SPRING 2011 - FREE
Chamberlain/Oacoma Area Recreation Guide
• No Boat? No Problem! Five things to do when you don’t own a boat • Fishing adventures with kids
• Searching for geocaching treasure • A meeting place on the river in Chamberlain/Oacoma
A publication of the Chamberlain/Oacoma Sun • www.chamberlainsun.com
Michelle’s Marina
Start your Missouri River adventures with us.
•Hand-cut steaks •Prime Rib •Walleye •Daily specials •Full Bar
Relax by the river in our casual dining atmosphere
Call for Spring/Summer Hours
309 East Glen Ave, Chamberlain
605-234-4000
Reservations welcome.
Public boat ramp | Boat slips Bait & tackle Fish cleaning station Fuel & oil | Licenses | Guides Paddle boat & pontoon rentals Snacks & Beverages
Dining on the Deck • 5pm-dusk
3FTUBVSBOU -PVOHF
Steaks - Chicken - Burgers
1500 Shoreline Drive, Oacoma, SD | www.cedarshore.com | info@cedarshore.com Resort (605) 734-6376 | Hotel reservations (888) 697-6363 | Campground (605) 734-5273
A publication of the
Chamberlain/ Oacoma Sun 114 S. Main Street PO Box 672 Chamberlain, SD 57325 Phone: (605) 234-1444 Fax: (605) 234-1445 www.chamberlainsun.com www.facebook.com/ ChamberlainSun For advertising sales, email ads@chamberlainsun.com or call (605) 234-1444 Lucy & Kim Halverson, publishers Jessica Giard, editor Dawn Hopkins, ad manager Erin Walti and MaKaela Randall, staff writers Holly Endres, production and design
Your Chamberlain Newspaper delivered to you weekly. One-year subscription In Brule, Buffalo and Lyman counties - $30 Out-of-county and out of state - $35 We accept Mastercard and Visa. On newsstands each Wednesday in Chamberlain, Oacoma, Kimball, Pukwana and Reliance. $1 per copy.
2011 Chamberlain/Oacoma Area Recreation Guide Offering an introduction to recreation opportunities on Lake Francis Case in Chamberlain and Oacoma, South Dakota.
Table
of
Contents
No boat? No problem!...............................2 Fishing licenses & boating access .............5 Fishing with kids.......................................6 Into the frying pan....................................8 See & Do - Local events & attractions.......10 A meeting place on the river.....................14 Geocaching for not-so-secret treasure.........18 Area church directory and Index to advertisers.............................................20
Chamberlain/Oacoma Area Recreation Guide • Page 2
No Boat? No Problem! Five things to do in Chamberlain/Oacoma if you don’t own boat. By Jessica Giard, Editor - Chamberlain/Oacoma Sun, and a Non-boat owner
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o gain official residency status in our twin cities on the Missouri River, you need a boat. It’s true. Before you can rent or buy a home or get a job in Chamberlain or Oacoma, you will be asked for your official boat owner’s card. Okay. I’m joking. When you live on the river around here, there is a good possibility that after a few years, you will get the itch to plunk down some cash and join in on the boating fun. With a river view in our backyard, temptation lurks – daily. Prepare yourself. You might just get the itch. I moved to Chamberlain about 10 years ago and have been fighting out the itch with my husband the entire time. Me trying to ignore it. Him wanting to scratch it. The tug-of-war becomes increasingly more fierce once the ice is off the river in spring and summer comes lurking. Unfortunately for my husband, I keep winning. Maybe I believe too strongly in this anecdote: the two best days of a boat owner’s life are the day he buys one and the day he sells one. As I patiently wait to have my ‘two best days,’ I have managed to keep occupied enough to ignore temptation. But, if you, too, want to fight the urge, here are the five things you can do in Chamberlain/ Oacoma if you don’t own a boat.
1
Go golfing. I tried this, once. My avid golfer aunt was brave and patient enough to take me out on the course once several years ago. Note that I said, once. The Chamberlain Country Club – which is actually west of Oacoma – sits in a
valley along a small creek, which happens to run through a few holes. That creek claimed my shot not once, not twice but, I believe, three times. Hole number four tees off on east side of the creek, so tee box number four was as far as my score card would count that day. While my aunt was kind enough to say I have a good swing for a beginner, I’ve only been on the course since then for work, as a photographer chasing cross country runners or high school golfers. And, it‘s on those days I understand better the appeal of wandering the course to chase a little white ball for a few hours. For more information on getting on the course, see our See & Do list on page 10-12. To get there, head west from Oacoma on Highway 16 from I-90 exit 260. You’ll see the signs for the course and the new clubhouse on the west end. They also offer cart and club rentals, and a good meal and drink at the clubhouse.
2
Hit the trails. The best open view you’ll find of Chamberlain and Lake Francis Case (aka - the Missouri River reservoir on which our towns sit) is at Roam Free Park north of town. You can get there by car, that is true. But, you can also get their by foot or bike from a handful of starting points in Chamberlain. If you want the full length tour, start on the concrete path at Barger Park on the north end of River Street. This runs north along the river, over the bridge at American Creek marina and past American Creek campground. A few blocks later it merges into a wide, separated shoulder on north Main past the entrance to the St. Joseph’s Indian School campus. The wide shoulder, which is marked as the trail on the north side of the road, creeps uphill as a crushed gravel trail past the edge of campus and to one of Chamberlain’s well-marked water towers.
Chamberlain/Oacoma Area Recreation Guide • Page 3
From that point, the trail turns to asphalt and zig-zags up the side of the hill, through prairie grasses, until you hit the top. At the crest, you enter Roam Free Park and will be greeted with the best view of Chamberlain. Don’t forget your camera. That’s the long version. Your best starting points are at the south end of Barger Park on north River Street, at American Creek Campground’s day-use area on North Main Street or at the Nagel Business Office at St. Joseph’s Indian School. I’d give you driving directions to Roam Free Park, but, if you take the trail, you’ll know as Kermit the Frog once said, gettin’ there is half the fun. On the west river side, in Oacoma, the Roland Dolly Memorial Trail follows the river from Highway 16 to Cedar Shore Resort. The concrete path, which you might share with the wild turkeys who wander the area, was built in summer 2009 and named after a former Lyman County resident who was killed in a plane accident with South Dakota governor George S. Mickelson. Both trails were also awarded trailhead signage in 2010 from the South Dakota Department of Health.
