Polson author tells childhood story in ‘The Fair Sombrero’
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POLSON — With a scary chase, a Brahma bull, 9-year-old best friends and their horses, Kalispell and the Northwest Montana Fair in the 1950s, “The Fair Sombrero” by Polson author Joye Ann Albert is a great story.
“It’s a true story, too,” Albert said, at a book signing at Super 1 Foods on May 6.
“This episode made such an impression on me, I wanted to share it,” Albert said, explaining why she wrote the children’s book.
The book also contains a glossary of terms that may not be familiar to children who don’t live in the west and questions for discussion.
Leia Miller from Manhattan, Mont., illustrated “The Fair Sombrero” with beautiful watercolors. In another connection to the Flathead, Miller’s husband is from the Ronan area.
Ellen Traylor of Porthole Books and Publications published the book. Traylor is located in Polson part of the year.
Writing about her life, Albert said she grew up in Kalispell, and she set the story in Evergreen. Always a bookworm, Albert was also horse crazy and owned a horse, like Ann in the story.
Albert’s horse Sunset was a wild horse that came from Wild Horse Island in Flathead Lake. Sunset was “green broke” at the time, which means they probably put her in a corral and put a saddle on her just one time, Albert said.
“She was always gentle with me, and I was gentle with her,” Albert remembered. “We were good friends for a long time.”
“The Fair Sombrero” is available online at Portholepublication.com, on Amazon.com and can be purchased at Costco in Kalispell and locally at Super 1 Foods.
