Ronan celebrates its heritage at Pioneer Days
BERL TISKUS | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 2 years AGO
A cowboy gets unloaded from one of the good Kittson broncs at the Pioneer Days Rodeo on Saturday night. (Berl Tiskus/Leader)
Cora Matt, whose team topped her age division, plays keep-away during the annual 3-on-3 Jamboree in Ronan. (Christa Umphrey photo)
Joshua Skunkcap throws up his hands to signal time as he finishes tying his calf. (Berl Tiskus/Leader)
A roan horse comes out of the Pioneer Days rodeo chute with getting rid of the cowboy on his back during this year's event at the Ronan Fairgrounds. Organizers plan to move Pioneer Days to the Mission Range Events Center next year. (Berl tiskus/Leader)
Dallas Deyer's bareback bronc has quite a vertical leap at the Ronan Pioneer Days Rodeo. (Berl Tiskus/Leader)
Pioneer Parade Grand Marshals Robin and Mark Nelson wave at friends and neighbors along the parade route. (Berl Tiskus/Leader)
One of the Pistol Creek group rides a big buckskin and wears Native American regalia. (Berl Tiskus/Leader)
The Pheasant's float in the Pioneer Days Parade featured a cloud of bubbles that everyone enjoyed. (Berl Tiskus/Leader)
Lex LaFrombois goes up for a shot during Saturday's 3-on-3 Jamboree in Ronan. The annual Pioneer Days event drew more than 100 teams. (Christa Umphrey photo)
Javin Pitts angles for the hoop during the Ronan Pioneer Days 3-on-3 Jamboree last Saturday. (Christa Umphrey photo)
Reporter Berl Tiskus joined the Lake County Leader team in early March 2023, and covers Ronan City Council, schools, ag and business. Berl grew up on a ranch in Wyoming and earned a degree in English education from MSU-Billings and a degree in elementary education from the University of Montana. Since moving to Polson three decades ago, she’s worked as a substitute teacher, a reporter for the Valley Journal and a secretary for Lake County Extension. | August 8, 2024 12:00 AM
Ronan Pioneer Days took over the town last Friday through Sunday. There was something fun for everyone: 3-on-3 Jamboree, with more than 100 entries, a car show, 5K run, City Slickers Rodeo for kids, a softball tourney, kids fishing derby and Sunday’s Big Parade. The open rodeo included a special bulls and broncs performance on Friday night, followed by rodeo action at 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday, including the always popular wild buffalo ride..
Both Friday and Saturday night there was a street dance on Main Street.
“We had a great turnout for the street dances,” said Jannel Smart of the Second Chance Saloon. “We had a lot of fun.”
The softball tournament had six teams entered, just enough to keep them busy all day, according to organizer Sandi Wirz.
Kittson Rodeo Company from Browning brought their bareback and saddle broncs for the rodeos, and those horses were firing. That’s not surprising since Chancy Kittson and his crew annually send stock to the Indian National Finals in Las Vegas.
The M5 Livestock Company, which is Elmo and Nikki McDonald and family, produced the rodeo.
As usual, the crowd was standing room only for Saturday night’s performance with the community supporting Pioneer Days big time. Local Bob Bell came an hour early just to get a good seat, he said.
Open rodeos give local cowboys and cowgirls a chance to compete without traveling, so Mission Valley talent was on display.
A crowd favorite at the rodeo was the kids’ barrel racing. Hazel White, all decked out in her lavender hat, rode her pony on a leadline, followed by her pony’s colt. Riding her big paint, Nevada BigSam, was accompanied by her dad around the barrels.
There was a shortage of bareback bronc riders and saddle bronc riders, but quite a number of ranch bronc riders.
With a shower of candy to match the rain shower, Sunday’s Big Parade was popular with kids and adults. The rain tamped down the dust and freshened the air. Even the ranchers haying didn’t appear to mind the moisture.
With the theme “Community – Better Together,” Grand Marshals Mark and Robin Nelson led the parade of floats (one blowing bubbles), horse groups, Native American riders, vintage cars, and a mind-boggling number of fire engines.
Taking top honors were:
People’s Choice: Pistol Creek
Best Overall Theme: Valley Club
Best Class Reunion: Ronan Class of ‘64
Best Horse Mounted: Pistol Creek
Best Horse Drawn: Laurence Walchuk
Best Native American Regalia: Pistol Creek
Best Commercial Float: Valley Banks
Best Community Float: Northwest Farm Bureau
Best Small Engine – Tractor: Gale Decker
Best Antique: Ed Loder
Best Classic Auto: Gordon and Joyce Schliep
Cora Matt, whose team topped her age division, plays keep-away during the annual 3-on-3 Jamboree in Ronan. (Christa Umphrey photo)
Joshua Skunkcap throws up his hands to signal time as he finishes tying his calf. (Berl Tiskus/Leader)
A roan horse comes out of the Pioneer Days rodeo chute with getting rid of the cowboy on his back during this year's event at the Ronan Fairgrounds. Organizers plan to move Pioneer Days to the Mission Range Events Center next year. (Berl tiskus/Leader)
Dallas Deyer's bareback bronc has quite a vertical leap at the Ronan Pioneer Days Rodeo. (Berl Tiskus/Leader)
Pioneer Parade Grand Marshals Robin and Mark Nelson wave at friends and neighbors along the parade route. (Berl Tiskus/Leader)
One of the Pistol Creek group rides a big buckskin and wears Native American regalia. (Berl Tiskus/Leader)
The Pheasant's float in the Pioneer Days Parade featured a cloud of bubbles that everyone enjoyed. (Berl Tiskus/Leader)
Lex LaFrombois goes up for a shot during Saturday's 3-on-3 Jamboree in Ronan. The annual Pioneer Days event drew more than 100 teams. (Christa Umphrey photo)
Javin Pitts angles for the hoop during the Ronan Pioneer Days 3-on-3 Jamboree last Saturday. (Christa Umphrey photo)
ARTICLES BY BERL TISKUS
Dirt flies for the groundbreaking of Mission Valley Ice Arena
The first shovels of soil marked the groundbreaking for the Mission Valley Ice Arena after ten to 12 years of fundraising.
Cruisin’ by the Bay brings classic cars to Polson
Smoke veiled the Missions, but it didn’t discourage car buffs from bringing their prized autos to Cruisin’ by the Bay, the Mission Mountain Cruisers’ annual show. Car lovers didn’t stay home either; they gathered and discussed their favorites, peeked at the engines, sometimes even looked at the suspension.
Ronan Pioneer Days offers plenty of Horsin' Around
Horsin’ Around was the theme for the 2026 Ronan Pioneer Days, held last weekend. While there were a few horses involved, there were lots of humans at play during the three-day event.