Matthews Opera House

Open Makerspace Hours
2022-05-24 10:00 - 12:00, 2022-05-31 10:00 - 12:00 (America/Denver)
All people should have the opportunity to be creative. Our makerspace has lots of supplies to craft, build, experiment, and discover art!
Open makerspace hours are every Tuesday from 10 am to noon in the backroom of the Matthews Opera House gallery. A donation of any amount is suggested.

Author Talks: Marsha Mittman
2022-05-24 12:30 - 13:30
Author Talks take place in the Matthews Fireplace Room every Tuesday at 12:30.
Join us on Tuesday, May 24 at 12:30 pm for our next makeSPACE at the Matthews Author Talk with Marsha Mittman. Author Talks will take place in the Matthews Fireplace Room.
About the Author
Marsha Warren Mittman always has one foot in a suitcase ready to roam; a computer at hand ready to write; and her head in the clouds ready to meditate. A humorous memoir, “You Know You Moved to South Dakota from New York City WHEN…,” was published by Scurfpea Publishing. Her poetry, essays, and short stories have been widely published in American, British, Australian, and German literary journals, magazines, and anthologies, including six “Chicken Soup for the Soul” tales. Select poems from her chapbook, “Patriarchal Chronicles: Women’s Worldwide Tears,” are being crafted into a readers’ theater production. “Message from a Goldfish: A Guide to Awareness” was used in meditation programs presented in twelve states. Mittman’s received numerous poetry and prose distinctions in the US and Ireland, and was awarded a Writer’s Residency at the Fairhope Center for the Writing Arts in Fairhope, AL. Her poem, “The Seed,” appeared in Amazon’s #1 bestselling poetry anthology “Pain and Removal.” An avid traveller, she’s visited over 125 countries/islands on six continents, and forty-six US states. For the past twenty years South Dakota’s beautiful Black Hills have been home base.
Are you interested in presenting an Author Talk? Contact us at 605-717-6967 or engage@matthewsopera.com

Author Talks: Troy Dobyns
2022-05-31 12:30 - 13:30
Author Talks take place in the Matthews Fireplace Room every Tuesday at 12:30.
Join us on Tuesday, May 31 at 12:30 pm for our next makeSPACE at the Matthews Author Talk with Troy Dobyns.
About the Author
At two weeks old, Troy started traveling with his family due to his father’s Naval career. He and his family lived in many places but always came home to the Black Hills for vacations. When their father retired, they knew this would be their permanent home.
In the spring of 1972, the family moved to Rapid City just in time to live through the Rapid City flood. Troy’s story is intertwined with several others from the maternal side of his family who also fought the waters of that horrible night in June 1972. These stories are revealed through several accounts of the family but mostly through the eyes of the then-eight-year-old author. The story covers the day of the flood, the night of the flood, survivorship, the aftermath, and the recovery.
Are you interested in presenting an Author Talk? Contact us at 605-717-6967 or engage@matthewsopera.com

Author Talks at the Matthews
2022-09-06 12:30 - 13:30
Author Talks at the Matthews returns this fall with a new lineup of local writers ready to dive into their stories, their methods, and their inspirations. Join us in the fireplace room every Tuesday at 12:30 for an hour with some of the best authors in the Black Hills area!
Are you interested in presenting an Author Talk? Contact us at 605-717-6967 or engage@matthewsopera.com
Featured author…
September 6: Michael Harris
Michael Harris lives in the Black Hills near Deadwood South Dakota. He is a husband and a father. His first novel “Outlaw Blood” is a Post Apocalyptic Western, set some time in the near future after a global economic crash has devastated the world’s countries.
Michael enjoys shooting, hiking, reading, writing, and hunting. He has ranched and worked cattle, served in the U.S. Army for eight years, been a Law Enforcement Officer, survived 17 years as Mr. Mom, and is now an author.
Coming Soon…
September 13: Bruce Junek
Bruce B. Junek is an explorer, author, photographer and speaker. In 1987 he and his wife, Tass Thacker, created Images of the World, a series of slide programs of their adventures. Over the last 23 years 1.6 million students have seen their programs. Bruce and Tass bicycled around the world from 1984-86. They have also bicycled on different journeys through Central America, South America, southern Africa and the mideast. They just bicycled through China in 2011.
He is the author of Andes to the Amazon: Seven Journeys in Mexico, Central and South America; The Road of Dreams: A Two-Year Bicycling and Hiking Adventure Around the World and a fantasy fiction trilogy, A Bright One Chronicles.
September 20: Phoenix Piazzisi
Phoenix Rayne, a.k.a. “The Paper Therapist,” is a South Dakota native and Californian by heart. She recently graduated as a valedictorian candidate with her Bachelor of Fine Arts in creative writing at Sierra Nevada University in Incline Village, Nevada. As a Humanities Department Scholar, she also won an award for Outstanding Achievement in Poetry and Excellence in Journalism. She graduated in the spring of 2020 from Sierra College in Rocklin, CA with her associate degree in English.
When she was five years old, she picked up her first Shel Silverstein book and instantly fell in love with poetry, dreaming to be a published author one day. Her first poem, “Winter’s Bliss,” was published in 2001 with several poems following. In May of 2021, her first piece of literature, “I am one with the lake,” was published. Her most recent piece titled “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” is about her diagnosis with bipolar disorder. “Living with a Monster” is her first book of poetry about living with a mental illness.
Writing has always been her way of expressing deep emotions and a way to bring the human experience to life with the written word. With a high value on honest, transparent, and empathetic writing, it is her hope to help transform the world one piece of writing at a time.
September 27: Pennie Hunt
Pennie Hunt is an inspirational, entertaining, and high-content speaker. She is a member of the National Speakers Association, Women’s Speakers Association and the President and founder of Journey Through, LLC. Her weekly blog, Writings from the Corner of Spirit & Brave is read worldwide. She is the author of two books, Love Your Life–No Matter What: 76 Tips to Live Life with Love and Gratitude and Love Your Life — No Matter What: 76 Tips to Journey Through Grief and Loss. Her newspaper column runs in several newspapers including the Wyoming Tribune Eagle and the South Dakota Rapid City Journal.
After a series of life-changing events, including the death of her child, Pennie left her career as Executive Director of a healthcare organization where she spoke locally and nationally on healthcare recruitment. She now writes and speaks about how to change, heal and empower your life! Pennie’s personal successes and challenges have shaped her grateful-for-it-all viewpoint. She has married her own life lessons with her gift of communication to follow her passion of helping others Journey Through this life with spirit, courage, and compassion.
October 4: Gerrie Gutwein
Information about the author coming soon!
October 11: Christian Leigh
Information about the author coming soon!
October 18 & 25: Evelyn Leite
Children in families that keep secrets learn early in life to project a brave front, to avoid letting the outside world peek behind the mask, to cope alone with feelings of guilt, anger, fear and confusion.
Rapid City counselor and author Evelyn Leite grew up in such a family, struggling to understand her emotions, uncertain how she could love her parents and siblings so deeply but hate their words and actions. In her latest book “Just Fine, Thank You,” Leite explores the jumble of feelings and emotions she experienced in her early years in a closed family. She describes what it does to a young girl when the family doesn’t talk about a father who stays late at the local bar and a mother who expects her daughter to be a perfect young lady without explaining what that involves. She also shares what it does to a young child in a “no-talk’’ family as she tries to make sense of sometimes crazy, senseless behavior from people she loves.
“Just Fine, Thank You” is one of four books in a series titled Blood, Sex and Tears. She says of the series, “It’s my desire that you can find hope for yourself or a loved one based on my story of redemption.’’
Leite has had a successful, 35-year career as a professional counselor and author whose focus is on drug and alcohol problems and mental health issues. Among her best-known works are “Women: What Do We Want?” and “A Fix for the Family Rift Caused by Addiction.” She is a graduate of Black Hills State University with a composite major in Social Science. She holds a master’s degree from Oklahoma University and has presented addiction and mental health workshops in Oregon, Texas, Minneapolis, Montana, Colorado and Arizona. She has also held frequent workshops on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation and is currently conducting workshops for the Miskwaki Tribe in Tama, Iowa. She is the author of 14 published works including manuals for The Family Restoration Program and many newspaper and magazine articles. She’s a 2008 inductee into the South Dakota Hall of Fame.
November 1: Bill Bosch
William Bosch grew up on a farm in Emmons County, east of Linton, North Dakota. Both sides of his family had German-Russian backgrounds. His mother’s family (Dockter) cam from Neudorf and Kassel, and his father’s family (Bosch) from Rosental in Crimea. After graduating from Linton High School, he attended North Dakota State University where he earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree in mathematics education. He taught in the mathematics department at Northern State University in Aberdeen, South Dakota from 1963-65. He then studied at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, where he obtained a Ph.D. in mathematics in 1970. His working years were spent teaching mathematics at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, Colorado. That is where he met and married his wife Margaret. They moved to Spearfish, SD in 2005. They have a daughter, Julie, who still lives in Colorado. William is a member of the Black Hills Chapter of the Germans from Russia Heritage Society and a member of the Center of the Nation Chapter of the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia. William is the author of The German-Russians in Words and Pictures.
November 8: Doug Hoff
Douglas Henry Hoff was born in 1948 and graduated as valedictorian of his high school class in 1966. He attended and was an honor student at Black Hills State University and the SD School of Mines and Technology. He and Marlene (Molly) were married in 1968 while attending SDSMT. When his parents considered the sale of the family farm Doug and Molly decided to give ranching a try and later bought the farm, which they eventually tripled in size. While there they started a herd of world-renowned registered Angus cattle, a cattle genetics and research company that they later sold to Cargill, and had two children, Brian and Andrea.
While ranching Doug received The National Ralston Purina Youth of the Year award, The SD Young Farmer of the Year award, The North American Beef Improvement Federation Seedstock Producer of the Year award, and The 2000 US Livestock Man of the Year award. He graduated from the SD Agriculture and Rural Development program. He and Molly enjoyed and lived a robust ranching career, selling semen, embryos, and cattle around the globe, with cattle from their cowherd dispersal going to five continents. Doug brought his expertise and in-depth agricultural experience to this book, helping to produce a unique perspective of the demands of agriculture and living on the prairie.
November 15: Courtney Huse-Wika & BHSU Writing Class
Courtney Huse-Wika believes in the art of collection: overheard quotes, forgotten stories, and sometimes animals. She is the author of Perch, a chapbook of nature poetry from Anchor and Plume Press, and was named a finalist for the 2021 James Hearst Poetry Prize from North American Review, and a 2020 Honorable Mention for the New Millennium Writing Awards. Her creative work has appeared widely, including CALYX, The Halcyone, New Ohio Review, South Dakota Review, Kindred, South Dakota Magazine, South Dakota in Poems, Midwestern Gothic, Scissors and Spackle, Backwards City Review, and the MacGuffin. She received her BA in philosophy and English from Augustana University, her MA and PhD in English with a specialization in creative writing from the University of South Dakota, and is currently an Associate Professor of English and Distinguished Faculty at Black Hills State University.
December 13: Robyn VanDersys
Robyn VanDerSys was born in Washington State, which is where her love for the great outdoors was born. She has lived in several different states and in 2015 settled in the Black Hills of South Dakota with her husband and kids.
Her life has consisted of one adventure to the next, including racing monster trucks in her early twenties, raising three strong children, riding around Mexico on her four wheeler while living out of a backpack, and volunteering on a chase team while her husband raced the Baja 1000.
She spends her free time off-roading and hiking the many trails of the Black Hills, and also enjoys traveling and having as many adventures as humanly possible.

