A lifetime of Sunrise Services: the lost years

This is part three 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 1960s was a decade of change in the U.S., and also for the area churches and the Easter Sunrise Service at Mount Rushmore National Memorial.

It was during this time that the Congregational Church denomination dissolved with major repercussions for both Keystone and Hill City. The  Keystone church joined the United Church of Christ denomination in 1961. Also in 1961, the newly incorporated (1959) Little White Church in the Heart of the Hills, became affiliated with a fellowship known as the Conservative Congregational Christian Conference. These moves led to major shifts in the Easter Sunrise tradition.

The April 17, 1960 Easter service was the last Sunrise Service of the decade; vesper services began in 1961. These services were spearheaded by the  Rapid City Ministerial Association. Historical records from the decade are spotty but indicate Keystone minister Rev. John D. Hollister participated in the 1960 and 1961 services. No Keystone pastor participated in 1965 and at some point in the decade Hill City stopped participating altogether.

An advertisement in the 1961 Rapid City Daily Journal indicated that The Buffalo Room at Mount Rushmore  would be open Easter Sunday serving both breakfast and dinner. The Buffalo Dining Room was replaced in major construction at the memorial in 1994.

The announcement also indicated the 3:30 p.m. vesper service in the amphitheater with speaker Pastor J. David Larsen. 

Rev R.L. Gowan was presiding minister at the April 2 service and the Rapid City Concert Choir also performed. Gowan would end up retiring in 1964.

The 1963 vesper service featured the Anthem by Voices from Rapid City Church Choir. Early 1960s Sunrise Service bulletins noted the closing song to be God Bless America, the tradition continued by Keystone’s Lois Halley.

The April 19, 1965, 10 cent edition of the Rapid City Daily Journal featured headlines reflecting the tumultuous times: “Korea may use Army on Students,” “Copters Shot Down 9 Americans Killed” and “Pickets at White House Continue War Protests.” A picture of that year’s Easter Sunrise service from  shows a glorious sunny day.

Evening vesper services continued until 1967 when the Easter service tradition itself took a hiatus. 

Thus, for the first time since the tradition began, the last three years of the 1960s meant no Easter service of any type occurred at the memorial. It is unclear why this may have happened but it would be through the efforts of Rev. Sam Cushing that the tradition was resurrected in the 1970s. 

Join us next week as we continue to explore the Easter Sunrise Service at Mount Rushmore National Memorial. A special thanks to Historian Eilleen Roggenthen from the  First Congregational Church of Keystone for the historical preservation and collection of documents, pictures and stories.