Unlock History

FREEMAN: Heritage Hall Museum & Archives started its summer hours on May 1. The museum is open daily through September – from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays and from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. Winter hours are weekday afternoons only with other times by appointment.

Located south of the Freeman Academy campus and sitting on the northern edge of the 40-acre Prairie Arboretum, the Freeman museum tells the story of Germans-from-Russia immigrants and others who settled in southeastern Dakota Territory in the 1870s. The museum has 25,000 square feet of displays featuring everything from old cars and buggies to Native American artifacts to agricultural equipment to local business history to household items and musical instruments. The complex also includes four historic buildings: a one-room schoolhouse, two early rural churches and an 1879 pioneer home. 

"We're excited for what looks like a busy summer," says Marnette D. (Ortman) Hofer, executive director and archivist of HHM&A. "We have a number of groups planning to visit in the upcoming months and a number of major events that will bring other guests to our community. We'll be expanding our hours to accommodate them.

"Of course," she added, "we are always happy to welcome individuals and families who make spontaneous visits," 

In fact, the museum is once again offering a special incentive to families to visit.

"Starting April 30, we will be open until 7 p.m., the last Friday of every month," Hofer said. "We initiated our "Family-Friendly Final Fridays" last year to encourage families to visit the museum and we're continuing that this year. We're admitting all children 12 and under free those evenings when accompanied by a paying adult."

In addition, she said, "that includes a fun 'discover more about your museum' activity for kids – with a chance to win a prize." The "final Friday" promotions will continue through September.

"Visitors who have not been to the museum since last fall will discover some major renovations," Hofer said. "While the exterior 'facelift' was completed last summer, we've also made some significant changes inside over the past six months." 

That includes a significant expansion of the mercantile that features the work of local artisans. 

"We've added the creations of more than a dozen new artisans to our inventory," Hofer said. "We are very pleased with the way our gift shop continues to grow and we've been able to open up the space to display these unique creations.

The renovations at the museum also include several exhibit areas. 

"We've reallocated the exhibit space nearest to the lobby that was home to our Fine Arts Gallery to our Faith Traditions Gallery, Hofer said. "We've moved a number of large faith-related artifacts that were scattered elsewhere in the museum to this space. The exhibit is now open and we are adding additional elements to help tell the story of the various denominations reflected in the immigrants who settled here in the 1870s." 

The fine arts exhibit will be incorporated in restructured exhibits in the Kauffman Wing, she said.

Another area that is undergoing major renovation is the Natural World Gallery. New walls have been constructed and a major redesign of that area of the museum includes introducing the mosasaur exhibit that is currently being developed.

"We're looking forward to opening some of the elements in this gallery this summer," Hofer said. "We have some exciting developments that we're hoping to share in the upcoming weeks."

Another new element, Hofer said, is the addition of two summer interns to the museum staff.

Madeline Hofer, a local first-year student at Dordt University, will be helping with developing our digital media program. Ryan Mews, whose family lives in the Clayton area, is in the masters program at the University of South Dakota. His focus will be to research and help complete the Deckert House renovation project, slated to open by end of the summer.

Heritage Hall Museum & Archives traces its roots back to the winter term of Freeman College in 1911, but today operates as an independent, non-profit organization. 

Although there is an admission fee to tour the museum, both the archives and the mercantile are open to the public at no charge. People are welcome to call 605-925-7545 or email info@heritagehallmuseum.com for more information or go online to heritagehallmuseum.com and to the Heritage Hall Museum and Archives Facebook page.

FREEMAN: A tragic story, familiar in the larger Freeman community, is the focus of a program planned for Friday and Saturday evening, March 25 and 26. It will explore the sobering details of the experience of four Hutterites from the Rockport Colony, located northwest of Freeman, who refused to serve in the military after being drafted during World War I. Pacifism is a core belief for Hutterites.  

The 7:30 p.m. program at Pioneer Hall on the campus of Freeman Academy will feature two speakers with unique perspectives. Storyteller Dora Maendel is a member of the Fairholme Hutterite Colony in Manitoba and Dr. Duane Stolzfus is professor of communication at Goshen (Ind.) College, former “New York Times” editor, and author of "Pacifists in Chains: The Persecution of Hutterites during the Great War." 

