Hello Everyone,
Keystone, a small Black Hills town close to Mount Rushmore, reminds me of Gatlinburg, Tennessee. It consists primarily of one major street loaded with restaurants, candy stores, and mercantile shops including a large emporium. Traffic is heavy with parking spaces at a premium. We found their taffy store is worth a stop as are visits to two area craftsmen, Black Hills Glass Blowers and Dahl’s Chainsaw Art.
RUSHMORE MOUNTAIN TAFFY SHOP
Whether you want regular or sugar free salt water taffy, this candy store offers a huge variety of both at reasonable prices. Recipes with no preservatives or egg whites have been handed down for generations by candy makers. The store opened in 1967. It is now run by Jeff Stverak and his sister, whose parents purchased it in 1980.
Before the taffy is stretched, there is a station where all the different flavors are added. Visitors watch the huge 130-year-old taffy puller then observe another machine slice the candy into bite-sized pieces and wrap them in wax paper. The action occurs throughout the day in the summer but the same cannot be said for the rest of the year.
Sugar free comes in a choice of 12 flavors. Besides the more standard flavors in sugar free like vanilla, mint, lemon, banana, and strawberry, you’ll find cinnamon, chokeberry, and black walnut. It gets more exotic with 37 choices of regular taffy. Some of the more unusual ones are buttered popcorn, root beer, bubblegum, cappuccino, strawberry cheesecake, and key lime. Their site has a complete list of flavors in regular and sugar free.
Purchase the candy at the store or have them ship it to you anywhere in the continental United States in one, two, or five pounds. When ordering, you can mix and match flavors until you come up with the desired weight. Price on their web site for regular taffy is $7.84, $15, and $34 respectively while for sugar free it is $8.91, $17.26, and $36.50. A $15 shipping and handling charge applies to all orders.
If you don’t mind receiving assorted taffy, we found an alternative to shipping from the store. It is possible to order Mount Rushmore Taffy from Amazon. It is $13.45 for three pounds and $22.95 for five pounds. Shipping is free if you have an order of more than $25 or have Prime Shipping. The only problem is that the individual candies in the bag are not identified as to what flavors they are.
Mount Rushmore Taffy carries and ships other products as well. You can purchase peanut brittle, fudge, caramels, and coconut brittle. They also have a variety of jellies, salad dressings, and log cabin syrups. The same shipping charge applies.
The store has six standard gift baskets but is willing to do custom orders. All baskets contain taffy but vary as to meat, cheese, popcorn, and other products. You can check these out on their site. The shipping charge for any of these is $15.
We were so pleased with the quality that we purchased twice from them while we were in the Black Hills. Recently, while at home, we ordered a five pound bag from Amazon and found the taffy excellent.
Rushmore Mountain Taffy Shop’s phone number is (605) 666-4430. Located in Keystone, their address is 203 Winter Street. The shop is open from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., seven days a week.
BLACK HILLS GLASS BLOWERS
Located one mile outside of Keystone on Old Hill City Road, visitors find the studio and gallery of Pete Hopkins and Gail Damin. By attending Penland School of Craft, in Penland, North Carolina, near Asheville, both became proficient in producing lampworked pieces and blown glass. They started glass blowing 35 years ago and built their current studio 25 years ago. Their pieces take from five minutes to five hours to produce.
Glass blowing is a process where the glass blower inflates molten glass into a bubble then an artifact with the aid of a blowpipe (or blow tube) by using a furnace. Designs can be simple to complex with objects ranging from specialty art ware to utilitarian.
At the studio, visitors will notice a large furnace that runs 24/7 at a temperature of 2,000 degrees. It’s full of 250 pounds of molten glass. Gail and Peter take the rod in and out of the furnace. It’s essential to keep the glass hot in order to get the object they are making shaped properly. The rod they use must be kept rolling in order to shape and clean the glass ball on which they are working. After removing the edge, the object is rolled through color as many times as they want. Then it is cooled down.
With lampworking, a torch or lamp is primarily used to melt the glass. Once in a molten state, the glass is formed by blowing and shaping with tools and hand movements. “It is extremely unusual for the same shop and the same person to do both,” said Peter. “It requires different skill sets.”
The propane pipe (lamp) is at 2,500 degrees. It uses 100 pounds of oxygen an hour. In this process, they use the pipe to melt a solid rod of glass which is woven or spun. The rod is made of pyrex and is the same tubing as is found in a chemistry lab. They do three different stitches. A barrel stitch, a California roll, and a drop stitch. “It takes precise work and steadiness and is hard to learn,” said Gail.
Peter demonstrated how they make their lampworked swan whose body is filled with water and food coloring. It is a complex procedure involving heating the glass, blowing it, and bending it via a number of steps to shape the swan. The liquid is brought into the body via suction.