Author Talks at the Matthews
2022-09-13 12:30 - 13:30
Author Talks at the Matthews returns this fall with a new lineup of local writers ready to dive into their stories, their methods, and their inspirations. Join us in the fireplace room every Tuesday at 12:30 for an hour with some of the best authors in the Black Hills area!
Are you interested in presenting an Author Talk? Contact us at 605-717-6967 or engage@matthewsopera.com
Featured author…
September 13: Bruce Junek
Bruce Burgess Junek will present A Writer’s Life of Adventure – Fact and Fiction, a fascinating slide program highlighting how the author’s travels and bicycling journeys with his wife, Tass Thacker, through 54 countries led to a career as a writer, explorer, photographer, speaker, film-maker, and above all else, storyteller. Bruce has written two travel narratives, The Road of Dreams and Andes to the Amazon, a rock climbing guidebook, and also the recently published 4-book, adult and YA fantasy series, A Bright One Chronicles, which was greatly influenced by his many expeditions around the world.

Coming Soon…
September 20: Phoenix Piazzisi
Phoenix Rayne, a.k.a. “The Paper Therapist,” is a South Dakota native and Californian by heart. She recently graduated as a valedictorian candidate with her Bachelor of Fine Arts in creative writing at Sierra Nevada University in Incline Village, Nevada. As a Humanities Department Scholar, she also won an award for Outstanding Achievement in Poetry and Excellence in Journalism. She graduated in the spring of 2020 from Sierra College in Rocklin, CA with her associate degree in English.
When she was five years old, she picked up her first Shel Silverstein book and instantly fell in love with poetry, dreaming to be a published author one day. Her first poem, “Winter’s Bliss,” was published in 2001 with several poems following. In May of 2021, her first piece of literature, “I am one with the lake,” was published. Her most recent piece titled “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” is about her diagnosis with bipolar disorder. “Living with a Monster” is her first book of poetry about living with a mental illness.
Writing has always been her way of expressing deep emotions and a way to bring the human experience to life with the written word. With a high value on honest, transparent, and empathetic writing, it is her hope to help transform the world one piece of writing at a time.
September 27: Pennie Hunt
Pennie Hunt is an inspirational, entertaining, and high-content speaker. She is a member of the National Speakers Association, Women’s Speakers Association and the President and founder of Journey Through, LLC. Her weekly blog, Writings from the Corner of Spirit & Brave is read worldwide. She is the author of two books, Love Your Life–No Matter What: 76 Tips to Live Life with Love and Gratitude and Love Your Life — No Matter What: 76 Tips to Journey Through Grief and Loss. Her newspaper column runs in several newspapers including the Wyoming Tribune Eagle and the South Dakota Rapid City Journal.
After a series of life-changing events, including the death of her child, Pennie left her career as Executive Director of a healthcare organization where she spoke locally and nationally on healthcare recruitment. She now writes and speaks about how to change, heal and empower your life! Pennie’s personal successes and challenges have shaped her grateful-for-it-all viewpoint. She has married her own life lessons with her gift of communication to follow her passion of helping others Journey Through this life with spirit, courage, and compassion.
October 4: Gerrie Gutwein
Information about the author coming soon!
October 11: Christian Leigh
Information about the author coming soon!
October 18 & 25: Evelyn Leite
Children in families that keep secrets learn early in life to project a brave front, to avoid letting the outside world peek behind the mask, to cope alone with feelings of guilt, anger, fear and confusion.
Rapid City counselor and author Evelyn Leite grew up in such a family, struggling to understand her emotions, uncertain how she could love her parents and siblings so deeply but hate their words and actions. In her latest book “Just Fine, Thank You,” Leite explores the jumble of feelings and emotions she experienced in her early years in a closed family. She describes what it does to a young girl when the family doesn’t talk about a father who stays late at the local bar and a mother who expects her daughter to be a perfect young lady without explaining what that involves. She also shares what it does to a young child in a “no-talk’’ family as she tries to make sense of sometimes crazy, senseless behavior from people she loves.
“Just Fine, Thank You” is one of four books in a series titled Blood, Sex and Tears. She says of the series, “It’s my desire that you can find hope for yourself or a loved one based on my story of redemption.’’
Leite has had a successful, 35-year career as a professional counselor and author whose focus is on drug and alcohol problems and mental health issues. Among her best-known works are “Women: What Do We Want?” and “A Fix for the Family Rift Caused by Addiction.” She is a graduate of Black Hills State University with a composite major in Social Science. She holds a master’s degree from Oklahoma University and has presented addiction and mental health workshops in Oregon, Texas, Minneapolis, Montana, Colorado and Arizona. She has also held frequent workshops on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation and is currently conducting workshops for the Miskwaki Tribe in Tama, Iowa. She is the author of 14 published works including manuals for The Family Restoration Program and many newspaper and magazine articles. She’s a 2008 inductee into the South Dakota Hall of Fame.
November 1: Bill Bosch
William Bosch grew up on a farm in Emmons County, east of Linton, North Dakota. Both sides of his family had German-Russian backgrounds. His mother’s family (Dockter) cam from Neudorf and Kassel, and his father’s family (Bosch) from Rosental in Crimea. After graduating from Linton High School, he attended North Dakota State University where he earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree in mathematics education. He taught in the mathematics department at Northern State University in Aberdeen, South Dakota from 1963-65. He then studied at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, where he obtained a Ph.D. in mathematics in 1970. His working years were spent teaching mathematics at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, Colorado. That is where he met and married his wife Margaret. They moved to Spearfish, SD in 2005. They have a daughter, Julie, who still lives in Colorado. William is a member of the Black Hills Chapter of the Germans from Russia Heritage Society and a member of the Center of the Nation Chapter of the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia. William is the author of The German-Russians in Words and Pictures.
November 8: Doug Hoff
Douglas Henry Hoff was born in 1948 and graduated as valedictorian of his high school class in 1966. He attended and was an honor student at Black Hills State University and the SD School of Mines and Technology. He and Marlene (Molly) were married in 1968 while attending SDSMT. When his parents considered the sale of the family farm Doug and Molly decided to give ranching a try and later bought the farm, which they eventually tripled in size. While there they started a herd of world-renowned registered Angus cattle, a cattle genetics and research company that they later sold to Cargill, and had two children, Brian and Andrea.
While ranching Doug received The National Ralston Purina Youth of the Year award, The SD Young Farmer of the Year award, The North American Beef Improvement Federation Seedstock Producer of the Year award, and The 2000 US Livestock Man of the Year award. He graduated from the SD Agriculture and Rural Development program. He and Molly enjoyed and lived a robust ranching career, selling semen, embryos, and cattle around the globe, with cattle from their cowherd dispersal going to five continents. Doug brought his expertise and in-depth agricultural experience to this book, helping to produce a unique perspective of the demands of agriculture and living on the prairie.
November 15: Courtney Huse-Wika & BHSU Writing Class
Courtney Huse-Wika believes in the art of collection: overheard quotes, forgotten stories, and sometimes animals. She is the author of Perch, a chapbook of nature poetry from Anchor and Plume Press, and was named a finalist for the 2021 James Hearst Poetry Prize from North American Review, and a 2020 Honorable Mention for the New Millennium Writing Awards. Her creative work has appeared widely, including CALYX, The Halcyone, New Ohio Review, South Dakota Review, Kindred, South Dakota Magazine, South Dakota in Poems, Midwestern Gothic, Scissors and Spackle, Backwards City Review, and the MacGuffin. She received her BA in philosophy and English from Augustana University, her MA and PhD in English with a specialization in creative writing from the University of South Dakota, and is currently an Associate Professor of English and Distinguished Faculty at Black Hills State University.
December 13: Robyn VanDersys
Robyn VanDerSys was born in Washington State, which is where her love for the great outdoors was born. She has lived in several different states and in 2015 settled in the Black Hills of South Dakota with her husband and kids.
Her life has consisted of one adventure to the next, including racing monster trucks in her early twenties, raising three strong children, riding around Mexico on her four wheeler while living out of a backpack, and volunteering on a chase team while her husband raced the Baja 1000.
She spends her free time off-roading and hiking the many trails of the Black Hills, and also enjoys traveling and having as many adventures as humanly possible.