 In 1918, brothers Joseph, Michael and David Hofer, and their brother-in-law, Jacob Wipf, were taken into custody and imprisoned at Alcatraz, the island prison in the San Francisco Bay where they were starved, beaten and chained. On Nov.14, three days after the armistice ending the war had been signed, they left the military prison in chains on a train for Fort Leavenworth, Kan. They arrived at the military prison Nov. 19. Ten days later, on Nov. 29 Joseph died; he was 24. Michael Hofer died Dec. 3; he was 25. Hutterites continue to consider the Hofer brothers as martyrs for their faith. 

The program, sponsored by Heritage Hall Museum & Archives, coincides with the national touring Voices of Conscience exhibit that opened at the Freeman museum and continues through April 24. The evening program is supported in part by a grant from the South Dakota Humanities Council, an affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. It is being presented free to the public; donations will be accepted. Admission to the exhibit, located in the historic Bethel Church that is part of the museum complex, is included with the regular museum admission.  

The Voices of Conscience exhibit premiered at the World War I Museum in Kansas City, Kan., in 2017 and then launched a tour across North America. The exhibit was created by the Kauffman Museum in North Newton, Kan. It remembers the witness of peace-minded people against the First World War, 1914-1918, which included men and women, religious believers and secular humanitarians, political protesters and sectarian separatists. The war also prompted questions over national loyalty. Many of these stories converged in the Midwest. Nearly 600 conscientious objectors were imprisoned at Fort Leavenworth. Mennonite farmers in south-central Kansas who refused to buy war bonds were tarred and feathered. A building at a Mennonite college was burned to the ground.  

The program and the Voices of Conscience display were scheduled in Freeman to coincide with Schmeckfest 2022. Although scaled back because of Covid-19 for the third year, the annual festival sponsored by the Freeman Academy, is proceeding as a rescheduled scaled-back "Schmeck Stop" on Saturday afternoons, March 26 and Saturday, April 2. Heritage Hall Museum & Archives (HHM&A) will be open those days from noon to 7 p.m. The museum will also be open from noon to 7 p.m. on Friday, March 25, the first night of the special program at Pioneer Hall. 

Regular winter hours for the museum are weekday afternoons from noon to 4 p.m. In addition to expanding the opening to Saturday afternoons March 26 and April 2, the museum will open the exhibit at other times for groups. Call 605-925-7545 during regular hours or email the museum at info@heritagehallmuseum.com for more information.  

FREEMAN: While the traditional Schmeckfest has been canceled for the third straight year because of concerns about Covid-19, the ethnic festival is continuing with an amended program. The Freeman Academy Auxiliary is holding a "Schmeck Stop" Saturday, March 26 and Saturday, April 2 and the Heritage Hall Museum & Archives (HHM&A) will be open for guests those afternoons as well, from noon to 7 p.m. 

In addition, the museum is sponsoring an evening program on Friday and Saturday evenings, March 25 and 26. It coincides with the national touring Voices of Conscience exhibit which opened at the museum in February and continues through April 24.  The program will feature Dora Maendel of the Fairholme Hutterite Colony in Manitoba and Dr. Duane Stolzfus, professor of communication at Goshen (Ind.) College and author of "Pacifists in Chains: The Persecution of Hutterites during the Great War." They will share the story of four Hutterites who were imprisoned at Alcatraz; their story is part of the Voices of Conscience exhibit. 

The exhibit remembers the witness of peace-minded people against the First World War, 1914-1918. This witness included men and women, religious believers and secular humanitarians, political protesters and sectarian separatists.  The program will begin at 7:30 p.m., at Pioneer Hall, the traditional home of Schmeckfest on the Freeman Academy campus, adjacent to the museum. The cancellation of the festival includes the traditional musical and that opens the auditorium for the evening program. Supported in part by a grant from the South Dakota Humanities Council, an affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, the program is being presented free to the public; donations will be accepted. 

