Who is John Garretson? Most of us haven't heard of the man who has the same last name as our little town, but he's been making his mark over the past year. Plus, the Fireman's Annual Dinner and Dance, the city council hears about the need for a new community center, and winter sports stay in full swing!
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Garretson’s finest, our volunteer firemen, hosted their annual banquet and dance on Friday, Jan 17 at the American Legion Post #23 dugout. The event went forward despite winter storms looming and deadly cold windchills. Above is current and outgoing fire chief Jeff Frerk, awarding the Firefighter of the Year award to Mike Fetter. Below is new chief elect Dan Wagner, presenting the GFD’s Business of the Year award to Rusty Vandersnick of Vandersnick Excavating.
John & Carolyn Garretson. John has made a mark on the town bearing his last name with several generous charitable donations. (submitted photo)
Last year, the Garretson Area Historical Society received a phone call from a man named John Garretson. John, who hails from Eagle, Idaho, had contacted the Historical Society hoping to find some information on A.S. Garretson, a banker, businessman, and railroad investor who was from Sioux City, IA.
A.S., short for Arthur Samuel, was born in Ohio, and moved to Sioux City in 1874 at age 23. Becoming involved in banking, he was an instrumental investor in railroad construction with the Sioux City and Northern Railway, and was a driving force behind convincing the citizens of Palisades to relocate their little town from the banks of where Palisades State Park is now located, two miles north to the new railroad diversion and junction that was to be built. The new town was then named to Garretson in his honor.
John Garretson was fairly sure his family tree intersected with Arthur’s, but was still looking for that line.
“I have been looking at Garretson, SD for quite some time,” John wrote in an email to the Gazette in late December 2019. “Every now and then I would make a genealogy search to see where A.S. Garretson joined my family tree. I never was successful, but feel the connection is there.”
Eventually, the connection was made. On January 12 of this year, he wrote to the Historical Society (specifically, to Jakob Etrheim, one of its board members): “I have finally made the Genealogy connection between A.S. Garretson and my family tree. Had to go way back to find the common ancestor. That would be Casparius Garretson, born in 1684. My line starts from his first son John and his [A.S.’s] line starts from his second son William.”
Despite the divergence of the family line, however, John has now made his mark on the town of Garretson, South Dakota. The little town with his last name had sparked his interest, and he’s been becoming more and more involved over the past year.
“I contacted the Historical Society and ended up making a donation. As a result of this, someone paid for my subscription to the Gazette and I have been receiving it ever since,” he wrote. “I read it very closely to see who might need some help. This has resulted in donations to the Blue Dragon Academy, the Garretson Blue Jays, and the park bench.”
He’s no stranger to giving, though. He and Carolyn were the drivers behind Middleton, Idaho’s formation of a high school marching band and dance squad, and helped support their choir and Academic Decathlon programs.
He notes it was not complete altruism that set him on the giving path, but was more a way to support his granddaughters in their education and daughter in her dreams.
“We found out that two of our granddaughters had belonged to a marching band in California and were interested in continuing that activity [in Idaho]. Middleton had not had a marching band for 18 years,” John wrote. “So, we got together with the band director and with the help of some of the student parents that were interested [we] formed a marching band. I donated money for whatever was needed; uniforms, etc. Later, there was a need to haul band items from contest to contest and I bought a trailer for them.
“My youngest daughter had a degree in dance and volunteered to coach the dance squad that performed with the band at various competitions. I gave her the funds for this (costumes, props, etc.) rather than introduce a school employee and have to beg the funds from them. All the props, costumes, etc. were donated to the school when not needed any longer. This squad was winning 1st and 2nd place trophies at the various events and made a real name for themselves. It also turned out that 3 of my granddaughters held the Drum Major position with the band over a 5-year period.”
Two of his three daughters had moved to Middleton a few years before, and upon retiring as a nuclear engineer in 2003, he and Carolyn decided to move there, not only to be closer to his children, but because it was much more economically viable.
According to John, part of the reason behind his generosity was the attitude and culture of Middleton, which he says was fairly insular and relied heavily on “who you know” rather than skill or community growth potential. This meant that such things would not have gotten done if someone hadn’t stepped up and, essentially, pushed it along.
Writers Note: Mr. Garretson certainly has made his mark on Garretson, South Dakota. He has lived a very interesting life, and the Gazette plans to continue this profile on him in Part II next week!
The Monday, January 13 meeting of the Garretson City Council focused mainly on a request for a variance on the Paterson-owned land located west of Granite Ave and on the need for a new community center/city hall.
