Goodbye 2008 Hello 2009

Look at that sly look. He knows better than to try to share with the baby!

Fourth of July at The Barn.
Rally in the hills.
Rally in Wyoming?
Rally at The Barn!

The above are just a few examples of friends and family throughout 2008.



HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! (almost)

We will soon be walking into 2009!

2008 was a good year for us. We met a few new friends and managed to keep all our old ones. Don't ask me how we did that. It must be that our friends are very forgiving and patient.

We hope everyone had a happy and healthy time for the holiday season. That doesn't include healthy eating though, so you might still fit our criteria.

The Christmas Party at the Barn went over great. Everyone had a great time and the food was wonderful.

I hope everyone makes it out to ring in the new year with us tonight. We have tons of fun cracking "Last year..." jokes. "Hey Robert! I ordered that drink last year!"

There is nothing scheduled for 2009 other than the annual stuff like the rally and the 4th of July fireworks. If you have a hankering for a party but don't want to deal with people in your house bring 'em on down. Contact Robert, Jean or Holly at 605-787-5458

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

~Jeanie~

November Happenings

Hello again!
It is the first day of November and we've got something on our plates for today!

Saturday, November 1st (today)
Dutch Oven Cookoff
Supporting Working Against Violence, Inc. (WAVI)

1PM - Let the cooking begin
2PM - Public judging of Desserts
4PM - Public judging of Main Dishes
5PM - Dart Tournament

Tasting/Judging of the Cook-off is open to the public. All donations go to WAVI in Rapid City.

There is a $5 entry fee for the Dart Tournament. The dart tournament will run as a blind-draw-two-person team. There will be a 50% pay back with 50% going to WAVI of Rapid City.

Currently we don't have any other scheduled events for the month of November. I will update the site if we get something else booked.

November Birthdays
2nd Cindy
22nd Stacey
23rd Geoff

Not many birthday's for November. If you'd like your birthday added or schedule an event, please contact me at 787-5458.

~Jeanie~

Where did September Go?

Hello everyone.

I just realized I did not post a single thing in September. I've been staying home with the baby and haven't been keeping up on the happenings at The Barn nearly as much as I should.

Darts have started and we have seven teams that come spend every Tuesday evening with us. They all seem to have a great time and I wish I could take time to have a team of my own. I'm a horrible shooter but it's not about winning at The Barn (for me), it's about having fun. Don't quote me on this but I believe we have a traveling Cricket league that plays on Friday nights.

I don't have my birthday book in front of me so I can't list the birthdays for September or October right now. Imagine that. If you go back to past posts, you'll see that I do this every month.

We've been lucky to have some of our irregular, regulars come back since the rally. K-Bob and Linda stayed with us the first part of September with their babies, Marshall and Charlie. The two cute little Yorkies were so good while they were here.

Hopefully I will get my birthday book out and near the computer so I can start transferring those that we missed and those that are upcoming. Until then...

~Jeanie~

What was he thinking??!!

If you've ever been to The Barn you will know that Dad loves his politics. I find that he's right most of the time because he does his research before he speaks. However, this time, he's gone and done something I'm not so sure about!

2008 Sturgis Bike Rally

Click the link to see some of our customers pictures of the rally. I hope to add to the pictures soon. If you have any pictures of the rally go ahead and send them to me. I'll post them on here for all to see!!! Thanks.

**Click below**
2008 Sturgis Rally Pictures

These are pictures friends and relatives took and are sharing with us. Some are scenery of the hills and surrounding area, the biker scene and bikes and some are of our friends or relatives or relatives of friends. Did you follow that? Enjoy!
~Jeanie~

2008 Sturgis Bike Rally

Hey everyone. The day is almost done and we will have passed the half way mark of the Sturgis Rally. It's great once again this year.

We have lots of friends staying with us again and it's so nice to see them all. Some friends that have come in the past haven't all made it back but we hope they'll get here again by next rally. Some that haven't been here for several years are back. I find it amazing how you can just fall right back into a friendship that was made over a few days, several years ago. That should tell you how great all the people who visit us are!

People are still coming in, but some are already heading home. It gets harder every year to say "till next year."

I'm hoping to have some pictures to post real soon, but just wanted to let all of our friends know how much fun we were having this year. If they are here we hope they are having as much fun and if they were unable to make it, they are missed.

~Jeanie~

2008 Sturgis Rally

All of the scheduled events for July have come and gone and all is well.

I've already spoken of the great fireworks display but I wanted to say it again. I loved the show!

The Hamaker reunion went well. I think it was a bit smaller this year, but that only makes it easier to visit with everyone.

Kenny Miller and Friends Camping and Fun had a good turnout. We all got to see people we hadn't seen for a while and the music was beyond compare.