3
Jump in the lake. No boat in the middle of August? Hit the beach instead. The sandy beach at American Creek Campground is free for public use and maintained by the campground staff. This will be the most family-friendly
beach access in the Chamberlain area. Parking is easy and a no-wake zone is marked and maintained for boating traffic. Call (605) 234-5151 for more information. Some locals also use the National Guard beach access on the south side of exit 263, Chamberlain, for river access for fishing and swimming. However, the drive into the area is steep, and the beach is not maintained with sand or a no wake zone. Dude Ranch - a Game, Fish and Parks lakeside use area located southwest of Oacoma - also offers easy access to the river. This area is not marked as a designated swimming area with a sand beach and a no wake zone (there is also a boat ramp). But, it does offer primitive camping and vault toilets. To get there, head west on Highway 16 from Oacoma and turn south on Cooper School Road under the interstate bridge. Follow the signs marked Dude Ranch. Note, the paved road turns to gravel as it heads south. Remember, swimming is at your own risk at any of these areas. If in doubt, use a life jacket, or PFD (personal flotation device).
4 Go fish.
In the last three years, the city of Chamberlain has built two accessible fishing piers to increase shore fishing access on the east side of the river. A wide, level concrete pier with lighting juts out into the river from American Creek Campground. Even if you don’t fish - or the fishing is just plain lousy - the access and view is worth the visit, especially toward dusk as the sun is setting over the river hills. This pier also offers a good river view of the trio of bridges that span Lake Francis Case - the recently rehabilitated Highway 16 bridge, the Interstate 90 bridge and the railroad truss bridge to the far south. You can also see the piers left from before the river was dammed in the mid-1950s. The northern section of the Highway 16 bridge truss spans
Chamberlain/Oacoma Area Recreation Guide • Page 4
originally sat on the those piers. Attempts were made - but failed - in dynamiting the old piers, so now they sit as a reminder of what the Missouri River once was 60 years ago. The second fishing pier apparently offers better fishing, or so I’m told. A new pier, constructed from floating docks, was installed in 2010 in American Creek Marina. It’s a hit with kids, who seem to love reeling in the pan fish which are commonly found there. The pier is wheelchair accessible, though the dock access can be somewhat steep from the land during low water levels on the river. A concrete path connects the marina parking lot with the dock access. In Oacoma, you can get closer to the river on the south side of town on what locals call the ‘Oacoma flats.’ The area is leased by the town from Game, Fish and Parks and offers easier river access for shore fishing than you might find along the east shore in Chamberlain. Over the past year, new riprap was installed along the shoreline, but you’ll see areas which offer easier access to the river.
5
Make new friends. Perhaps the best way to
enjoy the Missouri River in Chamberlain/Oacoma, without owning a boat is to become good friends with someone who does. With gas prices sitting at $3.50 or more a gallon at time of publication, a simple offer to split the cost of gas for a day on the boat might bring you more friends than you anticipated. Just don’t forget a
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cooler of snacks and beverages, including your host’s favorite flavors. Erase any doubt in your host’s mind that you’d be a poor guest by bringing along a PFD for yourself (it’s a rule in S.D. - a PFD for each person on the boat) and learn how to tie a good knot. Or, really blow them, figuratively, out of the water and become proficient at helping put the boat in and take it out of the water. This is especially good if you know how to efficiently and calmly back up an empty boat trailer at a busy ramp. If your friend is a really awesome friend who rents a boat slip for the summer, those knot tying and clear communication skills will come in handy, especially on a windy day. The key to this tactic is to become the indispensable boat guest. You will solidly seal the friendship deal if you show just how great you are at all the details that make owning a boat a terrible idea for a good marriage. And, even better, you might just end up with a happier wife in the process.
e asked on Facebook ...
“What are the top five things to do in Chamberlain/Oacoma if you don’t have a boat?”
Tim said ... 1. Buy a boat 2. Become friends with someone with a boat. 3. Assemble styrofoam and plywood into a raft. Use your lawn mower for an outboard.
4. Fish from shore 5. Hibernate all summer
Rochelle said ... GOLF!
April said ... Get into motocross and spend lots of time out at Thunder Ridge south of Reliance!!
Lucy said ... Walking, biking, horseback riding. Anything to get outdoors!
Source: Chamberlain/Oacoma Sun’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/ChamberlainSun
Chamberlain/Oacoma Area Recreation Guide • Page 5
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Go Fishing.
o learn more about boating and fishing in South Dakota, visit the South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks website at http://gfp.sd.gov/fishing-boating/ . You may also find the 2011 SD Fishing Handbook and the Boating Regulations handbook at any of the area license agents and throughout Chamberlain/Oacoma.
