This Veteran’s Day, the South Dakota Air & Space Museum paid tribute to veterans and the Box Elder, South Dakota, community alike by reopening its renovated gift shop.
Gift Shop Manager Natalie Frazier says the museum had been closed for maintenance and updates for about two years, which was also exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The museum officially reopened in June, and it hired Frazier in July as gift shop manager to help reopen the shop.
“This gift shop had been a gem of this community,” she says. “It was once very grandiose, a place where active duty, veterans and civilians came to support military history that we have in this area.”
Frazier says the new shop is small compared with what it used to be years ago, but she notes that she’s focused on providing a very finely curated selection of merchandise for guests, including some shirts, patches, stickers, drinkware and other souvenirs tied to the Ellsworth Air Force Base and the exhibits on-site.
"Getting a finely curated, veteran-owned and some local merchandise is a big goal for me,” she says.
Frazier adds that she’s passionate about helping the Box Elder community as well as both active duty and retired members of the military through her role at the South Dakota Air & Space Museum.
“It’s a blessing since this community has given me, my family and friends so much,” she says. “I’m a daughter of a veteran, and my husband serves. Getting to pour back into the community we adore so much is something I’m thankful for. It’s been a long time coming to get the shop up, and I’m happy it’s open. People are enjoying it. I look forward to continuing its growth and what the future holds.”
