A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day....11-04-03....South Dakota ~ "Great Faces, Great Places".

Mama_Bear

[Mama_Bear]

A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day

Free Republic made its debut in September, 1996, and the forum was added in early 1997.   Over 100,000 people have registered for posting privileges on Free Republic, and the forum is read daily by tens of thousands of concerned citizens and patriots from all around the country and the world.

A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day was introduced on June 24, 2002. It's only a small room in JimRob's house where we can get to know one another a little better; salute and support our military and our leaders; pray for those in need; and congratulate those deserving. We strive to keep our threads entertaining, fun, and pleasing to look at, and often have guest writers contribute an essay, or a profile of another FReeper.

On Mondays please visit us to see photos of A FEW OF FR'S VETERANS AND ACTIVE MILITARY

If you have a suggestion, or an idea, or if there's a FReeper you would like to see featured, please drop one of us a note in FR mail.

We're having fun and hope you are!
~ Billie, Mama_Bear, dansangel, dutchess, Aquamarine ~

Please join us as we make a cyber-visit to another great state in this Union of ours. As we present each of our 50 states we also salute the proud FReepers who call their state 'home'.

Over the past few months each "Finest" hostess has profiled her home state and I will be presenting the other states in random order. Please FReepMail me if you would like to participate in spotlighting your state. I would love to have your input on what you would like to see highlighted.

These are the states we have presented to date:

05-23-03 Alabama 06-27-03 Maryland 07-11-03 Vermont 07-25-03 Utah 08-05-03 Texas 08-22-03 Nevada 08-26-03 Wash DC

09-05-03 Tennessee 09-17-03 Florida 09-19-03 Minnesota 10-03-03 New Mexico 10-14-03 Georgia 10-17-03 Louisiana 10-22-03 Michigan

Today we are visiting
"The Mount Rushmore State".

The state seal serves as a symbol of life in South Dakota. It depicts the state's diversity of commerce and resources: farming, ranching, industries, lumbering, manufacturing and mining. It bears the motto:

"Under God the People Rule."
The seal was adopted in 1885, four years before the state was admitted to the Union.

More South Dakota symbols...

The earliest people to come into the area which is now South Dakota were ancient mammoth hunters. Much later they were followed by nomadic tribes whose lives centered on bison hunting. Around 1775, the Oglala and Brule bands of the Sioux nation moved into the Bad River territory around the present town of Philip, South Dakota. These Native Americans became the master plains hunters, subsisting on buffalo.

Though the bison-hunting Lakota flourished during the next one hundred years, their dominion on the prairie was short-lived. French fur trappers were the first of many European arrivals who, in time, would supplant the Lakota. Trappers were soon followed by soldiers, miners, cattle farmers and homesteaders who forever changed the face of the prairie.

South Dakota’s history reads like an adventure story. It’s a tale of Plains Indians, explorers and pioneers, and it features names like Crazy Horse, Laura Ingalls Wilder, and Wild Bill Hickok. Lewis and Clark traveled through South Dakota in 1804 and 1806 on their journey to the West Coast. If you have a chance to visit this state, be sure to follow the Lewis and Clark Trail for an interesting glimpse into it's rich history and heritage.

South Dakota is the home of the Dakota, Lakota and Nakota tribes, which make up the Sioux Nation.

Our 40th state was admitted to the Union on November 2, 1889.


For those who would like to learn more about
the history of South Dakota, click HERE.

There is much to see and do in South Dakota!

The four figures carved in stone on Mount Rushmore represent the first 150 years of American history. The birth of our nation was guided by the vision and courage of George Washington. Thomas Jefferson always had dreams of something bigger, first in the words of the Declaration of Independence and later in the expansion of our nation through the Louisiana Purchase.

Preservation of the union was paramount to Abraham Lincoln but a nation where all men were free and equal was destined to be. At the turn of the Twentieth Century Theodore Roosevelt saw that in our nation was the possibility for greatness. Our nation was changing from a rural republic to a world power. The ideals of these presidents laid a foundation for our nation as solid as the rock from which their figures are carved.

Each man possessed great skills and leadership of the brand our nation needed for the times. Today millions of visitors come to see Mount Rushmore and gain inspiration from these four great men.

