CHINOOK — Which beet is best?

The question may not appear on a ballot anytime soon, but the residents of Chinook are debating which version of their sugar beet mascot should represent the town.

For the past three years, Chamber of Commerce President Chuck Hewitt has been raising money to paint a sugar beet on the town's water tower.

The community is united in their support for the idea, buying raffle tickets for a log cabin playhouse that Hewitt built and donating cash to bring in $2,700.
What they can't decide on is whether they should paint the original sugar beet or the current high school mascot the Sugarbeeter.

Dating back to the 1930s, the classic school mascot was a simple cream-colored carrot-like vegetable with green plumage.

In the 1970s, the school decided it wanted a mascot that would induce fear in rival schools and the Sugarbeeter was born.

The Sugarbeeter has a sugar beet head with a crazed look in his eyes, a linebacker's midsection and spinning eggbeater legs.

The mascot is a tribute to Chinook's sugar beet farming history, which dates back to the 1870s. In 1924, the town convinced the Utah-Idaho Sugarbeet Co. to move its factory from Washington to Chinook.

Farmers agreed to sign contracts and, with the railroad right next to town, the factory thrived for 26 years, producing molasses and beet pulp to feed to cattle.

Though Jordan, Utah, can claim the Beetdiggers and Salem, Idaho, has the Sugardiggers, Hewitt believes Chinook has sole ownership of the Sugarbeeter mascot, which Tonight Show host Jay Leno named the second oddest in the country.

Hewitt said the votes are split between longtime Chinook residents and newbies.

The final decision may come down to money.

Since the tower is 100-feet tall, the chamber would pay professional water tower painters to come in and paint the chosen symbol. Because it's a simple design and doesn't have a lot of color, the traditional sugar beet would cost roughly $3,500 compared with the $6,500 needed for the Sugarbeeter.

Hewitt hopes to get the high school involved with fundraising and paint the Sugarbeeter on a second water tower overlooking the football field.

The town is celebrating all things sugar beet Saturday with their third annual Sugarbeet Festival.

Judges will determine the biggest sugar beet, the best-dressed sugar beet and the best carved sugar beet. An afternoon parade includes floats with a sugar beet theme.

There also will be sheep sheering demonstrations, lamb stew samples, a gathering of sheep wagons and a wool spinning display to honor the area's other prime industry.

The festivities kick off with a pancake breakfast, continue with a fun run and local musicians and fiddlers in the park, and end with a street dance.

"It's just fun, family entertainment," Hewitt said. "It's a good time for the whole community."

For more information go on-line to www.chinookmontana .com/SugarbeetFestival.