Summer is the season for community celebrations. This is true for the rural ranching community of South Hand. Since the 1890s this community 23 miles from Miller comes together for their annual South Hand Old Settler’s Picnic.
South Dakota, Rancher Bob Tong and his neighbors continue a more than a 100-year tradition of celebrating the men and women who have the deepest roots in the rural community of South Hand during the annual South Hand Old Settler’s Picnic.
His wife, Diana Tong explains.
“That was the tradition from the very beginning, they wanted to honor the first settlers into this community, they started that, way back then and it just continues,” Tong said.
Each summer in June, the Old Settler’s Picnic is held in a cow pasture under a grove of trees. A fourth-generation South Hand rancher, Tong has attended the Old Settler’s Picnic her entire life.
[(:19) 2 Diana] “It’s an event that is widely recognized in the community as THE event of the year. When you are a kid, the Old Settler’s picnic is all you can talk about,” Tong said.
As someone who loves history, Tong is the person neighbors go to if they have a question about the community’s history. She is also the keeper of the original South Hand Old Settler’s Picnic record book.
“Thruza Robison is the creator of this book, her relatives passed it down to another neighbor of ours, she kept it going. When she moved to town, she handed it down to my mother,” Tong said.
At nearly 120-years old the leather-bound record book is beginning to show its age. So, in 2004 neighbor Stephanie Cavenee worked with Tong and other neighbors to put together a new history book.
“We did a lot of research. A lot of digging through the newspaper and calling up neighbors “hey what kind of photos do you have. Do you have anything someone wrote down,’” Cavenee said.
A fourth-generation South Hand rancher, Cavenee is among the neighbors serving on the committee to keep the Old Settler’s Picnic tradition alive.
“It’s been going on for 118 years, we aren’t going to be the ones who let it fall through the cracks,” Cavenee said.
Today, Cavenee’s sons get to enjoy the Old Settler’s Picnic traditions she enjoyed as a kid.
“There’s horse games, then we gather together for a lunch, then parade, then kids’ games start, we recognize the old settlers, the turtle races are always a big draw. And we don’t just stop at little kids, all ages get to participate,” Cavenee said.
Also serving on the picnic committee with Cavenee is her Country School classmate and neighbor Brett Stevens.
“Just kind of a time to just socialize and get together and talk about the activities of the spring and winter …I don’t know what the community would do without it really. Just to say,” Stevens said.
At 44 Stevens has never missed an Old Settler’s Picnic. Like so many of his South Hand neighbors, Stevens’ family raises cattle. Four generations ago his ancestors homesteaded here. They were among the first settlers recognized during the original Old Settler’s Picnic.
Today while he grills burgers and brats, his wife, Roxanne, helps organize the kids’ games. The couple are happy their twins, Lauryn and Chad get to enjoy this time-honored community tradition.
“Too much time is spent going cross-eyed at a screen anymore, the parade, they really want to make their own floats. I know it’s not a big parade anymore, but they are excited to do their own thing,” Stevens said.
During the parade, the oldest neighbors get to ride in a convertible driven by Brett’s dad, Kenny. 94-year-old Jim Hancock was named the 2022 Old Settler.
“I know one picnic I came to 80 years ago; I brought my horse down, I thought he was a pretty fast horse. They had horse races here at that time. He wasn’t near fast enough,” Hancock said.
These days instead of a horse race, a prize is given out for the slowest horse. Even so, Hancock says the South Hand Old Settler’s Picnic is an event he doesn’t want to miss.
“To see these little communities like this get together, shake hands and share. It’s great for my heart,” Hancock said.
With so many neighbors gathered together to celebrate the history and traditions of the South Hand community, and dedicated volunteers it looks like the Old Settler’s Picnic will be around for many generations to come.
