Archives and Special Collections recently received a list of interviews with Clay County WWII military veterans done by Donna Schafer and published in the Vermillion Plain Talk newspaper. Aakre, Elmer “Sandy”. Vermillion Plain Talk. March 25, 2011, page 5. Anderson, Richard. Vermillion Plain Talk website says January 27, 2011, but we could not find it in the paper version of the newspaper. Armstrong, Francis. Vermillion Plain Talk. October 29, 2010, page 3. Backhaus, LeRoy. Vermillion Plain Talk. September 24, 2010, page 5. Barta, William “Bill” R. Vermillion Plain Talk. October 21, 2011, page 3. Bliss, Gary G. Vermillion Plain Talk. February 3, 2012, page 2. Brunick, Sidney. Vermillion Plain Talk. June 17, 2011, page 2. Carlson, Carl. Vermillion Plain Talk. January 21, 2011, page 3. Christensen, Vernon Calvin. Vermillion Plain Talk. December 31, 2010, page 3. Clark, Alfred. Vermillion Plain Talk. December 24, 2010, page 3. Dwyer, James H. Vermillion Plain Talk. May 6, 2011, page 2. Edwards, Larry. Vermillion Plain Talk. April 8, 2011, page 5. Engman, Sid. Vermillion Plain Talk. September 17, 2010, page 6A. Hanson, Clayton. Vermillion Plain Talk. February 11, 2011, page 3. Hanson, Marvin. Vermillion Plain Talk. February 25, 2011, page 5. Howe, Andrew. Vermillion Plain Talk. November 11, 2011, page 6. Knutson, Earl M. Vermillion Plain Talk. September 3, 2010, page 5. Kronaizl, James. Vermillion Plain Talk. October 8, 2010, page 7. Kugler. Roger K. Vermillion Plain Talk. March 4, 2011, page 5. Lyman, Samuel Kenneth. Vermillion Plain Talk. September 23, 2011, page 2. Marshall, Frank “Bud”. Vermillion Plain Talk. January 28, 2011, page 3. Morse, Leora Marcotte. Vermillion Plain Talk. August 19, 2010, page 3. Nygaard, Eldon. Vermillion Plain Talk. March 16, 2012, page 3. Powell, Leo F. Vermillion Plain Talk. October 14, 2011, page 3. Randall, Harriet Johnson. Vermillion Plain Talk. August 27, 2010, page 3. Richardson, James R. Vermillion Plain Talk. October 28, 2011, page 7. Schafer, Paul. Vermillion Plain Talk. December 9, 2011, page 8. Schafer, Henry “Jerry”. Vermillion Plain Talk. January 14, 2011, page 3. Sealey, Michael David. Vermillion Plain Talk. October 7, 2011, page 2. Tiahrt, Wilbur. Vermillion Plain Talk. October 22, 2010, page 5A. Ticknor, Dean. Vermillion Plain Talk. May 20, 2011, page 3. You can read these interviews in the Vermillion Plain Talk newspapers at the Archives and Special Collections or on the Plain Talk website.

A library book that is 50+ years overdue is a common trope in books and movies. Though it is not common here, the library recently (and happily) received an overdue book that was checked out for 56 years. This image of the check-out slip for the overdue book shows that it was checked out in 1970. Guinness world record for the most years that a returned library book had been overdue is 288 years.

The Mahoney Music Collection covers a wide range of musical subjects. Within the subject of musical instruments — construction is an unusual set of books, the Hough’s Encyclopaedia of American Woods. While the 1957 set in the Mahoney Music Collection is not complete, a complete set has 16 two-ring binders with samples of wood and 8 volumes of descriptive text. In the binders, many American trees are represented with transverse, radial, and tangential slices of wood. This set was the life’s work of Romeyn Beck Hough (1857-1924), botanist and son of the first chief of the U.S. Division of Forestry. These books are the product of two major trends in the 19th and early 20th centuries: 1. “classification and encyclopedism” and 2. ”the invention of complex or specialized mechanical devices.” The first reveals itself to anyone who pages through the books. For the second, Hough invented and patented a machine to cut wood to the thinness he needed for his books. Hough’s Encyclopaedia of American Woods won awards and medals at the 1889 Paris Exposition, Columbian Exposition at Chicago, Pan-American Exposition at Buffalo, the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis, plus others. These books would interest wooden musical instrument makers and collectors, furniture makers and collectors, woodworkers, botanists, and historians of science and the 19th century. Information and quote are from: Vtspecblogger. The American Woods… the 19th Century… and Beyond (blog). Virginia Tech Special Collections and University Archives. June 9, 2016. https://scuablog.lib.vt.edu/2016/06/09/the-american-woods-the-19th-century-and-beyond/ (accessed 11-22-2024).

