Winter 2009

Cover Story: Linda Hasselstrom Writes the Land

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Twenty-five years ago I sat in the Dahl Fine Arts Theater listening to a woman read poetry about dead animals, dead people, and the South Dakota prairie. Her words, rhythms, and images kept returning to me:

Spring is here:
The first skunk lies dead…
—from Spring

I’m on the hill above the town, with
buffalo grass and graves.

Brandon Sterling: Piano is his Forte

Meet Brandon Sterling. He’s a sophomore at Northern State University in Aberdeen. A Rapid City native, Brandon has plenty of interests: soccer, ultimate Frisbee, and he works out regularly. He loves the outdoors and has always dreamt of being a doctor.

Oh, and he plays piano too.

Sterling, at only 19 years of age, is quickly becoming a household name, both in the Black Hills and throughout South Dakota. He released his first CD, titled “Fresh Out of My Mind” in...

Learning Curve: Hockey 101

My learning curve assignment for this issue of FACES was to gain some understanding of the great sport of ice hockey from both a player’s and a spectator’s standpoint. The first phase would consist of learning some hockey fundamentals from Romeo Vivit, a talented local player, teacher, and all-around supporter of the sport. In the second phase I would attempt to become a hockey fan, and possibly, by extension, I’d learn to loosen up and have fun in large crowds...

Justin Speck and Joey Lore: A Couple of Catalysts

I nervously walked around the corner of the hallway into the Central High Theatre. I’d been in the space before, but only when it was being used as a glorified lecture hall. A few kids, maybe a dozen or so, were scattered in the corners of the first few rows. They were seniors, mostly, a couple of whom I knew. It was my first meeting with the Central High School Players—our school’s drama club. We were there to talk about auditions for the upcoming production of A...

Bruce Backens: Tribute to Scotty

For a nearly 25-year-old memory it is surprisingly vivid. It was a Saturday night in the early-eighties and I was with my brother Pete in the second-floor ballroom of the Alex Johnson Hotel in downtown Rapid City. There was a bar, loud music—disco perhaps—and a dance floor full of people. One of the perks of going out with my handsome younger brother was that it freed me from the awkwardness of being asked to dance. Despite being only 17 months apart in age and looking enough...

Laurie Kampfer: Mustang Love

Blond pony tail swaying, Laurie Kampfer stepped up to the six-feet high pen to take her first look at the wild horse she would attempt to tame in Wyoming’s first Mustang Challenge. The scrawny black four-year-old, his face gouged with fresh injuries, had no intentions of giving up his freedom without a fight. He tore about the corral, his hooves streaked with green paint where they had struck the corral panels. “He was terrified,” Laurie recalls. The petite Custer woman asked...

Winter 2009

Cover Story: Linda Hasselstrom Writes the Land

Brandon Sterling: Piano is his Forte

Learning Curve: Hockey 101

Justin Speck and Joey Lore: A Couple of Catalysts

Bruce Backens: Tribute to Scotty

Laurie Kampfer: Mustang Love

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