Dalton Comes Alive with its Fall Festival

DALTON- It's that time of the year again and the village of Dalton has held its traditional Fall Festival. Even though the village was founded in 1909, it wasn't until 1921 that they gathered for their first Fall Festival.

Several generations have been part of a custom that has been kept alive after all these years. This year, fall was celebrated with an event coordinated by a committee comprised of Sarah Brenner, Jeff Hartwig, Dani Van Anne, and Ashton Van Anne, overseen by Kayla Wells. Many volunteers helped make this a truly successful event.

On Saturday September 23, early risers were treated to coffee, rolls, and breakfast burritos served by Jane Reimers and friends at the Senior Citizens Building. Shortly after, the co-ed sand volleyball tournament kicked off. Each team was comprised of two men and two women. The event was organized by Sarah Brenner. The winners were: Drew Brenner, Emily Mahr, Jake and Sarah Ernest and Jim Bob Rushman.

At 10:30 a.m, the streets of Dalton were set for the parade, traffic having been graciously re-routed by the Cheyenne County Sheriffs department. One could look up the highway at all of the floats coming down the street, with crowds lining both sides, and sense the energy and pride emanating from the participants and onlookers.

In the category of Non-Profit, The Cheyenne County Alumni Band was awarded first place, Camp Clarke Raiders won second place and the Leyton High School Band was awarded third place.

For the Family category, the Parkers won first place, the Reimers sisters took second and Grand Marshalls, third place.

In the Commercial category, first place went to Open Country LLC, second went to Twisted Sisters, and third to AT Performance Horses.

Everyone was treated to a free hamburger and hot dog feed sponsored by John and Amanda Jenson following the parade.

A new addition to the festival was the First Annual Car show. Small but mighty, it appeared to be a fan-favorite as people looked over the cars that had been entered with appreciation and admiration.

For the Judge's Choice category, Mike and Pam Amen won first place with their 1956 Chevy Nomad, Hal Zalesky took second place with his 1970 Chevelle, and Vaughn and Bridget Russell won third place with their 2010 Camaro.

In the Participant's Choice category, first place again went to Mike and Pam Amen, second went to Bill Zink with his 1932 Ford Coupe, and third to Doug Fillis with his 1969 Camaro.

For the People's Choice category, Mike and Pam Amen left everyone breathless with their car one more time and won first place, Dick Fiegenschuh took second and Vaughn and Bridget Russel won third place again.

Later in the afternoon the Kleech-Brauer Horseshoe Tournament, organized by Tina Sifuentez, was held. Walking away with awards were:

8th place: Team of Tim Shaske from Scottsbluff. Partner: Ron Nelson from Sidney.

7th place: Team Roger Goffena from Chadron. Partner: Carl Baehler from Chadron.

6th place: Team of Vern Whittle from Minatare. Partner: Kaleb Miller from Gurley.

5th place: Team of Josh Shaske from Scottsbluff. Partner: Garth Genaway from Bridgeport.

4th place: Junior. Tony Vazquez from Scottsbluff. Partner: Jesse Maldonado Jr from Scottsbluff.

3rd place: Mike Vergil from Bridgeport. Partner: Jesse Maldonado Sr from Scottsbluff.

2nd place: Don Mohrman from Bridgeport. Partner: Marv Rose from Dalton.

1st place: Becky McGuern from Oshkosh, Partner: Doug Meier from Sidney.

One of the most anticipated events this year was the introduction of the first annual BBQ Cook-off. Over 100 people were drawn in by the exquisite smells of the smoking meat, beans and potatoes. For only $10, event-goers could taste as many entries as they liked, and cast votes for their favorites. In the end, Justin Walker of Dalton was awarded first place in People's Choice. Tim Hausmann of Sidney and Tanner Bellmyer of Dalton won first place as chosen by the judges, and the winners of the All-Around were: Lee and Pat Herz of Lodgepole.

In addition to all of the good food from the BBQ, there was a free-will donation bake sale at Dalton's Legion Park hosted by the Salem Lutheran Church of Gurley. Money was raised to purchase a new playground for the kids.

At 7 pm on Saturday evening, traditional honky tonk country music artist Eric Golden performed to an excited crowd. Golden is a Denver native singer/guitarist that performs playing throughout Colorado and surrounding areas. His shows are heavily influenced by the Bakersfield Country Music sound and takes audiences through decades of classic Country music. His song covers range from Dwight Yokam, Merle Haggard, Waylon Jennings, Buck Owens, Johnny Cash, Hank Williams, and George Strait among others.With the ability to perform as a full band, duo or single act, he creates customized playlists for the specific need of each event in which he appears.

His accolades are impressive, having won multiple nominations and awards from the Colorado Country Music Hall of Fame including the 2022 (Nominated) Male Vocalist of the Year, 2021 (Awarded) Entertainer of the Year, 2021 (Nominated) Male Vocalist of the Year and Newcomer of the year (Awarded) in 2019.

For information on where he will be appearing next, visit ericgoldenmusic.com/events.

On Sunday, September 24, people had a great turn out at the church service worshipping together as a community. Right after, they had 88 hooks at the tractor pull which wrapped up the entertainment for the weekend.

The Dalton community truly came together in celebration and there are sure to be be many positive effects this successful weekend will have in the future for its groups, businesses and upcoming Fall Festival events!