Text of Ziebach Co., SD History (1982) - pages 123 - 138 This file is the text of the book, "South Dakota's Ziebach County, History of the Prairie", published in 1982 by the Ziebach County Historical Society, Dupree, SD Permission to publish this book in electronic form was given by Jackie Birkeland, member of the Historical Committee. This book is copyright, 1982 by the Ziebach County Historical Society, Dupree, SD. Scanning and OCR by Terri Tosh , final editing by Joy Fisher, . Chapter 9 THE CHURCHES SAINT MARY'S by Joseph J. Ganje Saint Mary, Help of Christians, at Pleasant Valley, 1920-1943, stood two miles west and ten miles south of Eagle Butte. There was a public school, still standing in 1980, just across the road (Highway 63) from the church (Albee School). Isberg School was three miles south. There was a Ganje School, named for my uncle, Gabriel Ganje, three miles north of the church. I attended Hoxing School for eight years, which was three miles south and three miles west of the church. West of the Hoxing School there was the Ehli School, named for John Ehli (also known as Sinkey School). All my catechism was under Father Vogel, and during all the years since, I have never come upon another priest as kindly dedicated to his people and devoted to his duties as cheerfully as was he. I remember my father telling of how he and the other parishioners offered to buy Father Vogel an automobile. He declined the offer, saying they could donate the money to the church's needs if they wished. He always traveled via one horse and buggy, as I remember. [photo – Saint Mary’s] CATHOLIC MISSIONS AND CHURCHES by Faye Longbrake and Ann Fleming There are five Catholic Churches in use today in Ziebach County: Saint Joseph's at Cherry Creek, built in 1894; Saint Luke's in Thunder Butte, built in 1913; Sacred Heart in Dupree, 1913; Sacred Heart in Red Scaffold, built in 1938; and Immaculate Heart of Mary in Bridger, moved there in the late 1930's. Father DeSmet was the first missionary to visit Indians of the region. He visited the area periodically from 1839 until 1871. Bishop Marty was another early missionary. The "Black Robes", as they were known to the Indian people, brought the Catholic faith to the people and converted families for many years before parishes were finally established. In 1891, Father Bede Marty, a Benedictine missionary from Standing Rock Reservation, administered services at Cherry Creek. He came infrequently, due to distance, lack of roads and the method of travel. [photo – Reverend Ambrose Mattingley, O. S. B. (SDSHS)] In Crusading Along Sioux Trails, 1948, Sister Mary Claudia Duratschek told of Father Bede's work through an account of John Claymore: "It was in February, 1892, when Father Bede, Giles Tapetola, Maud and Emilie Traversie came to my father's place. They told us they wanted to go to Cherry Creek and then over to the Moreau River. They wanted me and my sisters, Louise and Margaret to go with them. We did. The next day we started out in two wagons. We stopped in Cherry Creek at Yellow Owl's. Father Bede preached, showed pictures and talked about them, also had Mass. Then we went over to the Cheyenne River to Straight Head's place. There Father Bede did the same. Then we went back to Yellow Owl's. Before we left, he had told us to come back. There Father did again what he had done before. Then we went up the creek to Narcisse's place. Father Bede did the same as at Yellow Owl's place. Then we went over to the Moreau River to Put On His Shoes' place. There Father Bede did the same as before. From there we went down the river and then Father Bede and Giles Tapetola went north to the Farm School and we went south -- home.'' 'Yellow Owl lived five miles up from the mouth of Cherry Creek; Straight Head lived a mile west of Cherry Creek, on the Cheyenne River; Narcisse's was two miles northwest of present Red Scaffold; and Put On His Shoes then lived two miles east of the reservation line on the Moreau River. 'The first Catholic church was constructed in Cherry Creek in 1894. Paul Bull Eagle and perhaps the daughters of Paul Yellow Shield, helped haul lumber from Pierre for the new church. Narcisse Narcelle had given them some beef as payment.' Father Finton Wiederkehr, O.S.B., had arrived at Cherry Creek Station in 1892 and within two years he built the church. So the first Catholic Church in Ziebach County is Saint Joseph's Church in Cherry Creek, built in 1894. A Catholic Congress was held there that year. By 1901, there were 500 Catholic Sioux on this reservation, and it was thought that a Catholic church should be built in each community. Father Finton left the reservation in May, suffering from typhoid fever. Father John Vogel, of Switzerland, came to the Cheyenne River Reservation that same year, traveling by team and buggy. He held religious services for the people of the reservation for 36 years. Traveling from Indian camp to Indian camp, Father Vogel found the Indian way of life comfortable as he slept under the stars. Father Vogel appointed John Did Not Go Home to teach religion in the day school and Henry Grouse Running as catechist, to lead prayers at Saint Mark's on upper Cherry Creek. About 1911, Father Vogel moved to Eagle Butte from Cheyenne Agency, having served ten churches and four missions from the Agency. In 1911, Father Henry Kipp took over the Timber Lake and later the Firesteel and Glad Valley churches. Sophia Herbert (a sister of Narcisse Narcelle) donated a log house at Thunder Butte in 1911 and Father Vogel appointed Sam Shot At as catechist at Saint Luke's. In 1913 a new church was built, north of the present iron bridge. It was moved west into Thunder Butte community in 1933. At the Sioux Congress in 1916, it was decided that the Sioux should support their own missions. The diocesan clergy had carried on the work begun by the Benedictines since 1898 on Cheyenne River Reservation. In 1919, Father Golden, who had built a church in Faith, was asked to take over work at Cheyenne Agency, LaPlant, Promise and White Horse. Father Daniel Kelley became pastor in Faith and Father Vogel went to care for the Cherry Creek district. Father Vogel became the first resident priest at Saint Joseph's and divided his time among the four camps: Saint Mark's/Saint Patrick's on lower Cherry Creek (across from Ted Knife's); Saint Pius on upper Cherry Creek (across from Paul Chasing Hawk's); and Saint Leo's/Blessed Sacrament on Bull Creek (east of Bridger and Hump Flat). Repairs were made and buildings moved all over the area at this time. By 1921, the church and rectory had been repaired at Cherry Creek and a new church had been built on upper Cherry Creek, probably Saint Mark's, east of Red Scaffold. [photo – Catholic Church at Cheyenne Agency (SDSHS)] [photo – St. Luke’s Catholic Church, Thunder Butte] Resident priests in the white parishes of Dupree, Eagle Butte and Faith also cared for the Indian people in their vicinities but as the white populations increased, services to the Indian people decreased. Father Golden, seeing this problem, was able in 1922 to secure the interest of the Sacred Heart Fathers of Sittard, Holland, in the Indian missions of Cheyenne River and Lower Brule Reservations. His plan would leave the churches in the white settlements to the secular diocesan clergy. The records at Cheyenne River Agency show that a patent in fee was granted to the Bureau of Catholic Indian Missions on September 28, 1923, and signed by President Calvin Coolidge. By 1924, the diocese was ready to have the Missions transferred to the Society of the Priests of the Sacred Heart. Saint Joseph's Boarding School was opened in Chamberlain in 1927 by the Society, for students from the Cheyenne River and Lower Brule Reservations. Ridgeview had been considered as a site for the boarding school, but had no adequate water supply. After 36 years on this reservation, Father Vogel relinquished the Cherry Creek district to the Sacred Heart priests in 1937. Saint Mark's was renamed the Sacred Heart Church and moved into Red Scaffold in 1938, from near Jim Brown Dog's. Saint Mark's lean-to was torn down and the lumber used at Sacred Heart. At about that same time, Saint Plus was moved by two tractors from south of the Cherry Creek to Bridger. A basement was built and the church was remodeled under the supervision of Father Mattingley. It was named the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Some time before that, Saint Lee's was moved from Bull Creek into Bridger. It now sets near the Catholic cemetery. Resident pastors in Cherry Creek include Father Bernard Ziecke (1937-1942); Father Joseph Holmes (1937-1939); Father Francis Mattingley (1938 - 1 959); Father Patrick O'Neill (1959-1964); Father George Finger (1964-1974); and Father Francis Strafalace (1976-1978). In addition to Saint Joseph's in Cherry Creek, they have also served Sacred Heart at Red Scaffold and Immaculate Heart of Mary in Bridger. People of the Cherry Creek community have fond memories of Father Vogel, Father Mattingley and Father George since they lived among the people for such lengths of time. Father Mattingley (a schoolteacher, World War I veteran and priest) did much work with the young boys. Father George improved the living conditions of the people by helping them get water, sewer, street lights, new homes and a small industry. Stonecraft Industry was set up to provide an opportunity for self-sufficiency. A large frame church was moved from Ft. Pierre in 1966 to house Stonecraft Industry and to serve as a meeting hall, known as Little Flower Hall. Father George was an avid square dancer and caller and many evenings were spent at square dancing. He also set up a community operated theater. A new rodeo arena was built during this time and Father George contracted a carnival to come to Cherry Creek. Catholic Congress was again held at Saint Joseph's parish. Father George had a harrowing experience in November, 1966 when his car became stalled in a snowstorm while he was on his way home from Pierre. Luckily, he had called Cherry Creek to let someone know he was making the trip, he detoured onto a trail into Cherry Creek from the west. Snow packed under the hood and broke the fan belt. Father thought he could walk the distance but became lost. By some miracle he ended up back at his car after having walked for about 32 hours. He was finally rescued and recovered from severe frostbite after being hospitalized for over two months. Father Larry Rucker accepted the assignment as Pastor at Saint Joseph's in 1976 and his cousin, Brother Paul Rosonke accompanied him. The parish team was increased to three in August, 1979 when Brother James Newberry came to Cherry Creek. Now the three men share the ministry of the three parishes. Largely through the efforts of Brother Paul, the churches at Bridger and Red Scaffold have been undergoing repair and renovation. Little Flower Hall, in Cherry Creek, has recently given way to a new metal building to serve as a parish center. In 1975, the Catholic Diocese of Rapid City inaugurated a program for the training of Indian men to the role of permanent deacon. Among those in training is Harold Condon of Cherry Creek. (see DAKOTAH ASSOCIATION OF THE CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH.) SACRED HEART CHURCH AT DUPREE Father John Vogel was the first missionary Catholic priest to come to Dupree. He organized the Catholic group here in 1910. He offered Mass for the people at the school building that sat at the present sight of the Congregational Church and at the hall which is now used as a theater. The name of our church was chosen by Father Vogel. The first church Trustees were A. A. Karley and Louis Speaker, and early parishioners included Herman Eulberg and Mrs. George Till. In 1913, our church was built in honor of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Because of the lack of funds it was not finished inside for a long time and it had no basement and no bell tower. In July of 1914, Father J. H. Golden was appointed pastor of Faith with Dupree as its mission church. In September of 1918, Father Henry Hirsch was appointed pastor of Dupree and it became a parish of its own. In 1919, the church was damaged by a tornado which picked it up off the foundation and turned it in the opposite direction. The rectory was built in 1920. Among the pastors serving Dupree, after it became a parish in 1918 are: Father Henry Hirsch to 1920; Father Francis X. Parisian to 1922; Father D. J. Casey to 1924; Father A. T. O'Brien to 1928; Father Edgworth to 1930, who is buried in the Catholic Cemetery in Dupree; Father John Sullivan to 1935; Father W. B. Isherwood to 1945; Father Don Murray to 1948; Father Joseph Jene to 1966; Father Howard Melter to 1968, Father Joe Ford to 1973; Father Lawrence Rucker to 1977; Father Joe Poirier to 1980; and now Fathers Frank Clancy, Yvon Sheehy and Joe Ford. [photo – Sacred Heart Catholic Church of Dupree] DAKOTAH ASSOCIATION OF THE CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH At a meeting of the General Association of Congregational Churches in Santee, Nebraska in 1873, concern was shown for the Indian people as indicated in the following document of unknown origin: The General Association was favored by the presence of Dr. Alfred L. Riggs of the Sisseton mission. Thus early in its history did the association extend its fellowship to the Redman whom many feared and others despised, but whom these representatives of the churches regarded as brethren, as one of the resolutions