Each year the Theodore Roosevelt Medora Foundation awards nearly $30,000 in educations scholarships and ambassador awards funded by the Rod Tjaden Memorial Golf Tournament. Here are our 2018 recipients:
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First Ever Kids FREE Week in Medora June 28 – July 4
New Medora WISH Endowment building off of Harold Schafer’s dream to help more families enjoy the Badlands the way he and Theodore Roosevelt did.
(Medora, ND) – The Theodore Roosevelt Medora Foundation alongside the generous “Wish Wranglers” of the Medora WISH Endowment, are delighted to announce the first ever Kids FREE Week for select attractions in Medora.
Meet the cast of this year’s Medora Musical!
Hosts Chet Wollen and Bill Sorensen to lead star-studded Medora Musical cast made up of returning talent, new performers, and several North Dakota natives!
Each year thousands of performers audition at locations in North Dakota, Minnesota, Tennessee, and Florida to find the best talent for the Medora Musical. So let’s meet the cast!
The 2019 Medora Musical, Hosts
Chet Wollan, a Medora favorite is back to host the Medora Musical. Chet (pictured above) is originally from Minneapolis, Minnesota but now lives in Knoxville, Tennessee with Princess of the Prairie, Candice Lively Wollan.
This will be Chet’s fourth year hosting the Medora Musical and his 13th year starring in the show.
Bill Sorensen will return to the Medora Musical for his “final ride” co-hosting. Bill has been performing in Medora for the past 40 years as a magician, comedian, and entertainer. Don’t miss this dynamic duo together on stage this summer!
The Burning Hills Singers!
2019 Featured Variety Acts
One of your old favorites accompanied by some new stars!
Every year the Medora Musical features top-notch entertainers from around the globe to wow the crowd – this year the ‘wow factor’ will be off the charts!
Jack Kalvan & Company | May 31 – June 14
As seen on TV! Sit back and enjoy a ridiculously fun evening with Hollywood’s favorite jugglers!
Jack Kalvan is part mad scientist, part world-class juggler. His wife Jeri is a circus artist and Hollywood stuntwoman. Together with their audaciously talented sons, they’ve created a one-of-a-kind show that ALL ages can enjoy together!
You’ll be on the edge of your seat and rolling on the floor laughing at the same time…if that’s possible!
Breaksk8 | June 15 – June 28
From America’s Got Talent, America’s Best Dance Crew, Shake it Up and more!
This roller skatin’, break dancin’, groovy gang has brought the hype to stages across the nation.
From the NBA to MTV, from Indiana to China and now Medora, this energetic rolling dance crew will bring favorite list Michael Jackson’s “Beat it” to life in an entertaining and fun show for the whole family!
John Cassidy | June 29 – August 10
The balloon master is back and better than ever!
John Cassidy is a professional comedian, magician, and balloon artist who holds several Guinness World Records® for balloon sculpting speed. His records include Most Balloon Sculptures Completed in One Hour and Most Balloon Sculptures Completed in One Minute.
He has appeared numerous times on television as either a stand-up comedian, magician, or as a Guinness Book of Records®celebrity. He has been a guest on Late Night with Conan O’Brien, NBC’s Today Show, and Live with Regis and Kelly!
C. Willi Myles | August 11 – September 7
Get ready to laugh!
Comedian C. Willi Myles, “America’s Everyday Comedian,” has been combing his quick wit and a great sense of humor to deliver one of this country’s most high energy, side-splitting shows for all ages. “Keep ’em laughing” has been C Willi’s goal on the stage over the last 18 years and he isn’t about to stop now.
This standup comic will have Medora Musical fans laughing till the curtain drops on the 2019 season!
Here’s What’s Next in Medora: Point To Point Park
Originally Published in the 2019 Spring Newsletter
We’ve been looking at that big open space beside the Badlands Motel, as you first arrive in Medora, for many years, wondering “What would be the best use of that land?”