There are a thousand items in their gallery which you can purchase. This includes vases, bowls, goblets, and paperweights in a variety of forms and colors. You’ll also find lampwork figurines, animals, flowers, and ornaments. Of course, there are the swans in various colors. They do accept special orders.
The studio is open daily from mid May to mid September. During the off season, they are open part time so it is wise to call ahead. Their telephone number is (605)666-4542. The address is 909 Old Hill City Road, County Road 323.
Note that photographs are normally not allowed. Upon our request, they allowed us to take shots specifically for our web site.
DAHL’S CHAINSAW ART
Imagine heading for a fishing trip in the Kenai Peninsula of Alaska for a couple of weeks in 2004, after graduating from high school, and having it turn into a whole summer learning the skill of chainsaw art. That is exactly what happened to Jarrett Dahl, a Dawson, Minnesota native, when he was 18 years old.
A high school friend’s uncle, Scott Hanson, who is a well-known chainsaw artist in Soldotna, Alaska, introduced him to the art form on his second day in Alaska. By the end of the day, Jarrett had carved seven little stump bears. These sold quickly. He returned to Alaska for the next three summers to refine his skills. In 2006, Jarrett won the Alaska People’s Choice Award for his sculpture depicting two eagles with wings spread in combat over a fish. He won the Alaska State Championship in 2007 for his carving of an Indian warrior in a ceremonial dance pose.
Jarrett tried running a shop in St. Cloud, Minnesota between his Alaska summers and later operated winter shops in Palm Desert, California and Aspen, Colorado.
From 2007 to 2015, visitors to Keystone viewed Jarrett working from late May through late September at Dahl’s Chainsaw Art. He is now open year round. It’s located two miles from Mount Rushmore. His younger brother, Jordan, whom he introduced to the art, operates Dahl’s Chainsaw Art in Hill City and Deadwood, South Dakota where he sells his own creations. Jarrett now stays at his shop during the winter building up his inventory.
Walking around the business, you’re likely to spot a wide variety of sculptures. There is everything from a 9-foot rotating triple eagles sculpture to a 25-foot Indian warrior holding an eagle aloft. It’s touted as one of the world’s largest chainsaw carvings. His most popular pieces are bears and eagles since they have the most character. You’ll also notice moose, owls, cowboys, dolphins, bison, and many more.
Jarrett has received national acclaim. The Orlando, Florida’s Ripley’s Believe It or Not used to house his massive sculpture, carved from cottonwood, of an eagle easy-riding an asphalt-hugging hawg. It has since been moved to their museum in Baltimore. The log weighed more than 10,000 pounds. When it was finished, it was a 3,000 pound sculpture that measured just over 12-feet long and 6-feet in diameter.
A recreation of this piece serves as a fixture at his Keystone shop. It is 10-feet long, 6-feet wide, and made of cottonwood. It is one of his favorite pieces.
Jarrett received one of his first major breaks from three Cabelas stores. Two were in Minnseota and one in South Dakota. He also worked for four years with art galleries around Aspen. He and Jordan have competed in multiple carving competitions across the country. The two brothers teamed up to compete in the St. Paul Winter Carnival ice sculpturing contests where they’ve won awards including the Carver’s Pick.
He sketches out or sees a picture of what he wants to carve. Jarrett has apprentices who work with him on creating designs and doing some of the work. They have been with him for several years. Jarrett considers them amazing artists.
Customers, who want a custom piece, also supply him with designs. He makes a lot of mascots for sports teams.
Most of his wood is local, usually soft pine, since it is easier to find. Sometimes a log calls to him. In other cases, Jarrett finds the exact size log he needs to carve his idea. Most of his works are fashioned from a single log. Jarrett often erects scaffolding around them so he can work in the round. He has also worked with bronze and been known to experiment with local marble.
Ninety-five percent of the work is done with a chain saw. He then does the finishing work with grinder, dremels, sanders and hand tools. He uses a special tool for the eyes. He tries not to do a lot of painting, preferring the natural wood color.
Projects vary in the time it takes to complete them. For example, bears can be carved in 30 minutes or take 2-1/2 months to complete. A standard piece takes a couple of hours of chainsaw time. Smaller carvings can take more time since he has to be very careful with what he is doing.
Dahl’s Chainsaw Art is located on Highway 16A in Keystone. The telephone number is (612) 834-1149.
Keystone, a small Black Hills town close to Mount Rushmore, reminds me of Gatlinburg, Tennessee. It consists primarily of one major street loaded with restaurants, candy stores, and mercantile shops including a large emporium. Traffic is heavy with parking spaces at a premium. We found their taffy store is worth a stop as are visits to two area craftsmen, Black Hills Glass Blowers and Dahl’s Chainsaw Art.
