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A GUIDE FOR LIVING IN SIOUXLAND
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YANKTON’S FAVORITE SON Q&A WITH S.D. NATIVE TOM BROKAW
JUNE 2011
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JUNE 2011
SIOUXLAND LIFE
CONTENTS June
2011
8 SEEING RED
Pauline Sorenson of Bancroft, Neb., collects all things cardinal including a cabinet with her favorite bird in stained glass.
12 ON THE COVER Summer fun? It’s closer than you think. This month Siouxland Life travels to Yankton, S.D., for a look at some of the things that makes the community special. The Lewis and Clark Marina, located in the Lewis and Clark Recreation Area west of Yankton. Photograph by Tim Hynds FEATURES 4 Feature home: Chapman House 8 Collections: Cardinals 10 Out & About 12 Yankton: Riverboat Days 14 Yankton: Meridian Bridge 17 Yankton: Gavins Point Dam 18 Yankton: The Ice House 22 Yankton: Restaurants 25 Yankton: Fish Hatchery 26 Q&A: Tom Brokaw
28 30 32 36 38 40 42 45 47
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SIGNS OF THE TIMES Historic Downtown Yankton has business signs dating back to the early 1900s.
Yankton: Recreation Yankton: Signs Yankton: Mount Marty Yankton: Golf Courses Yankton: Dakota Territorial Museum Holistic Healing Hyperbaric Chamber Medical answers from the doctor Parting shot: Basic tips for survival
PUBLISHER Steve Griffith EDITOR Bruce Miller EDITORIAL Joanne Fox, Tim Gallagher, Earl Horlyk, Nick Hytrek, Marcia Poole, John Quinlan PHOTOGRAPHY Tim Hynds, Jim Lee, Jerry Mennenga PRESENTATION EDITOR Amy Hynds ADVERTISING SALES Nancy Gevik ADVERTISING DESIGN Stacy Pajl, Jill Bisenius
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©2011 The Sioux City Journal. Siouxland Life is published monthly by The Sioux City Journal. For advertising information, please call (712) 224-6275. For editorial information, please call (712) 293-4218.
SPIRITUAL CENTER The steeple of Bishop Marty Memorial Chapel on the Sacred Heart Monastery campus dominates the city’s skyline.
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LIFESTYLE Feature
Home
dream LIVING THE
A HOUSE WORTH REMEMBERING Text by Joanne Fox | Photographs by Tim Hynds
Laura Chapman has dinnerware that complements her lakeside home.
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YANKTON, S.D. – MANY people dream of having a lake home as a summer destination. Laura Chapman lives that dream every day. In the fall of 2007, Laura and her husband, Robert “Chappy” Chapman, bought a lot just a stone’s throw straight up from a previous home they had overlooking the sprawling Lewis & Clark Lake. “We had been coming to Yankton as boaters for 14 years, when we made the decision to build a house up here,” she said. “With our dear friend Rick Welte, we started designing this home.” However, dreams aren’t always pleasant ones and about two weeks before the couple began the construction process, Bob was diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer. “Bob wondered what he should do, and the doctor told him to live his life,” Chapman said. “It seemed like a good project for him.” The couple moved into their home in the winter of December 2008. Chappy died Aug. 7, 2009, at the residence. Almost two years later, Laura Chapman remains in the house. “It was his dream, our dream,” she said. “That’s why I stay here.” And looking southwest onto a panoramic view of the Gavins Point Dam and its adjacent lake, you understand why. The dazzling, sunny, blue sky reflected off the rippling water. Boats swayed in the marina. “It’s absolutely beautiful in the summer,” Chapman confided. “Although it’s
SIOUXLAND LIFE
nice now as well.” The house is built on three angles to accommodate a view from the master bedroom, the living/kitchen area and the dining area. “It’s funny, but when we built our first house, we did it from a featured home plan I found in the Sioux City Journal,” she said. “I also found the plans for this house in the newspaper.” Certainly the strength of the 2,600-square-foot-house is the view, but the interior provides an incredibly relaxing presentation in which to enjoy the scenery.
Laura Chapman is shown in her home that overlooks Lewis and Clark lake west of Yankton, S.D.
Five unshaded rectangular windows, at least 5 feet tall, with two triangular windows perched above them, allow the landscape, the water and the sky directly into the living area. An earthy leather couch faces a television and petite fireplace, but adjust your position and you can revel in the view. If you prefer the TV, it sits in a popout wall, constructed of sheet rock, with rounded corners and painted white, drawing your eye straight up to the vaulted ceiling. “Another friend of ours, Mike Stevens, came up with that,” Chapman said.
Next to the windows is a wet bar with chairs and an ample counter to rest a beverage on while gazing outside. “I sat here a lot and went through pictures,” Chapman reminisced. “It was so perfect.” The kitchen, next to the living area, also sports windows for natural lighting. The Chapmans both enjoyed cooking and entertaining and the area illustrates that, with countertop, convection and microwave ovens. “I love the granite countertops,” Chapman said of the speckled brown coloring. “The cabinets are knotty hickory from
S & S Custom Cabinets in Leeds. I love their look.” Across the hallway from the kitchen is a to-die-for, large, walk-in pantry that could be a room by itself. “I wish I could say it was my idea, but I saw it someplace else,” Chapman confided. A formal dining room highlighted with bright red accents leads to another patio, which Chapman is considering enclosing one day. At the other end of the house is the master bedroom with the third patio and hot tub. Chapman is an avid reader and
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Laura Chapman’s love of books is evident with the large collection housed in the built-in shelving in her bedroom. The kitchen has knotty hickory cabinets and features a large walk-in pantry.
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the floor-to-ceiling bookcases, which take up an entire wall, are crafted in the same pull-out approach as the television cabinet. The bedroom is carpeted in a soothing ivory-gray tone. But the rest of the flooring in the house is large squares of rust-colored, ceramic tile, with radiant heat to keep stocking feet warm. “It’s all controlled by thermostat and it’s wonderful,” Chapman insisted. “I would characterize this look as an Arizona style home.” Chappy’s presence is still evident. The founder and operator of R.C. Chapman & Associates was a founding member of Sioux City River-Cade. He served as the event’s liaison with the U.S. Army Golden Knights Parachute Team for 25 years. Chappy was presented and became an honorary member of the Golden Knights in 1979, the 19th such person to be awarded this prestigious honor. “This is a great memory for me,” Chapman said, pointing to a plaque of the front page of the Sioux City Journal that highlighted River-Cade and the Golden Knights. Chapman admitted it has not been easy living the dream without her husband. “But this is a wonderful community and I have many wonderful friends,” she said. “I volunteer with the local humane society and still have the boat harbored in the marina.”
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COLLECTIONS Cardinals
Nest is feathered with cardinals … lots of
CARDINALS Text by Joanne Fox | Photographs by Jerry Mennenga
BANCROFT, NEB. – FOR most of us, one of America’s favorite songbirds is found in our backyards. For 83-year-old Pauline Sorensen, the red birds can be found all over her house in an extensive collection. Without the mess or investment in bird seed. “I started many years ago,” she reminisced in her Cuming County home in the northeast corner of Nebraska. “I just love the real cardinals. That’s how I started the collection.” Most of the items were given to Sorensen, such as a stained glass creation, featuring both male and female birds – that was a gift from her niece Joanne Stager. Although you don’t see much of the bird’s distinctive red plumage in the winter, Sorensen has a number of “seasonal” cardinals. A snow globe dusts the birds while a music box plays – not the bird’s distinctive “cheer-cheer-cheer” chirp – but “Joy to the World.” Elsewhere, red Christmas lights in the shape of cardinals twinkle. There they are in the kitchen on her canister tins in a winter holiday presentation. Don’t forget the cookie and candy jars. And towels. And even though eggs are associated 8
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with Easter, Sorensen has a Russian Faberge-style egg in which a cardinal perches on a branch inside a cutout of a holly leaf and berry decorative exterior. “I got that one in California,” she explained. “I believe the egg is a duck egg.” As with most collectors, Sorensen has a favorite. It’s a delicately decorated, glass creation of two cardinals on an elliptical branch with small flowers as accents, a gift from her niece Donna Crilly. “This is one I just like to look at,” she said, turning it around. “But honestly, none of the cardinals is unattractive to me.” Her son Joe Sorensen, an accomplished artist, created an unusual painting, depicting a cardinal stretching. Inside a paned glass cabinet, a life-sized, bright red cardinal with his precise crest and black-trimmed beak hovers. A friend provided her with a photograph of a cardinal, with the bird’s wings outstretched in flight. “That was unusual because it was the first time my friend picked up a camera and she captured that moment,” Sorensen explained. Some of the cardinals could use a weight-loss program, such as a hefty cardinal candy dish, while others could use some bulking up like the thinner ceramic
SIOUXLAND LIFE
ones. The number of cardinals in Sorensen’s house would easily make up an aviary. “I started to count them one day,” she admitted. “I gave up. Maybe I’ll take that on again some day.” The perfect display area is Sorensen’s fireplace mantel, which has a couple of free-standing cardinals, one on a plaque and some that perch on limbs, gifts from her friend Tami Rogers. In front of the fireplace is a cardinal-decorated rug, a
Above Pauline Sorenson of Bancroft, Neb., collects all things cardinal,and has an extensive collection, such as this Fabergé-type egg display.
“I started to count them one day. I gave up. Maybe I’ll take that on again some day.”
PAULINE SORENSON cardinal collector
gift from another friend, Catherine Neiman. The birds grace pillows on her sofa, in both cross-stitch and applique, adding a colorful accent to the living room, pulling that primary color together. A cardinal blanket lies across the back of the couch, and when unfolded, is large enough to cover a double bed, created by another friend, Ima Jean Tonjes. A cabinet is full of the birds, in every shape and size and facial expression. Yes,
some look like they are frowning; some laughing; some introspective; some intense. Then, there are the whimsical cardinals. One fire-engine red bird has abandoned the traditional tree branch for a swing. Another is the base for a potted plant. Sorensen doesn’t hear them because they’re inside, but hanging from the ceiling is set of cardinal wind chimes. “I just wish they were all real,” she said.
The vast majority of Sorensen’s cardinals are male, noted for their red cloak and black trim. The female cardinal boasts a smaller crest than her mate, with feathers that could be brown or cream with red trim. “Those are a bit harder to find,” Sorensen acknowledged. “There’s one in the stained glass and one on a pillow and I think that’s it.” With all of these cardinals surrounding her, does Sorensen collect anything else? “Miniature spoons,” she replied, directing attention to a wall cabinet. “They don’t take up as much room as the cardinals and they’re from all over the world.”
