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Scott Pearson — many contributions

‘No big deal’ in helping others in Hendricks

Photo by Jenny Kirk Hendricks native Scott Pearson quietly does all he can to contribute wherever he can throughout the community he grew up in.

HENDRICKS — Scott Pearson is the kind of unsung hero every community needs. Not only has he been dedicated to the same job for 41 years, driven school bus for 37 years, been a city councilman for about 15 years and served as the local American Legion Commander for 12 years, Pearson contributes even more.

Pearson is not someone who looks for any kind of recognition, however.

“I don’t need that,” Pearson said. “I always tell them, ‘It’s no big deal. I might need help someday.'”

Recently, Pearson was working to fix hail damage on a red, white and blue pickup at Johnson Motors, where he’s worked since 1978.

“I drove it home from golf and forgot to drive it back in the garage, so it was my own fault,” he said. “I got (the truck) from a farmer south of town. He said if I paint it red, white and blue and have it in parades, he’d give it to me. So I said, ‘OK. I’ll do that.'”

Pearson started doing bodywork at Johnson Motors when his father-in-law, Robert Johnson, Sr., was the owner. Now Johnson’s son, Robert Johnson, Jr., and Pearson co-own the body shop along Main Street in Hendricks.

At 2:40 p.m. on weekdays, Pearson drives a school bus route.

“I’ve been doing that since 1982,” he said. “I actually retired last year, but then they couldn’t find anybody, so I said I’m not going to leave them high and dry.”

This winter has been especially tough for bus drivers and everyone else on the roads.

“It hasn’t been the greatest winter,” Pearson said. “My route goes west of Gary, South Dakota, and it was just a white-out up there (March 12). It was one lane and I had snow drifts over two-feet high on the highway. It was unbelievable.”

Fortunately, Pearson hasn’t been stuck this year.

“I’ve been smart and just backed out of there, called the person and said I wasn’t going to make it there,” he said. “It’s been a headache this winter.”

As a city councilman, Pearson said he knows he can’t please everyone, but he tries to use a good common sense approach when making decisions.

“I enjoy it,” he said. “I like all the feedback you get. There’s always different challenges and I like that.”

Pearson has also been the Commander of the Reuben Hansen American Legion Post 195 for the last dozen years.

Not only are there fundraising challenges, he said facilitating funeral services has gotten more difficult over the years. “It’s getting hard to do a funeral properly because a lot of the older ones are in wheelchairs,” Pearson said.

Along with Marcy Sommervold, Pearson also helps organize the Parade of Flags — twin rows of American flags that represent a living or deceased veteran from the area — located at Veterans Memorial Park on the shore of Lake Hendricks.

“Marcy kind of got it going and there are a little over 300 flags down there now,” Pearson said. “We usually put something on our community board to let people know when we’re going to put them up. We get tremendous help. “

The flags are typically set up for Memorial Day and Fourth of July, along with a few other weekends, weather-permitting.

“We don’t like wind or anything to ruin them,” Pearson said. “I can make a couple phone calls and people come down and help. It’s a good community effort. You tell them a time you’re going to take them down and they’re all standing there waiting. It’s amazing.”

The flags, which represent military service and patriotism, are purchased for an individual service member or veteran and includes a permanent pole and emblem.

“Each flag is dedicated to someone,” Pearson said. “My (three) boys bought one for me last year. It’s a pretty neat deal.”

Every flag is numbered, as are the cement holes they’re placed into. “Each flag goes in the same hole every time,” Pearson said. “There were a lot of volunteers who dug the holes and put the cement in. And when we put them back in the trailer, each numbered flag goes back in a special spot.”

Pearson signed up for the South Dakota National Guard in 1978 and served until 1986. The 1979 high school graduate recalls that the transportation missions were a lot of fun.

“We didn’t really have summer camps — all we did was drive semis and haul stuff to Camp Ripley or wherever,” he said. “It was a blast. You got to see a lot of South Dakota.”

Pearson is also known to pitch in throughout the community when it comes to spraying mosquitoes and plowing snow.

“I jump in the pickup and help when they need it,” he said. “It’s something different to do. It’s fun. I usually push all the snow for my neighbors in their driveways, too. I used to do about 30 driveways, but I cut back on that.”

While he keeps busy, Pearson said he does find time for fishing.

He also enjoys family vacations with his wife, Sheryl, three sons and three grandchildren, all of whom he appreciates are nearby.

“I don’t really have a lot of downtime, but I do a lot of fishing,” Pearson said. “I have a pontoon, so in the summer, I jump on and just go. We usually take a family vacation, too. This year, we’re going to the Black Hills (South Dakota) 4-wheeling. We went last year and it was a lot of fun.”

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