Area Fishing License Agents Chamberlain Alco - 1700 E King St - (605) 734.6709 Allen’s Bait & Tackle - 502 E King - (605) 734.5591 Bottle Shop -100 N Courtland -(605) 734.6274 Casey Drug -Welcome West Plaza - (605) 734.6530 Chamberlain True Value -1000 Sorenson Drive (605) 734.5492 D & N One Stop - 201 West King -(605) 734.6811 Midwest Supply - 206 W Clemmer -(605) 734.6791 North Park C Store - 700 N Main - (605) 234.6421 Oacoma Al’s Oasis - 1000 E Hwy 16 - (605) 734.6051
Cedar Shore Resort - Mickelson Drive - (605) 734.5214 West Forty Inc. - 100 E Hwy 16 - (605) 734.6929 Kimball Brooks Hardware - PO Box 80 - (605) 778.6370 CBS Miller’s Oil - PO Box 329 - (605) 778.6433 Ditty’s Diner - 801 S Main St -(605) 778.6567 Kimball Clark - 800 S Main - (605) 778.6248 Pheasant Crest Lodge - 23625 365th Ave. - (605) 778-6340 Source: www.gfp.sd.gov
• Licenses may also be purchased online and printed from your computer. Visit the South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks website at http://gfp.sd.gov/applications/small-game/
Fishing License Fees Resident Licensing and Fees Resident 1 Day Fishing $9* Resident Annual Fishing $27* Combination (small game and fishing) $51* Junior Combination, ages 16-18 (small game, furbearer and fishing) $27*
Nonresident Licenses and Fees Nonresident 1 $16* Nonresident 3 Day Fishing $34* Nonresident Annual Fishing $62* * Includes $2 agent fee For further details go to www.gfp.sd.gov
Boating Access American Creek Campground. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . American Creek Marina. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cedar Shores ramp. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cedar Shores high water ramp. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dude Ranch. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
North Main Street, Chamberlain North Main Street, Chamberlain 3 NE Oacoma off Loop 90 3 NE Oacoma off Loop 90 Near Oacoma, Exit 260 off I-90
Elm Creek . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 miles south of Chamberlain, off Highway 50 • These areas do not require a state park entrance license.
Chamberlain/Oacoma Area Recreation Guide • Page 6
Fishing with Kids
... always an adventure
By Jason Sorensen, Fisheries Biologist - SD Game, Fish and Parks
I
t isn’t a secret that kids love fishing. There is nothing more satisfying than seeing a huge smile on the face of a child as they proudly display their catch. Fishing provides an excellent opportunity to teach children about the environment while also teaching boating, fishing, and safety skills. With so many opportunities surrounding them, it is easy to keep kids entertained while on an outdoor adventure. In today’s high tech society there are a lot of distractions, such as video games, cell phones, internet and television, that can keep kids Planning inside. If outdoor recreation ahead can make a fishing is presented in a fun and trip with children a more memorable experience for adventuresome manner, most both adults and kids. In Chamberlain, fishing piers at American Creek marina kids will choose to spend their and American Creek campground make fishing easily accessible for a quick family outing. Submitted photo time outside. Allowing your child to bring a friend along on your outdoor fish being sought after. Having adventure will enhance their enjoyment of the things ready to go will avoid delays at the lake when activity and expose another youngster to the sport kids are ready to start fishing. of fishing. Kids love bait, so be sure to let them participate When planning your fishing trip, consideration in baiting hooks. A little instruction can go a long should be given to what species of fish to pursue. way in saving you time in the future as your kids bait Keep in mind that most kids have relatively short your hook for you! attention spans, so a species that bites readily is A cooler packed with healthy snacks and drinks preferred. Species such as bass, bluegill, crappie, plentiful enough to make it through the day is catfish or perch usually provide plenty of action. essential to an enjoyable outdoor adventure with Begin preparations at home. Make sure to rig children. Don’t let it surprise you when kids are fishing rods with appropriate gear for the species of asking for snacks or drinks before the first hook is
Chamberlain/Oacoma Area Recreation Guide • Page 7
baited and in the water. While patience is a necessary trait for anglers to possess, a lot of kids will not sit for hours waiting for fish to bite. When fish aren’t biting, relocating, switching techniques or targeting a different species can sometimes resolve the issue. If these strategies still don’t produce fish, go on an adventure and teach them about the environment. A scavenger hunt can be a great way to get them digging around outdoors. Bring some binoculars and maybe even a magnifying glass and see what neat things they can find. Start a collection of rocks, shells or something else nature can provide. These activities usually lead to a lot of questions that can later be researched on the internet or at the library. When fish don’t cooperate and the summer sun is beating down, squirt guns or other fun water toys can be a great way to spend the day at the lake. Don’t let your adventure end when you leave the lake. A fish filleting demonstration is a great way to pass on the technique to kids. One must obviously use discretion as to what age child it is appropriate to give a razor sharp knife to, but hands
Oasis Pump N’ Pak Gas • Beer • Pop • Sandwiches • Fishing Gear • Live Bait
802 E. Hwy 16, Oacoma 605-234-5325 Open 24 hours a day!
on experience can go a long way in teaching how to properly care for your catch. Younger kids will love to wash and bag the fillets. Hopefully your fishing adventure will produce some fillets for the frying pan. Either way, following these helpful tips will make it an enjoyable and memorable adventure for both young and old alike. Keep the excitement alive by planning your next outdoor adventure. Consider looking at a map and encouraging a youngster to select the next lake, river or stream as the location of your next adventure!
