseball team lost to Tabor 9-8 and beat Gregory 5-1.

Leading hitters in the Tabor game were Dalton Baker with 2 hits, Phillip Jorgensn with 2 hits, Kameron Meiners with 3 hits.

Against Gregory, leading the hitters were Oscar Praveck with 2 hits, Meiners with 2 hits, Brady Fritz with 2 hits and Nathan Monk with 2 hits.
Pitching a complete game was Meiners with six strikeouts.

Winner will play in the region tournament on Saturday in Winner and will play Mission at 10 a.m. Lennox plays Wessington Springs after the first game. Then the two losers will play followed by the two winners.