Category Archives: South Dakota

Looking ahead … Rodeo Days.

Patiently waiting for summer as I edit on a cold, blustery day.

Gate City to the West

People in small towns, much more than in cities, share a destiny. ~Richard Russo

Gary, South Dakota

Gary, SD is a small community (population 224) nicknamed “Gate City to the West” located along the SD/MN border.

Background image photography and edit by Joyce Meyer. Canon 5D Mark 3 with a 70-200, 2.8 Canon IS L lens, cropped and sized in Photoshop to fit the 11 x 17 inch poster format with Impressionistic painting effect added using Topaz Studio.

Kudos to graphic designer, Diane Swenson, Canby Print Shop, Canby, MN, for her stellar design work on the 2019 Gary Rodeo poster (which features my image as the background). Canby, MN is a small, southwestern Minnesota town of just 1700 people located 14 miles east of Gary, South Dakota. Our communities may be lacking in size, but we know how to get things done.

You’ll find the Gary Rodeo grounds located on the northwest edge of Gary, SD, in a natural setting with the quaint prairie community of Gary, SD, as its backdrop.

Maybe it’s time for you to take a little trip and experience the life in Gary, South Dakota!

Life Lessons

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Image and edits by Joyce Meyer

Baseball teaches that errors are part of the game. ~Ernest Kurtz

The Sun Sets on the Alibi

March is coming to a close and with it the sun is setting on an  iconic establishment located in historic Gary, South Dakota. When Saturday,  March 31, 2018 comes to an end, Bruce and Diane Melby will turn the page of a forty-one year chapter of their lives.

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The Alibi was purchased from Jim and Karen Giesel in April of 1977 and since then Bruce and Diane Melby have dedicated their lives to providing a place for people from all walks of life to sit down, engage in lively conversation along with delicious food and beverages. For this we thank you.

It has been a landmark and meeting place for many purposes (Meet me at the Alibi!) and a safe, local hangout for young and old alike. For this we thank you.

Not only did they provide an establishment for food and drink but jobs for young people in the community, as well. These two are credited with teaching many youthful employees through the years how to deal positively with the public, work hard and still be able to laugh.  This influence has had a tremendous impact on young lives beyond  what a parent may be able to accomplish. For this we thank you.

While slaving away working incredibly long hours, they together raised five children who have grown into personable, hard-working, all-around awesome adults. I don’t know how they did it and I’m guessing they may look back and wonder the same. For this we thank you.

A loyal employee, Sarah Wynn, has been a key factor in the success of this business providing tremendous support with an amazing and diligent work ethic along with tremendous dedication to her job. For this we thank you.

The Alibi is a legend deserving of the Gary, South Dakota Wall of Fame.  I will always hear the thud of cowboy boots walking across the old wooden floor, clink of coffee cups, chatter of lively conversations along with occasional outbursts of laughter ringing in my ears. While the business may close its doors, these memories and everything they represents will live on in our hearts forever. For this we thank you.

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I leave you with this reaction from Bruce Melby when asked about retirement plans:

Looking for a business venture located in a charming historic community with great people? Opportunity awaits you in Gary, South Dakota!

 

 

 

 

Adventures of Digital Photography

I had no plans of creating the final composite product when I shot these images, but sometimes things just develop and ideas flow.  Hmmm. What if…? 

Three rambunctious boys ride their scooters down my driveway.Kruse-3056Swap images in to add their sister and improve expressions. Kruse-3056sw2Add a colorful sky scene I captured in the Pyrenees back in 2014 (Looks like the South Dakota hills).2014Camino-1060917dmvpaintPRINT Road dust colored in by using Photoshop brushes and finished it off with Topaz edits.KruseComposite3cr_vibgrtFinal product: The Dusty Sunset Gang!

