Douglas, Sprague inducted into Legends of Dakota Country Music Hall of Fame

South Dakota has some new legends in the Legends of Dakota Country Music Hall of Fame (LDCMHF). Hill City’s very own Pegie Douglas and Katie Sprague (Lautenschlager) were inducted Sept. 24 at the Moose Lodge in Rapid City, along with 15 other musicians. 

Both Douglas and Sprague were familiar with the honor and had attended the inductee ceremony in the past to support friends. However, neither thought they would ever be inducted themselves. 

Sprague was nominated for the LDCMHF by Brenden Hendrickson, who was in charge of the house band as well as an inductee. Hendrickson told Sprague he nominated her, and she would soon be hearing from Maynard Kadinger. 

“And I was like, ‘Well, Pegie needs to be in it. If I’m going to be in it, she needs to be in it,’” Sprague said. So when Kadinger called, Sprague nominated Douglas.

While at a restaurant in New Mexico, Douglas too received a call from Kadinger. She said, “I could hardly hear him. There was all this noise in the background. So he started telling me about it, and then I started crying.”

Douglas said she was honored to be inducted, and to Sprague she said, “That was really sweet, Katie. I’ll always be indebted to you.” 

During the ceremony  the house band made up of former inductees or those being inducted including Sprague provided entertainment. 

“They had a lot of local musicians,” said Douglas.

Then each inductee was called up and presented with a poster. A little bit about each inductee was shared, and after that they got to perform three songs. 

“Katie played her song, and then she brought the house down with ‘Orange Blossom Special,’” said Douglas. 

“Yep, I left the band behind because it’s really fast,” Sprague said. 

Meanwhile, Douglas has her own band called The Badger Sett Band which Sprague is a part of. 

“We did Badger Clark, Hank Williams and an original song,” said Douglas. 

At the end everyone got their picture taken and the inductees were given their plaques. 

The main requirement for being inducted into the LDCMHF is the inductee must have 25 years of music experience. Sprague added that it’s generally people that have performed a fair amount as well. 

Sprague has deep roots in the area since she was delivered by the same doctor in Hot Springs who delivered her dad. 

When she was little Sprague pretended to play violin with a ukulele and a Lincoln Log. She started taking piano when she was 6 because her brother was doing it and she didn’t want to be left at home. At the age of 10 Sprague started flute, and at 12 she started playing a real violin. 

“Ever since I started playing seriously, I’ve just loved it,” said Sprague. “I was very self-motivated. My mom didn’t have to tell me to practice.” 

“We started a family band pretty much instantly once we all learned instruments,” Sprague said. 

When she was around 13, Sprague and her brother played at a bull sale where an artist saw them and wanted them to play. 

“We started here actually in Hill City. We played on the street in front of an art gallery, and people just tipped us. And we got our first gig from that, and then we played for 12 years doing different gigs,” said Sprague. 

The Fiddlers Three was started in 1999 and later became Heirs of Baird when Sprague’s brother got married and more instruments were added. 

“We traveled quite a bit. We went to Missouri, Illinois, North Dakota, Montana and Nebraska,” said Sprague. They also had a dinner show at High Country Guest Ranch for four years and a dinner show in Keystone based on Mount Rushmore.

When the band broke up, Sprague started playing with other bands.

“At one point I was playing with six different groups,” she said. 

Today Sprague is a part of the Black Hills Symphony Orchestra, New Cambria String Band and The Badger Sett Band. She also plays with the Ramblin' Rangers when they are in the area. She can play the violin, viola, cello, flute, harp, guitar, mandolin, ukulele and bodhrán.

“I enjoy it. I feel like it’s a gifting, and that I should use it,” said Sprague. 

When she was 19, Sprague also started teaching music lessons out of her bedroom after a friend asked to be taught. Eventually, Sprague started teaching more people, and she received additional students when her teacher moved away and recommended her. 

Katie’s Strings Studio is now based out of Rapid City where Sprague teaches violin, viola, guitar, mandolin, ukulele and beginning cello.

“I’m just really thankful for the community that music gives,” Sprague added. “It’s kind of my identity. Music is a big part of my life.” 

In regards to the LDCMHF induction, Sprague said it was nice to be recognized. 

“I just always like to give glory to God because He’s the one who gifted me. He deserves the glory for everything,” she said. 

Meanwhile, Douglas said, “I’m not a musician. I’m just an entertainer.”

Douglas was born in Omaha, Neb., and grew up in North Carolina, but her parents were from South Dakota. Although her family was not musical per se, Douglas said her father loved music. 

“Me and my sisters; I had five sisters. We’d turn music on in the living room and dance. That was a big dream to just sing and be famous,” said Douglas. “I always wanted to play music.”

Douglas’ love of music began when her friend taught her how to play the ukulele.

“We’d just walk around playing the ukulele, tiptoe through the tulips and stuff like that,” she said. 

After the ukulele, Douglas took folk music lessons and learned four chords. In high school, she discovered the autoharp, which she played for a long time. Then recently she started playing the upright bass as a retirement plan in case her voice ever gives out. 

“Because I still wanted to play music,” said Douglas. “It’s like an obsession. It gives me meaning.”

“I discovered Badger Clark in 2007, and I started putting his poems to music. I didn’t mean to. It just happened. And I started volunteering at the Badger Hole in Custer State Park, and I thought, ‘Gosh, this guy has had such a great life. He writes such wonderful poetry that the whole world should know about it.’ And so I thought the best way to do it is through music,” said Douglas. 

Douglas wanted to tell a story. So she got some fellow musicians together and wrote the narration of Clark’s life interspersed with music. This became The Badger Sett Band in 2012. 

“We developed our own little show, and we’re still doing it to this day with very few changes,” said Douglas. 

Although it was scary starting out, Douglas said they did good and “We got a lot of encouragement from the rangers at Custer State Park. They were very supportive.”

After a while, Douglas started doing stuff with South Dakota Humanities, and said, “I get to present the program all over the state with that. And then I developed this Hank Williams program, and I share that with the South Dakota Humanities and anybody that will listen to me.” 

“It’s been amazing. I never dreamed it would be like this,” said Douglas. “It’s just been wonderful.”

Besides her own band, Douglas is a part of The Potter Family Ladies Plus Three, New Cambria String Band and the Ramblin' Rangers when they are in the area. Lately, she has also been playing on her own at nursing homes, memory care centers and retirement homes. 

When asked what kept her performing, Douglas answered, “I bought all these clothes.” 

“Really seriously, some days I just want to give it up, and then I say, ‘Well no, I got all those clothes,’” said Douglas. 

Her favorite part of performing is getting on stage, connecting with the people she is playing for and connecting with the other band members. 

The LDCMHF plaque is the second award Douglas has received in her musical career. The Badger Sett Band also won the CD of the Year from the South Dakota Country Music Hall of Fame for “The Music of Badger Clark Vol. 2.”

Douglas will be performing at Badger Clark Day in Custer State Park Oct. 14. To learn more about her, go to pegiedou

glas.com.