Allen’s South Dakota Fishing & Hunting Best Walleye Fishing and Pheasant Hunting in US and Canada Allen’s Missouri River Guide Service Up to date fishing and hunting information 1-800-435-5591 or 605-734-5591 Hillside Motel 502 E. King, Chamberlain, SD 57325 Garry and Norma Allen www.allenshillside.com
Making Your Fish Tales a Reality! • Licenses • Tackle
• Rods • Nets
Midwest Supply 206 W. Clemmer Ave. Open Monday - Saturday 8am -5:30pm 734-6791
Chamberlain/Oacoma Area Recreation Guide • Page 8
Into the Frying Pan By Jill Pertler, Minnesota columnist of ‘Slices of Life’
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e need a new electric frying pan. My husband has noted this fact on more than one occasion. He is right. Our frying pan – decades old – has seen better days. Its paint is chipped and the Teflon burned in places. A new one would be neither excessive nor unwarranted. My husband sees the logic of a new pan. He proposes we get one as soon as possible. He understands this is right. And he is right. Problem is, I’m sort of attached to the old one. I realize most people don’t get attached to household appliances, but on the majority of subjects, I do not fit into the definition of “most people.” My experience with frying pan attachment syndrome started early – during childhood. My mom had an old frying pan dating pre-Teflon. I don’t remember where it originated originally, but the appliance was old. The pan itself was silver in color – probably stainless steel. The working elements had no defects. The heating coil remained in tip-top condition. The pan itself wasn’t cracked, warped, broken or even burned. The frying pan had only one obvious handicap: it was missing a leg. By today’s standards, an electric frying pan with three legs is a worn out appliance. My parents
didn’t operate by today’s standards. They were both children of families that experienced the Great Depression firsthand, so they knew a thing or two about using things until there wasn’t any use left. My ever-resourceful mom used an inverted coffee cup to prop up the three-legged pan. It stood at about the right height. The frying pan wobbled, but not enough to render it unstable. Besides, my mom didn’t use the electric gizmo often. She removed it from the cupboard for just one job: frying the walleye caught by my fish-loving dad – who was (and is) known affectionately as Walleye Joe. As a young man, my dad experienced his fair share of adversity. He grew up in a farming family – number 11 of 13 siblings – in a home with one indoor bathroom. He joined the Marines at age 18 and shortly thereafter found himself on a plane to Korea. He fought on the front lines, was injured in the line of duty and found himself on a plane back home. He ended up losing a leg and gaining a Purple Heart medal. A wobbly frying pan didn’t faze a guy like my dad. He caught the fish, brought them home and said, “Fry ‘em up!” My dad did all the fishing and my mom did all the frying. They were a good pair. My dad also did the eating. My mom, who didn’t like fish, never tasted the tender morsels she cooked in our threelegged pan. I did. Taste the fish, that is. I was blessed with the fish-loving gene. My sister was not. The frying pan – and the fish therein – became something my
Chamberlain/Oacoma Area Recreation Guide • Page 9
dad and I shared. Thinking back, I can’t even remember what my mom and sister ate on the nights we had fried fish. Didn’t matter. I was eating walleye. It was an unassuming evening sometime in the early 1980s when my mom made the astounding observation. We’d just feasted on fish for supper and the frying pan sat on the counter, oily and well-used. “I think we need a new frying pan,” she said. I nearly spit out my fish. “No!” I answered a little too quickly. I heard an echo in the room. My voice wasn’t the only one rejecting my mom’s idea. My sister repeated the same sentiment. It seems we both experienced frying pan attachment syndrome. My mom let us off easy. Maybe she never seriously considered replacing the frying pan. Maybe she heard the panic in our voices and understood the appliance had come to represent something more than just a cooking vessel to my sister and me. Either way, the pan was washed, put back into the cupboard and did its job with the fish for years after that. My mom passed away earlier this year. And, while the three-legged frying pan from my
Welcome Fisherman! Stock up your fishing boat with us! We have everything you need to have a successful day on the river.
West 40
100 Highway 16 Oacoma, SD - 734-6929
childhood represented my dad, somehow the pragmatic use of old frying pans in general is now associated with her. I’m not ready to replace my old frying pan just yet. You know what I mean? Jill Pertler is a syndicated columnist and author of “The DoIt-Yourselfer’s Guide to Self-Syndication.” Email her at pertmn@ qwest.net; Follow Slices on Facebook, or check out her website at http://marketing-by-design.home.mchsi.com/.
Kevin Swenson James Swenson
Swenson Bros. Marine 303 E. Glen, Chamberlain ◊ 734-5353 www.swensonbrosmarine.com
Stock Your Cooler and Boat
• Bait • Tackle • Camping supplies •Licenses • • Sandwiches • Snacks • Ice • Pop • ATM • • Cold Beer • Gas • Lotto machines •
North Park C Store Open Every Day at 6 a.m
700 N. Main-Chamberlain-(605) 234-6421
Chamberlain/Oacoma Area Recreation Guide • Page 10
See &Do Mark your calendar for a few of the more notable events and attractions in the Chamberlain/Oacoma area this spring and summer.
River City Racin’
In its fourth year, the Pepsi Racing Power Cup Challenge presented by River City Racin’ is the Missouri River’s most exciting hydroplane boat racing event and what fans like to call “NASCAR on the water.” Here, boat pilots battle for points, purse money and pride. But they’re not racing just anything – these are hydroplanes, some of the fastest and most exciting boats on the water. The powerful boats at River City Racin’ are hydroplanes, which are propelled by ‘hydroplaning’ on the water’s surface. During the race, boat pilots push their racing boats to the extreme by controlling the amount of air funneling under the boat to get it to “lift” out of the water, reducing friction and increasing speed. This process forces the boat to “fly” above the water on a cushion of air – a controlled hydroplane. If boats don’t get enough
ABOVE, Top: Hydroplane racers come in to the pit area following one of the heat races. The now annual races are scheduled for June 17-19 in Chamberlain/Oacoma. Bottom: Drivers are a friendly bunch and take time to meet with their fans, like 2009 race winner Kayleigh Perkins. Sun Files/Jessica Giard LEFT: The annual Rock the Bluffs fireworks display over the Missouri River is a treat to watch by land or on the water on the Fourth of July. Sun File/Holly Endres
air, it can create drag, which slows the boat; if they get too much, the air can pick up the boat like a kite, causing it to flip in the air. Race attendees can also enjoy a variety of entertainment throughout the day, including the Laker’s Car Club Mighty Mo Car Show, Sanford Children’s Play Zone and live main stage entertainment.
