Native American Tools Uncovered

I found 25 hammer head stones and a couple other various sharpening stones and bones while out on a nature adventure looking for deer antlers this past Saturday. I didn't find any antlers, but what I did find was way more exciting!

There were five or six of these stones poking out of the ground about 1/4 the way and the rest came to life after a little digging.

I took them in to show Henry Desnoyers, our local hardware man and historian and also a collector of Indian artifacts(which I was unaware) and he was in awe that I found so many in one spot, never heard of before he said. He thought they were probably as many as 500 years old, because of the way they are carved out all the way around. With time they added a stick to them and when they did this they only had to carve them 3/4 the way around.

I only dug a 3'X3' area and about a foot deep, not knowing how I deep I should go or what I might disturb. Perhaps there is much more than what met my eye. Henry also said that these may have been from the time before the Indians had horses to haul all their possessions so some things, particularly the heavy hammer heads got left behind.

If any of you know any anthropologists or archaeologists maybe they would have some interest?

Barry Threadgold

Belated Happy Birthdayl, Phyllis

March 20 Birthday

Happy Birthday, Harvey

April Birthdays

April 1 -- Hannah (Anderson) Stewart
April 4 -- Ty Nordtvedt
April 6 -- Aydan Palmquist
April 6 -- Lucas Froehlich
April 20 -- Brady Barringer
April 23 -- Joe Palmquist

Kevin Butrum dies

GARRETSON — Kevin R. Butrum, 54, Garretson, died Thursday, March 12, 2009, in his home. He was the brother of Keith R. Butrum of Veblen.

Memorial services will be Saturday at 1 p.m. in the Minnehaha Funeral Home at Garretson.

Memorial visitation will be Friday from 6 to 8 p.m. in the funeral home.

He was born June 14, 1954, to Rayburn and Eleanor Geraldine (Stalheim) Butrum in Sioux Falls. He grew up around Garretson, graduated from Garretson High School and attended S.D. State University. Following his education, he worked in Alaska and has since farmed on the family farm for more than 30 years.

He was an avid hunter and fisherman and returned to Alaska on many occasions for hunting trips. He had a great sense of humor and was known for his strong opinions. He also greatly enjoyed the company of his nieces and nephews.

Survivors include his siblings, Keith R. (Holly A.M.) Butrum of Veblen, Renee (Bruce) Boehrns of Volin and Jeneane (Douglas Hornseth) Butrum of Richfield, Minn.

Old Picture

I don't think we know all the people in the picture. Would someone list all the names?

Jan

Belated Birthday

Mark and Mike Williams

Bernell

This is Karen in WV. Maybe Dawna, Phyllis or Harlyn knows the answer to this. Does anyone know where the middle name Bernell came from for Grandpa Harvey. Dan Felix and Bobby Threadgold also used it.

I was reading about Norwegian naming practices, and it could be a previous relative had "Bern" as part of their name. It was customary to change it a little, when switching between male and female. The female version of Ole might be Ona, etc. With his mother Hannah having Bergette as a middle name, it was probably in honor of someone before her. Then Bernell might have been a variation on that.

I'd love to hear others' thinking on this.

Josh Anderson gets 2nd

This is my first try at a video. I can play it on my iMac. We will see if it works for all.

Swing set on news

We just saw the new White House swing set on the news so it must be the one Ty worked on.