Hello and welcome to Dakota Life by Michelle Van Maanan.

While having dinner at a New York resort in 1853, railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt complained that his potatoes were cut too thick and sent them back to the kitchen.

The angry chef responded by slicing them paper thin, frying them, and sending them back to the chef's dismay.

Mr.

Vanderbilt loved them, and eventually so did the rest of America.

Today, the potato chip is one of the most popular snack foods in the world.

Our first segment takes us to Clark to meet a family that, through homegrown methods and a one of a kind factory, are doing all they can to satisfy South Dakotans cravings for their favorite snack food.

Have you ever wondered what it takes to get a spud from this to this?

Lots of hard work, dedication, and cottonseed oil, which are provided by the folks at Dakota Style Chips.

Just outside of Clark.

These spuds may come in looking kind of round and plump, but they leave looking thinner with industrial strength.

It all begins with a good wash down, as shift supervisor Pauline Anderson explains.

We start with a raw potato that comes in out of the potato storage, and they're in a truck that's in a truck bay, and from there they're run into a slicer, and then they're washed and they're scrubbed off clean.

And then from there, they go into a fryer and they're fried about ten minutes, and then they drain for about ten minutes and on to a salting table where they're salted and ready to be packaged.

Sure, anyone can turn a dead spud into a championship with the right tools.

But folks like Pauline and the owners of Dakota style chips depend on a little elbow grease and a fast set of hands.

So much of our processing is still done by hand.

There's a gentleman that, And a gal, too, that, slices the anything that has got a spot or, is going to make it harder to sort of later on if we can, if we can chop off a bad piece of a potato like an I, with one cut, then when it gets made into a chip, it might be 15 chips.

After getting sliced, which takes a lot more to sort out.

So it it makes it a lot easier and cost efficient to do it earlier on.

From there they go into, Hopper, which measures the weight because they're batch potato chips.

We do it one batch at a time.

So to get it perfect, we weigh each one out.

They drop into a fryer, a 400 gallon fryer with cottonseed oil, and, they're sliced up, a little thicker than most potato chips.

Then they fry for about 9.5 minutes.

And they come on automatically when the temperature gets cool enough.

Again.

And, they'll sit there and cool a little bit and, the next step is seasoning, which is still done by hand.

We actually have a season or a gal that will hand season the chip she puts the seasoning on in typically the salt and then hand mixes the batches.

And and then they're, they're poured into a, a big well, it's like a vibrating table.

And we have two women on either side and they hand sort out all the bad chips.

Any burnt or stuck together.

That's also done by hand here.

Not only are some of these South Dakota grown potatoes given special treatment, they're also given a variety of flavors.

The mesquite barbecue we have honey mustard, salt and vinegar, parmesan and garlic, sour cream and cheddar cheese and jalapeno.

I guess I like the regular the best.

After a brief bathing of flavor, it's now time to separate the good from the bad.

From there it goes into sorting, and that's probably the most important part of the job.

Or of our product is a sorting, because the quality, I think, is what really stands out with us.

They sit there and just throw out the bad chips.

Anything that they wouldn't want to eat out of a bag of potato chips they throw away.

We throw away a lot of potato chips in a in a day.

People usually are looking for a nice light or a real whitish looking chip.

A real bright yellow or white chip if they've got a dark spot on them.

They don't want them.

They're looking for.

We think they're looking for a real crunchy chip.

And that's what we really try to do stay with.

We also throw ones away with bubbles, and we get a lot of calls from people that say they want chips with bubbles in them.

But there are a lot of people that don't want them with bubbles, so we throw those away too.

From cutting to sorting, the whole process takes about 20 minutes.

The chips are then packaged and ready for shipment.

A lot of people think that it just comes in a, a bag.

You know, that we get a bag and then put potato chips into it, but that's not really the way it works.

What we do is we get these rolls and as you can see.

The the ingredients, which is on the back, the skew, which is on the back.

And this column here is on the back of the bag.

