One Nation, Under God
One Nation, Under God
Back: Gary Icenogle, Sharon Icenogle, Lanny Icenogle and Jeanne Icenogle, Front: Ava and Halle Sawicki hold their winning 10-inch duck following the Great Plains Dinosaur Museum Duck race in Malta on Saturday. See more Duck Race pictures on Page 4.
Lane Thompson nets his buddy, Jack Boonst, while waiting for the conclusion of the Great Plains Dinosaur Museum Duck Race on Saturday in Malta.
Jake Stewart and Jason Snelling fish rubber ducks from the Irrigation Ditch in Malta on Saturday.
Anne Boothe scrambles to find match winning sucks to their rightful owners on Saturday on Short Oil Road following the Great Plains Dinosaur Museum Duck Race.
Ezzie's Wholesale Inc. was on of many companies to decorate their Rubber Duck for the Duck Race on Saturday.
On Sunday, the races at the Hi Line Drag Strip thundered through the day, cars reaching speeds of up to 100 miles per hour, but on Saturday, another, somewhat slower race took place in the irrigation canal in Malta as the Great Plains Dinosaur Museum held its annual Duck Race.
Over 500 ducks took a nearly 45 minute float on the day, starting near the high school and ending at the Short Oil Bridge near Malta Ready Mix. About 100 people dotted the banks of the irrigation canal awaiting the small, colorful plastic ducks. As the small toys floated by the spectators, the spectators would leave their vantage points and follow the slow trickle of rubber ducks as the descended down the waterway.
Eventually, all the spectators reached the Short Oil Bridge where a net had been strategically arranged to capture each of the floating mallards. Their arrival was welcomed with one small child screeching "there they are" and nearly everyone in attendance huddled along the bridge to see just which ducks would lay claim to the cash prizes to be given away to winners.
A smattering of the ducks drifted to the finish line only to be captured in hand-nets being manned by Jason Snelling and Jack Stewart. The early finishers were hand-delivered to Anne Boothe, organizer of the event, and she feverishly thumbed through the two-dozen lists of names and duck numbers trying to determine winners.
As Boothe tried to find serenity in the madness of the ducks being laid at her feet, Sharon Icenogle yelped with joy as her family's 10-inch duck crossed the finish line well ahead of the remaining larger ducks. The larger ducks, 10 total, made their debut at the duck race this year, selling for $50 each.
The family decorated their duck with spiffy straw hat with a patch depicting the family's crest and Ranch brand of an iron nail and cross, emblazed in black and gold. Icenogle, a German name, translates to "iron cross" in English and though Sharon wasn't sure what made their duck so much faster than the other races, she ventured a guess.
"I don't know, she said, "I think it is the cross,"
"It was way ahead of the field, by 50 yards," added her husband, Gary Icenogle.
Not everyone on hand at the finish line necessarily wanted to see their duck finish in first place. Ryder Anderson, 13, a seventh grade student at Malta Junior High, had his eyes on a different prize.
"I haven't been paying attention to the ducks that finished first," said Anderson. "You get like $25 for finishing last. I don't know what I would do with the money, but I would probably spend it on some more Dinosaur Putty from the museum."
The good news for Ryder is that his duck, in fact, didn't finish in first. The bad news, he didn't finish last either.
"I must have been somewhere in the middle," he said. "But it is okay, it's been a fun day."
The winners of the regular race – some for finishing first through third, others awarded as lame duck – are as follows:
1st place Joe Simons of Turner. 2nd place Michael Morser of Malta. 3rd place Brandon Caballero of Malta. Lame Duck winners were: Barry Bergos of Canada, Rita Frasure of Billings, Kayla Elkins of Malta, and Jim Layton of Malta.
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