This is Labor Day weekend, a weekend that I often spend in Dillon, Montana. I was unable to go this year, but I am having "withdrawal pains". And then news of an event that happened 43 years ago in Dillon started me thinking of how my family was involved in the weekend events through the years.
My hometown of Dillon, Montana has hosted an annual Labor Day Fair, Rodeo and Parade for many years. It is a weekend that most ranching activities in the county would stop and families came to town. Family reunions were hosted and it was annual trek home for many of us where we saw friends, relatives, drank a few cool ones, watched the rodeo, team ropings, wild horse races, wild cow milking, 4-H animals and admired the entries in the fair. It is a weekend that the population of Dillon increases!
I discovered that my mother's (Helen) first time at the Dillon Labor Day weekend was in 1946. She & my dad were married in July of 1946. Mom always said she came from a "dry county" in Washington and she never saw anything like this weekend before. In those days there was a poker game in the bars, people walked the streets freely socializing with a beverage of their choice. All of this was a new adventure for Mom. Little did she know in 1946 how her Labor Day weekend would evolve and lunch at Helen's was the norm.
Helen Lloyd Shaffner
1946
Don and Helen Shaffner-1946
It was typical that the Shaffner family participate in the parade. Many of us walked either in the band or another organization. If we were lucky we rode a float, rode a horse or created a float. Parents and grandparents assisted in the floats!
Don Shaffner
Parade 1946
The rodeo in 1946
Sydney pedaled her trike in the Children's section
Participating in the parade began at an early age!
Mom and Dad enjoyed the Labor Day weekend through the years. Mom decided that she would host their friends & clients at a lunch on Monday after the parade. As a veterinarian, Dad was often at ranches working cattle during meal time. It was their way of thanking friends who included Dad at their table for meals. She knew that the restaurants were busy and there was usually only about an hour between the end of the parade and the start of the rodeo.
Labor Day lunch at Helen's became a tradition. Often the guests would bring salads, desserts, casseroles to help. But Mom made sure there was plenty of food! She always had a casserole or two and probably one in the freezer if needed. Since the rodeo weekend was several days; Helen often had lunch/dinner for anyone who might be hungry. One year we counted that she had 120 guests for meals during the 3 or 4 days of fair and rodeo.
A weekend I will never forget. 43 years ago!
I returned home for the Labor Day weekend festivities in September of 1979 with my 10 month old son Greg. Nothing unusual about that as I went home every year. I arranged for Grandpa Shaffner to watch Greg in the evening so I could join the festivities downtown on Sunday night. I may have celebrated a it too much; because the next morning I didn't feel great. I opted to stay at Mom's and stir her casserole for the noon meal. She took Greg to view probably his first parade. I was also secretly hoping to catch a nap. I did fall asleep but woke to my mother sobbing as was Greg. My first thought was OH NO...I let the casserole burn! Since there were people coming for lunch after the parade, burning Mom's casserole would ruined Helen's reputation. (I didn't burn the casserole either!)
I grabbed Greg and asked Mom what happened?? And through her sobs, she told me of the National Guard jet that had crashed after it had "buzzed" the parade. What??? My cousin Donnee and my sister Gail, said they could see the pilot as he flew over the parade and that the jets were lower than the 2nd story buildings. The Shaffner family always stood in front of the Depot. The pilot crashed into the grain elevator at the end of street, 3 blocks away from the Depot. The elevator burst into flame as the plane careened down the street away from the Depot. I shudder to think if the plane had been coming the other way. There are thousands on the streets of Dillon watching the parade.
But where was Dad? He had grabbed x-ray film from the Veterinary Hospital and rushed to the human hospital to help since he was on the Board of Directors. I was a lab technician and I could help as we knew hundreds of people would be hurt. I comforted Greg, and people began arriving for food! It was agreed that I should go to the hospital to help in the lab while others helped Mom and care for Greg. People knew Helen had food! And they came! Even friends brought rodeo contestants knowing Helen would have enough food. I am sure more than 50 people were fed that day!
As it turned out, not many people were hurt. As I recall; 2 were hurt. The entire story of how the town responded to the crisis, is another story. But it was an incredible experience and a Labor Day weekend I will never forget.
Rodeo weekend in Dillon simply isn't the same without lunch at Helen's!
