Howard Celebrations
No one pulls off community celebrations quite like a small town. You sense that when most everyone you know makes it a priority to line Main Street and applaud the high school homecoming parade. Howard is at its liveliest in October when hunters hit town by the hundreds. The community transforms to Roaring Gulch the night before hunting’s opening day, and it retains a bit of that quality throughout pheasant season. A few weeks later Howard’s people come together to kick off the holiday season the weekend after Thanksgiving, with an electric light parade, downtown shopping, stories for kids, and crafts-making and food preparation lessons.

Nature
Ask a Howard resident why he or she enjoys life here and often the reply has to do with nature. Not surprising.  From prairie sunsets to world-class pheasant hunting, the natural world asserts itself powerfully. Superb fishing and boating are minutes away, too, on the clear waters of Lake Carthage and South Dakota’s glacial lakes.  Or drive west a couple hours to the huge Missouri River reservoirs.

Summer Treats
For golfers, Howard’s pretty nine-hole course is a bargain city-dwellers wouldn’t believe, with very reasonable fees and no waits for tee times. In summer, especially, Howard’s people here appreciate surrounding Miner County, boasting pretty picnic and camping sites, small town festivals, and at Canova one of the upper Midwest’s most storied amateur baseball teams.  Immediately over the county lines lie the lands Laura Ingalls Wilder knew and wrote about, and open-air watermelon markets.

A Real Hometown
Of course, there’s much more to enjoying life than recreation and entertainment.  Feeling bonded to a place, in ways small town residents know best, is its own reward.  There’s nothing quaint in Howard about taking time to know your neighbors in ways more than superficial, trusting your kids are safe as they bicycle all over town, or being greeted by name as you step into a shop.  It’s just how life is here.

In most places people don’t list working on committees as part of enjoying life, but even that’s different in Howard, where residents realize they’re part of an impressive community revitalization effort. Click here to meet city council member Faye Oines, who describes how people of all ages came together to beautify Main Street in unique fashion.