We get a 60 pound roll of this film and our bag or.

Makes it, makes it round, seals the bottom and then seals the bag and then the chips drop in.

And that seals the top.

I guess they're probably shocked at how simple process it really is.

You know, it's not a real complicated.

With the exception of some of the equipment, it's not that complicated a process.

And it's it's still in a barn.

Did he say barn?

Well, the barn wasn't really our decision.

The former owners started in.

It just because it was their space.

And they kept growing and growing and growing.

And now the walls of the barn are bulging with all the equipment.

But it's it's kind of it's kind of unique.

I don't think there's probably another chip company in the nation that is making potato chips in a remodeled barn.

How many other chips can be made in a chip barn?

It's an old barn that, we manufacture.

Honest to God, it's probably the old homestead barn.

And it's just been kind of reconstructed to, you know, fit our needs.

And we've added some warehousing, and, you know, we may have to add on, but I think the basis is still going to be that old barn.

We bought it from the Campbell family.

And, they are the originators of it.

Clark is the potato capital of South Dakota.

So, you know, we have a lot of farmers around here that do farm potatoes, and the Campbells themselves did farm them.

Although these spuds come to be transformed into a chip, suddenly with human like qualities.

Well, once in a while they'll see something that just kind of catches their eye.

They'll see a chip that goes by that looks like Jay Leno, or, might look like Superman's logo or a heart or something like that.

Matter of fact, the fella that slicing the potatoes.

I went up there yesterday to help him out during breaks, and he had a bunch of smiley faces.

The eyes just were in the shape of smiley faces.

So he had them all stacked up there so I could look at him and make his day a little easier.

By the time I get them at the general, they're they're, potato chip, you know, but the the girls that that do the frying, they see some different faces come up there in the winter, sometimes better than other ones, you know, but it's a potato is a potato.

While these plumpy spuds leave with a leaner appearance.

How do Rick, Jody and the rest of the gang keep the pounds off with so many temptations?

We all kind of police ourselves.

You know, you have to.

You have to draw the line.

It's, We call it quality control when you go by and snatch a few chips, but in reality you just want to eat a few and.

But, you know, you can't just sit there and eat and eat and eat or it's going to start to show, which is music to any spuds here whose only hope is to make it out the sorting table and eventually into your home.

Although South Dakotans like to claim these handmade chips as their own, Jody and Rick have decided to let others sample their tasty treats.

Besides the traditional methods of distribution like grocery and convenience stores, they now sell their Dakota style chips worldwide through the internet.

While the All-American potato chip has become popular everywhere, some All-American things still remain for the most part American.

The crack of the bat, the smell of hot dogs in the air, and an umpire crying out play ball mean nothing to people in Europe.

But here they mean one thing to everyone.

As sure as the boys of summer are getting ready to take to the field.

Mascots of all shapes and sizes are getting in shape as well.

In our next story, we visit with the mascot of the Sioux Falls Minor league baseball team and discover how, on a lark, he became a Canary.

On many a warm summer evening.

Baseball fans pile into their local ballpark to watch their hometown heroes take on the visiting team at a program for their $2.

After a requisite stop at the concession stand, they settle into their seats for a night of family entertainment.

And what would a night at the ballpark be without the antics of the team mascot?

The Sioux Falls Canaries mascot is K.G., loved by young and old alike.

He spends his evening entertaining fans and signing autographs.

So just how do you get to be the mascot in the first place?

Mainly just, luck.

I guess you could say.

I was just making small talk with a friend of mine.

Last March, my junior year in high school, and I was just asking her, you know, what she had planned for the weekend, and she told me that she was going to try out for the mascot for the Canaries, and I was like, wow, that'd be a really fun job.

And so she kind of encouraged me to come and try out.

And so I just thought, what the heck?

You know, I thought it might be a fun job.

And I came and tried out and I ended up getting it, and she did so, but she was pretty good about it.

