CAROL PAINTER
A Record from the Newspapers, 1966–1973
Part Four of Four · 1971–1973
Daughter of Preston E. and Marion Painter of Rochford, South Dakota
Clippings submitted by Melinda Painter
The four items below carry Carol Painter from her last spring at Lead High School to a gallery wall in Rapid City, a wedding at Ellsworth Air Force Base, and a departure for Germany. Each entry gives the publication and date, so that any item may be returned to in the original.
Carol Painter Honored at the Elks Youth Awards Banquet
The Black Hills Weekly (Deadwood), May 12, 1971 — Page 1
Deadwood Lodge No. 508 paid tribute to youth of the Twin Cities area at its annual Elks leadership and scholarship awards banquet, held Monday night at the clubrooms. 
Carol Painter of Lead received a $100 scholarship award, presented alongside Douglas Hintz of Deadwood. The paper identifies her as the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Preston E. Painter, ranchers near Rochford, and notes that she was an LHS senior ranking in the top ten of her class. Leadership certificates of $100 went to Gwen Olsen and Bob Campbell, both of Deadwood.
The evening’s central announcement, made by Exalted Ruler Gene Banigan, was that Mary Jane Halling of Spearfish, sponsored by the local lodge, had won a $600 state scholarship to the college of her choice. She had competed against 736 winners in the Elks “Most Valuable Student” contest and was one of eight selected in the state.
Carol appears in the accompanying front-page photograph of Banigan and Frank with the five award winners. Dwight Miller, chairman of the leadership award committee, was unable to attend.
Note for the archive. This is the first clipping to give her father’s middle initial — Preston E. Painter — and the first to state the family’s occupation directly: ranchers near Rochford. It also places Carol in the top ten of the Lead High School Class of 1971.
Carol Painter’s Weavings Shown at the Civic Art Gallery
Rapid City Journal, September 10, 1972 — Page 8
A gallery feature in the Rapid City Journal reported that wall hangings by Carol Painter were on exhibit that month at the Civic Art Gallery, 
The hanging reproduced in the photograph is described as reminiscent of early American handwork in design and color, done in a tight warp similar to needlepoint. The paper notes that she is self-taught in the craft of weaving, and that her exhibit also included belts and purses in yarn and leather combinations.
A photograph of the hanging runs at the left of the article, in full length.
Note for the archive. This is the first clipping in the set to show her as an adult working artist rather than as a student, and the first to show weaving at all. The article refers to her as “Mrs. Painter,” but the wedding announcement of January 5, 1973 establishes that she married on December 9, 1972 — three months after this piece appeared. She was still unmarried when the weavings were exhibited, and the courtesy title was an error on the paper’s part.
Carol Painter Marries Jerome A. Erickson at Ellsworth
Deadwood Pioneer-Times, January 5, 1973 — Page 7
Christmas decor and red and white carnations at the altar formed the setting in Chapel II at Ellsworth Air Force Base, Rapid City, for the wedding on December 9 of Carol Painter of Box Elder and Jerome A. Erickson of Lead. 
Carol was presented in marriage by her father. She wore a long gown of peau de faille satin with a fitted bodice, Victorian neckline, bishop sleeves, and a flared skirt, with a crocheted-type lace forming the dress yoke and repeated on the skirt and chapel train, and she carried a trailing bouquet of red roses. Her sister Ruth Painter of Box Elder was maid of honor. Two other sisters, Mrs. James Watson of Aberdeen and Mrs. Mary Swanson of Durango, Colorado, were bridesmaids, as was a niece of the bride, Dee Ann Dodd of Durango. Her brothers Ned Painter of Lead and Dick Painter of Box Elder were among the head ushers.
A reception followed in the chapel social room, assisted by Mildred Painter, an aunt of the bride; Mrs. Paul Painter and her daughters Laurie, Cindy, and Judy of Buffalo, cousins; nieces Natalie Dodd and Heidi Painter of Durango; and Marcia Magers of Lead, who had gone to Girls State with Carol in 1970.
Both bride and groom were members of the Lead High School Class of 1971. Carol was then a sophomore at Fort Lewis College in Durango, working part time for Dr. Whalen at the college. The groom had attended the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology at Rapid City his freshman year and was serving with the U.S. Army in Germany; the article notes that his wife would join him there that year.
Note for the archive. This item names five of the nine Painter children — Carol, Ruth, Ned, Dick, and the two married sisters given as Mrs. James Watson and Mrs. Mary Swanson — along with an aunt, cousins, and nieces. It also records that the family had left Rochford for Box Elder sometime before December 1972, and it corrects the reading of the September 1972 gallery notice.
Carol Painter Leaves for Germany
Lead Daily Call and Deadwood Pioneer-Times, May 7, 1973 — Page 7
A short item in the “Have you heard” column recorded that Mrs. Jerry Erickson was leaving for Germany that Friday — May 11, 1973 — to join her husband, who was serving with the U.S. Army. She had been visiting in Lead for the past week. 
Note for the archive. She is still credited to Rochford five months after the wedding announcement placed the family at Box Elder. The item also names her only as Mrs. Jerry Erickson and identifies her by her husband’s parents rather than her own — ordinary practice for a social column of the period, but a marked change from the 1970 and 1971 clippings, in which she was the named subject and her record was set out in full.
Compiled for the Cranston family archive · thecranstonline.com
Original newspaper images © Newspapers.com. Summaries prepared for genealogical research.