Climbing South Dakota's Bald Mountain

By Clayton Davis

Way back before humans arrived at Bald Mountain a large, graceful Red Tail hawk patrolled the place in lazy circles, afraid of nothing. The hawk's ancestors had watched over this landmark since the glaciers melted.
The soaring and circling hawk loved this Bald Mountain that stood majestically in a flat country full of lush green grass. Something interesting was always breaking cover and dashing someplace, way down below. Folding its wings and falling like a stone upon its supper, this was the way of the hawk.
Years and centuries passed. There came more and bigger creatures among the hills being patrolled in long, lazy circles flown by the ruling hawk. Peace and tranquility were shattered by large shaggy beasts with thundering hooves being chased by upright creatures running on two long legs. The hungry pursuers carried clubs and sticks with sharpened points.
The hawk circled and watched. Plunging headlong down a slight depression, the beasts with thundering hooves saw they were trapped. From the crest of a hill to their left, and again on their right, now dead ahead, the upright creatures were surrounding them.
Death was near and the hawk learned which was the more cunning of his new neighbors. These were the Sioux peoples' ancestors gathering buffalo meat for the winter.
Many more animals contested burrow and bed in the Bald Mountain. With tooth and fang, nail and claw, foot and paw, they tore each other limb for limb. But the graceful hawk remained aloft, circling and waiting until that one small beast would break cover. Then it would swoop down and gather a meal for its nestlings.
More people came, pushing westward, different entirely from the native Sioux. These new people were from Scandinavian and northern European countries. They found harshly contrasting seasons in this country at four distinct times of the year.
In the summer the day was ruled by a sun that would sometimes be as bright as stainless steel. This gave way to autumn when the whole world was told by honking geese that it was more prudent to go farther south. That's when the sky turned grey and a big round moon was the color of buttermilk. But the people stayed, not to look at the few leaves turning to gold, but to harvest whatever bounty they had been mercifully granted.
It is sadly true that some people tilled the soil and planted good crops, only to benefit hungry grasshoppers eager to feast on freshly sprouted plant life. Sometimes corn was planted and grew nearly two feet tall before it was felled by nature.
Tender cornstalks standing proudly kneehigh might be discovered by an enormous thunderstorm. The baby corn just waited helplessly. Its only purpose in life was to soften the blow of large hailstones falling into plowed furrows. Grasshoppers and hailstones, two things that will never win a ribbon at Huron State Fair.
The people who pushed westward stayed busy, planting and tending, waiting for rainfall, then seeing everything lost in one day. Geography dictated this was the only way to eke out a living, tending furrows and planting seed. Scandinavian and northern European people had been accustomed to finding food from the sea. But there were not enough fish in the meager streams of this prairie to keep body and soul together.
And now, here came the winter. Snowflakes would be hitting their faces. It seemed each flake started at the north pole and sped like a bullet to be imbedded in cheeks turned rosy by the bitter wind.
But those who stayed and saw the springtime were rewarded by early morning stars the color of Easter eggs. There on the eastern horizon they twinkled as the hardy settlers milked cows, fed stock, drank coffee and prepared to disturb the sweet smelling soil. These strong people would show their faith in God once more. He would surely send rains this year.
Generations who succeeded those hardy immigrants have stayed through thick and thin. Wayne Jessen is an excellent example, since he owns a large part of the area patrolled by that Red Tail hawk.
The property came into his family in 1918 when four people saw the excellent potential of these hills and bought it. Their sons carried on the tradition. The original owners were John Ericson, Fred Brink, and the Johnson brothers, Anton and Swen. Anton was Wayne's uncle by marriage.
Wayne and his son David continue their forefathers' practice and use the Bald Mountain as a summer pasture for a herd of two hundred mother cows with baby calves. Nine bulls come along too. The original four owners had a combined herd of 120 cows between them. Those old-timers drove their cattle back and forth from Bald Mountain. Jessen's drive is still the only one like it around Redfield.
Wayne and David live six miles east of Redfield, two miles south of Highway 212 at RR 2, Box 137, Redfield, SD 57469. Their place is due east of Bald Mountain, exactly twelve miles. That's a nice walk for their herd in the fall.
"Moving them today is much more easy than before," Wayne says. He is in his mid-sixties and has turned most of it over to David.
Wayne tells about using horses and motorcycles in past years. Today he and David use a four-wheel, all-terrain vehicle. His was produced by Honda and Wayne swears by it.
"It's much more friendly than the horses." Wayne smiles as if he has an interesting story. "I walked behind the herd since I was four years old. At age fourteen I decided to ride a horse."
The day Wayne made his announcement to ride, the men pointed to the stables and told Wayne to go saddle one. A lot of foul words and dust came forth from that stable. All hands stopped and listened. Some thought it was the horse cussing. Others bet Wayne couldn't do it.
A little time passed, straining the horse's patience and probably filling Wayne with some degree of doubt. In a little while out came one very angry horse. A few people try to remember who was riding and who was kicking and bucking.
"I stayed on him," Wayne said and grinned. "Fourteen years I rode a horse and herded our cows. Then we got trail bikes, motorcycles to herd them."
This generation's interest has changed. They don't see the same thing their immigrant ancestors did in 1918, when the land was originally purchased to be used as summer pasture.
Sons and daughters of the original four owners followed in their fathers' footsteps. But Wayne's generation started selling off the property. Just as Uncle Anton and the others had bought it as a business, this generation sold it for economic reasons. Wayne bought all of it in 1984. He and David like to control the whole process, breeding, calving, feeding and selling.

