Submitted photo
MADISON AREA RETIRED TEACHERS, including (left) Millie Gross, Carol White, Bonnie Nelson, Rita Brown and DeAnn Molskness, have been preparing the Prairie Village Library for the upcoming Steam Threshing Jamboree.
courtesy Madison Daily Leader
What do you do when company is coming? For a group of retired teachers, knowing that visitors would soon be arriving for the 52nd annual Steam Threshing Jamboree at Prairie Village from Aug. 22-24 meant it was time to gather scrubbing buckets, dust cloths, vacuums and other supplies and head to the Prairie Village Library for some serious housecleaning.

Each year, the Madison Area Retired Teachers clean the library and schedule hostesses to be on hand to greet visitors, answer questions and provide information concerning the historic nature of the building.

Originally constructed as the Howard City Hall, the structure later became the first chartered library in Dakota Territory in 1886. The building has been restored and furnished in original style.

In recent years, repairs of the foundation, new siding and exterior windows have been added. Some of the funding for the improvements was made possible with a grant from the Mary Chilton DAR Foundation and a quilt raffle sponsored by MARTA.