Two councilmembers were absent from the meeting, along with City Maintenance Supervisor Craig Nussbaum. The council started by approving natural gas prices, and received committee updates.
Jeff Frerk with the Garretson Fire Department presented, noting that overall in 2019, the GFD put in over 1700 combined training and volunteer hours. They had 140 total calls, which was slightly above 2018’s 135 and 2017’s 134 calls, but still within average. Mayor Greg Beaner recognized the GFD for its service, noting that all of those hours are volunteer, and are valued at $150/hr.
The ambulance report was given by Anna Uhl, who noted that at 198 calls, 2019 was the second busiest year on record after 2015’s 225 calls. They are more stable financially, but they are still having trouble attracting and retaining qualified staff and volunteers. While this is an issue nationally, it is a trend the Garretson Ambulance would like to see reversed.
The next meeting of the City Council will be held at the Legion on Monday, February 3, at 6:30 p.m.
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On January 16th, 2020, the Blue Dragons played host to the Trojans of West Central. The Blue Dragons struggled all night on the offensive side of the ball, which resulted in a convincing loss to West Central 53-32.
“We played pretty well defensively all night, but we couldn’t convert anything offensively,” stated Heitkamp. “The kids did a nice job getting quality looks at the hoop, but it just wasn’t going through the net for us. A part of the problem is we are not taking the ball to the rim with authority and shooting with confidence, which is something we will be emphasizing the remainder of the season.”
Dylan Kindt led the way in the scoring column with 8 points, as Trey Buckneberg (4 steals) and Hayden Olofson added 7 and 6 points. Josef Zahn (6 rebounds) added 5 points of his own, while Cooper Long chipped in with 3 points. Triston Rekstad and Cole Skadsen rounded out the scoring with 2 and 1 points respectively.
The Blue Dragons played against Tea on Jan. 21 (results not available by press time).
The Dragons face Luverne in a double header tonight (1-23) at home! On Friday night (1-24) they travel to Vermillion and travel to face Flandreau on 1-28.
The Blue Dragon boys’ basketball C team traveled to Baltic on January 7 to face off in a C team triangular against Dell Rapids St. Mary’s and Baltic. Garretson came away with two back-to-back wins.
“We knew that St. Mary’s had just played a full game right before us and would be coming out of the gates ready to play. Pushing the tempo was the key to jumping out to an early lead for us. Our pressure in the back court led to some easy transition points and some great kick out shots from our wings,” said Coach Cory Buchholz.
The young Blue Dragons were able to secure victory over Dell Rapid’s St. Mary’s by a score of 44-30. Cadyn Ockenga led the scoring attack with multiple transition buckets while netting 18 points. The hot shooting Isaiah Gnadt scorched the nets, connecting for 17 points (4 for 5 on 3-point attempts). Sam Schleuter and Drew Pederson rounded out the scoring going for 6 and 3 points each.
Following the Blue Dragons victory over the Cardinals, Garretson took on a rested Baltic Bulldog team and shut them down with a score of 42-29.
“Once again we came out and hit some big shots early. We kept pressure on the ball that led to some easy turnovers and transition points. We stayed in our 2-3 defense and, in a way, it kept us from some rebounds because we were over helping too much on the defensive side of the ball. Though that is a good problem to have, we need to see the weak side of the floor better for boxing out opportunities,” said Coach Buchholz.
While Garretson was hot during in-game play, the Blue Dragons struggled from the charity stripe. “Achilles heel = free throws. We say it every day in practice that we leave points off of the scoreboard by missing free throws. This game alone we were 4/14 from the charity stripe. Although we didn’t need those points this game, it can and will come back to haunt us,” stated Coach Buchholz.
Gnadt had another huge game, knocking down four 3-pointers en route to his best scoring game of the year of 20 points. Buchholz noted, “When Isaiah is on from beyond the arc, it is something fun to watch.”
Dylan Jessen was a man on a mission throughout the whole game as he netted 11 points and came away with rebound after rebound. Sam Schleuter connected for 5 points while Matthew Gilbert, Drew Pederson, and Eli Reed each put up 2 points.
The Blue Dragons hosted the Flandreau Fliers on Tuesday January 14. The game proved to be a battle between the two teams as the score went back and forth during the first half with Garretson leading the Fliers 20 – 16 going into half- time.
The Blue Dragons tried to make a run in the fourth quarter behind a streak of three’s, but the Fliers responded to the effort.
Garretson down by one with just a few seconds left on the clock, put up a shot that came up short and Flandreau got the victory 47-46. Putting points on the scoreboard was Mattea Fiegen with twelve, Raegen Altman nine, Madden Lardy added eight and Mya Long seven.