 

The Flag and Freedom

May we think of freedom, not as the right to do as we please, but as the opportunity to do what is right ~Peter Marshall Gary, South Dakota is the kind of community Norman Rockwell may have used as inspiration for a painting with picturesque surroundings, historic buildings and friendly people. The small town swells with pride and people during its annual flag waving July 3rd and 4th  Celebration.

Our local American Legion and Legion Auxiliary organizations are made up of proud, selfless individuals who support our community, especially the youth, through summer baseball/softball programs as well as a Junior Legion Auxiliary organization. You will find these people volunteering their time at community events, parades, Veteran funerals, playing taps, etc.  Click on the link for a history of the Peden-Cole American Legion web page thanks to the American Legion Centennial Project.

Much controversy has revolved around a professional football player kneeling during the national anthem to protest police brutality against people of color. This is his right… Maybe it was an efficient way to bring attention to his cause and he’ll go down in history books as some sort of hero. Or, maybe it backfired and came across as being selfish, bringing negative attention to his team.  So much publicity involved not respecting the flag and the United States that it may have taken away from the actual purpose of his protest.  Our country is all about standing up for what you believe in, but needs to be done in a way that conveys the actual point you wish to make.  And above all, be kind.

 

Sunset on Lake Cochrane

Image and edit by Joyce Meyer

Available light photography is a perfect way to capture many portraits, but sunset is not a time to utilize this option. Without flash you either have a silhouette or muddy skin tones along with a blown out sky. Solution?  Add a flash to bring out the details. On this portrait I used a Canon speed light 580ex2 flash off camera, a cybersyc  flash trigger along with a Canon 580 ex2 with a Gary Fong diffuser on camera for a little fill.

ISO 100/ F8 aperture at 1/250th shutter to maintain detail and color in the sky.

2017 Meyerathon, Brookings, SD

Thank you to my wonderful family for organizing our team as we finished our third Brookings Relay Marathon, in Brookings, SD. Shout out and thank you to Brandi Brintnall for being an official Meyer for the day. Brookings, SD Marathon event organizers did an excellent job providing an amazing event. Can’t wait until next year!

Images and video were captured with a Samsung Galaxy S4 phone.

Memories… Gary, South Dakota

Soon the sights, sounds and smells of Christmas will fill the air bringing with it flashbacks of memories from holidays long ago. What is it about these sensory experiences that can instantly take us back in time…

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Image from the movie “A Christmas Story.”

I’m interested in winter memories from the Gary, South Dakota area. These memories give us a personal insight to our regional history and how events locally and throughout the world may have affected a particular era. What was Christmas and winter like for families during the Great Depression? War time? Blizzards? Commerce in Gary, SD?

Please leave a comment and share this post if you have any interesting memories from years gone by. I would like to share some of these memories during the Gary Community Club Christmas event on December 4, 2016 at the Gary American Legion starting at 12 noon.

Thank you for helping us walk down memory lane.

An example from the late Bernice Jensen, Gary, SD: …In the 40’s I was cleaning up stairs. I opened Mothers trunk and there were gifts for everyone, mixed nuts, and candy. I went downstairs and told Mother I found all the good stuff. What do you mean? We came up stairs and she looked with in the trunk with a worried look on her face. That looks like Jackie’s work. When he came in he was put on the hot seat. He was about ten years old, and he had purchased a defense stamp and when you filled a book it was worth 27.50, I believe. Jackie looked so pitiful with tears in his eyes. He looked at Mother and said, what would you rather have, 27 dollars or good memories. The next Christmas brother Henry was not with us. He passed away the October before. When we opened our gifts, it was quiet. Mother turned to Jackie and said, Jack, you were right, memories are better than money. Remember how pleased Henry was over his gift. You gave him a new billfold. That’s enough of digging up old bones. Cherish your beautiful memories and forget the bad ones. ~ excerpt from “Down Memory Lane” by Bernice Jensen

Scary Gary, SD 2016

Drone footage by Tanner Gauer / Video by Joyce Meyer