RUSHMORE MOUNTAIN TAFFY SHOP
Whether you want regular or sugar free salt water taffy, this candy store offers a huge variety of both at reasonable prices. Recipes with no preservatives or egg whites have been handed down for generations by candy makers. The store opened in 1967. It is now run by Jeff Stverak and his sister, whose parents purchased it in 1980.
Before the taffy is stretched, there is a station where all the different flavors are added. Visitors watch the huge 130-year-old taffy puller then observe another machine slice the candy into bite-sized pieces and wrap them in wax paper. The action occurs throughout the day in the summer but the same cannot be said for the rest of the year.
Sugar free comes in a choice of 12 flavors. Besides the more standard flavors in sugar free like vanilla, mint, lemon, banana, and strawberry, you’ll find cinnamon, chokeberry, and black walnut. It gets more exotic with 37 choices of regular taffy. Some of the more unusual ones are buttered popcorn, root beer, bubblegum, cappuccino, strawberry cheesecake, and key lime. Their site has a complete list of flavors in regular and sugar free.
Purchase the candy at the store or have them ship it to you anywhere in the continental United States in one, two, or five pounds. When ordering, you can mix and match flavors until you come up with the desired weight. Price on their web site for regular taffy is $7.84, $15, and $34 respectively while for sugar free it is $8.91, $17.26, and $36.50. A $15 shipping and handling charge applies to all orders.
If you don’t mind receiving assorted taffy, we found an alternative to shipping from the store. It is possible to order Mount Rushmore Taffy from Amazon. It is $13.45 for three pounds and $22.95 for five pounds. Shipping is free if you have an order of more than $25 or have Prime Shipping. The only problem is that the individual candies in the bag are not identified as to what flavors they are.
Mount Rushmore Taffy carries and ships other products as well. You can purchase peanut brittle, fudge, caramels, and coconut brittle. They also have a variety of jellies, salad dressings, and log cabin syrups. The same shipping charge applies.
The store has six standard gift baskets but is willing to do custom orders. All baskets contain taffy but vary as to meat, cheese, popcorn, and other products. You can check these out on their site. The shipping charge for any of these is $15.
We were so pleased with the quality that we purchased twice from them while we were in the Black Hills. Recently, while at home, we ordered a five pound bag from Amazon and found the taffy excellent.
Rushmore Mountain Taffy Shop’s phone number is (605) 666-4430. Located in Keystone, their address is 203 Winter Street. The shop is open from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., seven days a week.
BLACK HILLS GLASS BLOWERS
Located one mile outside of Keystone on Old Hill City Road, visitors find the studio and gallery of Pete Hopkins and Gail Damin. By attending Penland School of Craft, in Penland, North Carolina, near Asheville, both became proficient in producing lampworked pieces and blown glass. They started glass blowing 35 years ago and built their current studio 25 years ago. Their pieces take from five minutes to five hours to produce.
Glass blowing is a process where the glass blower inflates molten glass into a bubble then an artifact with the aid of a blowpipe (or blow tube) by using a furnace. Designs can be simple to complex with objects ranging from specialty art ware to utilitarian.
At the studio, visitors will notice a large furnace that runs 24/7 at a temperature of 2,000 degrees. It’s full of 250 pounds of molten glass. Gail and Peter take the rod in and out of the furnace. It’s essential to keep the glass hot in order to get the object they are making shaped properly. The rod they use must be kept rolling in order to shape and clean the glass ball on which they are working. After removing the edge, the object is rolled through color as many times as they want. Then it is cooled down.
With lampworking, a torch or lamp is primarily used to melt the glass. Once in a molten state, the glass is formed by blowing and shaping with tools and hand movements. “It is extremely unusual for the same shop and the same person to do both,” said Peter. “It requires different skill sets.”
The propane pipe (lamp) is at 2,500 degrees. It uses 100 pounds of oxygen an hour. In this process, they use the pipe to melt a solid rod of glass which is woven or spun. The rod is made of pyrex and is the same tubing as is found in a chemistry lab. They do three different stitches. A barrel stitch, a California roll, and a drop stitch. “It takes precise work and steadiness and is hard to learn,” said Gail.
Peter demonstrated how they make their lampworked swan whose body is filled with water and food coloring. It is a complex procedure involving heating the glass, blowing it, and bending it via a number of steps to shape the swan. The liquid is brought into the body via suction.
There are a thousand items in their gallery which you can purchase. This includes vases, bowls, goblets, and paperweights in a variety of forms and colors. You’ll also find lampwork figurines, animals, flowers, and ornaments. Of course, there are the swans in various colors. They do accept special orders.
The studio is open daily from mid May to mid September. During the off season, they are open part time so it is wise to call ahead. Their telephone number is (605)666-4542. The address is 909 Old Hill City Road, County Road 323.
