The ACH features a large banquet room, moveable stage, and full kitchen and hosts many community events throughout the year. The Ashton Community Hall has received tremendous support from our own community as well as individuals and organizations from the surrounding area. We are grateful for our modern and efficient structure and the amazing volunteers who made it happen - razing the old building
and raising the new within eight weeks during the summer of 2018. Our mission is to keep alive that hometown spirit by offering various events and social activities as well as an affordable venue for private celebrations. We provide fun holiday programs for children throughout the year, as well as card tournaments, Bingo, and craft events. Our premier fundraiser is the famous Pheasant Season Steak Feed. The Ashton Community Hall evolved from the American Legion Hall, Bunce-Frost Post 221. We honor that connection each year with a Memorial Day program, meal, and cemetery service. This year we expanded our contribution to the community by offering scholarships for students of Northwestern and Redfield schools. Last year the Ashton Community Hall started a fund which was used to assist local families who had experienced tragic loss. With your on-going support we can continue these works far into the future, as well as provide maintenance and improvements to our facility and community. GENERATIONS OF COMMITMENT
(by Kaylin Frost, 2018)
If people want to see an example of community pride and commitment, they need to look no further than the small, rural town of Ashton, South Dakota. Located just off Highway 281 in Spink County, the city of Ashton was founded in 1879, but it was moved to the current site in 1881 in order to be located on a new railroad line. According to the 2010 Census, 122 people resided in Ashton, but the population is now below 100. Community and family go hand-in-hand in this small town, and the one place that residents have consistently gathered is at the Ashton Community Hall. The building was once the Bunce/Frost American Legion, but when membership numbers declined, the building became the Ashton Community Hall. The old hall served the community well and was utilized for the annual pheasant season steak feeds, for holiday events for kids at Halloween, Christmas, and Easter, for occasions such as Memorial Day, and for countless wedding dances, bridal showers, baby showers, pitch tournaments, funerals, and family get-togethers. The hall was the hub of the community, a meeting place for families in times of happiness and heartache. Over the course of several years, the building began showing its age and its condition. The roof leaked and repairs were made several times to no avail. The wood floor began to heave in several places, and after a particularly heavy, wet snowfall that left moisture dripping in the ceiling and light fixtures in the spring of 2018, it was decided that Ashton needed to replace the old hall with a new facility that would serve the community and be cost-efficient. It will long be remembered by Ashton residents that there was a funeral service held for Judy Frost and her brother, Chicken (Gary) Frericks, on June 4th in the old hall, and the building was demolished and the new structure erected and mostly finished eight weeks later on August 4th for the wedding reception of Austin and Ashlyn Zens. And it is no surprise that the families are related; Austin’s grandfather, Sut, was a brother to Judy and Chicken. Rural South Dakota communities are known for their work ethic, and this small community is no different than others across the state. Volunteers devoted several hours every day – sometimes from sunrise to sunset or later - to the demolition and construction of the new hall so that they could continue to meet and hold events in their community. Local farmers donated equipment for tearing down the building, trucks for hauling away debris, and tractors for packing the site to have it ready for concrete. A crew of 20+ people showed up to get the concrete poured. Many of those same people went to work on rafters and walls and the outside tin that happens to be the school colors of the Ashton Cardinals. Local businesses donated their services to help with plumbing and electricity. Community members then moved to the inside of the building – putting sheet rock on the walls, setting plumbing fixtures, running electrical wires and installing lighting, sanding and staining trim boards, setting cupboards, painting, and all of the other jobs that come with putting up a new building. Many days saw three generations of family members working side by side: Terry Frost, his son Travis, and his grandson Trevor spent countless hours on the project. The Fehlman’s were another 3-generation family who contributed: Ralph Fehlman, his son Kenny, and Kenny’s son, Jacob. Frank and Ruth Dvorak, Wayne and Penny and their children were another 3-generation family who volunteered, as well as Henry and Sherelle Zens, their daughter Brittany and her son, Stetson. The project brought together friends and relatives alike with the goal of improving their community. And while those who were able pitched in to work on the building, others in the community did their part by making sure the workers were very well fed by supplying breakfast, lunch and evening meals and making sure the coolers were stocked with cold beverages – all donated by local residents. The generosity in donations of time, labor, money, food and services is greatly appreciated by the Ashton community. The new Ashton Community Hall is not quite complete; the floor needs to be finished, and some other projects remain The Community Hall board continues to look for ideas to raise the funds to help pay for the work that has already been completed and for what still needs to be done. When looking back to those eight weeks during the summer of 2018, it isn’t necessarily what was accomplished that is amazing – it is how it was accomplished. The dedication and hard work of those who made this project come together is a testament to the community pride and commitment that will stand for future generations in Ashton, South Dakota.