SIOUXLAND LIFE
JUNE 2011
9
SNAP SHOTS Fundraisers
OUT & ABOUT Photographs by
Jim Lee, Tim Hynds and Jerry Mennenga ROCK THE MIGHTY MO Above Keith and Lori Love, South Sioux City, attend the fundraising event Rock the Mighty Mo sponsored by the Center for Siouxland April 29 at the Marina Inn in South Sioux City. Right Jeanne and Jeff Zyzda, left, Sioux City, Daphne Miller, Hinton, and Penny and Douglas Savage, right, Sergeant Bluff, attend Rock the Mighty Mo.
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UNITED WAY OF SIOUXLAND WOMEN’S POWER LUNCH Right Event chairs, Marie Buckley, left, and Rhonda Capron, right, pose with speaker Ali Vincent at the annual Women’s Power Lunch at the Sioux City Convention Center. The lunch featured Vincent, winner of the fifth season of the television show “The Biggest Loser.“
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WINE AND ROSES GALA TASTING AND AUCTION Above Seth and Stephanie Schram, Sioux City, at the Wine and Roses Gala Tasting and Auction at Bev’s on the River April 9. The event was a fundraiser for the Big Sioux Alzheimer’s Association. Right Steve and Jeanette Kammerer, Sioux City, at the Wine and Roses Gala Tasting and Auction.
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Left Lori Bermel, left, and Pam Stieneke, right, of Siouxland Cytology Consultants, and Diane Bauerly, center, of St. Luke’s Labs are shown at the Women’s Power Lunch.
YOUR PICTURE HERE Have a fundraiser or event that should be featured in this section? Call (712) 293-4234 or e-mail ahynds@siouxcityjournal.com. SIOUXLAND LIFE
JUNE 2011
11
YANKTON Riverboat
Days
27TH ANNUAL YANKTON RIVERBOAT DAYS
From Aug. 19-21, more than 130,000 people will be enjoying the 27th annual Yankton Riverboat Days, held throughout Yankton, S.D. Friday, Aug. 19: The festivities begin at 10 a.m., with a small quilt show and an arts and craft sale at Yankton Mall. A 5:30 p.m. kiddies parade officially starts Riverboat Days at Riverside Park, with food and beverage vendors opening their stands at 6 p.m. After the 6 p.m. opening ceremonies, attendees will enjoy carnival rides (Yankton Mall), chainsaw sculpting, the YAA Summer Arts Festival (both Riverside Park) and a Kiwanis Duck Race (starting at the Meridian Bridge). The night caps off with fireworks, over the river, at 10 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 20: Get up early because Mount Marty College’s 5K Walk/Run begins at 7:15 a.m. and 8:15 a.m., respectively, at Third and Capitol. Other highlights will include the Riverboat Days Parade, beginning at 9:30 a.m. at 21st and Douglas streets, the South Dakota arm wrestling competition (from 1 to 5 p.m at Riverside Park), the 4:30 p.m. Classic Cruisers Poker Run (in the Summit Center parking lot), the 7:30 p.m. PRCA Rodeo (31st Street and West Highway 50) and musical act, The Dweebs, performing in the parking lot, north of the beverage shelter at 8 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 21: The day’s big event will be the Classic Cruisers Car Show, which will run from noon to 4 p.m. by the baseball diamond at Riverside Park. But don’t be surprised if you see a cowboy or two at the softball field. They’re the Silver Creek Maverick old west re-enactors beginning a show at 1 p.m. Riverboat Days caps off with the presentation of car show trophies at 4 p.m. For a complete listings of events, visit www.riverboatdays.com. 12
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Riverboat Days
OFFERS PLENTY FOR FAMILIES
Text by Earl Horlyk
YANKTON, S.D. – “EVERYBODY should have fun in the summertime, regardless of income.” That’s what motivated Nancy Teachout to become involved in the very first Yankton Riverboat Days and Summer Festival back in 1984. It’s also what keeps Teachout – a former Riverboat Days Belle – coming back every year. “Riverboat Days came about when Yankton’s economy wasn’t doing so well,” she explained. “Many families couldn’t afford to go out of town for a vacation. So we thought: Why leave Yankton when there’s so much to do right in our own community?” And sure enough, from Aug. 19-21, more than 130,000 people will be enjoying Riverboat Days, held throughout Yankton. Among this year’s scheduled activities will be a juried art festival, the Riverboats Days Parade, tractor pulls and the Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association Rodeo. What Teachout likes best is Riverboat Days’ quirkier events, which include fire department water fights, chainsaw sculpting and lawn mower races. Yes, the latter is when a bunch of guys hop on lawn mowers and race one another. “I always get a kick out of everybody’s souped-up lawn mowers,” Teachout admitted. “It’s a lot of fun.” This, according to Teachout, is the secret of Riverboat Days’ success: it has
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something for everybody. “Sure, we have art but we also have crafts and sporting events,” she said. “We have children’s events but we also have plenty of musical shows and food vendors parents will enjoy.” In fact, Teachout’s favorite Riverboat Days spot is sitting beneath a tree, listening to music at Yankton’s Amphitheater. “That’s where I can see and hear everything that’s going on,” she said. “It’s wonderful for people-watching as well.” Teachout will have plenty to see that weekend, since many current and former Yankton residents utilize the three-day event for family, high school and college reunions. “Riverboat Days is a perfect venue for reunions,” she noted, “since all of the food and all of the entertainment is already provided for.” Which goes back to the original intention of Riverboat Days: bringing family friendly fun for a family friendly price. “The majority of our events are free,” Teachout said. “And outside of money we received from the city during our first year, Riverboat Days is funded by the private donations of our community members.” That makes the event as timely now as it was its first year. “With the price of gasoline, many families won’t be able to take destination vacations,” Teachout said. “Yankton Riverboat Days allows us to take advantage of the fun and the beauty that exists right in our community.”
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YANKTON Meridian
Bridge
set foot
PEDESTRIANS WAITING TO
ON MERIDIAN BRIDGE
The Meridian Bridge that crosses the Missouri River at Yankton. The bridge was replaced by the Discovery Bridge and is being converted into a bicycle and foot bridge.
Text by Nick Hytrek | Photographs by Tim Hynds
YANKTON, S.D. – FOR 84 years, the Meridian Bridge carried motor vehicle traffic across the Missouri River. It’s now getting a well-deserved break before resuming the purpose for which it was built in 1924 – allowing people to get from one side of the river to the other. Only this time, all those on the bridge will be on foot or bicycle. The historic double-decker bridge is scheduled to be reopened in late July or early August as a pedestrian bridge, a much-anticipated addition to the 30 miles of recreational trails in and around Yankton. Todd Larson, Yankton’s director of parks and recreation, said his office fields numerous calls from folks waiting – most of them patiently – to find out when the bridge will be opened. “I think everybody wants to get up on that top deck to get that view,” Larson said. That wait has been a little longer than expected since the Meridian Bridge was closed in 2008 to give way to the 14
JUNE 2011
Discovery Bridge, located half a mile to the west. Work on a $4.8 million project funded by South Dakota and Nebraska to remove rusty plates, beams and rivets from the Meridian Bridge has taken longer than expected. Work also includes adding safety fences and historic lighting. Once completed, pedestrians will be able to walk, run or bike over both the upper and lower decks of the bridge, although the top deck generates the most interest. Larson said his office has received requests from couples who would like to have their weddings on the top deck. Whether those types of events will be allowed on the bridge has yet to be decided. It’s certain, though, that Yankton is counting on the Meridian Bridge’s new life to be a hit. “It creates something very unique to Yankton,” Larson said. “It becomes a destination because it’s rare.” The bridge will be a big addition to
SIOUXLAND LIFE
the area’s extensive trail system. Yankton has 10 miles of trails within the city, and another 20 miles can be found in and around state recreation areas west of town. There are also some trails on the south side of the river. Opening the Meridian Bridge will allow Yankton to someday hook into those trails on the Nebraska side. “There’s always been an effort in the recent past to connect campgrounds outside Yankton into the city,” Larson said. Trails in the Lewis and Clark Recreation Area west of Yankton do link to the city trails, giving campers trail access to Yankton stores and services. Plans are in the works to develop trails on the south side of the river that would stretch from the bridge to Gavins Point Dam to the west. Eventually, city planners hope the trails can be linked to form a giant loop encircling Yankton, the recreation area and the dam. Loop trails seem to be more attractive to visitors, Larson said,
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SIOUXLAND LIFE
YANKTON Gavins
Point Dam
Gavins Point Dam is located west of Yankton.
GAVINS POINT DAM GIVES
insight
INTO HYDROELECTRICITY, MISSOURI RIVER Text by Nick Hytrek Photographs by Jim Lee and Tim Hynds
YANKTON, S.D. – GAVINS Point Dam may look mighty small when seen in contrast to the size of Lewis and Clark Lake, the body of water the dam holds back. But a closer look reveals the true enormity, not only of the dam’s purpose, but of its physical size. “I think what really amazes them is the massive size of everything,” Karla Zeutenhorst, a park ranger with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, said of the reactions of the 15,000-20,000 visitors who annually stop in for a tour of the dam. A bolt on display in the nearby Lewis and Clark Visitors Center is a good example. The bolt is similar to those used on the turbines that produce electricity in the dam, and it looks more like a tree log you’d sit on around the campfire. Obviously, water is constantly flowing through the turbines, so visitors touring the dam can’t get an up-close look at them, but they do get to see the generator floor, the control room, the high-voltage cable area and the mechanics area, which includes a massive crane used to lift and move machinery in the power plant. New power plant lobby displays added this year include a working generator model, a history of dam construction and the mission of the Corps of Engineers, which oversees the dam. Construction of the dam was authorized under the Pick-Sloan Plan of 1944. Ground was broken May 18, 1952, and the power plant began producing electricity in September 1956. It now produces an annual average of 700 million kilowatt-hours of electricity, enough to meet the
needs of 50,000-100,000 homes for a year. Hydroelectric power production is just one of the dam’s purposes, Zeutenhorst said. The dam is also vital for flood control, irrigation, downstream navigation, providing water for municipalities, recreation and environmental stewardship. Those roles are part of the story told at the visitors center, which sits on a bluff overlooking the dam and lake. “We tell the story of the Missouri River itself,” Zeutenhorst said. Displays in the visitors center include an interactive map that gives details of the Missouri River drainage basin and the Corps of Engineers’ role in managing the river. Other displays inform visitors of the region’s early inhabitants and explorers, the fish and wildlife of the river environment, dam construction and the role of the Corp of Engineers in the area. A theater shows movies on the Lewis and Clark expedition, Gavins Point Dam construction and the Missouri River. There are exhibits of fossils found along the lake and tools and instruments used to build the dam. The visitors center also includes a book and gift shop. SIOUXLAND LIFE
IF YOU GO Free tours of Gavins Point Dam are given from Memorial Day through Labor Day. Tours are given Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and on holidays every hour from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with the exception of noon There is a limit of 30 people per tour, and everyone age 17 and older needs to have ID. No cellphones, cameras or bags are permitted during the tour. The Lewis and Clark Visitors Center is located along Nebraska Highway 121 just above the dam. The visitors center is open from late February to mid November. Hours of operation during winter months are 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. From Memorial Day through Labor Day, the visitors center is open 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 8 a.m.-7 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
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YANKTON The
Ice House
Reid Sorensen, Joe Doyle, Chris Kramer, Kent Buckman and Mel Mehret toast one another at The Ice House in Yankton, S.D.
