Walter Ruesch
“We Have No Problems, Only Challenges and Opportunities”

Anyone who worked with Walter Ruesch or knew him well remembers this saying. In the face of difficulty he looked for opportunity. People also remember Walt’s dancing eyes, big smile and dry wit.

Born in Medford, Wisconsin, he graduated from Carroll College in Waukesha, Wisconsin, with a degree in business administration. Ruesch married Alice Athon in August 1933. They operated a chicken ranch, and Walter worked at a Chevrolet factory in Janesville, Wisconsin.

Despite his short stature, Ruesch played tackle for a semi-pro football team, the Fort Black Hawks. The Sunday, September 23, 1934, program for the game against the Philadelphia Eagles lists “Woggie” Ruesch as the biggest Fort Black Hawk lineman, at 232 pounds. It also states, “He is deceptively fast for his weight.”

When the Estes Park Board of Directors offered Ruesch the Managing Director job in 1950, he turned it down. He later said, “I knew too much about the Camp from being on the Area staff. You can’t run the camp from Topeka or Dallas.” He wanted more autonomy than the Area Executives were willing to give. Finally, a compromise was reached, and he accepted the job. Ruesch planned to stay only three years, lest he be branded a “camp man.” However, Ruesch’s 30-year tenure was the longest of any YMCA of the Rockies executive.      

When the Y hired Walter Ruesch, they got a bargain, because they also got his wife, Alice. She worked alongside her husband checking cabins for the necessary equipment, making sure there were flowers at special functions, picking up summer staff at train and bus stations, delivering program bulletins and whatever else she thought needed to be done. Alice was a tireless advocate for the YMCA of the Rockies.      

In 1980, Ruesch retired after thirty years of service. Under his leadership, the Y was transformed from a single summer camp into the YMCA of the Rockies operating three facilities. On April 19, 1986, Walter G. Ruesch passed away at the age of seventy six.

Alice continued to do her good work . She established the Walter G. and Alice D. Ruesch scholarship fund. Scholarships are awarded annually to seasonal staff or children of year-round employees to offset higher education expenses. Alice Ruesch passed away on June 28, 2003, at the age of 94.

Gene Garris

In 1961, Gene Garris saw an advertisement for seasonal employment at the YMCA of the Rockies on a bulletin board at the University of North Carolina. Having never traveled outside of his native state, he thought a summer in Colorado sounded interesting. Assigned to work in the Y-Grocery, Gene stocked shelves, cut meat, sacked groceries and clerked.

After graduating from Chapel Hill in 1963 with a degree in political science and religion, Garris joined the Navy in hopes of seeing the world as a career officer. After dismissal from Officers Candidate School due to bad knees, he called Walter Ruesch and inquired about a job. The capable young man had caught the attention of Ruesch who hired him full time as staff counselor in 1965.

The previous summer he met Paula McAdow, a hikemaster at the Y. She had vacationed at the Y with her family beginning in 1954. Gene left the Y’s employment in the fall of 1966 and moved to Seattle to pursue a career in banking. The couple’s friendship grew and they were married in 1967. They moved to North Carolina where he continued his banking career.

They both missed Colorado and the YMCA of the Rockies. While on vacation in 1969, Gene told Ruesch that if there was ever another job opening he would love to come back. Ruesch said he would keep Gene in mind. Garris later described the ensuing year as the worst of his life waiting on Ruesch’s telephone call.

With the opening of Snow Mountain Ranch, Ruesch’s job became more complex. He convinced the Board that he needed a full-time personnel director. After receiving approval, he contacted Gene and offered him the job. Gene returned to the Y in 1970.

The couple and their infant son, Christopher, moved into Wyoming cabin on staff circle. Soon they had a daughter, Amy. They became active in the Community Church of the Rockies and Gene became prominent in the Estes Park Rotary Club. Gene was promoted to Resident Director of the Estes Park Center in 1978. In that position he learned the operational side of the Y. Under Ruesch’s tutelage, he honed his administrative skills and forged relationships with both fellow employees and members of the YMCA family.

Paula and Gene opened a travel business in 1979 giving them the opportunity to travel to exotic places in the South Pacific. Later in life, Gene discovered cruise ships and traveled extensively to places like the Antarctic and Alaska.

In 1984, Gene was passed over for Executive Director because the Board saw him as too young to handle the job. When the Y’s top job opened up again, Garris was named interim Executive Director. In March 1987, the Board selected Garris to fill the job permanently. He retired in the spring of 2001 due to failing health, after thirty-seven years with the YMCA.

Gene Garris left two major legacies to the YMCA of the Rockies. He understood the need for additional facilities at Snow Mountain Ranch to generate operating surpluses. There, he oversaw construction of Schlessman Commons, Indian Peaks Lodge and numerous other projects. His second legacy was the emphasis on accommodating family reunions at Estes Park and Snow Mountain Ranch through construction of cabins and lodges specifically for that purpose.