The Archives and Special Collections has a compilation (i.e. bill book) of South Dakota Legislature House Bills from 1890. D. M. Inman’s signature is on the first page. South Dakota became a state in 1889, and the state's first session of the legislative assembly met in 1890. Darwin M. Inman (1838-1913) was a businessman, politician and educator from Vermillion. He served as a representative from Clay County to Dakota Territory and South Dakota Legislature in 1877-1878, 1881-1884, and 1889-1890. The pages are very fragile. Therefore, we have not looked to see if the bill book contains all the proposed bills, the bills that made it out of committee, or the bills that were made into law. Information about Inman is from the SD Legislative Research Council website, Historical Listing, accessed 5/23/2026).

The South Dakota Oral History Project’s first year was described in a 1970 South Dakota History article. “This past summer an oral history project was inaugurated in South Dakota. Five thousand dollars was funded by the state legislature at the request of Dayton Canaday, State Historian, and Professor Joseph Cash of the University of South Dakota. Professor Cash and Mr. Canaday suggested to the state legislature that a project be initiated among white settlers while reminiscent accounts of early statehood were still available. The State Historical Society received the money as part of its budget allocation, and the University agreed to provide personnel and technical assistance necessary to produce taped interviews. It was also agreed that two copies of each tape would be produced and placed in the archives at Pierre and Vermillion. This writer was hired as the primary interviewer, and the remaining funds went toward the purchase of tapes, secretarial assistance, and other incidentals.” Check out the article for information on partners, methodologies, and common themes. Stephen R. Ward, An Early Assessment of the South Dakota Oral History Project, South Dakota History, vol. 1, no. 1, Winter 1970. Contact the South Dakota Oral History Center at USD to learn more about the interviews collected for this project. Many of the interviews have a record in the library catalog.

The W. H. Over Museum and the National Music Museum (NMM) have distinctly different items they collect. However, the NMM is part of the University of South Dakota (USD), whereas the W. H. Over Museum resides on the USD campus, but is not part of USD, at one time both called the Carnegie Library building home. The USD Carnegie Library construction was finished and occupied in 1911 when USD enrollment was 425 students according to Cummins’ book (Cummins, Cedric C. The University of South Dakota, 1862-1966. Vermillion, SD: Dakota Press, 1975). By the later part of the 1930’s USD student enrollment doubled, and President I. D. Weeks promoted the enlargement of the building. On Thursday, October 10, 1940, dedication exercises for the expanded library were held. The major addition, constructed of Indiana Bedford limestone, doubled the capacity of the building. Twenty years later, enrollment doubled yet again necessitating the construction of a new library on campus. This would become the I. D. Weeks Library. In 1967 President Weeks suggested that the W. H. Over Museum, founded in 1883 by the Board of Regents known as the University Museum, occupy the old Carnegie Library building. The Over Museum had occupied several sites on campus including University Hall, the Science building, and the basement of Slagle Hall. In 1967, not only did Over call the Carnegie building the Over Museum’s home, but space was given to a newly hired music professor, Arne B. Larson who brought with him over 2,000 instruments. Most instruments were initially stored in Old Main. In addition, prominent Yanktonai Dakota artist and professor Oscar Howe had his studio and a gallery in the Carnegie building. He was also assistant director of the W. H. Over Museum. In 1973, Andre’ Larson, Arne Larson’s son, founded and became director of the Shrine to Music Museum and the Center for the Study of the History of Musical Instruments which included his father’s collection donated to the University of South Dakota. Andre’ Larson was a consummate collector of rare and important musical instruments, books, documents, and other ephemera. Currently there are over 15,000 instruments in the NMM. By the early 1980’s the Shrine to Music Museum was expanding and President Joseph McFadden did not renew the Over Museum’s lease for the occupancy of the Carnegie building in 1984. In addition, in 1980 Oscar Howe retired from the University and in 1983 passed away. The consequences were that the Shrine to Music Museum acquired the entire Carnegie building (AMIS newsletter Vol. xv, No.2, June 1986, Dedication of the renovated Shrine to Music Museum). By contrast, Friends of the W. H. Over Museum, raised funds to build a new museum located east of the DakotaDome. Tor nine years (1984-1993) General Lloyd Moses was Chair of the fundraising committee In 2001, the Shrine to Music Museum changed its name to the National Music Museum and in 2018 major renovations to the Carnegie building commenced including construction of a new wing. In 2022, a ribbon cutting signaled the completion of the construction project, although developing the exhibits in the Carnegie building is ongoing. In 2023, the W. H. Over Museum will celebrate its 140th year and the NMM its 50th year. Stay tuned for their celebrations. Photograph thanks to Dr. Margaret Banks illustrating the enlarged Carnegie Library building in 1983 when it served as home for the Shrine to Music Museum, the W. H. Over Museum, and Oscar Howe’s Gallery. Note the lighter limestone addition to the rear of the original building.