Finally, we’ve settled on an answer to that question: Welcome to Point to Point Park!
Named for Theodore Roosevelt’s favorite game, we’re creating a brand new place for families to enjoy the Badlands together—a perfect downtown Medora destination for adventurers of all ages.
The Park will have a combination of free and ticketed attractions, including all-new mini golf, Medora’s own “slant house,” a zero-entry pool and 400 foot long lazy river, a community splash pad, a kid-friendly “jump pillow,” and shade structures. And, what is sure to become one of Medora’s main attractions, a Badlands Zipline Ride.
We’ve been talking about a Medora Zipline ever since a few of the participants in our 2007 TRMF sponsored Panama Canal cruise tried one, on one of our cruise stops. We thought the North Dakota Badlands would be a perfect place for such an attraction. So here we go! The Zipline will run up and down the big butte behind the Badlands Motel.
The Point to Point Park will tuck in between the motel and the existing Children’s Park, as well as in the big vacant space beside the motel. It will be the first thing families see when they arrive in town, and for
It’s the newest in a series of major investments in Medora to enhance and expand the experience our visitors and guests have.
The idea and concept
This park will also encourage the “more adventurous” members of the family to experience the picturesque buttes by taking a marked climbing route to the top of the Badlands overlooking Historic Medora, where they’ll find native geology and vegetation, and the park may one day showcase the remarkable personalities of Medora through statues or other historic preservation ideas.
It will also offer the community and its visitors nearly 100 new paved parking spaces. Although geared toward a younger crowd, the entire experience will be enjoyed and utilized by young and old.
It will be a place to socialize, to relax, to exercise and simply play together, surrounded by the beauty of the Badlands and the history of Medora.
As with our other major projects, we’re seeking sponsors for this new attraction. For more information on sponsorship opportunities, contact Joslyn Tooz, our Major Gifts Officer at: 701-223-4800, or e-mail her at joslynt@medora.com
To read the rest of the Spring 2019 Newsletter follow this link.
Bill Sorensen’s Final Ride
Long-time Medora entertainer to co-host the Medora Musical for a final time
(MEDORA, ND) Bill Sorensen is a household name around Medora, and this summer, you’ll get to see him on stage at the Medora Musical one last time, co-hosting for his final season alongside a star-studded cast.
“Medora has been a place of great importance to me. I watched my daughters grow up here, I myself have grown in this place with these people, and whether I’m performing for five people of 2,000 people I am always grateful for the experience,” remarks Bill.
Bill first stepped on stage as co-host in 2013 with Queen of the West, Emily Walter. One of his favorite memories of co-hosting came from him sharing the stage with Emily. One hot night they were performing a scene in which Emily shot his pants off and come to find out he had forgotten to wear his long johns underneath that night – he says he has never seen Emily laugh that hard while on stage.
Bill began a battle with cancer which removed him from the stage for the 2016 season but in 2017 he returned guns a
“Sometimes Chet gets this little glimmer in his eye and it reminds me of when he was a little kid and I just think to myself, here we go, we’re going off script,” Bill recalls.
While this is his last season in the Medora Musical, he plans to still be around this awesome little place in different roles. In 2015 he started the hit Magical Medora Christmas show that tours during the holiday season and this summer, he is opening a brand new attraction, “Perception: a Magical Slant House” for kids and families in Medora. Bill’s partner in this attraction is “High Diving Fool”, Don Otto. The two met many years ago when Don was a featured variety act in Medora and they have had the idea for this addition since.
“We both love illusions and tricking the brain and that is exactly what this experience will be. Showing people that their perception is the difference between the truth and what their mind is believing will make this attraction in Medora so much different than anything that already exists there,” says Bill.
Beyond his work in Medora, Bill has held some unique jobs such as his time spent managing boxing champion, Virgil Hill and working with folks like Don King. He founded the Bismarck Wizards Basketball team; and was the Mayor of Bismarck for 12 years.