Admission to the exhibit, located in the historic Bethel Church that is part of the Freeman museum complex, is included with the regular museum admission.  Regular winter hours for the museum are weekday afternoons from noon to 4 p.m. In addition to expanding the opening to Saturday afternoons March 26 and April 2, the museum will open the exhibit at other times for groups. Call 605-925-7545 during regular hours or email the museum at info@heritagehallmuseum.com for more information. 

The exhibit

Sponsored locally by HHM&A, the Voices of Conscience exhibit premiered at the "Remembering Muted Voices: Conscience, Dissent, Resistance and Civil Liberties in World War I through Today" symposium at the World War I Museum in Kansas City in October 2017. 

The 1914-18 "war to end all wars" involved troops from more than 100 nations, resulting in more than 38 million military and civilian deaths. Many individuals resisted U.S. involvement in the war, the enactment of military conscription, war bond drives and the denial of freedom of speech under the Espionage and Sedition Acts. For this resistance, they suffered community humiliation, federal imprisonment and mob violence at the hands of a war-crusading American public. Many of their stories converged in the Midwest. Nearly 600 conscientious objectors were imprisoned at Fort Leavenworth. Mennonite farmers in southcentral Kansas who refused to buy war bonds were tarred and feathered. A building at a Mennonite college was burned to the ground. The exhibit includes the locally well-known story of the deaths of the two South Dakota Hutterite men from Rockport Colony in 1918. The war also prompted questions over national loyalty. 

The exhibit is organized in nine themes that encourage exploration and reflection. The theme modules surround a recreation of an Alcatraz Prison cell, the site where Hutterite conscientious objectors were punished for refusing military participation.  The Voices of Conscience exhibit received the 2020 American Association for State and Local History Award of Excellence. 

About the museum

Heritage Hall Museum & Archives is a non-profit museum that tells the story of Germans-from-Russia immigrants and others who settled in southeastern Dakota Territory in the 1870s. It includes more than 25,000 square feet of displays of artifacts ranging from household items to agricultural equipment. The archives library includes more than 10,000 books, maps, periodicals and photos.

The complex is located south of the Freeman Academy campus and sits on the northern edge of the sprawling Prairie Arboretum. It includes four historic buildings: a one-room schoolhouse, an 1879 pioneer home and two early rural churches. Winter hours at the museum are weekday afternoons from noon to 4 p.m. and other times by appointment. Summer hours – May-September – are 9 a.m.-4 p.m. weekdays and 1-4 p.m. weekends. Additional information is available at https://heritagehallmuseum.com and on the Heritage Hall Museum and Archives Facebook page. 

About Schmeckfest

Schmeckfest, a festival of tasting, was established in 1959 and has evolved into a major event showcasing the traditional foods, crafts and talents of the Freeman community. It has included an ethnic meal, demonstrations, displays, programs and musical theater. However, the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic in early 2020 prompted canceling the festival that year. Concerns about health and safety have continued in 2021 and 2022, resulting in significantly scaled-back versions of the festival. It continues as a fund-raising project for Freeman Academy, a private school established by Mennonites in 1900. 

This year's "Schmeck Stop" on March 26 and April 2, from 2 to 7 p.m., includes a walk-in Country Kitchen market at Sterling Hall on the Freeman Academy campus along with the homemade sausage sales. In addition to food sales, a limited number of tickets are available for a carry-out only "mini" Schmeckfest meal, including sausage, knepf, stewed beef and sauerkraut. For more about Schmeckfest, go to: https://www.schmeckfest.com.  

FREEMAN: A national touring exhibit that was featured at the World War I Museum in Kansas City, Kan., is on display at Heritage Hall Museum & Archives through April 24. 

Titled “Voices of Conscience,” the exhibit premiered at the “Remembering Muted Voices: Conscience, Dissent, Resistance and Civil Liberties in World War I through Today” symposium at the Kansas City museum in October 2017. It then launched a tour across North America. The exhibit was created by the Kauffman Museum in North Newton, Kan.

