FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Sept. 17, 2021

CONTACT: Jeff Mammenga, Media Coordinator, 605-773-6000, jeff.mammenga@state.sd.us

Pierre man to share his “Prairie Memories” at Cultural Heritage Center program

PIERRE, S.D. – A collection of weekly columns by Gary Heintz for the Pierre Capital Journal have been gathered into a book titled “Prairie Memories,” which Heintz will discuss during a program at 7 p.m. CDT (6 p.m. MDT) on Thursday, Sept. 30.

Heintz will speak in-person at the Cultural Heritage Center in Pierre. Guests may register at sdhsf.org to attend at the Cultural Heritage Center or virtually via Zoom. Everyone is welcome to attend the free program.

Heintz believes writing down memories and sharing them is a way to tell the story of our lives to future generations. He will talk about the reason he wrote the column during the mid-2010s and will read several columns during the program.

Heintz owned State Farm Insurance Agency in Pierre before retiring. In his newspaper columns, he shared his memories of a youthful business venture into raising Red Wiggler worms and of his May Day fiasco when a girl caught and kissed him. He also wrote about his first toy horse that was silver with a red saddle and bridle, big, kind eyes and four black hooves that covered the wheels on which he glided. Readers came to know Heintz as a man who enjoyed his family, the western way of life, horses, dogs, music, and growing up in Harrold.

“Gary encourages people to write down events, places, and people of importance to them and share them with others,” said Catherine Forsch, chief executive officer of the South Dakota Historical Society Foundation. “Otherwise, all their grandchildren and future generations will know of them is their name and what they did for a living. None of the color of their lives will be there.”

The foundation is the nonprofit fundraising partner of the South Dakota State Historical Society and is sponsoring the program.

Heintz will sell copies of “Prairie Memories” at the program.

Those who would like more information about the program or need assistance in registering for it may call 605-773-6006. People interested in becoming members of the State Historical Society can call 605-773-6000.

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About the South Dakota State Historical Society

The South Dakota State Historical Society is a division of the Department of Education. The State Historical Society, an Affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution since 2013, is headquartered at the South Dakota Cultural Heritage Center in Pierre. The center houses the society’s world-class museum, the archives, and the historic preservation, publishing, and administrative/development offices. Call 605-773-3458 or visit www.history.sd.gov for more information. The society also has an archaeology office in Rapid City; call 605-394-1936 for more information.

About the South Dakota Historical Society Foundation

The South Dakota Historical Society Foundation is a private charitable nonprofit that seeks funding to assist the South Dakota State Historical Society in programming and projects to preserve South Dakota’s history and heritage for future generations.