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Both Dub (Wallace) and Freida grew up in Wichita Falls, Texas. They met after WWII, married, raised their family and had a small business (manufacturing rockets and gears) in Wichita Falls. Their sons (James and David) now run the business. Their daughter (Connie) lives in Longmont, Colorado and comes to Estes fairly often. When Dub and Freida were involved with the business, they were able to come to Estes only on a limited basis. Dub would frequently pilot a small aircraft for their shorter visits.
Initially, the Ryles had a house on Broadview. It could be used year-round and they did take advantage of the ski slopes at Hidden Valley. On one winter visit, they were caught in a fierce snow storm. They had to shovel their way into the house. They sold that house when the oldest child went to college and eventually bought a place on Upper High Drive. The original section of that house is about 90 years old; it was moved to the present location from a section by Route 36 that the Park annexed.
The Ryles joined SRA in 1978. They had heard varied reports about the organization, but went with Arthur and Mary Bohan (mother and father of Catherine Miller) to a couple of breakfasts and a dinner. They met Earl and Beulah Helfers at that time. They filled out a short form but were never interviewed in any obvious way. The members were very gracious and welcoming.
When Dub and Freida joined, the activities were mainly dinners. Entertainment was always home grown. There were some gifted entertainers and musicians in the group. The dinners would be held in the high school and various restaurants (Elkhorn Lodge, Stanley Hotel, St. Malo, Holiday Inn) and were very formal. All the men wore ties and jackets—mainly suits. The ladies occasionally wore long dresses.
The breakfasts were held at places like the Stutz', Rymer's, Beelman's, and YMCA. One breakfast at the Stutz' was around July 4th . "General Stutz" stood up and quoted the entire Declaration of Independence. Dub and Freida were astonished that this little guy, in uniform and standing ramrod straight, had been a General in WWI. The speech was quite impressive. At another breakfast, "Doc" Beelman gave out little pine tree saplings to everybody.
SRA was a penny-pinching bunch of people back in the 70's and 80's. It just wouldn't spend any money on equipment; the equipment had to break down and just fall apart before it was replaced. There were these old stoves—the same type that the Kiwanis used for feeding 10-15 thousand people at their annual pancake breakfast. When the Kiwanis replaced them in Wichita Falls, Dub would bring the old ones up here. SRA would use a big old slab of fat to grease those stoves and use soapstone to clean them.
There were a number of social activities with SRA members. One of the Ryle's early memories is Earl and Beulah Helfers inviting them over to play bridge. Another time, the Ryles went to a couple's house for supper; they discovered that the host's speciality was tying flies (for fishing), he was a golf instructor at a university and had been a Rocky Mountain Park Ranger (Charles Haywood). Various people invited the Ryle's to do different things; that was part of the fellowship and fun of SRA. Neither Dub nor Freida served as officers until they were able to be here all summer (the past 10 years). Freida has been Assistant Treasurer and Treasurer. They both were Breakfast Supervisors. Dub has been President.
As for the community, the biggest change the Ryle's have seen was when Estes was able to build a hospital and doctors moved here permanently; that was a real benefit to the people in the area. There have been a number of commercial changes, particularly in lodging and homes. There was a major change after the Lawn Lake flood. The downtown was beautified with flower beds and statues, River Walk construction began, Bond Park was made into a central gathering place and a new library was built. Although there are more general winter activities than existed when the Ryle's children were small, the Ryles currently spend their summers in Estes and their winters in Texas.