Digging Deep in Doland A small town is working on big things through the generosity of its residents By Wendy Royston Photos By Heidi Marttila-Losure In Doland, SD, help is just around the corner. “People like to help people here,” said Bonnie Wagner, a Doland High School graduate who now runs an insurance business in town, as she reminisced about a recent “harvest bee” in which local farmers helped one of their own, who had been stricken ill. “If somebody needs help … we are gung-ho. It’s crazy how much is raised in one night at a benefit.”
Whether it’s in reaction to an illness or tragedy, or proactive support of school or city projects, people in Doland put their money where their hearts are. “You see it over and over and over again,” said Gillette. “It’s been a great five years in the ag economy, but even when belts are tight, when there’s a need, people will step up. ... If you have more, you can give more, but that’s not the point. … Everybody has something to give.” That spirit of giving is not surprising in a community where friends and neighbors and business associates and— yes, even family—are the same people.
Margot Gillette, who was born and raised in nearby Redfield, SD, but now works at the Beadle-Spink Enterprise Community (BASEC) office in Doland, agreed.
“The farmers and homeowners are wonderful people,” said Wagner. “I don’t call them my customers. I call them my friends, because they are.”
“It’s really, really nice to watch when they all come together for whatever project is going on,” she said.
Like many towns in northeastern South Dakota, “small” has been a way of life for generations.
In 2012, the community of just over 200 raised more than $65,000 in a matter of a few days to refurbish the gym floor at its 103-year-old school when residents heard they might lose home games otherwise.
“Doland has never had more than 500 people in it,” Gillette said. “It’s not like it started out as a town of 5,000 and it is now 200. ... It never was that much bigger than around that 500 mark.”
“There are a tremendous amount of people who live in this area who are committed to this community, and there are a lot of people who are from here, but no longer live here who are committed to this community, and it’s really nice to see them to come together for whatever project is going on,” Gillette said.
The community has proved repeatedly that it is small but mighty, according to residents there. At a recent spaghetti feed, more than $20,000 was raised in just three hours to support a new, municipally-owned day care facility.
Doland school board members Dwight Lyren and Julie Schneider stand on the new gymnasium floor that was replaced with money raised in just a few days when the community was made aware of the need. 32
“My original thought was to make enough money on the fundraiser to build a basement,” Doland Mayor Craig Schroeder said. “And we did.”
Bonnie Wagner enjoys living and working in the town where she grew up. SOUTH DAKOTA MUNICIPALITIES