Author Talks at the Matthews
2022-09-20 12:30 - 13:30
Author Talks at the Matthews returns this fall with a new lineup of local writers ready to dive into their stories, their methods, and their inspirations. Join us in the fireplace room every Tuesday at 12:30 for an hour with some of the best authors in the Black Hills area!
Are you interested in presenting an Author Talk? Contact us at 605-717-6967 or engage@matthewsopera.com
Featured author…
September 20: Phoenix Piazzisi
Phoenix Rayne, a.k.a. “The Paper Therapist,” is a South Dakota native and Californian by heart. She recently graduated as a valedictorian candidate with her Bachelor of Fine Arts in creative writing at Sierra Nevada University in Incline Village, Nevada. As a Humanities Department Scholar, she also won an award for Outstanding Achievement in Poetry and Excellence in Journalism. She graduated in the spring of 2020 from Sierra College in Rocklin, CA with her associate degree in English.
When she was five years old, she picked up her first Shel Silverstein book and instantly fell in love with poetry, dreaming to be a published author one day. Her first poem, “Winter’s Bliss,” was published in 2001 with several poems following. In May of 2021, her first piece of literature, “I am one with the lake,” was published. Her most recent piece titled “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” is about her diagnosis with bipolar disorder. “Living with a Monster” is her first book of poetry about living with a mental illness.
Writing has always been her way of expressing deep emotions and a way to bring the human experience to life with the written word. With a high value on honest, transparent, and empathetic writing, it is her hope to help transform the world one piece of writing at a time.
Coming Soon…
September 27: Pennie Hunt
Pennie Hunt is an inspirational, entertaining, and high-content speaker. She is a member of the National Speakers Association, Women’s Speakers Association and the President and founder of Journey Through, LLC. Her weekly blog, Writings from the Corner of Spirit & Brave is read worldwide. She is the author of two books, Love Your Life–No Matter What: 76 Tips to Live Life with Love and Gratitude and Love Your Life — No Matter What: 76 Tips to Journey Through Grief and Loss. Her newspaper column runs in several newspapers including the Wyoming Tribune Eagle and the South Dakota Rapid City Journal.
After a series of life-changing events, including the death of her child, Pennie left her career as Executive Director of a healthcare organization where she spoke locally and nationally on healthcare recruitment. She now writes and speaks about how to change, heal and empower your life! Pennie’s personal successes and challenges have shaped her grateful-for-it-all viewpoint. She has married her own life lessons with her gift of communication to follow her passion of helping others Journey Through this life with spirit, courage, and compassion.
October 4: Geri Gutwein
Geri Mendoza Gutwein, Ph.D., professor emerita of English at HACC, Central Pennsylvania’s Community College where she taught English, creative writing, and Native American Literature for many years. A Pushcart Prize nominee, her work has appeared in literary journals such as the Connecticut Review, The Wildwood Journal, Roots, Trunk, Sky Anthology published by the International Women’s Writing Guild, and La Libreta, an online poetry journal. She is the author of three chapbooks of poetry: Every Orbit of the Circle, The Story She Told, and An Utterance of Small Truths. Her Lakota, Mexican-American culture and family are major influences in her work. She is an enrolled member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, and currently lives in Spearfish, South Dakota with her husband. For more information visit her website at www.gerigutwein.com.
October 11: Christian Leigh
Information about the author coming soon!
October 18 & 25: Evelyn Leite
Children in families that keep secrets learn early in life to project a brave front, to avoid letting the outside world peek behind the mask, to cope alone with feelings of guilt, anger, fear and confusion.
Rapid City counselor and author Evelyn Leite grew up in such a family, struggling to understand her emotions, uncertain how she could love her parents and siblings so deeply but hate their words and actions. In her latest book “Just Fine, Thank You,” Leite explores the jumble of feelings and emotions she experienced in her early years in a closed family. She describes what it does to a young girl when the family doesn’t talk about a father who stays late at the local bar and a mother who expects her daughter to be a perfect young lady without explaining what that involves. She also shares what it does to a young child in a “no-talk’’ family as she tries to make sense of sometimes crazy, senseless behavior from people she loves.
“Just Fine, Thank You” is one of four books in a series titled Blood, Sex and Tears. She says of the series, “It’s my desire that you can find hope for yourself or a loved one based on my story of redemption.’’
Leite has had a successful, 35-year career as a professional counselor and author whose focus is on drug and alcohol problems and mental health issues. Among her best-known works are “Women: What Do We Want?” and “A Fix for the Family Rift Caused by Addiction.” She is a graduate of Black Hills State University with a composite major in Social Science. She holds a master’s degree from Oklahoma University and has presented addiction and mental health workshops in Oregon, Texas, Minneapolis, Montana, Colorado and Arizona. She has also held frequent workshops on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation and is currently conducting workshops for the Miskwaki Tribe in Tama, Iowa. She is the author of 14 published works including manuals for The Family Restoration Program and many newspaper and magazine articles. She’s a 2008 inductee into the South Dakota Hall of Fame.
November 1: Bill Bosch
William Bosch grew up on a farm in Emmons County, east of Linton, North Dakota. Both sides of his family had German-Russian backgrounds. His mother’s family (Dockter) cam from Neudorf and Kassel, and his father’s family (Bosch) from Rosental in Crimea. After graduating from Linton High School, he attended North Dakota State University where he earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree in mathematics education. He taught in the mathematics department at Northern State University in Aberdeen, South Dakota from 1963-65. He then studied at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, where he obtained a Ph.D. in mathematics in 1970. His working years were spent teaching mathematics at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, Colorado. That is where he met and married his wife Margaret. They moved to Spearfish, SD in 2005. They have a daughter, Julie, who still lives in Colorado. William is a member of the Black Hills Chapter of the Germans from Russia Heritage Society and a member of the Center of the Nation Chapter of the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia. William is the author of The German-Russians in Words and Pictures.
November 8: Doug Hoff
Douglas Henry Hoff was born in 1948 and graduated as valedictorian of his high school class in 1966. He attended and was an honor student at Black Hills State University and the SD School of Mines and Technology. He and Marlene (Molly) were married in 1968 while attending SDSMT. When his parents considered the sale of the family farm Doug and Molly decided to give ranching a try and later bought the farm, which they eventually tripled in size. While there they started a herd of world-renowned registered Angus cattle, a cattle genetics and research company that they later sold to Cargill, and had two children, Brian and Andrea.
While ranching Doug received The National Ralston Purina Youth of the Year award, The SD Young Farmer of the Year award, The North American Beef Improvement Federation Seedstock Producer of the Year award, and The 2000 US Livestock Man of the Year award. He graduated from the SD Agriculture and Rural Development program. He and Molly enjoyed and lived a robust ranching career, selling semen, embryos, and cattle around the globe, with cattle from their cowherd dispersal going to five continents. Doug brought his expertise and in-depth agricultural experience to this book, helping to produce a unique perspective of the demands of agriculture and living on the prairie.
November 15: Courtney Huse-Wika & BHSU Writing Class
Courtney Huse-Wika believes in the art of collection: overheard quotes, forgotten stories, and sometimes animals. She is the author of Perch, a chapbook of nature poetry from Anchor and Plume Press, and was named a finalist for the 2021 James Hearst Poetry Prize from North American Review, and a 2020 Honorable Mention for the New Millennium Writing Awards. Her creative work has appeared widely, including CALYX, The Halcyone, New Ohio Review, South Dakota Review, Kindred, South Dakota Magazine, South Dakota in Poems, Midwestern Gothic, Scissors and Spackle, Backwards City Review, and the MacGuffin. She received her BA in philosophy and English from Augustana University, her MA and PhD in English with a specialization in creative writing from the University of South Dakota, and is currently an Associate Professor of English and Distinguished Faculty at Black Hills State University.
December 13: Robyn VanDersys
Robyn VanDerSys was born in Washington State, which is where her love for the great outdoors was born. She has lived in several different states and in 2015 settled in the Black Hills of South Dakota with her husband and kids.
Her life has consisted of one adventure to the next, including racing monster trucks in her early twenties, raising three strong children, riding around Mexico on her four wheeler while living out of a backpack, and volunteering on a chase team while her husband raced the Baja 1000.
She spends her free time off-roading and hiking the many trails of the Black Hills, and also enjoys traveling and having as many adventures as humanly possible.

Author Talks at the Matthews
2022-09-27 12:30 - 13:30
Author Talks at the Matthews returns this fall with a new lineup of local writers ready to dive into their stories, their methods, and their inspirations. Join us in the fireplace room every Tuesday at 12:30 for an hour with some of the best authors in the Black Hills area!
Are you interested in presenting an Author Talk? Contact us at 605-717-6967 or engage@matthewsopera.com
Featured author…
September 27: Pennie Hunt
Pennie Hunt is an inspirational, entertaining, and high-content speaker. She is a member of the National Speakers Association, Women’s Speakers Association and the President and founder of Journey Through, LLC. Her weekly blog, Writings from the Corner of Spirit & Brave is read worldwide. She is the author of two books, Love Your Life–No Matter What: 76 Tips to Live Life with Love and Gratitude and Love Your Life — No Matter What: 76 Tips to Journey Through Grief and Loss. Her newspaper column runs in several newspapers including the Wyoming Tribune Eagle and the South Dakota Rapid City Journal.
After a series of life-changing events, including the death of her child, Pennie left her career as Executive Director of a healthcare organization where she spoke locally and nationally on healthcare recruitment. She now writes and speaks about how to change, heal and empower your life! Pennie’s personal successes and challenges have shaped her grateful-for-it-all viewpoint. She has married her own life lessons with her gift of communication to follow her passion of helping others Journey Through this life with spirit, courage, and compassion.
Coming Soon…
October 4: Geri Gutwein
Geri Mendoza Gutwein, Ph.D., professor emerita of English at HACC, Central Pennsylvania’s Community College where she taught English, creative writing, and Native American Literature for many years. A Pushcart Prize nominee, her work has appeared in literary journals such as the Connecticut Review, The Wildwood Journal, Roots, Trunk, Sky Anthology published by the International Women’s Writing Guild, and La Libreta, an online poetry journal. She is the author of three chapbooks of poetry: Every Orbit of the Circle, The Story She Told, and An Utterance of Small Truths. Her Lakota, Mexican-American culture and family are major influences in her work. She is an enrolled member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, and currently lives in Spearfish, South Dakota with her husband. For more information visit her website at www.gerigutwein.com.
October 11: Annie Christain
Annie Christain is a professor of composition and ESOL at SUNY Cobleskill and a former artist resident of the Shanghai Swatch Art Peace Hotel and the Arctic Circle Art and Science Expedition. Her poems have appeared in Seneca Review, Oxford Poetry, Prelude, and The Lifted Brow, among others. She was a first-place winner of the Driftwood Press In-House Poem Contest and received the grand prize of the Hart Crane Memorial Poetry Contest, the Greg Grummer Poetry Award, the Oakland School of the Arts Enizagam Poetry Award, and the Neil Shepard Prize in Poetry. Her books include Tall As You Are Tall Between Them (C&R Press 2016) and The Vanguards of Holography (Headmistress Press 2021), selected for Sappho’s Prize in Poetry.
October 18 & 25: Evelyn Leite
Children in families that keep secrets learn early in life to project a brave front, to avoid letting the outside world peek behind the mask, to cope alone with feelings of guilt, anger, fear and confusion.
Rapid City counselor and author Evelyn Leite grew up in such a family, struggling to understand her emotions, uncertain how she could love her parents and siblings so deeply but hate their words and actions. In her latest book “Just Fine, Thank You,” Leite explores the jumble of feelings and emotions she experienced in her early years in a closed family. She describes what it does to a young girl when the family doesn’t talk about a father who stays late at the local bar and a mother who expects her daughter to be a perfect young lady without explaining what that involves. She also shares what it does to a young child in a “no-talk’’ family as she tries to make sense of sometimes crazy, senseless behavior from people she loves.
“Just Fine, Thank You” is one of four books in a series titled Blood, Sex and Tears. She says of the series, “It’s my desire that you can find hope for yourself or a loved one based on my story of redemption.’’
Leite has had a successful, 35-year career as a professional counselor and author whose focus is on drug and alcohol problems and mental health issues. Among her best-known works are “Women: What Do We Want?” and “A Fix for the Family Rift Caused by Addiction.” She is a graduate of Black Hills State University with a composite major in Social Science. She holds a master’s degree from Oklahoma University and has presented addiction and mental health workshops in Oregon, Texas, Minneapolis, Montana, Colorado and Arizona. She has also held frequent workshops on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation and is currently conducting workshops for the Miskwaki Tribe in Tama, Iowa. She is the author of 14 published works including manuals for The Family Restoration Program and many newspaper and magazine articles. She’s a 2008 inductee into the South Dakota Hall of Fame.
November 1: Bill Bosch
William Bosch grew up on a farm in Emmons County, east of Linton, North Dakota. Both sides of his family had German-Russian backgrounds. His mother’s family (Dockter) cam from Neudorf and Kassel, and his father’s family (Bosch) from Rosental in Crimea. After graduating from Linton High School, he attended North Dakota State University where he earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree in mathematics education. He taught in the mathematics department at Northern State University in Aberdeen, South Dakota from 1963-65. He then studied at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, where he obtained a Ph.D. in mathematics in 1970. His working years were spent teaching mathematics at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, Colorado. That is where he met and married his wife Margaret. They moved to Spearfish, SD in 2005. They have a daughter, Julie, who still lives in Colorado. William is a member of the Black Hills Chapter of the Germans from Russia Heritage Society and a member of the Center of the Nation Chapter of the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia. William is the author of The German-Russians in Words and Pictures.
November 8: Doug Hoff
Douglas Henry Hoff was born in 1948 and graduated as valedictorian of his high school class in 1966. He attended and was an honor student at Black Hills State University and the SD School of Mines and Technology. He and Marlene (Molly) were married in 1968 while attending SDSMT. When his parents considered the sale of the family farm Doug and Molly decided to give ranching a try and later bought the farm, which they eventually tripled in size. While there they started a herd of world-renowned registered Angus cattle, a cattle genetics and research company that they later sold to Cargill, and had two children, Brian and Andrea.
While ranching Doug received The National Ralston Purina Youth of the Year award, The SD Young Farmer of the Year award, The North American Beef Improvement Federation Seedstock Producer of the Year award, and The 2000 US Livestock Man of the Year award. He graduated from the SD Agriculture and Rural Development program. He and Molly enjoyed and lived a robust ranching career, selling semen, embryos, and cattle around the globe, with cattle from their cowherd dispersal going to five continents. Doug brought his expertise and in-depth agricultural experience to this book, helping to produce a unique perspective of the demands of agriculture and living on the prairie.
November 15: Courtney Huse-Wika & BHSU Writing Class
Courtney Huse-Wika believes in the art of collection: overheard quotes, forgotten stories, and sometimes animals. She is the author of Perch, a chapbook of nature poetry from Anchor and Plume Press, and was named a finalist for the 2021 James Hearst Poetry Prize from North American Review, and a 2020 Honorable Mention for the New Millennium Writing Awards. Her creative work has appeared widely, including CALYX, The Halcyone, New Ohio Review, South Dakota Review, Kindred, South Dakota Magazine, South Dakota in Poems, Midwestern Gothic, Scissors and Spackle, Backwards City Review, and the MacGuffin. She received her BA in philosophy and English from Augustana University, her MA and PhD in English with a specialization in creative writing from the University of South Dakota, and is currently an Associate Professor of English and Distinguished Faculty at Black Hills State University.
December 13: Robyn VanDersys
Robyn VanDerSys was born in Washington State, which is where her love for the great outdoors was born. She has lived in several different states and in 2015 settled in the Black Hills of South Dakota with her husband and kids.
Her life has consisted of one adventure to the next, including racing monster trucks in her early twenties, raising three strong children, riding around Mexico on her four wheeler while living out of a backpack, and volunteering on a chase team while her husband raced the Baja 1000.
She spends her free time off-roading and hiking the many trails of the Black Hills, and also enjoys traveling and having as many adventures as humanly possible.