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JUNE 2011
SIOUXLAND LIFE
Ice House
SERVES UP YANKTON TRADITION
Text and photographs by Tim Gallagher
YANKTON, S.D. – ON a windswept Friday afternoon, shortly before 5, the beer flowed at The Ice House. Just as it has since 1928. “We’re still here,” said owner Carla Anderson. “Waiting for it to warm up. If it was less windy, I’d have 50 people out here today. We are real weather dependent.” Didn’t matter this day to a dozen Yankton area residents, who braved southerly gusts sweeping off the Missouri River some 400 yards away. “We love the atmosphere,” said Steph Turman. “You don’t have to wear high heels.” “You get to be outside. It’s laid-back,” said Megan Zweber. It wasn’t always. The Ice House was constructed as an ice plant in 1928 by Anderson’s great-grandfather Keller. The people he built the brick structure for lost their financing. So, Keller had
Melissa Lindahl, Steph Turman and Megan Zweber, all of Yankton, S.D., enjoy an afternoon brew at The Ice House, a tradition along the riverfront for 83 years.
his son-in-law, Iner Anderson, take the building and run the Pure Ice Company. “They had brine tanks with an ammonia cooling system,” said Anderson. “They made 300-pound blocks of ice. It was the first place around here that could produce ice year-’round.” Iner Anderson received a beer license around 1933, when prohibition ended. The place has served chilled beer ever since. “I like getting out of work on a Friday,” said Mel Mehret, who joined five buddies in clanking their bottles in an Ice House spring toast. The sound preceded another Ice House tradition: The smashing of bottles. Once a beer is downed, the customer can throw the bottle beneath the wooden loading dock. Hundreds of thousands (maybe millions) of bottles have met their violent end against the brick wall beneath the dock. Six beers for $10 are packed in buckets of ice, either by Anderson, her brother Jim, or the customers themselves. Customers can buy it in cans or bottles. Singles cost $2. “We only sell domestic beer,” Carla Anderson said. Carla Anderson’s dad, Donald, and his brother Darrell took over The Ice House in the early 1950s. They chipped, hauled and bagged ice with their children – while serving beer – until 1982, when they decided to remove the ice fields. The beer stayed. So did the Andersons. Jim Anderson, who also works as a cartoonist, helped give The Ice House national exposure with an appearance on “The Late Show with David Letterman.” He showed his can-smashing skill in a “Stupid Human Tricks” segment. He could hop on one foot and smash 50
THE ICE HOUSE The Ice House at 101 Capitol Str. in Yankton, S.D., opens at 11 a.m. on weekdays, 7 a.m. on weekends. cans in 60 seconds. Customer Kent Buckman recalls a relative who once had a few cold ones at The Ice House much to the dismay of his wife. It was their anniversary, after all. “Well, Jim set up a bunch of cans in the shape of a heart and we took some video as Jim stomped the cans,” said Buckman. The forgetful husband stepped in the center of the heart and said, “Happy anniversary!” “We showed her the video and everything was OK,” Buckman said. It’s yet another story in a long line of ’em served here. The Ice House has been featured on “The Today Show” and in a 2007 Esquire magazine piece on the “Best Bars in America.” “The Today Show” segment came courtesy of then-host Tom Brokaw, a Yankton High School graduate. The national morning show featured highlights of all 50 states during a 1976 series celebrating the country’s centennial. Carla Anderson said The Ice House got nearly as much air time on the show as did Mount Rushmore.
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New Homes BeNefit more tHaN Just Buyers aNd Builders
The only people who benefit when a house is built are the family members who get to live there, and the builder who constructed and sold the home, right? Wrong. The positive impact of new residential construction is far-reaching, bringing benefits to families, businesses and services throughout a community immediately, as well as for years to come. According to economists at the National Association of Home Builders, the oneyear estimated local impacts of building 100 single-family homes in a typical metro area include $21.1 million in local income, $2.2 million in taxes and other local government revenue, and 324 local jobs. But what does that economic impact mean in the real, day-to-day lives of community residents? Just think about it. When a family moves to a community and buys a new house, they will likely shop at local stores to buy furniture and accessories to decorate the home. They will fill their car’s gas tank at local gas stations so they can get to the stores, have local mechanics work on the car when it breaks down or needs the oil changed, or buy a new car at
a local dealer when it’s time to replace the old one. The family may need to hire local companies for regular services to maintain their home, such as landscaping, house cleaning, pet sitters or pool upkeep. The children will enroll in local schools. This increases enrollment, meaning more teachers, janitors, cafeteria workers and other school support staff will need to be hired. Those kids will also join sports leagues and other activities, buy equipment and pay registration fees that provide stipends for referees and coaches. All of this economic activity puts income into the pockets of local business owners and their families, who can then afford to go out and spend money themselves, which recycles even more money into the community’s economy. The new family also pays local and state taxes. These tax revenues help pay for a wide range of government services, including school teachers, police departments, refuse collection, parks maintenance and road repairs. Over the long term, as the families who move into new homes become part of the community, their positive impact
continues. NAHB estimates that those 100 new homes also provide the community with additional, annually-recurring impacts of $3.1 million in local income, $743,000 in taxes and other revenue for local governments, and 53 local jobs. Families who buy a newly built home enjoy benefits including safety, amenities, energy efficiency and floor plans to fit a modern lifestyle. But the advantages of new homes extend far beyond the buyers and the builders—residential construction has a positive, direct impact on the local community for years. To learn more about the home-buying process or to find new homes for sale in the Siouxland area, go to www.hbags.com.
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YANKTON Restaurants
Katrina Trimble stands at the cash register island – made from a classic car – at her family’s Yesterday’s Cafe in Yankton. Yesterday’s Cafe features all kinds of items from the 1950s and decades beyond.
MOMS AND POPS
diners
SERVE YANKTON
Text and photographs by Tim Gallagher
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SIOUXLAND LIFE
YANKTON, S.D. – HUNGRY? If you find yourself famished in Yankton, chances are you’ll have the restaurant owner serving you soup, steak, a burger or coffee. When it comes to chains, it doesn’t seem this city is inundated with onesize-fits-all eateries. We’re featuring a few, ranging from South Dakota’s oldest pizza joint to a place where a hostess makes change while standing in a 1957 Chevy. Charlie’s Pizza House at 804 Summit St., was established by Charlie Chato in 1959, giving it the honor of being the state’s oldest pizza house. “It’s one of Yankton’s icons,” says Diana Gunderson, manager at Charlie’s for 12 years. “It’s one of the old places people must stop at when they’re back home to visit.”
“It’s one of Yankton’s icons. It’s one of the old places people must stop at when they’re back home to visit.” DIANA GUNDERSON Charlie’s Pizza House manager
Above left Jack Nielsen opens a 1915 wine cooler he purchased at an auction 28 years ago for $10. Nielsen has outfitted his JoDean’s Steakhouse in Yankton, S.D., with items from dozens of sales in the Siouxland region and beyond. Left A giant painting towers above diners at JoDean’s Steakhouse in Yankton, S.D. JoDean’s serves up to 500 diners in a rustic barn setting that’s half-restaurant, halfmuseum. Above Images of James Dean, Marilyn Monroe and neon signs harken back to the 1950s at Yesterday’s Cafe in Yankton, S.D.
It’s a quirky pizza place located kittycorner from Mount Marty College. There are 1950s posters adorning the walls and a painted mural featuring actress Marilyn Monroe out front. The real drawing card is the pizza. Diners come for the Saints & Sinners Pizza, which features crab or beef and shrimp. The most popular “pie” is called The Works, which has pepperoni, beef, sausage, mushroom, green pepper and onion. Or, try The Festus, named after the old “Gunsmoke” character. It has meat balls, jalapeños, sauerkraut and Swiss cheese. Besides pizza, Charlie’s, which is owned by Steve and Yvonne Slowey, serves hot wings, cheese bread and salads. According to Gunderson, Charlie Chato came from Chicago to start this
business. It is said that he paced back and forth at the front of the house, wondering why nobody went by. “He was used to the activity of Chicago,” Gunderson says. “Charlie was here a year and sold it.” Yesterday’s Cafe, like Charlie’s, is done up in 1950s deco. Posters and neon lights featuring James Dean, Marilyn Monroe and more line the walls at the café on 2216 Broadway Ave. It’s one of the few places where a hostess makes change while standing in a 1957 Chevy. “People are excited to pay at the booth cut from a ’57 Chevy,” says Kerry Trimble-Woehl, who owns Yesterday’s with husband, Toby Woehl. “There’s also a booth you can sit in that’s cut from a black ’57 Chevy. Lots of people request to sit there.”
Yesterday’s Cafe was started by Dan and Bobbie Trimble at a different location in Yankton in 1992. It moved here in 1997 and has since treated capacity crowds of 200 to hot beef sandwiches and tender roast beef. The All-American breakfast, featuring two eggs, ham, bacon, sausage, choice of hash browns or American fries plus pancakes and toast is the biggest – and maybe the most popular – breakfast plate at Yesterday’s. The All-American and its sidekick, The Hot Rod, are served anytime. Fries and things like mac-and-cheese are served to children in cut-out cars as well, ensuring young and old alike have something calling them back to Yesterday’s. The largest restaurant in Yankton – and maybe this side of Sioux Falls – is
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likely Jo Dean’s Steakhouse & Lounge at 2809 Broadway Ave. What began as a 16-stool diner in Vermillion, S.D., has grown to a 500-seat buffet-style restaurant that’s as much museum as it is eating establishment. One of the bars came from a sale in Connecticut. It’s oak and mahogany and dates back to the 1880s. Owner Jack Nielsen drove it home in a 26-foot trailer. There’s also a 1906 Cadillac on display in the dining room. There’s a 1915 wine cooler Nielsen found for $10 at an auction and more. Much, much more. There are U.S. flags and posters dating back to the pre-World War I days. Nielsen also collects rolling pins. “People wander around and take pictures. We encourage it,” said Nielsen, who joined the family business his parents, the late John and Thelma Dean Nielsen, began in 1972. Thelma Dean still
Richard Dale, co-owner of Books and Beans in Yankton, S.D., tops off a mocha in his coffee shop/bookstore .
resides at Centerville, S.D., which also had a Jo Dean’s Steakhouse until 1991. “I sold Centerville at that time and we focused on Yankton,” Jack Nielsen says. “We were located two miles north of Yankton until we built this site in 2002.”
