Did you know...? Looking back

Here we are another week working on making press deadline. It seemed this past week, we got to look back in history.

Attending the pie social at the Custer County Historical Museum is always a hit with Chip and me each year. We look forward to eating pie baked by some of our favorite bakers. Listening to R.P. Smith and Don Schauda is a treasure. These cowboys write of their tales with their cattle and horses, offering laughs as their stories unfold.

Getting the sod walls up on the sod house at the SJNSB Visitor Center has been a long time coming. Imagine

140 years ago, looking forward to the protection from the winter cold and to the coolness in summer heat when you finally got your sod house constructed by your family and friends. Those four walls were a treat back in the day. The volunteers who worked tirelessly both Saturday and Sunday are to be commended, not to mention all who donated funds to get the project off the ground. Once completed, it will give those that visit the Big Red Barn a look back at what was a home of necessity.

Chip and I traveled to Potter this past weekend for the Juelfs family reunion. This would be my mom’s side of the family. Many cousins I have not seen for 20plus years were there. It takes dedication to plan a drive from as far away as New Mexico, Arizona and eastern Missouri, just to name a few states. It also takes dedication of the family members who still call Potter home. What the group has done to keep that small town going is to be commended.

I am fortunate that Mom works on family history a lot. When my cousins and I were together in our youth, we did not care about hearing family history stories. Now we do. For example, there was a Juelfs who fought in the Civil War. As Mom was sharing papers, she had some of the family history. That history was a surprise to many of my cousins. Most of my mom’s siblings have passed. My cousins gathered around her as she told stories she heard from her grandparents. Mom does have all this written down. Still having her tell the stories to all of them was priceless.

Whether you are tasting pie with recipes handed down through the generations, recreating a home that was built 140 years ago or listening to stories passed down, our history forms and molds us to what we are today. Cherish the time you have to look back. It will also allow you to be a part of looking forward.