Keystone goes for the gold

Town has more to offer than Mount Rushmore

By Andrea J. Cook, Journal staff | Sunday, May 04, 2008

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KEYSTONE - The summer season hasn't started, but there's a new pulse of excitement here as the community prepares for the arrival of thousands of visitors.

More than 3 million people pass through Keystone every summer on their way to Mount Rushmore National Memorial, but only a small percentage stop to explore the town with a history going back decades before Gutzon Borglum started the famous mountain carving.

Just as early prospectors prowled the mountains along Battle and Grizzly Bear creeks in search of gold, local businesses hope to entice more guests to explore their community and discover the town's riches.

The plan to bring new visitors and new advertising dollars into town has brought a new unity to the community, according to those involved in the effort.

Sandi McLain, co-owner of Big Thunder Gold Mine, is one of the leaders of the project that started with a rejected grant application.

In December, McLain spearheaded the application intended to tap into funds available through Gov. Mike Rounds' Million Dollar Challenge, which is supervised by the Office of Tourism and State Development.

Grants are available to organizations with new marketing ideas. To qualify, organizations must also raise new funds to promote their idea. Money previously budgeted for marketing cannot be applied to the new project.

After the original application was rejected, McLain and her team reconsidered their plans, brainstorming additional ways to attract new visitors to the area. They also want to encourage people to stay longer when they visit.

Contributions from the City of Keystone, the Chamber of Commerce, the Keystone Historical Society and local businesses have raised $12,700 to meet the challenge's matching funds requirements. The city also kicked in $4,000 for magazine advertising intended to reach an international audience.

Those businesses that couldn't afford to make cash contributions are donating their time and talents to the project, McLain said. As a result, nearly all of the business community is involved.

The new advertising campaign is also designed to capitalize on the past and a little recent history: the Disney movie "National Treasure: Book of Secrets." Scenes from the movie were shot at Mount Rushmore. Disney has given Keystone permission to use the movie's logo in advertising.

"Our goal is to try to go into other markets that we haven't gone into before," Bonetta Eich-Nedved, executive director of the Keystone Chamber of Commerce, said. "We really haven't had the funding to go into a lot of the international markets that cost a lot of dollars."

With more than 400 geocaches in the Black Hills, Keystone hopes to grab the attention of geocaching enthusiasts, McLain said.

Heritage tourism is another natural product for the town that has a rich history, she said.

The marketing committee's efforts have produced a prospector's pack filled with ideas that should mean fun for visitors and locals alike who venture into town. Even without the challenge dollars, most of the plans have been set in motion.

One of the first steps starts by giving Keystone a minor identity change.

Long known as the "Home of Mount Rushmore," Keystone has a new brand name. Brochures and advertising this summer will welcome visitors to "Keystone, Home of Mount Rushmore -- City of Gold."

Gold brought the first residents to Keystone, according to LaVeta Giannonatti, a lifelong resident who operates Black Hills Gifts and Souvenirs.

"The term City of Gold fits right in because there was a lot of mining here in the early days," Giannonatti said.

Remnants of the town's rich mining history can still be found in the mines and buildings in Old Keystone.

Many visitors pass through town not knowing that Old Keystone is nestled along Battle Creek, Deb Flack, owner of Gold Diggers by Deb, said.

Visitors are also unaware that Carrie Ingalls Swanzey, the youngest sister of "Little House on the Prairie" author Laura Ingalls Wilder, made her home here for 35 years.

Two years ago, the Keystone Area Historical Society organized a walking tour through Old Keystone that acquaints visitors with the town's past. Twenty-two new stops have been added to the walk this year, McLain said.

"In our community, history does sell," McLain said. "That's what our attractions are all about."

Keystone's proximity to Mount Rushmore is not an automatic guarantee of success for local businesses, according to Dick and Kathy Drummond. The Drummonds operate Wilderness Legends, a gift shop in the Keystone Mall.

Being successful in the tourism industry takes work, Dick Drummond said.

"So many of the locals feel that because we have Mount Rushmore, we don't need to do anything else," he said. But the 30 miles visitors have to travel from Interstate 90's Exit 61 to Keystone can be considered a long trip, especially for people headed for Yellowstone or Glacier national parks, he said.

"We need to get that tourist off the interstate and over here," he said.

And after those guests arrive, it's important to make their stay as pleasant as possible, McLain said.

It's the marketing committee's task to organize treasure hunts for visitors, vacation packages and assist with major events, such as Carrie Ingalls Day in August and Holy Terror Days, Sept. 5 and 6.

While they're at work promoting Keystone as a destination, a newly created hospitality committee strives to ensure that guests are treated well and that everyone in town, including residents, enjoys the summer.

The hospitality group is planning a training session for seasonal employees and preparing a notebook filled with facts for each business, according to Patty Songstad, who operates the Vintage Villa in the revitalized Keystone Ice House. Mystery shoppers will also make the rounds throughout the summer, quizzing clerks to "keep them on their toes," she said.

Mystery shoppers will award prizes based upon right answers.

Before the summer season kicks into full gear, Songstad's group is planning a one-day mixer to get business owners and employees out in the community visiting shops and getting acquainted with everything Keystone has to offer.

"Sometimes, they just go to work and go home, and they don't even know what's around the corner," Songstad said.

"We're trying to connect all the businesses and get them excited about each other," she said.

For those heavily involved in the "City of Gold" project, there's a new unity and enthusiasm for the summer ahead.

And although gas prices might change a few spending habits, everyone is optimistic that all of their efforts will pay off with additional grant dollars and more visitors.

"We're hoping that by doing a few of these new things, the state will look at it and see that we are trying to do different things and not just relying upon old things," Eich-Nedved said. "Everyone in tourism or advertising knows that what worked yesterday doesn't necessarily work today."

Contact Andrea Cook at 394-8423 or andrea.cook@rapidcityjournal.com