Craig Cassens and Jo Auch come together just prior to the Class B state championship game at the Barnett Center in Aberdeen Saturday night, March 20. Cassens and Auch both have ties to the Menno and Freeman communities; Craig, today the principal at Faulkton High School and a member of the South Dakota High School Activities Association board of directors, was teaching at Freeman Public 20 years ago while Auch was a longtime teacher and coach at Menno before stepping in as assistant executive director of the SDHSAA in 2008.

The Freeman Academy parking lot was the place to be for Schmeckfest food Friday afternoon, March 19. That's Head of School Nathan Epp helping a guest with an order during the 1 to 6 p.m. pickup time slot. The Schmeckfest Drive-Thru returns on Saturday, also from 1 to 6 p.m., and then again next Friday and Saturday. This is being held in place of the traditional Schmeckfest, which was canceled for the second year in a row out of concerns about COVID-19.

This is another new exhibit at Heritage Hall Museum & Archives and pays tribute to the early dairy farmers in the Freeman community. It's part of a major effort taken on by museum officials and volunteers to improve the collection and presentation at the historic building; the museum also announced this week the opening of a new service station exhibit modeled after the Freeman Junior College service station of the 1930s and 1940s. The public is invited to visit the museum during its extended hours in conjunction with the Schmeckfest Drive-Thru this Friday and Saturday and next.

This is Scott Brewer, the new chief of police for the city of Freeman. Brewer began his duties here late last month after moving from Baltimore, where his career in law enforcement goes back to 2003. He and his wife and daughter are living on Wipf Street and Brewer says he has enjoyed his short time here — that Freeman is the friendliest place he has been. For more on the new chief, check out the 5-Minute Interview in the March 18 issue of The Courier.

PART 1 OF 2 One year ago, Kerry and Lori Hofer and their four young children were just days into what may have been the first quarantine related to coronavirus the Freeman area had seen. The Hofers had been in Europe but were forced to return to the United States earlier than planned, finding themselves in a frantic race against time amidst escalating concerns about the spread and threat of COVID-19.

Andre Eisenbeis works with hunks of pork inside the maintenance building at Freeman Academy Wednesday morning, March 16. Eisenbeis was one of a dozen or so volunteers gathering to make Schmeckfest sausage in advance of the upcoming drive-thru days Friday and Saturday, March 19-20 and 26-27. About 6,700 lbs. of the popular Germans-from-Russia food will be sold; those wanting to purchase sausage and Country Kitchen items have been asked to do so through schmeckfest.com, with pick-up between the hours of 1 p.m.

Dr. Duane Pankratz receives the 1,000th vaccination shot provided by Freeman Regional Health Services around 7:45 a.m. Tuesday, March 16. The local health care provider was busy with vaccinations again Tuesday morning and is currently providing second shots to those 65 years and older, as well as first shots to pre-K through college faculty and staff, students living in dorms, daycare providers and funeral service workers.

Thoughts of spring took a step back as a new workweek began thanks to a rain/snow mix that marked Sunday and Monday morning. Locally, rain that began falling turned to snow late Sunday night night and left around 4 inches — and it was heavy. As a result, NorthWestern Energy was out Monday morning tending to a number of power outages around town; here, workers are pictured at the corner of Cherry and Seventh streets, where large downed branches lay on the side of the road. School was canceled Monday at both Freeman Academy and Freeman Public; Menno was off anyway.

A lighted cross at Bethlehem Reformed OPC stands out against the night air — a familiar symbol at the Freeman church.

Hundreds of geese sought refuge on Silver Lake on Friday, gathering in various spots across the familiar body of water located six miles north of Freeman. Geese have been seen and heard in recent days and weeks as they migrate north — a seasonal ritual that suggests warmer days are ahead. To see a video of the geese, shot on the east side of Silver Lake on Friday, click here.