(upbeat music) - [Narrator] This is a production of South Dakota Public Broadcasting.

(bright music) (bright playful music) - [Larry] Welcome to "Dakota Life: Detours."

For 25 years, the "Dakota Life" team has brought you stories from every corner of the state.

Today, we're at the W.H.

Over Museum in Vermillion.

It's the oldest museum in South Dakota, and it's an archive of regional history.

We're gonna take you into the "Dakota Life" archive as well, and revisit some features from this past season.

Some you've seen on television, others we've shared on our digital platforms.

like the W.H.

Over Museum, SDPB has its sights set on showcasing our unique history and our culture, especially from rural communities.

So, let's get started.

We're gonna travel 45 miles west of Pierre and, even then, 25 miles from the nearest town.

There, there's a baseball field rising out of the short grass.

There are eight towering lights shining alongside the farm and ranch homesteads, and they capture the imagination of generation after generation of players and fans.

(bell clanging) - [Don] Every time the preacher preached too long, or, you know, getting Sunday school done and getting our potluck dinner, they better get it done in a hurry because if it was a home game, my folks and quite other people, we were out of there.

- [Byron] The religion is something that they shared in.

It wasn't church, but it was something they could celebrate.

It was something that they could visit with their neighbors.

It was something that they could just experience together and not be at home.

- [Broadcaster] Nothing is more American, of course, than baseball.

The great American game that brings young and old together to share the enthusiasm.

- Yes, we're very rural but the only show in town was the baseball team.

You know, there's no municipality, that's for sure.

So it was accessible at a shorter distance for those people, and that's where they met family, friends and celebrated in baseball.

No different than they'd celebrated at a church.

- Well, I think back then for sure, there wasn't a lot of other things to do.

- Tommy, come on, supper's ready.

- Gee, Ma, we wanna finish the game.

- [Larry] Every little community was playing amateur baseball.

I mean they had their spikes, and their baseball gloves, and wool uniforms, and they got together.

It was more of a social picnic activity 'cause the ball diamonds were pretty rough.

Those communities were just suffering and getting smaller as land was being purchased and people were getting old and it was just the transition.

There had been some land that had been donated at haste, and it was donated for the idea of building a baseball diamond and playing baseball there.

And at the same time, at the corners which is the corner of 34, 14 and 63, the highways, there was 10 acres that was also donated.

Like, "If you guys wanna play baseball, here we've got some dirt for ya."

They'd had three meetings and it always ended at a stalemate because they had pros and cons of both locations.

And I guess the story is, is that my grandpa, Percy, stood up at the meeting and said, "If you put it over here, my boys will take care of it."

And supposedly the gavel dropped, and that's why it's where it's at.

They incorporated Four Corners Lighted Field Association.

They actually sold certificates of ownership.

Obviously they knew there was gonna be no return, but it was the way that the people invested in this project, that again, is a gift.

The poles came from Ohio, and Wisconsin, and they were already in the dirt once, and they had 'em shipped on the rail.

They got 'em from Midland which is 20 miles south of the Ball Diamond.

They dollied them up, put axles underneath them individually, and there's 10 of them.

So not only to get 'em from point A to point B, how'd you find them?

- [Broadcaster] Electricity works day and night around the clock doing all kinds of jobs.

Nobody would choose to be without it.

- [Larry] They propositioned West Central Electric for a bulk rate, cuz they knew that we're gonna turn on, the lights we don't need the county to be in a brownout.

(whimsical suspense music) Did their math, came up with a bulk rate based on what they anticipated.

These lights would draw, and the farmers and ranchers did the math, and they put in five meters which was cheaper than the bulk rate would have been.

They put meters on half the poles.

It's fascinating to me that they could have the intestinal fortitude to search these things and then find them and acquire them.

I just think it would be an overwhelming task.

And they did it.

(tractor rumbling) - [Jim] I look forward to every Sunday playing baseball, and then when the Lighted Fields came in, that was something different.

It was something to have a Lighted Field put in in the middle of, might say nowhere.

It developed into quite an attraction for this whole area.

We liked it, I don't know, added a little bit of sparks to the game, you know?

(thunder rumbling) It was a little tougher playing under the lights when you first played under 'em.

I mean, especially a long fly ball or something like that, you know, it was different judgment, you know, you might say.

Like in the infield, when I played third base, I picked up, you know, a little bit quicker at night seemed like than I did, you know, in that broad daylight.

It made you think that you could have been playing under the big wings.