Author Talks at the Matthews
2022-10-04 12:30 - 13:30
Author Talks at the Matthews returns this fall with a new lineup of local writers ready to dive into their stories, their methods, and their inspirations. Join us in the fireplace room every Tuesday at 12:30 for an hour with some of the best authors in the Black Hills area!
Are you interested in presenting an Author Talk? Contact us at 605-717-6967 or engage@matthewsopera.com
Featured author…
October 4: Geri Gutwein
Geri Mendoza Gutwein, Ph.D., professor emerita of English at HACC, Central Pennsylvania’s Community College where she taught English, creative writing, and Native American Literature for many years. A Pushcart Prize nominee, her work has appeared in literary journals such as the Connecticut Review, The Wildwood Journal, Roots, Trunk, Sky Anthology published by the International Women’s Writing Guild, and La Libreta, an online poetry journal. She is the author of three chapbooks of poetry: Every Orbit of the Circle, The Story She Told, and An Utterance of Small Truths. Her Lakota, Mexican-American culture and family are major influences in her work. She is an enrolled member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, and currently lives in Spearfish, South Dakota with her husband. For more information visit her website at www.gerigutwein.com.
Coming Soon…
October 11: Annie Christain
Annie Christain is a professor of composition and ESOL at SUNY Cobleskill and a former artist resident of the Shanghai Swatch Art Peace Hotel and the Arctic Circle Art and Science Expedition. Her poems have appeared in Seneca Review, Oxford Poetry, Prelude, and The Lifted Brow, among others. She was a first-place winner of the Driftwood Press In-House Poem Contest and received the grand prize of the Hart Crane Memorial Poetry Contest, the Greg Grummer Poetry Award, the Oakland School of the Arts Enizagam Poetry Award, and the Neil Shepard Prize in Poetry. Her books include Tall As You Are Tall Between Them (C&R Press 2016) and The Vanguards of Holography (Headmistress Press 2021), selected for Sappho’s Prize in Poetry.
October 18 & 25: Evelyn Leite
Children in families that keep secrets learn early in life to project a brave front, to avoid letting the outside world peek behind the mask, to cope alone with feelings of guilt, anger, fear and confusion.
Rapid City counselor and author Evelyn Leite grew up in such a family, struggling to understand her emotions, uncertain how she could love her parents and siblings so deeply but hate their words and actions. In her latest book “Just Fine, Thank You,” Leite explores the jumble of feelings and emotions she experienced in her early years in a closed family. She describes what it does to a young girl when the family doesn’t talk about a father who stays late at the local bar and a mother who expects her daughter to be a perfect young lady without explaining what that involves. She also shares what it does to a young child in a “no-talk’’ family as she tries to make sense of sometimes crazy, senseless behavior from people she loves.
“Just Fine, Thank You” is one of four books in a series titled Blood, Sex and Tears. She says of the series, “It’s my desire that you can find hope for yourself or a loved one based on my story of redemption.’’
Leite has had a successful, 35-year career as a professional counselor and author whose focus is on drug and alcohol problems and mental health issues. Among her best-known works are “Women: What Do We Want?” and “A Fix for the Family Rift Caused by Addiction.” She is a graduate of Black Hills State University with a composite major in Social Science. She holds a master’s degree from Oklahoma University and has presented addiction and mental health workshops in Oregon, Texas, Minneapolis, Montana, Colorado and Arizona. She has also held frequent workshops on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation and is currently conducting workshops for the Miskwaki Tribe in Tama, Iowa. She is the author of 14 published works including manuals for The Family Restoration Program and many newspaper and magazine articles. She’s a 2008 inductee into the South Dakota Hall of Fame.
November 1: Bill Bosch
William Bosch grew up on a farm in Emmons County, east of Linton, North Dakota. Both sides of his family had German-Russian backgrounds. His mother’s family (Dockter) cam from Neudorf and Kassel, and his father’s family (Bosch) from Rosental in Crimea. After graduating from Linton High School, he attended North Dakota State University where he earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree in mathematics education. He taught in the mathematics department at Northern State University in Aberdeen, South Dakota from 1963-65. He then studied at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, where he obtained a Ph.D. in mathematics in 1970. His working years were spent teaching mathematics at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, Colorado. That is where he met and married his wife Margaret. They moved to Spearfish, SD in 2005. They have a daughter, Julie, who still lives in Colorado. William is a member of the Black Hills Chapter of the Germans from Russia Heritage Society and a member of the Center of the Nation Chapter of the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia. William is the author of The German-Russians in Words and Pictures.
November 8: Doug Hoff
Douglas Henry Hoff was born in 1948 and graduated as valedictorian of his high school class in 1966. He attended and was an honor student at Black Hills State University and the SD School of Mines and Technology. He and Marlene (Molly) were married in 1968 while attending SDSMT. When his parents considered the sale of the family farm Doug and Molly decided to give ranching a try and later bought the farm, which they eventually tripled in size. While there they started a herd of world-renowned registered Angus cattle, a cattle genetics and research company that they later sold to Cargill, and had two children, Brian and Andrea.
While ranching Doug received The National Ralston Purina Youth of the Year award, The SD Young Farmer of the Year award, The North American Beef Improvement Federation Seedstock Producer of the Year award, and The 2000 US Livestock Man of the Year award. He graduated from the SD Agriculture and Rural Development program. He and Molly enjoyed and lived a robust ranching career, selling semen, embryos, and cattle around the globe, with cattle from their cowherd dispersal going to five continents. Doug brought his expertise and in-depth agricultural experience to this book, helping to produce a unique perspective of the demands of agriculture and living on the prairie.
November 15: Courtney Huse-Wika & BHSU Writing Class
Courtney Huse-Wika believes in the art of collection: overheard quotes, forgotten stories, and sometimes animals. She is the author of Perch, a chapbook of nature poetry from Anchor and Plume Press, and was named a finalist for the 2021 James Hearst Poetry Prize from North American Review, and a 2020 Honorable Mention for the New Millennium Writing Awards. Her creative work has appeared widely, including CALYX, The Halcyone, New Ohio Review, South Dakota Review, Kindred, South Dakota Magazine, South Dakota in Poems, Midwestern Gothic, Scissors and Spackle, Backwards City Review, and the MacGuffin. She received her BA in philosophy and English from Augustana University, her MA and PhD in English with a specialization in creative writing from the University of South Dakota, and is currently an Associate Professor of English and Distinguished Faculty at Black Hills State University.
December 13: Robyn VanDersys
Robyn VanDerSys was born in Washington State, which is where her love for the great outdoors was born. She has lived in several different states and in 2015 settled in the Black Hills of South Dakota with her husband and kids.
Her life has consisted of one adventure to the next, including racing monster trucks in her early twenties, raising three strong children, riding around Mexico on her four wheeler while living out of a backpack, and volunteering on a chase team while her husband raced the Baja 1000.
She spends her free time off-roading and hiking the many trails of the Black Hills, and also enjoys traveling and having as many adventures as humanly possible.

Author Talks at the Matthews
2022-10-11 12:30 - 13:30
Author Talks at the Matthews returns this fall with a new lineup of local writers ready to dive into their stories, their methods, and their inspirations. Join us in the fireplace room every Tuesday at 12:30 for an hour with some of the best authors in the Black Hills area!
Are you interested in presenting an Author Talk? Contact us at 605-717-6967 or engage@matthewsopera.com
Featured author…
October 11: Annie Christain
Annie Christain is a professor of composition and ESOL at SUNY Cobleskill and a former artist resident of the Shanghai Swatch Art Peace Hotel and the Arctic Circle Art and Science Expedition. Her poems have appeared in Seneca Review, Oxford Poetry, Prelude, and The Lifted Brow, among others. She was a first-place winner of the Driftwood Press In-House Poem Contest and received the grand prize of the Hart Crane Memorial Poetry Contest, the Greg Grummer Poetry Award, the Oakland School of the Arts Enizagam Poetry Award, and the Neil Shepard Prize in Poetry. Her books include Tall As You Are Tall Between Them (C&R Press 2016) and The Vanguards of Holography (Headmistress Press 2021), selected for Sappho’s Prize in Poetry.
Coming Soon…
October 18 & 25: Evelyn Leite
Children in families that keep secrets learn early in life to project a brave front, to avoid letting the outside world peek behind the mask, to cope alone with feelings of guilt, anger, fear and confusion.
Rapid City counselor and author Evelyn Leite grew up in such a family, struggling to understand her emotions, uncertain how she could love her parents and siblings so deeply but hate their words and actions. In her latest book “Just Fine, Thank You,” Leite explores the jumble of feelings and emotions she experienced in her early years in a closed family. She describes what it does to a young girl when the family doesn’t talk about a father who stays late at the local bar and a mother who expects her daughter to be a perfect young lady without explaining what that involves. She also shares what it does to a young child in a “no-talk’’ family as she tries to make sense of sometimes crazy, senseless behavior from people she loves.
“Just Fine, Thank You” is one of four books in a series titled Blood, Sex and Tears. She says of the series, “It’s my desire that you can find hope for yourself or a loved one based on my story of redemption.’’
Leite has had a successful, 35-year career as a professional counselor and author whose focus is on drug and alcohol problems and mental health issues. Among her best-known works are “Women: What Do We Want?” and “A Fix for the Family Rift Caused by Addiction.” She is a graduate of Black Hills State University with a composite major in Social Science. She holds a master’s degree from Oklahoma University and has presented addiction and mental health workshops in Oregon, Texas, Minneapolis, Montana, Colorado and Arizona. She has also held frequent workshops on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation and is currently conducting workshops for the Miskwaki Tribe in Tama, Iowa. She is the author of 14 published works including manuals for The Family Restoration Program and many newspaper and magazine articles. She’s a 2008 inductee into the South Dakota Hall of Fame.
November 1: Bill Bosch
William Bosch grew up on a farm in Emmons County, east of Linton, North Dakota. Both sides of his family had German-Russian backgrounds. His mother’s family (Dockter) cam from Neudorf and Kassel, and his father’s family (Bosch) from Rosental in Crimea. After graduating from Linton High School, he attended North Dakota State University where he earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree in mathematics education. He taught in the mathematics department at Northern State University in Aberdeen, South Dakota from 1963-65. He then studied at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, where he obtained a Ph.D. in mathematics in 1970. His working years were spent teaching mathematics at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, Colorado. That is where he met and married his wife Margaret. They moved to Spearfish, SD in 2005. They have a daughter, Julie, who still lives in Colorado. William is a member of the Black Hills Chapter of the Germans from Russia Heritage Society and a member of the Center of the Nation Chapter of the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia. William is the author of The German-Russians in Words and Pictures.
November 8: Doug Hoff
Douglas Henry Hoff was born in 1948 and graduated as valedictorian of his high school class in 1966. He attended and was an honor student at Black Hills State University and the SD School of Mines and Technology. He and Marlene (Molly) were married in 1968 while attending SDSMT. When his parents considered the sale of the family farm Doug and Molly decided to give ranching a try and later bought the farm, which they eventually tripled in size. While there they started a herd of world-renowned registered Angus cattle, a cattle genetics and research company that they later sold to Cargill, and had two children, Brian and Andrea.
While ranching Doug received The National Ralston Purina Youth of the Year award, The SD Young Farmer of the Year award, The North American Beef Improvement Federation Seedstock Producer of the Year award, and The 2000 US Livestock Man of the Year award. He graduated from the SD Agriculture and Rural Development program. He and Molly enjoyed and lived a robust ranching career, selling semen, embryos, and cattle around the globe, with cattle from their cowherd dispersal going to five continents. Doug brought his expertise and in-depth agricultural experience to this book, helping to produce a unique perspective of the demands of agriculture and living on the prairie.
November 15: Courtney Huse-Wika & BHSU Writing Class
Courtney Huse-Wika believes in the art of collection: overheard quotes, forgotten stories, and sometimes animals. She is the author of Perch, a chapbook of nature poetry from Anchor and Plume Press, and was named a finalist for the 2021 James Hearst Poetry Prize from North American Review, and a 2020 Honorable Mention for the New Millennium Writing Awards. Her creative work has appeared widely, including CALYX, The Halcyone, New Ohio Review, South Dakota Review, Kindred, South Dakota Magazine, South Dakota in Poems, Midwestern Gothic, Scissors and Spackle, Backwards City Review, and the MacGuffin. She received her BA in philosophy and English from Augustana University, her MA and PhD in English with a specialization in creative writing from the University of South Dakota, and is currently an Associate Professor of English and Distinguished Faculty at Black Hills State University.
December 13: Robyn VanDersys
Robyn VanDerSys was born in Washington State, which is where her love for the great outdoors was born. She has lived in several different states and in 2015 settled in the Black Hills of South Dakota with her husband and kids.
Her life has consisted of one adventure to the next, including racing monster trucks in her early twenties, raising three strong children, riding around Mexico on her four wheeler while living out of a backpack, and volunteering on a chase team while her husband raced the Baja 1000.
She spends her free time off-roading and hiking the many trails of the Black Hills, and also enjoys traveling and having as many adventures as humanly possible.

