The moon is pictured above a tree and beyond several of the flags at the Freeman Area Veteran's Memorial on a crisp but pleasant Thursday morning, Dec. 3.

A large threshing machine was the backdrop for a stimulating conversation about the agrarian roots – as well as the future – of a rural South Dakota community at Heritage Hall Museum & Archives in Freeman last week.

This photo of South Dakota's 1941 license plate may seem random, but there is some context behind it. You can find out what that context is in the Menno history section published in the Dec. 3 issue of The Courier — online later today and in print Thursday.

The pile of toys being donated for the Toy Box Toy Drive at The Courier office has been growing the past few days for delivery to the Bethany Food Pantry later this week. The public is invited to purchase and drop off their donation by Thursday, Dec. 3.

Doc’s Bar, which has operated as such from the 200 block of Freeman’s Main Street since the spring of 2019, has announced on Facebook it will be closing on Jan. 2, 2020, with a liquidation sale beginning today, Monday, Nov. 30.

The Sunday morning sun lights up a school bus parked in the Freeman Middle School/High School parking lot. Freeman Public announced on Friday its plan to gradually return to in-person instruction after a week of suspended learning. All students in grades K-5 will report to school next week while while students in grades 6-8 will attend Monday, Wednesday and Friday and students in grades 9-12 Tuesday and Thursday. Students are highly encouraged to attend school in person but may also choose remote learning if so desired.

Nicole Schnabel works with a decorative snowman outside her Freeman home on what turned out to be a beautiful late-November day. Nicole and her husband, Travis, took advantage of the nice Nov, 28 weather to decorate for Christmas in front of their Relanto Street home. With the Dec. 25 holiday up next, more and more will be lighting up their homes for the season.

This was what the Freeman clinic looked like prior to 1994, when a major capital project taken on by what was then known as Freeman Community Hospital and Nursing Home altered the entrance. Pre-1994, patients entering the clinic did so through the door near the intersection of Eighth Street and Walnut; the waiting room was located on the north side of the clinic, which included the large windows shown here.

A recent sunset lights up the western sky — a reminder of the beauty in the world. The following editorial appears in the Nov. 26 edition of The Courier and serves as a good reminder of what today is all about.   Being thankful this Thanksgiving Our opinion: There are so many around us who offer service, care and grace, yet we take them for granted. So let’s stop to offer our thanks.

Decorations dress up this Cherry Street home in advance of Thanksgiving, which is now just one day away.