Carnegie Resource Center of Mitchell, SD

05/31/2026

Fred Wedehase Tire Shop
Fred Wedehase’s shop originally specialized in the repair and sale of harnesses, whips, and robes in 1918. The business was located at 114 North Main Street in Mitchell.
As automobiles became more common, the shop expanded into tire sales and repair. Advertisements promoted Michelin Universal tread core tires along with complete tire repair and rebuilding services, claiming rebuilt tires could travel an additional 3,500 miles.
The business also operated a vulcanizing plant equipped with what advertisements described as the most modern equipment in both Dakotas. The shop stocked both Goodyear and Michelin Universal tread core tires, promoting them as offering superior service and mileage. Customers could send in old casings to have new treads added, extending the life of their tires. Blowouts and tubes were also vulcanized to provide longer, trouble-free use.
Sources:
Mitchell Gazette
Mitchell Area Historical Society archives

05/23/2026

Frank E. was born and raised on a farm about 16 miles southwest of Mitchell. He attended grammar school and after graduation he took a 2-year commercial course at DWU. Franks father Albert E. was in the farming business and in 1905 he sold the farm and acquired a feed and coal business in Mitchell. At that time, he joined his father in the business and two or three years later he bought out his father and Albert moved to California.
One of the first promotions we found recorded was in 1909 and he offered coal, wood, grain and feed. His location was shown as Railroad Street west of the Creamery. Next promotion of his business was shown in 1919, and he had the largest grain business near the Chicago, Milwaukee, Saint Paul railroad. As the business continued to grow the bulk of the advertising we find is for coal and a 1923 advertisement shows “no long wait for coal”. In 1929 a new product was advertised “clean coal” which they called petroleum coke, that yield a lot of heat and no ash, smoke or soot.
On a personal note, in 1931 he was elected as National Councilor of National Retail Merchants Association. He also served on the Mitchell City Council, member of the Masonic Fraternity and member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
In 1932 he offered a new South Dakota product called Firesteel Lump Coal that could be delivered at $6.00 per ton. This vein was discovered on W. C. Rudolf’s property 9 miles northeast of Mitchell. His advertising at this time featured the store with the “checkerboard front”. By 1935 another new product was offered called “Saraha Coal” that burned hot as the desert.
The last mention we found of his business was in 1950 when he featured a top-notch chick mash at $4.00 per 100-pound bag.
Sources:
Mitchell Republic
Mitchell Area Historical Society archives

05/16/2026

Back In Time.

Frederic E. Moses
A Mitchell Pioneer

Frederic E. Moses had a Mitchell connection through his aunt, Thelma Cassem Cropp.
Born in Wisconsin in 1859, Moses later moved with his father to Illinois. In 1877, he followed Frank Weller’s father — the father of Charles and Dorothy Weller — to work in the Weller lumber yard in Lost Nation Iowa. Moses eventually purchased a share of the lumber yard, but before long he heard the call of the prairie and the opportunities developing in the Dakota Territory.
In 1879, he sold his interest in the Iowa lumber yard and began searching for a location in the new territory where he could establish his own lumber business. He arrived in Mitchell in 1880 with hopes of making his fortune and helping build a new community on the prairie. Mitchell had been heavily advertised as a growing town, which influenced his decision to settle there.
Upon arriving, Moses discovered that residents of the small community of Firesteel near the James River were in the process of relocating their entire town to Mitchell.
After looking over the community, he purchased property at the corner of First and Lawler Streets for his new lumber yard. At that time, the railroad had not yet reached Mitchell, so he waited until the line extended to Alexandria before ordering his first shipment of lumber.
The winter of 1881 proved extremely severe and prevented nearly all train travel. The railroad reportedly had a stockpile of 150,000 railroad ties, which were sold for fuel at 35 cents each because coal and many other commodities were unavailable.
In 1886, Moses also tried farming, but drought conditions forced him to seek other opportunities. He accepted a position as assistant cashier at First National Bank. A forward-thinking businessman, he later entered the implement business with partners, forming Barnard-Giles-Moses Implement at 111 East Railroad Street. From 1915 to 1917, he was also involved in the Moses-Wilder Grocery located at 701 South Sanborn.
After a long and busy life, Frederic E. Moses died in Sacramento California at the age of 90.
Sources
• Mitchell Republic
• Mitchell Area Historical Society archives

