“Tough” Riders Return!

A message from the Reunion Committee:

Hello to all you Tough Riders! It’s been a long journey since we graduated in 1970, and especially rough the past few years. Given that fact, your reunion committee has decided that our reunion weekend will be called Tough Riders Return. We’ll always be Rough Riders, but at this age, we also deserve to be called Tough Riders.

Details for our 50-ish REUNION (years 50, 51, and 52 rolled into one) have been finalized. So, please read on with ever-increasing excitement and get ready to reunite with your Rider classmates and party like it’s … 1970 (duh)!

Here is what you need to know:

WHEN: September 30 and October 1, 2022

Friday, September 30. Join your Rider classmates at the Hilton Garden Inn in West Des Moines. A block of rooms is being held for reunion attendees, at discounted rates starting at $139 a night, so click the link or call to get your reservation: (515) 223-0571.

Let’s get this party started! TIME: 6:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. It’s a great facility with lots of elbow room. Parking and the entrance for our event is on the north side of the hotel complex. Spend time catching up with old friends, tell (or make-up) new stories about your journey through the years, enjoy a delicious selection of tasty and filling appetizers and desserts, enjoy some great tunes (our own curated playlist) and even get a chance to bust a move or two on the ballroom’s spacious dance floor. Just make sure you are traveling with extra next-day pain meds. EXTRA EXTRA FUN: Yes, hard to believe, we know — you will have the opportunity to have countless photos taken with your new and old besties by way of our 21st century high-tech selfie photo booth. Casual dress is fine, but remember you may be doing some serious posing, with pics available for immediate distribution to your personal account. Your time to shine, that’s for sure.

Saturday October 1

Tour of TRHS. Time: 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. Come back to the place where it all began (our high school memories, that is). Discover what has changed — and what hasn’t. 

Golf Outing at Waveland Golf Course. A number of tee times have been reserved for Saturday, starting at 10 a.m. Find out if any of your classmates can play as good a game as they talk. Might be worth a wager of a beer or two — just for fun. Contact Tim Mease via email (timmease@gmail.com) for details if you are interested in playing.

Saturday night at the Waveland Golf Course Clubhouse. Time: 6:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Enjoy a second evening of classmate camaraderie and conversation at the Waveland Clubhouse, known on this evening as the Tough Rider Lounge. Enjoy the rustic charm of our second-night gathering place, in a building full of memories of past get-togethers, exaggerated golf stories, and, for a few, memories of awkward ballroom dance lessons. Listen to good music, order your favorite beverage and pizza, and generally just kick back in the cozy atmosphere of the Tough Rider Lounge. Depending on weather, enjoy a  crisp Iowa Fall evening on the patio, or huddle with friends near the toasty fireplace. Convenient parking immediately adjacent to the clubhouse. WOW —what more can you ask for?

COST. And, here’s the good news. Your Reunion Committee has put together a classic “two-fer” Reunion Weekend. Yes, you heard right. For one low price of $65 per ticket per person (plus tax and fees), you get admission to two great parties: Friday night at the Hilton Garden Inn in West Des Moines, and Saturday night at the Tough Rider Lounge at the Waveland Clubhouse.

Click HERE to buy tickets using Eventbrite’s secure payment system, which unfortunately adds fees that raise total ticket price to about $75.

Or, if you want to party like it’s 1969 (before the internet and online payments), and save a few bucks, send a check for $70 per ticket ($65 plus $5 taxes) to:

Roosevelt Reunion 1970

c/o John McKenzie, Class Treasurer

2921 Pleasant Street

For planning and budgeting reasons, no single night tickets will be sold. Advance registration is strongly encouraged, and helps us plan and manage expenses more effectively. A ticket for the Friday and Saturday night events will cost $85 per person if purchased at the door on Friday, cash or check only.

Light dinner fare and desserts are included at the Hilton on Friday. On Saturday, enjoy the great atmosphere at the Waveland Tough Rider Lounge, with Fat Joe’s Pizza and bar snacks on your own. Cash bar both evenings.

Things To Do While in Des Moines

Revisit Des Moines and the greater Des Moines area. Take  time to check out some of your favorite old haunts (Greenwood Park, Waterworks Park, Gray’s Lake) and/or  explore a few of the many new and interesting metro features that make Des Moines one of the most vibrant and fastest-growing metro areas in the Midwest. We’ll be posting additional information about attractions and restaurants, and some of the really cool things to see and do in Des Moines. Stay tuned.

Options for Giving Back

Support the TRHS Foundation. Many of you are familiar with the great work of the Foundation. Through the generous support of alumni, and friends of Roosevelt and public education, the Foundation provides financial support for a variety of good works and causes connected to the education and support of Roosevelt students. The Foundation supports improvements to the building and grounds, as well as supporting students and faculty in any number of ways. On this special weekend when you get to renew old friendships and recall exploits and memories from our shared TRHS past, please consider showing your continued support for our high school, the place that was the connecting point and important intersection for our lives. We suggest you donate directly to the Foundation; you can direct your donation to one of several projects and initiatives supported by the Foundation. Please identify that you are a member of the Class of 1970 when donating.

Support your class: If you’re in a position to add an extra contribution to the class on top of your ticket — or if you’re unable to attend in person but want to contribute to the cause — we’ll use your contribution of any size to subsidize tickets for classmates who might otherwise find it difficult to attend, to throw a better party, and to make a more substantial contribution from the Class of 1970 to the TRHS Foundation. We’ll be thrilled to receive your check. Again, the postal address is:

Roosevelt Reunion 1970

c/o John McKenzie, Class Treasurer

2921 Pleasant Street

West Des Moines, IA 50266

Join the conversation. The best way to keep up-to-date on the reunion is to check our class website www.TRHS1970.com, or check our class Facebook page for updates.

Help us find classmates. If you are in touch with classmates who may not have heard about the reunion plans, please let them know to look at our class website. If everyone tells a few folks, we will have a great reunion. While on the class website, you can submit your current contact information.

Online web store details to come!

Tough Riders Reunion online web store. We will offer an online web store where you can browse t-shirts and other items bearing the Tough Riders Return (and Teddy on horseback) logo. If you still own, or happen to remember our 1990 Reunion T-shirt, this is going to look familiar! You can purchase what you like, and choose whether to have your purchase shipped or pick your order up at the reunion. You can show off your Tough Rider gear even if you can’t make it to the reunion. More information and the dates the store will be open will be announced later.

TRHS Class of 1970 50-ish Reunion Committee

The 50th reunion has been in the planning stages since 2019 and there are quite a few folks who have been involved in some way over the past 3 years. They include Jim Black, Claudia Cackler, Charlie Davis, Deb Moon Davis, Julie DeMarce, Debora Dickinson, Dick Dorzweiler, Shari Montinguise Foddrill, John Heman, Maureen King Korte, Pete Lewis, Kristi Lund Lozier, Nancy Curnes Lynch, John McKenzie, Tim Mease, Roger Morrison, Marilyn Musser, Marcia Danielson Schoeppner, Julie Shirk, Karen Thomas Stewart, Marcia Wine, and Sally Wisdom.

And special thanks to 50th Reunion Committee stalwarts Mike Holmes (class vice president), Richard Lynch, and Sarah Renner, who will be with us in spirit.