Sweet Honor — As a founding member of the Beta Sigma Phi Sorority, Wally received many honors over the past year. Here she was voted in as the Sweetheart of the Year. [Submitted Photo]
By Carol Walker
When Waldraut, “Wally,” Matush moved to the Black Hills many years ago, she fell in love with Hill City and that love affair has continued for more than four decades. Her love for the town inspired her to believe she could succeed in business and, in turn, her success propelled her to come alongside many others and support them in their pursuits. For her impact on Hill City and its residents over the past 40 years, she is the Hill City Prevailer News’ 2014 Citizen of the Year.
Anyone who meets and talks to Wally immediately hears a charming accent, giving a clue to her German heritage. Coming here with her husband when he was stationed at Ellsworth Air Force Base, she found the Black Hills to be similar to the Black Forest of Germany. Though she was born in Stuttgart, Germany, Hill City became her home in 1970.
Being capable with a needle and thread and sewing machine, Wally started out as a seamstress, sewing for a variety of people in the area, including Judge Frank Henderson. He needed gowns for his tenure as circuit judge and later as an associate of the South Dakota Supreme Court.
“She always wanted to create a little mini-mall in Hill City, much like she was familiar with in Germany,” said her daughter Moni (Monika).
Following that dream in 1974, Wally and two partners purchased the Harney Peak Hotel, a century-old building on the corner of Elm Street and Main Street in Hill City. After the purchase, the building housed an attorney’s office, a barbershop, a place for a seamstress and a gift shop.
“Mom sold German gifts like nutcrackers, incense smokers and windspiels. When it wasn’t busy in the gift shop, she would go to the back and sew for people,” said Moni.
Eventually, Wally bought out her partners and then rented out space in the Harney Peak Hotel for a variety of businesses over the course of a few years. There was an ice cream shop, the Prevailer office, a leather shop, Johannson Real Estate, a ceramic shop and an antique store.
In the early 1980s, Wally had a coffee shop, gift shop and deli in what is now the main dining room. She served breakfast and lunch, featuring German sandwiches and sausages.
“Then she met a gentleman who suggested to her, ‘Why don’t you try this idea – just serve one thing, steak. This would be a great spot for this.’ His name was Rollie Sanderson, and he had the Huron Steak House,” said Moni.
Wally took the gentleman’s advice and launched the creation of the Alpine Inn in 1984, using her own ideas of a lettuce wedge, a special house dressing and a plethora of desserts to top off the evening meal. She offered two sizes of filet mignon, a six-ounce for $3.95 and a nine-ounce for $5.95.
Marv Matkins worked for Johannson Realty at that time and remembers how hard Wally worked to achieve success in Hill City. His mother, Bette Matkins, who has since passed away, had the Chute Rooster around the same era and the two business women were friends.
“Being a woman in business at that time was tough. My mother knew that and she also knew that Wally had what it takes to be a success. When she decided to go with just one item on the dinner menu, people doubted it. But it worked,” said Matkins.
Matkins went on to say that when she started the restaurant, he was the guinea pig for her desserts. Wally’s nickname for Matkins was “Muffin.”
“She would bring me a dessert and ask, ‘What do you think of this one, Muffin?’ I thought every dessert was a five-star. That was my favorite job in the world, being a dessert taster for Wally,” said Matkins.
Every year the Alpine got bigger, eventually necessitating the addition of a sunroom on the south and then the mural room on the west side of the building. About five years previous to the inception of the Alpine Inn, the Black Hills Institute of Geological Research was established on Main Street and the 1880 Train was gaining steam as a local attraction for people. According to Moni, those businesses working together became a catalyst for everyone in Hill City to work at sprucing up the town.
“My mom loves Hill City and she has always believed in the people of Hill City. When she bought the hotel, it was tough, but Mina Jerdie loaned her some money and told her she would be successful. That had an impact on Mom and she has always wanted to encourage other people in the same way,” said Moni.