- [Broadcaster] Today, more than one third of the Major League games throughout the country are played at night under lights accounting for almost 40% of the more than 20 million tickets sold each year.

- [Jim] Just like something you dreamed about.

And then here you are out there playing.

But I like playing on those lights.

I did, I really did.

- [Team] Call time!

- [Don] I tell you what, with my folks, we'd be there early in the game.

My mother, I think she even made a picnic lunch so we could eat and get a good sparking spot to watch it.

To see four corners with that many cars around it and everywhere, the camaraderie of that thing was because of the people that were in it.

- [Byron] Roy Norman is the motivation behind the Ball Diamond in its essence.

The philosophy of how it got started was, "Just don't play baseball to play baseball.

You better be good."

We're not just gonna build a ballpark, we're not gonna play baseball, we're gonna be competitive.

And then there's a lifetime of stories on the angles and different things that they took in order to be competitive.

- [Jim] He would put an article and Wanted farm worker, preferable either a baseball pitcher or a catcher.

We wanted a winner, whatever it took to get one, you know?

I know a couple times he had pitchers as far away maybe it's Texas.

If they was a good ball player, they got hired.

(laughs) (gentle inspirational music) - [Larry] If you've ever seen old pictures, black and white pictures, these men are wearing a white T-shirt, baggy blue jeans and they are solid steel.

There isn't any fat on 'em.

They ate beef, they ate potatoes, and they had pie for dessert, and then they went and worked it off.

So the opportunity, what I'm assuming for them to play is probably pretty important to 'em just to get away from work.

Cuz work, I'm assuming, was brutal.

I'm indebted to 'em for everything that I've ever experienced over there cuz they committed to something that was a high risk at that time.

They're just starting, and the guys that are still around that are part of it, and the guys that are gone, they're all a part of it.

Whether they're here or not, they got it started for the next generation, the next generation.

And I think what we share is the want or need to play.

And I'm glad that that's a thing cuz otherwise I don't think it'd be here.

- [Jim] I think about the days when I used to play catch and play third base, and it brings back a lot of good memories, a lot of good memories.

But now, just been looking for somebody to play with, you know, so I might have to call on you.

(Jim chuckling) (gentle music) - [Larry] The exhibits here at the W.H.

Over Museum document our history and how we've shaped the land.

The stories of "Dakota Life" are the stories of family, tradition, and hard work.

Our next story captures all three.

For over 50 years, the winner, Elks Rodeo, has benefited the nonprofit organization, LifeScape, and the Hollenbeck Rodeo Company is especially proud that they've been involved from the very beginning.

(upbeat music) - Friday night winners, South Dakota, are you ready for rodeos?

(upbeat music) - Which it's kinda been always been in the family.

- [Announcer] I can tell it's gonna be a good night tonight.

53rd annual winner rodeo.

- [Squeek] I rodeoed before we got totally into it.

People got more wanting us to put something together for a little deal here, little deal there, and little deal was all turned into big one.

- [Maureen] Well, we usually provide stock for around 20 rodeos throughout the summer.

But the rodeo here in winter has a lot of meaning to us.

At the end of the day, we feel good that we have done something for someone else.

- [Announcer] Here we go buddy.

Here, Jake Pase.

(bell ringing) Oh, yikes, Aw!

Man, I felt the earth shake.

(gentle music) - This event is one of the longest in our estate supporting children with special needs and at LifeScape, we're grateful that the winner community, the businesses, the people surrounding, all the folks that love Rodeo are willing to embrace those kids and provide the care that they need right here in our state.

- It's important to me and my family because my father and my father-in-law were founders.

We also had family members that were afflicted with polio.

And so we understood the need that the traveling classrooms, and to get diagnosed and what that meant to families to receive extra help through donations, and whatever we could do to raise funds.

- [Jessica] We had a bus that came to the community, and at the Elks Lodge brought therapists with them so that children didn't have to travel to Sioux Falls or to Rapid City to receive those therapies.

They could receive 'em right here in their community.

And that rodeo helps support that even 53 years later gets to support kids in their own community so that that physical occupational speech therapy, behavior therapy can come right to those kids in their houses, their schools, their daycares.

- Our whole family's always been involved including cousins and other distant relatives.

And so, it's kind of been the way we have kept our family close and in contact.

- I've always been involved with livestock.

I grew up on a ranch.

I married a rodeo, so that was new to me when we got married.

I helped sort the horses and put on flanks on the horses and bulls and help water stuff and just whatever needs to be done.