passed at this meeting gives witness to: "Resolved: That we use every opportunity to promote fellowship between the Indian churches and our own in order to unite as closely as possible all Christian influence of the territory, and for the mutual benefit of their people and ours." Reverend Thomas L. Riggs began his mission work above Fort Pierre at Oahe, between 1872 and 1876. From there, Riggs led and directed mission work on the Grand River, Bad River, at Leslie, on the Little Moreau, Moreau and Cheyenne Rivers. [photo – First Congregational Church, in Cherry Creek, 1873] Native ministers and church workers were not college or seminary trained, but guided by such men as the Pond brothers, the Riggs brothers, and J. P. Williamson. T. L. Riggs worked regularly with lay ministers, going over the Scriptures to be used on forthcoming Sundays. Laymen also gave messages on their own. Stephen Yellow Hawk led the establishment of a church at Bad River, now Fort Pierre, in 1890. Clarence Ward (Roan Bear), another licensed minister, led to a sixty- nine member congregation established at Leslie on the Cheyenne River in 1892. In "Sunset to Sunset", Reverend T. L. Riggs has written of his work as a Congregational Missionary to the Great Sioux Reservation: It seemed little had been accomplished in the first five years of effort, but later we could see evidence that proved our work had not been in vain! For this and later growth, great credit is due my native helpers; a group of fine, earnest workers, numbering forty- nine in all; I learned more through them than they learned from me and certainly they were able to do work I never could have done ... many of them worked with me from eight to fifteen years. At the time the Inkpata church was dedicated in 1919, the Indian people were talking about flying machines and flying men. I said, "Yes, some day I'll come in one of those flying machines and we'll have services here". In 1928 I made good my promise. It was my first flight and an interesting experience for a man over eighty years old. We landed just to one side of the church building, as I had said I would do. On the day following the meeting, Guy Buffalo took me with his team over to upper Cherry Creek where I spent the night in the home of Half Red. The next day my host drove me down to the mission station on the Cheyenne at the mouth of Cherry Creek. Here in the home of the native missionary, David Hold, I spent Saturday night and the Sabbath. On Monday David took me across the Cheyenne to the old Plum Creek station, the home of Mr. and Mrs. William Griffiths, who for many years had charge of the Dakotah boys boarding school at that place. After dinner at the Griffiths', my son, grandson, and I drove down the Cheyenne on the south side to the Carlin bridge and then northward to Fox Ridge where we turned west to have a short but pleasant visit with Thomas Blue Eyes and his wife. Blue Eyes was still in the church work. After the passing of the early white leaders, it became the responsibility of the Mission schools, that they had established, to train church leaders. One school in the Grand River area, Oahe Mission School on the Missouri, and Santee Mission School in Nebraska provided a majority of the native leadership for over forty years. Clarence Ward, Solomon Yellow Hawk, Stephen Yellow Hawk, Tom Blue Eyes, Philip Frazier, Guy Buffalo, Moses Flying By, Jonah Little Wounded, Dennis Dog Eagle, and Douglas Widow have all done much work in this region to further the work of the Congregational Church. In 1963 the South Dakota Conference of the United Church of Christ was formed by the merger of four churches. Previously, the Indian churches had all belonged to the Dakotah Association. They were now divided geographically and made parts of various associations. This made the Indian churches minorities in their associations and frustrations grew. Eventually the Dakotah Association of Congregational Churches was reactivated. They became affiliated with the Council of American Indian Ministries (CAIM) which administers the business of UCC Indian churches across the country. Feeling no voice in the distribution of funds, many of the Dakotah churches have severed connection with CAIM and refused Funding from the UCC. The 1979 Year Book statistics of the South Dakota Conference of the United Church of Christ lists the following Congregational churches in Ziebach County and their founding dates: Cherry Creek, 1890; Kirley, Buffalo, 1904; Upper Cheyenne (Bridger), 1910; Dupree, 1911; Frazier Memorial, 1924; and Red Scaffold, 1941. Churches on the Lower Cheyenne, 1904; and at Thunder Butte, 1937, are inactive. The Inkpata Church was organized about 1915. The Bridger Congregational Church, also known as the Church of the Orphans, was built in 1914 and finished in 1915. Before that they had a church in the present YMCA log house in Bridger. The expenses of the new church were paid by donations. It was built under the direction of Thomas Riggs, with two white men hired to built it. The lumber was hauled by team and wagon from Faith and Philip. Reverend Guy Buffalo served as a Congregational minister in Bridger, as did Reverend Douglas Widow. Frazier Memorial Church was established in 1924. This Congregational church was named in honor of Reverend Philip Frazier after his young son drowned. Reverend Frazier was a Santee Sioux. His grandfather was among the 100 Santee sentenced in Mankato after the Sioux Uprising of 1862, but he was pardoned by President Lincoln and later became a minister. Philip Frazier attended Yankton, Dartmouth and Oberlin Colleges. In 1932 he was sent to the Cheyenne River Reservation where his father, Reverend Francis Frazier, had also supervised the Congregational Church work. The lumber for Frazier Church was brought from Thunder Butte in the late 1930's. It had been used in a slaughter-house at Thunder Butte station in the early 1900's. The building had also served as a house and a church, before it was torn down and moved south to the Cherry Creek, east of Red Scaffold. CONGREGATIONAL MINISTER by Ruth Thunder Hoop My father was a Congregational minister. Mr. Riggs appointed my father to go as a missionary among the Rosebud people in wagon and team. My father left all his livestock. I remember we went from Bad River across the great plains until we got to White River. There we camped at the bottom land by the river, because the ice was now breaking up, the water was high. My father said it was towards the last part of February, (1893). We had to stay there a long time until the ice was all gone. One day my father was felling down dry logs to make a raft. We were alone at the camp. Here came along some riders. White men with dogs. How I was scared. They came to our camp and asked