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.
ELEVATE conference is coming to Medora, and we couldn’t be more excited! Medora’s past is weaved with the stories and presence of so many strong women and we cannot wait to help celebrate that! The most prominent lady of Medora, Sheila Schafer, is the perfect women to feature for the conference. Learn about her story…
Connect your story, to the amazing story of the North Dakota Badlands. Again in 2018, businesses from around the region can join the hundreds of thousands that make Medora their tradition every year, by becoming a Theodore Roosevelt Medora Foundation Business member.
TRMF Business Memberships include philanthropic support for TRMF and major perks for members and their employees. READ MORE »
(Medora, ND) – The Theodore Roosevelt Medora Foundation (TRMF) announced today that a new short documentary titled “Being TR” will have a pre-release screening this Tuesday at the North Dakota Heritage Center with the filmmaker, Samuel Sprynczynatyk.
In addition to the screening, TRMF will announce a good-will tour to France, led by Medora’s TR, to celebrate the life and death of President Roosevelt’s youngest son, Quentin, who perished 100 years ago while fighting over the battlefields of WWI.
A press conference and film screening will be held:
Tuesday, April 24
11:00am CDT
Great Plains Theater, ND Heritage Center, Bismarck, ND
Members of the public and media are invited to join the event to see the screening, hear remarks from the filmmaker and Theodore Roosevelt.
The short documentary was shot late in the summer of 2017 by Samuel Sprynczynatyk, his significant other, Medora, and in collaboration with Joe Wiegand and TRMF. The short has been entered in film festivals around the region, and after Tuesday’s first-public screening, it will be released more broadly.
On July 14, 1918, Bastille Day, Lieutenant Quentin Roosevelt, U.S. Army Air Corps – 95th Aero Squadron and youngest child of President & Mrs. Theodore Roosevelt, made the ultimate sacrifice for French freedom, while flying during the final months of World War One.
Had Quentin returned from his morning mission, he would have been in charge of music for a local Bastille Day celebration. Exactly 100 years after Quentin’s death in battle, the Theodore Roosevelt Medora Foundation will send a troupe of American musicians and actors on a performance pilgrimage to France, to play the music and salute the friendship of the people of France and the United States.
The troupe and TRMF are currently accepting contributions to help fund the tour, with over $6,000 raised of a $20,000 goal.
A full schedule of the tour and fundraising information can be found at: MEDORA.COM/Quentin100
About the film maker, Samuel Sprynczynatyk
Samuel is an Award Winning Independent Documentary Filmmaker in North Dakota whose passion is telling stories and capturing moments with a visual and emotional beauty. He has been working in film for over 10 years and have had experience in most every style of filmmaking.
He is a one man band and has been self taught — handling each film project from start to finish, from pre-production all the way to the final color grade. He brings a very naturalistic style to his filmmaking. He strives to tell stories that make a difference in this world.
See more of Samuel’s work at: www.samuelspry.com/
About the Theodore Roosevelt Medora Foundation
The Theodore Roosevelt Medora Foundation (TRMF) is a public non-profit organization that was formed in 1986 by a multi-million dollar gift from Harold Schafer and his family – most famously known as the founders of the Gold Seal Company, the maker of Mr. Bubble, Glass Wax and other nationally-known household products.
For Harold, the beauty and history of Medora and the Badlands was just too much to let disappear with the sands of time – so he made it his life’s work to save it for generations to come. He began his labor of love in 1962, revitalized what we know today as the Medora Musical in 1965. Harold continued giving to the historic cow town frequented by Theodore Roosevelt, the Marquis de Mores, and many-a rough-and-tumble westerner until his passing in 2001.
Today, we at TRMF strive to accomplish its mission to preserve, present, and serveall that Harold loved about Medora by operating history, education, entertainment businesses that allow the traveling public to fully enjoy the beautiful North Dakota Badlands.
Through the contributions and teamwork of a board of directors, a full time staff of 45, 300 seasonal employees, over 500 seasonal volunteers, and financial backing from generous supporters, TRMF connects people to Medora for positive, life-changing experiences.
“Ask President Roosevelt” is a feature of the Theodore Roosevelt Medora Foundation Member Newsletter, the Rough Riders Review. For five summers, veteran TR repriser, historian, and actor Joe Wiegand has brought Theodore Roosevelt to life on the matinee stage at Medora’s Old Town Hall Theater. During the off-season, Joe travels the country as TR, representing the Medora Foundation. As part of every performance, in character as TR, Wiegand takes questions from the audience.
A: Like so many of you, Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays spent with family were the most special occasions. Of course, I toured the country, performing for audiences from Portland, Oregon to Saranac Lake, New York. Like many a North Dakotan, the winter found me in Florida, Arizona, and Southern California, where thousands of Medora Musical fans follow the migratory fowl.
Traveling the country and telling people about Medora and the beautiful Badlands of North Dakota is a real honor and pleasure, READ MORE »
There’s a brand new Medora lodging facility awaiting our guests this summer!
The Elkhorn Quarters, our new motel and seasonal staff housing complex, has replaced the old Bunkhouse trailers, and a big reason for that is the generosity of our longtime supporter Greg Butler of Fargo.
A couple of Bismarck friends were out bicycling on the Maah Daah Hey Trail, just south of Medora, one hot summer afternoon when they noticed a sign that said “Lots For Sale.” The billboard was advertising locations for Badlands homes being offered by TRMF in the Sully Creek Subdivision. A lightbulb came on.
Kyle Leftwich said, and the pair, Kyle and his friend Kadon Hintz, went to visit TRMF President Randy Hatzenbuhler, and the next thing they knew they were framing up a summer getaway home in the Badlands. READ MORE »
Last summer in Medora, I told my wife, Laurie, “I am all in for Reese”.
Reese is our 4 ½-year-old grand-daughter. Laurie’s 33-year career in healthcare ended early in 2017. It was a transition for her, us – actually, it only took her 15 minutes to get used to retirement! Leading up to the summer season, the big question was whether she would spend the whole summer in Medora, or just weekends. Grand-children were a very important part of the decision. We are blessed to have our children and grandchildren living nearby. READ MORE »
The TRMF Annual Member program began a few years ago to bring our frequent visitors and best friends into a group that met once a year at the annual Rough Riders Roundup, talk about the future of Medora, and help support the day-to-day activities necessary to provide all our guests a great getaway experience.
My, how it’s grown! Now, 800-strong, our Annual Members add value to Medora in so many ways: READ MORE »
Biographer Larry Woiwode, received this answer in 1994, when asked about the beginning of the “Medora Musical.” Prior to 1965, the NDSU Theater Department and a local group had been putting on a historical drama, but crowds had dwindled to the point where the show was abandoned. 50 years later, more than three million visitors agree with Harold—they love being musically entertained under the stars in the Burning Hills Amphitheatre. READ MORE »
