A lifetime of sunrise services: give me shelter

This is part six of a seven-part series exploring the rich history of the Easter Sunrise Service at Mount Rushmore National Memorial, as the tradition will celebrate its 75th year on April 9.

 

The most recent years of the Easter Sunrise Service at Mount Rushmore National Memorial have seen a huge growth for the service, with participation at an all-time high. The service was attracting people from all over the world. 

Historian Eileen Roggenthen notes, “In 2015, a family from Wisconsin on a spring break ski trip in Colorado detoured at the three kids’ insistence to attend the 70th ceremony. They sat at my table for breakfast in  Carvers’ Cafe, making plans for just how they could detour through the Badlands, stop at Wall Drug and be home in time to get the kids to school Monday morning. The Dignity sculpture had not yet been created, so they saved some time at that rest stop.”

In 2011 a review of the Easter Sunrise Service popped up on Trip Advisor. The reviewer was a choir performer who noted, “in the past, the teen drumming group, Sheltered Reality, has performed with us. More recently, the musical groups have been more subdued, but just as uplifting.”

2005 marked the 60th anniversary of the Easter sunrise service at Mount Rushmore. It also is the first mention of the Fisher House in the Easter bulletin. Fisher House is a foundation supporting America’s military by providing temporary housing for family members to be near enlisted loved ones during hospital stays. 

In 2006, nearly 60 years after helping bring an old organ to the 1948 service, Jim DeNeui participated in the service once again by singing in the choir, reading scripture and offering a benediction as a lay pastor.

Also in  2006 the service began showcasing Sheltered Reality, a faith-based percussion group. The group was founded by Steve Schlosser with a mission of drawing attention to the crisis of homelessness and poverty, especially as it relates to teens and children.

The group aims to empower and encourage children to have dreams and follow them. The percussionists were famous for beginning each show with the song “Cuba Libre” by Gloria Estefan, a song Schlosser calls a “reflection on freedom.”

In 2010 the song was moved from the prelude of the Easter service to later in the service so that more people could hear its message. As Schlosser explains in the April 4, 2010 bulletin, “Cuba Libre has an important message for us all to think about….to truly live freely, thankfully and fully, as Chrsitians, we must fully embrace the real meaning of Easter; that Jesus Christ died for all of us so that we could live our lives, as Chrsitians, knowing that we are saved from sin, through Him.”

Most often there were over 100 drummers. Sunrise service audio engineer Loren Lintz remembers borrowing audio equipment when the group began its stint. Lintz also recalls that it was around 2008 when the National Park Service (NPS) no longer let him use their sound system. 

“We used to be able to set up the day before. Now I can place cords the day before but I can’t out in equipment until that day,” he said.

Lintz estimates sound check takes about 45 minutes and has to be done the day of  the Easter sunrise service. No small task considering most services begin at 7 a.m.

Sheltered Reality was huge and that may have been its eventual downfall. The group began to be featured “in concert” after God Bless America.

Drummers of all ages, from 6 to 76, spanning over 30 practice sites in 17 states came to the service in 2009. The Easter Sunrise Service bulletin from that year notes, “the Mount Rushmore Easter Service is the only time throughout the year that they are able to come together as you see them today.”

By this time the NPS had  begun to have the sound’s impact on the wildlife, integrity of the buildings, and the monument itself monitored. 

In 2010 the NPS set up decibel meters to monitor the sound level.This led to the park service decision to monitor noise escape, and to set up decibel meters in 2010. 

Despite the huge crowds the group drew, 2,000-3,000 consistently, obtaining permits became an issue and the general consensus amongst all parties was that either Sheltered Reality had to go, or the sunrise service had to go. Efforts were made to limit the number of drummers to 50 but Sheltered Reality refused to perform with so few percussionists and in 2011 the service went back on emphasizing the talents of  local musicians, singers and performers. 

Spencer Smith, a junior at Custer High School at the time, served  as pianist and choir director for Hermosa United Church of Christ and offered the service prelude.

Amy Woodward , Custer native and choir director for Community Lutheran Church in Hill City, and  Karen Kruse from the Little White Church, worked with the Sunrise Choir as they sang “Praise God.”

The Halley sisters, Linda Halley, Donna Grover, Kathy Gardner and Judy Dalton accompanied their mother Lois on piano.

Xantarra began providing coffee and cocoa for those in attendance in 2011, continuing to strengthen the partnership between the memorial and the local churches.

April 5, 2015 marked the 70th annual Easter Sunrise celebration at Mount Rushmore National Memorial. The service was hosted by both the Keystone and Hermosa churches. 

Pastor Ron Walker from the Little White Church delivered the opening prayer while Pastor John DeGroff from the Keystone USS delivered the sermon.

Lois Halley, accompanied the congregation for God Bless America on her electric piano. Halley, who has served as music director, performed vocally, played piano, served on the Parish Sunrise Planning Committee and helped cook breakfast at the church would play her last rendition of God Bless America in 2018.

It should be noted that the Easter Sunrise Service at the Mount Rushmore National Memorial took a hiatus in 2019 and 2020  due to  construction  at the memorial. The churches looked into other options but the service had grown too large for the Peter Norbeck Overlook. In fact the event was so large by this time that it needed not only bathrooms but a parking garage, as well.

The service was also canceled in 2021 due to COVID-19.

The 2022 service marked a full circle of sorts with Lois Halley’s daughter Judy Dalton, singing  an a cappella version of God Bless America to conclude the service.

Join us next week as we take a look at this year’s Easter Sunrise Service at Mount Rushmore National Memorial. A special thanks to Historian Eileen Roggenthen from the First Congregational Church of Keystone for the historical preservation and collection of documents, pictures, and stories.