The Ethical Culture Club / Forum was organized in Brookings, South Dakota in January 1906. It was then called the Ethical Culture Club; according to one of its historians. It held its original meetings on Sunday and "was to be a substitute on a basis of liberal theology for church going". These early days notwithstanding, the Forum, as it became known after October 14, 1910, was essentially a meeting for the free discussion of any topic of interest. Topics included, child labor laws, the establishment of a public library, promotion of a league to enforce peace, and the use of metric measures. Many of these topics, particularly the building of a library, actually became calls to action.
The Forum was made up of members of both the college and the town with the majority being drawn from all parts of the College. According to William Powers, Forum historian, the outside membership has been distributed among different professions, including clergymen. Membership seems to have only been limited to men, with the added provision that all members were expected at some time to present a paper.
Governance of the organization was made up of a president, vice president and secretary treasurer who made up the executive committee. There were also two standing committees for programs and for membership.
David Allan Evans was born in 1940 in Sioux City, Iowa, and began his undergraduate studies on a football scholarship at Morningside College in his hometown. During college, he discovered a passion for writing and began producing poetry and short stories. He went on to earn additional degrees from the University of Iowa and the University of Arkansas, where he completed his MFA in Creative Writing.
Evans moved to Brookings, South Dakota in 1968, where he became Professor of English and Writer-in-Residence at South Dakota State University. A prolific author, he has published five volumes of poetry and contributed to or edited seven other books.
In 1974, Evans became the first South Dakotan to receive a National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) fellowship in creative writing. He has also received writing grants from the Bush Artist Foundation in St. Paul, Minnesota, and the South Dakota Arts Council. His poetry, fiction, and essays have appeared in numerous literary magazines and journals, as well as more than 60 anthologies, including Best Poems of 1969 (The Borestone Awards), Heartland II: Poets of the Midwest, The Norton Book of Sports, The Sporting Life, Imaging Home, Poetspeak, Motion: American Sports Poems, and Fathers.
His poetry—particularly his sports-themed writing—has been widely reprinted in anthologies and K–12 educational textbooks. Evans has served as a Fulbright Scholar to China twice, with appointments in Nanjing and Guangzhou. Over the span of more than 25 years, he has held writing residencies with the South Dakota, Iowa, and Wyoming Arts Councils.
Evans is featured in several major biographical directories, including Contemporary Authors, International Authors and Writers Who’s Who, and Who’s Who in America.
In the fall of 1952, a group of faculty members, with the support of the South Dakota State College administration, organized a private stock corporation to address the growing need for faculty housing. The corporation aimed to acquire property and construct apartment buildings primarily for faculty rental, with assistance from the Federal Housing Administration. It developed and owned two six-unit apartment buildings located north of Sixth Street between 16th and 17th Avenues, across from Hillcrest Park. The Faculty Housing Company operated until January 21, 1963, when stockholders voted to dissolve the corporation at a special meeting.
The Freemasons. Grand Lodge of the State of South Dakota is the governing body for Freemasonry in South Dakota. Established shortly after South Dakota achieved statehood in 1889, the Grand Lodge oversees the activities of local Masonic lodges across the state, setting regulations, granting charters, and organizing statewide events and communications. Freemasonry, a fraternal organization with historical roots in medieval stonemason guilds, emphasizes moral and spiritual development, brotherhood, charity, and civic responsibility.
In South Dakota, the Grand Lodge publishes materials such as proceedings of annual communications, newsletters, ritual guides, and historical summaries, which document the administrative and ceremonial activities of Masons in the state. These publications also often include member directories, lodge reports, and commemorative content related to Masonic anniversaries and public service. The Grand Lodge has historically played a role in community leadership and philanthropy throughout South Dakota.
The Scotland, South Dakota chapter of the Future Farmers of America (FFA) is an active organization dedicated to promoting agricultural education and leadership among high school students. Established in the mid-20th century, the chapter has a long-standing tradition of excellence in FFA judging competitions, community service, and student leadership development. Under the guidance of dedicated advisors, the Scotland FFA has produced numerous state contest winners and alumni who have gone on to leadership roles in agricultural education and industry. The chapter remains a vital part of the Scotland School District and continues to participate in local, state, and national FFA programs.
Dr. Norman Paul Gambill was born on April 3, 1941, in Dade City, Florida, to George Washington Gambill IV and Dorcas (Darling) Gambill. He was raised in Florida and Georgia.
A scholar of art history and film studies, Gambill earned degrees from Emory University, the University of Iowa, and Syracuse University. He also graduated from Emory at Oxford, a preparatory school in Atlanta.
Gambill served as an art history professor at the University of Illinois and South Dakota State University, where he chaired the Visual Arts Department for 26 years before retiring in 2010. Over a 48-year teaching career, he educated thousands of undergraduate students and mentored graduate students in areas including Asian art, film art and design, women artists, and international cinema.
An enthusiastic admirer of Oscar Wilde and Orson Welles, Gambill was particularly known for his lectures and writings on Welles’s Citizen Kane, which inspired many to pursue film studies. His scholarly work took him across the country and around the world, culminating in his participation in the Oxford Roundtable in 2010.
He published extensively in academic journals and respected film magazines. His research on 1930s American cinema and its cultural impact is featured in his book, Ritz and American Mediocrity. In recognition of his academic achievements, he was inducted into Phi Kappa Phi in 2006.
Gambill was also deeply involved in fundraising and arts advocacy. He founded the annual ""Evening for the Arts"" dinner and auction and organized the popular Valentine’s Day ""Chocolate Auction,"" both of which raised scholarship funds for art students. He also co-founded the DVAGI (Design and Visual Arts Group Inc.) fundraiser, which supported student travel to national art and design events through the auction of professional design services.
