GREAT FALLS — This weekend, inside the Four Seasons Arena at the Montana Expo Park, hundreds of vendors set up shop for the Great Falls Gun and Antique Show.
A tradition spaning decades, the Gun and Antique Show had guns of every make and model to buy and sell.
“I always like taking in and seeing the old guns and what what's left of history and occasionally buying or trading for one,” Ritt Bradshaw, a rancher out of Huntley, Montana said.
In addition to guns, ammunition, accessories, and bullet-making apparatuses were also for sale. With so much firepower in one room, safety is not something the show takes lightly.
“It's tremendously important, Number one,” Bradshaw said, “All the vendors are aware of that, and so they get little plastic zip ties and they put them on every gun so that some goofball that might have a shell and slip it in thinking it's funny doesn't work because it won't open up.”
Bradshaw is specifically fond of old cowboy rifles, such as Winchester repeaters. He attends conventions like this one to appreciate the history behind it all.
“I hope they continue doing this,” Bradshaw said, “Because it's a part of our Montana history.”
Scattered throughout the expo arena were antique displays, where you could purchase fine china, old postcards, and other memorabilia from a time long gone. By far the largest subsection of antiques, however, was classic toy dolls.
Linda Oeleis is the Regional Director Of United Federation Of Doll Clubs. Oeleis started collecting dolls as a child not to play with, but to practice sewing and braiding hair. This year was the third year the Treasure State Doll’ers Doll Club partnered with the Gun and Antique Show.
“We did it separately before, we found that it was really hard to advertise. We didn't have a lot of traffic,” Oeleis said, “And so blending it with the gun and antique show, a lot of these dolls are antiques, so it fits right in with that category.”
The Treasure State Doll’ers Doll Club has been around for 42 years and has 18 members, three of which are founding members.
Similar to Bradshaw, Oeleis’ doll collection spans centuries, showing the ever-changing designs in toy dolls.
“I tend to look at collecting dolls as dolls through history, because many of them represent different eras of time,” Oeleis said.
There will be another Gun and Antique Show in Great Falls in late April. More information regarding the Gun and Antique Show can be found at https://www.greatfallsgunshow.net.
The Treasure State Doll’ers Doll Club meets once a month on Thursdays. If you are interested in joining or learning more, you can contact Linda Oeleis at ufdcrd6@ufdc.org.
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