Heritage Hall Museum and Archives

06/01/2026

This photo of the construction of the bathhouse at the Freeman Swimming Pool appeared in the May 21, 1964 issue of The Courier. The article notes the pool will open the first week of June from 1:30 to 9:30 daily. The pool was managed that year by Darrel Weiland; lifeguards were Eldon Senner, Richard Tschetter and Vicki Wipf.

Construction of the bathhouse came four years after the Freeman Swimming Pool opened; a formal opening was held on Sunday, July 17, 1960.

The fact that we have a pool in Freeman reflects action taken by community residents rather than City of Freeman officials.

That prompted a story in the Sioux Falls Argus Leader.

“Freeman Facts, Freeman Fiction,” the history book published in 1979, includes excerpts.

“Community cooperation is responsible for the latest improvements, a new swimming pool in this rural town!

“Conception of the pool occurred during a conversation between a couple of local men. Representatives of organizations in the community were called together to hear about the plan. As a result, organizations pitched in to work on raising money.

“To guide fundraising efforts, a swimming pool auxiliary was formed. Stunt nights, baseball games, basketball benefits, raffles, auction sales, World Series boards and tricks or treats on Halloween were among promotions used.

“Land across from the athletic field was purchased on which to build a pool. Business was transacted by the swimming pool corporation until the project was paid for. It was (then) turned over to the city for operation … A small park was established later.”

“Freeman Facts, Freeman Fiction” also shared that in 1958 (before Freeman had a pool) local children were bused to Silver Lake, where the Red Cross offered swimming lessons.

Like the pool, the upcoming months are a busy time for our museum, with the summer tourism season bringing an influx of visitors. We’re open from 10 to 4 Mondays through Saturdays, including holidays.

05/31/2026

A reminder from one of today's New York Times' games that museums are a great destination, wherever you live. We're open Mondays through Saturdays from 10 to 4 (that includes holidays).

05/27/2026

Excerpts from The Courier, May 26, 1999:

A portion of Freeman’s busiest street will be closed off … next week as Freeman dedicates the new structure honoring its veterans.

The Freeman Area Veterans Memorial will be dedicated Monday, May 30, as part of the city’s annual Memorial Day Service (with) Gov Bill Janlow as speaker. The dedication comes nearly two years after the first steps were taken to construct a memorial honoring those who served their country.

In the summer of 1997, the Freeman Area Veterans Memorial was formed with Maurice Kaufman, chair; Cal Kleinsasser, treasurer; Duke Kleinsasser, secretary.

As an act of faith in the project, Coppy Heckenlaible donated $500 … promptly matched by Kaufman. By the fall of 1997, $15,000 had been donated.

The committee decided the abandoned cemetery on the corner of Sixth and Wipf Street would be the ideal spot for the memorial. Approval was granted by the Freeman Cemetery Association and the City of Freeman and construction began in April 1998.

(Following a) September 1998 a groundbreaking ceremony, work progressed quickly. By the end of the year, more than $30,000 had been raised.

The memorial is built on a mint green-tinted semicircle cement pad measuring 42 feet in diameter. Six named tablets made of granite list the 841 names of veterans. There is additional space for additional names to be added.

Six, 20-foot flag poles, which honor each branch of the military, and a 30-foot flag pole honoring the American flag encompass the memorial.

In the center of the memorial are two brick pedestals … one pays tribute to the pioneers of Freeman, who are still buried in the old cemetery. The other pedestal honors the Freeman Veterans of Foreign Wars Wilde Post #3728 and Auxiliary, and the Freeman American Legion Weber Post #284.

While construction of the memorial went relatively smoothly, the project has seen tragedy. Maurice Kaufman, who played an instrumental part in getting the project off the ground, died following a heart attack in August. The committee also mourns the loss of Harold Knittle, Cal Kleinsasser and Merlin Huber, all of whom played an active part in the memorial project.

05/25/2026

Are you spending some of the holiday weekend working in your garden? These are a few of our hand cultivators that might be useful. No horsepower here, just human power! You would definitely get your exercise and burn some calories working these through a weedy patch or some hard-packed ground. Who needs a gym?!

05/22/2026

We're approaching the Memorial Day weekend and we remind you that our museum will be open every day. Our regular summer hours are 10 to 4 Mondays through Saturdays and that includes holidays. However, this Sunday (May 24), we're also opening for guests from noon to 4.

05/20/2026

Excerpts from May 24, 1973 issue of The Courier.

On May 22, 1973, voters in the Freeman School District 33-1 approved issuing $600,000 in bonds to build a new jr.-sr. high school on a new campus on the southern side of Freeman.

The Courier reported the results: 808 for, 308 against, a 72.4% margin. Bond issues require a 60% majority. But what’s remarkable is that it came after nearly four years and six failed votes.

With overcrowding and increased enrollment at the 1925 school building at Third and Wipf, the Freeman School Board started pushing for a new building in mid-60s. That led to a proposal for a new jr.-sr. high school (including a gym) on 43 acres purchased in 1969.

The $1.4 million bond election on Oct. 21, 1969, was an overwhelming defeat – only 23% voted yes; 297 for and 1,003 against.

