Thursday,  May 30, 2013 • Vol. 14--No. 314 • 25 of 36

(Continued from page 24)

sion has not been made on how to advertise the property, and the group hasn't settled on an asking price, he said.
• "We'd be willing to talk and negotiate," Quinkert said.
• Blue Cloud Abbey, which served as a retreat center for groups and individuals, was founded by the Benedictines in 1950. Although prayer is the most important aspect of Benedictine monastic life, the order describes it as a life of balance and variety with prayer, reading, work and recreation. Monks had their own private rooms but gathered several times daily for meals, jobs, services and prayer.
• The abbey also housed the American Indian Culture Research Center, a collection of more than 4,000 books, 40,000 photographs and various artifacts. The museum pieces found a new home late last year at the Center for Western Studies at Augustana College in Sioux Falls.
• Harry Thompson, the Center for Western Studies' executive director, said visitors have been able to view some of the Blue Cloud Abbey quill and bead work pieces in the Plains Indian Gallery for the past six months.
• Long-term plans call for a redesign and expansion of the gallery, which is one of the largest ethnographic exhibits in the region. The center has applied for a federal grant to digitize images from the Blue Cloud collection and place them in an online exhibit, Thompson said.
• Some of the donated books duplicated what is already at the college, so the center donated them to several area libraries that serve Native American communities.
• "We're sharing the resources that were entrusted to us," Thompson said. "In this case, these are copies that duplicate what was already in the collection or in our own research library."
• Items in the collection not on public display are always available to researchers by appointment, he said.
• "We're always happy to make the collection available for research," Thompson said.

Deadwood to try free parking trial this summer

• DEADWOOD, S.D. (AP) -- The City Commission in the historic South Dakota tourist town of Deadwood has voted to create some free parking for visitors and residents during the summer months.
• The Tuesday night vote came after the town's business leaders said they would cover any loss from the 90-day trial. The city earned about $17,000 from parking meters in its lower Main Street lot during July, August and September last year.
• The Deadwood Business Club advocates free parking because members believe

(Continued on page 26)

© 2013 Groton Daily Independent • To send correspondence, click here.