Author Talks at the Matthews
2022-10-18 12:30 - 13:30, 2022-10-25 12:30 - 13:30
Author Talks at the Matthews returns this fall with a new lineup of local writers ready to dive into their stories, their methods, and their inspirations. Join us in the fireplace room every Tuesday at 12:30 for an hour with some of the best authors in the Black Hills area!
Are you interested in presenting an Author Talk? Contact us at 605-717-6967 or engage@matthewsopera.com
Featured author…
October 18 & 25: Evelyn Leite
A two-part series
Children in families that keep secrets learn early in life to project a brave front, to avoid letting the outside world peek behind the mask, to cope alone with feelings of guilt, anger, fear and confusion.
Rapid City counselor and author Evelyn Leite grew up in such a family, struggling to understand her emotions, uncertain how she could love her parents and siblings so deeply but hate their words and actions. In her latest book “Just Fine, Thank You,” Leite explores the jumble of feelings and emotions she experienced in her early years in a closed family. She describes what it does to a young girl when the family doesn’t talk about a father who stays late at the local bar and a mother who expects her daughter to be a perfect young lady without explaining what that involves. She also shares what it does to a young child in a “no-talk’’ family as she tries to make sense of sometimes crazy, senseless behavior from people she loves.
“Just Fine, Thank You” is one of four books in a series titled Blood, Sex and Tears. She says of the series, “It’s my desire that you can find hope for yourself or a loved one based on my story of redemption.’’
Leite has had a successful, 35-year career as a professional counselor and author whose focus is on drug and alcohol problems and mental health issues. Among her best-known works are “Women: What Do We Want?” and “A Fix for the Family Rift Caused by Addiction.” She is a graduate of Black Hills State University with a composite major in Social Science. She holds a master’s degree from Oklahoma University and has presented addiction and mental health workshops in Oregon, Texas, Minneapolis, Montana, Colorado and Arizona. She has also held frequent workshops on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation and is currently conducting workshops for the Miskwaki Tribe in Tama, Iowa. She is the author of 14 published works including manuals for The Family Restoration Program and many newspaper and magazine articles. She’s a 2008 inductee into the South Dakota Hall of Fame.
Coming Soon…
November 1: Bill Bosch
William Bosch grew up on a farm in Emmons County, east of Linton, North Dakota. Both sides of his family had German-Russian backgrounds. His mother’s family (Dockter) cam from Neudorf and Kassel, and his father’s family (Bosch) from Rosental in Crimea. After graduating from Linton High School, he attended North Dakota State University where he earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree in mathematics education. He taught in the mathematics department at Northern State University in Aberdeen, South Dakota from 1963-65. He then studied at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, where he obtained a Ph.D. in mathematics in 1970. His working years were spent teaching mathematics at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, Colorado. That is where he met and married his wife Margaret. They moved to Spearfish, SD in 2005. They have a daughter, Julie, who still lives in Colorado. William is a member of the Black Hills Chapter of the Germans from Russia Heritage Society and a member of the Center of the Nation Chapter of the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia. William is the author of The German-Russians in Words and Pictures.
November 8: Doug Hoff
Douglas Henry Hoff was born in 1948 and graduated as valedictorian of his high school class in 1966. He attended and was an honor student at Black Hills State University and the SD School of Mines and Technology. He and Marlene (Molly) were married in 1968 while attending SDSMT. When his parents considered the sale of the family farm Doug and Molly decided to give ranching a try and later bought the farm, which they eventually tripled in size. While there they started a herd of world-renowned registered Angus cattle, a cattle genetics and research company that they later sold to Cargill, and had two children, Brian and Andrea.
While ranching Doug received The National Ralston Purina Youth of the Year award, The SD Young Farmer of the Year award, The North American Beef Improvement Federation Seedstock Producer of the Year award, and The 2000 US Livestock Man of the Year award. He graduated from the SD Agriculture and Rural Development program. He and Molly enjoyed and lived a robust ranching career, selling semen, embryos, and cattle around the globe, with cattle from their cowherd dispersal going to five continents. Doug brought his expertise and in-depth agricultural experience to this book, helping to produce a unique perspective of the demands of agriculture and living on the prairie.
November 15: Courtney Huse-Wika & BHSU Writing Class
Courtney Huse-Wika believes in the art of collection: overheard quotes, forgotten stories, and sometimes animals. She is the author of Perch, a chapbook of nature poetry from Anchor and Plume Press, and was named a finalist for the 2021 James Hearst Poetry Prize from North American Review, and a 2020 Honorable Mention for the New Millennium Writing Awards. Her creative work has appeared widely, including CALYX, The Halcyone, New Ohio Review, South Dakota Review, Kindred, South Dakota Magazine, South Dakota in Poems, Midwestern Gothic, Scissors and Spackle, Backwards City Review, and the MacGuffin. She received her BA in philosophy and English from Augustana University, her MA and PhD in English with a specialization in creative writing from the University of South Dakota, and is currently an Associate Professor of English and Distinguished Faculty at Black Hills State University.
December 13: Robyn VanDersys
Robyn VanDerSys was born in Washington State, which is where her love for the great outdoors was born. She has lived in several different states and in 2015 settled in the Black Hills of South Dakota with her husband and kids.
Her life has consisted of one adventure to the next, including racing monster trucks in her early twenties, raising three strong children, riding around Mexico on her four wheeler while living out of a backpack, and volunteering on a chase team while her husband raced the Baja 1000.
She spends her free time off-roading and hiking the many trails of the Black Hills, and also enjoys traveling and having as many adventures as humanly possible.

Author Talks at the Matthews
2022-11-01 12:30 - 13:30
Author Talks at the Matthews returns this fall with a new lineup of local writers ready to dive into their stories, their methods, and their inspirations. Join us in the fireplace room every Tuesday at 12:30 for an hour with some of the best authors in the Black Hills area!
Are you interested in presenting an Author Talk? Contact us at 605-717-6967 or engage@matthewsopera.com
Featured author…
November 1: Bill Bosch
Bill Bosch grew up east of Linton, ND in an area populated mainly by German-Russians. His grandparents all grew up in what is now Ukraine and Crimea. And so did their parents and so on. But when they emigrated to the Dakotas in the late 1880s they came not as Russians or Ukrainians but as ethnic Germans. Bill has written three books about his heritage. The first, published in 2014, is titled The German Russians in Words and Pictures. Next came Russian Agriculture in the 1880s. Then last year he published a historical novel with the title The Land Seekers. He will briefly discuss the first two and then discuss, with the audience, some of the mistakes he made in writing his novel. Perhaps that can help others avoid the same mistakes while inspiring them to publish their own novel.
Coming Soon…
November 8: Doug Hoff
Douglas Henry Hoff was born in 1948 and graduated as valedictorian of his high school class in 1966. He attended and was an honor student at Black Hills State University and the SD School of Mines and Technology. He and Marlene (Molly) were married in 1968 while attending SDSMT. When his parents considered the sale of the family farm Doug and Molly decided to give ranching a try and later bought the farm, which they eventually tripled in size. While there they started a herd of world-renowned registered Angus cattle, a cattle genetics and research company that they later sold to Cargill, and had two children, Brian and Andrea.
While ranching Doug received The National Ralston Purina Youth of the Year award, The SD Young Farmer of the Year award, The North American Beef Improvement Federation Seedstock Producer of the Year award, and The 2000 US Livestock Man of the Year award. He graduated from the SD Agriculture and Rural Development program. He and Molly enjoyed and lived a robust ranching career, selling semen, embryos, and cattle around the globe, with cattle from their cowherd dispersal going to five continents. Doug brought his expertise and in-depth agricultural experience to this book, helping to produce a unique perspective of the demands of agriculture and living on the prairie.
November 15: Courtney Huse-Wika & BHSU Writing Class
Courtney Huse-Wika believes in the art of collection: overheard quotes, forgotten stories, and sometimes animals. She is the author of Perch, a chapbook of nature poetry from Anchor and Plume Press, and was named a finalist for the 2021 James Hearst Poetry Prize from North American Review, and a 2020 Honorable Mention for the New Millennium Writing Awards. Her creative work has appeared widely, including CALYX, The Halcyone, New Ohio Review, South Dakota Review, Kindred, South Dakota Magazine, South Dakota in Poems, Midwestern Gothic, Scissors and Spackle, Backwards City Review, and the MacGuffin. She received her BA in philosophy and English from Augustana University, her MA and PhD in English with a specialization in creative writing from the University of South Dakota, and is currently an Associate Professor of English and Distinguished Faculty at Black Hills State University.
November 29: Michael Harris
Michael Harris lives in the Black Hills near Deadwood South Dakota. He is a husband and a father. His first novel “Outlaw Blood” is a Post Apocalyptic Western, set sometime in the near future after a global economic crash has devastated the world’s countries.
Michael enjoys shooting, hiking, reading, writing, and hunting. He has ranched and worked cattle, served in the U.S. Army for eight years, been a Law Enforcement Officer, survived 17 years as Mr. Mom, and is now an author.
December 6: Troy Dobyns
At two weeks old, Troy started traveling with his family due to his father’s Naval career. He and his family lived in many places but always came home to the Black Hills for vacations. When their father retired, they knew this would be their permanent home.
In the spring of 1972, the family moved to Rapid City just in time to live through the Rapid City flood. Troy’s story is intertwined with several others from the maternal side of his family who also fought the waters of that horrible night in June 1972. These stories are revealed through several accounts of the family but mostly through the eyes of the then-eight-year-old author. The story covers the day of the flood, the night of the flood, survivorship, the aftermath, and the recovery.
December 13: Robyn VanDersys
Robyn VanDerSys was born in Washington State, which is where her love for the great outdoors was born. She has lived in several different states and in 2015 settled in the Black Hills of South Dakota with her husband and kids.
Her life has consisted of one adventure to the next, including racing monster trucks in her early twenties, raising three strong children, riding around Mexico on her four wheeler while living out of a backpack, and volunteering on a chase team while her husband raced the Baja 1000.
She spends her free time off-roading and hiking the many trails of the Black Hills, and also enjoys traveling and having as many adventures as humanly possible.