Chamberlain/Oacoma Area Recreation Guide • Page 11
Join the fun on June 17,18 and 19 in ChamberlainOacoma at the American Creek Park & Campground. For more information on the events, visit the website www.rivercityracin.org or call (605) 234-BOAT
Rock the Bluffs - 4th of July Celebration
On tap again this year, the Chamberlain/Oacoma Chamber of Commerce is planning for their annual “Rock the Bluffs� fireworks display to celebrate the Fourth of July holiday. The show, which is scheduled to begin at 10:20 pm on July 4, featuring a unique display presented by Premier Pyrotechnics of Yankton. April Reis, chamber director, said this year’s show will be the biggest display yet. Radio station KPLO 94.5 FM will broadcast patriotic music during the show as in previous years. Reis said the display is a huge attraction for the community, drawing in hundreds of people for camping, fishing, and fireworks. “The town can double in size with all the people who come in to town,� said Reis. In order to attract those visitors, and their dollars,
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Centrally located in South Dakota near Reliance - Exit 248 Only a couple miles south of I-90. www.thunderridgemx.net
2011 Race Schedule
• Saturday, May 14 - NMA Ponca City Qualifier • Sunday, May 15 - NMA Ponca City Qualifier • Saturday, July 2 - Open Practice • Sunday, July 3 - Interstate Motocross Challenge Series Round 2 • Saturday, August 20 - Open Practice • Sunday, August 21 - Interstate Motocross Challenge Series Round 3 Race Days: Gates open at 6 am, Practice 8:30 am and Races 10 am Open Practice Days: Gates open at 8 am, Practice from 10 am to 4 pm
Plenty of pit areas - Campers welcome - Full Concessions - Electrical Hookups Thunder Ridge MX is sponsored by:
Hieb’s Cenex Curt’s Cycle Center
Chamberlain/Oacoma Area Recreation Guide • Page 12
Reis said the Chamber spends a total of about $16,000 to advertise, purchase the fireworks, and assemble the program. While some of the money comes from donations from the City of Chamberlain and Town of Oacoma, Reis said private donations also play a big role in supporting the show.
Golfing
The Chamberlain Country Club, located at 33848 Golf Course Rd (one miles west on Highway 16 from Oacoma I-90 exit 260) in Oacoma, offers you 9 holes of pure fun. With golf cart and club rentals, you don’t have to worry if yours are at home. The 9-hole course features 2,942 yards of golf from the longest tees for a par of 36. The course rating is 35.0 and it has a slope rating of 118. Chamberlain golf course opened in 1952. Carol Powers manages the course as the general manager. The club is open seven days a week from 7 am to dark, and offers a pro shop, restaurant, cocktails, golf clubs and cart rentals, driving range and putting green Stop into the new clubhouse after the game for a drink and some dinner. The schedule a tee time or for more information, call (605) 734-4451.
Attractions SD Hall of Fame
From journalists to ranchers, doctors to teachers, the South Dakota Hall of Fame in Chamberlain serves to honor their efforts to better South Dakota. Located at exit 263 right off Interstate 90, the Hall of Fame is free and open to the public for viewing and learning about notable South Dakotans. In 1974, the Hall of Fame was established to recognize outstanding leaders of the state. Fifteen years ago, the South Dakota state legislature designated the South Dakota Hall of Fame as the official Hall of Fame for South Dakota. Each fall, the hall inducts 15 new members for their contributions to the state. From Memorial Day thorugh Labor Day, hours are 10 am to 5 pm Monday through Friday, 10 am to 4pm on Saturday and 1 pm to 4 pm Sunday. During the winter, the hall is open
Monday through Friday, 10 am to 5 pm. For more information, visit the website www. sdhalloffame.com or call (605) 734-4216.
Akta Lakota Museum
Located in the heart of Lakota country and on the banks of the Missouri River, this is one of the more culturally rich places to visit in the Midwest. The Akta Lakota Museum & Cultural Center (Akta Lakota means to honor the people) is an educational outreach, which strives to preserve and promote Lakota (Sioux) culture of St. Joseph’s Indian School. The museum is located on the campus of St. Joseph’s Indian School in Chamberlain, on the north side of town. Drive north on Chamberlain’s Main Street, two miles north of exit 263, to the campus. Once on campus, follow the signs into campus and turn left at the four-way stop. Admission is free. Summer hours May - October (Holidays included) are Monday through Saturday, 8 am to 6 pm and Sunday 9 am to 5 pm. The Akta Lakota Museum is the only Native American cultural center of its kind. The facility is more than a traditional museum; it is an experience that provides visitors with a living lesson on the Native American way of life. To learn more, visit the museum’s website at www.aktalakota.org or call (605) 234-3452.
Chamberlain/Oacoma’s annual 5k/10k and Triathlon Weekend
Runners looking to enjoy a bit of friendly competition can take on the 18th annual Race on the River Saturday, July 2. In August, the Chamberlain/Oacoma Fitness Council will also host the annual triathlon weekend on August 20-21. Saturday, Aug. 20 is reserved for the youth triathlon while Sunday, Aug. 21 is the annual sprint triathlon. For more information and registration, email the council at ChamberlainOacomaFitness@ gmail.com. Find the group on
Chamberlain/Oacoma Area Recreation Guide • Page 13
Facebook at www.facebook.com/COFitnessCouncil for ongoing information. The 5K/10K walk/run starts on the campus of St. Joseph’s Indian School and heads into town along Lake Francis Case. The sprint triathlon at American Creek Campground features a quarter-mile swim in Lake Francis Case, a 12-14 mile bike portion north from Chamberlain and 5K run through Chamberlain. The youth triathlon events accommodate youth from under five years old through 16 years with varying lengths appropriate for each age group. Chamberlain/Oacoma’s youth triathlon is just one of two held in South Dakota.
Gear up toward fishing Ice, Bait, Tackle & Everything that goes with it.
Bottle Shop (605) 734 - 6274
Open 6am - 12am everyday 100 N. Courtland Chamberlain, SD 57325
New Name * New Look Same Great Service
• Sandwiches • Pop • Snacks • Beer • Wine • Fishing Licenses • Bait • Tackle • Ice
201 West King Ave.~ Chamberlain
(605) 234-6811
Chamberlain-Oacoma
Chamberlain/Oacoma Area Recreation Guide • Page 14
A meeting place on the river
By Paul Higbee - South Dakota Magazine, March/April 2011 issue. Published with permission.
