First Shuck It! Corn Feed a success
<p>Falica Dubry, Codelle Slinkerd and Todd Nidzgorski. (Bethany Rolfson/The Western News)</p>
<p>Inaugural Shuck It! Corn Feed hay ride. (Bethany Rolfson/The Western News)</p>
<p>Dennis Watson serving grilled and boiled corn at the inaugural corn feed. (Bethany Rolfson/The Western News)</p>
<p>The Kootenai Karacters made an appearance at the corn feed, dressed in costume for their upcoming production of “Cornfield of Dreams." (Bethany Rolfson/The Western News)</p>
<p>Sean and Sheri Brookshire enjoying free corn and visiting with friends at the corn feed. (Bethay Rolfson/The Western News)</p>
A new business owner showed the community his appreciation yesterday afternoon with 2,500 shucks of corn.
Over a hundred of people showed up to the first-ever Shuck It! Corn Feed Monday for free corn and sloppy joes, along with many family-friendly activities.
“This far exceeded my expectations,” Watson said. “If it’s this big now, think about how big it’s going to be next year.”
When Watson moved to Libby, he wanted to bring a piece of his home state of Minnesota with him.
Over the summer, Watson decided he wanted to give back to the community and started organizing the event inspired by his midwestern roots.
Watson was raised in McGregor, Minn., where he regularly attended an annual Labor Day corn-feed gathering. When he moved to Libby from Sandpoint, Idaho last year, he opened up a full-service boat repair shop, The Other Boat Shop, specializing in tough-to-repair older engines and boats.
“Given the ups and downs of a new business, the community has been really supportive,” Watson said.
During the corn feed, participants enjoyed an array of family-friendly activities such as hay rides, arcade attractions, face painting, a cupcake walk and gold panning exhibitions, while a DJ played festive folk and dance music. Those wishing to add to their meal could purchase sloppy joes from the VFW.
Watson said he didn’t want to invite vendors from out of town to come and sell, keeping the event within the community.
“It’s about Libby, it’s about what this town is and what this town is doing,” Watson said.
Watson approached the VFW Post in Libby a few months ago to see if they would like to be apart of the event. While Watson isn’t a member of the VFW, he is a veteran and a strong supporter of the VFW and said he’s close with the members of the post.
“He’s the driving force,” manager of the VFW Jule Mason said. “It’s his brainchild.”
As the first-ever Shuck It! Corn Feed and the first event of its kind Watson has ever planned, the crew wanted to see how the event would go before starting to plan for next year.
Watson originally moved out to Libby for his nine-year-old daughter, and said he realized along the way how much he loved the town.
“Libby is a lot like my home in Minnesota, it’s like being at home without the family,” Watson said. “Somewhere along the way I realized...this is a pretty nice little town.”
Watson said that part of the reason he wanted to set up the corn feed was to become more of a member of the community. In other words, he wanted the community to know they were a part of his life, just like they had become part of his.
“When I first moved out here a lot of people told me that I was an outsider,” Watson said. “I believe that you’re only an outsider if you act like one.”
Reporter Bethany Rolfson may be reached at 293-4124 or by email at Reporter@TheWesternNews.com.