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A site on Broadway Avenue allowed Nielsen and his staff of 50 to expand eating hours. The place is open 365 days per year, closing early at 2 p.m. on Christmas and Thanksgiving. Jo Dean’s specializes in a buffet, and a weekend seafood buffet that’s going on two decades. “We feature oyster, frog legs, shrimp and crab legs in our seafood buffet,” Nielsen says. Nielsen cuts all the steaks himself. Sirloin is featured in the buffet Monday through Friday. Chicken and roast beef are staples there as well. Books and Beans at 104 W. Third St., in downtown Yankton, is staffed by owners Richard and Kim Dale. The coffee shop gives the couple a place to share their love of literature. “These are used books, mostly,” Richard Dale says. “I had them in a storage building. Some were donated, others purchased.” The former insurance company executive calls the shop his retirement work. Books and Beans offers all kinds of specialty coffees, java slush drinks, frappes, hot chocolate, malts, sundaes and more. “If you’ve got coffee in it, it’s made here,” he says. Books and Beans is the only Yankton shop where you’ll find South Dakota State University ice cream. How long have the Jackrabbits been putting out this cold treat? “Forever,” says Dale with a laugh. “They were making ice cream when I was in school up there.”
YANKTON Fish
Hatchery
HATCHERY WORKS TO ENSURE
Project leader Marc Jackson holds a juvenile pallid sturgeon at the Gavins Point National Fish Hatchery and Aquarium located west of Yankton.
fish
future Text by Nick Hytrek Photographs by Tim Hynds
YANKTON, S.D. – THOSE walleyes you’re trying to catch in Lewis and Clark Lake don’t grow on trees. Chances are, some of them grew up at the Gavins Point National Fish Hatchery and Aquarium nearby. The hatchery, one of 65 Federal Hatcheries and Fish Technology Centers operated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, each year raises 10-15 species of fish that are most sought after by anglers. The fish raised here are used to stock area state and tribal recreational water bodies, said Marc Jackson, project leader of the facility. The hatchery also is involved in endangered species restoration and recovery, namely the pallid sturgeon. The paddlefish, which is not endangered but is low in numbers, also is spawned here. For those who want to get a closer look at the fish they’re trying to catch, there’s the aquarium, which contains 15 species of fish, plus snapping turtles. “The aquarium is a big draw,” Jackson said. But if you want to see how fish are hatched and raised, just drive a little farther to the hatchery, where several million fish are hatched each year. It attracts more than 100,000 visitors annually. The hatchery is unique, Jackson said, because it raises cold-, cool- and warmwater species, possibly the only such facility in the country able to do so. Inside the hatchery, a series of jars,
IF YOU GO The Gavins Point National Fish Hatchery and Aquarium is located four miles west of Yankton on South Dakota Highway 52. Summer hours for the aquarium are 9 a.m.-5 p.m. seven days a week. Tours are self-guided, or you can schedule a guided tour for groups Hatchery tours are available indoors from 7 a.m.-3:30 p.m. seven days a week. Outdoor ponds and raceways are open at all hours. To schedule a tour at either the aquarium or hatchery, call (605) 665-3352.
tubes and water tanks contain eggs and tiny fish, some of which move into one of eight indoor raceways, long concrete pools with moving water that simulates a river current. Those indoor facilities allow the hatchery to raise some species, especially the pallid sturgeon, yearround. Others are raised seasonally outdoors in 36 ponds and eight raceways. One big attraction for visitors is buying food on site to feed the fish. Once fish have
grown to the size needed for transport, the ponds are drained and the fish swim into a collection basin, from which they are gathered into portable tanks for transportation to their new homes. Most of those fish will be stocked in local lakes. Pallid sturgeon are released into the Missouri River at Yankton, but are also taken to release points as far away as Montana. The sturgeon has been a special project at the hatchery. Workers there have pallid sturgeon in tanks year-round so they can study their genetics, reproductive cycles and spawning habits. That knowledge is used to try to rebuild the endangered fish’s numbers in the Missouri River. The hatchery, Jackson said, plays a big role in helping keep the local economy healthy, both by buying supplies locally and supplying the fish that attract anglers to local lakes. “This hatchery generates a substantial amount of revenue for the local economy based on the fish we produce,” Jackson said. Other attractions at the hatchery include large shelterbelts that attract a number of birdwatchers.
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PROFILE Q&A
Who’s Yankton, S.D.’s favorite son? Ask most people and they’d say Tom Brokaw. To find out what prompted that, Nick Hytrek talked with the longtime NBC anchor. 1. How often do you make it back to Yankton? I get back episodically. In the last year I’ve been back twice. Once was for some work at USD and to help in Yankton with the Komen Race for the Cure. I was back earlier this year to talk with Corey Briest, a Yankton soldier wounded in Iraq, for a piece I was working on. I get back to South Dakota every year for pheasant hunting, but I don’t always make it to Yankton. 2. Do you still have family in the area? No, we don’t. We have some family in Sioux Falls. 3. Growing up in Yankton, what were your favorite places to go? I didn’t get there until I was 15. I was a Missouri River rat. I ran a boat rental and bait shop along the river one summer. I spent a lot of time swimming below the dam. 4. What’s a lasting memory you have of Yankton? I think it’s just the complete experience. It was the most fortunate event in my life because I met Meredith (his wife). The community really embraced the workers who came to work on the dam. 5. Your father was involved in construction around Gavins Point Dam. What did he do? He was the foreman of the outside maintenance crew and they were in charge of finishing the campgrounds and recreation areas around the dam. 6. Is it true you once were a tour guide at the dam? I was. In the summer of 1958 I was a tour guide. 7. Are there any secrets about the dam you can reveal? I did not have a clue about how hydroelectricity works so I made up a lot on the tours. I sometimes feel bad about misleading people back then. 8. How did growing up in South Dakota shape your professional career? For one thing, I had an enormous curiosity about what’s going on beyond the borders. Growing up in the Midwest, there aren’t many world-shaping events 26
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happening here. I always wanted to know what was going on out there. The values I carried away from there were every day you were expected to earn your place, to follow the rules. 9. What led you into journalism? I was always interested in writing and the political arena. When we moved to Yankton, they had a radio station that I worked in at night and that got me involved in broadcasting. 10. Were there any local journalists who inspired you or mentored you? There was a guy in Sioux City, David Schoumacher who worked at Channel 4, he went on to become a CBS correspondent. Yankton had two radio stations and I worked at both of them. I just worked for very skilled people who cared about what they were doing. 11. Did you ever envision your career taking the path it did? I had no idea that I would have the kind of gratifying experience that I’ve had. 12. What about your upbringing in Yankton do you think helped you to be successful? You couldn’t bluff your way to success. There was a great premium on doing your work and doing it well. 13. When you’re traveling the world, do you ever look back and think “This is a long way from Yankton”? Of course. I was just with a member of the royal family and in the royal palace at Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. I’ve been there before, but you take a look around and say to yourself “This is not City Hall in Yankton.” On election night, I’ve got the world at my fingertips with electronic returns and I think back to the 1956 election and sitting at WNAX in Yankton reading local election results. 14. You and your wife, Meredith, have made many donations to Yankton, the University of South Dakota and other local causes. Why? That’s where our life began together. We’re rooted there. We’ve been very, very fortunate that we’ve been able to experience the life we have and that we we’ve been able to do well financially.
SIOUXLAND LIFE
15. What’s kept you linked to your home town when so many other celebrities turn their backs on their roots? As much as anything, it’s the friendships I made there and how the town took us in when me moved there. When we go back and meet old friends, they don’t ask me how was my trip to Saudi Arabia? They say to me, “Remember that basketball game you lost in 1957?” 16. The Auld-Brokaw Trail in Yankton is named for your and Meredith’s parents. What was it about that project that made you want to get involved? We wanted to do something for Yankton and in the names of our parents. My dad, being involved with recreation at the dam, I knew that was important to him. Meredith’s father was a doctor, but we used to say that was his second profession. He was also a botanist and a farmer. When we found out Yankton needed matching funds, we thought that’s the right kind of project to be involved in. 17. As a high school student, did you ever think you’d see things dedicated with your family’s name on them? Of course not. 18. Have you been on the trail? Every time I go back I get a bike and ride it. 19. What’s it like to see that trail with your parents’ name on it? It’s very satisfying. Meredith’s parents are gone and my father is gone. They would be very pleased with it and think it was the right thing to do. 20. Since you stepped down from “NBC Nightly News,” you seem to be busier than ever. What projects are you currently working on? I just got back from the Middle East, and that’s still playing out. I was in Texas yesterday with Mrs. Obama and we’re working on a story about families in the military. The idea was never to retire. I wanted to pick and choose what I wanted to do, without having that short leash of being at the desk every night at 6 o’clock and have the flexibility in my schedule to do them.
20 QUESTIONS with Yankton native and NBC anchor
Tom Brokaw Text by Nick Hytrek | Photograph by Jerry Mennenga
“I had no idea that I would have the kind of gratifying experience that I’ve had.”
Tom Brokaw, former NBC broadcaster and anchor and alumnus of the University of South Dakota, Vermillion, speaks at his alma mater Sept. 29, 2010.
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YANKTON Recreation
Areas
Text by Nick Hytrek | Photographs by Tim Hynds
LEWIS & CLARK RECREATION AREA OFFERS
something for
everyone YANKTON, S.D. – YOU’D be hardpressed to claim there’s nothing to do at the Lewis and Clark Recreation Area just west of Yankton. Lining the north shores of Lewis and Clark Lake, the recreation area lists these activities or facilities: Boating, camping, fishing, jet skiing, kayaking, sailing, swimming, tubing, water skiing, disc golf, nature trails, archery and basketball
CONTACT INFORMATION Lewis and Clark Recreation Area (South Dakota): (605) 668-2985 or www.lewisandclarkpark.com. Lewis and Clark Marina: (605) 665-3111, or www.lewisandclarkmarina.com. Lewis and Clark Resort: (605) 665-2680 or www.lewisandclarkpark.com. Lewis and Clark State Recreation Area (Nebraska): (402) 388-4169 or www.outdoornebraska.org. 28
JUNE 2011
courts. That doesn’t include the numerous picnic shelters scattered among some 600 campsites and more than 30 cabins found in the Recreation Area and the nearby Pierson Ranch and Chief White Crane recreation areas on the downstream side of Gavins Point Dam. “There’s all kinds of things to do,” said Shane Bertsch, district park supervisor with South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks. The Lewis and Clark Recreation Area also includes the Lewis and Clark Marina and Lewis and Clark Resort, all of which are located off of South Dakota Highway 52. All those facilities are set up to take advantage of the 31,400 acres of water surface and 90 miles of shoreline. It’s easy to figure out what most visitors come for. “No. 1 is water recreation,” Bertsch said. On a nice summer day, you could see 500 boats on the lake, plus personal water craft, Bertsch said. Visitors are water skiing, sailing, fishing or just floating. On shore, it’s hard to find an open camping spot during summer weekends. “Every weekend during the summer, with the exception of the first weekend in June, we’re full,” Bertsch said. And it stays that way until after Labor Day. Bertsch said space is usually available during the week. There are plenty of fish in Lewis and
SIOUXLAND LIFE
Traditional camping pads are shown at the Lewis and Clark Recreation Area west of Yankton, S.D.
