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No More in Need of Gold

By: David Soma, Deadwood Alive
DEADWOOD—
“…And snow is falling fast
The tall pines sigh, howl and moan,
Responsive to the blast,
The shades of night are gathered
‘round;
The fire is burning low,
I sit and watch the dying coals,
And think of long ago.”
The Reverend Henry Weston Smith, 1876
We are immersed in a seago, like a fish in water. As the fish is grateful for its gift of water, so should we be grateful for our history. Our legends, myths and stories are nothing less than the record of mankind’s beating heart, the collection of our past thoughts and actions. Our current manifestation is a fact and so is the ever-present reality of all those who have preceded us and those who will follow us.

History is so indifferently rich that we are free to choose the example or stories that inspire us and can best serve us to embrace our traditions.

Preacher Smith came to Deadwood as did so many pilgrims during the fabled gold rush of 1876. But Preacher Smith was in search of another kind of gold. He came here to reap the spiritual riches to be gained from comforting and ministering to the needs of others. Like our current workers, he did what ever he could to make Deadwood a good place to be: he built cabins, cared for the sick, performed the first marriage, baptized the newborn, and comforted the dying.

Preacher Smith’s spiritual gift to Deadwood can allow all of us to be grateful for this time and this place and its bounty of heritage. Grateful for the work we all perform.

Grateful for the beauty that surrounds our small piece of the earth. Grateful for the thousands of guests who visit Deadwood. And, grateful to the dead who have left us such a shining path of history to follow and build upon.

During this time of thanksgivingwe all renew ourselves by giving thanks for our many blessings: friends, family, jobs, security, freedom, life and our spirit. And it is in the spirit of Preacher Smith that we should give thanks, especially in Deadwood, for our past, for it is our history that will last through eternity.

“When I sit upon Zion’s Hill,
No more in need of gold,
I will sing with those
Who love me still
The songs from long ago.
And, when I think back upon
This happy day
Under this glorious Black Hills’
sky,
I will think that it was so long ago,
And wonder,
Yes, I will wonder if it were
really I In Deadwood.”
Preacher Smith, August, 1876
Deadwood Gulch, Dakota Territory On behalf of Deadwood Alive, andour families,“Thank you, Deadwood.”