Adkins, Mattas, Mize Family History

They were strong athletes of their generation, sisters and brothers: Adeline, Lottie, Steve, Horace “Pete”, Hiram “Hunk” and Margaret "Margie" Adkins.


For a decade, 1924 to 1934, they were part of the Parkston, South Dakota’s High School basketball legacy, a legacy shared with their teammates.

Basketball Legacy: 1924-1934

Photo of the family basketball hoop from the Adkins Family Archives.


 January 1924, a new school and gymnasium was formally opened to the public, its cost; $85,000. The celebration consisted of distinguished speaker, Mr. L.M. Fort, a band concert, and of course, basketball games! The Parkston boys team beat Emery that night. End score: 28 to 1. The girls played an exhibition game. After the game, the ladies of the community served a hot lunch to the crowd attending.



The gymnasium was much smaller than today’s courts, it was used until 1933. I remember long time school custodian, Joe Shelley, reminding band and shop students in 1966, that they were taking classes in what used to be the gym. Many did not know the stories that space could tell. 


Photos from the 1953 Parkston Annual in the Adkins Family Archives.

The girls started the ten-year legacy with a spectacular 1923-24 basketball season. Sisters, Adeline and Lottie Adkins were both seniors in 1923-1924.


After moving from the farm in Milltown to Parkston, Lottie, who was three years older than Adeline, somehow ended up in the same class and on the same team.


In addition to Lottie and Adeline, the first team included Frances Kadlec, Lillian Koenig, Helen Issenhuth and Therma Glass. 

Photo from the Adkins Family Archives. Teammates not identified. Circa, 1924

In 1924, red haired Lottie, 21 years old and nearly 6-feet tall, played center.


January 24, 1924, the team played Alexandria.


From the Parkston Advance Newspaper:

“Opponents who guard the Parkston goal have found difficulty in throwing the ball past our jumping center, Lottie Adkins, much less over her head!”


From that same account, Frances Kadlec and Adeline, both forwards on the team, were also forces to be reckoned with. 


The girls' team had a huge following and often took top billing in the Parkston Advance Newspaper over the boys' team.

 From the Parkston Advance, February 14, 1924:

"The largest crowd in the history of Parkston High School athletics came out!"


The season ended with a perfect win-loss (11-0) record, and the team went on to the 1924 State Championships.

The tournament was held in the Corn Palace in Mitchell.

They lost out to Lake Andes but not without controversy. Many believed as reported in the Parkston Advance account that the referee was out to get Adeline, the best scorer of the team. He fouled her out.               

The fans were upset! Again, from the Parkston Advance: “A large and enthusiastic bunch of rooters confidently expected our team to cop the pennant. It was a disgusted bunch after the Lake Andes-Parkston game and it is safe to say that if they could have laid hands on the referee, he would have needed an ambulance to get him back to Sioux Falls.”

Program from the Adkins Family Archives.

Postcard Mitchell, South Dakota Corn Palace. Circa, 1924.

Adeline and Lottie Adkins, seniors that year, never played competitive basketball again.

1924-1927


Adeline and Lottie’s younger brother, Steve, entered high school in 1924. Not as tall as Lottie, he was still gifted with the athletic ability.


The girls had graduated and now it was his turn to shine. He was also fortunate to have strong teammates, coaches and family support!

1926 was not a winning year!

The Hutchinson County Trophy was claimed by the team in 1927. Steve was captain.

In 1925, they won the 15th District Championships.

Photographs courtesy of Parkston High School.

In 1928, another force was added to the boys' basketball team. Steve’s younger brother Horace, “Pete.” 6 feet-one inches tall, no doubt groomed for basketball by his brother and sisters. It was a stellar year. They won the Hutchinson County Tournamentand the Little Missouri Conference, but lost out in the District Tournament.

Articles from the Parkston Advance Newspaper. Team postcard photos from the Adkins Collection and courtesy of Parkston High School.

Steve graduated in 1928, now it was Pete's turn to keep the legacy alive!

1929, Pete's hope of another stellar basketball season was dashed. After placing second in the district tournament, allegations were made and then substantiated to the South Dakota Athletic Association that two players from Parkston were academically ineligible to play in the District Tournament. A teacher had changed grades and the coach was aware. Some of the Parkston players told other teams that this had happened, and it ruined the season. It was not any of the young player’s fault. By 1930, there was a new coach and new teacher. 

From The Parkston Advance Newspaper May. 1929

Program from the Adkins Family Archives.

Pete got his turn for a stellar basketball season in 1930-31 as senior, along with his teammates. Shaplegh Howell coached the boys to the championships of Hutchinson County, Little Missouri Conference, District 22 and Region 6. They lost in a bid for the State Championship. 

My father, Pete, was captain of the team. He was chosen by team votes. He and another teammate. My father was voted in unanimously. The other guy in the running voted for him, too. My father told me he always felt badly that he didn’t graciously vote for the other guy instead of himself! 

After Pete’s graduation, the legacy was left to Hiram, the youngest of the Adkins’ boys.

 

Photos from the Adkins Family Archives and courtesy of Parkston High School. News paper articles from the Parkston Advance Newspaper.

In 1931, Hiram "Hunk" was a sophomore. His brothers, Pete and Steve were attending the University of South Dakota in Vermillion. Winning was in their blood, so the older brothers came back to do a “workshop” for the Parkston team. 

Parkston placed in the Hutchinson County, Conference, and District Tournaments but not in the winner's circle.

Hiram and his teammate, Jim Fergen ended up as “All State” award winners in 1934, the year of their graduation.

"Hunk" and "Pete" Adkins in their letter sweaters. Circa, 1931.

Photos from the Adkins Family Archives and courtesy of Parkston High. Newspaper articles from the Parkston Advance.

The One That Didn't Get to Play

Margaret (Margie) Adkins, was captain of the grade girls’ basketball team in 1927. She was planning on following the footsteps of her sisters, Adeline and Lottie and perhaps being on a State Girls' Championship Team.

Margie holding basketball. From the Adkins family archives. Circa, 1927

Margie watched the girls' varsity team in 1927, looking forward to perhaps playing with some of them in her high school years. But it didn't happen.


In the late 1920’s, there was a growing concern that basketball was too strenuous for girls, bad for their “smaller’ hearts and may even give them diseases that would affect their childbearing years.

 

The South Dakota Amateur Athletic Association drastically changed the rules of the game and banned High School Girls’ Tournaments. Literally, in effect, ending the sport for nearly 50 years.



Article from the Parkston Advance. Circa, 1927

Varsity Team. Coach Mrs. Meisenholder. Lucille Holt (Bartel) front row right side. Photo courtesy of the Bartel family. Circa, 1927

After 1934, there were no Adkins on the Parkston High School roster for basketball for nearly twenty years. But I can remember as a young girl the sound of thump, thump on the backboard as my father Pete Adkins, worked with my brother Jim on his free throws. Basketball is in our blood, and Jim’s story is for another edition.

Digital copies of the team pictures can be requested on the contact page of this website.

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