Bill is excited for his final season as a co-host of the Medora Musical and looks forward to the ways he will continue impacting Medora in the future.
The full cast, band, and featured variety acts of the Medora Musical will be released next week.
Sheriff Bear Leaves Medora
Breaking News
In a twist of unforeseen events Sheriff Bear has announced his resignation from the Medora Musical. Sheriff Bear has been with the show since the early 2000 and is the longest recurring cast member to date.
Official Sheriff Bear translator, Ken Quiricone says that Sheriff Bear says, “After being passed up over and over for
Sheriff Bear is heading to New York City to pursue his dreams of performing ballet and continuing his sheriff background as a
Published April 1st – the most foolish day of them all!
Women of Medora: Emily Walter
This article was originally posted in Inspired Women Magazine and was written by Stephanie Fong.
Emily Walter has spent a three-decade career traveling the world as a professional vocalist and actor. She’s served as a singer in the U.S. Air Force Band, entertained in shows on cruise ships, and —among many other things — has personified the title of Medora’s “Queen of the West.”
Her first professional job in music materialized after enlisting in the United States Air Force.
“My position as a vocalist with The Strategic Air Command Band was my first full-time singing job. I was just out of college and I never dreamed that I would become a veteran of The Desert Band, performing for the troops in Desert Shield and Desert Storm. It was an incredible honor and my training in the SAC Band critically developed the musical, professional, and disciplinary skills I have to this day. I couldn’t have had better training,” Emily says.
Fast forward to the early 1990s, when Emily wowed fans of the Medora Musical as a Burning Hills Singer
“I sang my first Patsy Cline song on the Burning Hills Amphitheatre stage in 1993. It was ‘Sweet Dreams.’ The response was so overwhelming that the following year, the producer gave me a choice between ‘Crazy’ and ‘She’s Got You.’ I chose the latter,” Emily recalls.
Those successful summers singing Patsy Cline in Medora led to something bigger that holds a major place on Emily’s resume — the Patsy Cline estate named her one of the few entertainers approved to portray Patsy Cline, leading to performance tours across the country and internationally. She continued to perform in a variety of genres and locations, adhering to her personal formula for success: hard work, dedication to her craft, and willingness to travel.
SHE CAME HOME TO NORTH DAKOTA
Emily returned to Medora in 2010 to host the Medora Musical, and the character she portrayed that year soon became a part of her identity for years to come.
“When I returned to Medora nearly two decades after my time as a Burning Hills singer, the producer Curt Wollan and I were talking about me taking the host position in the Medora Musical, and he popped out with, ‘Emily Walter; Queen of the West!’ I loved it from that very moment,” Emily says.
Emily’s “Queen of the West” character combined the elegance of a pageant queen — complete with
“That was my favorite tie to the show…seeing a child walking downtown in their ‘Queen of the West’ hat! I can’t tell you how many photos were taken in those hats. Sometimes they would show up with one they’d had for five years, and it looked so loved,” Emily says.
HER OWN LOVE STORY
And at the current point in her incredible journey, Emily has found herself planting deeper roots in Medora, explaining: “I fell in love with Medora in 1993. I fell in love in Medora in 2011.”
Of her own Medora love story, Emily puts it simply.
“I enjoyed (the traveling performer) life very much, and it enabled me to see the entire world doing what I loved, but when I met Rolf (Sletten) in 2011, I was ready to slow down. The result was that I truly ‘came home to Medora,’” Emily says.
After hosting the Medora Musical for several seasons, Emily took on new challenges as part of the Medora team — helping launch and grow Medora’s popular Gospel Brunch and the Magical Medora Christmas Tour.
In addition to these popular Medora productions, Emily continues to pursue other favorite projects including Patsy Cline and Karen Carpenter Tribute shows and performances with the Bismarck/Mandan and Bemidji (Minnesota) Symphony Orchestras.