On the eve of our season’s first real blizzard, a Garretson school bus delivered our high school wrestling team to the campus of Freeman Academy last Thursday for a triangular with Marion/Freeman and Viborg/Hurley. It was a rare occurrence to wrestle where we did, but the Freeman high school gym was preoccupied.
In the first match of the night against host Marion/Freeman, things started out well for the Blue Dragons, whose goal was to go 2 and 0 for the night. “Our lower weights did what we expected of them,” said Coach Ruml. Preston Bohl, Jayse Miller, Braxton Rozeboom, and Hunter Abraham all got first or second period pins to catapult the Blue Dragons out front 24-6. After sluggish performances in the next three bouts, all matches the coaches knew we could win, the host team would edge ahead before going into their strength in some of their upper weights. Gabe Johnson did garner 6 more team points for the Blue and White at HWT, but Marion/Freeman would persist by a score of 39-30. “No doubt it hurt to lose one we let get away, but let’s hope our boys use this as motivation to work harder and be better prepared said Coach Tyler Sorenson. “Maybe it is our job too to push the boys and work them harder in practice,” said old coach Oran Sorenson.
In just their second year in the sport, Viborg/Hurley was able to pick up just three victories against the Blue Dragons in the second match of the night. Their best boys are at 126, 220, and HWT and that is where they were able to pick up wins. Garretson would prevail by a final score of 42-12. Winning both matches for the night for the Blue and White were Preston Bohl at 106, Jayse Miller at 113, and Hunter Abraham at 132. The Saturday tourney at Tri-Valley was cancelled because of the weekend storm. Our wrestlers next see action this Thursday at Sioux Falls O’Gorman where our boys will take on two A teams, the Knights and the Quarriers of Dell Rapids.
The Lady Dragons lost to Flandreau 50-78. They faced Tea in a double header on Tuesday, Jan 21 (results not available by press time). Next games are scheduled for a double header with Luverne tonight (1-23). They face Vermillion with another double header on Friday. The Big East Conference will be either in Garretson of Beresford on Jan. 30 or 31st, full schedule to be determined.
PIERRE — During his tenure as chief justice of the South Dakota Supreme Court, David Gilbertson, not only dispensed justice, he also saved lives. That was part of the message he delivered Wednesday in his last State of the Judiciary message to the Legislature.
“I leave with satisfaction knowing that there are people alive today who would not otherwise be without our drug, DUI, veterans and mental health courts,” Gilbertson told a joint session of the Legislature. “Our goal was to swell the employment rolls, not the cemeteries.”
After a 34-year judicial career and spending the last 19 as chief justice, Gilbertson faces mandatory retirement. During his message he looked back at the programs that helped save lives.
In addition to saving lives, the special courts are saving money. Gilbertson said a year in the DUI and drug courts costs $8,015 while a year in the penitentiary costs about $22,000.
Drug, DUI and veterans courts served 594 participants in 2018. Of their 135 graduates, only 18 percent have reoffended.
“That’s a substantially higher success rate than the 43 percent success rate for people paroled from the penitentiary,” Gilbertson said.
In 2017 the Legislature found ways to help people in the court system who have mental health issues. Legislation passed that year changed the wait time for competency hearings from as much as six months to an average of just 37 days. The legislation expanded the number of competency evaluators from six to 31.
“It goes a long way to ensure statewide coverage,” Gilbertson said of the changes. “No longer do all roads lead to Yankton and the Human Services Center located there.”
There are three veterans treatment courts in Minnehaha, Pennington and Codington counties. All programs are under the direction of a judge who is a veteran and can understand the challenges they face.
The veterans court is assisted by the Veterans Administration and, when appropriate, allows access to VA inpatient treatment.
“The veterans treatment courts stand alone among all our problem-solving court programs to offer inpatient services,” Gilbertson said.
The Rural Attorney Program has grown to include contracts with 25 rural counties to help provide lawyers in underserved areas. Last year the program was expanded to include municipalities with populations of 3,500 or less. The first to sign on where Elk Point and Sisseton.
“Not one attorney who has gone into the program later left rural practice due to lack of available legal work,” Gilbertson said. “The need is there and the need is being met.”
Gilbertson refused to make any pronouncements about what the future will hold for the justice system in South Dakota. He noted that future decisions will be guided by the Constitution, the statutes and “the goal of maintaining a peaceful resolution of the citizens’ disputes.”
“The people within the judicial system come and go, but the fundamental basics remain the same,” Gilbertson said. “We do not want to become a legal dinosaur lumbering off into oblivion.”
