SIOUX FALLS, SD – The Mary Chilton Daughters of the American Revolution Foundation has awarded grants totaling $12,000 to three charitable organizations throughout South Dakota.
The grants were awarded to The Mammoth Site of Hot Springs, SD, Inc., the Laura Ingalls Wilder Pageant Society and the Mitchell Prehistoric Indian Village.
This second round of grants for 2023 will be used to assist with a project to preserve specimens at the Mammoth Site in Hot Springs, offset advertising and marketing expenses for a planned radio show being produced by the Laura Ingalls Wilder Pageant Society of DeSmet and allow students to tour the Prehistoric Indian Village in Mitchell for free.
“The Mary Chilton DAR Foundation reviews applications for Regular Grants three times throughout each calendar year. We are pleased that the grants awarded during this second review period will assist a diverse group of organizations and projects throughout the state of South Dakota,” Tammy Nordermeer, Grants Committee Chairperson, said. “And, I would like to take this time to remind everyone that the deadline to submit applications for our third grant cycle for the 2023 calendar year is September 5.”
Here’s more about all three grants and what each organization will be doing with its funds:
The Mammoth Site of Hot Springs, South Dakota, Inc. ($7,500)
More than 60 mammoths have been unearthed in Hot Springs since the site was discovered in the 1970s, and many of those bones are given a closer inspection when they are found. The Mammoth Site of Hot Springs, which sees 100,000 visitors a year, will use its DAR grant for a boom microscope and desk in its prep lab, helping its team of all-women scientists discover even more secrets on the bones.
“Sometimes we find little tiny mollusks — just a tenth of an inch thick. It’s pretty amazing,” said Diane Gross, development officer at the site.
Gross said the microscope also will have a screen so guests to the site can see what researchers are looking at in real time.
Laura Ingalls Wilder Pageant Society ($1,200)
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Laura Ingalls Wilder Pageant Society started a radio play to replace its popular outdoor pageant that was cancelled. The radio show was a hit, and it continued even after the outdoor events resumed. The Pageant Society will use its grant to advertise and promote its 2023 show, which will be performed Dec. 9 in front of an audience.
It will also be livestreamed online and later broadcast on TV on Christmas Eve thanks to South Dakota Public Broadcasting. This year’s show will be about Badger Clark, who was the first poet laureate of South Dakota. After the performance, there will be a panel discussion about the pageant and Clark’s legacy.
“We wanted our radio shows to make it more educational, including the live panel. This grant will help us with that,” said Snookie Stoddard, a Pageant Society board member.
Mitchell Prehistoric Indian Village ($3,300)
With an annual budget of about $300,000, admission fees are critical to the operation of the Mitchell Prehistoric Indian Village. So when the idea came up to allow kids free entry, support was there, but grant money needed to fill in the gaps.
“We needed a way to allow the children in for free without affecting our overhead,” executive director Cynthia Gregg said. “It certainly has increased attendance. We want to teach that Native American history is an amazing subject.”
Kids under the age of 18 are allowed in free, while college students can get in for $5 with a student ID. The village allows visitors the opportunity to travel back in time to see how prehistoric Native Americans lived, and it contains the only archeological site in the state that is open to the public.
About Dorothy Day Davenport and The Mary Chilton DAR Chapter and Mary Chilton DAR Foundation:
Dorothy Day Davenport was an original founding member in 1915 of the local Mary Chilton Chapter of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR), a charitable organization established in 1890 to promote historic preservation, education, and patriotism. Members have an ancestral connection to men and women who had a patriotic role in the American Revolution.
Dorothy Day Davenport was a member of the Board of Directors of the Sioux Falls Argus Leader and served as its President. Mrs. Davenport’s bequest to the Mary Chilton Chapter made possible the formation of its Foundation in 1987. The foundation administers grants and awards funds provided by her gift.
Since 1987, the Mary Chilton DAR Foundation has made over 500 grant awards totaling in excess of $3 million. These awards have made a significant impact through community and statewide initiatives, helping preserve South Dakota’s pioneer spirit, and democratic past, honoring veterans, and expanding educational horizons. Grant awards have been made to nonprofit and civic organization projects and for educational programs, first-year teacher grants, and scholarships in Sioux Falls and South Dakota