Several years ago, in honor of her hard work and love for the community, a proclamation was made on her birthday, Jan. 16. That day became Wally Matush Day.
Moni said her mother has always had a tremendous work ethic. Originally the Alpine was heated with coal and Wally was the one who put on her striped coveralls and went downstairs three times a day to shovel coal into the furnace. During the course of a month, she shoveled 10 tons of coal to heat the building.
According to Moni, her mother’s main focus was never about making a buck. She did want to provide for her family, daughters Moni and Debbie and her son, Michael, but she also wanted Hill City to succeed. She built Olde World Plaza, an area with a German look to it on Main St. with spaces for shops, and Moni said she has kept the rent reasonable to help businesses get a start.
“Nobody works harder or gives more than Wally,” said Rachel Taylor, owner of Jewel of the West and friend. “She is still running around the Alpine, and I asked her why she is still working so hard? She told me she just can’t sit still.”
Rachel and her late husband Vic Jepsen started Spring Creek Traders in the building that most recently housed Runs With Wolves. They were in business at the same time as Wally, and they often went to the Alpine to eat. Eventually a friendship developed.
“Pretty soon we were cutting Christmas trees together, going on picnics and having dinner. She is like my second Mom. She is the most selfless, loving person I have met. Her home is always your home. Her home is a place that settles the soul,” said Taylor.
Another way Wally has served the community over the years has been through the Beta Sigma Phi Sorority, a group she helped to found in 1975 at the suggestion of Nettie Kramer, who had been a chapter member in Colorado. Wally and Sherry Eckholm are the only charter members in the Hill City group today.
One of the first service projects the group embarked on was raising money for playground equipment for Tracy Park. The sorority sisters decorated the Alpine Inn and held an open house, with proceeds going toward the project.
“In 1990, our group started the ‘Gifts from the Heart’ tree. It centered on Wally and her willingness to have the names of children on a Christmas tree at the Alpine Inn. That has been huge. Sometimes we have had as many as 100 names on the tree,” said Eckholm.
Prior to Christmas each year, individuals take a name off the tree, buy a present and return it wrapped to the Alpine Inn. Then the gifts are distributed to the children in the community.
For several years the Beta group also sponsored a Haunted House at the Alpine Inn around Halloween time. Children were served hot chocolate and cookies on the porch.
The Alpine Inn was a focal point for Kris Kringle Days, and later Olde Tyme Christmas, where the sorority sisters served cookies and hot cider to people who came for the parade. Chestnuts were roasted on a fire in front of the restaurant for people to taste as they came by for cookies.
Today when the sorority sisters clean up their section of the highway, Wally always provides pizza for the workers.
“We always laugh about the fact that with Wally around, we will never be hungry. Those of us in Beta know what many other people know, that she is the most giving person in the world. There have been Valentine parties at the senior citizens center, apples and candy canes given out to children, and she has given ground meat to many organizations in town,” said Eckholm.
She has been a very active member of the sorority, held many of the offices, including president and has been on almost every committee. She has been recognized as “Woman of the Year” several times, was also voted in as “Chapter Sweetheart” and approved by all the members to receive the “Order of the Rose.”
“Recently Wally has taken an individual to therapy in Rapid City, every Wednesday. That’s just what Wally does. She is just a giving person. She doesn’t try to beat her own drum,” said Eckholm.
In 1996, the reins of the Alpine Inn were passed on to Moni, to carry on the tradition of service that was established by her mother. Wally continues to assist her daughter in whatever capacity she needs her, and recently the duo were recognized for the contribution the Alpine has made to the community for 30 years.
Wally created what Germans call Gemutlichkeit, a warm atmosphere, in the Alpine Inn, and her daughter has continued the tradition. However, it also appears to be something Wally creates around her person, a warm feeling that says I am here for you, to help in whatever way I can. In business and her personal life, she has shown a lifetime of Gemutlichkeit, making her worthy of the title, Citizen of the Year.
