Summer in Huron. Nineteen years ago, my wife and I returned to South Dakota for a visit and spent time at most of the parks in town before deciding this was where we wanted to raise our children.
This will be my eighteenth summer as a Huronite, and I have never regretted that decision.
If you know my wife or me, you’ve likely seen us walking in one of the parks or on my way to the office. When we moved here, the parks were typically quiet or even empty, regardless of the weather. This was a stark contrast from the morning and evening activity we were used to in Tucson, Ariz.
As Huron continued to grow and change, so did the sounds and pedestrian traffic throughout town. Families grilling, playing volleyball and soccer, walking, running, and socializing in Memorial, Winter, and Prospect (Rocketslide) parks nearly every day of the week.
The greatest part of this change was seeing everyone waving and smiling at people they’d never met – strangers becoming neighbors.
Huron, with its many cultures and languages, was becoming a community, not a cluster of houses with a courthouse and post office, but a true community.
With great summer events like stock car racing, rodeos, Wheel Jam, Dusting off Dakota, Thursday Nights in the Park, Food Truck Wednesdays, and the State Fair, Huron is definitely worth visiting.
It’s these uncoordinated social gatherings at the parks, however, that make it worth staying. If anyone reading this enjoys horseshoes or wants to take it up, the pits at Memorial Park are rarely used, and I would love to see that change, but I also don’t know where to get a set of horseshoes – someone let me know.
I’d also love to read and share your favorite summer activities in town, so please mail or drop off a letter to our office or email me at [email protected] and let me know. I’ll publish and share them with the rest of Huron so we can all enjoy them as a community. Enjoy your summer, be excellent to each other, and thank you for reading local.
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