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hirtysome years ago I drove across South Dakota on an autumn evening. Baseball season was over but the AM radio airwaves crackled with news about New York Yankees manager Billy Martin. He had been involved in an ugly incident or offended The Chamberlain/Oacoma bridge on Highway 16 crosses the Missouri River just a couple blocks from someone with downtown Chamberlain, shown here in the lower right. This photo was taken in July 2010 during the a remark, and rehabilitation project of the 55-year old structure. In spring/summer 2011, the bridge trusses are being rumors swirled painted with an expected completion by August 1, 2011. Jessica Giard/Sun that Yankees owner George encounter Martin at Al’s Oasis. South Dakotans Steinbrenner was about to give him the axe — have grown accustomed to running into most again. anyone there. Know how to tell the difference I spent that night in a Chamberlain motel, heard between a South Dakotan and, say, an Iowan or Martin discussed some more on an early morning Californian at Al’s? Watch the eyes. Upon entering TV show, then drove a couple miles across the the big dining area a South Dakotan will be scanning Missouri River to Oacoma for breakfast at Al’s the room for acquaintances. Oasis. Sitting a couple tables away was none other If ever there was a state crossroads, Al’s is it, than Billy Martin, no worse for wear despite the and by extension so are all of Chamberlain and public beating he was taking. He laughed with some Oacoma. No South Dakotan needs to be reminded pals, all of them dressed for hunting. I took Martin’s where these twin communities lie. Perhaps no example to heart: if the manager of the New York other spot on I-90’s 412 mile stretch across the state Yankees could escape job pressures and grant grabs your attention quite like this one, where the himself a respite on the prairies and river bluffs of highway drops into the Missouri River valley. Half a central South Dakota now and then, so should I. century ago reclamation widened the river here to Oddly enough I wasn’t that surprised to form Lake Francis Case. Chamberlain, home to St.
Chamberlain/Oacoma Area Recreation Guide • Page 15
Joseph’s Indian School and the South Dakota Hall of Fame, sits on the east bank. Oacoma on the west side is smaller, yet holds its own with Cedar Shore Resort and the iconic Al’s Oasis, established in the 1950s when Al Mueller moved his family’s 30 yearold Oacoma grocery business toward the highway. Hunting and fishing trips beyond count have been planned and later critiqued at Al’s. Boat trailers, as well as pickups transporting hunters, display license plates from across South Dakota and surrounding states. But unlike visitors, many of Chamberlain and Oacoma’s own people see river country recreation as much more than an occasional adventure. It’s central to a local lifestyle that makes leaving hard to imagine. “I’m a river person,” says Richard Kirkpatrick, who’s also a National Guard recruiter living in Oacoma and working in Chamberlain. Over the years he and his wife Tina, and their three children, have hit the river in the family’s boat for water skiing or just escaping summer’s heat. They’ve fished for walleye and catfish, Kirkpatrick says, “or anything that bites. I like shore fishing, too, just sitting and enjoying the day. There’s always wildlife along the river to watch if you’re not catching fish.” The community seems to never stop thinking up new ways to put its impressive stretch of water to recreational use. Kirkpatrick serves on the board for River City Racin’, an annual hydroplane race that is part of the Pepsi Racing Power Cup Challenge tour. In 2011 races are scheduled June 17 -19. On the other end of the calendar and spectrum, the
Chamberlain-Oacoma Chamber of Commerce launched an ice fishing tournament in 2010. The river even impacts how outdoors enthusiasts, including Kirkpatrick, think about hunting game. “I prefer hunting the bluffs instead of the flat country you mostly see in South Dakota,” he says. “On the plains you can stay in one spot and watch whether the game is coming your way. But in the bluffs you have to keep moving. You pop over the next hill and you don’t know what you’ll see.” Archeologists tell us these bluffs were well populated long before recorded history. For centuries native people clustered along the river for sustenance, a trade route, and for winter shelter in the deep ravines. This spot captured the outside world’s attention after Lewis and Clark and their Corps of Discovery made camp along the river just below the future Oacoma town site. They arrived in mid-September 1804, and named the place Camp Pleasant. No one who has seen autumn colors transforming the bluffs in September has to wonder about the camp’s name. Of course volumes have been written about the Lewis and Clark expedition. Yet for Americans with just a casual interest in that history, a visit to Chamberlain’s I-90 rest stop might prove as valuable as one of those books. If someone ever ranks highway rest stops across the nation, the one at mile marker 264 — serving both east and west bound traffic — may take top prize. It offers museum quality displays interpreting Lewis and Clark, and sits atop a bluff with a stunning view of the river and
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Chamberlain/Oacoma Area Recreation Guide • Page 16
the Camp Pleasant area on the other side. The waters saw ever-growing steamboat traffic as the 19th century unfolded and in 1880, only 76 years after Lewis and Clark explored and hunted these bluffs, the first Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul locomotive thundered to the Chamberlain town site from the east. The railroad’s arrival spelled the end for Brule City, something of a precursor to Chamberlain located on the river five miles south. Another 26 years passed before the rails were extended from Chamberlain across the water. In the 1880s there was some belief that no permanent trestle spanning this section of the Missouri could withstand the river’s raging floods. That decade a ferry ride from Chamberlain over the river landed travelers at the start of a wagon road winding 200 miles to the Black Hills. During the same period cowboys drove cattle from western ranges to a spot close to where Oacoma now sits. From there cattle boats carried livestock to the Chamberlain railhead. East River and West River were linked here in 1893 by a pontoon bridge, open to walkers for a two cent fee and to wagons for a quarter. At that time Chamberlain was home to a government boarding school for native children. Later college students rode the rails to Chamberlain to enroll at Columbus College, a Catholic institution for men that opened in 1910. When the college closed, the campus became St. Joseph’s Indian School in 1927, largely through the efforts of a German-born priest, Father Henry Hogebach. Today, thanks to the commitment of the Priests