Sponsored locally by HHM&A, the exhibit is located in the historic Bethel Church that is part of the Freeman museum complex. This is the second time the display has been in Freeman. It was installed in early 2020 in anticipation of Schmeckfest. But the emergence of Covid-19 cancelled Schmeckfest and suspended the exhibit tour. It was rescheduled to return to Freeman this year and installed in the church the second week of February. The pews on the main floor of the Bethel Church were temporarily removed to create space for the display. 

The museum is open weekday afternoons from noon to 4 p.m. In addition, the museum will open the display at other times for groups. Call 605-925-7545 during regular hours or email the museum at info@heritagehallmuseum.com for more information. 

The exhibit Voices of Conscience remembers the witness of peace-minded people against the First World War, 1914-1918. This witness included men and women, religious believers and secular humanitarians, political protesters and sectarian separatists. The “war to end all wars” involved troops from more than 100 nations, resulting in more than 38 million military and civilian deaths. Many individuals resisted U.S. involvement in the war, the enactment of military conscription, war bond drives and the denial of freedom of speech under the Espionage and Sedition Acts. For this resistance, they suffered community humiliation, federal imprisonment and mob violence at the hands of a war-crusading American public. Many of their stories converged in the Midwest. Nearly 600 conscientious objectors were imprisoned at Fort Leavenworth. Mennonite farmers in south central Kansas who refused to buy war bonds were tarred and feathered. A building at a Mennonite college was burned to the ground. The exhibit includes the locally well-known story of the deaths of the two South Dakota Hutterite men from Rockport Colony in 1918.  

The exhibit is organized in nine themes that encourage exploration and reflection. The theme modules surround a recreation of an Alcatraz Prison cell, the site where Hutterite conscientious objectors were punished for refusing military participation.  David Kreider, a Kauffman Museum staff member who travels with the exhibit, remarked, “It has been gratifying to see host sites add companion exhibits sharing the stories and artifacts from people in their own community who had a World War I peace witness. “The exhibit also helps people reflect on who are the voices of conscience in our communities today.” The Voices of Conscience exhibit received the 2020 American Association for State and Local History Award of Excellence. 

Admission to the exhibit is included with the regular museum admission. 

Program scheduled in March

HHM&A is planning a special program next month, focusing on a local connection to the story, with support from a grant from the South Dakota Humanities Council. On Friday and Saturday evening, March 25 and 26, Dora Maendel of the Fairholme Hutterite Colony in Manitoba and Dr. Duane Stolzfus, professor of communication at Goshen (Ind.) College and author of “Pacifists in Chains: The Persecution of Hutterites during the Great War” will present “On the Front Line of Conscience: An Account of Four Hutterites Imprisoned at Alcatraz.” 

The evening program will be held at Pioneer Hall at 7:30 p.m. No admission will be charged but donations will be accepted. 

About the museum

Heritage Hall Museum & Archives is a non-profit museum that tells the story of Germans-from-Russia immigrants and others who settled in southeastern Dakota Territory in the 1870s. It includes more than 25,000 square feet of displays of artifacts ranging from household items to agricultural equipment. The archives library includes more than 10,000 books, maps, periodicals and photos. The complex is located south of the Freeman Academy campus and sits on the northern edge of the sprawling Prairie Arboretum. It includes four historic buildings: a one-room schoolhouse, an 1879 pioneer home and two early rural churches. Winter hours at the museum are weekday afternoons from noon to 4 p.m. and other times by appointment. Summer hours – May-September – are 9 a.m.-4 p.m. weekdays and 1-4 p.m. weekends. Additional information is available online at heritagehallmuseum.com and on the Heritage Hall Museum and Archives Facebook page.     

Heritage Hall Museum & Archives in Freeman, S.D., is seeking a summer intern for 2022. The paid position is for someone with an interest in the museum/archives to help with summer staffing needs and to use their area of skill/expertice to help support the mission of the museum. The internship will run from May to August with flexibility for the start/stop dates and include 25+ hours, which includes weekend availability.  For more information about the position and how to apply, see the link below. Or you can call 605-925-7545.

