Two summers in a row, the Friends of Wind Cave National Park have sponsored a Theodore Roosevelt program at the park, bringing back the president who signed Wind Cave into being in 1903.
On July 5, 2025, Roosevelt portrayer Gib Young performed at the park. On August 27, 2026, Kurt Skinner brought the 26th president to the Elk Mountain Campground Amphitheater.
Roosevelt has been part of the Friends story from the start: Joe Wiegand performed as Roosevelt at our first fundraising event, the Sanson Ranch Celebration in 2012.
Programs like these are paid for by member dues and donations. In its news release, the Park Service describes the Friends’ mission as being “to support and promote Wind Cave National Park as a natural and cultural treasure.”
Sources: National Park Service news releases of June 20, 2025 and August 13, 2026.
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