Clark Lake, Bertsch said, but many anglers may prefer Lake Yankton or the Missouri River just below the dam, which protects both areas from the wind. Fish species include walleye, perch, crappie, sauger, largemouth, smallmouth and white bass, northern pike, drum and catfish. There’s plenty to do even if you’re not a water person. A horse camp includes eight campsites with eight 20-foot-by20-foot corrals. The camp connects with a 5-mile trail that goes up into the hills. The crushed-asphalt trail is open for horseback riding, mountain biking and hiking. In addition to the recreation area, visitors can also check out these other recreational opportunities: LEWIS AND CLARK RESORT Located next to the dam, the resort has 17 cabins and 24 motel rooms. The resort has waterfront access and an outdoor pool. There is access to a bike trail, and bicycles are available for rental. Other features include large picnic shelters, sand volleyball and movie rentals. LEWIS AND CLARK MARINA Located next to the resort, the marina has more than 400 slips and temporary dock space for guests. Visitors can rent power, pontoon or fishing boats and buy gas. There’s also a boat service
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department. “It’s probably one of the largest marinas in the Midwest,” said Jeff VanMeeteren, regional park supervisor, South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks. Kayaks and canoes are not available for rent at the marina, but they can be found at DJs Sports Rental nearby. The marina also features Magilly’s Lakeside Eatery, a family friendly restaurant that has a variety of food including sandwiches, barbecue, steak and seafood. LEWIS AND CLARK STATE RECREATION AREA On the Nebraska side of the river, the area is administered by the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission and is located four miles west of Nebraska Highway 121 on county road 54C. The Weigand and Burbach portions of the recreation area have 150 electrical campsites, 83 nonelectric sites and 10 lakeside cabins, plus playgrounds, horseshoe pits and sand volleyball. The marina has 118 boat docks available for seasonal rentals and gas is available around the clock. There no boat rentals. The recreation area also includes the South Shore Area, which is a horse camp that has corrals and primitive campsites. The area accesses a 4.5-mile trail for horses and mountain bikes.
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YANKTON Signs
Signs
OF HISTORIC TIMES IN YANKTON
Text and photographs by Tim Gallagher
YANKTON, S.D. – CHECK out these “signs of the times” in Historic Downtown Yankton. Times, as in 1915 and 1935. Years gone by. They promote places like Meredith Jewelry, Kline Jewelry, O’Malley’s Bar, Boston Shoes to Boots and more. They’re the kinds of signs – with neon lighting – that make the fellows of “American Pickers” salivate with thoughts of resale. “Our sign dates back to 1915,” said Dennis Menke, owner of Boston Shoes to Boots on West Third Street in downtown Yankton. At the turn of that century, Boston was known as the shoe-making capital of the world. Businessmen branched out by selling all the goods you needed to start a shoe business. And, yes, that included signage. Greek immigrant Gus Economy established this Boston Shoes to Boots store 96 years ago and put up the sign. Economy trained Cliff Menke and sold the store to him in 1948. Cliff Menke ran the business until selling it to his son, Dennis Menke, in 1979. Dennis Menke has been here ever since, working aside his wife, Ann, in South Dakota’s oldest shoe shop. “There are four of these signs left in the U.S.,” Dennis Menke said. “The sign used to have neon. I’m hesitant to take it down (to fix it) as I think there’s a city ordinance. I might not be grandfathered in if I take the sign down.” Not true, according to Joe Morrow, a building official serving the City of Yankton. The boot-shaped sign hanging over Menke’s sidewalk is allowed in the downtown business district. “Projection signs must be 4 feet from the edge of the curb and they have to be at least 8.5 feet above the sidewalk,” Morrow said. Those standards apply for the sign touting Menke’s business, one where the 30
JUNE 2011
Above Dennis Menke, owner of Boston Shoes to Boots, is shown in front of his business sign, which dates back to 1915 when Greek immigrant Gus Economy opened the shop. Menke apprenticed under Economy in the 1960s. Top right Sherril and Francis Christensen in front of the Meredith Jewelry sign, which dates back to 1935. Top Buhl’s Cleaners is another Yankton business with signage that extends over the sidewalk.
62-year-old has toiled for 50 years. Just up the street to the east is Bernie Kline, an 85-year-old celebrating his 50th year in business with Kline Jewelry. His sign is shaped like a ring. The diamond is neon. And, like the boot promotion piece, his sign has some age. It probably dates back to the 1930s when Arnold Fox moved his watch repair shop out of the WNAX building to this site. The jewelry cases and the exterior sign are original, according to Kline, who learned this trade by fixing watches for 11 years with Crescent Jewelers on the corner of Fifth and Pearl streets in Sioux City in the 1950s. “I bought this store in 1961,” he said. “The sign was here years before me.” Kline’s son, David, has run the dayto-day operations at Kline Jewelry downtown and at Yankton Mall for the
SIOUXLAND LIFE
Bernie Kline is shown in front of his Kline Jewelry sign in downtown Yankton. Kline celebrated his 50th year in business in May. The business started in the WNAX Radio building and moved to this location at 218 W. Third St. in the 1930s.
past 15 years. Bernie still stops in to repair watches, clocks, etc. He also likes to share the history of his store and its place in downtown Yankton. His sign is made of metal and tin. Why wasn’t it made of fiberglass? The question elicits a laugh from the longtime jeweler. “Fiberglass wasn’t around back then,” he said. Just up the block to the east is another long time jeweler and another long time jewelry sign. Francis “Chris” Christensen joined his wife, Sherril Christensen, and their children in leaving San Diego, in 1973. At the suggestion of a former neighbor, they moved to Yankton. Francis Christensen, an industrial engineer, had no job. And really no plan. “It took some courage,” he said. “We didn’t want to raise our kids in
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Broadcasting LIVE 8am-10am San Diego,” Sherril said. “It was getting very crowded.” She was a native of Spirit Lake, Iowa. He was raised in Milford, Iowa. They came back to Siouxland, and Francis Christensen, in need of a watch battery, soon entered the shop of Arthur Meredith, who started Meredith Jewelry on West Third in downtown Yankton in 1925. The two men connected instantly. And in a matter of months, Meredith sold his business to the Christensens. “Art had the store for 48 years,” Christensen said. “We’ve had it 38 years.” The Elgin Watch Company erected the Meredith sign in 1935. The Elgin name used to grace a glass case that covered the face of the watch. That case was shot out years ago. But the sign endured.
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YANKTON Meridian
Bridge
steeple LANDMARK
RISES ABOVE YANKTON Text by Nick Hytrek and John Quinlan | Photographs by Tim Hynds
YANKTON, S.D. – IT’S been more than 35 years since the Rev. Thomas Wordekemper first visited Yankton. His first glimpse of the city remains etched in his memory. As a high school senior, he drove with his parents from their home in West Point, Neb., to visit Mount Marty College. As they approached Yankton from the south, something in the distance caught his eye. “I remember coming up Highway 81. Seeing that steeple rising above the horizon was a very moving experience,” Wordekemper said. That steeple atop Bishop Marty Memorial Chapel can be seen from miles in all directions. Located on a bluff above the Missouri River, the chapel is a spiritual center for the sisters at Sacred Heart Monastery. It’s also a vital part of the spiritual life at Mount Marty next to the monastery. “It really does stand as a symbol of faith of this community and the sisters who came before us,” said Sister Mary Kay Panowicz OSB, the monastery’s public relations coordinator. It certainly is inspiring. Built in 1950, the steeple towers 187.5 feet high. A 12.5-foot bronze cross tops it off. Though it belongs to the monastery, it has also become a landmark of Mount Marty, which stretches off to the north, 32
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and the city of Yankton itself. Mount Marty students are lucky to have such a beautiful place to worship, said Wordekemper, who attended Mount Marty from 1975-79. He returned in June 2009 and serves as chaplain at both the college and the monastery. “The chapel belongs to the sisters, of course,” he said. “We’re very fortunate they allow us to use it.” The chapel is named after Bishop Martin Marty, the first bishop of the Dakotas. The exterior is built of lannon stone from Wisconsin and bedford stone from Indiana. The interior contains sandstone mined in Indiana and white oak, much of it intricately carved. Stained glass windows throughout the chapel depict the daily activities and prayer life of the Benedictine sisters and events from the gospel and life of St. Benedict. While the college uses the chapel from time to time, there’s no doubt of its importance to the monastery and the Benedictine sisters who live there. “For us, all of our significant events in our religious life take place there,” Panowicz said. The chapel plays a role in the spiritual lives of others as well. During the summer, Panowicz said, it’s common to see people who are camping at nearby Lewis and Clark Lake come to Sunday Mass
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The steeple of Bishop Marty Memorial Chapel on the Sacred Heart Monastery campus in Yankton dominates the city’s skyline.
there. Though Yankton has two Catholic parishes, some residents attend Mass at the chapel now and then. The sisters welcome the chance to share the space with the college students. Mount Marty uses the main upper chapel, which seats 600 people, for special Masses and a Christmas Vespers service. Students attend Sunday afternoon Mass in the smaller Peace Chapel downstairs. “The faith life of the students is an important part of the college experience. It’s important for us to share in their religious life,” Panowicz said. Panowicz said it’s a comforting sight to return to Yankton from a trip and see that steeple from miles away. “When the chapel was built, it was to be a sign of faith, no matter what your denomination,” she said. The monastery itself has also become a place for folks to deepen their faith, though many may not know it. Some people in Yankton may not know of the existence of the Benedictine Peace Center, a retreat center ensconced on the second floor of the monastery, just down the hallway from the Bishop Marty Memorial Chapel. But the word is getting out, says soothingly sweetvoiced Sister Jeanne Ranek OSB, director of the Peace Center. Ranek said “word of mouth” and the monastery’s webpage
CHAPEL TOURS Tours of Bishop Marty Memorial Chapel are available by appointment. To schedule a tour, call Sacred Heart Monastery at (605) 668-6000.