Wayne explains, "Back there in 1918 you had to grow and fatten your own calves. Today, with good roads, you can use the big feedlots."
Down in Nebraska and Kansas there are very large beef operations where steers are finished for slaughter houses. One phone call and you can put a hundred on feed. They will stay ninety days. Another telephone call sells them and you get a bill for the feed.
"That's one way to make money. And sometimes you lose big." Wayne has seen people do both. "Say the price of beef goes down and the price of feed goes up. Leaves you holding a loss."

Bald Mountain surely is a grand and magnificent place of peace and beauty. It is a wondrous thing to see cows and calves feeding on fresh grass along the stream, a jackrabbit stopping and staring at a visitor, and that Red Tail hawk still patrolling.
Wayne can tell you about the bad years. "In 1934 we didn't bring cattle out. Took two years for grass to recuperate."

Dust blew all the fences out. In the years 1933-1935 there was nothing but drought, wind and thistles. Now it is a green carpet, but in 1934 it looked like a skinned rabbit.
In the years 1933 through 1935 the Jessen family kept six or seven milk cows. "Herded them in the ditch and they ate thistles. Russian thistle can make winter feed. Nothing else grew."

Wayne took a little snoos, spat out the pickup window and remembered how his family had to cut the thistles before they formed stickers. "All the people in the county had to live on was a little milk, some chickens and pigs. We kept three or four sows around."
Wayne doesn't want to see it that way again. "We'd go into town and get a few screenings from the elevator, anything for feed. If there had been welfare in those days this whole county was below the poverty line. Social workers would have been crying and bawling."

Wayne Jessen is well-liked and admired in the county. He sings in his church and for other functions. Wayne fulfills his civic responsibility by sitting on the Spink County Rural Electrification Board, which is part of the nationwide Rural Electrification Association. It is commonly called the REA and was formed in 1944.

Some typical business that is discussed at a meeting will be their expenses and a possible merger with another cooperative. Wayne explains, "Spink uses less energy than other surrounding districts, so a merger with Aberdeen is under consideration. Expenses are constant, but with peaks during natural disasters, such as heavy ice storms."

A storm recently knocked down nine hundred poles. That resulted in a lot of overtime and help from nearby cooperatives. Merging with another group could help spread out the overhead.

Take a drive through Redfield. Turn south on U.S. Highway 281. At the airport turn right on County Road 18. Go six miles. Turn south on County Road 19. You are passing Bald Mountain on your right with its radio relay towers on the peak.
From up there you can see the tallest manmade structure in the county, the South Dakota Wheat Growers Association's grain elevator.

It sits alongside the railroad in Redfield. This stately concrete edifice is filled with testimony that those early immigrants' faith was justified. Hailstones and grasshoppers didn't destroy all the fruits of their labor.
Say "Hello" to the Red Tail hawk as you make your way two miles farther south. Soon you'll join South Dakota Highway 26. Turn left. Six miles more and you'll be back on U.S. highway 281.
You might want to ask permission before trespassing. Remember this. A large Red Tail hawk still rules over Bald Mountain.

      * * *

How to get to Redfield, South Dakota. Commercial airlines fly into Aberdeen, SD.
Private and Corporate airplanes use Redfield Airport.

DRIVE TO REDFIELD

Two U..S. Highways cross at Redfield, U.S. Highway 281, north and south, U.S. Highway 212, east and west.

WHERE TO EAT

Nearby Restaurants
* Dairy Queen
* Leos Good Food - Family Restaurant
* Pizza Hut
* SAKS Family Restaurant
* Subway
* Terry’s Steak House and Lounge

Neighbors (605) 472-3470 - 1017 Highway 26, Redfield, SD
Brick-house Pizza (605) 472-3811 - 810 W 4th St, Redfield, SD
Crystals Bar (605) 472-1346 - 1202 W 3rd St, Redfield, SD
Subway Restaurant (605) 472-0101 - 827 W 4th St, Redfield, SD
Leos Good Food (605) 472-3540 - 602 N Main St, Redfield, SD
Terry's Bar & Steak House (605) 472-2091 - 616 N Main St, Redfield, SD
Casey's Carry OUT Pizza (605) 472-0538 - 309 E 7th Ave, Redfield, SD

WHERE TO STAY

Super 8 Motel Redfield
A range of standard amenities is offered on the hotel property.
Address: Junction Highway 212 and 281 West | Redfield, SD | 57469 [ Map ]
1-800-800-8000 or (605) 472-0720 -- PO Box 526, Redfield SD 57469
Email: mthelen.super8@midconetwork.com
Web Site: www.super8.com

