Custer County Chronicle

1st Miss GDD returns as parade marshal

Published by admin on Thu, 07/15/2021 - 9:53am

Nearly 70 years after making her first parade appearance as Miss Gold Discovery Days 1952, Colleen Mahrt will ride in Saturday’s Gold Discovery Days (GDD) parade. This time, however, she will do so as parade marshal along with her husband, Marty, who, along with being a decorated United States Air Force veteran, is also a veteran of the Pageant of Paha Sapa.

Royalty is ready to reign

Published by admin on Thu, 07/15/2021 - 9:52am

Queen Goldie Whitaker, along with princesses Emily Meyer and Heidi Moore will reign over Gold Discovery Days this weekend.
Whitaker is a Custer High School Class of 2021 graduate who was active in high school, playing volleyball, managing and playing basketball and running track for four years. She believes sports develop beneficial characteristics. She is a member of National Honor Society, has played in the band, sang in the choir and was a member of student council.

No cut in traffic to Custer salons

Published by admin on Thu, 07/15/2021 - 9:50am

Part 7 of a series of articles examining the economic and lifestyle impacts of the in-migration to Custer County.
Whether one’s business involves cutting two-by-fours, plumbing pipes, electrical wires or even cutting hair, things have seemingly never been busier in Custer County. A survey of several of the nearly dozen beauty salons in the county shows that most are so busy they  are figuratively “pulling their hair out,” as more than one beautician put it.
Here are the stats we learned:

Harbach Park bids high

Published by admin on Thu, 07/15/2021 - 9:43am

The current high cost of building materials has thrown a wrench into the plans to renovate Harbach Park, as the bid openings for the first and second phases came in well over the engineer’s estimate of $890,000. At the July 6 meeting of the Custer City Council, it was learned the only bid received for the project, from RCS Construction in Rapid City, was for $1,270,537.

President Coolidge vacations in South Dakota

Published by admin on Thu, 07/15/2021 - 9:10am

President Calvin Coolidge was on the hook and just needed reeling in.
William Williamson described his role in convincing President Calvin and First Lady Grace Coolidge to vacation in the summer of 1927 in the Black Hills in his autobiography, “William Williamson: Student, Homesteader, Teacher, Lawyer, Judge, Congressman and Trusted Friend.” He was South Dakota’s congressman from the state’s third congressional district, which covered the state’s west river counties, from 1921-33.

Presidential busts vandalized in Hermosa

Published by admin on Thu, 07/15/2021 - 9:09am

The Custer County Sheriff’s office is receiving tips and following up on leads regarding vandalism that occurred last Tuesday, July 6, at Southern Hills RV Park and Campground in Hermosa.
It was 11:30 a.m. that morning when the owner of the campground, Jerry Styles, contacted Custer County Dispatch to report two of the large presidential busts on the property had been vandalized, with “Murderer” being spray painted across George H.W. Bush’s bust, while “Drug Dealer” was spray painted across Ronald Reagan’s bust.

Ambulance may set call record

Published by admin on Thu, 07/08/2021 - 9:52am

Part 6 of a series of articles examining the numerous economic and lifestyle impacts of the current in-migration to Custer County.
If you ask Custer Ambulance director Ruth Airheart to describe what things are like these days for her agency, you might get the same one-word answer we did: “Busy!” As with all of the public and private sector services we have profiled so far in this series, Custer Ambulance Service, Inc. is indeed busier than ever and on track to answer more emergency medical calls this year than ever before.

Buffalo Gap Blow Out set to return

Published by admin on Thu, 07/08/2021 - 9:50am

The fourth annual Buffalo Gap Blow Out will take place this Saturday, July 10, with a full day of events and live music.
There will be games and activities for children as well as adults, including horseshoes, cornhole and human foosball. There will be various food and drink vendors as well as a beer garden, and dry camping is also available.
There will be a parade at 11 a.m. on Main Street. There will also be a free classic “Car n Park” all day. Free vendor spaces for the event are available.

Avis Hespen Garden tour set for July 25

Published by admin on Thu, 07/08/2021 - 9:48am

July 25 is the date for the Custer Mile High Garden Club’s 15th annual Avis Hespin Garden Tour. The tour will allow participants to social distance while strolling through local yards/gardens enjoying nature and the hard work of gardeners.
Five to seven gardens will be featured and the event will run from 1-4 p.m.
This event is free and complete details will be in a future issue of the Chronicle.

Black Hills 100 creates tent city

Published by admin on Thu, 07/08/2021 - 9:48am

Dozens of tents sprouted like mushrooms last Wednesday along French Creek in Custer, supported by a fleet of trucks, trailers, busses and staff which temporarily transformed French Creek Campground into a military-like encampment. By 8:30 the next morning the tent city and most of the other equipment were gone.