Note that photographs are normally not allowed. Upon our request, they allowed us to take shots specifically for our web site.
DAHL’S CHAINSAW ART
Imagine heading for a fishing trip in the Kenai Peninsula of Alaska for a couple of weeks in 2004, after graduating from high school, and having it turn into a whole summer learning the skill of chainsaw art. That is exactly what happened to Jarrett Dahl, a Dawson, Minnesota native, when he was 18 years old.
A high school friend’s uncle, Scott Hanson, who is a well-known chainsaw artist in Soldotna, Alaska, introduced him to the art form on his second day in Alaska. By the end of the day, Jarrett had carved seven little stump bears. These sold quickly. He returned to Alaska for the next three summers to refine his skills. In 2006, Jarrett won the Alaska People’s Choice Award for his sculpture depicting two eagles with wings spread in combat over a fish. He won the Alaska State Championship in 2007 for his carving of an Indian warrior in a ceremonial dance pose.
Jarrett tried running a shop in St. Cloud, Minnesota between his Alaska summers and later operated winter shops in Palm Desert, California and Aspen, Colorado.
From 2007 to 2015, visitors to Keystone viewed Jarrett working from late May through late September at Dahl’s Chainsaw Art. He is now open year round. It’s located two miles from Mount Rushmore. His younger brother, Jordan, whom he introduced to the art, operates Dahl’s Chainsaw Art in Hill City and Deadwood, South Dakota where he sells his own creations. Jarrett now stays at his shop during the winter building up his inventory.
Walking around the business, you’re likely to spot a wide variety of sculptures. There is everything from a 9-foot rotating triple eagles sculpture to a 25-foot Indian warrior holding an eagle aloft. It’s touted as one of the world’s largest chainsaw carvings. His most popular pieces are bears and eagles since they have the most character. You’ll also notice moose, owls, cowboys, dolphins, bison, and many more.
Jarrett has received national acclaim. The Orlando, Florida’s Ripley’s Believe It or Not used to house his massive sculpture, carved from cottonwood, of an eagle easy-riding an asphalt-hugging hawg. It has since been moved to their museum in Baltimore. The log weighed more than 10,000 pounds. When it was finished, it was a 3,000 pound sculpture that measured just over 12-feet long and 6-feet in diameter.
A recreation of this piece serves as a fixture at his Keystone shop. It is 10-feet long, 6-feet wide, and made of cottonwood. It is one of his favorite pieces.
Jarrett received one of his first major breaks from three Cabelas stores. Two were in Minnseota and one in South Dakota. He also worked for four years with art galleries around Aspen. He and Jordan have competed in multiple carving competitions across the country. The two brothers teamed up to compete in the St. Paul Winter Carnival ice sculpturing contests where they’ve won awards including the Carver’s Pick.
He sketches out or sees a picture of what he wants to carve. Jarrett has apprentices who work with him on creating designs and doing some of the work. They have been with him for several years. Jarrett considers them amazing artists.
Customers, who want a custom piece, also supply him with designs. He makes a lot of mascots for sports teams.
Most of his wood is local, usually soft pine, since it is easier to find. Sometimes a log calls to him. In other cases, Jarrett finds the exact size log he needs to carve his idea. Most of his works are fashioned from a single log. Jarrett often erects scaffolding around them so he can work in the round. He has also worked with bronze and been known to experiment with local marble.
Ninety-five percent of the work is done with a chain saw. He then does the finishing work with grinder, dremels, sanders and hand tools. He uses a special tool for the eyes. He tries not to do a lot of painting, preferring the natural wood color.
Projects vary in the time it takes to complete them. For example, bears can be carved in 30 minutes or take 2-1/2 months to complete. A standard piece takes a couple of hours of chainsaw time. Smaller carvings can take more time since he has to be very careful with what he is doing.
Dahl’s Chainsaw Art is located on Highway 16A in Keystone. The telephone number is (612) 834-1149.
Jeff Getting the Roll of Taffy
Laying Out the Taffy
Operating the Cutting and Wrapping Machine
Rushmore Mountain Taffy Shop with All of Its Varieties of Taffy
Gail at the Furnace
Starting to Shape the Glass
Peter and Gail Adding Two Pieces Together
Working with the Rim
Shaping a Dish
Blowing and Bending a Swan at the Same Time
Some of the Beautiful Objects They Make
Gail Holding More Finished Products
The Lampworked Swan We Bought
Jarrett in Front of Dahls Chainsaw Art
Welcome Bear
Other Bears
One of His Largest Pieces- Depicts All Kinds of Wildlife
Stand Alone Eagle
A Replica of the Piece at Ripley's Believe It or Not
Native American Carving
A Variety of Jarrett's Carvings
Works in Progress