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Cover of South Dakota History, volume 52 number 1

South Dakota History, Volume 52, Number 1

Volume 52, Number 1 · 5 articles

A missionary educator, a Jewish poet from Sioux Falls, an Indigenous singer, and an exciting resource for scholars of women’s history are highlighted in the latest issue of South Dakota History , the quarterly journal of the South Dakota State Historical Society.

Anna Amundson’s article “Rebecca Fusfeld: Jewish Prairie Poet” explores the life and poetry of Rebecca Fusfeld, a Jewish woman who immigrated to Sioux Falls in the late nineteenth century. Her poems, which many local publications featured prominently, illuminate the activities of the city’s vibrant Jewish community. Amundson holds a Ph.D. from Florida State University and currently teaches at Augustana University in Sioux Falls.

“‘I have felt a great zeal for this work’: The Educational and Evangelical Mission of Luella Belle Pettigrew,” by Lisa R. Lindell, narrates the work and travels of this missionary educator, a member of the influential Pettigrew family. Pettigrew used her leadership roles in several organizations to promote many causes, including girls’ education and temperance. Lindell is a catalog librarian at South Dakota State University’s Hilton M. Briggs Library.

In “‘Good Night, Irene’: The 1918 Influenza Pandemic and Irene Taluta Eastman,” Julie Dobrow and Raymond Wilson document the life of Irene Taluta Eastman, daughter of Dr. Charles and Elaine Eastman. Irene possessed a skillful singing voice, which she used to educate audiences about Indigenous culture. Her death after contracting what many at the time called “Spanish Influenza” deepened a growing rift in her parents’ marriage. Dobrow is director of the Center for Interdisciplinary Studies at Tufts University and Wilson is a professor emeritus at Fort Hays State University.

In a Dakota Resources feature titled “Feel the RAGE: New Directions for South Dakota Gender History,” Mary Andino showcases the research potential of the Rapid City Punk Rock Archive. Through analysis of a Rapid City feminist zine from the 1990s, she demonstrates how such sources can move women’s history in new directions. Andino is a former associate editor at South Dakota Historical Society Press and holds a Ph.D. in history from Washington University in St. Louis.

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In This Issue

  1. "Good Night, Irene": The 1918 Influenza Pandemic and Irene Taluta Eastman

    by Julie Dobrow, Raymond Wilson

    In “‘Good Night, Irene’: The 1918 Influenza Pandemic and Irene Taluta Eastman,” Julie Dobrow and Raymond Wilson document the life of Irene Taluta Eastman, daughter of Dr. Charles and Elaine Eastman. Irene possessed a skillful singing voice, which she used to educate audiences about Indigenous culture. Her death after contracting what many at the time called “Spanish Influenza” deepened a growing rift in her parents’ marriage.

  2. "I have felt a great zeal for this work": The Educational and Evangelical Mission of Luella Belle Pettigrew

    by Lisa R. Lindell

    “‘I have felt a great zeal for this work’: The Educational and Evangelical Mission of Luella Belle Pettigrew,” by Lisa R. Lindell, narrates the work and travels of this missionary educator, a member of the influential Pettigrew family. Pettigrew used her leadership roles in several organizations to promote many causes, including girls’ education and temperance.

  3. DAKOTA IMAGES | Winifred Hubler Speece

    Winifred “Wynn” Hubler Speece, known to many as the “Neighbor Lady,” was the voice of a popular South Dakota radio show for more than sixty years. Speece was born on 1 September 1917 in Marshalltown, Iowa. She grew up in Des Moines, where she later attended Drake University to study speech and broadcasting. After graduating in 1939, she began working as a commercial writer for WNAX radio in Yankton. The station, which initially operated out of the Gurney Seed building after its 1922 founding, featured local talent like Lawrence Welk. “Your Neighbor Lady,” a radio show created and written by Speece, began airing on the station in 1941. On the program, Speece offered recipes, discussed domestic activities, and shared humorous anecdotes from her daily life. Her program resonated with many Midwestern women. At the height of the show’s popularity in the 1940s and ’50s, she received over 250,000 letters from listeners annually. She continued to broadcast the show until 2005. Speece put the “Neighbor Lady” into print as well, writing a weekly column for South Dakota newspapers. She also published multiple cookbooks and toured the Midwest with live cooking shows. In 1946, she married Harry L. Speece, with whom she had four children. The South Dakota Hall of Fame inducted her as a member in 2005. She earned multiple awards for her work, including the Marconi Award for “small market personality of the year” and an honorary doctorate from Mt. Marty College. Yankton named her Citizen of the Year in 1991 for her involvement in the community. She died in Yankton on 22 October 2007. A memorial scholarship fund was established in her honor.

  4. Feel the RAGE: New Directions for South Dakota Gender History

    by Mary Andino

    In a Dakota Resources feature titled “Feel the RAGE: New Directions for South Dakota Gender History,” Mary Andino showcases the research potential of the Rapid City Punk Rock Archive. Through analysis of a Rapid City feminist zine from the 1990s, she demonstrates how such sources can move women’s history in new directions.

  5. Rebecca Fusfeld: Jewish Prairie Poet

    by Anna Amundson

    “Rebecca Fusfeld: Jewish Prairie Poet” explores the life and poetry of Rebecca Fusfeld, a Jewish woman who immigrated to Sioux Falls in the late nineteenth century. Her poems, which many local publications featured prominently, illuminate the activities of the city’s vibrant Jewish community.