Alberton celebrates railroad history

Alberton returned to its railroad roots Saturday afternoon during the 26th annual Railroad Day. From 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., Alberton transformed into and old West railroad town.

Railroad Avenue, which cuts through town, filled with people that lined the sidewalks and packed the local businesses.

Passersby enjoyed the railroad museum, antique depot, parade, live music and various other activities to celebrate the town’s railroad heritage.

“The railroad built this town,” Fran Rogers, of the Alberton Historical Museum said. “That’s why we have Railroad Day, to remember it’s a railroad town.”

Fran said before the railroad came to Alberton, the town was just a sheep field.

By 1908, the Milwaukee Road railroad established itself in Alberton. The Milwaukee Road connected Chicago, St. Paul, Minn., and the Puget Sound area together.

“Basically everyone that lived here worked for the railroad,” Rogers, whose parents and grandparents were Alberton historians as well, said of Alberton in the early 1900s.

In 1980, the Milwaukee Road abandoned the railroad line in Alberton. Without the trains rumbling through Alberton, the town became a railroad town without the railroads.

Rogers said although people may forget the senior center was once the train depot and the south side of Railroad Avenue was open field for a round house, it is important to remember the rich heritage of the old railroad town.

“My goal is to persevere and share,” Rogers said, flipping through a historic photo album.

To persevere the railroad history, the local sportsman club started Railroad Day 26 years ago. In those days, Railroad Avenue was blocked off for a street dance. After the dancing, the street would be hosed down to clean it off.

Alberton Community Foundation event committee chair Richard Werst said the early years were wild times. Lately, Railroad Day has become a more family friendly event.

“We are trying to figure out how to make it better,” Werst said of the Community Foundation work over the past two years running Railroad Day.

Werst said the 5-K run, which kicked off the day at 7 a.m., is new this year. Werst also said the foundation is considering an art show next year. Each new event is though up to get entire families involved in the celebration.

After the 5-K run, people ate a pancake breakfast at the senior center and found vendors set up in the park. Through out the day, a hunt for a golden railroad spike took place. Clues were reveled throughout the day and the person to find the golden spike won $100.

Old western music played from the Sportsman’s Tavern all day. People drank from the beer garden and played beach volleyball at the Tavern in the afternoon. By sunset, live music filled the town by the community center. Texas Tom headlined the musical entertainment.

“You forget what small town Montana really was,” Werst said. “This is one step towards getting that back.”

In an effort to bring back the old saloon days, Sportsman’s Tavern owner John Zunski set up an old western reenactment.

Dressed in a black jacket and fake mustache, Zunski casted himself as a villain in a skit he wrote the day before. Zunski along with other locals put on the reenactment in front of the Sportsman’s Tavern.

On-lookers gather at the sound of fake gunfire as Zunski was brought to justice and shot in the reenactment.

Zunski said he thought up the idea for the skit the Tuesday before and plans to do it again next year. This year was the first time a reenactment was done at Railroad Day.

Zunski said next year he hopes to incorporate horses and make it a big show for everyone’s entertainment.

Before the fake guns fired at the reenactment, the Railroad Day parade went through town. Along Railroad Avenue people watched as various trucks, cars, horses and dirt bikes paraded by them.

People from all over the area joined in the parade. Those who participated include, the Frenchtown Fire Department, the Nine Mile Forest Service, the American Legion Post #27, River Edge Resort, Alberton Feed and Supply and Superior’s Lion’s Club. The floats traveled east through town and turned at the end of the street to make their way back to the beginning. The turnaround made the parade a two-lane march for a while.

Along with the Railroad Day festivities, an all-class Alberton High School reunion took place over the weekend. The all-class reunion takes place every five years.

Nearly 100 Graduates of Alberton High School over the years came to town and soaked in the Railroad Day.

Lester Cyr, from the class of 1955, said he remembers playing six-man football and living up Fish Creek before a drivable road established. Cyr was able to reconnect with the old railroad town he grew up in at Railroad Day.