RonnieAdventure #0021 - South Dakota State University, Brookings, South Dakota

As I pulled into the South Dakota State University (SDSU) campus, the first thing that I noticed was a large campanile that dominated the landscape. There was a door facing the parking lot, so I parked in the adjacent lot and tried the entrance door. No luck – The door was locked! In addition, I noticed a large sign that said all visitors must obtain a parking permit to park anywhere on campus. Since the campus police station was just across the street, I wandered over and inquired how to obtain a parking permit and I asked when the campanile was open to the public. Much to my surprise, the woman at the desk opened a drawer, pulled out a key, and told me that I could just unlock the campanile door and climb to the top at my leisure. She warned me, however, that the climb was harder and farther than it looked. After taking down my driver’s license information she gave me a parking permit and a guide to other public facilities on campus. But first, I had to climb the campanile!

Apparently, not a lot of people take this adventure because there were cobwebs around the door and when I got inside it really smelled musty. The climb to the top wasn’t too bad, so after taking some pictures (You can see a long way from the top of the campanile because South Dakota if fairly flat in the Brookings area.) I returned the key and decided to visit the South Dakota State Art Museum that is located just to the north.

Campanile at SDSU

 

 The art museum was very interesting and features over 6,000 original works, which includes 110 works by Harvey Dunn. (Harvey Dunn was born in Manchester, South Dakota and attended South Dakota Agricultural College (now SDSU) as a young man.) There was also a traveling art exhibit on display.

"The Prairie Is My Garden," by Harvey Dunn

 

Next stop was the South Dakota Agricultural Heritage Museum, which is home to over 100,000 objects. Of particular interest was an old Case steamer that had been completely restored. There were also a number of other tractors and farm implements, and lots, and lots, of historical items used around the farm. Of particular interest was the Briggs & Stratton engine display. Briggs did a lot of his original engine development work when he was an engineering student at SDSU and after graduation he teamed up with Stratton to start building small engines. I remember growing up in rural South Dakota and we had numerous Briggs & Stratton engines on the farm.

Case Steamer

Early Farmall



The last stop was the McCrory Gardens and South Dakota Arboretum. Even though it was September, there were still a large number of flowers in bloom. Maybe the next time I pass through Brookings it will be in the spring or early summer when the gardens are in full bloom!

 McCrory Sculpture Gardens

 

Arboretum

 

Arboretum

 Arboretum

 

Arboretum

 

Arboretum

 Arboretum

 

Arboretum