mother something. She willingly gave them what we had: fried bread, jelly, bacon and coffee. They seemed glad to get it and ate heartily afterward. They offered to pay her and left some money on the dishes and left. When my father made the raft, he took the big tarp and tent to cover the whole raft when finished. He had some ropes to use some ways. It was ready now. There were some men across the river that came to his aid. I remember one man, Mr. Lot Frazier, who came in a row boat, after my father put all the belongings in the raft. He started out in it but it took him in a whirling water. He went in with the raft and almost drowned. The men folks were there and helped him out and saved him. That night he was not able to come back. We had to stay alone overnight. It was so lonesome. I kept crying but my mother was a courageous big-hearted mother. Morning came, now Father was at the other side of the bank with the men. Mr. Lot Frazier brought the row boat to haul us across. I was used to riding in a row boat across the Missouri, so I was glad to get to where my father was. We were taken to the house and there we had to stay, because Father got very sick. As soon as he felt better, we went on the journey to Black Pipe Creek, where he was a pastor. I was only 5 years 8 months when my father recovered. It was there that I learned to pray. At a Dakota service in 1922, commemorating Dr. Rigg's 50 years of work with Indians, Solomon Yellow Hawk said, "I have known the Sacred Herald (T. L. Riggs) since he first came to the Tetons. We were young men together.... since he came and brought the 'Good News' a great multitude have come into the light.... " [photo – Oahe Chapel Conference: Reverend T. L. Riggs and Native workers, Guy Buffalo, Reverend Amos One Road and Eli Jones (SDSHS)] [photo – Missionaries in camp, Thomas L. Riggs, center, and Wicutmani (Walking Hunter) by wagon(SDSHS)] [photo – Emma and Rev. Guy Buffalo with Reverend Daniel Counting, 1938] [photo – 1933 Mission Meeting: Reverend Philip Frazier, Reverend Guy Buffalo, and a Frazier, standing] MISSION SCHOOLS OF THE CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH by Ann Fleming The Congregational Church directed its efforts to the Indian missionary field years before the reservations were opened to white settlement. [photo – Brown’s Mission Station on Cheyenne River in the early 1880’s (SDSHS)] [photo – Madonna Abdalla and mother Lucy Swan] John P. Williamson, a Presbyterian, and his cousin, Stephen Return Riggs, a Congregationalist, were two of the foremost missionaries to the Sioux. They visited the Indian people near Cheyenne Agency in 1869. In their work with the Santee Sioux in Minnesota, they had developed a Dakotah alphabet and translated the Bible into the Sioux language. In 1870 President Grant gave the various churches the responsibilities of nominating agents and controlling the 'education' of the Indian children. Although the Episcopal church was offered the Cheyenne River Agency, the American Board of Foreign Missions (a Congregational and Presbyterian movement) played a large part in the instruction at Cheyenne River through the work of Reverend Thomas L. Riggs, son of Stephen R. Riggs. T. L. Riggs arrived at Fort Sully on the Missouri River in 1872. It was among the agricultural settlements of the Two Kettle Sioux across the river from Fort Sully that he began his ministry. He named the home station Oahe, a Lakota word meaning 'foundation' or 'beginning'. Schools were built at the home station on Peoria Bottom, at Hope station on Chantier Bottom, and the third among the Minneconjou camps on the Cheyenne River. In 1876 the original Hope Station building was moved up to the Cheyenne River, following the Indian people who had begun to move to that region. It was administered by Daniel Renville whose cousin, Isaac Renville, later moved to the abandoned James Brown Mission on the Cheyenne. When Hump and his band came to the Cheyenne River in 1882 and made camp for the winter, Riggs had a very large tent made to serve as a mission tent. Schools established by T. L. Riggs before 1885, as part of the Dakotah Mission under the American Board, included: No. 1 Day School on the Cheyenne River taught by Reverend Isaac Renville; No. 2 Day School on Plum Creek taught by Elizabeth Winyan; and Day School No. 4 at the Cherry Creek camps, taught by Clarence Ward (Mato Hin Hota). It was the custom of the government to select the brightest students and send them to Hampton Institute in Virginia or to Carlisle in Pennsylvania. Instruction was primarily in the Sioux language until 1886 when an order came from the Department of the Interior requiring the exclusive use of English in all schools on the reservation. The teachers, some of them ordained native pastors, carried on religious services as part of their school program. Progress continued until the Ghost Dance began in the fall of 1890, when work was suspended at six of the stations located in camps on the upper Cheyenne River. A LETTER FROM A FORMER CONGREGATIONAL MINISTER (Reverend H. J. Thornton, former minister of the Congregational Church gives the following in a letter reminiscing about the church and congregation in Dupree) It was on a day in September, 1915 that I first stepped off the train into your little city. I had never been that far west before, and had never lived in a community so small. Indeed at that time I had never walked through a town without paved streets. I was somewhat surprised at the board sidewalks but more surprised when I stepped off the one running south from the station to cross to the hotel. It had rained the day before and I sank ankle deep in the thick clinging clay. This was my first acquaintance with gumbo and I have never forgotten it. I stayed that night at the Shelton Hotel and the next day I set about looking for a place to stay, for I could not afford to stay at the hotel. I found a little two-roomed house southeast across the street from the church, which belonged to a bachelor, Fred Campbell (now the Dunbar residence). Because of the bachelor element, I did not find too tidy a place and spent my first day trying to clean up the place. The next day the ladies of the church took over and furnished the house in great style by providing bedding, rugs, tables, chairs, pictures, dishes, gasoline lamp, and curtains. I was comfortable, happy and very proud. I later came to know Mr. Campbell. He was a fine, rugged Scotchman, friendly and pleasant to talk to. He had a big heart, too, for he never charged any rent for that little house. While the ladies were doing their kindly work that day, I spent my time in the church, preparing my first sermon. The church was then a simple frame building. It had been painted green, as I remember, quite