International Paper Riverdale Mill celebrated 50 years of operations Saturday by thanking employees and their families with a fun filled afternoon.

The mill held a family fun day where it fed employees and their families. There were also all sorts of activities available, including rock climbing, a paper making station, bingo, face painting, inflatables, basketball hoops, mini golf and a lot more. The event was held near the plant, but on a hot day, charter buses escorted people back and forth.

“Any time you can hit a milestone like this, it’s important,” said Mike Amick, senior vice president of International Paper. “This facility has been a part of this community and [it’s important] to help them honor and celebrate the teams that have come through here, the people that have come through here since the beginning of the facility, some of which have been here since the beginning.”

The mill’s official 50-year anniversary will come later this year on Nov. 17, but Saturday was a chance to celebrate before the weather turns colder.

“Everybody out here is like family. When something happens to somebody, we all know about it, we all get upset. We look out for each other,” said Lynn Eiland, who has worked at the Riverdale Mill for 18 years.

The mill employs about 750 people and is the largest employer within Dallas County. Like Eiland, many of those employees have been with the mill for a long time. All employees that had been at the mill for 40 years were honored during the celebration.

Riverdale manager Jim Bruce said it was important to mark the milestone.

“You know you are part of something that is here to last and hopefully here for the future,” Bruce said.