Few people remember a pool in the 1929 newly constructed two-story armory and gymnasium building at the University of South Dakota (USD). The New Armory, as the building was called, was designed by renowned Sioux Falls architects Hugill and Blatherwick to serve two purposes: as a military armory and a replacement for the Old Armory (now Belbas Larson Center) women’s gymnasium. Besides serving as a venue for indoor athletics, the New Armory also housed military equipment and uniforms, classrooms and offices, and the basement contained a shooting range. According to his papers, President Slagle was intimately involved in the construction of the building which started construction in 1928. A letter from the architects to President Slagle noted specifics about the swimming pool located on the southeast portion of first floor. A February 5, 1929, Volante article describes the building as 100 by 200 feet. It was large enough to accommodate three basketball courts. The tiled swimming pool was 25 by 75 feet with room on one side for spectator bleachers. Not only did the pool serve USD students and faculty, but Vermillion citizens were also welcome. Pictures of the Dolphins, a women’s swimming group using the pool can be found in several Coyote yearbooks from the 1950’s. Plans of the New Armory 1st floor. (Archives and Special Collections) Picture of the Dolphins in the swimming pool. Note the tiling.(Coyote Yearbook, 1955) In 1929 an outdoor pool was constructed in Prentis Park, but it was only operational in the summer, making the New Armory pool available for swimming all year round. Over the years with the increase in student enrollment and growth of athletics, a new structure to house athletics was built called the DakotaDome that opened in 1980. The function of the New Armory also changed as it became home to South Dakota Broadcasting (E. O. Lawrence Telecommunications Center) and USD Military Science Department. By 2003 the building was again renovated and became the Al Neuharth Media Center which is home to the Department of Media and Journalism, the Volante, Freedom Forum, KYOT TV and KAOR radio stations, and South Dakota Public Broadcasting. The pool is still there covered in sand, but not forgotten.

