By Carrie Moritz, Gazette
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.
However, because of his generosity, his granddaughters were able to experience holding the Drum Major position, his daughter was able to teach dance, and talented singers in the high school were able to obtain scholarships for their college educations. In that way, he certainly pushed the community forward.
Unfortunately, it didn’t appear to stick, and a frustrated John and Carolyn moved to nearby Eagle, ID in 2017. Eagle is approximately 10 miles northwest of Boise, and 15 miles east of Middleton.
“My gifting did not start until after I moved to Middleton,” John wrote. He gives, he says, "Because I want to and can afford it."
However, there’s no over-arching goal. He takes projects as they come.
He’s continuing his legacy now in Garretson, SD, and made an impact on the school by donating toward the Garretson School District. Earlier this year, he ensured that every high school and middle school student will receive a 2019-20 yearbook.
John loves yearbooks, and has quite a collection. Hundreds, in fact.
“I think that all this started after I retired [in 2003] and bought a computer. Yes, I got a late start. I discovered eBay and started looking at all items listed that contained "Garretson." I still do. I had an occasion to look at my Senior High school yearbook and noted that was all I had. I was one of those that just bought the Senior book. So, after looking for a while, I was able to get my Sophomore and Junior yearbooks. I then branched out to find the yearbooks for my brothers and sister in Roswell [New Mexico]. Next I expanded to my parents, cousins, aunts and uncles; both high school and college.
“I also included the NMMI (New Mexico Military Institute). They are located in Roswell and were only 2 blocks from where I lived. Lots of local kids went there and I knew some instructors that also lived near me. My children and grandchildren were also included in these searches.
“That's how I ended up with hundreds of yearbooks. They range about 1897 to the present day.”
Hopefully, that appreciation for yearbooks will spread to the 6-12th grade Garretson students as they receive their copy this year. Though they may not understand it now, it will likely come, as one notable thing about this community is the alumni’s love for their school.
“This summer, I was contacted by a man named John Garretson, who lives in Idaho,” wrote Guy Johnson, Superintendent of the Garretson School District in its October newsletter. “Mr. Garretson started out the conversation by telling me that ‘yes, he is related to that Garretson, but hadn’t been to the town.’ He went on to tell me that he’d like to do something nice for the kids in our school, and that he has always thought it was important that kids have a piece of history from their school, their yearbook.”
And the man with the same last name has most certainly done several nice things for this town.
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!
