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Joe Stedronsky has been a part of the Wagner community for the past 96 years. He was born in 1928 at the hospital in Wagner. Joe was the oldest of four children born to Ed and Helen Stedronsky. He was joined by younger siblings, Vernon, Rose Marie and Francis. Joe grew up in town and his dad worked at and was co-owner of the Stedronsky Bros Company which was a hardware, plumbing and heating store at the time. When asked what Joe wanted to be when he grew up during his younger years, he said he always wanted to be a pilot. He was always had a fascination and liking of air planes.

Joe spent all of his elementary, middle school and high school years attending school at the Wagner school. He started attending in 1934 in first grade and graduated from high school in 1946. Joe was valedictorian of his graduating class. Of his graduating class of 26, there are only two members left, Mildred Uecker and himself. Unlike the majority of the rural youth at the time, Joe continued his education. Education was very important to the Stedronsky family. Joe’s dad, Ed, stressed the importance of Joe continuing his education and going to college. In fact, Ed sent all four of his kids including Joe to South Dakota state colleges and paid for all four of his children’s higher education.

Education had been important to Ed’s father and was something that Ed passed down and emphasized to his children as well.

Ed wanted Joe to attend the University of South Dakota at Vermillion for their business school. Joe was all set to attend USD but he had to change his plans as there was no housing available in Vermillion and it was not feasible to commute back and forth. Some friends attending South Dakota State University came to talk to Joe. The four of them were looking for a roommate and wondered if Joe wanted to join them. Joe decided to let USD know that he would not be attending and instead attended SDSU. Joe received his degree in economics and minored in mathematics. His four-year degree in total cost around $3,000. After returning from college, Joe was all set up to work in the family business with his father. Joe was to be specializing in the hardware end of the business, until being drafted but a hold on that.

In February of 1951, Joe received his notice of draft. He was drafted with four other young men from this part of the county, but there were around 30 all together sent at that time from throughout Charles-Mix County. Joe was first sent to Fort Lewis in Washington where he was told that he was going to be a part of the United States Signal Corps, which was a branch of the US Army that manages communication and information systems for the armed forces. Responsibilities of the Signal Corp were maintaining the Army’s voice, data and information systems; making tactical decisions; coordinating the use of signal soldiers at all levels of command; developing, planning, and integrating base communication systems; performing mission reviews with supported organizations; and controlling, managing, and monitoring project milestones and funding.

The members of the Signal Corp were told that they would be a non-combat unit. The unit was sent to Camp Gordon in GA and Camp Cooke in CA for their training. They ended up taking infantry basic training which was a pretty rough type of training for a non-combat unit. They were trained by soldiers who had returned from the Korean War and knew the type of training that would be needed should the unit be deployed. None of the trainers would get close to the soldiers that they were training as they had lost buddies while in the Korean War and were afraid to go through that again.

Joe returned to Wagner in March of 1953. Upon returning home, he joined the family business as he had first intended to after graduating from college. He ran the hardware side of the business with his father running the plumbing/heating. The family’s hardware store was first started by Joe’s grandfather in 1902, two years after the town of Wagner was established. The store was located in the building that currently houses the G. F. Buche Company. Joe worked at the store as a kid and did all kids of different jobs including clerking and sweeping the floors. Joe can remember that Saturday nights were the busiest nights at the store because in those days people who did not live in town only came to town once a week. He remembers cars being parked up and down main street with no parking spots available. When asked what he liked about being a part of the business, Joe said he enjoyed the people. There was a mutual understanding that if you treated others with respect then you received the same treatment in return.

After returning home from his service, Joe met a beautiful local gal named JoAnn Broz at a Rest Haven dance. The couple dated for three years, before making it official and marrying. JoAnn had graduated from USD with a teaching degree and wanted to teach. She taught for two years at Morningside Elementary in Sioux City, before returning to Wagner and marrying Joe on June 30th of 1957. The couple had three children, Greg, Grant and Jill. They were even further blessed with seven grandchildren all of whom are boys. Unfortunately, after a 20-year fight with breast cancer, JoAnn passed away in 1975.

In 1960, Joe’s dad, Ed, suddenly passed away. Joe’s brother, Vernon, returned to Wagner to assist Joe with the family business. The two ran the business together for nine years, before Vernon departed from the partnership and moved to Tuscan, AR. Joe then took on a local partner in 1969 and continued to run the business until the mid 1990s when Joe decided it was time to retire.

Before Joe retired, he was a very active member of the community and was involved with the Rotary, Wagner’s American Legion Unit, Masonic Lodge, United Methodist Church, Wagner Volunteer Fire Department, the Wagner City Council, Chamber of Commerce and probably several more that Joe may not have remembered. After retiring, Joe decided that he wanted to remain active but pare down his community activities to just four. Even as a 96-year-old, Joe continues to be active and attend meetings of the Wagner Rotary Club, the Wagner American Legion, the Masonic Lodge and the United Methodist Church in Wagner.

Joe’s father, Ed, was a charter member of the Wagner Rotary Club. When it was first established, the Rotary was a business classification club. Joe joined the organization in 1960 and has been a Rotarian for the past 64 years. While a member of the Rotary, Joe’s first office held was as Vice-President before becoming President. More interestingly though, Joe held the position as club reporter for thirty years. He is a Paul Harris Fellow Plus 2, which is given to a member who gives $1,000 or more to the annual fund, PolioPlus, or an approved foundation grant. Joe was also awarded the Rotarian of Distinction Award for Area 6, which is awarded to a Rotarians that stand out in service to their community and in Rotary.

In 2023, Joe was honored for his 70 years as a continuous American Legion member. After returning from his service, Joe joined the Wagner American Legion right away, realizing what an important organization it is for Veterans. In September of 2021, Joe had the honor of being a part of a Midwest Honor Flight. During his years of membership, Joe has held the position of Adjudant.

Joe comes from a long line of Freemasons. His grandfather, dad and two of his uncles were all members of the organization. Joe himself has been a member for the past 70 years. He originally joined the organization in Wagner, but after Wagner’s lodge closed, Joe started attending the monthly meetings in Armour. Members of the Masonic Lodge are part of a social and philanthropic organization whose goal is to help members lead more virtuous and socially conscious lives. Its fundamentals are taken from the Enlightenment era and hold core values including religious tolerance, sociability and a thirst for knowledge.

For Joe it was easy to be a member of the United Methodist Church. He was raised, confirmed and baptized in the church. His mother, Helen, was active in the church and played piano for the choir. Throughout his years as a member, Joe has held all the office positions and even been a part of their once beautiful singing choir.

Growing up in Wagner, Joe really enjoyed the people in the community. It was a good town to grow up in and start a business. Joe stayed in Wagner not only because he co-owned a local business, but also because of the people. Wagner has treated Joe well throughout the 96 years that he has lived here. I think he said it best when he said, “Grew up here, made my living here, and am still here”.

Joe is definitely a one-of-a kind person. At 96 years old he is still very mobile, lives by himself and although he does not drive, he manages to attend meetings as often as possible. He is still a very active person, even attending the Wagner Speedway races on Saturday nights. Thank you, Joe, for being such a treasure in the Wagner community and living your life in a way that sets an amazing example for the rest of the community when it comes to community service and dedication to the Wagner community.