Alberton celebrates 28th annual Railroad Day

ALBERTON – The town of Alberton celebrated the 28th annual Railroad Day celebration, a day that celebrates Alberton’s rich railroad past.

The all-day celebration began at 8 a.m. with a pancake breakfast at the Alberton Community Center. The money raised went to the Alberton Senior Citizen.

At 11 a.m. the annual parade began with floats of all different kinds making their way down the main stretch of Alberton. As the parade looped around and came back through it highlighted many area businesses and organizations.

After the parade, a High Noon Shoot-out took place.

John Zunski, an actor in the shoot-out, said this is the third year for the particular event and each year the shoot-out gets bigger and better.

This year the shoot-out featured saloon girls and bad guys on wooden horses robbing a stage coach. The first shoot-out ended with one person dead and the second part of the show resumed at 4 p.m.

University of Montana’s G. Wiz performed a show at 12:20 p.m. and featured chemistry experiments. Garon Smith has been playing with chemistry since 1955 and uses his profession to teach kids that science can be fun.

Smith showed the kids a variety of different tricks, fed them Cheetos that were frozen in liquid nitrogen to 320 degrees below zero, and ended it off with a flaming volcano and lava trick. The kids in the audience were shocked and amazed at the “magical” powers of this wizard.

A watermelon eating contest proved to be a big hit with the crowd, featuring four different age groups of competitors. As watermelon oozed out of the feaster’s mouths and dribbled onto their shirts, one after another devoured their watermelon slice as quickly as possible.

The winners of the competition were Baliey Fehlberg, 5, Gabe Kelly, 11, Ava West, 12, Miles Vaillancort, 14, and Sam Ames, 22.

A magician from Missoula, Evan Disney, held two performances of an eccentric magic show for kids, one at 2 p.m. and the other at 4:15 p.m. Using humor and magic, Disney’s short shows kept the kids laughing and his use of audience participation kept each kid on their toes, hoping they’d be the next to help him perform magic.

Musical performances by The Old Time Fiddlers and The Black Mountain Boys brought a taste of Bluegrass to the celebration, serenading the crowd of listeners.

Other activities throughout the day included a petting zoo, horseback rides, face painting, a coloring booth, and a graffiti art train. The search for the Golden Spike was a big hit, the clues leading one lucky riddle solver to a $100 prize.

“Railroad Day is a way to celebrate and preserve our Railroad Heritage,” said Richard Werst, the Alberton Community Foundation’s Chief Information Officer. “Something for everyone, with a parade so nice you get to see it twice.”

The annual Railroad Day celebration is sponsored by the Mineral County Chamber of Commerce, Ace Hardware, Alberton Community Foundation, Frenchtown Rural Fire District, The Axmen, Deelish Bakery, Blackfoot Communications Group, GSWrite Communications, Helping Hands of Alberton, High Country Church, Home ReSource, Alberton Feed and Supply, Lozeau Lodge, Mineral County Sheriff’s Office, Montana Rail Line, Q’s Quality Wood Works, and River Edge Resort.