One of the duties of the mascot is to make an appearance at any pre-game activities that are held just outside the stadium.

But as game time approaches, K.G.

heads inside to take a break and get ready for nine innings of fun.

Well, the game starts, and once the national anthem goes, it's about the time that I go in to get ready.

And I'm introduced in the middle of the first inning and we, they announce CG, and then I come out and I throw a bunch of balls out to the crowd, try to get them a little rallied up.

But once I put the hat on, you know, I don't talk.

I, I don't ever talk to even our employees or things like that, or even the handler who follows me around.

I don't talk to them unless it's an emergency, unless someone could get hurt, you know, otherwise that keeps the fun in it.

And that's.

That keeps the character of cage alive.

Anyone who has seen Kagi in action knows that he has a very distinctive personality, but just how much of that persona comes from being in the costume, and just how much of it is Nate?

You know, I, I don't know, it's it's weird because when I, when I walk along the concourse, I'm somewhat reserved.

When I'm hanging with my friends, I'm sometimes reserved and I'm sometimes really crazy.

But when I get in the cage, his suit, I don't I don't care.

You know, who knows if it's me or who doesn't know it's me.

If I if I have a friend in the stands and they know an inside joke and I can kind of act it out or something like that to them and make them laugh, and then that's great.

You know, and they'll then they'll kind of see a little bit of Nate and Cagey or people who have no idea who I am.

I mean, then you never know what I'm going to do just because if they don't know who you are, you might as well have even more fun with them.

So it's it's, you know, sometimes it's different.

If it's extremely hot, the, you know, running a long distance, I mean, being in country and stuff, my stamina is okay.

But I mean, running always with the mask and everything.

It's like not being able.

You can't get as much air, and so you're going to sweat a lot more.

If you sweat more, it could finally soak through the suit, and then you're wet.

And then people, you know, you can't go sitting on anybody's lap or anything like that.

So that will sometimes affect it.

If it's extremely hot.

Like, today is a beautiful day with a little bit of breeze sweat.

So that won't really affect and it'll just be a beautiful day for a game.

Some days it'll rain before a game and so the field will be wet and I'm doing a promotion or a little skit on the field and I end up doing a cartwheel.

Then my hands become wet, and so I can't shake many kids hands.

So it's just you just got to kind of pay attention and know what your surroundings are.

You kind of have to when you're looking at something, you know, if if, if you're walking out around in the concourse or something without a mask on, you can pretty much look and you can kind of scan up the stands and everything like that.

But when you're when you have the suit on and the mask is covering, you have to kind of scan and focus on something.

If you're looking for, you know, someone to go up and mess around with or something like that.

So I kind of the visual is a little bit limited.

Sometimes I'll, my head will be turned this way and I'll, I'll go to walk too soon before I turn like this.

And, you know, little kids, you can't see them under under your legs or something.

And so, you know, you might knock them down or something like that.

It they, you know, never get hurt or anything, but it's just something you don't ever want to do.

And you try to take an extra second or, you know, make a joke of it and, you know, put your head down or something like that.

So there is somewhat of a danger, for the kids if they're not paying attention.

And also, I mean, for the person in the suit.

Sometimes kids forget that it is, a person or, kids will just like to, you know, I don't know what it is, but kids like to see that physical, you know, abuse or something, and they'll pull on the tail or they'll they'll punch him, you know, and and it's a little kid.

So it's not like it really hurts, but you just try to, you know, not not egg that on at all.

Natick spends an incredible amount of energy running around the stands, shaking hands and making friends.

While this work can be exhausting, it also has benefits.

I think the most favorite is to see smiles on kids faces.

I think that's the one thing that, keeps me going.

Just to see smiles on kids and also to see smiles and people who, you know, are too cool to smile or a lot of times, you know, a lot of times teenagers will come out and they'll be too cool to to goof around with the mascot.

And then, you know, you get them goofing and you get them start to laugh, and then they don't care about what they look like, and they just laugh with you, or you'll get them to do a little funny skit with you.

