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The History of HAHA
One of three founders of The Hermosa Arts and History Association (HAHA), Rick Mills links the organization’s founding to a celebration of Hermosa’s Centennial Year in 1986. Among other accomplishments, the effort generated a community history book titled Hermosa 1886-1986, which helped focus the community’s attention on its origins and culture during a festive four-day event. The organization’s whimsical acronym—HAHA—testified to the founders lighthearted determination to continue their efforts. “More than any one thing,” Mills has said, “the attendees enjoyed the fellowship of the gathering. Friendships were renewed, and other relationships grew from the new connections between the participants.” |
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In 1999, HAHA was established as a non-profit 501 (c) (3) organization dedicated to preserving the history and cultural resources of Hermosa, Custer County, and the area. HAHA’s mission statement defines the group’s purposes:
-- The preservation of our local history.
-- The education of our youth.
-- The promotion of visual, written and performing arts in Hermosa.
-- We encourage Community involvement.
-- The preservation of our local history.
-- The education of our youth.
-- The promotion of visual, written and performing arts in Hermosa.
-- We encourage Community involvement.
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Therefore, in 2000, when the Hermosa Masonic Lodge began planning to demolish the historic building they had used since 1929-- originally the Hermosa School, built in 1889-- in order to build on the same location, HAHA, led by Mills and others, arranged acquisition of the old Masonic building as a memorial and museum.
“We couldn’t stand to see a building with so much history of the area torn down,” he explained. |
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The governing board and members of Hermosa Arts & History Association envision the Museum as a place where information, displays, speakers, performers, artists and other forms of media and interpretation will tell the story of the area from all perspectives. Additionally, educational experiences and interactive youth support will occur in this environment and through outreach programs implemented for use in the local schools.
Members encourage new residents of the greater Hermosa Community to come to the facility to learn about the area, and with that understanding they may find ways to more fully integrate their families and children into the rapidly expanding community.
Members encourage new residents of the greater Hermosa Community to come to the facility to learn about the area, and with that understanding they may find ways to more fully integrate their families and children into the rapidly expanding community.
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About 40 volunteers from the surrounding region are contributing labor, skills, and money to restoration of the historic building. Improvements have included a new foundation and a bathroom compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act along with a storage area. Insulation and electricity have been added to the largest room on the main floor, which was then paneled in pine car-siding. A beam was installed to help support the weight of the upper level. Despite many changes, many of the building’s windows still contain their original 1889 glass, one of the reasons the structure was placed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Hermosa Masonic Lodge on February 17, 2009.
In addition, individuals and institutions have purchased bricks engraved with memorial names and messages, now being used to create a walkway and patio surrounding the building. Work on the second floor is projected to include a kitchen and an elevator. |
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To finance the restoration, the organization has applied for and received grants from a variety of state and national sources, including Deadwood Historic Preservation, as well as personal donations. Volunteers also bring baked goods to sales, solicit and donate items for silent auctions, and set up furnishings and booths for special events involving the community. A popular event is the Christmas Carnival, an annual thank-you to the local citizens, featuring children’s games, a free soup supper cooked by HAHA members, and a celebration of the past year's events.
During 2017, two professionals available through a Collections Assessment for Preservation Grant administered by the Foundation of the American Institute for the Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works (FAIC) visited the HAHA museum to provide an in-depth assessment of the building as well as the organization’s current collection, and plans for future museum collections as well as our outreach to the community. Assessors spent two days studying the organization and meeting with members, and will return for a follow-up meeting during the coming year.
Though these efforts center on a particular building in a small western South Dakota town, its effects have spread across the country as former Hermosa residents learn of this effort to preserve our mutual history. From Camp Crook to Thunder Hawk to Sisseton, from Ardmore to St. Francis to Vermillion, South Dakotans have come to see the history of this pioneering County of Custer, and returned to their own communities with a renewed sense of their history and culture.
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History compiled by Linda M. Hasselstrom, HAHA Vice President, 2018
During 2017, two professionals available through a Collections Assessment for Preservation Grant administered by the Foundation of the American Institute for the Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works (FAIC) visited the HAHA museum to provide an in-depth assessment of the building as well as the organization’s current collection, and plans for future museum collections as well as our outreach to the community. Assessors spent two days studying the organization and meeting with members, and will return for a follow-up meeting during the coming year.
Though these efforts center on a particular building in a small western South Dakota town, its effects have spread across the country as former Hermosa residents learn of this effort to preserve our mutual history. From Camp Crook to Thunder Hawk to Sisseton, from Ardmore to St. Francis to Vermillion, South Dakotans have come to see the history of this pioneering County of Custer, and returned to their own communities with a renewed sense of their history and culture.
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History compiled by Linda M. Hasselstrom, HAHA Vice President, 2018