Watertower, Lake Norden, South Dakota - Water Towers on Waymarking.com

Lake Norden is located in Hamlin County, South Dakota, and has a population of about 425, as of the July 2007, a drop of about 3 percent from the 2000 census.

Lake Norden was incorporated on April 18, 1916.

It is within a short commute to several lakes: Lake Norden, Lake St. John, Lake Albert, and Lake Poinsette. Great fishing and hunting activities are available for sportsmen.

Most of the population consider themselves of German descent and another 7 percent claim to be of Irish ancestry.

Lake Norden is the home to the only amateur baseball hall of fame. The Hall of Fame displays and preserves memories of baseball in South Dakota. It is open 7 days a week from May through October from 9 am to 7 am. Also, it is open by appointment. The exhibits and pictures were professionally refurbished in 2008.

A vision for the Armed Services memorial dates back to 1996, but it was not until March of 2006, when Jeanette Tuohino presented the idea to Mayor Janet Andrews. Mayor Andrews responded, "form a committe and run with it." Tuohino formed a committee that very afternoon.

The concept or design of the Armed Services Memorial is a continuance of the World War II Memorial Aircraft. The United States Air Force donated a historical aircraft in 1964 to the City of Lake Norden. The aircraft is dedicated to Norris Wenum in remembrance of his service to our country during World War II. The exterior of the aircraft was refurbished during the construction of the Armed Services Memorial. The Dedication Ceremony for the completed Armed Services Memorial was held on July 8, 2007 during the City of Lake Norden's Centennial Celebration. Each year on Memorial Day a Dedication Ceremony is held for the plaques purchased during the previous year.

The Don Christman Toy Museum has a large isplay of antique dishes and farm toys, a display of antique dolls, Terry Redlin prints "Harvest Moon Ball" and "Best Friends".

The Toy Museum shares its location with the Lake Norden City Office and is open Monday through Friday from 9:00 AM until 2:00 PM.

The Don Christman Toy Museum and the Lake Norden City Office have been in a shared location since January 2001. Donald Christman, a retired farmer, officially donated his toy collection and Terry Redlin prints, “Best Friends” and “Harvest Moon Ball”, to the City of Lake Norden on January 3, 2001. Preparations to house Christman’s toys began with the purchase of the building shell and lot from J&R Distributing in January of 2000. Completion of the interior of the building was achieved in two phases during the years 2000 and 2001 by Antonen & Hanson Construction, Incorporated. Upon completion of the building’s interior, the Lake Norden City Office was moved from the Lake Norden Firehall to the new location.

Donald Christman was born January 25,1922 in Watertown, SD to Florence and Clint Christman. Christman passed away on February 10, 2004. His parents lived and farmed in rural Hazel, SD. Upon his father’s death in 1945, Christman and his brother, Loren began farming together. Christman retired from farming on two different occasions. Both times, he decided he needed the challenge and activity of farming in his life. During the fall of 1990, a young man named Tony Opdahl helped with the harvest. In 1991, Loren Christman died from cancer. After his brother’s death, Christman retired from farming for the third and final time. Upon Christman’s retirement, Opdahl began operating and managing the Christman Farms.

Christman dedicated much of his retirement years to traveling and attending auctions, where he purchased antique toys, trains and dishes. He also collected prints by well-known artists like Terry Redlin and Rose Mary Mellet. Before Christman’s retirement, he was more interested in big equipment used for real farming. “But when I turned 62, I started collecting toys at auctions and toy shows and wherever I could find them because you have to have something to do after retirement.” Christman also stated that one year from Easter to Easter he “ traveled 20,000 miles attending auctions to purchase collectables.”

The initial collection donated by Christman to the City of Lake Norden took him seventeen years to amass. The first two collectable toys he purchased were a four row John Deere corn planter and an International combine. He began this collection in hopes that “someday the toys would be displayed in a museum for people to enjoy.” The toys were primarily purchased at auctions held in South Dakota, North Dakota, Minnesota, Nebraska, Iowa and Illinois.

The antique dish display was added to commemorate Christman’s 80th birthday on January 25, 2002. An additional display case was added in November 2002. Christman donated the lighted Terry Redlin print “Purple Mountain Majesty” on February 17, 2003. Christman continued to purchase toys and add them to the museum’s collection. In order to accommodate the increased number of toys, wood display cabinets were installed in the office front in June of 2003.

Christman chose Lake Norden because Mayor Larry Steffensen and the City Council welcomed the opportunity to provide a building, the Lake Norden Development Corporation donated the glass cases and because “it’s so nice to have the museum close to home.”


Courtesy of Lake Norden website.

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