Author Talks at the Matthews
2022-11-08 12:30 - 13:30
Author Talks at the Matthews returns this fall with a new lineup of local writers ready to dive into their stories, their methods, and their inspirations. Join us in the fireplace room every Tuesday at 12:30 for an hour with some of the best authors in the Black Hills area!
Are you interested in presenting an Author Talk? Contact us at 605-717-6967 or engage@matthewsopera.com
Featured author…
November 8: Doug Hoff
Douglas Henry Hoff was born in 1948 and graduated as valedictorian of his high school class in 1966. He attended and was an honor student at Black Hills State University and the SD School of Mines and Technology. He and Marlene (Molly) were married in 1968 while attending SDSMT. When his parents considered the sale of the family farm Doug and Molly decided to give ranching a try and later bought the farm, which they eventually tripled in size. While there they started a herd of world-renowned registered Angus cattle, a cattle genetics and research company that they later sold to Cargill, and had two children, Brian and Andrea.
While ranching Doug received The National Ralston Purina Youth of the Year award, The SD Young Farmer of the Year award, The North American Beef Improvement Federation Seedstock Producer of the Year award, and The 2000 US Livestock Man of the Year award. He graduated from the SD Agriculture and Rural Development program. He and Molly enjoyed and lived a robust ranching career, selling semen, embryos, and cattle around the globe, with cattle from their cowherd dispersal going to five continents. Doug brought his expertise and in-depth agricultural experience to this book, helping to produce a unique perspective of the demands of agriculture and living on the prairie.
Coming Soon…
November 15: Courtney Huse-Wika & BHSU Writing Class
Courtney Huse-Wika believes in the art of collection: overheard quotes, forgotten stories, and sometimes animals. She is the author of Perch, a chapbook of nature poetry from Anchor and Plume Press, and was named a finalist for the 2021 James Hearst Poetry Prize from North American Review, and a 2020 Honorable Mention for the New Millennium Writing Awards. Her creative work has appeared widely, including CALYX, The Halcyone, New Ohio Review, South Dakota Review, Kindred, South Dakota Magazine, South Dakota in Poems, Midwestern Gothic, Scissors and Spackle, Backwards City Review, and the MacGuffin. She received her BA in philosophy and English from Augustana University, her MA and PhD in English with a specialization in creative writing from the University of South Dakota, and is currently an Associate Professor of English and Distinguished Faculty at Black Hills State University.
November 29: Michael Harris
Michael Harris lives in the Black Hills near Deadwood South Dakota. He is a husband and a father. His first novel “Outlaw Blood” is a Post Apocalyptic Western, set sometime in the near future after a global economic crash has devastated the world’s countries.
Michael enjoys shooting, hiking, reading, writing, and hunting. He has ranched and worked cattle, served in the U.S. Army for eight years, been a Law Enforcement Officer, survived 17 years as Mr. Mom, and is now an author.
December 6: Troy Dobyns
At two weeks old, Troy started traveling with his family due to his father’s Naval career. He and his family lived in many places but always came home to the Black Hills for vacations. When their father retired, they knew this would be their permanent home.
In the spring of 1972, the family moved to Rapid City just in time to live through the Rapid City flood. Troy’s story is intertwined with several others from the maternal side of his family who also fought the waters of that horrible night in June 1972. These stories are revealed through several accounts of the family but mostly through the eyes of the then-eight-year-old author. The story covers the day of the flood, the night of the flood, survivorship, the aftermath, and the recovery.
December 13: Robyn VanDersys
Robyn VanDerSys was born in Washington State, which is where her love for the great outdoors was born. She has lived in several different states and in 2015 settled in the Black Hills of South Dakota with her husband and kids.
Her life has consisted of one adventure to the next, including racing monster trucks in her early twenties, raising three strong children, riding around Mexico on her four wheeler while living out of a backpack, and volunteering on a chase team while her husband raced the Baja 1000.
She spends her free time off-roading and hiking the many trails of the Black Hills, and also enjoys traveling and having as many adventures as humanly possible.

Author Talks at the Matthews
2022-11-15 12:30 - 13:30
Author Talks at the Matthews returns this fall with a new lineup of local writers ready to dive into their stories, their methods, and their inspirations. Join us in the fireplace room every Tuesday at 12:30 for an hour with some of the best authors in the Black Hills area!
Are you interested in presenting an Author Talk? Contact us at 605-717-6967 or engage@matthewsopera.com
Featured author…
November 15: Courtney Huse-Wika & BHSU Writing Class
Courtney Huse-Wika believes in the art of collection: overheard quotes, forgotten stories, and sometimes animals. She is the author of Perch, a chapbook of nature poetry from Anchor and Plume Press, and was named a finalist for the 2021 James Hearst Poetry Prize from North American Review, and a 2020 Honorable Mention for the New Millennium Writing Awards. Her creative work has appeared widely, including CALYX, The Halcyone, New Ohio Review, South Dakota Review, Kindred, South Dakota Magazine, South Dakota in Poems, Midwestern Gothic, Scissors and Spackle, Backwards City Review, and the MacGuffin. She received her BA in philosophy and English from Augustana University, her MA and PhD in English with a specialization in creative writing from the University of South Dakota, and is currently an Associate Professor of English and Distinguished Faculty at Black Hills State University.
Coming Soon…
November 29: Michael Harris
Michael Harris lives in the Black Hills near Deadwood South Dakota. He is a husband and a father. His first novel “Outlaw Blood” is a Post Apocalyptic Western, set sometime in the near future after a global economic crash has devastated the world’s countries.
Michael enjoys shooting, hiking, reading, writing, and hunting. He has ranched and worked cattle, served in the U.S. Army for eight years, been a Law Enforcement Officer, survived 17 years as Mr. Mom, and is now an author.
December 6: Troy Dobyns
At two weeks old, Troy started traveling with his family due to his father’s Naval career. He and his family lived in many places but always came home to the Black Hills for vacations. When their father retired, they knew this would be their permanent home.
In the spring of 1972, the family moved to Rapid City just in time to live through the Rapid City flood. Troy’s story is intertwined with several others from the maternal side of his family who also fought the waters of that horrible night in June 1972. These stories are revealed through several accounts of the family but mostly through the eyes of the then-eight-year-old author. The story covers the day of the flood, the night of the flood, survivorship, the aftermath, and the recovery.
December 13: Robyn VanDersys
Robyn VanDerSys was born in Washington State, which is where her love for the great outdoors was born. She has lived in several different states and in 2015 settled in the Black Hills of South Dakota with her husband and kids.
Her life has consisted of one adventure to the next, including racing monster trucks in her early twenties, raising three strong children, riding around Mexico on her four wheeler while living out of a backpack, and volunteering on a chase team while her husband raced the Baja 1000.
She spends her free time off-roading and hiking the many trails of the Black Hills, and also enjoys traveling and having as many adventures as humanly possible.

Author Talks at the Matthews
2022-11-29 12:30 - 13:30
Author Talks at the Matthews returns this fall with a new lineup of local writers ready to dive into their stories, their methods, and their inspirations. Join us in the fireplace room every Tuesday at 12:30 for an hour with some of the best authors in the Black Hills area!
Are you interested in presenting an Author Talk? Contact us at 605-717-6967 or engage@matthewsopera.com
Featured author…
November 29: Michael Harris
Michael Harris lives in the Black Hills near Deadwood South Dakota. He is a husband and a father. His first novel “Outlaw Blood” is a Post Apocalyptic Western, set sometime in the near future after a global economic crash has devastated the world’s countries.
Michael enjoys shooting, hiking, reading, writing, and hunting. He has ranched and worked cattle, served in the U.S. Army for eight years, been a Law Enforcement Officer, survived 17 years as Mr. Mom, and is now an author.
Coming Soon…
December 6: Troy Dobyns
At two weeks old, Troy started traveling with his family due to his father’s Naval career. He and his family lived in many places but always came home to the Black Hills for vacations. When their father retired, they knew this would be their permanent home.
In the spring of 1972, the family moved to Rapid City just in time to live through the Rapid City flood. Troy’s story is intertwined with several others from the maternal side of his family who also fought the waters of that horrible night in June 1972. These stories are revealed through several accounts of the family but mostly through the eyes of the then-eight-year-old author. The story covers the day of the flood, the night of the flood, survivorship, the aftermath, and the recovery.
December 13: Robyn VanDersys
Robyn VanDerSys was born in Washington State, which is where her love for the great outdoors was born. She has lived in several different states and in 2015 settled in the Black Hills of South Dakota with her husband and kids.
Her life has consisted of one adventure to the next, including racing monster trucks in her early twenties, raising three strong children, riding around Mexico on her four wheeler while living out of a backpack, and volunteering on a chase team while her husband raced the Baja 1000.
She spends her free time off-roading and hiking the many trails of the Black Hills, and also enjoys traveling and having as many adventures as humanly possible.

Author Talks at the Matthews
2022-12-06 12:30 - 13:30
Author Talks at the Matthews returns this fall with a new lineup of local writers ready to dive into their stories, their methods, and their inspirations. Join us in the fireplace room every Tuesday at 12:30 for an hour with some of the best authors in the Black Hills area!
Are you interested in presenting an Author Talk? Contact us at 605-717-6967 or engage@matthewsopera.com
Featured author…
December 6: Troy Dobyns
At two weeks old, Troy started traveling with his family due to his father’s Naval career. He and his family lived in many places but always came home to the Black Hills for vacations. When their father retired, they knew this would be their permanent home.
In the spring of 1972, the family moved to Rapid City just in time to live through the Rapid City flood. Troy’s story is intertwined with several others from the maternal side of his family who also fought the waters of that horrible night in June 1972. These stories are revealed through several accounts of the family but mostly through the eyes of the then-eight-year-old author. The story covers the day of the flood, the night of the flood, survivorship, the aftermath, and the recovery.
Coming Soon…
December 13: Robyn VanDersys
Robyn VanDerSys was born in Washington State, which is where her love for the great outdoors was born. She has lived in several different states and in 2015 settled in the Black Hills of South Dakota with her husband and kids.
Her life has consisted of one adventure to the next, including racing monster trucks in her early twenties, raising three strong children, riding around Mexico on her four wheeler while living out of a backpack, and volunteering on a chase team while her husband raced the Baja 1000.
She spends her free time off-roading and hiking the many trails of the Black Hills, and also enjoys traveling and having as many adventures as humanly possible.

Author Talks at the Matthews
2023-01-10 12:30 - 13:30
Author Talks at the Matthews returns with a new lineup of local writers ready to dive into their stories, their methods, and their inspirations. Join us in the fireplace room every Tuesday at 12:30 for an hour with some of the best authors in the Black Hills area!
Are you interested in presenting an Author Talk? Contact us at 605-717-6967 or engage@matthewsopera.com
Featured author…
January 10: Karen Holzer and Bill Feterl
This week’s Author Talks will feature “Let’s Feed the Fish,” written by Kindra Gordon, Karen Holzer, and Joanna Jones and illustrated by local artist, Bill Feterl. Feterl will discuss the process he used to plan and create his artwork as well as the planning and organization of the pages, how the text was chosen, and the printing process.

