Little Fellow ~ Clark SD
Posted by: 
MNSearchers
N 44° 52.677 W 097° 44.102
14T E 599910 N 4970170
Quick Description: This prairie scene, six miles east of Clark, is based on a touching story of a pioneer lad and his love for the train that passed near his family’s tar paper shack.
Location: South Dakota, United States
Date Posted: 2/22/2007 1:46:15 PM
Waymark Code: WM18DW
Views: 20
Long Description:Big Bill Chambers, conductor of the train, spotted the boy as the
train passed by, and they would wave to each other. Upon learning
that the boy had died and was buried by the tracks, and that his
family had moved on, Big Bill Chambers became the Little Fellows
family. He made arrangements for the care of the grave and the
annual stop of the train to leave a bouquet of flowers. After Mr.
Chambers retired, the freight train crew took over the care of the
grave and the annual service on Memorial Day. Mr. Chambers died in
1931 and eventually his son-in-law, Vince Ford of Huron, along with
the assistance of the Clark Rotary Club, continued the service. Mr.
Ford came a number of years to lay the wreath at the service.
Following his death, a granddaughter of Mr. Chambers, Mrs. William
Burke of Everett, Washington, sent money for the flowers, and the
Rotary Club continued the service for another few years. Following
her passing, the entire service has been carried on by the Clark
Rotary Club. 2003 was the 51st year that the Rotary Club has
organized this service. Laverne & Betty Kranz provide the
entrance to the grave for the annual Memorial Day Service.
The service has been held annually since 1890. It has rated
national attention, and in 1950 Lowell Thomas’ story of the pioneer
lad took precedence over the Arlington Cemetery story. The story
has been told and rewritten many times. It appeared in the Rotarian
Magazine, True West, the January 1989 issue of Train Magazine, the
May 1971 issue of Dakota Farmer, the SDSU Dakotan for 1966, the AAA
magazine Home Away in 1995, and in Railroading in the Land of
Infinite Variety. Dr. Roger grant did a study and wrote the most
accurate report which appeared in the national issue of Trains, and
the South Dakota Historical Society Quarterly Edition. The Clark
County Courier stories involving the services through the years are
recorded on tape at Pierre. The service has been covered by local
TV stations.
Today the grave is surrounded by a link fence, and road
improvements have been made for those attending the annual service
each Memorial Day, sponsored by the Clark Rotary Club. The club is
now working on improvements to the site, including the addition of
a caboose.