of the Sacred Heart and donations from around the world, native students can live and study in Chamberlain at no cost to their families. Most are from South Dakota but a few other states are represented, too. The school currently serves about 200 students. Grade schoolers attend classes on campus while older students are enrolled at Chamberlain High School. The pretty school grounds are a major visitor destination and site of the excellent Akta Lakota Museum and Cultural Center. Visitors are also directed to the Our Lady of the Sioux Chapel where Oscar Howe’s powerful Indian Christ tapestry hangs. Another stop for visitors on the river’s east side, immediately adjacent to the interstate, is the state’s Hall of Fame. South Dakotans who made national or international names for themselves in politics, sports, entertainment, journalism, and other fields are honored there, as would be expected. So are men and women whose fame never extended much beyond their hometowns, yet whose lifetime work permanently enhanced those communities and improved the lives of future generations. There’s something wonderfully South Dakotan about this Hall: an acknowledgement that greatness can take you far away or keep you close and devoted to home. The Hall of Fame organization began inducting members, now numbering 667, in 1974. The 10,000 square foot building opened in 2000. The Hall doubles as comfortable meeting space for small groups, while across the river in Oacoma the Cedar Shore Resort regularly draws conferences of 1,000 or so. Built on the river, the quiet and comfortable resort opened in 1995. Everyone knew it would prove itself as a destination for boaters, fishermen, and hunters. What’s more, it gained popularity as a centrally located place to rendezvous for meetings
Chamberlain/Oacoma Area Recreation Guide • Page 17
and conventions. Less than 10 years after Cedar Shore Resort opened, a 9,000 square foot addition, the Bridges Conference Center, debuted. Modern visitors and residents zip between Chamberlain and Oacoma in a couple minutes via the four-lane, 1970s era interstate highway bridge. No one today remembers the pontoon bridge or the excitement when the first train crossed the river here in August 1906. Only a handful of South Dakotans recall the grand dedication ceremony that opened state engineer John Kirkham’s beautiful iron highway bridge connecting Chamberlain to the west in September 1925. Certainly no one present that day could have predicted the river’s change, 30 years later, that would render the bridge obsolete unless South Dakotans came up with a creative solution. The federal Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program altered the river with a series of dams that controlled flooding and generated electricity. After Fort Randall Dam was completed in 1956, Chamberlain and Oacoma had vast Lake Francis Case in their backyards. Kirkham’s Chamberlain bridge was lengthened for the wider span by connecting it to another of Kirkham’s bridges. His Missouri River bridge at Wheeler, 70 miles south, was barged in pieces to Chamberlain. Tony Molseed, a state civil engineer, worked on the project knowing calculations for reassembling the Wheeler bridge, and attaching it to the Chamberlain bridge’s west end, had to be precise. “They had a margin of error of about one foot they could work within,” says Tim Molseed, Tony’s
son. Otherwise they’d have a real problem. As it turned out, their calculations were accurate to within two inches. The double-span bridge stands as a distinct piece of South Dakota architecture, beloved by photographers, and placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001. While power generation, a tamed torrent, and great recreational boating and fishing were touted as gains after the river’s change, there were negative consequences as well. Rising waters submerged fertile bottom lands, including much of the very best ag land on South Dakota’s riverside reservations. Chamberlain and Oacoma lost American Island, synonymous with local outdoor recreation the first half of the 20th century. American Island was 1,000 acres in the middle of the Missouri, with shores beautifully back-sloped by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s, and amenities that included swimming, golf, live entertainment, Boy Scout adventuring, and even horse racing. More than half a century has passed since the island sank beneath the waters to live on only in stories, like a local Atlantis. Not that you actually hear a lot of American Island lamentations. Unique as the island may have been, there was plenty of space to develop new venues for recreation, especially for kids. Being able to raise his children in this environment is something Richard Kirkpatrick appreciates most about Chamberlain and Oacoma. “There are so many opportunities for kids,” he says, “Like other small towns, there’s room for everyone who wants to play school sports. And then summer comes and they’re on the water, skiing, fishing, or just jumping in.”
Chamberlain/Oacoma Area Recreation Guide • Page 18
Searching for (not-so-secret) treasure By Chris Mosel, Amateur Geocacher
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here is treasure in those hills, and the best part is this, someone tells you exactly where it is. No, I’m not talking about pirate treasure, or some lost City of Gold, most of the time it is an old military ammo box. There is no map, either. That would be cheating in this case. All you need is a GPS, or a smart phone with GPS on it if you are so inclined, a good pair of walking shoes or hiking boots, and a set of coordinates and then you are ready for the sport of Geocaching. Geocaching has been around in its present form since 2000. I myself have been aware of it since 2006. My son and I have been a team for the last two years. We have an old GPS that we borrowed from my father. He used it for marking fishing spots, since then he has gotten a newer one and my son and I have dedicated this old model for our geocaching. My son’s first find was the cache located at Roam Free Park. It’s a relatively easy cache and perfect for a young boy’s first time out. The hider has placed a disposable camera in the cache for finders to their
own picture with the river as the background. They have an album of previous seekers placed in there as well. At some point there will be a picture of a very excited 7 year old boy giving a thumbs-up in that album. He is constantly asking when we can go out again, I tell him, “in the Spring.” It’s a four season hobby for some, not for this seeker. I don’t own snowshoes. It’s a good enough workout with just the hiking part. Geocaching is, at its core, a very simple hobby. It is a akin to a technological hide-andseek. An individual places a geocache, a water-tight container of some sort. Most people use military ammo boxes, but they can be anything from Tupperware to coffee cans. Some hiders have a mean streak and use 35mm film canisters wrapped in camo-tape. After the cache is hidden, the person or persons who hid it log on to an official geocache site and
Chamberlain/Oacoma Area Recreation Guide • Page 19
