Phillips County Museum News for Wednesday, July 3, 2024

One hundred years ago, The Enterprise newspaper of Malta wrote that the people of Malta had a choice of Fourth of July celebrations to attend. Landusky, Freewater, Rocky Point, and Saco were all holding events.

Saco’s two-day celebration was organized by the Saco American Legion and the Saco firemen. The crowd was estimated to be 3,000 on the 4th, and slightly less on the 5th. It started off with a patriotic speech by Judge Borton of Glasgow.

W. J. Wallace was in charge of the Stampede program. There were bareback and saddle bronc riders, ropers, and racers. There were “free for all”, relay, and professional horse races. A horse belonging to Anna Lee Survant won the professional race. Men and boys participated in the horse races while girls could compete in pony races.

Mr. Peterson headed up the street sports which included girls’, women’s, and men’s races, “free-for-all” foot races, and three-legged races. There was also a pie-eating contest. Entertainment was provided by several clowns and Nellie Tanner’s trick pony.

There were baseball games between Ponteix, Saskatchewan and Malta, and Ponteix and Saco. A large crowd of Canadians came down to support their team.

On the evening of the 4th, there was an outdoor dance that lasted until the following morning. Several orchestras took turns providing music.

The Saco celebration was marred by the tragic drowning of two young men from Greve, Montana, which was a community north of Saco. A group of men decided to take a dip in Beaver Creek and found themselves in deeper water than they expected. David Blais and Harry Anderson, who were unable to swim, lost their lives.

Stop by the Phillips County Museum to learn more fascinating facts about early-day life in the area. We are open Monday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m.