News

Tom Rancour is many things. He is a father and a husband, an engineer and a business owner. He is a Golden West member, avid military surplus collector and historian. Tom is the founder, curator and operator of Armed Forces Display and Gifts (AFD&G) in Wasta, a small town located about 35 miles east of Rapid City. You have no doubt cruised right by it when going to or from the Black Hills. AFD&G is the big building in Wasta, just behind the Mobile station with an A-4C Skyhawk attack jet perched in the parking lot.

It feels like every day we hear about the latest in technology, a fast gadget or new website aimed at making our lives easier. However, to truly appreciate the benefits of technology we need to look to our past, and how we used to live and work. Lucky for us, two caretakers of the past have amassed an impressive display of relics that you just have to see to believe.

Four years before the United States enacted prohibition, South Dakota passed a new prohibition law of its own, referred to as the “Bone-Dry” law. As the familiar story goes, many citizens disagreed and took to making illegal liquor for their families and friends. This led to numerous busts, destroyed stills and moonshiners going to jail. Prohibition ended in 1933, but South Dakota’s “Bone-Dry” law was not repealed until two years later.

Driving north into the Golden West community of Lower Brule, one of the first buildings you see is Lower Brule High School. When you walk out the front door of the school, the picturesque Big Bend of the Missouri River meets your gaze. However, if you glance to the left, you will see the Lower Brule Day School and Education Administration Office. Tucked in the basement of this building, in a modest space shared with computer storage, sits a non-profit called Lower Brule Research (LBR). The brainchild of a science teacher, this non-profit is in its third year of teaching the youth of Lower Brule to ask questions and use science to help their community.

In rural South Dakota, distance is normal a part of life. Your home might be half an hour from the closest town, which is another two hours away from the “big city.” There are ways though, to reduce distance when it comes to some of life’s necessities. Golden West’s reliable broadband technology can minimize this distance for rural towns, allowing for immediate access to jobs, education, and healthcare. The fact that you can live where you want and still have access to important things in life through your Internet is an exciting development for rural towns.