Left Bishop Marty Memorial Chapel is shown on the grounds of the Sacred Heart Monastery in Yankton. Below left The home of Martin Marty, the first bishop of the Dakota Territories is shown on the grounds of the Sacred Heart Monastery. Below The order’s crest is shown in stained glass at the Sacred Heart Monastery.
are how most retreatants find out about the center. And if it is peace you are looking for, a comfortable room with private bath and monastic ambience on about 40 acres of land in a beautiful setting on bluffs overlooking the Missouri River, and at a cost that would shame some of the area’s better motels, this is where you want to be. “We wanted a small place where people could get away from their busy lives for some time of prayer and reflection,” Ranek said. The Peace Center, adjacent to Mount Marty College, which the Benedictine Sisters founded in 1936, was built in 2001, when the monastery underwent renovations that included the demolition of two old brick buildings between the Chapel and Bishop Marty’s historic residence, replaced by a structure whose exterior stonework matched that of the adjacent Chapel. Ranek had plenty of experience doing retreats and spiritual direction
training. So she took charge of the new center with its eight private bedrooms, a meditation room, chapels, lounge and libraries. The bedrooms are mostly single rooms, one a double for interested couples. SPIRITUAL DIRECTORS AVAILABLE “We have trained spiritual directors available if people would like to do what we call a directed retreat. They would meet with the spiritual director for an hour a day, talk about their lives, whatever they needed to talk about,” Ranek said. The Peace Center also hosts small groups, and the 10 bedrooms used for visiting family members on the first floor can be used on these occasions. But this is really just a small spirituality center, eschewing the conference retreats often designed for larger groups, Ranek said. “Something that’s missing in people’s lives as a rule would be they have to work to find quiet time. They call it the Peace Center for one reason because I
think that is what people experience here. You can be ... and do ... a lot,” she said. The retreat can last one day, maybe a couple of hours, or expand to a week, a month, even year-long sabbaticals, she noted. Some repeat visitors drive many miles to periodically consult their spiritual directors ... even if only for an hour. If there for an unstructured sabbatical, retreatants have access to the prayer life of the monastic community. They can eat with the 109 Benedictine Sisters and join them in recreation activities, too. “Right now, we have somebody who does music, and she has access to the organs to play,” Ranek said. “Some people come to do writing. If they’re self-directed, we can take somebody for a month, six months, for a year. It works very well.” The Benedictine Sisters also offer a Theology Institute, biannual programs on Saturday mornings in spring and autumn on a variety of theological topics, free to the ecumenical public.
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Peace Chapel, located in the lower level of Bishop Marty Memorial Chapel, is shown on the grounds of the Sacred Heart Monastery in Yankton.
Sister Mary Kay Panowicz walks through the cemetery on the grounds of the Sacred Heart Monastery.
DIRECTION OR NOT It is easy to integrate long-term retreatants into the community. Shorttimers are welcome, too. But if they wish to remain isolated, on their own, without direction, that is another common option. “It depends on what they need and want,” Ranek said. “We can build a
structured retreat for people. But most of what we do is people just seeking the quiet. Walk the grounds to read, to sleep, to pray, maybe to meet with a spiritual director. The needs of people are unique, as unique as people.” The center has also offered “dreamwork retreats,” which explore the unconscious and subconscious and how dreams are used in your spiritual
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SIOUXLAND LIFE
journey. “Usually there’s a lot of symbolism in our dreams that we can unwrap in helpful ways,” she said, noting a popular book that called dreams “God’s forgotten language.” While most retreatants hail from South Dakota, Nebraska and Iowa, some have come for retreat from as far away as New York. “And we do get a real interesting mix of religions, an ecumenical mix,” Ranek said. “We didn’t set out to do that, but that’s what happened. We really find that very enriching because each of the Christian traditions has nurtured different aspects of the Christian gifts in a special way. There’s a lot of mutual enrichment in that.” The sisters also do a lot of outreach work. Some of them do confirmation or creative retreats at different parishes. “I do a fair amount of retreats or facilitations for other Benedictine communities around the country,” she said, noting that she also coordinates retreats for the local sisters with outside retreat directors brought in for that purpose. Separate retreats are also planned each year for Oblates of St. Benedict, Christians who associate themselves with the Benedictine community in order to enrich their Christian way of life. As for the cost, even many retreatants tell Ranek that she doesn’t charge enough for the experience, she said. The cost for a private room and bath is $25 a night. An additional $15 is added for three meals a day plus snacks. “But we use the monastery cafeteria. So I don’t really control the menus,” Ranek said, adding that the sisters eat well. “We have good food. But we have kept that price. We like to be available. We don’t like to turn people away because of money.” For more information, check out the website: www.yanktonbenedictines.org/center. html.
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YANKTON Golf
Courses
Club selection?
YOU’VE GOT A COURSE SELECTION IN YANKTON A golfer is shown in the first tee at Fox Run Golf Course in Yankton.
Text by Tim Gallagher | Photographs by Tim Gallagher and Tim Hynds
YANKTON, S.D. – THERE is more than club selection when it comes to golf in Yankton. You can talk “course selection” first. Hillcrest Golf and Country Club at 2206 Mulberry St. dates back to 1953. Fox Run at 600 West 27th St. opened 40 years later. Both welcome players from Yankton and beyond to courses situated in residential neighborhoods. Fox Run has seen new housing spring up since the course took shape west of Broadway Avenue. Houses surround the perimeter of Hillcrest. Here’s a bit about both courses. Hillcrest Golf and Country Club isn’t named because it’s on the crest of a hill. No, the man who owned the ground upon which the initial nine-hole course was built was named Hill. “It’s not a hilly course,” says Pat Kramer, PGA certified head professional and general manager. The first nine holes are narrow and tree-lined. The greens are small and shaped like an upside down bowl. The second nine holes opened in the early 36
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Pat Kramer, general manager at Yankton, S.D.’s, Hillcrest Golf and County Club is shown in the pro shop.
1970s. This area is more open and features larger greens. Ponds come into play on seven holes. The signature hole is No. 17, a par 5 that requires many low-handicap players to drive the ball with a middle iron.
SIOUXLAND LIFE
“There is out-of-bounds to the right of the water and the left of the fairway,” Kramer says. “The drive is possible for a big hitter to carry a portion of the pond. But if you hit it a little left, you might go out. You hit it right, and you might not
carry.” Hillcrest has hosted a number of South Dakota state events through the years. This summer, the state’s husband/ wife tournament will be held at Hillcrest. According to Kramer, more Hillcrest members play each year in the husband/ wife tournament than from any other course in the state. Jim Gevens, the interim manager at Fox Run, said his course hosts a Dakota Tour three-day event. The state senior tournament was held at Fox Run in 2010, among others. Signature holes at this public course are Nos. 9 and 18. “Water lines both sides of the fairway on both holes,” Gevens says of the dueling par 4s. Fox Run, which plays nearly 7,000 yards from the tips, is named for the foxes, which do run in this area. “Yes, we have foxes out here,” Gevens said. “They do run the course. You can see them from time to time.”
IF YOU GO... Hillcrest Golf & Country Club at 2206 Mulberry St. in Yankton can be contacted at www. hillcrest.4t.com or by calling (605) 665-4621, Fox Run at 600 West 27th St. in Yankton can be seen at www.cityofyankton.com or by calling (605) 668-5205.
Above Deb Gubbels tees off as Tena Becker, left, and Lois Haar watch as the three play a round of golf at Hillcrest Golf and County Club. Left Jim Gevens is the interim manager at Fox Run Golf Course.
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YANKTON Dakota
Territorial Museum
DETAILS What: Dakota Territorial Museum Where: 610 Summit St. Summer hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday; noon to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday Admission: Free Questions: (605) 665-3898 or email dtmuseum@iw.net or visit dakotaterritorialmuseum.org
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Director Crystal Nelson is shown with a display honoring the history of radio station WNAX at the Dakota Territorial Museum in Yankton, SD. The stereoscope is part of an emphasis on hands-on displays at the museum.
Text by Joanne Fox | Photographs by Tim Hynds
YANKTON, S.D. – ALTHOUGH Benjamin Franklin may have believed fish and visitors stink after three days, that’s not the case at the Dakota Territorial Museum. “The fishing gear we have on display is one of the most popular,” said Crystal Nelson. Max Copper of Bloomfield, Neb., donated a collection of outboard motors, lures and a large variety of fishing gear to the museum in early 2000. “I think it’s fascinating that he chose us for his collection,” Nelson noted. Copper’s collection includes memorabilia ranging from a 1915 Evinrude motor to a 1955 coral-colored Mercury Silent Six, sometimes referred to as the “Mercury Red” because of its color. The Dakota Territorial Museum, located in West Side Park, is owned and operated by the Yankton County Historical 38
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Society (YCHS), formed in 1961. The YCHS, through the Dakota Territorial Museum, exists to preserve, protect, interpret and educate the public about the heritage and development of the city and county of Yankton and the surrounding area. Housing memorabilia of early Yankton and Dakota Territory days, including Native American Sioux (Lakota) Indian and pioneer artifacts, the museum offers visitors a glimpse into Yankton’s pioneer history, Nelson said. “For example we have a 1613 Czechoslovakian Bible and 1630 Norwegian Bible,” she said. “When you think about how those survived from crossing the ocean, to crossing the country to arriving in this area, it really speaks to the heritage of those early immigrants.” Other glimpses of Yankton, which was established in 1859 through a treaty with
SIOUXLAND LIFE
the Yankton Sioux Indians, is provided through period room exhibits, unusual displays and a variety of outbuildings. In addition to the main museum building, outbuildings include the restored Gunderson Rural School House, the 1860 Hovden Family Log Cabin, the Great Northern Railway Depot and a retired Burlington Northern caboose. The current museum was built in 1971 and is ready for a new home. The Yankton County Historical Society’s board of directors is in the process of converting the century-old Mead Building into a museum. The Mead Building was named for and built by Dr. Leonard C. Mead as a monument to his progressive attitude toward the positive treatment of mentally ill people in a beautiful, serene atmosphere. Located on the campus of the former
The Upholstery Shop “ C o u C h P o tat o h e a v e n ” South Dakota Hospital for the Insane, the building was set to be demolished when the board – in 2008 – decided to study the feasibility of rehabilitating the building for use as a museum and cultural center. The Mead Building would provide 35,000 square feet of much-needed space for the museum’s artifacts, many of which are in storage because the current museum’s 5,000-6,000 square feet don’t provide enough room to display them all, Nelson said. Built in 1909 to house the women’s ward of the hospital, the Mead Building has been vacant since 1980. There had been almost no maintenance since then, but an assessment reported the building was structurally sound. After months of discussions and planning, museum officials reached an agreement in 2009 with the State of South Dakota to begin transforming the historic building to house the museum and its collections. Recently, representatives of Mead Building Committee continue to work directly with Gov. Dennis Daugaard’s office to develop a partnership to use inmate labor to assist restoration work on the Mead Building. The YCHS was awarded the City of Deadwood Grant for $25,000, which will be used toward building repairs. The Mead Building Committee is currently meeting with multiple roofing companies to find the best options to repair the roof, Nelson said. Completion of the roof repair is expected by fall of 2011. Nelson said the Mead Building Project is laid out in three stages – to prepare the building for rehab, to prepare it for occupancy and the ultimate complete reuse of the building.