Harold Edwin Brookman was born on November 5, 1886, in Vermillion, Dakota Territory. He was the oldest of four sons born to Edwin and Anna Brookman. St. Claire Edwin (S.E.) Brookman and his twin brother Edgar were born in 1855 in New York and arrived in Vermillion in the early 1880s. The Brookman twins were millers and later instrumental in the development of electricity in Vermillion. Harold Brookman’s brother Lowell became a city electrician working for the city-owned power plant for several decades. Harold Brookman was educated in Vermillion, attending the State University (University of South Dakota, USD) majoring in engineering. At USD the School of Engineering existed from 1907 until 1933. Brookman graduated in 1910 and was described in the 1911 Coyote Yearbook as an “athlete (football and track), engineering student and a lady’s man”. A photograph from that yearbook shows Brookman, captain of the track team, with a coyote pup on his lap sitting in the center of his teammates. Brookman went on to earn a master’s degree in engineering at State College in Brookings and became a licensed, professional engineer qualifying in drainage, architecture, heating, and ventilation, as well as mechanical engineering. He also studied art at the Trenton Art School. His family mentioned to me that in his spare time, Brookman painted and constructed scaled down exact models of wagons and stage coaches. During World War I, Brookman supervised the manufacture of materials for the Navy. Harold Brookman was a member of the USD faculty since 1921 garnering honors for his work and admiration from President ID Weeks. When the School of Engineering ended, Brookman developed a program in Applied Science and was Professor and Chair until his retirement in 1959. As part of the program, he helped graduates find jobs or further educational prospects. When Brookman retired received the status of Professor Emeritus and continued to serve the University until his death in 1967. A letter dated October 26, 1956, found in Brookman’s files in Archives and Special Collections (please see below) was written by President I. D. Weeks to Brookman. A portion of the letter stated “Your genuine interest in all of the University and willingness to do anything to contribute to its welfare has been an inspiration to me. My life has been enriched by being associated with you and I know this is true for countless numbers of students and faculty.” Friends and associates honored Brookman by endowing a scholarship in his name. Moreover, Brookman Hall, constructed in 1963 was named after him. Brookman designed the Danforth Chapel and helped renovate several buildings on campus. In a 2019 Volante article, his work on tunnels on the USD campus is described as follows: “Harry E. Brookman, professor of applied science and Brookman Hall’s namesake, designed the first tunnel in 1928 to carry power and steam lines from the old campus power plant to Old Main, a much more pacified purpose than protection from nuclear fallout. As the campus expanded through the next few decades, so did the tunnels underneath them.” (https://volanteonline.com/2019/10/underneath-the-u-the-strange-history-behind-usds-tunnel-system/) Aside from his service to USD as faculty and university engineer, Brookman was an alderman for the City of Vermillion for six years. In 1929 he helped oversee the construction of the first swimming pool in Prentis Park. The vote from Vermillionites to go ahead with the project received only four more votes than the descenders! In 1936 Brookman designed the Prentis Park caretaker’s house constructed from wood taken from the Municipal Golf Club House. Brookman also contributed architectural drawings for a Progress Works Administration grant submitted in 1934 by USD on behalf of the Dakota Hospital Association to construct Dakota Hospital. The Dakota Hospital Association got its money, but the construction of the building was under the auspices of USD that held the warranty deed. Brookman was City Engineer during the late 1930’s to early 1940’s. Brookman also served on the board of the Vermillion Chamber of Commerce. Harold Brookman died at the age of 80 years on October 7, 1967. Thus, Professor Harold Brookman was a dedicated faculty member, supportive of his students, and honored by his colleagues. In addition, he served his community as alderman, Chamber of Commerce board member, and city engineer. Looking through his files at USD Archives and Special Collections, it was evident that Brookman was a student of history who believed that understanding the past would help prepare students for the future. Professor Harold Edwin Brookman (Photograph curtesy of David Gross)