Whatever musical project she is dedicated to, and wherever travels with Rolf take her, Emily continues to embody the Queen of West role.
“It’s just me, that Queen of the West persona,” Emily says. “Me, with close ties to the town, the music, the people, the history, and the legacy that Harold and Sheila Schafer built. Rolf wrote two books about Medora and Theodore Roosevelt. This stunning place is deeply embedded in both of us and it’s great to share that passion together.”
The Greatest Optimist I Have Ever Met
(Continuing with our peek into the correspondence files between Harold and Antoine “Tony” de Vallombrosa, grandson of the Marquis and Medora de Mores, after Harold had purchased the Marquis family’s holdings in Medora. Here’s an exchange of letters from 1963. Try to imagine Harold onstage as Teddy Roosevelt!)
February 24, 1963
Dear Friend Harold,
I cannot let the New Year in without sending you my best wishes as my past year’s trip to Bismarck and Medora was for me one of the highlights of 1962—it was greatly so thanks to you and your understanding.
Here I am thousands of miles away and yet frequently I think of you as the greatest optimist I have ever met. This was confirmed by reading very completely the 20th anniversary Gold Seal Report. (Harold had mailed Tony a copy of his company’s full-color 20th anniversary report.)
So whenever I feel depressed and need a good example I think to myself all I need is a little more will power.
I have been exercising plenty to get back in shape but the going is still rough—circulatory problems and varicose veins are difficult to eliminate.
I hope you are in good shape. I enjoyed visiting your horse ranch and your hospitality. I was sorry not to see your New York associates and expect to reach them next time. Knowing you are obviously continuously coming with new ideas and making constructive use of them, I would very much appreciate hearing more about your fabulous Gold Seal Co. Also if any major activities around Medora and the Badlands are being considered I would enjoy keeping up with what is going on. Hoping this long letter is not boring you. I feel again sorry not to have been able to personally thank all the very kind people I met in Bismarck.
Very sincerely,
Antoine de Vallombrosa
June 13, 1963
Dear Friend Antoine,
I was in Medora and worked all day Monday this week. Among other things I find out that I own the original little home your grandfather lived in before he built the chateau. We got to checking and it has the old square nails on the siding and is still standing exactly where it was, on the north side of the Rough Riders Hotel. I am thinking of ripping off a few lean-to sheds that have been built on it and preserving it as a historical unit. (Note: eventually this building became the little white Bake Shop, which sat beside the old Rough Riders Hotel for many years, and has now been converted to a guest house just down the street to the south of the Hotel.)
The drama, Teddy Roosevelt’s Life in North Dakota, is starting the 26th of June in the Burning Hills Amphitheater. Please keep in mind our past conversation and some summer when you have nothing to do and want a little excitement, spend a few weeks with me in Medora – you play the part of your grandfather and I’ll play the part of Teddy Roosevelt, or one of the cattle rustlers – I think it would be fun. I gave your name to Mr. and Mrs. Andre Richard who plan to visit in France in the next week or two. Andre is the manager of our Andre Richard Division of the Gold Seal Company in New York City. If they happen to be anywhere near you, they may give you a call.
Sincerely yours,
Harold Schafer
Women of Medora: Candice Lively
Originally published in Inspired Women Magazine.
Women of Medora features inspiring women who have made an impact on the world through their time living and working in Medora.
Candice Lively Wollen, an Inspiring Woman
Candice Lively Wollan may be a Tennessee girl at heart, but North Dakotans have warmly claimed her as one of their own since she began performing as a Burning Hills Singer in the Medora Musical in 2009. (In fact, when the Musical rolled out a newly penned song about North Dakota in 2011, Candice was chosen to sing the ballad night after night—if every single North Dakotan who heard her sing “Always North Dakota” didn’t get a little choked up and want to invite her home for a hotdish dinner, then I don’t know what’s wrong with them…)
