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July 30. 2010 8:40AM

The Meyers are calling it quits.

After moving to Brandon in 1973, Don and Connie Meyer launched a series of businesses out of their home on East Park Street. Once surrounded by prairie grass, cornfields and gravel roads, the Meyer’s little piece of Americana – now in the Brandon city limits – is neighbor to hundreds of new homes and an elementary school. As Don inches toward his 84th birthday in September and Connie nears her 74th next month, the Meyers are putting out the “closed” sign for good.

Their four decades of contributing to Brandon’s economic and cultural growth was recognized last week when Mayor Larry Beesley proclaimed Sunday, July 25 as “Don and Connie Meyer Day.”

“I think it’s pretty neat, but I don’t know if we really deserve it or not,” said a humbled Don Meyer.

His daughter, Therressa Hurley, disagrees.

“I think it’s very special. They may not think they deserve it, but they’ve done a lot for the growth of Brandon,” she said.

Her sister, Jolene Kujuwa agrees.

“Anywhere I go in Brandon and mention my parents, they know who they are.”

The Meyers moved to Brandon in 1973, living in a trailer home on property owned by Don’s sister and her husband, Alice and Harold Larson. It was at time the Meyers turned their hobbies into an assortment of home-based business opportunities.

The centerpiece business the couple operated was “Meyer’s Wild Game Farm.” The Meyers supplied many local residents with fresh eggs and garden produce, and a variety of waterfowl and game birds, both native and exotic.

“At one time we had 17 different kinds of pheasants, 12 different kinds of wild ducks, North American wild geese, Bobwhite quail, peacocks and a lot of wild turkeys,” Don said. “And we raised up a couple of deer, too.” The Meyers also raised pygmy goats and variety of chickens, including a species that laid colored eggs.

“They laid colored eggs – pink, green, blue,” Connie said.

“They’d (customers) come here and tell us to save eggs for them for Easter,” adds Don.

The Meyers continue to sell a dozen eggs here and there, but said they’ll soon call it quits for good.

Don raised a variety of birds, including 200 white king pigeons that he sent overseas to France.

“Dad sent birds out to both coasts, from Washington to Maine and everywhere in between,” daughter Therressa informs.

“That was just my world, my way of expressing my gratitude for the feathered wildlife that nature provided us,” Don said.

Over the years, the wild game farm proved to be a popular tour destination for hundreds of local school children.

“We used to have a lot of school kids and organizations come through here. We gave many tours,” Don said. “And the kids all wanted to find a feather.”

The Meyers made sure every kid left the property with a feather in hand, as they’d save feathers from their peacocks as they shed them.

Don, who worked 36 years as a meat cutter at John Morrell’s, also sported an interest in gardening. When he retired from “trimming bellies,” he dedicated a half-acre of their property to growing “everything and anything.”

“I remember when you used to sell cucumbers to the local grocery store,” says Therressa.

“They just loved to get that fresh produce,” Don remembers. “I’d pick it and take it up there – it had a longer shelf life.”

And their clients – all known on a first name basis only – returned each year to purchase the goodies Don and Connie raised.

“Oh, the sweet corn we sold,” remembers Connie. “And the potatoes and onions and sweet potatoes, and 100 pounds of asparagus a year.”

Connie said her husband, who was raised on a farm, enjoyed working in the dirt.
“He always said it was so relaxing,” Connie said.

The Meyers were also known for more than just their fresh produce and eggs.

For more than 40 years, Connie’s made-from-scratch cakes were the centerpiece of many occasions, such as weddings, birthdays, graduations and holidays.

“Any kind of a event that needed a cake, I made them,” said the proprietor of Connie’s Homemade Gifts.

Juggling a family and a home-based business weren’t always easy. She often had multiple orders for the same day, which she never failed to fulfill.

“When it got wild, I’d get them all done and delivered,” Connie said. “And I wasn’t late for any of them.”

Connie’s knack for baking was likely inspired by her father, who owned a series of restaurants in Sioux Falls, including the Blue and Gold, the Lakeside Dairy Milk Bar and Prairie Dairy. Her father was well known for making ice cream cakes.

“My father was in the restaurant business and he was a baker, and he taught me how,” Connie said. At age 16, she began baking cakes for the restaurants.

Connie put away her baking tools about two years ago when she suffered from back troubles and the accompanying surgery.

Besides her sweet treats, Connie was also known for her handmade crafts that included ceramics. “I had to keep my hands busy,” she said. “And when you made something for one, then you had to make six more that wanted the same thing.”
This summer, Don and Connie are enjoying their newfound retirement from the matching recliners they’ve moved from their home to their garage. It’s a place where the couple can settle in comfortably and keep watch on Mother Nature and the land they’ve tended to for nearly four decades.

“I just want to say a special thanks to all of our customers and visitors,” Don said. “They fulfilled my life’s dream.”