Poet laureate Adeline Jenney of Valley Springs, South Dakota

Adeline Jenney of Valley Springs was South Dakota's second poet laureate. Her story reflects travel, ministry, education, and rural life.

Adeline Miriam Jenney was born on November 21, 1874 in Montastir, North Macedonia, which was part of the Ottoman Empire at the time. Her parents were Christian missionaries, and the family stayed in North Macedonia until Adeline was 8 years old. When her family returned to the United States they resided in Wisconsin where she then graduated from high school in 1893 and then received her bachelor's degree at the University of Wisconsin at Madison in 1899. There she graduated as the “Ivy day” poet, an award given to English majors as the highest honor at the school. While getting her bachelor's degree, she also studied abroad at both University of Oxford in the United Kingdom and the University of Munich in Germany. She then went to University of Illinois to complete fellowship work in the area of English and completed her master’s degree in 1906 back in Wisconsin. Adeline went on to become a teacher and worked at Yankton College, in Yankton, South Dakota.

After teaching in Yankton, Adeline's father was nearing retirement age when he then settled in 1917 in Valley Springs, South Dakota. Adeline followed and held positions in teaching as well as assistant principal in Valley Springs. While in South Dakota she continued to write poetry. In 1933, she became secretary of the South Dakota Poetry Society where she worked for 34 years. In 1937 .she became the editor of Pasque Petals, the oldest, continuously published poetry magazine in the United States. In 1958, she became Poet Laureate of the state of South Dakota, making her the first female poet in the position. While in South Dakota, she also followed in her father's footsteps and became an ordained minister. She received honorary degrees from both Yankton College and Sioux Falls College (now University of Sioux Falls). Adeline Jenney passed away in Valley Springs on May, 11, 1973 at the age of ninety eight and is buried in the Valley Springs cemetery.

Many of Adeline’s works reflected histories taking place in South Dakota, and even in Valley Springs. She wrote a poem titled “They Were Able” honoring immigrants from New England and Scandinavia that came to the northern plains. This poem was published in 1969 in the book Prairie Poets III. The poem tells the story of the path that immigrants took to South Dakota and that through their struggles they found a better life. She also ties in imagery specific to the Midwest and South Dakota by talking about the landscape of the prairie and states that this poem has specific ties to both Valley Springs, South Dakota, and Beaver Creek, Minnesota. The closing line, “To build for the future as truly as they?” leaves the reader with the curiosity and hope of what kind of future these immigrants will build in their newfound home. 

“Dakota Pioneers" is another poem written by Adeline Jenney published in Prairie Poets II. This poem tells the story of immigrants and pioneers that came to the Dakotas. It also shows the more difficult, and less talked about aspects of immigration when their faith was tested through hunger, burnout, and extreme weather conditions like blizzards. It also has ties to South Dakota by mentioning the bison in which these pioneers encountered on their journey. In the end of the poem Jenney explains how their struggle was worth it by including the line, “But the tiller shall win him is homestead at last.”

The town of Valley Springs is located east of the city of Sioux Falls near the Minnesota border. It was often referred to as “the front door to South Dakota.” In 1862, President Aberham Lincoln signed the Homestead Act into law, which grants each applicant 160 acres of public land to farm to encourage more people to settle out west. This brought pioneers and immigrants to the area, mostly between the years of 1868 and 1873. The U.S-Dakota War of 1862 also caused an influx of settlers to the area due to flight from the social turmoil in Minnesota. By the late nineteenth century, Valley Springs was known as a growing agricultural town with rich soil and large shipping points for livestock and grain. These push and pull factors brought people from all over to start a life in Valley Springs. In 1873, an application for a post office in Valley Springs was made by a man named Johnathan Dunham, also known as “The Father of Valley Springs.” Five years later, in 1878, the town was officially incorporated, which led to founding schools and churches.

Stories of Valley Springs and its development are shown throughout the works of Adeline Jenney in many ways like in the poems mentioned above. Another example of her work that reflects Valley Springs is called “Land o’ mine.” This poem talks about the prairies of South Dakota as well as the livestock and domestic plants living in the geographical area. Adeline represents and reflects both Valley Springs and South Dakota by showing life from her perspective, the perspective of others, and the rich history of agriculture, war, and immigration. She left her mark by dedicating her life to poetry, teaching, ministry, and by making a difference in Valley Springs. 

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