FREEMAN: Last week Heritage Hall Museum & Archives (HHM&A) received notice that the organization has been granted official status as a 501(c)(3) public charity. 

Marnette D. (Ortman) Hofer, executive director of HHM&A, said "this means we are now exempt from federal income tax, and donors can deduct contributions made to us under IRC Section 170. 

"It also means there are grant and funding opportunities open to us now that we did not have access to before," Hofer said.

She noted the status is retroactive to July 20, 2021, so all contributions made after that date are tax-deductible.

This is the final step in the museum's efforts to become an independent organization, Hofer said. 

"Prior to our divestment from the Freeman Junior College/Freeman Academy Corporation, which was finalized this past summer, gifts to the museum were tax-deductible through Freeman Academy as our umbrella organization. While we appreciate and deeply value our shared history with FJC/FA, we are excited about our new beginning and the possibilities before us."

The divestment process began with discussions in 2017 with both the museum and Freeman Academy leadership agreeing to explore the future relationship of the two organizations. 

The museum board and staff supported a move to independence. Discussions between the two boards led to a vote by the Freeman Junior College/Freeman Academy Corporation in the fall of 2019 that gave strong approval for divestment. That initiated a lengthy transition process including drawing up articles of incorporation for the museum as an independent organization. It included the transfer of ownership of all the artifacts, materials in the archives and historic buildings to the new organization. It also includes a lease agreement in which Freeman Academy retains ownership of the property and the building that is home to the museum. Although the museum has been officially registered as a not-for-profit organization in South Dakota for some time, the official federal designation completes the process.

"We have been humbled by the overwhelming support people have shown us and we look forward to continuing our mission to preserve and celebrate the history of the greater Freeman area," Hofer said. "We value all contributions to our efforts, whether they are monetary gifts or gifts of your time as volunteers or through the research and stories you share."

The museum, archives and mercantile are open from noon to 4 p.m., weekdays through April. Summer hours begin in May; the museum is open daily from May through September.

The museum is closed holidays during the winter months. That includes being closed Dec. 24-27 and Dec. 31 and Jan. 1. Regular winter hours resume Jan. 3.

More information is available at https://heritagehallmuseum.com or by calling 605-925-7545.

FREEMAN: Dr. Nathan Bates, a University of South Dakota professor, told a group of about two-dozen people at the Bethel Church Saturday evening, Oct. 30, that he’s thrilled with what he’s discovered at Heritage Hall Museum & Archives (HHM&A). 

Bates, who spent time poring through the archives this summer, told the crowd he’s planning to incorporate the resources here into his German language curriculum at USD in Vermillion. The program was sponsored by HHM&A, which operates as an independent not-for-profit organization. Bates received a grant from the South Dakota Humanities Council for this project.

The archives are providing Bates with stories, personal histories and journals, documents, books and audio recordings that will help expand students’ perspectives on the impact use of German has had in shaping community life and development.

Bates singled out three examples that have caught his attention thus far.

• Daniel Unruh’s Arithmetic Book, dated 1833 and which he used in Russia, which includes bright graphic designs and notes about family history.

• A pamphlet written in 1926 by J. John Friesen, a professor at Freeman College, advocating for the use of German in the Freeman community because, in part, it represents “the higher moral ground of German culture.

• Correspondence between F.C. Ortman of Freeman and John R. Thierstein of Bluffton, Ohio in which they discuss their views about German in the World War I era.

Each, in its own way, offers insights into the attitudes and practices that were an important part of community life in the decades following the arrival of the Germans from Russia in the 1870s, Bates said.

Bates says he plans to return to continue and expand his research and have his students use the archives as a resource for their studies. That, he said, will allow them to make connections between South Dakota and the global community.

“It’s not just language,” he said. “It’s a passport to the larger world.”

The wealth of what is available in the archives and their proximity to Vermillion makes Freeman an ideal partner for his program and he’s eager to see what that will provide.

“I’m enthusiastically diving into the deep end of the pool,” he said.