Mayoral Likes A Town-To-Town Travel Guide South Dakota Magazine writers embarked on an all-out effort to find one thing in each community that might surprise or entertain readers. Who better to ask than the mayors? Maybe it was a mistake asking the mayors of South Dakota’s 311 towns and cities to give us a travel tip for their town. All we wanted was a little-known eatery with amazing burgers, or perhaps a historic site once visited by George Custer or Lawrence Welk. Even a quaint hiking path or an ancient tree. We weren’t asking for much. But you’d have thought we were from the EPA. Some mayors avoided us. Others stone-walled, and a few dazzled us with sweet nothings. A few ignored us. This was the most challenging project we’ve done in years. Remember, all we wanted was one thing that would surprise us from each town. Several mayors boasted about their curb and gutter. A few mentioned their new sewer systems. At the opposite end of the spectrum, the Hot Springs mayor cited his hot springs and the Wall mayor chose Wall Drug; even our most far-flung readers know
24
about the chocolate doughnuts and five cent coffee at the international headquarters of the jackalope. Just east of Wall, Mayor J.C. Heath of Cottonwood made it clear that he would prefer no one stopped there. But stay on the dirt streets and off private property if you do drive through. Cottonwood looks like a ghost town from Highway 14, thanks to the hulking silhouettes of a bank and a church that were built a century ago. But a dozen people still live there and let’s face it — nobody likes snoopers, whether you live in Deadwood or Cottonwood. Diane Redinger, the mayor of Fruitdale (east of Belle Fourche), was also apparently not elected on a slogan of boosting tourism. “Fruitdale is a wonderful place but there’s nothing to see here,” she insisted. However, did you know that the town got its name from the fruit trees planted in the valley by pioneers? Geddes Mayor Dan Schulte’s travel tip was to “drive damn careful because we’re busy out here.” He and his fellow citizens will come to your assistance if you have a calamity
SOUTH DAKOTA MUNICIPALITIES
