Oldham, SD

Mike and Connie’s home away from home held an open house with great attendance. These are some pictures of the finished house, ready for rent by the night, week, or even longer if wanted.

Home Away from Home is ready and waiting for you to spend the night here in Oldham. We have completed most all the major renovations and are proud of what we have done. It was great to have our first guests and to get some feedback on what we need to add. We are hoping to get some pictures on the blog. If you are traveling through Oldham or comming to see family and need a place to stay give us a call. Mike and Connie Bickett

For sometime now the Convenience Store Committee has been working hard to find a place suitable for this endeavor.   Lots of time and hard work has gone into this.   Until very recently an answer to our prayers happened.   Glen Albers announced his intentions on purchasing the old Laudermat/Meat Market building downtown and his wish to turn it into the new Convenience Store/Morning Cafe.   He is in the beginning stages of securing the building.  Once that has been accomplished then it will be the Committee’s responsibility to help Glen clean up and beautify the building.     Those of you who signed up for the Convenience Store back in the circles, here is the chance to take part in your communities growth!  Stay tuned for further updates as we get them. 

On April 25 (I know I am a little late, but graduation is only two days away!) the OR Band traveled down to Kansas City, MO to perform at Music in the Parks. Friday morning in the sleet and snow, the band hopped onto a chartered bus and relaxed for about eight hours. After our arrival, we went to Kauffman Stadium and watched the Kansas City Royals defeat the Toronto Blue Jays. Following the game, we watched a spectacular display of fireworks. On Saturday, April 26, the band rose early and performed two songs at a local high school. We then spent the remaining part of the day at Worlds of Fun. However, we did go back to the hotel in time for one more Royals game, which they defeated the Blue Jays again. Sunday morning we sadly made our way back home to over a foot of snow. We sure did miss that 70 degree weather back in MO.

Another school year is rapidly coming to a close and we will be honoring our graduates and sending them off on the next phase of their lives. Our big challenge is to create opportunities for our young people so they can be encouraged to return home and live here to raise their families. A big challenge indeed, but vital to creating a vital and prosperous community.

The May meeting is May 14 for updates on the projects in town. There will be sandwiches and soft drinks and a special guest presenter. This promises to be an interesting and informative meeting for all. Thank you to Glen and Darlene for arranging for the presentation.

The community has designated May for the Food Pantry. The Pantry is in need of non-perishable non-food items such as toothpaste, toilet paper, shampoo and other personal care items. We hope to get the whole community involved to restock the food pantry. Postal workers will be collecting items from the mail route also.

We will once again have the oportunity to host many riders in the Tour De Kota bike ride. We will have many of the same food booths as last year as they were big hits. {Especially the pie!} If your group or orginization from Oldham would like to help, please contact Connie B 482-8639 for more info. We especially encourage all local people to come out for lunch that day and visit with the riders, see their bikes, and promote our town. This is a great way to show our pride and tell of some of the sights in our area. See you there!

Hurrah! The sun is shinning and it’s going to be a cool but beautiful day in Oldham! We are working on the floors of “Home Away from Home” today. They have been stripped and will be sanded today. Hopefully by next week we can start the process of putting the house back together. [ Seems like I have said that before] The plumbing and electricial are wrapping up, so the floors and decorating are left. The latter being my favorite part. We are hoping to have an Open House Memorial week-end. Keep watching the blog for more updates.

Pictures provided by Darlene Duffy. You can view the before pictures in a previous blog entry. Just scroll down the page to see what it looked like before           

This is one of the first steps by the Horizons group and the OAIC toward accomplishing our strategic goals. This is the first house to be demolished to make building lots available free to anyone who will build a house on the lots. Once the clean up is completed there will be 4 lots available with room for 2 houses. The OAIC is also looking into the governor’s housing program and some other possible funding sources to get a jump start on development of affordable housing options. Check back later for more updates and after pictures.