post the coordinates of where the cache is located. Now anyone in-the-know can eocaching (pronounced geo-cashing) is a download the coordinates and go find the worldwide game of hiding and seeking treasure. A cache on their own. geocacher can place a geocache in the world, pinpoint Sounds easy right? Well here is the fun its location using GPS technology and then share the part, most GPS devices have an accuracy of geocache’s existence and location online. Anyone with within 20 feet or so, mine does at least. So a GPS device can then try to locate the geocache. that leaves you with a 20 foot wide circle you For a list of geocaches hidden in the Chamberlain still have to search through. It won’t be an area, visit www.geocaching.com. Use the zip code open field with a big green box in the middle 57325 of it. It IS hide-and-seek after all. Tucked under cedars, shoved under deadfall, up in The Origins of Geocaching the branches of a twisted cottonwood, they Geocaching, first coined by Matt Stum on the are hidden in about every way imaginable. “GPS Stash Hunt” mailing list on May 30, 2000, was But don’t worry, you can find them, that is the joining of two familiar words. The prefix geo, for the point of it all. Earth, was used to describe the global nature of the Once you find your cache it’s like opening activity, but also for its use in familiar topics in gps a present. Geocaches are full of items left such as geography. by other seekers. The main item, required Caching has two different meanings, which makes for official caches, is a log book. This is it very appropriate for the activity. A French word normally a small notebook with an attached invented in 1797, the original definition referred to a pencil. When you find a cache, you note in hiding place someone would use to temporarily store the log book who you are, when you found it items. The word cache stirs up visions of pioneers, and whether or not you left anything inside. gold miners and even pirates. That’s the treasure part. The second use of cache has more recently been People come from all over the world used in technology. Memory cache is computer to look for these boxes. You never know storage that is used to quickly retrieve frequently used what you will find inside. The whole point information. is to share something with the next person. The combination of Earth, hiding and technology Plastic army men, erasers, magnets, business made geocaching an excellent term for the activity. cards, toy cars, PEZ dispensers, people have However the “GPS Stash Hunt” was the original and left about anything. If you decide to take most widely used term until Mike Teague passed the something from a cache, you must leave torch to Jeremy Irish in September 2000. something of equal or greater value in its place. Source: http://www.geocaching.com/ Aside from little trinkets, there are official items that can be purchased from Geocaching groups. These items, called has gone unnoticed. Yet in just the 30 mile radius of Travel Bugs, have tracking numbers on them and Chamberlain there are 30 registered caches, with a goal set by the person who “released” them. For over 5000 in the state of South Dakota. example, “I want my Travel Bug to visit Seattle and We are currently planning a family trip to then come back.” People who find these bugs and southern Colorado. Once we find our route, my son that can help reach the goal move the bug to a new and I will be making note of any caches along the cache. The bug’s location is then to be updated on way. the participating website. Geocaching adds another layer of family fun to Moving someone’s bug is a fun and exciting way a driving vacation as well. You get built in stops, to participate in the grand scheme of the game. You perfect for a long ride with young children. My can follow the progress of thousands of bugs online son can’t wait for our trip to Colorado, and frankly, as they move from cache to cache. neither can I. For most people, this family-appropriate pastime
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Church Directory Chamberlain/Oacoma
Calvary Baptist Church -Pastor Duane Earwood; 301 Eagle Ave. Chamberlain, SD; Sunday - 11 am and 6 pm Central Plains Evangelical Free Church - Pastor Calvin Kroeker; 734-4064; Worship Service 10:30 AM; Oacoma Community Center Christ Episcopal Church - Rev. Liz Powers; 207 S. Main, Chamberlain; PH: 234-6327; Services: 9 am Sundays Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints - 104 S. Byron Blvd; PH: 734-9964 Jehovah’s Witness Kingdom Hall - 822 S. Main, Chamberlain; PH: 734-6161; Thurs. Service Meeting: 8:30 pm River Hills Fellowship - Pastor Paul Day 1001 Sorensen Dr.; PH: 234-5604; Services: 10:30 am Sunday St. James Catholic - 400 S. Main; PH: 734-6122; Saturday Mass: 5:30 pm; Sunday Mass: 10 am
Index of Advertisers Akta Lakota Museum............................................11 Allen’s South Dakota Fishing/Hunting Guide Service ..............................................................................5 AmericInn...............................................back cover Bottle Shop...........................................................19 Cedar Shore........................................... inside cover Chamberlain Food Center....................... inside back Chamberlain/Oacoma Sun....................................20 Cruzer’s Pit Stop...................................................13 Howard Johnsons....................................back cover Michelle’s Marina.................................. inside cover Midwest Supply......................................................5 North Park C’ Store.................................................9 Oasis Pump N’ Pak.................................................5 Silver Dollar Bar...................................................13 South Dakota Magazine........................................15 Super 8, Chamberlain..............................back cover Swenson Bros Marine.............................................9 Thunder Ridge MX...............................................11 West 40..................................................................9
Trinity Lutheran Church - Pastor Duane Neugebauer; PH: 2346698; Services: 5:30 pm Saturday; 9:30 am Sunday United Church of Christ - 101 N. Merrill, PH: 234-5202; Services: 10:30 am Sunday Water of Life Assembly of God - Pastor Reggie Ballard; 202 E. Clemmer Ave.; Sunday Services: 10 am Worship Zion Lutheran Church - Pastor Mark Mischnick; 314 S. Main; PH: 234-9466 (ZION); Saturday 7 pm, Sunday 9:00 am
Pukwana Area
Pukwana Free Lutheran Church - Services: 10:45 am Sunday St. Anthony’s Catholic Church - Mass: 8 am Sundays St. Olaf Free Lutheran Church - At Ola, South of Pukwana; Services: 9 am Sunday
Kimball
Kimball Protestant Parish - Rev. Lou Whitmer; H:778-6410; Services: 10 am Sunday St. Margaret’s Catholic Church - Father Andrew Swietowchowski; Kimball SD; Saturdays (odd months) 6 pm and Sundays 10:30 am
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100 Paul gust road Chamberlain, SD open daily 7am to 9pm Phone: 605-234-5559
Deli
Chester’s Chicken served daily. The deli also has boxed lunches made to order for the boat!
Wine and Beer
Large variety cold beer and wine selection to fill your cooler. Nobody offers you a lower price. Don’t forget the ice!
Fresh Meat
Full service meat department! We offer the ONLY fresh meat counter in town and cut to order.
Catering
Let us help with your family reunions and summer picnics. We will travel and design a custom menu to meet your needs.