a long time before. The platform and pulpit were in the west end of the room. It was all very plain and modest but I was proud of it, as if it had been a cathedral. I had the joy of seeing the congregation grow steadily during the winter until the church was filled, especially on Sunday evenings. Some time during the winter we moved the platform and choir to the north side of the building. To accommodate the growing numbers, we put a long plank on two chairs along the south wall. One evening, during the sermon, that plank slipped off one of the end chairs and tumbled the people to the floor. It was all funny until we discovered that one lady, Mrs. Harry Mosher, wife of one of the hardware dealers, had her foot beneath the plank and suffered a painful injury. We had a very earnest amateur choir. We loved to sing old songs -- Let the Lower Lights Be Burning, I Need Thee Every Hour, Rescue the Perishing, and many others. I can still remember clearly some of the faithful ones who stood by me those days and who were seldom absent from services, and always helping when there was good work to be done. There were Jim and Ella Stewart. Jim was postmaster in those days. They had two young children, Nellie and Gladys. There were the Kellers, who kept a General Store and lived in a house several doors north of mine (Burgee property). Harry Keller was a kindly, genial man whose hearty laughter and friendly conversation would cheer the heaviest heart. I was invited to their house and ate many meals with the family. Vera, Ruby and Bud were the names of their children. Dr. and Mrs. Creamer were amongst my loyal supporters. The family was always represented at the Sunday services. Years later Montel came to the University of Iowa and was one of my students. Mrs. Frank Haagen was the clerk of the church. She also sang in the choir. Mr. Haagen was a hardware merchant in Dupree. Mr. and Mrs. Hayes Milton were sturdy and loyal members of our congregation. The Hayes operated the livery barn in those days. The G. M. McGarraugh's were good friends of our church. I remember one Saturday I was to go to Eagle Butte to exchange pulpits with my friend, Edwin Brown, who had come to Dupree a few days previously. But meantime, a very heavy snow had fallen and the temperature was much below zero. Good friends tried to dissuade me from going, for the trains were blocked by snowdrifts. But in my youthful folly I set out. I had one of Hayes Milton's horses. Every few miles I had to dismount and pull large ice balls out of the horse's nostrils. One time, while I was walking and leading him through the drifts to thaw out my numbed body, he fell clear away and disappeared into a deep drift, that I later discovered was a cut of the railroad through a deep bank. It took many hours to get to Eagle Butte, but the horse got me through. On Sunday afternoon, I used to ride horseback to Redelm to conduct services in the school house. The Gladstone family was among our friends, so were the Geeseys and Barnes, Nelsons, the Chases, the Nyhouses, the Walkups, and many others, including the school teachers. Helen Chase and Sim Jeffries were among the latter. I feel sure that I remember the Vance family, and a girl named Lorna, who may have married into the family. My friend, Edwin Brown, and I decided that we were needed in the service, and had been greatly disturbed by the war raging in Europe. We left the West River country and crossed into Canada, where we enlisted at Winnipeg. We were in France for three years in that convulsed tide of struggle. My buddy became ill with pneumonia, which caused his health to be come undermined. He died later while serving a church at Elk Point, South Dakota. Life has no dearer memories for me than that winter I spent as minister of your church in Dupree. The people were wonderful and we accomplished a lot together. [photo – Congregational Service Car bought by Rev. Gabriel E. Stayton] The Congregational Service Car pictured as it crossed the Missouri River by ferry was purchased by Rev. Gabriel E. Stayton with funds from an unnamed donor from New York state. Rev. Stayton was serving the Congregational Churches in Dupree, Lantry and Eagle Butte while living in the parsonage at Dupree. He had to walk the round trip every Sunday. He had written to a church publication from New York describing his pastorate and journeys. As a result, he received a blank, endorsed check from someone somewhere in New York, instructing him to purchase a Ford touring car with electric starter, stipulating that the words "Congregational Service Car" be printed on the door. According to his daughter Marie, (Mrs. Edgar) McDaniel, this was probably sometime in 1917 or 1918. As she recalls, she thought he held services in the theater in Dupree and that he was also instrumental in the building of the church which is still in use (with some addition and changes), and that he served as the first pastor in the church. The family included Rev. Stayton, his wife Lillie, a son John (who became a minister), and two daughters, Gertrude and Marie. UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST The First Congregational Church held services at the old townsite of Dupree, two miles northeast of the present town, in the summer of 1910. A missionary, Reverend Miller, came from Ft. Pierre, walking that distance. Articles of incorporation were drawn up in 1911, there were fourteen charter members. When the townsite was moved, first services were held in the Berglin Hall, the present theater. A church built in 1913 served until the present, necessarily larger, church was built in 1917. Patent papers had been drawn up on the new location and were recorded July 16, 1918. C. W. Vance was Registrar of Deeds. June 25, 1957, the four branches, Evangelical and Reformed, the Congregational and Christian Churches, joined together and formed the United Church of Christ. This has worked to great advantage for twenty-five years, and was celebrated May 1-2, 1982. The church has undergone renovation, once caused by a basement fire. The rostrum was moved from the west side to the east, an addition added on the west side with a new entrance, there is a kitchen and dining facilities. The old parsonage was replaced with a modular home in 1975. The full basement contains a bedroom, bathroom, study and large recreation and storage area. In 1963 the parishes of Isabel and Dupree yoked to share a minister. A combined parish board helped to carry out the unity. Service times were rotated every three months. Winter driving conditions on that road, and the fact that Eagle Butte was closer, were considerations when Dupree and Eagle Butte became yoked in their ministry in 1970. [photo – United Church of Christ, Dupree] [photo – Annual Harvest Festival draws