- I help with behind the scenes, and then I help with the horses and the bulls.

And like every weekend before we go to rodeo, we have to get everything in and sort, and so we're always busy sorting, and then we go up to my grandparents and sort the bulls and get cows in and sort the calves off, and then we have to load the trucks, and then we have to come home and get our own stuff ready, and it's pretty busy weekend.

(gentle sanguine music) - [Broadcaster] Now ladies and gentlemen, we would like to give a big thank you to Gary Christensen.

This guy for 22 years has given a lot of hours.

- [Gary] In 1998, they came to me and wanted to know whether I would be the committee chairman, and they told me that it was only gonna be for two years.

Well, it's 22 now.

I really don't know well how much it's changed.

The rodeo itself is a lot bigger, takes a lot more work, a lot more committee to get everything done.

- [Ron] It seems like a selfless thing when I tell you about all the hours of work that, not me by any means but the whole committee puts in, and it's a lot, it's a tremendous amount of hours to produce this rodeo.

But for me, it's a selfish thing for the reason you just mentioned.

When I'm here and I see kids having a good time, when I see rodeo fans being amazed by a bucket horse, or a great barrel run, or a great calf run, you know, I get a lot out of that.

And so I feel like for me, it's not so much selfless as selfish.

- [Sydney] I like seeing the people and seeing like crew all comes, and then seeing the cowboys and cowgirls come and competing, and then watching the stuff all booked, and then how it's where a good cause with the LifeScape, and it's just a good deal to put it on.

- [Michelle] Oh, it makes me feel good.

I think it makes us all feel good.

I was in a local hardware store and I was stopped by six or eight people this morning, just saying.

So glad you keep having the rodeo.

And some say we were there last night, we're coming back again tonight, or the next one says, "We're coming.

We'll be there for sure, we never miss."

And it makes you feel good.

I walked in that store very tired and I came out with a little higher step cuz it's very rewarding then.

- [Tara] This rodeo is really important.

I'm proud to be a part of it.

It's been important part of my family for three generations now.

And also my children are coming up in the fourth generation helping.

So it's a very important part of our community.

I think it's important to have events like this to keep our small community strong.

- [Squeek] There's several kids in this area that need help, and it's good to see that there's something there to help 'em, you know?

I hope there's now an insight.

We kinda try to keep some younger ones interested.

- [Broadcaster] Hey, do you hear that?

- [Partner] What?

- [Broadcaster] There's an echo in here.

- [Partner] An echo?

- [Broadcaster] Yeah.

Listen, aye oh.

- [Crowd] Aye oh.

- [Broadcaster] Yeah, listen.

We test sound a little bit.

Oh, Dylan Rice.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Come on, Dylan Rice.

Yeah.

Yeah.

You know, you've been been a great great crowd this evening.

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for being here.

On behalf of the Elks Rodeo, thank you so much.

- W.H.

Over is credited with excavating the Ludlow Cave that's north of Buffalo and Harding County.

He found a wealth of projectile points, spearheads and arrowheads and much more.

Now, there's a mixture of those projectile points from other sites as well and other cultures here in the collection at the museum.

You know, occasionally the "Dakota Life" team runs across a piece of history that didn't quite happen as planned.

We found a firsthand account of a near nuclear disaster that took place at a Minuteman missile site just southeast of Vale.

(TV whirring) - [Broadcaster] To give you the facts, the United States Air Force presents.

(rousing music) - [Commentator] The United States Air Force has different codes for different type of incidents.

Dull sword, may be like a piece of support equipment that failed to function like it's supposed to.

Nucflash you don't want because that's when the actual weapon has gone off.

But a Broken Arrow is when there's actually damage to the weapon itself.

- [Broadcaster] This is the stage for our story report.

This is our protagonist, Minuteman.

A new muscle in this country's armament of peace-preserving force.

- [Commentator] Minuteman is a three stage, solid fuel intercontinental ballistic missile that was deployed in The Plains, North Dakota, Wyoming, South Dakota, Missouri and in Montana.

It was a way to replace the current liquid-fueled rockets.

As with any liquid-fuel missile, it takes a lot of time and preparation prior to launch, whereas Minuteman is ready to go at a moment's notice.

So it earned that title Minuteman from the Revolutionary War minuteman because they were ready to go at a moment's notice.

- [Announcer] 3, 2, 1, 0.

(missile bangs) - [Broadcaster] What keeps our nuclear weapons safe?

To understand why there has never been an accidental nuclear explosion, you must first know how these explosions can be produced.

