News Letter



Young brothers, Drew Hetzel of Lemmon (above) and Jacob Hetzel of Lemmon (at left) both participated in a day trip to the dig site.


Stuart and Lisa Schmidt will be hosting the Creation Dinosaur Dig at their ranch the weeks of July 28, 2013 thru August 2nd and August 4, 2013 thru August 9th. Lora Korynta has agreed again to organize and head the dig with her considerable experience (in contrast to her young years). It is a passion for her to share the Word of God through archaeology and geology and it is a blessing for us to have her work on this dig.


There have been dinosaur fossils found on the Schmidt ranch for many generations when Stuart's grandfather was a child in the homestead days.


They know that God has placed these fossils (from many different plants and animals) there for His glory and feel it a privilege to share this resource with the Christian community.


If there are questions concerning day trips or speaker schedules call Stuart and Lisa at (605) 374-5725.





President's Letter


It has been fifteen years since the museum's beginning and a lot of water has gone under the bridge. Lemmon has changed much in these last fifteen years and so has the Grand River Museum. We have our members, guests and friends to thank for this. It hasn't been easy but nothing worthwhile ever is. We want you to know that we are in the process of big changes to the function and attraction of our building and we know our visitors are going to love it. For several years we have been planning to put an addition onto the back of the building and make this the main entrance to the museum.


The Grand River Museum has been a major asset to this community and this could not have been accomplished without the help of everyday individual participation. It has been a source of pride for those that have helped and a resource for hometown folks and tourists and guests as well. Fifteen years' worth of work and time invested in the museum has helped me develop a real feeling for this town and surrounding community. Those of us who have friends and relatives visiting have a quiet beautiful place to bring them to celebrate our local culture. Sometimes the comments we receive from our travelling guests are the most observant. "We didn't realize the culture and history here was so rich and real" and "This place is more than we expected it to be in this small hidden corner of South Dakota". We often take for granted our own environment because we don't see the beauty or uniqueness that is so recognizable in the other places that we visit. This is true of our town and this museum as well. We have spent fifteen years and many dollars bringing this vision to a reality. We now are ready to embark on a new and loftier goal. With this 2500+ square foot addition we are adding a new area for more displays celebrating our history as well as a major western art collection that will add much interest and beauty to the western aesthetics of the museum. We can already boast of a major western artist within our house and will include John Lopez's work as well as others of the same caliber. This new addition project will also include work on the existing building to give it the consistent flow and beautiful architecture that can attract even the most discerning visitors. We have plans for an atrium type feel to this new addition along with a Cabela's type entrance and landscaping projects for the east side of the existing building. John Lopez is anxious to help design some sculpture garden effects and we feel the whole package will greatly enhance the aesthetics to the Museum as well as to Lemmon.


We are putting forth our annual membership drive and we are very humbled by the generous gifts of all the members over the past fifteen years. We feel we have some new and exciting improvements for the GRM and hope that you will all partner with us like you have before and help bring this to a reality. We will be having some fundraising events over the next few months and will be giving away prizes to our museum members including a beautiful Star Quilt made by Lisa Schmidt. Renew your memberships and let this new goal become a reality by July of this year. We are prepared to start immediately and with your help and God's Blessing, we can.


Thank you,


Stuart T. Schmidt, President GRM





 

Membership Drive



The grand prize of the membership raffle is the star quilt, made by Lisa Schmidt



It is that time of year again to purchase a membership to the museum and help with the day to day costs of operation.


We have an exciting year to look forward to and would like to have you share in a partnership again. This summer will be our 15th season in operation. It really does seem incredible to think of how fast time has gone by.


God has worked amazing things with this museum and has strengthened our faith by leaps and bounds. We feel that this is one of the main purposes of the museum and that is to strengthen your faith as you learn of the community's past and the creation around us.


We want to congratulate our winners of our 2012 star quilt. They are members Tom and Deanne Penning of Valley Center, KS-Congratulations! Other winners of gift shop items included Owen & Jean Haas, Jerry & Lucille Heier, and Dale E. Huber.


Another quilt is made and will be on display at the museum throughout the summer season and a drawing will be done with all 2013 memberships.


The museum has purchased a booth at the KBJM Farm and Home show March 8th and we will be there to display the quilt and hand out newsletters, sell memberships and share some of the plans for the museum in 2013.


 

Busy Season of Visitors




The museum had another busy summer. We were open from May 1 through September 30. May and September are usually slower times for us, but it is surprising how many are traveling around then.


Of course, July is the busiest month, mostly because of the Boss Cowman celebration. We continue to get more repeat visitors who enjoy seeing the exhibits again and to see what has been improved and changed.


Our guest book shows that we had visitors from 46 states (missing Maine, Massachusetts, Delaware and New Jersey), Washington DC and 11 countries (including several from Canada).


We are still wanting to get a connection with some of the busloads that go by. Hopefully we can get on the right list for that to happen.



Some of Our Guest Comments:


Old West at its best. Great!

Inspiring, fantastic!

Love it, always return.

Amazing, educational, tremendously artistic displays

Most amazing small museum I have ever seen.

Wish I could have stayed longer.

Awesome! Very Good. Will come again

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