Pumpkins Plummet: Event raises money for fireworks and Brett Thoft Memorial Foundation

Out of the dense blue sky, a small plane appeared, aiming for a chalked grid on the runway of the St. Ignatius Airport. As it approached, a pumpkin fell, smashing somewhere on the grid (or occasionally, beyond), earning cheers from onlookers and, for at least one of them, $250 per flyover.

Saturday’s Pumpkin Drop also included a free barbecue, coat giveaway and pumpkin painting.

For pilot Mike Kuefler, the challenge was lining up on the grid as he approached at 80 mph and 100 feet off the ground. Pumpkins needed to be let loose 90 feet before the target to compensate for the speed at which the plump orange orb travelled as it hurtled down. When it smashed to the ground, volunteers raced to the site, recorded the square where it landed, and relayed that info to the chart-keepers, who in turn, belted out the winner’s name.

The winner in each of the 10 flyovers claimed $250, and the remainder went to the St. Ignatius chamber of commerce to pay for Good Ol’ Days fireworks and to the Brett Thoft Memorial Foundation.

Bombardier Stuart Morton said the challenges of hitting the target were “many and great,” although the most difficult part for him was staying on task instead of sightseeing.

“We’re not professionals by any means,” said Kuefler, who also organizes the July fly-in at the small airport. “We’re just a few guys having fun.”

Of the 80 pumpkins purchased from Rod’s Harvest Foods, 15 were dropped from the plane and 12 hit their target, while three were wayward. “What was disappointing was in practice all of them hit the target perfectly, and the exhibition double-drop at the end hit the target perfectly,” said Morton. “It has to do with speed and lining up.”

Kuefler added that when they began dropping pumpkins at noon, a little ground fog still clung to the runway, “and we couldn’t see the grid, so we were winging it a little bit.”

Greg Plimmer grilled hot dogs and hamburgers during the event, while his wife, Stacey Thoft-Plimmer offered helicopter rides. The couple oversees the Brett Thoft Memorial Foundation, which honors Stacey’s brother, Brett, who died in December 2014 in an airplane accident west of Pablo. He was 33, and an experienced Alaskan bush pilot, when the plane he was flying crashed in steep terrain.

According to information about the inception of the foundation, “Brett never stepped away from any task and lived every day creating a positive and caring lifestyle for his family and friends. His tenacity was a big part of our thought process when we decided to move forward with the foundation.”

“When he died we asked the question: ‘what would Brett do and how do we as a family not only cope with this, but figure out how tragedy can have a positive impact?’”

The family agreed, “he would take a big step and chase his dreams. We hope to help others chase their dreams through this foundation.”

The organization continues to make a positive impact on the valley where Thoft grew up by working with other nonprofits to facilitate the donations of coats for kids, bringing Missoula Children’s Theatre to St. Ignatius schools, offering aviation scholarships and providing other need-based donations to the local community.

The foundation recently gave $2,500 to Charlo Schools to purchase weight-training equipment for girls and purchased new uniforms for Mission athletes last year.

In addition, the organization supports the local fly-in and offers free helicopter rides for kids to help foster interest in aviation.

As Plimmer flips a few more burgers and pulls the last hot dogs off the grill, the former pitmaster says the free barbecue is part of the outreach too. “Whenever we have an event we just try to feed everybody and have a good time,” he says.