old and young] [photo – Annual Harvest Festival. Brady Menzel rejoices in a pumpkin for a jack-o- lantern] Annual Harvest Festival sales in the fall made possible the burning of the mortgage on the parsonage in December 1978. The Reverend Richard Alien was ordained in Dupree on September 7, 1975, by the Oahe Association. Memorials given to the church add greatly to its usefulness and beauty. A dream of the future is to make the church more accessible to the infirm and wheel chairs. Church membership is one hundred thirty-one, with average attendance of eighty. Ministers through the years: George David Robinson, 1911-12; Henry Bissell, Jr., 1912-13; Charles B. Thomas, two months, 1913; George B. Robinson; W. A. Shaw, 1914; H. Thorton, 1915-16; Robert Hall, 1916-17; Reverend G. E. Stayton, 1917-18; Reverend T. L. Jones, 1920-22; Mrs. Alderson, one month, 1922; Reverend H. T. Owen, 1922-25; Reverend L. P. Wegenast; Reverend H. W. Cannon; Reverend H. T. Owen, 1929; Reverend E. W. Canfield, 1933; Leila Anderson (Acting), 1940; Jack Castikyan, 1941; Reverend Samuel Gushing, 1942-45; Reverend Clayton Behrens, 1945-47; Reverend Lyman Light, 1950-51; William Turner (layman); Reverend James Selsmer, 1953-57; Reverend James Parker, 1957-60; Lawrence Burger, 1960-62; Reverend Virgil Hicks, 1963-1970; Reverend W. Raymond Berry, 1970-73; Reverend Richard Allen 1973-74; Reverend Larry Smith, 1974-75; Reverend Richard Alien, 1975-80; Reverend Janice Ann Kimball, June, 1982. A HISTORY OF SAINT PHILIP' S EPISCOPAL CHURCH [photo – Episcopal Church at Dupree] To study the history of Saint Philip's Episcopal Church in Dupree is to become familiar with the history of the development of the State of South Dakota itself. Everything that affected the Church in Dupree is the result of larger forces that affected everyone in the whole area. Let us see how this has come about. As their old way of life was broken and destroyed, the Indian people needed something to replace the fragments of their culture. They found that the Christian Church and the many missionaries filled in the gaps. It was in 1849 that the U. S. Army lost control of the Indians to the Department of the Interior. Work began in the Dakota Territory when the Episcopal Church appointed Henry Whipple as Bishop of Minnesota. In May, 1873, the land now occupied by the town of Dupree was described as a "vast tract of wild country, inhabited by roaming tribes". The first efforts of the Episcopal Church were directed toward the conversion of the native inhabitants. This purely Indian phase of their work lasted for ten years, from 1873-1883. It was during that time that under President Grant's Peace Policy, Agents were assigned, and schools and churches were established. It is noted that the Cheyenne River Agency had "hostiles and friendlies" whereas down-river (Agencies) tribes were more civilized, and Reverend Henry Swift began holding services in the day schools and later in the boarding school at the Agency. In the period from 1883-1891, new towns began to grow up with white settlers and the Episcopal clergy commenced a new missionary effort that was for all men, not just for the Dakota Indian Tribes. Reverend William Hobart Hare of New Jersey was elected Bishop (from 1873-1909) of the newly created Niobrara Deanery and it was under his leadership and that of such outstanding missionaries as Archdeacon Edward Ashley, new town missions were added to the pioneer ones at the various Agencies. It is important to relate a few details about Archdeacon Edward Ashley at this time because he was such a driving force in the Episcopal Church among the Indian people and early settlers. He was the oldest white priest of the Episcopal Church, who began his work as a lay missionary amongst the Indians nearly a century ago. It is further noted that he was born in England on December 12, 1854. Through his acquaintance with the Bishop of Michigan, he accepted the invitation of Right Reverend William H. Hare of the Niobrara Missionary District to enter missionary work of the Episcopal Church in the Dakota Territory. He was to spend some time at Yankton, Fort Thompson and Sisseton, and as a result learned the Lakota language. Among the several Indian chapels in this area by that time were Saint Andrew's (Cherry Creek) and Saint Luke's (Iron Lightning), both of which were built in 1882. In 1889, as a result of the death of the missionary on the Cheyenne Reservation, Bishop Hare requested that Reverend Edward Ashley take charge of larger work and he was headquartered at Fort Bennett. The Episcopal Church was already well known to the Indians, but not to the new settlers of Dupree. Ashley, noting the fact that, indeed, there was a new settlement in Dupree, in 1910, made six visits to this town in that year. Other visits to Dupree in 1910, before there was any thought of a church building or a resident priest were by Walter J. Wicks, who made 3 visits, George W. Down, 6 visits, and by Edgar Siegfriedt, who called 3 times. But growth of the Episcopal Church was not limited to the Dupree area by any means. The Niobrara Deanery continued to grow and when Reverend Ashley was transferred from Sisseton to this area, he would be in charge of seven missions on the Cheyenne River Reservation. By the end of the 1880's, many Christian Indians would come to hold fast to Christianity while others became part of a Messianic movement -- which promised the return of the buffalo and the departure of the whites from the land. Bishop Hare would write: A delusion has taken possession of the minds of the wilder elements among the Indians. The leaders in the movement have invigorated old heathen ideas with snatches of Christian truth and have managed to excite an amount of enthusiasm which is amazing. They teach that the Son of God will presently appear as the avenger of the cause of the wild Indians ..... The Messianic Craze had its tragic consequences at Wounded Knee, and it was "virtually the final flicker of the ancient spirit of the Sioux.'' In considering the very small start and progress of Saint Philip's in the period from 1910-1920, we must not forget that the main efforts of Archdeacon Ashley, who labored tirelessly for over fifty years in this area, were to establish Episcopal beliefs among the Indian people. Despite this we find the records of those persons who were first Baptized as Episcopalians in Dupree to have been: Alpha McGarraugh, Lola Birtha VanCampen, John Gilbert, Anthony Ortmayer (who was later to became a priest in our church) and Gladys Denman. These Baptisms, conducted by Dr. Ashley, took place on October 9, 1912. It was in 1913 that Reverend Joseph Good Teacher, a Santee, came to assist Reverend Ashley and later, in 1922, Reverend Ashley was to become Archdeacon