Moose dropping festival: a unique Talkeetna treat.

• Author: Pilkington, Steve
• Position: Alaska this Month

They may look like Milk Duds that escaped from their box, but they certainly wouldn't taste like them. Moose droppings have been the center of some unique Alaska memorabillia, from jewelry to story books, but for Talkeetna they are the focus of an annual festival loaded with folklore and fun.

This month the Talkeetna Historical Society celebrates the 31st birthday of the Talkeetna Moose Dropping Festival held on July 12 and 13. A parade marks the official start of the festival through the city's historic district. The festival has inspired a lot of humor, including a prominent place in Tom Brennan's book "Moose Dropping and Other Crimes of Nature."

Each year the festival also has attracted plenty of visitors to see its sights. The weekend is a family-oriented event offering food, arts and crafts, vendors, live entertainment, programs, auctions, a chili contest, and especially the annual Mountain Mother Contest, sponsored by the Matanuska Telephone Association, which takes place on July 13 at 1 p.m. at the VFW Post 3836.

Carolyn Reitter, coordinator and organizer for the festival, has given a detailed description of what it takes to be a "Mountain Mother." The stopwatch begins when a mother, wearing hip waders and carrying a backpack with a 10-pound baby doll on her back, crosses the Susitna River stepping on stones while carrying two bags of groceries. Once on the other side, she walks a 20-foot log, putting down the groceries to chop wood into even quarters. She loads the quarters into the wheelbarrow and dumps them out at the woodpile. She blows up a balloon, puts it on an archery target and attempts to hit the bull's-eye at 60 feet with a 30-pound bow.

Using a hammer, she pounds a nail flush into a 2-foot by 4-foot board. Then she casts a fishing line 100 feet, landing it between two markers, and reels it back. By now, the baby needs changing, so she changes the baby's diaper, washes and hangs it on the clothesline. A Mountain Mother's chores are not complete until she prepares the traditional cherry pie. She fills a pie pan with whipped cream, places a cherry on the top and carries it to the...