"Tell me the landscape in which you live and I will tell you who you are." Though seemingly inhospitable at first glance, human occupation of the White River Badlands of South Dakota dates back at least 11,000 years with as many as 101 archaeological sites identified.

Devil's Gulch is an amazing geological curiosity in southeastern South Dakota.

The Outlaw's Big Jump
There is debate about whether or not this is fact, but here's the story as it's been told for ages. In 1876 Jesse James robbed the bank in Northfield, Minnesota, in which two of his partners were killed. Fleeing town, the gang split up, with Jesse and his brother Frank heading west toward Dakota Territory. When the two got to this neighborhood, they went separate ways, trying to shake the posse that was still hot in pursuit. At some point the lawmen were literally right on the heels of Jesse, as he and his horse stood on the precipice of a dizzyingly high bluff; this was Devil's Gulch. A fifteen foot gash in the rocks separated him from the other side and freedom. Supposedly he spurred on his horse and actually leapt across the canyon, evading the posse and eventually linking up with brother Frank in the Palisades State Park area not far away. Some accounts indicate that a bullet fatally struck his horse during the leap.

These are the legendary Black Hills of South Dakota, an oasis of pine-clad mountains on the Great Plains. Home of Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse Memorials. The Black Hills offer everything you expect from a mountain vacation: five national parks, scenic drives, waterfalls, abundant wildlife, acclaimed recreational trails and trout fishing. A place where bison and wild horses still roam free.



In the Black Hills, you can go from one monumental mountain carving to the next. This gigantic statue of the Sioux warrior Crazy Horse has been taking shape for the past fifty years. Nearly eight million tons of rock have already been blasted away, and work continues on this 563-foot-high sculpture. When completed, this statue will be the largest one of its kind in the world.

Read more about this amazing sculpture HERE.

The following websites provided information and graphics:

History of The Badlands
Signs and Symbols of South Dakota
Mount Rushmore National Monument
The Black Hills and Badlands

I am sure I have overlooked many interesting facts and points of interest, so please help us celebrate South Dakota by joining in and posting what you know about this Fine state.

Have a nice day!

THIS WEEK'S THREADS 11-03-03...Military Monday

Opinions by our own 'King of Ping' The guy's good, folks!

Thanks, Mixer!

1) Click on the graphic to open the Calendar.
2) Once there you can click on any month and even click to the right to go into next year. Once you are in the month that you joined FR you will need to click on the number in the calendar and then an add item screen will come up.
3) In the next box enter your name in the "Calendar Text" field and then click on submit.
4) If any of the screens fail to load simply click on refresh in your browser and that will usually fix it.
5) If all else fails or simply if you want me to do this for you send me an FReepmail and I will gladly do it for you. ~Mixer

Click on the photo to view the album. To
submit your photo, please contact dansangel or .45MAN danbh59@yahoo.com
and include Freeper Photo Album in
the subject line.

[dixie sass]

Joe Riley has won the Mayor's race in Charleston for a record 8th term. At the end of this term he will have served 32 years as mayor of Charleston.

[dutchess]

No I don't handy. Freepmail me your addy. Everything was fine until the last pictures. Would love to have you look at it. Freemail your address. Thanks so much!!!!!

[Mama_Bear]

Another great state.

Thank you, dubya. :-)

[Mama_Bear]

S. Dakota is one of those state's I've always wanted to vist to see Mt Rushmore and the other areas of history.

Me too, especially now that I know even more about this state and how much there is to see and do.

[LadyX]

Yes - I was all of 28 that year, and a female Fearless Fosdick, if anyone remembers him.
Kinda still am..:))

The younger ones here cannot appreciate that in leaving Rapid City with our babies and dogs, we would be Surviving in every sense of the word.

Our husbands guarded the B-52's, and never would have left the base alive, if war began. We were literally on our own, a continent away from any family. To stay in town with the populace stealng and looting at will, taking our food and supplies, we woud have perished there for certain. The city was loaded with Communist sympathizers, according to Intelligence, and even decent people steal when hungry; foodstuffs dwindling and delivery halted.

My plan was to go directly to a summer cabin area of Silver City, in the winter not inhabited, about 40 miles northwest, as I recall. Susan would have kept house - I would have hunted and fished and trapped and chopped firewood. If things worked well, we would have lasted until our military stumbled upon us. We knew the base maintained somewhere in the mountains a two-year food supply, and God willing, we might have made it alive.

