Ledger Looking Back 25 Years: 8/11/1999

AUGUST 11, 1999

The Rockin' the Rockies classic rock concert transformed a parcel of Jefferson Valley cow pasture into the largest town in Jefferson or Madison County and literally did it overnight. On Wednesday night, August 4, workers were still putting up the stage. By late Thursday night, hundreds of RVs and tents were up, and nearly 2,000 people were already encamped for the concert. Officials said Rockin' the Rockies drew over 6,000 people on Friday night for the Foreigner/Journey performance, closer to 7,000 people for the Brian Howe/Nazareth show the following night, and somewhere close to 5,000 for the Georgia Satellites/.38 Special show on Sunday night.

The beautification of Whitehall advanced a step during the August 9 Whitehall Town Council meeting. The council voted to approve the final adoption of the junk vehicle ordinance and began a two-tiered approach to requiring debris clean-up of individual lots in town.

Whitehall Reader of the Week was John Rice. "I'm a reading addict," says John Rice. He reads 200 books a year, sometimes a book a day. He especially enjoys historical fiction and military novels and will oftentimes read every novel an author has written.

"I learn an awful lot just by reading, and I really enjoy history," said John, who owns a drywall finishing business in Whitehall. John is impressed with the library loan program and says, "Any book you want to read, this library can get it for you."

Whitehall Athlete of the Week was Whit Smith, who won "Junior All-Around" at the Butte-Silver Bow Youth Rodeo on August 6. Whit has competed in rodeos since he was "6 or 7 years old." In the junior division, Whit took first place in Breakaway Roping and Goat Tying, second place in Team Roping (with Chad Smith) and Calf Daubing, third place in Pole Bending, and fourth place in Barrel Racing.

Volunteers of the Week were Lily Early, Kara Voeks, Brandon Momsen, and Mandy Choquette for organizing the Kids Day Out Fun Day.