Kristy and Aaron's Wedding was wonderful. Kristy asked Alexandra to bring a flower up to represent my mother. Alex was so proud to have that honor and I want to thank Kristy for giving Alex the opportunity to be a part of something so special in her life.

The bride and groom were very fetching in their traditional outfits of wedding dress and tuxedo. And the children were all so amazingly adorable. The older girls are all at that age where a person can't tell if they are looking at a child one moment or a woman the next. It's hard to class them as cute or pretty because of that fact.

I have to say... brides are supposed to be pretty but Kristy has to be one of the most beautiful I have ever seen. This is no exaggeration and I'm not the only person who commented on her beauty. Several people came up to me and remarked on how pretty she was in that dress. What everyone was seeing was a happy woman who's inner beauty mingled perfectly with her outer splendor. I, as well as many others, were quite taken with her presence that evening.

The reception was held at The Barn after the wedding and I think everyone had a wonderful time. Kristy, Aaron and friends and family decorated everything spectacularly. Not only did I get comments about how beautiful the bride was I also got to hear all about how nicely they had the place decorated.

Lyn and Tim's reception turned out nicely as well. I did not work that day because Rick was working and I had the kids. I regret not making it down to see the bride and groom.

Congratulations to the two couples and may they have many, many happy years ahead of them!

Now we get to the rally part of the blog. We are all looking forward to it and dreading it at the same time. We look forward to seeing all our friends but dread the end of summer.

People start asking us right about now if we are ready for the rally. I say there is no getting ready for the rally, you try to be prepared and then hope things work out.

It's our busiest time of the year. Not that we haven't had more people in The Barn at one time but because it lasts about ten days. When it's all said and done and we are reflecting back, there has not been one year that things didn't go exactly as we'd hoped.

If you need to contact us about the rally or any other event give us a call at 605-787-5458 or simply post to this blog and I'll get back with you right away.

~Jeanie~

After The 4th!

It's July 5th and we had a great 4th of July!

The crowd was down this year, but we had a lot of competition this year. This is to be expected when the 4th falls on a weekend.

The Piedmont Parade was good again this year. I've taken pictures of some of our customers that entered into the parade. My camera didn't focus too well on a couple of pictures so you might have to use your imagination a little.



This is Michele on her horse. It's not the best picture and I apologize for this. Her's was the first picture I took of the day, if that can be used as an excuse.






The above picture is to show the off the Fire Department and the crowd that gathered for the parade.

Now, I'll show off the couple of good pictures I got of the fireworks display.

Thank you to everyone who was able to make it out to The Barn for the display. We hope everyone had a great time! We sure did!

The Hamaker Reunion has begun and we are hoping to see more of the family roll in today and tonight!

~Jeanie~

July

Hello once again from all of us here at The Barn!

We made it through June and all is well. Kathy's benefit was very nice and thank you to all who attended to help Kathy through this rough time.

Our golf tournament was fun again this year. Bill, Terry, Howdy and Peggy took first place. CONGRATULATIONS!

July is here and we have our plates full this month.

Birthdays for this month are:

8th Lee
15th Squeek
26th Charlie
30th Rick

Let me know who I'm missing! There HAS to be more.

Geoff and Sandy have made their way back to visit. We don't know how long they will be staying with us (hopefully through the 4th at least), but then we are going to try to ship them off to Tilford.

Events scheduled for July:

Friday, July 4th: Community Fireworks Show

Friday-Sunday, July 4th-6th: Hamaker Family Reunion

Friday-Sunday, July 11th-13th: Kenny Miller and Friends Camping and Fun

Saturday, July 12th: Kristy and Aaron Wedding Reception

Saturday, July 19th: Lyn and Tim Wedding Reception

If you'd like to book any dates with us give us a call at 605-787-5458.

Everything has been moving faster than hoped around here. There just aren't enough hours in the day, day's in the month, etc., to get done what needs to be done. Painting, mowing, cleaning up the yards and all kinds of other tasks have kept us all busy this summer. So busy that it's hard to believe the 4th of July celebration is just a day away.

The show is paid for by donations from the community and if you'd like to donate you can donate at the gate the day of the show.

Bring lawn chairs or blankets and enjoy the show! Please, no personal fireworks.

~Jeanie~

Hello Everyone!

We've been busy since I posted last. I don't have June's birthdays in front of me. Imagine that. I will post them in a separate blog.

So far this month we've had a HUGE party. Not something we are used to here at The Barn, but it was loads of fun. Rob, Gina and Al do a great job hosting this party for their friends every year. I think this is the third year they've done it.

I want to thank Rob, Gina, Al, Tom, Nancy, Chris and Holly for all doing such a wonderful job and making the party easy on Dad and I. The two of us are afraid of crowds but with friends like the afore mentioned we can handle anything!

