Leonard's dream: Lakota Circle Village

A friend from high school – Leonard Little Finger – is about to retire for a second time. But you wouldn’t know it by the ambitious project he’s pursuing near his Oglala, South Dakota home.

First, he retired as CEO of the Indian Health Service hospital at Pine Ridge, but that was some 18 years ago. Then he went back to school to get a teaching certificate and has taught school ever since, but he’ll retire this spring – from teaching, that is.

Leonard will likely be devoting his full effort toward fruition of a dream: Lakota Circle Village. At the core of the village will be a language school that will use immersion techniques to teach the Lakota language to children who are losing touch with their culture, largely due to the loss of their ancestral language.

I first knew Leonard as a high school student some 42 years ago in Chadron, Nebraska, where he graduated in 1958. Leonard and I played on the Cardinal football team, and I still remember my amazement at how such a quiet and soft-spoken student could be such an energetic football player. In retrospect, his pervasive high-energy, low-profile demeanor may be key to his success. Leonard and I shared a common gridiron fate: we both lost some permanent teeth in pursuit of the pigskin.

But that was likely one of the few things we had in common. Leonard was Lakota Sioux and came from South Dakota to attend high school in Chadron. Unlike the few other American Indian students I knew in our school – kids who seemed isolated and perhaps intimidated by their surroundings – Leonard Finger, as we knew him – participated in a full range of school activities and excelled academically. After he graduated and headed for college, it would be nearly three decades before out paths would cross again.

By the late 1980s, I was Deputy Director of South Dakota Public Broadcasting, and Leonard was Administrator of the Indian Health Service at Pine Ridge. He had agreed to serve on our Friends of Public Broadcasting Board of Directors. Within just a few years, I left South Dakota and Leonard finished his term on the Friends Board.

Then recently, on Good Friday, I had a good experience. I was shopping at Sam’s in Rapid City – as was Leonard – and we saw each other in the aisle. Despite the years that had gone by, we immediately recognized one another and had a short but delightful conversation. I was able to meet Leonard’s wife and one of his sons. Even during that short visit, Leonard’s vision for the Lakota Circle Village was readily apparent. Read more about it on the Lakota Village Circle web site.

Actually, that vision is becoming reality. One of the benefactors to the project is German rock superstar Peter Maffay, who has earmarked earnings from one of his music CD releases to help build the school, which is now complete. I admire Maffay for recognizing the importance of language in retaining cultural traditions. Ironically, I’ve tried to learn German as a way of connecting with my German-Russian heritage. Alas, despite earning a minor in German at college, I never had the benefit of language immersion. I have little doubt that a better knowledge of my ancestral language would help me better understand and appreciate my heritage.

Of course, the issue is more critical for the Lakota children, whose ancestors have inhabited this region of South Dakota for centuries, and the obstacles in the way of their pursuit of happiness are many.

Leonard Little Finger knows his way around the Rez…..and around the world. He has been a presenter to the United Nations Draft Declaration for the Rights of Indigenous People in Geneva, Switzerland. He has also spoken at the Bundestag (German parliament) in Bonn, Germany. Thankfully, he cherishes his roots and is committed to helping future generations know theirs. I am proud to call him a friend.

H.F. Maika - Early Chadron Druggist

It's always fun to stumble upon unexpected treasures while scavengering through data in search of genealogical gems.

Such was the case this week, when I was searching on-line at USGenWeb and decided to take a peek at an unidentified Dawes County Nebraska file. For those of you unfamiliar with GenWeb, it consists of volunteers working together to provide Internet web sites for genealogical research in every county and every state of the United States. The Project is non-commercial and fully committed to free access for everyone. If you've never visited their web site, check it out at http://www.usgenweb.org/

My latest serendipitous discovery was a collection of letters pertaining to one of the pioneer families of Dawes County: the Maika clan. Although I'm not certain of the relationships, I vividly remember a pair of Maika children who resided on east 2nd street in Chadron during the 1950s. I also recall my mom and dad occasionally referring to the Maika name, and I somehow learned that an earlier Maika family member had run a drugstore. Alas, where in Chadron that drugstore might have been situated, I don't know; perhaps one of our readers knows and can share that information with us at galey@rushmore.com.

The Chadron Centennial History 1885-1985, published by the Chadron Narrative History Project Committee in 1985, offers little information about the Maika family. However, it does refer to an early day (ca. 1906) Chadron druggist named H.F. Maika, whose establishment apparently carried some of the drugs that were the subject of questionable advertising. Cited was the example: "Easy Labor and Painless Childbirth guaranteed by the use of OSAGE PILLS. Purely vegetable and Perfectly Harmless -- Being compounded from numerous herbs and roots which have been in use among the Osage Indians for years."

If you're researching the Maika family or have an interest in early Dawes County Nebraska, you're sure to enjoy poring through the letters and information contained in this bit of research.

By Technique.....By Example

We received an e-mail the other day that led us to a KCSR Radio web site containing a story written a good number of years ago. I think it was discovered by Chuck Cogdill (CHS-1957) and passed along to a few of his correspondents.