05/16/2026

Back In Time

Scallin Drug Company
Scallin Drug Company, which was a Rexall Drug affiliate located at 218 North Main Street was founded in 1887 by Stephen H. Scallin.
William Scallin joined his brother in business in October of 1888. Sometime later he completed his course in the College of Pharmacy of New York City. He was registered in 1892 and resumed his position in his brother’s store, where he continued to work until 1901, when he was admitted as a partner and the firm name of Scallin Brother’s Drug was born.
William’s son Fred became the manager of a new location on South Sanborn called South Side Drug in 1932, but closed in 1936. Stephen Scallin closed the business in 1967 and sold all the prescriptions and medications to White Drug, thus ending an era for the Scallin Brothers Drug Company.

Sources:
Mitchell Republic
Mitchell Area Historical Society archives
“The History of Mitchell Drug Stores” by Garvin Bertsch

05/12/2026

05/09/2026

H&M Auto Parts was formed by Ben Hanson and Ray Montgomery about 1946 at 212 West First Avenue in Mitchell. The building was purchased from Norwick Motors which moved one block east. They repaired many automotive items such as carburetors, fuel and water pumps, generators and many other automotive parts.
Ben using his training from the US Air Force Air service command and years of experience was a real asset to the automotive repair business for many years.
Ben was very active in the Boy Scouts of America and received his 25-year anniversary award for his service to the Boy Scouts from the American National Headquarters.
Ray in addition to his duties at H&M Auto Parts worked at Broadbent-Milliken Funeral Home from 1958-1974, he then worked at Will Funeral Chapel until his retirement.
H&M Auto Parts is truly a service that has disappeared, in that they could and would fix most any automotive device of the time even for young people who had little or no ability to pay for the service.

Sources:
Mitchell Republic
Karen Hanson Dejong
Mitchell Area Historical Society archives

05/08/2026

DWU professors pitched in at the Carnegie Resource Center on a Day of Sharing. The help was greatly appreciated.

05/02/2026

Olympia Theater

First record we have of the Olympia Theater was 1908 at which time it was located at 113 West Second Avenue, and the manager was C. D. Adams.
The next manager was M. R. Tournier in 1909, and he enlarged the theater to seat 400 patrons. The same year he enlarged the screen, so it was 2 feet wider and taller. Also, in 1909 M.R. Tournier installed another stove to keep the patrons warmer in the South Dakota winters.
In 1910 the management announced some very new exciting entertainment coming to the theater with the introduction of vaudeville acts.
With the increase in technology in 1911 Tournier installed a new projector system that could show films with “no flicker”.
M. R. Tournier sold the theater to Ben Fidler in 1911, who became the new owner. M. R. Tournier went into the motion picture business for himself in the north half of the Champney building at 300 North Main Street and called it the Maynard Theater which he named after his young son.
By 1912 Olympia had another new manager, L. D. Milne, and the building was owned by C. E. Vermilyea.
Last record we have is in 1914 when the building was sold to W H. Webster at which time no further plans were made for the building.
Sources:
Mitchell Republic
Mitchell Area Historical Society archives

04/25/2026

Scallin Drug Company
Scallin Drug Company, which was a Rexall Drug affiliate located at 218 North Main Street was founded in 1887 by Stephen H. Scallin.
William Scallin joined his brother in business in October of 1888. Sometime later he completed his course in the College of Pharmacy of New York City. He was registered in 1892 and resumed his position in his brother’s store, where he continued to work until 1901, when he was admitted as a partner and the firm name of Scallin Brother’s Drug was born.
William’s son Fred became the manager of a new location on South Sanborn called South Side Drug in 1932, but closed in 1936. Stephen Scallin closed the business in 1967 and sold all the prescriptions and medications to White Drug, thus ending an era for the Scallin Brothers Drug Company.

Sources:
Mitchell Republic
Mitchell Area Historical Society archives
“The History of Mitchell Drug Stores” by Garvin Bertsch

04/14/2026