As part of my work in Archives and Special Collections, I reviewed negatives and photographs from the mid-1950’s to mid-1960’s. Many images illustrated athletic events predominately football and basketball, although there were a few images of Dolphins, the women’s synchronized swimming team. Several images were associated with Dakota Day (D-Day) events including parades down Main Street consisting of elaborate floats constructed by fraternities and sororities as well as other student organizations. Important dignitaries rode in cars and beckoned to enthusiastic spectators. Other D-Day images were of the football games and Miss Dakota Day royalty. Intriguingly, among the negatives and photographs I reviewed was an image of a Chesterfield cigarette salesman catering to students through a suggestive poster and the salesman giving out free cigarettes to students. Although undated, the image was probably from the late 1950s to early 1960s. What I found most interesting among the images I evaluated were the changes in buildings on campus during this time period. As a background several structures were built in the late 1900’s to early 20th century including East Hall (1887), the second Old Main (1893-94), the Old Armory which became the Women’s Gymnasium (1903), Science Hall (1902), Dakota Hall (1919), the Andrew Carnegie Library (1910), the School of Law Building (1908), the Chemistry Building (1915), the Observatory (1917), the Power plant and water tower (1910), and the Engineering building (1918). In honor of the Inman family, Mrs. Adele Inman contributed the land and substantial funds to construct the Inman stadium in 1918. West Hall, first a women’s dormitory and then a men’s dormitory was constructed in 1885 and burned down in 1905. Dakota Hall and East Hall served as dormitories until the 1950s and early sixties. In the 1920s several buildings were completed that still stand today with several additions and renovations over the years. The Administration Building (now Slagle Hall), the New Armory (now the Neuharth Media Center), and the first Student Union were built as the student body, faculty members and administration of the University and athletics increased following World War I. A second building boom on campus occurred following World War II as increased enrollment necessitated more dormitory space and expansion of specialty schools. According to Cedric Cummins’ book: The University of South Dakota 1862-1966, enrollment in 1943-1944 was 461 students and by 1950 it was almost 1800. In 1965 student enrollment was almost 4,000 students. Danforth Chapel, a unique building constructed in 1954, was used and continues to be used by many people of different denominations for prayers and meditation and as a site for special events. Increased housing requirements were met with construction of dormitories including Julian Hall (1950), Noteboom Hall (1953), Julian Hall Addition (1958), Brookman and Norton Halls (1963), Cypress (1958) and Redwood Courts (1960), and Grace Burges Hall (1960). Cypress and Redwood Courts, which served married students, no longer exist. In the fall of 2022 residence halls Julian Hall, Julian Hall Addition, and Brookman Hall were razed. Although the School of Medicine started in 1907, it was not until 1953 that it received its own building. The Andrew E. Lee Memorial Medical and Science building initially housed both medicine and biology. It would be expanded twice in the next ten years. In 2005-7 a new medical school was built on the same footprint as the old building. Although the Medical School became the USD Sanford School of Medicine, the building retained its original name. To replace Science Hall built in 1902, no longer used in 1958, and razed in 1961, a new Science Building was constructed in 1962 on the west side of campus. At their 40th class reunion the class of 1930 placed a bronze plaque attached to a boulder to denote where the old Science building stood. It is the only commemoration of past buildings on campus. The new Science building would be called Akeley-Lawrence Science Center in honor of a distinguished professor (Lewis Akeley) and alum (Ernest Lawrence) who went on to win the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1939. Both were profoundly involved in the development of KUSD radio. To accommodate the medium of television, KUSD TV developed and would occupy a building north of Old Main for several years. An increased need to provide students with a background in business necessitated construction of a new building located adjacent to Cherry Street to house the School of Business in 1957. Likewise, a new School of Education was constructed directly south of the School of Business in 1963. Finally, a major change to facilitate student activities occurred in 1965 with the erection of the Coyote Student Union replacing the role of old Student Union built forty years earlier. Thus, the period of the 1950s to the mid-1960s constituted a building boom on the University of South Dakota campus driven not only because of increased student enrollment, but the development of new programs. As a side note, cigarettes were freely advertised and available on campus until the 1980s. It wasn’t until 2013 that USD became a smoke free campus. A Chesterfield salesman and helper giving out cigarettes to students. Note the poster. The University of South Dakota Photograph Collection, Historic Series, Archives and Special Collections, I. D. Weeks Library. A University of South Dakota campus map showing buildings on campus as well as fraternity and sororities houses. Although the library is designated to be finished in 1965, it would not be used until 1967. University of South Dakota Bulletin Series LXIV (no. 7) March 1, 1964.

According to Herbert Schell’s book Clay County: Chapters Out of the Past, Chapter 15, and review of Coyote Yearbooks from the early 20th century, University of South Dakota (USD) men’s athletics boasted early on Baseball, Track and Football teams. Little was mentioned regarding athletics among women students. Basketball at the University of South Dakota would develop helped by the construction of the Armory and Gymnasium in 1905. Not only did basketball become a colligate sport, but high schools also adopted the sport. A striking photograph in the 1903 Coyote Yearbook pictures members of the 1902 Women’s Basket Ball (as the sport was called then) team. In the 1904 Coyote another photograph of the women’s Basket Ball team appears. In the 1908 and 1913 Coyotes, no mention is made of this women’s sport, but pictures show that women took “Physical Culture”. Photograph from the 1903 Coyote Yearbook of the 1902 women’s basketball team. Images from the 1910 Coyote Yearbook. Drawings at the top demonstrate that types of outfits men and women wore while playing basketball. The bottom photographs show scenes of the inside of the Armory building where basketball was played. A photograph of the Armory and Gymnasium from the 1910 Coyote. To accommodate the larger student population and increased participation of students in athletics, in 1929 a new Armory building was constructed which was used for basketball games until the DakotaDome was built in 1979. Finally, as USD moved into Division 1 status, the Sanford Coyote Sports Center was constructed in 2016 which allowed basketball and volleyball teams to have their own facilities. Although there is evidence at the University of South Dakota that women played basketball in physical education classes, clubs and some intramurals but, it was not until the 1971-1972 season that USD Athletics included an intercollegiate Women’s Basketball team (https://goyotes.com/news/2020/10/2/fifty-years-of-coyote-womens-basketball). In the intervening years, the Women’s Basketball team gained a national reputation. In the 2019-20 season, the Women’s Basketball team was nationally ranked and became the undefeated Summit champions in 2021 and 2022. Thus, it took over 60 years for the USD to form the women’s collegiate basketball team. It became one of the premier athletic teams at the University of South Dakota.