Known for his hospitality, Gambill frequently hosted gatherings in his 19th-century home in Brookings, showcasing his art collection and entertaining friends with generous food and wine.
Dr. Norman P. Gambill died of heart failure on July 12, 2016, at the Neighborhoods at Brookview in Brookings, South Dakota.
Gamma Sigma Delta, also known as the Honor Society of Agriculture, is a professional agricultural fraternity. The South Dakota State University chapter was established on May 27, 1958, to encourage and recognize high standards and achievements in agriculture. In 1974, SDSU hosted the national Gamma Sigma Delta conclave, themed “Agriculture in the Modern World.” The chapter was the bronze runner-up for the Outstanding Chapter Award in 2010 and received the Chapter Enrichment Grant in 1998. Notably, Dr. Oscar E. Olson, a chapter member, won the International Distinguished Service to Agriculture Award in 1979.
Field of Activity: Geography
Delta Zeta Chapter (South Dakota State University)
Wayne Scott Gardner was born January 11, 1920, and died April 19, 2014. He served three years in the United States Army Air Corps during World War II, including a tour of duty on Guadalcanal. He married Leona Oberly in Clifton, Colorado.
Following his military service, Gardner pursued higher education under the GI Bill, earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees in botany and plant pathology from Utah State Agricultural College in Logan. He was subsequently employed as a civilian researcher by the United States Army in Utah and later conducted environmental and crop research for U.S. Steel Corporation in Utah and Pennsylvania.
At the age of 43, Gardner returned to academic study under a Regents Fellowship at the University of California, Davis, where he earned a Ph.D. in plant pathology in 1967. His doctoral research focused on barley stripe mosaic virus, and he received recognition for outstanding accomplishment in electron microscopy at UC Davis.
Gardner was hired as an associate professor at South Dakota State University in Brookings, where his teaching and research emphasized the use of the electron microscope in plant pathology. He also served on a United States Agency for International Development mission to Botswana. While living in Brookings, he participated actively in Toastmasters and the Pitchblenders Barbershop Chorus. Gardner retired from South Dakota State University in 1985.
Gordon Richard Garnos was born on April 6, 1935, in Presho, South Dakota, to Carl and Louise (Schnert) Garnos. He served in the United States Air Force from 1954 to 1958, and earned a B.S. degree from the University of South Dakota in 1964. Garnos began his journalism career as a reporter for the Watertown Public Opinion, later leaving to serve as Executive Vice President of the American Cancer Society of South Dakota for two years. He returned to the Public Opinion in 1968, advancing through various editorial roles, including Area Editor and News Editor. In 1980, he was named Editor, a position he held until his retirement in 2002.
Following his retirement, Garnos continued to contribute to journalism by writing the weekly opinion column Seeing South Dakota, which was syndicated in nearly a dozen newspapers across the state. He continued the column until his death in 2016.
Garnos received numerous honors for both his journalism and civic service. He was named South Dakota Newsman of the Year in 1981, received several Golden Apple awards from the South Dakota Education Association, and was recognized as a Lusk Fellow by the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication at South Dakota State University. He was inducted into the South Dakota Newspaper Hall of Fame in 2007 and the South Dakota Hall of Fame in 2010. In addition to his journalistic contributions, he served on the Watertown City Council from 2002 to 2010.
He married Elizabeth McFarland in Chester, England, on September 7, 1958. They had four children: William, Heather Simmonds, Richard, and Christopher. Gordon Garnos passed away on December 9, 2016.
Gartner earned a B.S. in Range Science from the University of Wyoming, Laramie, in 1950, an M.S. in Range Science from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1956, and a Ph.D. in Range Science from the University of Wyoming, Laramie, in 1967. He began his career as a Veterans Instructor in Agriculture in Newcastle, Wyoming, from 1950 to 1952. After serving in the U.S. Army from 1952 to 1954, he worked as a Junior Specialist in research at the Experiment Station, School of Forestry, University of California, Berkeley, from 1954 to 1955. From 1956 to 1964 he was an Assistant Professor of Range Management at South Dakota State University in Brookings. In 1967 he served as a Research Assistant in the Plant Science Division at the University of Wyoming, Laramie, and later that year joined Colorado State University, Fort Collins, as an Associate Professor of Range Science for the 1967–1968 academic year. In 1968 he moved to the National College of Business in Rapid City, South Dakota, where he was Chairman of the Division of General Education until 1969. He then joined the Department of Animal Science at South Dakota State University’s Agricultural Research and Extension Center in Rapid City as an Associate Professor of Range Science, a position he held from 1969 to 1975. Since 1975 he has served as Regional Coordinator for the Society for Range Management and the Old West Regional Commission range resource program.
He has been a life member of the Society for Range Management and served as its Director from 1972 to 1975. He was Vice President of the South Dakota Section of the Society in 1962 and President in 1963. Since 1970 he has been Newsletter Editor for the South Dakota Section of the Society for Range Management. He is also a member of Alpha Zeta (since 1949), Chi Gamma Iota (since 1966), Gamma Sigma Delta (since 1965), and Sigma Xi (since 1965). His research expertise includes plant ecology, fire ecology, range plant physiology, range soils, and range improvement and management.
Robert Brewster Gay was an American architect active in South Dakota. He became a member of the American Institute of Architects in 1964 and was a partner in the architectural firm Gass & Gay from approximately 1961 to 1967. Gay’s work focused on civic and institutional design during the mid-20th century. He died in 1985.