Frontier Days is back again
OSBURN — The Smelterville Lions Club is happy to announce that this year’s Frontier Days celebration is on!
The event schedule boasts a list of impressive and unique activities such as a parade, lawn mower drag races, power wheels competitions (for kids), and a drive-in movie to boot.
Those who are familiar with the event since the Lions Club resurrected it in 2013 may be curious as to why the famous demolition derby is missing from the aforementioned list.
Unfortunately, the derby will not be occurring this year.
Since the Lions lost the area they normally use last year when the land’s owner sold it to another party, the club has been diligently looking for a new home.
After exploring several options, the Lions have brokered a deal with Shoshone County to use 5 acres of the lot located west of Shoshone Medical Center’s Health and Wellness Center in Smelterville.
Mike Fitzgerald, Shoshone County commissioner, stressed his support for the agreement in a meeting between the two partys.
Signing a year-to-year lease for the land with an automatic renewal, the Lions are excited to have a new place to crash and collide.
The only problem with this new land — it has not been remediated.
Paul Twidt, Smelterville Lions member, said that “its some of the dirtiest, dirty dirt (in the Silver Valley).”
Twidt added that since the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has no interest of cleaning up the land, its up to the Lions and/or the county to lay at least 6 inches of ‘clean’ dirt on top of the unremediated land.
Since this is a task that requires a significant amount of manpower and community support, the Lions were forced to push the derby to next year.
Even though the derby will be absent this year, Frontier Days is still set to be a great time.
With the blessing of the Hecla Mining Company (who owns the land that the old outdoor theater is on), the Lions will be able to bring back their other most popular event- the drive-in movie.
The Lions drew an enormous crowd from all around the region last year when they held a showing of “The Goonies.”
A line of cars reportedly stretched all the way from the old drive-in to the Interstate-90 on-ramps.
This year’s showing, along with the rest of the Frontier Days festivities, will occur on Sept. 9.
The featured motion picture will be the 1986 classic film, “Stand by Me.”
The tentative Frontier Days schedule is as follows:
11 a.m. — Parade begins down Main Street in Smelterville.
Noon — Lawnmower races begin (sponsored by Kellogg Les Schwab).
3 p.m. — Child powerwheels events begin.
Dusk — Drive-in movie begins (The Lions Club suggests that attendees arrive early).