St. Patrick’s Day facts and fun!

Shamrocks and more

Thousands will gather on the streets on March 17th to either partake in or watch the parade, where the predominant color will be green. Have you ever thought about what the origin of the reference to green and the Shamrock might be?

The History of St. Patrick’s Day

Many know that the March 17th celebration is in honor of St. Patrick (AD 387-461) from Ireland. He was a bishop who had a rocky teenage-hood. Though he was born in Great Britain, when he was only 16 years old, he was kidnapped by the Irish and forced to become a slave in Ireland. He managed to escape, returned to Britain, and embarked on the path to becoming a priest.

In 432, he returned to Ireland as a bishop to spread the word of Christianity and convert the polytheistic Irish. That’s when the Shamrock made its way into the legend of St. Patrick: supposedly he used the three leaves of the Shamrock to explain the dogma of trinity – in Christian religion the notion of the unity of the father, the son and the holy spirit. Perhaps simplistic, but people, both then and still today, learn and understand best by illustration and demonstration.

It wasn’t until 1903 that St. Patrick’s Day became a holiday in Ireland, though another 28 years passed before the first parade took place in Dublin. However, oddly enough, the very first St. Patrick’s parade in the world happened in Boston as early as 1737! The parades not only celebrate Saint Patrick; they also became a display of the Irish culture, and in past times a political statement against the British rule of Ireland.

The Emerald Isle

Further connection between the color green and St. Patrick's day comes from Ireland's frequent rainfall, resulting in the island's lush vegetation, and earning it the nickname the Emerald Isle.

Celebrating St. Patrick’s Day

Nowadays, Irish and non-Irish alike celebrate on March 17th, with almost everyone wearing a piece of green clothing for the day. You can wear the green like everybody else, but if you think the color green doesn’t suit you well, how about a piece of jewelry reflecting the color of the day?

St. Patrick’s Day Jewelry

Landstroms Original Black Hills Gold Creations offers many Black Hills Gold and Silver jewelry items featuring brilliant green emeralds on rings, necklaces and bracelets. Landstroms also offers their version of the distinctive Claddagh ring made of finest sterling silver, with Landstrom’s signature 12 karat Black Hills Gold leaves.

Don’t miss out on the celebration this St. Patrick’s Day! And if you're looking for that perfect piece of gold or silver jewelry with a brilliant green emerald to help you to celebrate the day, visit us at: http://www.blackhillsgoldsource.com/st-patricks-day-jewelry

Remember, everyone is a little Irish on St. Patrick’s Day!

Meet Miss Rodeo America 2011!

The 2011 leading lady of professional rodeo is McKenzie Haley of Winner, South Dakota! She received the crown on December 4, 2010 after a week-long pageant held in Las Vegas, Nevada in conjunction with the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo.

McKenzie is a student at Black Hills State University in Spearfish, South Dakota pursuing a degree in Elementary Education and plans to receive a Master’s degree in School Psychology. She will be able to use the $20,000 scholarship she was awarded as Miss Rodeo America from the Miss Rodeo America Scholarship Foundation to help further her educational goals.

In addition to traveling more than 100,000 miles during her reign representing Miss Rodeo America, Inc. and the Professional Rodeo Cowboy’s Association, McKenzie will wear the timeless Landstroms tiara.

Landstrom’s Original Black Hills Gold Creations has provided the official Miss Rodeo America crown every year since 1965. Miss Rodeo America Inc. was developed in 1955 to each year select a qualified Miss Rodeo America as an ambassador of good will promoting the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association and American western traditions.

We wish this proud South Dakota cowgirl the best of luck. Congratulations McKenzie!

Read the whole story.

Happy Holidays from BlackHillsGoldSource!

Holidays are always a dilemma around here! As a special Holiday or event approaches, we want to send a greeting to all our customers and those who've supported us over the years. But along come the marketing honchos who say, "Customers don't want to get any more email unless there's a special offer involved." Others maintain that not all correspondence with our customers needs to be commercialized. Well, we at BlackHillsGoldSource happen to agree with the latter. So here it goes... a greeting of the season without a coupon to redeem or a special sale announcement!

We're not simply a web portal that sells Landstroms Black Hills Gold jewelry, we're an entity that has come together to serve our customers. We truly care about your needs, helping you find that unique piece that you've been searching for, getting it to you on time, or just helping you choose the right gift to make that special person's day. Yes, we're human, and on occasion we do make an honest mistake. However, we make correcting those issues and minimizing an inconvenience our primary goal, and we do our best to make it up to our customers. Every day our purpose is to find yet another way to serve you better.

We truly appreciate the honor of serving you, and your business during the past years.

We would like to wish you and your loved ones a very joyous, healthy and safe Holiday Season and coming New Year. We look forward to our priceless relationship and to serving you further.

Miss Rodeo America Pageant 2011 scheduled for November 28

The Miss Rodeo America Pageant is held annually in conjunction with the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, in Las Vegas, Nevada. State rodeo queens compete for the coveted crown of Miss Rodeo America by competing in the areas of horsemanship, personality, appearance and rodeo knowledge & presentation. The Miss Rodeo America Pageant has been offering young women the opportunity to create solid foundations for their future endeavors, since 1955. Miss Rodeo America has become a part of a great legacy and part of rodeo history.

A complete schedule of pageant events can be found at www.missrodeoamerica.com

Landstrom’s Original Black Hills Gold Creations has provided the official Miss Rodeo America crown every year since 1965. Miss Rodeo America Inc. was developed in 1955 to each year select a qualified Miss Rodeo America as an ambassador of good will promoting the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association and American western traditions. You can buy Black Hills Gold jewelry at great prices here: http://www.blackhillsgoldsource.com

Good luck to all the contestants, but special felicitations to Miss Rodeo Colorado- Kasie Pigg (above left) and Miss Rodeo SouthDakota- McKenzie Haley (above right)!

Landstroms catalog of Black Hills Gold!

With the thousands of items Landstroms has made over the years, it would be quite an expensive and arduous task to create a catalog with everything ever made in it. So the only catalog Landstroms currently has available for purchase is generally meant for dealers and though it has beautiful, full-color photos of Landstroms most current line, it does not include prices. If this is still something you are interested in purchasing, you can do so here: Buy Landstroms Catalog

However, now you can download and print a FREE online color catalog of everything on BlackHillsGoldSource's website in .pdf format. Though it doesn't have everything Landstroms makes, it does have everything currently on the website. And as new items are added, the catalog will update automatically and you can simply download the latest version for free any time you want.

There's also an order form on the last page if you would prefer to mail in your order. This added convenience should make it easier for you to shop for your Black Hills Gold needs.

Black Hills Gold Wildlife Jewelry

Landstroms makes a complete selection of Black Hills Gold wildlife jewelry featuring horses, hummingbirds, butterflies, dragonflies, frogs, dolphins, eagles and more! In classic Black Hills Gold or shimmering Black Hills Silver with Black Hills Gold leaf highlights, there's sure to be something to add that extra touch of personality to your formal attire, or just make your everyday attire more fun.

Black Hills Gold wildlife jewelry, from Landstroms!

The Sturgis rally is on in The Black Hills!

The biggest motorcycle rally in the world officially started August 9th in The Black Hills, featuring nightly concerts at the Buffalo Chip and Full Throttle Saloon, motorcycle races and stunts, and the rest of the wild craziness that's been going on here since August 14, 1938.

Read more about it first hand here:

The Black Hills Travel Blog