And I think that that's the best part about it is seeing people have fun.

I mean, I mean, if you're not having fun in life, what's what's the purpose here?

Even being a mascot in the Northern League is a pretty cool summertime job.

But when the baseball season winds down, Nate takes his mascot skills to a larger stage.

He has landed the job of Herbie Husker at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln.

It's still hard to believe.

I honestly can't believe that.

You know, I can say it every now and then, and I'll joke with my friends and I'll be like, all right, you know.

Oh, yeah, I'm going to be right there, you know, in front of 70,000 people.

I mean, I still can't believe that I was down there last weekend, and I looked up in the stands and it was all empty.

And I told my mom, I said, I can't believe that this place is going to be filled, and I'm going to be able to be in front of all these people.

It's just it's amazing.

And it's a huge honor.

Performing before a stadium filled with 70,000 fans is a major change from working the crowd at a Canaries game.

But Nate sees more similarities than differences.

So if you think about it, I mean, this is a professional league.

And these these are professionals.

These are people who do this for a living.

Nebraska is a college.

Colleges, prepare people to go do things for the living.

I mean, so they're pretty much even Nebraska is, you know, has more attendance because it's such a huge drawing to so many people.

So, I mean, the that one of the difference is the people, you know, I mean, we're changing.

We average about 3 to 4000 people a night here.

And now every weekend I'll be averaging 70,000.

You know that that might be a little difference, but still the same thing.

The number one rule is having fun.

You know, you'll be in front of 70,000 people, but you might be goofing off with just one little kid, and you might be trying to make that little kid smile, and then you'll go to another person, and there's a group of 20 around you that are laughing at something that you're doing, you know, or when you're down on the field, then you're in front of everybody.

So it's there are some differences, but I mean, the golden rule, I guess you could say is still the same, you know, have fun.

Whoa!

Get back here.

Nate's goal is to become a sports broadcaster.

With his experiences behind the mask.

He'll surely include a lot of clips of the mascots in his reports.

Our next story also deals with a uniquely American thing.

It's not a product like baseball or potato chips, but rather the way many of us see ourselves.

Sure, we all live in the United States, but each of us has a unique ancestral history.

For some, our families were always here.

For most of us, our families came here from other parts of the world.

That situation in itself is uniquely American, and so are the ways that we keep that heritage alive.

Our next story features a group of men who devote their time to not only celebrating their heritage, but to sharing it with others.

In the world of musical instruments.

Few are as steeped in tradition as the Scottish bagpipes.

Their soulful song has fallen upon the ears of countless generations.

There is no better place to hear the wail of the pipes than in the heart of Scotland, Scotland, South Dakota, that is.

It's here in the bustle of Highland days, that onlookers can witness some of South Dakota's own answering questions about their costumes and playing the pipes with all the enthusiasm of the Old world.

The Dakota District Pipe and Drum Corps is one of a handful of piping groups from South Dakota for its dozen or so members.

Playing the pipes is more than just a hobby.

The Dakota District Pipe and Drum is a group.

We're in a nonprofit, corporation.

At this time.

We get together to learn the bagpipes, to work with each other and teach other people how to play.

So there's kind of a component.

We teach right now that today there's not a lot of people.

And I think sometimes it's the summer and late summer, but we've had as many as 12 people.

We've been teaching the way, you know, over time.

And there are 5 or 6 of us play.

And I think that's going to expand.

We can see we've got a new Piper here tonight.

So, but teaching, learning to play together, perfecting our performance abilities.

The core consists of old pros, intermediate players and new students eager to learn.

There is much more to being a successful piper than just the ability to read music.

There has to be other other than any other instrument.

There's has to be something behind the bagpipes.

There has to be a reason that you're playing, and you have to figure that the person has to figure that out for themselves, because it's not something you're inclined.

A person is inclined to stick with if they don't have a reason to play in.

So there must be it's it must either be camaraderie, culture, just combination of both or extreme boredom.