The book tells the story of two young boys visiting the D.C. Booth Fish Hatchery in Spearfish. Two excited young boys explore the D.C. Booth, zig zagging through the scenic grounds learning about raceways, touring a museum, visiting the Booth House, and feeding the fish.
Coming Soon…
January 17: South Dakota State Poetry Society
South Dakota State Poetry Society (SDSPS) came into existence in 1926. It has operated continuously publishing two volumes of Pasque Petals annually. SDSPS poets Heidi Moseley, Jean Helmer and others, as weather permits, will share readings from Pasque Petals, and discuss the of writing poetry. Information on membership and on how to submit works for publication will also be provided.
Jean Helmer writes of experiences garnered farming and ranching, and of her careers in classrooms and rural church pulpits. She and husband Gary live near Belle Fourche with their literary pups, Annie
Grabstreak and Ginny Woolf. She is published in Pasque Petals, and in various SD and WY anthologies.
Holly Moseley lives in Camp Crook. She is secretary of the South Dakota State Poetry Society, and belongs to both the Belle Fourche and Bearlodge Writers groups. Her poems have been published in Pasque Petals, several anthologies, and South Dakota Magazine.

God's Eye Ornament
2023-01-17 10:00 - 12:00
Join us in the Matthews Gallery on Tuesday, January 17 at 10 am for Gods Eye Weaving, where you will be guided through the process of creating a colorful ornament using simple weaving techniques.
You may have encountered God’s Eye ornaments as a school project but the activity has a history that is hundreds of years old.
God’s Eye ornaments first originated among the Huichol, the indigenous peoples of what is now western Mexico. They believed that the spiritual world could be accessed through crafting objects. The Huichol made large ceremonial shields with colored yarn and sticks as protection against the uncertainties of the future, so that a god could keep a watchful eye over the craftsman.
Black yarn or a mirrored disk in the center of the God’s Eye is intended to help the god see better and where the stick foundation crosses, an opening was left so that shamans and gods could travel easily between the spirit world and earth. The four points of the “eye” are believed to represent the four earthly elements (fire, water, earth and air).

This workshop is free to attend, however, space is limited to 10 participants. Registration is required. Contact the Matthews Community Engagement Manager at (605)717-6967 or email engage@matthewsopera.com to reserve your spot.

About the NEA Big Read
The National Endowment for the Arts Big Read, a partnership with Arts Midwest, broadens our understanding of our world, our communities, and ourselves through the joy of sharing a good book. Since 2006, the National Endowment for the Arts has funded more than 1,700 NEA Big Read programs, providing more than $24 million to organizations nationwide. In addition, NEA Big Read activities have reached every Congressional district in the country. Over the past 16 years, grantees have leveraged more than $56 million in local funding to support their NEA Big Read programs. More than 5.9 million Americans have attended an NEA Big Read event, over 97,000 volunteers have participated at the local level, and over 40,000 community organizations have partnered to make NEA Big Read activities possible.
Visit arts.gov/neabigread for more information about the NEA Big Read. Organizations interested in applying for an NEA Big Read grant in the future should visit Arts Midwest’s website for more information.

NEA Big Read is a program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest.
El proyecto NEA Big Read es una iniciativa del National Endowment for the Arts (el Fondo Nacional para las Artes de Estados Unidos) en cooperación con Arts Midwest

Author Talks at the Matthews
2023-01-17 12:30 - 13:30
Author Talks at the Matthews returns with a new lineup of local writers ready to dive into their stories, their methods, and their inspirations. Join us in the fireplace room every Tuesday at 12:30 for an hour with some of the best authors in the Black Hills area!
Are you interested in presenting an Author Talk? Contact us at 605-717-6967 or engage@matthewsopera.com
Featured author…
January 17: South Dakota State Poetry Society

South Dakota State Poetry Society (SDSPS) came into existence in 1926. It has operated continuously publishing two volumes of Pasque Petals annually. SDSPS poets Heidi Moseley, Jean Helmer and others, as weather permits, will share readings from Pasque Petals, and discuss the of writing poetry. Information on membership and on how to submit works for publication will also be provided.
Jean Helmer writes of experiences garnered farming and ranching, and of her careers in classrooms and rural church pulpits. She and husband Gary live near Belle Fourche with their literary pups, Annie
Grabstreak and Ginny Woolf. She is published in Pasque Petals, and in various SD and WY anthologies.
Holly Moseley lives in Camp Crook. She is secretary of the South Dakota State Poetry Society, and belongs to both the Belle Fourche and Bearlodge Writers groups. Her poems have been published in Pasque Petals, several anthologies, and South Dakota Magazine.

Coming Soon…
January 24: Kathy Bjornestad
Kathy Bjornestad is a retired K-12 school librarian and Language Arts teacher. She has been writing novels since the fifth grade and has experimented with poetry, novels for all ages, and creative nonfiction. Bjornestad
is an award-winning author who calls the Black Hills of South Dakota home. She believes in the power of books to promote empathy and awaken wonder and appreciation for the natural world. She will speak about her new book, Rhymes from the Reef.

Author Talks at the Matthews
2023-01-24 12:30 - 13:30
Author Talks at the Matthews returns with a new lineup of local writers ready to dive into their stories, their methods, and their inspirations. Join us in the fireplace room every Tuesday at 12:30 for an hour with some of the best authors in the Black Hills area!
Are you interested in presenting an Author Talk? Contact us at 605-717-6967 or engage@matthewsopera.com
Featured author…
January 24: Kathy Bjornestad

Kathy Bjornestad is a retired K-12 school librarian and Language Arts teacher. She has been writing novels since the fifth grade and has experimented with poetry, novels for all ages, and creative nonfiction. Bjornestad
is an award-winning author who calls the Black Hills of South Dakota home. She believes in the power of books to promote empathy and awaken wonder and appreciation for the natural world. She will speak about her new book, Rhymes from the Reef.

Coming Soon…
January 31: Donna Watson
Stay tuned while we gather more information about the author and her discussion on historical fiction!

Dreamcatchers
2023-02-07 10:00 - 12:00
Join us on Tuesday, February 7 from 10 am-noon in the Matthews Art Gallery to create your own dreamcatcher with iconic hoop-and-web design.
The dream catcher is one of the most enduring and widespread symbols associated with Native American culture. It’s commonly believed that the iconic hoop-and-web form is meant to protect sleepers from bad dreams by “catching” them, while letting good dreams pass through, hence the name.
This is event is free to attend however space is limited to 10 participants. Registration is required.
To save your space, please call (605)717-6967 or email engage@matthewsopera.com.

About the NEA Big Read
The National Endowment for the Arts Big Read, a partnership with Arts Midwest, broadens our understanding of our world, our communities, and ourselves through the joy of sharing a good book. Since 2006, the National Endowment for the Arts has funded more than 1,700 NEA Big Read programs, providing more than $24 million to organizations nationwide. In addition, NEA Big Read activities have reached every Congressional district in the country. Over the past 16 years, grantees have leveraged more than $56 million in local funding to support their NEA Big Read programs. More than 5.9 million Americans have attended an NEA Big Read event, over 97,000 volunteers have participated at the local level, and over 40,000 community organizations have partnered to make NEA Big Read activities possible.
Visit arts.gov/neabigread for more information about the NEA Big Read. Organizations interested in applying for an NEA Big Read grant in the future should visit Arts Midwest’s website for more information.

NEA Big Read is a program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest.
El proyecto NEA Big Read es una iniciativa del National Endowment for the Arts (el Fondo Nacional para las Artes de Estados Unidos) en cooperación con Arts Midwest

Author Talks at the Matthews
2023-02-07 12:30 - 13:30
Author Talks at the Matthews returns with a new lineup of local writers ready to dive into their stories, their methods, and their inspirations. Join us in the fireplace room every Tuesday at 12:30 for an hour with some of the best authors in the Black Hills area!
Are you interested in presenting an Author Talk? Contact us at 605-717-6967 or engage@matthewsopera.com
Featured author…
February 7: Belle Fourche Writers

Join us Tuesday, February 7 at 12:30 as members of Belle Fourche Writers present Family Stories Revisited. Authors Jean Helmer and Margaret “Margie” Bolte will share stories of their writing journeys and their works in progress, including a story based on an old Mexican folklore tale of The Weeping Woman.
Margie Bolte retired to Belle Fourche, her husband Dave’s hometown, following a career in the U.S. Public Health Service. She served as a Safety and Health Educator with the Food & Drug Administration and with Indian Health Services. She grew up in eastern Colorado and earned a Master’s Degree from the University of Minnesota.
Jean Helmer, 4th generation South Dakotan, taught in PeeWee Prep School, Belle Fourche High School, Black Hills State University, and in National Writing Project Summer Institutes. She pastored rural parishes in Butte and Harding Counties. Her works appear in Pasque Petals, and anthologies and newspapers in South Dakota, Wyoming, and Minnesota.

Coming Soon…
February 21: Robyn VanDersys
Robyn VanDerSys was born in Washington State, which is where her love for the great outdoors was born. She has lived in several different states and in 2015 settled in the Black Hills of South Dakota with her husband and kids.
Her life has consisted of one adventure to the next, including racing monster trucks in her early twenties, raising three strong children, riding around Mexico on her four wheeler while living out of a backpack, and volunteering on a chase team while her husband raced the Baja 1000.
She spends her free time off-roading and hiking the many trails of the Black Hills, and also enjoys traveling and having as many adventures as humanly possible.

Author Talks at the Matthews
2023-02-21 12:30 - 13:30
Author Talks at the Matthews returns with a new lineup of local writers ready to dive into their stories, their methods, and their inspirations. Join us in the fireplace room every Tuesday at 12:30 for an hour with some of the best authors in the Black Hills area!
Are you interested in presenting an Author Talk? Contact us at 605-717-6967 or engage@matthewsopera.com
Featured author…
February 21: Robyn VanDersys & MJ Witt
Robyn VanDersys was born in Washington State, which is where her love for the great outdoors was born. She has lived in several different states and in 2015 settled in the Black Hills of South Dakota with her husband and kids. Her life has consisted of one adventure to the next, including racing monster trucks in her early twenties, raising three strong children, riding around Mexico on her four wheeler while living out of a backpack, and volunteering on a chase team while her husband raced the Baja 1000. She spends her free time off-roading and hiking the many trails of the Black Hills, and also enjoys traveling and having as many adventures as humanly possible.
MJ Witt is an apocalyptic fiction writer with Raventhorne Books. Born and raised in the Black Hills of South Dakota, MJ Witt has plied his hand at an amazing variety of vocations, including wilderness outfitter, horse trainer, SCUBA diving instructor, dolphin trainer before finally settling into technology. Being an avid reader his whole life, the transition to writing is his newest adventure. He loves authors who can tell a good story, and Robert Heinlein and Louis L’Amour are among his icons. He lives with his wife and child in the Pacific Northwest. If he isn’t working on their farm taking care of the horses and other animals, you will often find him traveling around the world enjoying new experiences and seeing what’s over the next horizon.
Coming Soon…
February 28: Noel Hamiel
Noel Hamiel is a career newspaperman of 35 years beginning at the Huron Plainsman, and the final 14 years at The Daily Republic where he retired as publisher in 2007. In 2007, he accepted a position with the South Dakota Community Foundation where he worked with communities statewide in philanthropic development. During his career, Hamiel received numerous awards for editorial and column writing. He served as an instructor of mass communications at St. Thomas More College, Fort Thomas, Ky. He is also the author of Sketches of South Dakota, published in 2002 and illustrated by Allison Hamiel.
Hamiel will speak about his book, South Dakota Mathis Murders: Horror in the Heartland, which focusses on, perhaps, the most infamous murder case in state history. Mathis was shot twice in the head at point-blank range inside the family’s steel shed serving as their makeshift home. Two of her three children, ages 2 and 4, were also shot in the head. The brutality of the killings shocked the state and set off a frenzy of law enforcement activity. Despite its intensity, the investigation never found the murderer or the murder weapon. Though charged with the crime, Mathis’s husband was acquitted, leaving the door open for endless speculation about what really occurred on that late summer morning of Sept. 8, 1981. With renewed insight from those involved, veteran South Dakota journalist Noel Hamiel explores this cold case of murder and mystery that still haunts the Mount Rushmore state.

