Rlou Snyder has been a Wieting Theater Volunteer for 50 years. Contributed photo.

“If you have time to think about how busy you are, you aren’t busy enough!” That is the philosophy of Rlou Snyder, a

Wieting Theatre Volunteer of 50 years! Rlou Dixon was born on a farm in May, 1934 in rural Toledo. On March 15, 1939, when Rlou was five, her family moved into town, and she has lived in Toledo ever since. She attended her first movie, featuring Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy, in 1939. One of her first memories of the Wieting was performing on stage as an Eskimo in a 3rd-grade play. It only cost a dime to attend movies at the Wieting when Rlou was growing up, so whenever she could earn one, she would go. She remembers one day in desperation, she went door-to-door trying to sell rhubarb so she could go to the movies.

Growing up, Rlou’s dream was to be an operator for Central Telephone like her mother and sister, but there was a rule that only one family member could be an operator. Since her mother was employed in Toledo and her sister worked as an operator in Tama, it was not possible for her to be an operator too. She married Jim Snyder on August 14th, 1949 and together they raised four children: Jim, John, Joni, and Mary. Rlou worked two jobs, bowled in league, helped with the youth group at the Methodist Church, was active in the Tama County Historical Museum, and volunteered at the Wieting. She also found time to travel to Spain, Morocco, and Ireland.

Her first volunteer job at the Wieting Theatre was in 1972 selling concessions with Libby Hamil. Over the years, Rlou did whatever needed to be done from cleaning, to fundraising, and presiding over meetings. Volunteering at the Wieting was, and still is, a family affair! Her husband Jim volunteered as an electrician and painter and drove to pick up movies in Des Moines. Rlou felt if the theatre closed, it would never reopen, so she was determined not to let that happen.

Community Hoedowns, with themes from colors to trains, planes, and automobiles, kept the lights on. Rlou was amazed at what her friends and neighbors were willing to do to help. People could attend a movie by donating items such as old tires, eggs, and produce. These would then be given away in a drawing before the movie. During WWII, people burned tires in their furnaces to heat their homes. The Wieting also took their acts on the road to schools and churches. Once, they did a skit called “Three Blind Mice” at the Community Building for elementary students. However, in 2008, the Guild realized that they needed to do something more. It was time for a major renovation!

Rlou has had many heartwarming memories and funny stories from over 50 years of service at the Wieting. She recalls Roger Wiese and his outhouse antics and Danny Zimmerman turning from a cowboy dummy into a real man when Sandy Meek sprinkled magic dust on him. She had fun participating in a skit with Alice Campbell and Shirley Niederman called “Friendship.” Over the years she had the most fun performing on stage with her good friends. Rlou has made many lifelong friendships, acquired an appreciation of working with all different kinds of people, learned to accomplish goals, sang in the chorus, and mastered line dancing. It has been a wonderful 50 years!

Rlou continues to think of ways for the Wieting to have an impact on the community. She would like the theatre to expand to having even more performances showcasing cultural and musical events that are teaching opportunities for the community. For example, Rlou does not listen to rap or understand what the performers are trying to convey with their music, but believes that through performance, we can all learn so much about each other.

“If you like your community – support it with donations of time, talent or treasurer.” This is how Rlou has lived her life. Let us honor her wish to see the doors remain open at the Wieting Theatre and Opera House for another 100 years by following her example.

As Rlou would say, “See ya at the Wieting!” – March, 2022