Attending the Noem statue unveiling

Greetings! I had the pleasure of attending the unveiling of the statue of former governor Kristi Noem Friday, Aug. 7 in Pierre. The unveiling was part of the Trail of Governors Foundation. Gov. Noem was the 33rd governor of our great state. Her statue was a stand-up bronze of her, all dressed up in her cowgirl outfit, complete with hat. She is holding the reins of her horse, Iceman, who also was made into a bronze statue.
The City of Pierre does a nice job positioning these bronze statues on street corners. All of the previous governors are depicted in statues.
When in session, I drive by Frank Farrar’s, then turn and go up to the capitol, but I take the far entry so I can honk at Gov. Janklow’s statue. He is standing there holding a bullhorn like he was taking charge of a forest fire or an uprising.
Getting back to Gov. Noem’s ceremony. It was a perfect day, 75 degrees, no wind, with a crowd of around 400 in attendance. The ceremony started at 10 a.m., so of course that’s 9 a.m. for us on God’s time (Mountain Standard Time). Anyway, I got about eight miles from home up in the Hills and realized I forgot my laptop. I plugged it in that morning to charge, and oops. So, I had to decide if I should go back, which I did.
My arrival in Pierre was 9:45 a.m., so I was in good shape timewise I thought. Well, Pierre is like the Black Hills; the dreaded road construction topped off with the highway patrol putting up “Do Not Enter” barriers at key intersections. So, I ended up parking in my spot in the legislators’ parking lot.
I had both my labs and really wanted to let them out of their kennels in my pickup box, but not enough time, so jogged the two blocks north of the capitol to the unveiling. Got there just in time to hear the chaplain say, “Let us pray.”
Gov. Rhoden and Lt. Gov. VanHuisen spoke, along with the artist, John Lopez, from Lemmon. Finally, it was former governor Noem’s turn. She thanked everyone for attending, remarking she was a little worried about having the event on a Friday morning, the first day of the rally, but that she couldn’t be more pleased with the turnout. She introduced both of her daughters, Cassidy and Kennedy, along with their husbands and, of course, her grandchildren.
She mentioned that she regretted that Bryon, her husband, and Booker, her son, were unable to attend. She did add that Booker was serving as a missionary in the Middle East.
After the ceremony, it was fun talking to all who attended. We then went over to Fort Pierre to Drifters restaurant for a big meal and another chance to socialize. I had a chance to swim my labs in the river before going in. I might add that the food was excellent. It is one of my wife’s favorite restaurants in Pierre. Until next time...
P.S. No tax dollars are used on any of the governors’ statues on the Trail of Governors.