Remaining June Schedule:
Saturday, June 14th: Benefit for Kathy Brennan
There will be a silent auction, food and drawings for various items
Black and White will be playing

Saturday, June 21st: Annual Barn Golf Tournament
Shotgun start at 8 AM at Tomahawk
Party after golfing at The Barn. We will have food and prizes.

The rest of the month is open so if you would like to schedule something just give us a call. 787-5458

I did remind everyone of Mother's Day last month so I better remind you that fathers day is coming up on Sunday the 15th. To quote Bill Cosby: "Dad is great... give us chocolate cake."

See you all at The Barn SOON.

~Jeanie~

May, 2008 at The Barn

I want to thank everyone for coming on the 3rd for both the fund raiser and the funeral reception. It was an honor to have both events hosted out of The Barn.

Again, our condolences go out to everyone touched by Paul and we thank you so much for choosing our establishment for your reception. I, unfortunately, was not able to attend the service at the church but heard it was very well done.

The Avon Walk for Breast Cancer fund raiser went very well. The food entered in the dutch oven cookoff was all spectacular. It was hard to choose and I found myself wishing I had more than one vote but... there can be only one (for each category). I think the barbecue ribs took first for the main dish and the caramel apple crisp won the dessert category. Mmmmm....

Dean's team won the dart tournament. I apologize for only listing half of the team to win this event but I'm afraid I don't know the other gentleman's name. I will hopefully find out and be able to post it here in the near future.

The baggo tournament was canceled because of the soupy wet conditions we had outside.

I've found our birthday book and am going to list our May birthdays in this blog. If I'm missing anyone please let me know so I can be sure to add them to our list! My list seems awful short so please, please help me fill it in.

May Birthdays
4th Cheryl
6th Tom
9th Doug
15th Peggy

Coming up:
I mentioned the "block" party in my last blog and I'm here to remind everyone it is this coming Saturday the 10th! Come and join the fun.

Also, just a reminder, to keep some of you out of trouble. Sunday, May 11th is MOTHERS DAY.

The following Saturday, May 17th, we will be having a wedding shower, so don't forget to bring the bride her gift!

Hope to see each and everyone of you for all our events. If you want to schedule something, get in touch with me, Holly or Robert.

~Jeanie~

May Happenings

Hello everyone.

I want to wish Doug a belated April birthday. We didn't get to see him on the 27th but a little bird reminded me that it was his birthday.

This month is beginning to fill up. This coming weekend we have a couple of events.

One of our beloved customers recently passed on and we will be having the reception after the funeral Friday, May 2nd. It's an honor to be able to help in any way we can. We send the family our condolences.

Saturday, May 3rd we are going to have people here for Avon Walk for Breast Cancer and the Dutch Oven cookoff. I really hope the weather cooperates. Right now it's blowing and snowing but I'm hoping it will clear up and warm up before Saturday.

Friday, May 9th is Dean's birthday! I don't have my birthday list here, but I happen to have talked to that same little bird who told me about Doug! I hope to get my birthday book down here and list all of May's birthdays in my next post.

Saturday, May 10th our neighbors are having a block party here, but I'm sure everyone is welcome. You don't need to live in such close proximity to us wonderful people down here to qualify for some fun.

That's all for the night. Have a great day!

~Jeanie~

Upcoming Events

Geese on the Hill

Winter Cattails

Good day everyone! I'm posting some new information. We are finally coming up on the busier season where we will actually have some news to post.

So far, the April calendar is still wide open. It was Alexandra's birthday the 13th and Marcia's is coming up on the 18th I believe and also Deb's birthday is the 19th. If I'm missing any birthdays for this month I apologize and maybe I'll catch them before the month is out.

Alexandra and I entered a photo contest hosted by The Dahl Fine Arts Center and the Rapid City Journal. My pictures didn't get accepted into the exhibition, but two of Alex's did! I'm so excited. The award ceremony is this Friday and we will be able to go see the competition's pictures, as well as her pictures, at the Journey Museum. Wish her luck! I've posted the two pictures at the top of this blog entry. There will be a peoples choice award given as well. If you are in the area and want to attend the award ceremony to vote it is at the Journey Museum, Friday, April 18th from 5PM to 7PM.

Our first booking of the year is Saturday, May 3rd.
Dutch Oven CookOff "Cooking For A Cure" Avon Walk for Breast Cancer.
There will be a silent auction, dart tournament and a baggo tournament. The dart and baggo tournaments have a $5 entry fee with a 50% pay back with 50% going to Avon Walk for Breast Cancer. The public judging of the Dutch Oven desserts begins at 2PM and the main dish judging begins at 4PM. If you have any questions or want to pre-register you can call Shelia at 484-4344 or email her at stewie@rap.midco.net.

~Jeanie~

Sunday Winners!

Today was an eventful day. I had the busiest Sunday I've had in months.

