A trailer full of Forestburg melons made their way to downtown Alberton last Thursday. Forestburg is a small town in South Dakota which claims to be the state’s watermelon capital.

Though these were cantaloupes and not watermelons, their sweet, juicy taste didn’t disappoint local buyers. Growers in the area say the sandy soil in the James River valley gives the melons their sweetness.

Don Hanson, a former Alberton resident, along with his nephew Charlie, made the nearly 1,000 mile journey with 450 melons. They stopped and sold them to local grocery stores along the way and arrived in Alberton with about 150 which they sold at the local farmer’s market on Thursday evening and alongside the mercantile building.

Don resides in Fedora, S.D., and is the younger brother of long-time resident and former town mayor, Joe Hanson. Charlie is Joe’s son.

Don said they lost about 50 melons which were picked the previous Sunday, to the heat. They were also going to donate about 50 melons to the wildfire crews who have a base camp at Tarkio.