Programs & Events

South Dakota Stories

Travel to another time with stories about, and written by, South Dakotans.

The South Dakota Humanities Council has published four collections of stories written by and about the people of South Dakota. The stories were born in various chapters of our state’s history, and each collection documents a large theme of life in South Dakota.

Purchase all four South Dakota Stories collections online:

One-Room Country School Published in 1998, Edited by Norma C. Wilson & Charles L. Woodard, 146 pages $15 (includes tax and shipping)	Country Congregations Published in 2002, Edited by Charles L. Woodard, 150 pages $15 (includes tax and shipping)
On the Homefront Published in 2007, Edited by Charles L. Woodard, 111 pages $15 (includes tax and shipping)	Life on the Farm & Ranch Published in 2009, Edited by John E. Miller, 205 pages $17 (includes tax and shipping)

Orders by Mail

You may also purchase books by mail using this order form.

Selected Excerpts

From One-Room Country School: 

"The School Board should have warned me that I needed to come to my job with an axe because one was not provided. They did well to fill the coal bin with good, big chunks of coal and scrap lumber for kindling. But neither coal nor wood would fit in the stove. I solved this problem by taking the coal out to huge rocks in the yard and dropping it on the rocks and ducking quickly so I wouldn’t get coal splinters in my eyes. I propped the wood against the cement step and jumped on it several times to get it small enough for kindling. I tried banking the fire to keep a little heat in the stove till morning, but oh, oh, those cold, cold Monday mornings."   - Winifred Bertrand Fawcett

From Country Congregations: 

"The wedding service I recall the most was the one that had to be delayed a half hour because a herd of sheep was being moved. The bride lived across the street from the church and she was unable to get through the flock moving slowly down Main Street. The bride and groom who were married that day are still together after 70 years, so I guess it was worth the wait!"  - Pearl Lundquist

From On the Homefront:

"My buddy from home and I, stationed in different places, wrote letters to the same girl, each not knowing the other was writing. One day I got letters from each of them, wrote responses, and put the letters in the wrong envelopes, mistakenly sending her letter to him and his letter to her. When I got home to Pine Ridge, I saw my buddy, who said: "Hello, Sweetheart""  - Syd Byrd

From Life on the Farm & Ranch:

"The birds and their singing, the curious cows and new calves in an adjacent pasture, distant farm noises riding the breeze, and the sun's warmth all conspire to transform the moment. I experience an epiphany; I "get it."...I comprehend that [the Pasque flowers] are emblematic of spring and the end of a long, dark, cold winter. They are new growth, claiming victory for what will be another season of abundant growth. These flowers are a link between a hardy and trusting people to a land that is both harsh and gracious."  - John T. Capone

Bulk Orders/Retail Sales

If you are purchasing ten or more copies of South Dakota Stories books, please call 605-688-6113 or e-mail us at info@sdhumanities.org to find out about our bulk rate.

1215 Trail Ridge Road, Suite A • Brookings, SD 57006 • Tel: 605-688-6113 • Fax: 605-688-4531 • info@sdhumanities.org