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HEALTH Holistic
healing
CERTAIN MOVES PROVE
th
Text by John Quinlan Photograph by Tim Hynds
A PASSIONATE PELVIC HEALTH specialist, Michele Kreisberg Palmer has brought a new look to physical therapy in Siouxland with Embody, the one-room clinic she opened last fall above Rebo’s at Fourth and Court streets that is dedicated to holistic and inspired health care and well-being. Through a variety of hands-on manual therapies, movement, breathing, therapeutic yoga, awareness training and self-care practices, Palmer integrates traditional western medicine with eastern health practices and philosophy. This comes on top of her 16 years of manual therapy experience, a foundation for treating the root of pain and functional issues. With a large Indian rug, a big ball, comfortably exotic artwork, earth colors and what appears to be a big bed as its centerpiece, this is not your ordinary medical office. Bright and vibrant, it looks inviting. The bed is a Rolfing massage therapy table. And that big ball? It’s a useful exercise tool. It may seem more at home in Boulder, Colo., where she continues to operate a clinic one week each month (her move to Sioux City coming after marriage to entrepreneur Marty Palmer of Palmer Candy Co.) Embody opened about seven months ago. With 18 years of experience in the body healing field, her early career as a massage therapist and yoga practitioner gave Palmer a different perspective when she entered the physical therapy field. “With all the information that I had gathered before and my experiences, I then compiled it and took a much more Physical therapist Michele Kreisberg Palmer talks about her holistic approach to therapy at Embody Physical Therapy in Sioux City.
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herapeutic, REHABILITATIVE
holistic approach to physical therapy,” she said. “And I specialize in areas where most physical therapists don’t go into, which is pelvic health, women’s health, men’s pelvic health issues.” MEN’S ISSUES, TOO While a great deal of her work deals with women’s health issues, from pregnancy and postpartum care to menstrual issues and vaginismus, men’s pelvic health is a big priority. She noted that men must often deal with misdiagnosed prostatitis, chronic pelvic pain or urinary incontinence. So she works holistically in a team approach with other health care professionals, when possible, in dealing with prostate issues in the bladder and rectal area, anything that’s contained in the bowl of the pelvis and spine, as well. “I do work with some traditional things like back pain and neck pain,” Palmer said, “but I go again into those areas that a lot of men don’t feel comfortable talking about ... or that their doctors don’t know exactly what to do with them.” Some medical professionals may insist, for instance, that the problem is prostatitis. “With an ‘itis’ and an inflammation, they think that there is a bacterial infection. So a lot of times they continue to give maybe up to six months of antibiotics to the man,” she said. “And that’s not necessarily the problem. Unfortunately, there are other issues, a lot of them musculature in nature, that can reproduce symptoms that might look like what he is having is prostate issues, which would be constant urination or painful ejaculation or painful intercourse or frequent urination in the night, nocturia.”
In such cases, Palmer looks at the pelvis, its structure, movement and alignment of the bones. MYSTERIES OF THE PELVIS Men and women often fail to understand what goes on in the pelvis. For men, the problem could simply be a chronic shortness in the pelvic floor muscles, depriving them of the ability to relax, she said. And not having the ability to relax can impact normal urinary function because of the relationship between the pelvic floor and the bladder. So when the pelvic floor is too tight and doesn’t know how to relax and shut off, it simply confuses the bladder, she said. “You know how women’s health always used to be the sleeper,” she said. “I used to say there’s a lot of information about women’s health issues. There is more information about that now than there is for men’s pelvic health issues.” Her interest in pelvic health issues came from her work in Boulder when she noted that patients simply didn’t talk about certain issues, like the pelvis and the birthing process and maybe urinary issues or bowel and bladder issues. “Painful intercouses is another big thing that I work on with women. No one was talking about it,” she said. “And if you look at the rest of the body, the rest of the body is informed by the pelvis, in my mind. So there might be issues elsewhere in the body. But if we’re not looking at the relationship on how the pelvis sees the spine, we’re missing a pretty important piece of the puzzle.” She does a lot of hands-on body work, applying visceral manipulation, an osteopathic technique, to the physical therapy techniques she learned first. She has also studied Arvigo techniques of Maya
Abdominal Therapy, combining what she considers the best of many worlds. That includes yoga therapy and Myofascial Release. IT’S ABOUT EDUCATION Since no one practitioner can put it all together, she said a multidisciplinary team approach, looking at it holistically, is the only way to go. It works in Boulder, where she confers with physicians, some of them very non-traditional, urologists, gynecologists, acupuncturists, midwives, birthing professionals, doulas, massage therapists, Pilates and yoga instructors and chiropractors. She said she hopes to build such relationships among Siouxland’s medical professionals as well. “For me, it’s really about education, teaching people and practitioners that there are options out there that maybe even the doctors themselves usually are not fully aware of,” she said. And while doctors are a big part of the team, “super-important” she said, she wishes more would be willing to recognize the other players. The pelvis, she admits, is a “scary” part of the body. And as a physical therapist, she is licensed to work internally, both vaginally and rectally. Yet that kind of work remains optional, depending on the comfort level of the patient. “My big goal is to send people home with things to do so that they can take care of themselves, so that I can empower them to participate in their health care,” Palmer said. It could be exercise, yoga, self-massage. Whatever the take-home remedy, it is geared to each individual. Even candy has its place. As Palmer puts it, “There’s a time and a place for everything.”
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HEALTH Hyperbaric
Chamber
healing
HYPERBARIC CHAMBER SPEEDS
Text by Earl Horlyk | Photograph by Tim Hynds
SHIRLEY ANDERSON FEELS LIKE she’s ready to graduate. No, not from school. The Sioux City woman is graduating from six months of daily sessions, spent inside the hyperbaric chamber at Mercy Medical Center – Sioux City’s Comprehensive Wound Healing Center. “This is a momentous occasion,” Anderson said, lightheartedly, following her final treatment. “I should have brought cupcakes and party hats.” Anderson may be feeling fine now but, in December, her mood was anything but festive. Injuring her right foot, Anderson said her leg soon became infected. The infection left 12 deep wounds. “If I didn’t get help right away,” the Bruening Eye Specialists employee remembered, “the doctors thought they’d have to amputate.” A medical professional for more than 30 years, Anderson researched hyperbaric oxygen when it came to healing chronic wounds for diabetics, like herself. “You better believe I was on the Internet checking out both the pros and the cons,” Anderson admitted. According to the Wound Center’s medical director Paul Johnson, hyperbaric oxygen chambers have also proven effective for people suffering chronic wounds as a result of lower extremity arterial disease and pressure ulcers. “Research shows that hyperbaric oxygen treatment can be beneficial for the treatment of such chronic wounds,” Johnson said. And for two hours a day, five days a week, Anderson received treatment inside the 1-ton Sechrist 3200 oxygen chamber. Although Mercy Medical Center is the only hospital in the area currently offering such treatments, hyperbaric oxygen chambers have been around for hundreds of years as a way to treat divers with the bends. “It’s only been in past 10-15 years that they’ve been used to treat certain 42
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Mercy Medical Center patient Shirley Anderson and her physician, Dr. Paul Johnson, stand by the hyperbaric oxygen chamber at the Sioux City hospital’s wound care center. Anderson, who is diabetic, says she would have had to have her leg amputated if not for the treatments.
wounds,” Johnson noted. Referring back to its nautical roots, Anderson said she’s experienced 90 individual “dives” inside the cylindrical hyperbaric chamber. Normally, a person breathes air that contains just 21 percent oxygen. Inside a hyperbaric oxygen chamber, a person breathes 100 percent oxygen, which is a level higher than atmospheric pressure. This super blast of oxygen dissolves faster into the liquid portion of your blood. With this increased blood carrying capabilities being delivered to all tissues, the body’s response to infection is increased and so is its ability to heal wounds.
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With a combination of time spent in the hyperbaric chamber and more traditional wound care such as rehab, Anderson’s 12 deep wounds have been reduced to two that are rapidly healing. “I know how close I came to losing a foot,” Anderson said with a relieved sigh and a spring in her step. “In fact, I never thought I’d be walking on my own two feet.” Yet she still doesn’t have the cupcakes nor the party hats she wanted to mark her graduation from Mercy’s Comprehensive Wound Healing Center. “It doesn’t matter,” Anderson said with a wave of her hand. “Now, I can march in my own parade.”
