A man in a tiny town draws thousands of carolers at Christmas: "Like stepping into a Norman Rockwell picture"
In Nora, South Dakota, which has a population of just two people, sits a defunct general store that comes alive once a year at Christmas.
Nearly 40 years ago, Mike Pedersen, one of the two people who lives in Nora, purchased the building and fulfilled a lifelong dream to restore a pipe organ, but wondered what he would do with it.
"I'm a bachelor. I don't have a wife and kids to make come down and listen to dad serenade them," Pedersen said.
Pedersen put an ad in the local paper decades ago, inviting people to join him in singing Christmas carols while he played the newly rebuilt organ at the Nora Store.
"They looked at me like, 'yeah, a goofy guy. Who's gonna do that?' Well, the rest is history," he said.
Pedersen and his pipe organ have performed every Christmas for the past 35 years. And from nearby towns across South Dakota to neighboring states like Minnesota, Nebraska and Iowa, tens of thousands of people have joined him to share the joy of holiday music.
Carolers join in Christmas tradition
Dylan Monson's parents first brought him and his brothers to the store in Nora in 2015.
After going for years around Christmas with his family, Monson went on to South Dakota State University and majored in broadcast journalism. For one of his college assignments, he put together a story about the general store that has become a Christmas tradition for his family.
"I have been humbled lately to realize ... how many people's lives have been touched by and it's not me that touches their lives. I'm just the caretaker, but when the room fills up with people, you get a sense of unconditional love," Pedersen told Dylan Monson in 2016 for his project. "It's something you can't describe, it's just something you have to experience, so Merry Christmas."
Among those who keep coming back is Dylan Monson's dad, Rob Monson.
"I've told people when you come here, it's like stepping into a Norman Rockwell picture. I mean, just everything, the small little town, the country store, the pot belly stove, everything that's here is just a time that we don't have anymore," Rob Monson said.
Future of Nora Store
The Nora Store hasn't sold a single item since 1962, but Pedersen is on a mission to preserve the historic building with a few donations and his time.
Pedersen has postponed his much-needed hip replacement surgery until after Christmas because he wanted to again serve apple cider to the carolers that help spread Christmas joy in the tiny town.
"I have what they call an open keyboard. I let anybody come and play and I get volunteers to come up. Some have been exceptional. Some you've just, well kind of hope they give it up," he said. "I said by God's grace, as long as I'm living in Nora, I'll do this."