Author Talks at the Matthews
2023-02-28 12:30 - 13:30
Author Talks at the Matthews returns with a new lineup of local writers ready to dive into their stories, their methods, and their inspirations. Join us in the fireplace room every Tuesday at 12:30 for an hour with some of the best authors in the Black Hills area!
Are you interested in presenting an Author Talk? Contact us at 605-717-6967 or engage@matthewsopera.com
Featured author…
February 28: Noel Hamiel
Noel Hamiel is a career newspaperman of 35 years beginning at the Huron Plainsman, and the final 14 years at The Daily Republic where he retired as publisher in 2007. In 2007, he accepted a position with the South Dakota Community Foundation where he worked with communities statewide in philanthropic development. During his career, Hamiel received numerous awards for editorial and column writing. He served as an instructor of mass communications at St. Thomas More College, Fort Thomas, Ky. He is also the author of Sketches of South Dakota, published in 2002 and illustrated by Allison Hamiel.
Hamiel will speak about his book, South Dakota Mathis Murders: Horror in the Heartland, which focusses on, perhaps, the most infamous murder case in state history. Mathis was shot twice in the head at point-blank range inside the family’s steel shed serving as their makeshift home. Two of her three children, ages 2 and 4, were also shot in the head. The brutality of the killings shocked the state and set off a frenzy of law enforcement activity. Despite its intensity, the investigation never found the murderer or the murder weapon. Though charged with the crime, Mathis’s husband was acquitted, leaving the door open for endless speculation about what really occurred on that late summer morning of Sept. 8, 1981. With renewed insight from those involved, veteran South Dakota journalist Noel Hamiel explores this cold case of murder and mystery that still haunts the Mount Rushmore state.
Coming Soon…
March 7: Belle Fourche Writers
The Many Faces of Marnie Anderson, presented by the Belle Fourche Writers
Belle Fourche Writers 2022 “Writers’ Challenge” asked each writer to “birth a character” and then use two or more of the characters in a story. One character, Marnie Anderson, a 45-year-old City Administrator of Scandinavian descent, appears in several stories. Marnie is successful at her career but hides the one thing she wishes she had been able to achieve. Come meet Marnie as she appears in three stories.
Meet the authors…
Joan Gerkin is a South Dakota native, moving to Belle Fourche in 1989. Her early years as a farm wife and mother, was followed by a twenty-year career as a Fairfield Inn by Marriott General Manager. Now retired, she draws on her life experiences for writing inspiration.
Lynda Edwards began writing after taking creative writing courses provided by Community Education of the Black Hills. Her writings include fiction, poetry, and memoirs f other childhood ranch life. Her writings have won awards at the SD State Fair.
Eric Beeman grew up in Minnesota. After high school, he served four years in the US Navy, then enrolled in an electronics program. He retired in 2019 after a career as a maintenance technician.

Laminated Pressed Flowers
2023-03-07 10:00 - 12:00
Join us in the Matthews Gallery on Tuesday, March 7 at 10 am for a free artist’s workshop creating laminated, pressed flowers. Participants will be guided through the process of creating art with dried flowers and make their choice of bookmarks, coasters, or notecards.
This workshop is free to attend, however, space is limited to 10 participants. Registration is required.
Contact the Matthews Community Engagement Manager at (605) 717-6967 or email engage@matthewsopera.com to reserve your spot
About the NEA Big Read
The National Endowment for the Arts Big Read, a partnership with Arts Midwest, broadens our understanding of our world, our communities, and ourselves through the joy of sharing a good book. Since 2006, the National Endowment for the Arts has funded more than 1,700 NEA Big Read programs, providing more than $24 million to organizations nationwide. In addition, NEA Big Read activities have reached every Congressional district in the country. Over the past 16 years, grantees have leveraged more than $56 million in local funding to support their NEA Big Read programs. More than 5.9 million Americans have attended an NEA Big Read event, over 97,000 volunteers have participated at the local level, and over 40,000 community organizations have partnered to make NEA Big Read activities possible.
Visit arts.gov/neabigread for more information about the NEA Big Read. Organizations interested in applying for an NEA Big Read grant in the future should visit Arts Midwest’s website for more information.

NEA Big Read is a program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest.
El proyecto NEA Big Read es una iniciativa del National Endowment for the Arts (el Fondo Nacional para las Artes de Estados Unidos) en cooperación con Arts Midwest

Author Talks at the Matthews
2023-03-07 12:30 - 13:30
Author Talks at the Matthews returns with a new lineup of local writers ready to dive into their stories, their methods, and their inspirations. Join us in the fireplace room every Tuesday at 12:30 for an hour with some of the best authors in the Black Hills area!
Are you interested in presenting an Author Talk? Contact us at 605-717-6967 or engage@matthewsopera.com
Featured author…
March 7: Belle Fourche Writers
The Many Faces of Marnie Anderson, presented by the Belle Fourche Writers
Belle Fourche Writers 2022 “Writers’ Challenge” asked each writer to “birth a character” and then use two or more of the characters in a story. One character, Marnie Anderson, a 45-year-old City Administrator of Scandinavian descent, appears in several stories. Marnie is successful at her career but hides the one thing she wishes she had been able to achieve. Come meet Marnie as she appears in three stories.
Meet the authors…
Joan Gerkin is a South Dakota native, moving to Belle Fourche in 1989. Her early years as a farm wife and mother, was followed by a twenty-year career as a Fairfield Inn by Marriott General Manager. Now retired, she draws on her life experiences for writing inspiration.
Lynda Edwards began writing after taking creative writing courses provided by Community Education of the Black Hills. Her writings include fiction, poetry, and memoirs f other childhood ranch life. Her writings have won awards at the SD State Fair.
Eric Beeman grew up in Minnesota. After high school, he served four years in the US Navy, then enrolled in an electronics program. He retired in 2019 after a career as a maintenance technician.
The Character of Marnie Anderson
She is a 45-year-old white female of Scandinavian descent. Her 5’ 10” tall, 160-pound frame shows her athletic body and love of outdoor activities including cross-country skiing and biking. With long, straight blonde hair and blue eyes she is attractive in business suits or active wear. Marney was born and raised on a farm outside La Crosse, WI. The oldest of seven children, three brothers and three sisters, Marnie was expected to lead by example. She earned her MBA from the University of Minnesota, bringing her immense success as a sought-after City Administrator. She has lived in Illinois, Michigan, and Iowa before taking her new position in Sunnyside, at $250,000.00 per year. Marnie loves the challenge that each new community brings to her goal of being the best in her chosen profession. Marnie has never failed to succeed in achieving the goals each community set out. In working her way up, the ladder of success, never spending more than three years in one community, she left behind her husband Arthur, a high school principal who chose to stay in Iowa. Marnie has no doubts when it comes to her career, but hides the one thing she wishes she had been able to achieve.
Coming Soon…
March 14: Viktoriia Peterson
Stay tuned as we gather more information about author Viktoriia Peterson and her discussion on flash fiction memoir.

Author Talks at the Matthews
2023-03-14 12:30 - 13:30
Author Talks at the Matthews returns with a new lineup of local writers ready to dive into their stories, their methods, and their inspirations. Join us in the fireplace room every Tuesday at 12:30 for an hour with some of the best authors in the Black Hills area!
Are you interested in presenting an Author Talk? Contact us at 605-717-6967 or engage@matthewsopera.com
Featured author…
March 14: Viktoriia Peterson
Born and raised in Ukraine, Viktoriia has resided in Sundance, WY with her husband since May 2014. She received American Citizenship in January 2019. Viktoriia loves the abundant beauty and wildlife in Wyoming. Her favorite pastimes are gardening, hiking, camping, and exploring her creativity while surrounded by nature. In addition to her passion for writing and painting, she practices reflexology and massage therapy.
She has published several children’s books during her five years living in the United States: Lisa and the Bears, A Devils Tower Secret, and Eagle Feather. Additionally, she is also the illustrator for her books, working in oils and acrylics. The subjects for these books are National Parks, children, and animals. She wants her books to show kindness, mutual understanding, friendliness, and respect for the opinions of other people. She is inspired with book ideas by her visits to national parks, as well as walking and camping in the woods.
Viktoriia will present her new flash fiction memoir book “A Dream of Destiny”

Coming Soon…
March 14: Viktoriia Peterson

Author Talks: Jean Helmer
2023-03-28 12:30 - 13:30
Author Talks at the Matthews returns with a new lineup of local writers ready to dive into their stories, their methods, and their inspirations. Join us in the fireplace room every Tuesday at 12:30 for an hour with some of the best authors in the Black Hills area!
Are you interested in presenting an Author Talk? Contact us at 605-717-6967 or engage@matthewsopera.com
Featured author…
March 28: Jean Helmer
On March 28, Jean Helmer joins us from Belle Fourche Writers to present From Plains, Podiums, and Pulpits. Helmer’s writing is drawn from roots in high plains agriculture, from her years in education, and from years as a country pastor. A past director of Dakota Writing Project’s Summer institutes, ranch kid/educator/pastor has been published in WyoPoets 2020 Chapbook, in several editions of South Dakota State Poetry Society’s Pasque Petals, in Gyroscope, and in various anthologies and newspapers. Bring your paper and a writing instrument. This Author Talk is interactive!

Coming Soon…
April 4: Robin Carmody
Robin, born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts, felt a longing for the Black Hills for as long as she can remember. A modern-day kindred spirit of those early pioneers, Robin’s background includes earning a Class A CDL license, a Master’s Degree in Early Childhood Education, and being Chairperson of the Early Childhood Department at Bay State College in Boston.
For many years, she has devoted time to historical research of Wild Bill Hickok, his circle of friends, and the Black Hills area.
Robin is a mother of two fiercely independent, successful adult children and Nana to two beautiful, energetic grandchildren for whom she originally conceived the idea of the “But Nana” books. Her hobbies include knitting, quilting, participating in donation drives, and traveling.
For the Author Talks presentation, Robin will discuss the four books in the “But Nana” children’s book series, and how her research on Wild Bill Hickok began decades ago, bringing her to this point in time.

Author Talks at the Matthews
2023-04-04 12:30 - 13:30
The April 4 Author Talks with Robin Carmody has been postponed due to weather. We will reschedule our visit with Robin. Please keep your eye on our website for the new date!
Author Talks at the Matthews returns with a new lineup of local writers ready to dive into their stories, their methods, and their inspirations. Join us in the fireplace room every Tuesday at 12:30 for an hour with some of the best authors in the Black Hills area!
Are you interested in presenting an Author Talk? Contact us at 605-717-6967 or engage@matthewsopera.com
Featured author…
April 4: Robin Carmody

Robin, born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts, felt a longing for the Black Hills for as long as she can remember. A modern-day kindred spirit of those early pioneers, Robin’s background includes earning a Class A CDL license, a Master’s Degree in Early Childhood Education, and being Chairperson of the Early Childhood Department at Bay State College in Boston.
For many years, she has devoted time to historical research of Wild Bill Hickok, his circle of friends, and the Black Hills area.
Robin is a mother of two fiercely independent, successful adult children and Nana to two beautiful, energetic grandchildren for whom she originally conceived the idea of the “But Nana” books. Her hobbies include knitting, quilting, participating in donation drives, and traveling.
For the Author Talks presentation, Robin will discuss the four books in the “But Nana” children’s book series, and how her research on Wild Bill Hickok began decades ago, bringing her to this point in time.

Coming Soon…
April 11: M J McMillan
M J McMillan is a poet, author and semi-retired rancher living near Murdo, SD. A lifelong resident of the state, the self-proclaimed “Poet for the Common Man” currently has three books in print: Poems for the Common Man, volumes one, two and three. The poet and author is presently working on a fourth volume of Common Man poems as well as a volume of cowboy poetry and a volume of short stories. His poetry has been well-received and published in South Dakota Magazine. He has also been nominated for a Pushcart Prize.
