On our trip south from North Dakota, we drove through a town called Strasberg. Heard polka songs and an accordian in the distance. Yep, Lawrence Welk was born there. The town thrives on this tourist business. A whopping population of 409. We didn't stop. Buzzing along Route 83, through a town called Eureka, South Dakota, population of 868. These are big towns! Big sign says "birthplace of Al Neuharth, Founder of USA Today". Anything a claim to fame, they cash in. And why not?
Since we saw and still are seeing so many small towns, I get a kick out of populations. For instance, we are in Hermosa which is 398. But there is pizza places, gas stations, grocery stores, RV repair, camping, sporting goods. Very low unemployment. South Dakota as a state only has 880,000 people, 2/3 what Cuyahoga County has.
A large population of Hutterites which practice extreme pacifism, and during World War I they were so persecuted that they abandoned 17 communities in the Dakotas and fled to Canada, are located north of Rapid City, but we won't go there either. Canada enforced laws which prohibited them from coming in and during the 1930s these Hutterites came back into the Dakotas. Similar to Amish or Mennonite in their shunning of 'new world' pocessions, they speak German and stay within their sect. We haven't run into them but were told about this group from a camper back in Hazen - he is a contract harvestor (the bus and migrant workers that came in) and has occasionly been around them.
The largest city in South Dakota is Sioux City and we are in the second largest - Rapid City, population of 67,500. And the capital - PEER (Pierre) had 13,656! Amazing.
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