of the Niobrara Deanery. The first Confirmations took place a little later, on June 4, 1913, when Dr. Ashley presented Mr. and Mrs. Harry Mosher, Mr. and Mrs. Fred Carr, Mr. and Mrs. Alton VanCampen and Alpha McGarraugh to Bishop George Biller, Jr. From the Register of Services we learn that the first Service was held on March 30, 1919, when the Reverend Harvey Kerstetter celebrated Holy Communion. The first funerals were those of Mrs. Walling and Miss Kate Geddes. For several years after 1919, services were held in Dupree once a month by Dr. Ashley and others. Although there was no church building until 1925, the first mention of a Guild Hall was made on April 19, 1921, when Bishop Remington confirmed a large class. By 1923 the Confirmation class was so big that the use of the Legion Hall was required. In 1921-22, Delbert Clark, Frank Lambert and Samuel Sayre came over from Selby to conduct services in Dupree. On one occasion, in 1922, Mr. Sayre, a Lay Reader, complained that the church attendance was bad due to the ball team and its rooters being out of town. He also mentions that the mosquitoes were very bad that year. George Baldwin came to Dupree on September 1, 1922, as a Lay Reader, and was Ordained October 1, 1923. Under his leadership, 68 persons were Confirmed at Saint Philip's Church. Only the Roman Catholic Church in Timber Lake had more members at that time. The first resident priest, Dr. Baldwin, was forced to give outside lectures to support his adopted family. Times were still good in Dupree then, and he had no difficulty making a living prior to the economic collapse of 1929. The first Rectory was a tar paper shack, however, located just east of the J. Bigler home. The second Rectory was the N. Brummet home. Dr. Baldwin remained in Dupree until 1931. He had married Marie Graham, a teacher in the local high school. Reverend Joseph Good Teacher became the priest-in-charge when Archdeacon Ashley left in 1924. Following Good Teacher's death in 1925, Reverend R. P. Frazier took over the ministrations of the Church on the Cheyenne Agency. In 1920, the Ladies' Guild, which was organized on April 12, 1912, purchased a schoolhouse in the Arrowhead area and had it moved to Dupree to be used as a church. In 1925, the Reverend G. I. Baldwin, the first permanent priest, was able to dedicate a new church building. Excavation of the basement was commenced on August 3, 1924, and the Church was formally dedicated July 26, 1925. The building was constructed of cement stucco, was built in the Mission Style of southern California, and contained the only pipe organ in this section of the country. Saint Philip's Church was now the most outstanding architectural feature in Ziebach County. Dr. Ashley, a stately 71 years of age and in his 51st year of the Ministry, preached both the morning and afternoon sermons on Dedication Day. The old schoolhouse from Arrowhead then became the Rectory. The first Baptism in the new Church was that of Lewis John Menzel and Frederick Arthur Menzel, on August 30, 1925, although Robert Daniel Hays had been baptized there before the formal opening. After Dr. Baldwin left for Eau Claire, Wisconsin, a succession of priests came and went during the hard times of the 1930's. Included among these were: Standish McIntosh, Joseph DuBray, and Levi Rouillard. In 1934 John B. Clark came to stay until 1941. Father Clark was active in the Diocese of South Dakota for many more years. A steady exodus of people from Dupree (10% in the period from 1930-1940) due to drought conditions, did not help the growth of St. Philip's Church at that time, and continuing unfavorable economic conditions further prevented the Mission from becoming self-supporting. In the period from 1941 to the present, the following men have served at St. Philip's Church as resident priest: William Donelly; Stuart Frazier; Harold Jones (later elected as Suffragan Bishop of South Dakota); Raymond Taylor; Robert Lucent; Antoine Zephier; James D. Marrs; James W. Rice; Anthony G. Morris; Captain H. Harris, Church Army; Andrew Weston; Phillip Alien; Captain William Black Lance, Church Army; John Lurvey; Leslie Campbell; and Wilbur Bears Heart. The progression of Bishops to have served Saint Philip's have been: William H. Hare, Hugh Burleson, Blair Roberts, Conrad H. Gesner, Lyman Ogilvie, and Walter Jones. The most recent Baptism was that of Michael Brent Yardley in June, 1981; and the most recent Confirmations were those of Mary L. Hale, Keith Red Bird, Delphine Marrowbone, Leona Good Bear, Jewell Gunderson, and Jamie Gunderson. Saint Philip's has a unique position as headquarters for the Indian work in the western end of the Cheyenne River Mission. Though small in size and number, its contribution to the total picture of life in Ziebach County is large, since nearly half of the non-white population is Episcopalian. Since priests spend much of their time on the Reservation, the strength of the congregation has always come from the lay members of the Parish. Among the lay workers whose work we must never forget have been that of Mrs. Katherine Creamer, Superintendent of the Sunday School from 1925 to 1949, she is currently living in Miami, Florida; Miss Helen Voerge, religious educator affiliated with the United Thank Offering, and now living in Florida; and Reverend Skardon D'Aubert, Houston, Texas, who worked with the young members of Saint Philip's during his vacations here, he's now retired and living in Louisiana. In the mid-1960's the cement stucco building was completely razed by fire, destroying the organ, most of the interior furnishings and most of the building. It was replaced with a cement block building following a massive fund-raising effort on the part of the membership. The current officers of the church are Blaine Clown, Senior Warden; Roy Hale, Junior Warden; Priscilla Hale, Clerk; and Lillie Pesicka, Treasurer, and it is through the continuing work of the present officers and members of Saint Philip's that achievement of the original aims of Bishop William H. Hare and Archdeacon Edward Ashley will be carried out, in regard to the Episcopal duty in Ziebach County. Compiled by: Mrs. Ruth Hersey, Reverend Anthony Morris and Jeri Burgee Lemke. FIRST ENGLISH EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH First English Evangelical Lutheran Church, a corporate body, and a member of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, was founded in 1914 by Pastor A. W. Blauert. At first services were held in a small wooden frame building. This was replaced in 1955 with a weigh-lite block structure which seats 100 persons. It has a full basement with Sunday School and kitchen facilities. The work on the building program was done for the most part by the members. In the years of