Although practices can be long in the music difficult.

There's a reason members keep at it.

For John, being a member of the group has been almost therapeutic.

I spent, ten years as a police officer here in Sioux Falls.

Over that ten year period of time, you learn to, become very unemotional and nothing over a period of time, I should say.

Very few things bother you.

There's so much suffering, pain, irritability in people that is expressed and that is showing you that a thick skin develops and very few things get to get to the person.

And got to me actually playing the bagpipes has really, allowed, you, it's an expression of, of yourself and you probably probably heard that before, something similar to that.

But it truly is when you're playing in front of a crowd and when you're playing at a competition, you.

It's such a it's such a, it's such an all consuming instrument that it is literally yourself in front of everybody.

And there's a lot of emotion in these, in these pipes.

For many, it's not just the music that consumes them, but the whole tradition that comes along with being in a piping band.

After many weeks of practice and training, members relish the opportunity to entertain the crowds at events like Highland Days.

And please join me in welcoming the Dakota District Pipes and Drums from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, led by Pipe Major Tom Parliament.

Hi.

Hi.

Having the opportunity to share the craft they cherish so deeply is one of the major perks.

Yeah, I think favorite thing is the, the reaction of the kids.

You know, they see someone that's dressed up and and what they think is a skirt, but it's not.

It's a kilt.

And, you know, so you get some wide eyed looks from the kids.

There is a certain amount of fascination that that people have with bagpipes, and, and, people will come up and talk to you and ask you about the instrument and, there are some people that don't like them, but for the most part, I do.

I think a lot of people are really interested in the instrument, and that's that's the fun part.

But the kids, the reaction of the kids is what I, I tend to enjoy.

Of course, the kids aren't the only ones with questions people ask about their music, but even more often about their kilts.

Every piper can recall with amazing clarity the day they first donned a pipers kilt.

It was a very odd sensation.

And then even more odd was when I walked outside.

But, the breeze was interesting.

But yeah, it took a while.

You used to, but it's actually very comfortable.

They're heavy, but breezy, so, you have to do you have to wear one of.

You gotta wear it to appreciate it.

The group strives for authenticity in every imaginable detail, from the way they march to the intricacies of their dress.

And there's a proper way to wear everything.

I mean, basically, you've got your your kilt, and the front is the apron and the and the pin actually is as decorative as it is.

So the way it down is, there's actually an apron to it.

So it actually fits your kind of backside.

Make that fit.

It's great.

And you gotta you gotta make sure when you walk you get the little the little, you know, little swing back and forth there and then the spawn in the old days was actually more of a pouch to carry food in.

And it's developed probably in a place to keep your wallet and keys and maybe what time you're supposed to be on the field.

These are flashes, and they can coincide with your kilt and then hose.

Or you may, where, you might wear spats or jelly brogues.

That's another kind of shoe with the laces on them.

Depends what the band likes to wear.

Are you trying to all be the same?

Once you get your uniform going?

It's asking do.

And in the old days, they'd actually use it for practical purposes.

But it's maybe now to cut a piece of hemp when you're fixing your pipes or to fix a thread or something.

It's more decorative than anything else.

You want to watch when you go into schools?

We played in the school.

We made sure that we stuck to the skin out and put that away.

The Dakota District Pipe and Drum Corps find their work rewarding.

The South Dakotans, who are lucky enough to witness their performances are rewarded, too, with a glimpse into a culture as unique as the music they produce.

As for the age old question, what does a Scotsman wear underneath his kilt?

We were too shy to ask.

If you're wondering, you'll just have to look for the Dakota District Pipe and Drum Corps performing at a festival near you and ask them yourself.

That's it for this edition of Dakota Life.

If you have an idea for a future story, or if you'd just like to comment on the show, send us an email.

You can also see some of your favorite Dakota Life stories at our website.

Until next time for South Dakota Public Television, I'm Michelle Van Maanan.

Thanks for watching.