The next five bond elections in the next three years all failed to gain public support, although the rejections were not as dramatic as the first. While some gained a majority vote, none reached the required 60%.

In the May 3, 1973, Courier, the board again made the case for a new school building.
“Construction of a new school would eliminate the need for renting seven classrooms from Bethany Mennonite Church, Darald Walter, Dr. Jose Villa and Pine Hill Printery (and) the mobile classroom units and the frame schoolhouse.”

The proposed floor plan for “adequate classroom and lunchroom facilities for a junior senior high school” was 38,725 square feet; approximately $21 per square foot.
The board noted the preliminary budget for 1974 would not increase taxes for next year because “approximately three mills is being collected this year for future building purposes; it will take 2.5 mills per year for 20 years to pay for the $600,000 bond issue; the amount now being set aside for future building can be used instead to pay for the bond issue.

The new jr.-sr. high school opened for the 1976-77 school year; it remains in use today. It did not, however, include a gym (included in the 1969 plan. Voters rejected a $495,000 bond for a new gym in 1976. It wouldn’t be until 1992 that a new gym was built.

It cost $1.3 million.

05/18/2026

There is an element of irony in this photo of Memorial Hall, commonly known as the Administration Building on the Freeman Junior College and Academy (FJC/FA) campus and built in 1926.

Bids for construction ($49,995) were awarded 100 years and one day ago – May 17, 1926.

Freeman Academy held its final commencement on May 16, 2026, the day before that 100th anniversary. Earlier this year – with declining enrollment and financial and operational challenges – the FJC/FA Corporation voted to close school operations at the conclusion of the 2025/26 school year.

For a century, this building has been the center of the school program, home to classrooms, library, chapel and administrative offices.

Here’s a bit of history.

As enrollment and course offerings increased after classes began at South Dakota Mennonite College (later FJC/FA) in the fall of 1903, “the need for more room became evident,” wrote Marie J. Waldner in her book “For Half a Century.”

“By 1919, overcrowding in all areas of activity increased to the point where the commercial department was transferred to the (Freeman) City Hall,” she wrote.

In the early 1920s, “plans for a new administration building almost bogged down completely as plans shifted to a new gymnasium-auditorium; it opened in 1923.

“The new building filled a real need,” she wrote. “But it did not alleviate the overcrowding in the classrooms.”

“And so, after years of urging by both the administration and the corporation, the most pretentious building program was started, even though the pledges on hand at that time were only $37,000. Another $15,000 had to be borrowed ... on notes secured by various directors,” she wrote.

Groundwork began in spring 1926. The cornerstone was laid on July 25; things progressed so rapidly that the three-story brick building was completed before the end of the year. On Dec. 11, classes were transferred from the old college to the new building, named Memorial Hall.

Our museum’s mission is to collect, preserve and share history like this. We’re open 10-4 Mondays through Saturdays. Although normally closed on Sundays, we will be open this coming Sunday the 24th, from noon to 4 p.m.

05/15/2026

South Dakota News Watch, Inc. offers an interesting perspective on tourism and a reminder that you don't have to travel far to experience something new and interesting. We're looking forward to welcoming guests from near and far this summer.

While some tourism officials and operators are concerned about high gas prices, one official says higher fuel costs could hold "a silver lining".

05/13/2026

Excerpts from The Courier May 12, 1993:

Shortly after Dennis Ries arrived to begin his practice at Rural Medical Clinics nine years ago, he thought to himself, "It sure would be nice to have a covered walkway between the clinic and the hospital.”

The two healthcare facilities are located across the street from each other. That means staff – and occasionally patients – going from one building to the other have to endure the wind, rain and snow.

Ries reflected on that Monday morning at a ceremony that commenced the start of a project that will, incidentally, provide the protection from the elements he wished for. On May 10, ground was broken for the Freeman Community Hospital and Nursing Home Connection Project, which will physically link the clinic and the hospital in a major expansion of the medical facility.

“We will have some walkway,” Ries said with a smile. “I can hardly wait.”

It is the final step in a three-phase $2.4 million expansion project that will dramatically change the design and appearance of the hospital complex. This is the third and major phase of. Other elements include the expansion of the clinic building.
Dennis Wollman, board president, said, “This is a time of renewed commitment.”

Wollman told the group the board felt it had to choose between two policies… One to continually upgrade the service offered. The other is to hang on as long as you can.

“This is your investment in the health care of the future,” he said.

The Connection Project was completed in the summer of 1994. The Sept. 28, 1994 Courier reported an estimated 2,500 people attended the open house at the new expanded facility on Sept. 25. It included a new surgical suite, a prayer room, nurses' station, additional patient rooms, a new emergency room and entrance on Eighth Street and a new main entrance facing east with parking extending east to Wipf Street.

The name, Freeman Community Hospital and Nursing Home, was changed to Freeman Regional Health Services in 2004.

05/11/2026

Did you moms get served breakfast in bed yesterday? Or maybe at least a cup of coffee under the covers? Shown are some of our tea and coffee artifacts, including grinders, kettles and percolators. Does anyone still put an egg in with the grounds (shell and all)? That was a traditional technique to reduce bitterness and acidity, and provide a creamy flavor. If you added bacon, you'd have your whole breakfast in a cup!