- [Commentator] Now Minuteman just came out, it became operational in '63 for us here.

And so in 1964, I think they were still going through the growing pains of trying to figure out who's gonna take care of what systems.

So general radio repair technician, that sounds like a group of folks that could take care of the security system.

Well, I guess they found out the hard way.

(rousing brooding music) As I made rank and change jobs, I was able to see the actual documents of the incident that happened.

And so, yes, they used the improper tool.

They used a screwdriver to pry a fuse out.

On the launch facility, the outer zone security drawer has four sets of fuses in the top drawer.

And part of the troubleshooting procedure was to, if you had an issue, was to go ahead and pop some of those fuses to check.

Since they used the screwdriver, the drawer has capacitors which stores power.

And so, when they put that screwdriver in there, and they lifted that fuse, but they made contact with the case, that power went directly from the capacitor in the drawer to the chassis straight through the ground and caused the retrorockets to fire.

(alarm blaring) (device buzzing) - [Robert] I was in my barracks at Elsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota and either doing laundry which we typically did on Sundays or playing pinochle in the day room.

And I got a phone call, and it was my team chief saying the missile doesn't have a warhead anymore.

When we got there, there was a whole slew of people already there.

My team chief met me and he says, "I need to get the work case put in.

Do you volunteer to go down and save the missile and take an EOD guy with you?"

Went on down to the bottom of the hole and instructed to find out what condition the warhead was in.

And it was tore up pretty good, but it was in a safe enough condition that we could handle it anyway.

And we headed back up and got back out of the hole and went back to report what we had found.

The EOD guy explained what the condition of the weapon was in, and then he asked him, he says, "How are we gonna get it out?"

And the guy just stood there.

So I popped up and said, "Yeah, we'll take the cargo net that's tested for more weight than that weighs, roll it into it and get a crane and pull it out.

And he looked at me and said, "Airman, if I want anything from you, I'll ask for it."

So I took that as an invitation to leave, and I went back and got the truck to where it was warm.

About a day, my team chief come to me again and, "General wants to talk to you."

He didn't say anything.

The people at psych headquarter started asking me questions about what the cargo that was weight tested at and all that.

And they said, "Okay, that sounds like a doable idea."

So two EOD guys got into work cages, we trained 'em how to use it, and they went down to the bottom of the hole and took a cargo net with them, rolled the warhead into it and brought it back up to the top.

- [Crew] Easy.

- [Robert] It was a very slow process.

It was up, a little stop.

- Careful.

- [Team] Hold it steady.

- Careful.

- [Robert] Up a little slow, slow, stop, up, a little stop.

- Okay, hold.

Come on up slowly.

- [Team] Okay, comin' up slow.

- [Robert] That process took hours.

- Okay, come on in down slow.

Okay, comin' down slow.

- [Robert] When we got to the top of the hole, I positioned the army GMC van with the doors open with the hoist extended out where we could transfer it from the crane into the army GMC van.

And my team chief come to me again and says, "Robert, you gonna have to drive the truck back to the base 'cause nobody on the OD team has got operator license to operate."

Told me max sort of speed, 10 miles an hour.

So I said, "Okay," you know?

We had a convoy behind us, so ambulances, cops and staff, and you'd name it.

There was many cars or trucks behind us.

And after a little while, I eased it up to 15 miles an hour just to find out if we got any communication and we didn't.

So we went a little while further, and I eased it up to 20 miles an hour and I waited for some communication and didn't get any.

So I bumped it up to 35, 40, 45 miles an hour.

So we got to the basement a lot quicker than nine hours.

And nobody said anything about it.

- [Commentator] I'm sure if I was in that situation, I would be cleaning out my underwear (laughs) because, you know, he's probably, right at the time, you just do it.

I mean, we've all been there.

We've seen situations where we just do it, worry about the consequences later on.

- [Robert] It seems like that I've been in that position many times during my 43 years with the Air Force.

I've always told people, "There was three people in that work cage."

You know, my partner from the EOD, myself and God.

So there was protection for us.

(gentle music) - [Larry] Thank you for joining us for "Dakota Life: Detours" As we visit South Dakota Towns and communities for "Dakota Life," we find many other stories along the way, and we wanna share those with you with this program.

Watch for more episodes of "Dakota Life: Detours" in the future and watch more "Dakota Life" stories at sdpb.org/dakotalife.

Thanks for joining us on this detour.

I'm Larry Rohrer, and for all of us at SDPB, thanks for watching.

(gentle music)