Iowans 'get lost' in Montana - on purpose

HEIDI DESCH/ Hungry Horse News

When the state tourism office started telling folks to "Get Lost" in Montana, Jody Kelly took it to heart.

The campaign encourages Montanans to explore the state. But instead of taking the venture alone, Kelly decided she'd take along about 20 of her former classmates with her. So Kelly invited the Rockwell-Swaledale Community High School Class of 1970 from Iowa out to Montana.

The class accepted and last weekend held their reunion at Kelly's home just outside Columbia Falls.

Most in attendance had never been to Montana before and still live in Iowa. But still they came by car, train and plane.

"It's just really unique," she said. "I sent out 'visit Montana' packets to them."

The class actually voted to come to Montana five years ago at their last reunion, before the state's promotion began. Kelly seems to have gotten an early start on the idea.

She has spent the last five years promoting the state's wonders. She sent letters and e-mails along with those travel packets to her fellow classmates.

The result was about half the class and their spouses making the trip. The decision to attend wasn't all that hard.

"We're close to retirement and most of our kids are gone," classmate Debra Weaver said. "We thought how wonderful it would be to come to Montana. It has been a great trip."

Attendees called Montana beautiful and its people more than gracious.

Kelly made sure the class experienced some of the best things Montana had to offer. The weekend started with dinner at Kelly's home off of Highway 206. Then Saturday, the class loaded onto buses and headed to Glacier National Park to experience the Going-to-the-Sun Road. Sunday was a raft trip on the Flathead River.

She also served up Flathead cherries and huckleberries (one man said he was going to have to take some back to Iowa).

Rockwell-Swaledale is located in Rockwell, Iowa, in the north central part of the state and is surrounded by several small communities. Among the Class of 1970 there are farmers, nurses, school teachers, secretaries, a deputy sheriff, a conveyance store owner, a painter and a massage therapist.

Some members from the Class of 1969 attended the reunion. Seven girls from 1970 married seven guys from 1969.

After dinner Friday, the yearbooks were pulled from suitcases. Then the class pictures from elementary school. Soon the members of the Class of 1970 were recalling who got the lead is the school play and being sent to the principal's office.

The women recalled the school dress code, which prohibited girls from wearing pants. It wasn't until their senior year that rule was changed.

"We all had those stripped miniskirts," Janet Alger laughed. "Mine was too short and I got sent home."

Not all of their high school years were fun. The country was in the midst of the Vietnam War and the draft was in place.

"Vietnam was so hard. We had three die before we graduated," Kelly recalled. "We had a lot of funerals in our small school."

Several of the classmates joined the military before their draft numbers could be called.

Debra Weaver pulled out a picture of the girls gathered together at prom.

"Our senior prom the girls all went together because the boys were in the service," she explained.

After graduation, many went their separate ways. Kelly, along with her husband Tom, moved to Montana at age 21. Although many of the class members live 20 minutes apart, it still takes reunions for them to get together.

"When we got out of school we all went different ways," Carolyn Just said. "We went to college, moved to different towns. Our paths don't cross often."

The Class of 1970 attended kindergarten through 12th grade together, so their memories span years. Those difficult years during Vietnam served to strengthen their bond.

"We have fun together," Sheila Chapin said.

And last weekend, that fun just happened to be in Montana.