So many Americans take for granted their peace and comfort levels.....we did not have that luxury in the 'Cold' War.

[The Mayor]

Sho' looks like it doesn't it?

That's the way they looked locally tonight. Waaa they lost..

[Mama_Bear]

[dutchess]

Gosh Lori...thanks for helping me out...once I knew you were there...I "played around a little more" before sending it to you and was able to fix it... BUT

BUT...you don't know how good it felt to know you were there....Thanks!

today dutchess wins ===== html naysayers lose!.... (maybe)

[Mama_Bear]

I "played around a little more" before sending it to you and was able to fix it. :-)

Good. I'm glad you were able to fix it. I will always help out when I can....that's what sistahs are for. :-)

Good night (((((((dutchess)))))))).

[dutchess]

Thanks again. I felt so good when I saw you were there and and am so relieved I found the glitch. Again...great thread today. I think the country should hire you as a "tourism bureau!"

[FreeTheHostages]

Wow, great story. Although I feel kinda left out knowing my city was never TARGET ONE. LOL

[dixie sass]

Barbara Bush is on Leno tonight and David Letterman had a little boy. He showed pictures of him and he is adorable!

[LadyX]

At least you were not in D.C. then...:))
Perhaps not yet born in 1962?
Not to worry - we were keeping America safe so you could grow up....

All our long-range striking power was buried underground in missile silos throughout the Rockies around Rapid City, and thus a very tempting and important target.

Even more frightening, was Intelligence telling Security that had the Russians landed a large force on South Florida, they would have swept through the state and up to Tenneessee in a couple of days.
No large American bases with infantry in the South to stop them then!

It's hard to describe to younger persons just how tense the Cold War Period was, and why many of us knew stopping Communism in Southeast Asia was vital.

While we were not looking, however, it was being taught in our colleges, socialism adopted by liberal minds.....

[Calpernia]

Goodnight to the Finest!

Christ’s Example

Taken from the book, “Behold Mine Eyes Have Seen Thy Salvation”

“After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash His disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around Him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to Him, ‘Lord, are You going to wash my feet?’ Jesus replied, ‘You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.’ ‘No,’ said Peter, ‘You shall never wash my feet.’ Jesus answered, ‘Unless I wash you, you have no part with Me.’…When He had finished washing their feet, He put on His clothes and returned to His place. ‘Do you understand what I have done for you?’ He asked them. ‘You call Me “Teacher” and “Lord,” and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.’ ”

JOHN 13:5-8; 12-15 NIV

People get uncomfortable around Jesus because He doesn’t fit into the way they see things, plan things, and do things. With our natural minds, we can never really understand what Jesus is all about. When we place Him next to our human plumb lines, He appears to be on a slant to the way we function; when we put a level next to Him, He looks out of balance to the way we react; when we put a ruler on Him, He doesn’t seem to measure up to the way we go about our business. Jesus’ entire life has been an enigma to many. The natural mind asks, “How could a prince be born outside a palace, a teacher have no degree, a king have no army, a ruler have no place to lay his head, and a miracle worker be unable to come down from a cross?”

When we see the way that Jesus responded to His disciples as they gathered for the Passover, we are once again amazed at His behavior. Even Peter could not fully grasp it. Peter saw himself as the follower, and Jesus as the Master. “Why” he questioned, “would my Master take the place of a slave and wash my feet?” Peter had been with Jesus for more than three years but still had many things to learn. As Jesus washed the disciples’ feet, He was doing far more than teaching them a lesson in humility; He was demonstrating to them what was at the heart of the Kingdom of God. The message of the Kingdom is that every follower of Jesus Christ carries a towel and washbasin with him into every circumstance and relationship in life. Jesus showed us that the Kingdom of God is “upside down” to the way the world operates.

In the Kingdom of God… …a person is lifted up by humbling himself, not by exalting himself in the eyes of others. …strength is found through weakness, not by being confident in your own abilities. …fullness comes by becoming empty, not by running after pleasure. …life is gained by losing it, not by looking out for “number one.” …riches come by giving them away, not by storing them up. …greatness comes by becoming a servant, not by seeking power and celebrity.

By Roy Lessin

[dutchess]

Goodmorning FR Friends...it's another day...please join us for the next addition of FR's Favorite FRPets HERE