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The subject was Chadron High School basketball. Not surprisingly, the story was written by the indefatigable Con Marshall, something of an icon for those of us with any interest in knowing who the best-ever free-throw shooter at CHS was......or who had the best batting average when CSC still had a baseball team.......or who the most prolific pass-receiver was for the Eagles in the 1940s. Con knows all that stuff, and if he can't remember, give him a a couple of minutes and he'll find it......somewhere!

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This article by Con was apparently written in 1985. Of course, web links come and go, so I've posted the text separately here with thanks to Chuck, brother John, KCSR, and -- of course -- Con.

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In the photograph above is former CHS basketball coach Verne Lewellen, atop a flatbed trailer in downtown Chadron in March of 1961. That's the year the Cardinals won their first state basketball tournament. The team and coaches had just returned home from Lincoln and were greeted by a huge crowd. Long-time sports booster Paul Babue is at right.

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As a student and player, I and most of my teammates thought Verne Lewellen walked on water. I still do. Okay, okay.....that's just a figure of speech. Nonetheless, he was an excellent coach and wonderful role model.

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Nearly 50 years later, as I watch coaches from the NBA down to the local junior high schools, I am often appalled at the way in which they conduct themselves.

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Coach "Lew" set an example for all of us. His quiet, low-key mentoring stayed with many of us long after we left the basketball court. I admired the way he coached, and I still admire the kind of person he is.

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I finally cornered Verne Lewellen at a CSC football game this year, and I told him exactly how much I appreciated what he taught so many of us, by technique.....and by example.

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Thanks, Coach.

Missing the Whistle

You don't have to be a railroad buff to wax nostalgic about the sight, sound, and smell of of an old steam engine chugging alongside a prairie highway. The railroad -- specifically, the Chicago & Northwestern Railway -- played a key role in the economic and social life of many high plains communities in Nebraska, South Dakota and Wyoming.

Growing up in Chadron, Nebraska, in the 1940s and '50s, I was intrigued by the fact that so many homes had green trim -- very much like the green paint used on locomotives that were parked in the roundhouse for repairs and servicing! It seemed that half the town worked for C&NW, which probably wasn't far from the mark. Of course, that was before the railroad company removed itself from the community. Were it not for Chadron's four-year college, the loss of the railroad likely would have been the death knell for Chadron.

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Quite by accident, I recently came across a WEB SITE dedicated to the history of the Chicago and Northwestern Railway System. It's a neat site, full of photographs and history of the mightly line before it merged away its identity. I suspect many Chadron residents, along with citizens from hundreds of other communities across the midwest and plains states, have already discovered the site.

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The Dawes County Museum just south of Chadron has many artifacts from the rail era. But if you've not seen the C&NW Historical Society web site, it's worth a CLICK. Lots of information. Lots of photos, and lots of fun!

Little Mike on the Job!

We've added a few new photos to the KCSR Photo Gallery. One of them is shown above. It's the indefatigable "Little Mike" mobile unit, covering a baseball game at Memorial Park in Chadron, probably in the late 1950s. Can you identify the gent in the middle of the photograph? We hope to encourage other ex-KCSR folks to contribute old photos or stories they might have. Send us an e-mail if you have any such memorabilia you'd be willing to share. Thanks!

Remembering KCSR - 1450 on the Dial!

The holidays have a way of allowing us to make contact with kindred souls we’ve not seen or visited with for many years.

In the past week, I’ve exchanged e-mails with Frank Clark, a former Chadronite now long-retired and living in Virginia. Frank and I met up at his home a few years ago to reminisce a bit about KCSR Radio and mutual friends who worked there in the early days, when the station was still at “1450 on the radio dial.”

It occurred to me it would be fun to try to pull together a few old photographs from those years. That’s a sample up above – Cliff Pike and Bob Fouse frolicking around on Breakfast with the Boys, which aired in the mid-1950s, shortly after the station went on the air.

In coming weeks, I’ll be posting the few photos I have in a KCSR Gallery and encouraging others to join the fray! If you have some you’re willing to share, please drop me an e-mail.

KCSR trivia question #1: Bill Finch and Bob Fouse put KCSR on the air in May 1954. They already had a few years of broadcasting experience under their belts when they arrived in Chadron. Where had they been?

Finding Consolation

It was a sad ending to a terrific season for the Chadron (Nebr) State College football team Saturday (Dec. 1) as Northwest Missouri University handily rebuked the Eagles 26-13 in the NCAA Division II quarterfinals in Chadron.

Gone was the stellar last-quarter comeback of a week earlier, when the Eagles defeated Abilene Christian 76-73 after trailing by 29 points at the end of the third period.

The post-game congregation this week was a solemn one at Elliott Field. In the photo above, two Eagle players console one another, while family and fans looked on.

There is little doubt that the Maryville, Missouri powerhouse deserved the win. Their play and statistics were impressive as they continued their march to the Division II playoffs later this month in Alabama. Nebraska native Xavier Oman of Beatrice set a Bearcat school record for rushing in a single game, collecting some 306 yard for the day. Chadron State College ended another great season with a record of 12-1. After the game, a CSC fan (left) hugs quarterback Joe McLain on the 50-yard line.

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”I’m overjoyed with what we accomplished this year,” Coach Bill O’Boyle said. “We’ve had 12 wins and we came back from a lot of adversity. The guys did a great job staying together and they played as a team. I couldn’t be happier for them.”