existence First English Lutheran has been served by a succession of nineteen pastors with William Russow presently serving in that capacity. It is presently a part of a four-point parish including Faith, Isabel, and TimberLake besides Dupree. The pastor resides at Faith. It has a roll of 55 souls and 45 communicant members. Weekly worship is scheduled alternately on a monthly basis with the other three churches. Pastors who have served First English Lutheran are: A. W. Blauert, E. H. Neuman, H. Schaar, H. Sprengeler, E. W. Penk, Hugo Schnitker, A. G. Eberhart, E. Mehlberg, H. Russow, H. Bauer, A. Brueckner, W. Hein, J. Brandt, R. Wendland, H. Flegel, N. J. Engel, Thomas Schmidt, G. Richmond, and William Russow. [photo – First English Lutheran Church] CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER DAY SAINTS In 1965 Mormon missionaries appeared on the Cheyenne River Reservation and some of the people converted to the Mormon faith. A large chapel was built at Cherry Creek in 1966 on land donated by Mazie In The Woods. In 1979 another chapel was constructed in Dupree. Mormon couples are sometimes stationed at these places for their mission period which is time they spend doing volunteer work for their faith. Many young Mormon elders also are placed in the area. [photo – Church of Latter Day Saints] THE SIOUX INDIAN YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION On April 27, 1879 a small band of Indian young men met on the banks of the Sioux River near Flandreau in Dakota Territory for the purpose of promoting Christianity. They called themselves the Koska Okadakiciye (Young Men's Association). Some of their number had first encountered the work of the YMCA while in prison following defeat in Little Crow's War in the 1860's. They organized according to the "rules of Jesus" based upon the first chapter of the Gospel of John where they read that "one man who had the light went out and found his brother who was in darkness.'' They elected as their first chairman Thomas Wakeman, son of Chief Little Crow. The YMCA was the only white man's organization started among reservation Indians by Indians themselves and grew out of their own recognition of its necessity. Its faith and commitment soon spread to other reservations. The first YMCA on the Cheyenne River Reservation was founded at Virgin Creek (LaPlant) on November 16, 1884 when some YMCA leaders from Yankton Agency came to the area. By the mid-1890's there were YMCA's started at Cherry Creek and Buffalo Ranch. Yellow Thunder, Clarence Ward, Edward Dupree and Joseph Makes It Long were early leaders in the YMCAs in that area. Rev. Thomas Williamson (Presbyterian) and Rev. Stephen Riggs (Congregational) had been early missionaries to the Dakota people. They had helped to prepare the way for the spread of the YMCA. In 1935 the General Convention of Indian YMCAs organized for the first time apart from the annual Presbyterian and Congregational Mission Meeting, and began to work to include all denominations. [photo – Takini YMCA Hall, first school building in Bridger] [photo – YMCA Building in Dupree] By the early 1900's there was a YMCA at Takini (Bridger). Their stuccoed log YMCA hall was moved to Bridger in 1910 from south of the Cheyenne River where it had been built about 1890. It was used as church, first school in Bridger, and YMCA meeting hall. It is perhaps the oldest still standing and still used building in Ziebach County. By the 1920's there were YMCAs at Frazier (Red Scaffold) and at Thunder Butte. An emphasis on sports and recreation was begun when games were held during the annual conventions. Basketball, invented by the YMCA in 1890, was first introduced to the Indian YMCAs at a conference in 1896. In 1958 the officers of the General Convention requested staff and financial assistance from the National YMCA. A study team was sent to the reservations in the early 1960'9, and in 1965 Dave Lindstrom was hired as extension secretary to the Indian YMCAs. In 1970 Dwight Call was hired as staff director and Nathan Little Wounded as staff associate. Also in 1970 the General Convention voted to become family associations, operated by and serving the needs of men, women, boys and girls. A Summer Camp was begun in 1971 by the Sioux YMCAs, and named the Leslie Marrowbone Memorial YMCA Camp in 1975 for a young man who died in a tragic accident and who had been a junior counselor at the Camp for several years. Regular basketball and baseball leagues and tournaments were organized since 1971. Groups of YMCA volunteers had come to the reservations each year since 1965. In 1975 an annual youth exchange was initiated with the Yamanashi YMCA of Japan. The General Convention of Sioux Indian YMCAs was incorporated in 1972, and in 1977 -- 98 years after its founding -- became a member association of the National Council of YMCAs. Today there are seven YMCAs in Ziebach County: Cherry Creek, Takini (Bridger), Frazier (Red Scaffold), Red Scaffold, Dupree Lakota, Thunder Butte and Wakinyan Maza (Iron Lightning). EXPERIENCES OF AN ASSOCIATION SECRETARY by Arthur Tibbetts, Ta-Sun-Ke-Mani (Walking Horse), Traveling Secretary of the Indian Young Men's Christian Association Monday, the 9th day of January, 1899, I left Cannon Ball, North Dakota, at 4 o'clock by the stage coach, and started south. It was January 19 when I reached Remington Association at Green Grass at 7:30 o'clock. Here I found John Blue Cloud in waiting. I had made my plan to be at Leslie Association on Sunday. The distance between these two places is 55 miles. I started out in the early morning and reached my destination after sunset. The Association held its meeting, and they were waiting for me. I was so glad and thankful that I had another opportunity to "stand up for Jesus," though weary and tired. On Sunday they met with me in the church. On the evening just before the meeting was called I took a walk to the cemetery; there I found several signboards over the graves, with capital letters of Y.M.C.A. and names. There are eight of these in the cemetery. These were members of the Association. On Monday I drove on to Buffalo Ranch Association, which is about 15 miles east. I came to a country store to get a sack of oats for my team, also some canned goods for myself. I had known comparatively little of the Association here, and had long felt a desire to stay in order that I might better know those under my care. This Association has organized a band. We had a very good meeting. They did not meet to talk of their abuses, but of their privileges and how they could improve themselves in Christian life and services. I had planned to go to White Horse Camp; the distance is 60 miles. Before I went to bed I greased my buggy and had everything ready to start in the early morning.