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ask a professional Q: I don’t feel any different when I take my over the counter multi-vitamin, are they even necessary, there are so many…what are the differences I should look for, and how do I choose the best one. A: Vitamins are essential in maintaining your body’s health. Your body requires that certain vitamins and minerals be present to maintain critical systems including your organs, skin, bone, and muscle. Vitamins also provide assistance in using chemical energy obtained from food to help process carbohydrates, proteins and fats. Vitamins are generally obtained from the food that you eat or supplements that you purchase, but a few are obtained by other means. For example, Vitamin D is made by your skin with the help of the sunlight and Vitamin K is produced by microorganisms in your intestine. Hear me on this…Not all vitamins are the same! Many health conscious individuals spend hundreds of dollars for supplements and vitamins without ever knowing if they are gaining the desired effect. One of the only ways to objectively establish a baseline and see if the Dr. Sneller supplements you take are working is by performing lab tests using your blood, urine or hair. This is really spendy, and rarely covered by insurance. A good example however of a commercially-available vitamin blood tests (in which no doctor’s order is required) can be found at: www.HealthTestingCenters.com. We wouldn’t have to take blood tests to prove its effectiveness if we knew our multi-vitamin actually did its job. If you take vitamin supplements, wouldn’t you want to know that you’re getting what’s promised on the label? The only way to accomplish this is by actually testing the pill itself to ensure its contents match its label. Due to a lack of government regulation of the manufacture of vitamin supplements, a number of vitamin supplements have been found to contain either fewer or more ingredients than are listed on the labels. This can contribute to vitamin deficiencies or excesses in our bodies. Do you really know if your vitamin is made in or out of the country; or from some fancy laboratory or garage somewhere? Do we really think we should trust the vitamins we take because we see a lot of advertisements for them? Do you really feel any different when you take them?...you should! Over 50% of the supplements recently tested by ConsumerLab, an independent vitamin testing laboratory, either did not contain what was actually listed on the label or contained unsafe materials such as lead. Moreover, a substantial amount of vitamin supplements (or the ingredients used in the domestic manufacture of vitamins) are produced in China, a country known to have little regulatory oversight and to have produced some unsafe, and occasionally lethal, products such as pet foods, toothpaste, children’s toys and prescription drugs. To ensure you’re getting what’s on the label, you need to know the quality of the vitamin supplements you take, or plan to take. You can measure the quality by rating the following. • Potency (and Identity): Does the vitamin supplement contain the ingredients and dosage strength listed on the label? • Purity: Is the product free of specific contaminants it should not have? • Bioavailability: Does the vitamin supplement dissolve adequately for use in the body? • Consistency: Does each tablet compare to one another • Good manufacturing practices (GMPs): Does the manufacturing facility follow high-quality standards of production, cleanliness, and waste disposal methods? One Supplement Verification Program, U.S. Pharmacopoeia (USP) Certification, is a voluntary testing and auditing program that performs random off-the-shelf testing. Of course, barely, if any, vitamins we see on the supermarket shelves volunteer for this. Vitamin, mineral, amino acid and other nutritional tests may be beneficial to visualize any deficiencies. But if you are interested in receiving a good reasonably priced multivitamin, stop by Multicare Physicians Group, or at least consult in a health care professional who, in addition to having a license, can order laboratory tests, has a certification and experience in fields such as: alternative medicine, holistic medicine, integrative medicine, complementary medicine or functional medicine. This is because everyone is different, and many combinations can be made, and that is where some of the confusion comes in. However, there are only very few multivitamins that I would ever recommend. Hope this helps.
Call 276-4325 today for an appointment 3930 Stadium Drive. (Between Wal-Mart & Explorer Stadium)
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ADVICE Medical
Answers
‘DOC, I’VE GOT A QUESTION …’
MEET THE DOC Dr. Amanda Schoenherr Dannenbring is a resident physician at the Siouxland Medical Education Foundation, a family medicine residency program.
answers to your medical questions
I’ve got canker sores that are driving me crazy. I’ve tried things like baking soda, a saline rinse – everything – and nothing seems to work. What can I do? Canker sores (aphthous ulcers) are small superficial lesions in the oral mucosa of the cheeks, inside of the lips and gums. They can be very painful and difficult to treat. Unlike cold sores (caused by herpes virus) they are not contagious. Most canker sores will heal on their own within a week or two. To help ease your symptoms you can cover the canker sores with a paste made of baking soda and water, which for you has failed. You can also try dabbing a small amount of milk of magnesia on the lesion twice daily. Ice chips may also help decrease pain to the area. Over-the-counter topical treatments are available such as Orajel or Anbesol. To decrease pain, make sure to brush your teeth gently with a mild tooth paste so as not to cause more damage to the lesions. Also avoiding spicy and acidic foods will help. If you have sores that are unusually large or last longer than two weeks, check with your doctor to make sure there is not a more serious underlying condition. I take allergy medicine but it doesn’t seem to work. Can I combine medicines? Or do you need to use certain ones at certain times? We all love the warm sunny days of spring and summer. But for many, along with the first sign of spring comes a runny nose, sinus pressure, sneezing and itchy, watery or swollen eyes. Seasonal allergies can also be called allergic rhinitis. Treatment requires allergen (dust, mold, pollen, etc.) avoidance and usually pharmacotherapy for symptomatic relief. For those who have severe allergies, allergy shots (immunotherapy) are required to control symptoms. Available medications include: glucocorticoid nasal sprays, oral antihistamines, antihistamine nasal sprays, mast cell stabilizers, leukotriene modifiers, eye drops and nasal saline irrigation kits. You
may benefit from one or more of these types of medications. Some medications can be purchased over the counter and some are by prescription only. Be careful when self-treating your allergies. Nasal decongestant sprays and systemic glucocorticoids must be used with caution and are not recommended for long-term management of allergic rhinitis. Your treatment plan really depends on the type of allergies you have and what specific symptoms they provoke. Talk with your doctor before starting or combining these medications. I felt a pain in my butt. Is that something serious? Is it hemorrhoids or what? The seriousness of the pain you are feeling can be determined by your doctor through a physical exam. Hemorrhoids are a common finding. They are the result of swollen and inflamed blood vessels around the rectum. They are often the result of chronic constipation and straining during bowel movements. Hemorrhoids are also a common finding during pregnancy due to increased pelvic pressure. Discomfort from hemorrhoids can be relieved through lifestyle changes, maintaining a healthy digestive system and by over-the-counter creams and ointments. If these do not relieve your pain, other techniques and surgeries are available through your doctor. Another cause of the pain could be a local skin infection. Look for localized pain, fever, chills, swelling or redness. A more serious cause for your pain needs to be ruled out by a physician. Signs and symptoms of colon cancer include persistent abdominal cramping or pain with rectal bleeding, blood in the stool, weakness, fatigue, unexplained weight loss or change in bowel habits such as diarrhea or constipation lasting more than a few weeks. If you have one or more of these symptoms, see your
doctor for further evaluation. I know that stress can cause a multitude of problems but I can’t seem to get rid of it. I feel like I’m going to explode at times. I know I should try things like taking a walk or taking deep breaths but I still worry. What do you suggest? You’re right; today’s nonstop lifestyle can provoke a lot of stress and anxiety that leads not only to psychological symptoms but also physical symptoms. Rapid heart rate (tachycardia), sweating, trembling, rapid breathing (hyperventilation) insomnia, weakness and fatigue are common symptoms of anxiety. I do not recommend prescription medications as the first-line treatment of anxiety. It is important to rule out other medical causes for your symptoms. A common medical condition that can cause similar symptoms is thyroid disease. See your physician to rule out any underlying health issues. Regarding treatment of anxiety, almost everyone can benefit from relaxation techniques such as meditation, breathing techniques, yoga or simply taking part in an activity that you enjoy such as casual reading, crafts or playing sports. I do recommend counseling of some form to all who are stressed and are not finding relief even after lifestyle changes have been made. Seek professional counseling with a physician or therapist or talk casually with a friend or family member. Counseling helps to identify the underlying causes of your stress. If you are still having problems non-addictive medications are available through prescription that may help you relax. WHAT KIDS OF HEALTH QUESTIONS DO YOU HAVE? Submit your questions and they may be used in this monthly feature. Write to Siouxland Life at 515 Pavonia St., Sioux City, Iowa 51102.
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Emergency care more rely on each year. Because of you. When the unexpected happens, no one’s better at making you better than St. Luke’s. That’s why more people each year are choosing St. Luke’s for emergency care. Our staff’s expertise is centered on you for the most attentive treatment you can rely on. It’s just one of the reasons why St. Luke’s was voted Siouxland’s Consumer Choice for most preferred hospital. We’re here for the life of Siouxland. So you never miss a beat. Or a bedtime story.
For the life of Siouxland. www.stlukes.org
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*
Award given by: 2010 National Research Corporation
PARTING SHOT By
Bruce Miller
BASIC TIPS FOR SURVIVAL I always wondered where graduation speakers got their wisdom. Did someone like Norman Vincent Peale write a book that contained all those pithy statements? Or are people like Oprah, Hillary and Bill just pulling stuff out of their butts? I mean, really, the future doesn’t always look rosy for everyone and only in the movies can you say something like, “Tomorrow will be another day” and mean it. The wisdom you need to make it after high school, college, whatever, is a little more basic. To survive, here’s what you need to know: If you buy yourself something that you don’t really need, something you do need will require replacing. That iPad you’ve been eyeing? Go ahead. Get it. And a week later your refrigerator will conk out. You can go a whole year without claiming a sick day. The minute you go on vacation, you will get sick. (And, no, your employer won’t “replace” one of your vacation days with a sick day.) Visitors will arrive just as unexpectedly as they did at Osama bin Laden’s house. And your place will look just as disheveled. Even if you have a doctorate in quantum physics, you will not understand the health care benefits or the retirement plan your employer offers. You will gain weight.
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You may have thought your parents were crazy to spend a night at home. But, in time, you’ll realize it’s the great sanctuary from life. And you will cherish every minute of peace it brings. At home, you don’t need to answer your phone. Sometimes, you can let the machine get it. Usually, it’s just a telemarketer anyway. No one asks about your grades.
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If you must get a tattoo, make sure it’s in an inconspicuous place. The unicorn was a great idea at 18. But at 63, it will be a little fuzzy and friends will think your breast has developed melanoma. Listen to those things your parents complain about. You’ll be saying the same things 30 years later. And you’ll marvel at how smart they were. Buy good shoes. Your feet will thank you.
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with the trip. Memories last longer than cheap stuff that requires batteries. Don’t worry about having a lot of friends. You just need one – someone willing to hear you complain and not try to point out the flaws in your wisdom. One good meal is all you’ll need to learn how to cook. If friends come over so often they recognize the menu, you need to go out more. When you get older, your hair should get shorter...and lighter. Trust me on this one. Don’t put off exercising until they force you to do it in the nursing home. A little bit now will keep your motor running longer, faster. Enjoy sleep. After 50, you’re like a restless cat. Or, in my case, a big fan of Ambien. Parents shouldn’t sleep on the couch. Give them your bed if they come to visit. There are other ways you can remind them not to stay long. Just because it looks good in a magazine (or catalog) doesn’t mean it’s going to look good on you. Sometimes children cry for no good reason. With adults, it usually takes a bad TV movie, a Hallmark card or kids with problems. Always shovel your driveway. You may think plowing a path with your tires is a good idea. But in February the ice path will come back to haunt you. Live without technology for one day. You’ll see a whole different world and you’ll appreciate it. Stay current. It’s amazing how many people stop learning after they get out of school. They’re stuck in an era and they never get out. Listen to new music, read new books, watch movies and you’ll never seem old. Be willing to take risks, but know your limits. George Bush may jump out of airplanes when he’s 80-something but he also has a group of people making sure nothing goes wrong. You might not have Secret Service protection when you’re his age. Never lose hope. Sounds simple, doesn’t it? But it’s the one thing that drives religion, inspires leaders and keeps a tired parent going. As long as you have hope, you’re going to make it, my friend. Everything else is just advice.
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If you have the choice between going somewhere or getting something, go
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Reflect your own personal style.
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