The Fools showed up carting food and good cheer and had a little get together today. I didn't know Dale "Glug" and Heather "Legs" were expecting a child. She's due in October. I think she said the 3rd or 4th. She's got a cute little belly already and is looking very good.

Walt's daughters are here. One from Florida and the other from Denver, and they all stopped by today. It was good to see everyone having such a good time.

Nascar was interesting. There were a few wrecks and both sheets had a winner. Try to show up when Holly and Shane are here, maybe they'll buy rounds in celebration! I don't know if Holly knows she's won but I'm guessing Shane doesn't have a clue. It'll be fun to see his face when he shows up the next time.

~Jeanie~

New Comments

Hi everyone!

I've had a few questions about our new baby. Rick and I named her Edy Elizabeth after her grandma Edy. She just turned 4 months old and I'll post a picture on here to show her off.

Edy and Proud Papa Rick
Taken 3/27/08 @ 8:40 PM

I sent out a few emails to let people know about our blog and I've gotten quite a few responses! I'm excited and if anyone wants to look at the comments all you need to do is click on the particular post you'd like to see the comments for.

Thank you to everyone who emailed me and thank you to all of you who sent us a comment! Please, keep 'em coming. We just love it!

Tomorrow is Friday and our busiest night of the week. I'm looking forward to seeing our Friday crowd again this week. Tuesday night darts were great once again and Wednesday night cards had a good turn out. Lee took everyone out and secured 1st place but Kim got 2nd and Tom took 3rd.

The weather has been interesting lately. It's been teetering between winter and spring now for a couple of weeks. One week we'll have 68˚F weather and the next it's snowing. It's snowing right now as a matter of fact.

Again, thank you to everyone who sent me a reply email and also thanks for the great comments too!

~Jeanie~

Spring has Sprung!

Hello readers! It's officially the first day of spring today and that means things should be picking up around here.

St. Patrick's Day was much busier than I thought it would be. Dad came down to help out. It started out slow enough but got much busier when our neighbors came to visit.

The Hamaker Reunion is officially set for the 4th of July weekend. July 4th, 5th and 6th. I'm getting excited for that one. The 4th of July is always fun, but I think it'll be even more fun now that we've got a reunion going on that weekend.

I was just told that the first day of spring is ALWAYS on the 21st, but my calendar says it's today, so I'm going to run with that, but if it REALLY is tomorrow... Happy First Day of Spring TOMORROW. Shows you what I know about holiday's and dates. ;-)

The dart league on Tuesday is going great. Everyone seems to have a good time. Poor Stacy got a hat trick during cricket. It's a good thing except we don't give out complimentary drinks for cricket hat tricks. Poor Stacy! Lucky US!

Well, have a great first day of spring either today or tomorrow.

~Jeanie~

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

Hello everyone.

It's one of our favorite customers birthday today! Happy birthday Kat! She stopped in last night so I don't know if we will see her again tonight. It would be nice though. Then she could have her free beer!

Nothing much has been going on lately. We've scheduled a few parties for the summer and I'll start posting that info when they get closer.

The Barn will be hosting their annual golf tournament in June. The time to sign up is NOW. It will be held at Tomahawk, June 21st at 8:00AM. We should have some prizes and food at the Barn after the wonderful day of golf. The menu has not yet been decided and probably won't be until we get a lot closer to June.

Easter is coming up real quick. There are no Nascar races this weekend because of Easter.

Speaking of Nascar... Jeff Burton won the race, helping Bob win the pool on the second sheet this week.

Well, I can't think of anything else I need to post so I'm going to get going.

~Jeanie~

Hello... Our First Post!

Hello! I'm starting a new blog for The Barn bar in Piedmont, South Dakota.

For those of you that don't know who we are, I'll give you a little background. My parents, Edy and Robert, bought this place over twelve years ago. It was the families dream to build a golf course on the property and we've been slowly piecing it together over the years.

There was a barn on the property that my father converted into a small bar to help make ends meet as we worked on the golf course. He and my mother agonized over a name for some time before they agreed on The Barn. Extremely imaginative! It really is! I'm not being sarcastic.

We are a small local bar with our regulars and irregulars. We also have a driving range we operate in the summer months so one of our sayings is, "The only place where it's legal to drink and drive."

The Barn is located in Piedmont, South Dakota. Before you go looking it up on a map, let me just say, we are at the foot of the Black Hills between the cities of Rapid City and Sturgis, South Dakota. Sturgis is famous for the motorcycle rally held there every August and we get our share of the people coming to visit the hills. It's approximately sixty miles driving distance to Mount Rushmore and about the same distance to Crazy Horse. There should be enough references to famous places in that last bit to give you an overall idea where we are before you look on a map.

We used to have a website, but let it lapse, so I'm starting this blog for any of our repeat customers or new customers that might have something to say or want to know what's been going on at The Barn lately.

I hope to hear from some people so don't be shy and post some comments!

~Jeanie~