The sign in front of 81 Metal Art and East River Furniture along Sixth Street in Freeman, which typically carries what many would consider "dad jokes," offers this chuckle in the days leading up to the Christmas weekend.

The Pioneer Hall auditorium was quiet Monday morning, but it will be alive with the sounds of Christmas tonight as Freeman Academy finally proceeds with Yuletide. The annual holiday meal and music program was originally scheduled for Thursday and Friday, Dec. 15 and 16 but postponed because of the winter storm and its aftereffects — primarily in rural areas. For ease of rescheduling, all ticket-holders for "A Tree-Mendous Yuletide" will be accommodated tonight.

Jaque Liebl and Dylan Lehr help serve up Saturday's meal of appreciation inside the Menno City/School Auditorium — an event that doubles as Santa Day. Organizers with the Menno Community Club and Menno area businesses planned for about 300 people during the two-hour event that saw a steady crowd.

Jim Rigo moves snow Friday morning, Dec. 16 — the final day of what ended up being a nasty winter weather event across the Freeman community. What started with sleet and rain early in the week turned over to snow Wednesday, which continued well into Friday. Chad Soulek of Lawns Unlimited speculates Freeman received between 6 and 8 inches of snow and says he can't remember a multi-day weather event like this in years. "It was a doozy," said Soulek, who put in a 22-hour day Friday and was back at it Saturday morning; he hoped to be wrapped up by 3 p.m.

This drift in front of Fensel's on Highway 81 is all you need to know about the weather situation, which continues to be extreme. Snow and blowing snow remained a reality Friday morning and the moisture accumulation from the past couple of days is impacting travel considerably. Plows were out cleaning the main roads in Freeman overnight and the cleanup has continued into the daytime hours — and will in the 24 hours to come.

As was in the forecast, the Freeman area is getting hammered with a winter storm today as snow and wind is making for tough weather conditions. Area schools are closed and it's quiet around the community — with the exception of people clearing sidewalks and driveways. The system is expected to move out by tomorrow, which will be followed by bitter cold temperatures. 

This is the way that it was Wednesday morning as snow enveloped the Freeman community as part of a much larger system that is hijacking most of South Dakota. The snow is expected to continue through Thursday, with wind eventually becoming a factor.

This photo is all you need to know about what Tuesday morning looked like across the greater Freeman Area, as ice was everywhere. That prompted local schools to start 2 hours late and made traffic slow and sparse as the morning got rolling. But the ice is expected to melt as rain beings and temperatures rise throughout the day. And plenty more moisture is expected in the days ahead — including snow.

Freeman's Main Street was hopping Monday morning, which could be due to errands being run ahead of the incoming weather system. While it appears southeastern South Dakota will escape the brunt of the snow, there are still big questions as to what the moisture that is coming in will look like. Rain is likely early this week but there's a reasonable chance of ice in the days to come.

This classic photo of Freeman's Main Street from 1918 was taken from the now-gone Shanard Elevator, when the white landscape bore a smilier look to that of today.