Senior Keg-ger Day!

I was traveling in Montana.  I went to make a presentation at one of the high schools. As I was checking in with the Main office, I noticed a young lady (student) behind a table with the sheet poster that proclaimed, “BUY YOUR TICKETS HERE FOR SENIOR KEG-GER DAY!”  The poster had pictures of beer kegs and beer mugs. 

Certainly it wasn’t as it appeared.  A school sponsored day when seniors would ditch school and drink.  So, it must have been some quaint local “fireworks display for the seniors” or something of that nature.  Haha!

My curiousity got the better of me.  I asked the nice lady behind the counter at the main office, “What Senior Keg-ger day?” 

“Well, that’s the day when all the Seniors who buy tickets go out to the field about a mile from town.  The parents set up a fence to corral them in with benches, tables and such out there.  The parents and organizers take the car keys of the senior as they arrive, put them into the corral and let them drink as much as they want.  Then they watch them until someone comes to get ‘em OR they are good to drive.“

Yes, the parents assisted the seniors in ditching school, and in a controlled environment, consume beer until the beer was gone.  Then the parents would make sure they stayed until all had rides or were sober enough to drive.  I was astonished to say the least.  This revelation helped me understand why it seemed all Montana applicants seemed to have a Minor in possession or Minor in Consumption of Alcohol on their record.

As I stood there in disbelief, thinking to myself, this nice office lady is just pulling this Sailor’s leg, an adult arrived at the table.  The young lady behind the table proclaimed, “Great!  Here you go, Mom.  Here is the money and the tickets.  I have to get to class.  Thanks for watching the table.”

I couldn’t help myself.  I walked over to this table, introduced myself and told this new arrival at the table this was my first visit to this town in Montana.   Then I proceeded to ask about Senior Keg-ger  Day.  The mom proudly recounted the same version of the events as the lady in the main office.  I tried to hide my astonishment (not sure if I was successful). 

I made my presentation at the high school and then departed.  My recruiters still had applicants from this small town.  But from that point on, I would always ask all the applicants from Montana about their drinking and the sheriff from their town.  But that’s a story for my next post.