BROOKINGS The Lake Campbell Sportsmens Club will hold its 11th annual history night ice cream social on Aug. 4 at 7 p.m. at its clubhouse, 46776 229th St., Brookings, on the southeast shore of Lake Campbell.
Club President Chuck Berry will show photos that reveal interesting connections between Lake Campbell and local aviation events and personalities.
Berry has gathered aviation history photos and stories from area museums, history books, and Lake Campbell neighbors. His presentation will also cover the early history of aviation in Brookings County, including the areas first airport at Midway Park near Volga.
The historic Hagensicks Amusement Park at Lake Campbell had an air field. A 1930s bathhouse at the Country Club beach had to be modified because of the bathers concern for modesty when barnstormers flew over.
In modern times, the lake has been the target of flyovers by the South Dakota Air National Guard. Lake residents Gina and Mike Bertrand had careers in the Guard. Lake residents remember the roar of Harry Thompsons WWII trainer plane as he swooped low over the lake. Thompson is a Sportsmens Club member.
One winter, lakesters watched as planes landed on the ice, and the pilots walked to the Chris Funk residence for brunch. Drones, float planes, and para-sails have cruised the lake.
The skies over Lake Campbell are a training area for the South Dakota State University aviation program. The SDSU aviation program has training courses for some 200-plus students studying for mechanical or piloting careers. Lake Campbell residents notice when the Jackrabbit plane engines go silent above the lake and then start up again as the students practice emergency maneuvers.
Several Lake Campbell residents are connected to SDSU aviation, which has a history beginning in the 1930s. Lake Campbell residents Chris Funk and Zach Boyle have led the airplane mechanics program. Russ Bortnem learned to fly at SDSU, and then went on a 10-year career as a Navy pilot and a 35-year career in commercial aviation.
Berry will conclude with a special topic titled watching Lake Campbell from the skies.
He will show historic aerial photos, and review current sources of aerial photographs of the area, including a video of the lake taken during a recent low-level fly-over.
The pilots and aviation workers introduced in Berrys talk will be present for further stories and discussions during the ice cream social at the conclusion of the event.
The club holds other social events as well, including a spring fish fry and a fall bingo fest.
The club holds a family ice fishing derby, helps organize the August carp fishing tournament, and meets with South Dakota Game Fish and Parks biologists twice yearly about conservation topics. Conservation literature is available at the clubhouse, and there are permanent displays about lake history, conservation, wildlife art and taxidermy.
For more information, contact Berry at 605-690-1252.
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