Wilson Motor Inn -- (605) 472-0550 -- 1109 E 7th Ave., Redfield SD 57469
Email: dreaminn@abe.midco.net

INNS

O'ttila's Country Inn -- (605) 472-3592 -- 36690 174th St., Rockham SD 57470
Email: sheilamarkmuellenberg@hotmail.com
Furnished Inn, 6 bedrooms (sleeps 10-15), garage for dogs, private land, will guide hunters.
The Lake House Inn -- (605) 472-3592 -- 36690 174th Street, Rockham SD 57470
Email: sheilamarkmuellenberg@hotmail.com
Furnished 5 bedroom Inn (sleeps 10), Walkout basement for kenneled dogs, Freezer & Laundry facilities, Private Hunting Land available upon Request, Public Hunting Lands close by.
Wise Rooster Inn -- (605) 472-3708 -- 37962 164th Street, Athol SD 57424
Email: debc@nrctv.com
Fully furnished house, sleeps up to 10, cable TV, freezer facilities, dogs welcome
Appel, Vickie -- (605) 472-0136 or (605) 472-2418 -- 833 W 3rd Street, Redfield SD 57469
Email: appel001@midconetwork.com
Fully furnished home sleeps 12, freezer, cleaning and laundry facilities, non-smoking, dogs welcome, outside kennel also available, private land available upon request.
Daiss Lodge -- (605) 460-1666 -- 16711 396th Avenue, Frankfort SD 57440
Email: jessicald396@gmail.com
Fully furnished house, sleeps up to 6, cleaning and freezer facilities, dogs welcome
Double J Hunts -- (605) 472-0287 or (605) 450-1060 -- 16031 390th Avenue, Ashton SD 57424
Email: info@doublejhunts.com     Web Site: www.doublejhunts.com
4 bedroom, 2 bathroom facility sleeps 10, satellite TV, hot tub and sauna, gas grill, freezer and laundry facilities, high speed Internet, unlimited long distance to all 50 states, dogs are welcome. Camper facilities are also available. Complete pheasant and bow (deer) hunting packages available; we also accommodate day hunters. Please visit our website for more hunting and amenity details.
Frogville USA -- (605) 897-6589 -- PO Box 155, Turton SD 57477
Email: norbarrie@nvc.net     Web Site: www.frogvilleusa.com
Lodge includes freezer, laundry and cleaning facilities, Internet, meals, 2000 acres private land, outside dogs welcome.
Harmony Hunting Lodge B & B -- (605) 472-0375 -- 16835 395th Avenue, Frankfort SD 57440
Email: bffrericks@nvt.net
Complete hunting package includes: Lodging, 3 meals per day, private CRP land, dogs welcome, laundry, cleaning and freezer facilities.
Jankord's Guest House -- (605) 472-3464 -- 302 E 2nd Street, Redfield SD 57469
Email: golfbum@abe.midco.net
Furnished 3 bedroom guest house, sleeps 8-11. Includes: full kitchen, bathroom, living room, dining room, freezer and cleaning facilities. The utility room and a backyard shed may be used for kenneled dogs.
Jim River Ranch -- (603) 765-8494 -- 1012 W 2nd Street, Redfield SD 57469
Email: jesse@ecsi-nh.com     Web Site: www.jimriverranch.com
700 acres of private land (CRP, trees, river bottoms and crop land), dogs welcome.
K-N-K Lodging -- (605) 472-3028 or (605) 460-1423 or (605) 460-2488 -- 17729 387th Avenue, Redfield SD 57469

CAMPGROUNDS

Countryside Estates -- (805) 801-0385 -- #3 Countryside Estates, Redfield SD 57469 - countrysideestates@gmail.com
Hav-A-Rest Park -- (605) 472-4552 -- 626 Main St., Redfield SD 57469
7 Day Limit ($10 per day or $50 for 7 day week), 10 Pads, Comfort Station, Water & Electric Hook-Ups, Dump Station Available, Dock & Ramp and lots of Playground Equipment. PAYMENT & REGISTRATION DUE UPON ENTRY (Self Registration).
Hofeman's Campground -- (605) 472-2858 or (605) 460-1594 -- 38431 174th Street, Redfield SD 57469   (Spink County 18)
Email: twojk@yahoo.com
Water & Electric (110 & 220) $16 per night, weekly and monthly rates available.
Fisher Grove State Park -- (605) 472-1212 or (605) 472-1336 -- Web Site

Local Attractions

* Home of the Pheasants
* Train Depot - 1 block
* Drive In Movie Theater - .5 miles
* Historic Carnegie Library - .5 miles
* Spink County Museum - .5 miles
* South Dakota Development Center - 1 mile
* Fisher Grove Golf Course - 9 miles
* Fisher Grove State Park - 9 miles
* Aberdeen Regional Airport - 45 miles