from South Dakota....a great story

ROSHOLT SD—The SNOW (Somewhere North Of Warm) Pod had their coming out party this past weekend. Unfortunately, it was scheduled opposite the Iowa State, so only four Chillini's made it up there. The SNOW Pod was the passion of Sara Broz, who some of you met in Rosholt last year, and again in Terlingua in November. Through her efforts, the Pod was formed and plans were made for it to become a CASI affiliated Pod this September. Unfortunately, Sara passed away last July at the age of 42. This was a tragedy for the small, tight-knit community surrounding Rosholt, and for CASI. Sara had a lot to give, and a bright future in CASI. As you might expect, this weekend was all about Sara, and rightfully so. Bill, Cheryl, Dianne, and Donna were more than happy to represent the Chillini and Proud of Texas Pods at this event.
Friday night started the weekend with inaugural SNOW Pod Cookoff. And the awards ceremony started as it should with Sara's niece, Amanda Ostby being the first number called. You could feel the joy. It continued when Sara's husband, Chad, placed seventh. Then came Donna sixth, Dianne fifth, Cheryl second, and Bill first. Bill also placed second in show, to qualify.
They also had a barbecue competition for Saturday. Just after the band quit and the bar closed at 2AM, the generator started. At least it was easy to get up early, for a 2PM turn-in. The most interesting thing happened Saturday morning, when this ice-fishing trailer/camper moved in next to us. These things are really cool; the wheels fold up, and it squats on the ground. There are trap doors in the floor to be used for fishing, or as needed. It belongs to the Ostby family, and just may make an appearance in Terlingua, as you will see later. It was a beautiful day and there was a lot of activity on Main St, Rosholt. After a rather emotional tribute to Sara, we got down to awards for chili, barbecue and the kids mac and cheese contest. (Ya' know, for a town of 400, they sure turnout a lot of people.) It started with Sara's nephew, Justin Ostby (the ice fishing trailer guy) placing ninth. Then Dianne got eighth. Then Dale Ostby, Sara;s brother-in-law won fifth place. When Amanda Ostby, Justin's wife got fourth, I figured the family might have some qualifiers. When I got third, Amanda qualified. When Cheryl won second place (again), Dale Ostby qualified, and the celebration was on. Then, Claudette Ostby, Chad's sister and Dale's wife became the SD State Champion. You could not have written a better ending for the weekend.
Oh, Donna. Well, Donna didn't get any badly needed chili points Saturday (lost the 10th place tie-breaker), but she did clean-up in the barbecue.
Sunday morning all was quiet in Rosholt, and Donna and Dianne and Bill & Cheryl left town at the same time. They headed home to Texas, and the Pierson's headed west to Mt Rushmore. But, we will not forget what happened that weekend in Rosholt SD.