Lodgepole Remembered: Memories, Music, & Mural
Nestled in a winding draw now sheltered in trees, Lodgepole, SD, our companion community to the south, remains viable after more than 107 years.
odgepole found its place on the map when a post office was mandated at this location. Mr. and Mrs. L.T. Larsen operated the post office out of their home where Mr. Larsen served as first postmaster. In the fall of 1908, the Larsens began operating a store there. It became the foundation of the well-known Lodgepole Store & Propane & Well Service of today.
In addition to the store, the community of Lodgepole was known for its auditorium/hall, a gathering place for people of all backgrounds and interests. A variety of memorable events and activities has taken place there over time, such as dances, card playing, Sunday School (before the churches were built), roller skating, plays, variety shows, musical events, speaking contests, lutefisk suppers and other food events.
Today, it is still a vibrant community center for meetings, gatherings of all types and well-attended dinners and suppers, such as the most recent ice cream social. The hall was one of the reasons the community stayed together. “It served as a catalyst,” says Gary Hendricks. “It is unique.”
Farmers, ranchers, businessmen and some families of the Lodgepole, SD, community, gather outside the Lodgepole Post Office in 1910, three years after it was established in the L.T. Larsen home.
Over time, Lodgepole also had a hotel and restaurant, a creamery, a butcher shop, a blacksmith shop, a real estate office and a pool hall, in addition to seven or more area churches and ten area schools. Later, a fire department was organized to protect surrounding prairie farms and ranches. In recognition of the valuable contribution of the town of Lodgepole and the area to the wider community, a committee of 17 has been working to plan an event for the public commemorating the life and sacrifice of the early homesteaders of that area and celebrating the strengths of the community which have been passed on to the next generations.
That event is scheduled for Sunday, October 4 at the Dakota Buttes Museum (DBHS/M) in southeast Hettinger, ND, where the public is invited to a program of music and memories about Lodgepole. Part of the program will include the unveiling of the large, new wall mural in building two that will serve as the center of a Lodgepole community exhibit evolving over time.
Mary LeFebre, program chair, invites the area to the event, to celebrate the uniqueness of the Lodgepole community, its businesses, churches, schools, and entertainment as well as to remember its challenges and hardships.
Following the program and lunch, people will be invited to share remembrances of Lodgepole community living and how it shaped them and their family. “The love and concern that community members showed for each other in the early days and continue to do so now, make it possible for us to live here and thrive yet today,” longtime Lodgepole resident Dick Vliem says.
The museum opens at 1:00 pm. The program begins at 2:00 pm (all times are MDT). The event, the last special event of the 2015 DBHS/M season, is free and open to the public.
