Floyd man donates six sacks of pop tabs to Ronald McDonald House

By Kate Hayden, khayden@charlescitypress.com

How long has Floyd resident Ron Tjaden been collecting pop tabs for kids?

“It seems like he’s done it forever,” said Jan, Ron’s wife of 52 years. “I can’t tell you when he did start because it is just his passion, he loves to help the kids. It’s because of the kids.”

Ron, 81, recently donated six seed corn sacks full of the 1-inch pop tabs to the Ronald McDonald House in Rochester, Minnesota, which provides free or discounted lodgings for families of children treated at Mayo Clinic and St. Marys hospitals.

The Ronald McDonald Pop Tab program raises funds for Ronald McDonald Houses nationally by recycling the aluminum tabs found on top of beverage cans, canned soup or vegetables, and pet food cans. The program raises between $10,000-15,000 every year for the Rochester House.

Ron also gave a corn seed sack to his niece, a school teacher in New Hampton, so her class could collect pop tabs for the Rochester House.

With the help of a Floyd business, Jan estimated the six sacks collected by Ron contained approximately 149,252 tabs — which if lined end-to-end on a football field, could run from goalpost to goalpost just over 31 times — a total of more than two miles.

“This is the most we’ve ever had,” she said.

The couple has traveled to both the Rochester and Iowa City houses to drop off pop tab donations, receiving a tour of both houses.

Representatives of the Rochester Ronald McDonald House visited this past fall to pick up the seven sacks of pop tabs.

“They couldn’t believe it, but they knew Ronnie,” Jan said.

Ron’s initiative is well-known among friends and family, Jan said. Many started saving the tabs themselves for the Ronald McDonald Houses. The Charles City McDonalds restaurant gave him a Ronald McDonald sweatshirt in appreciation of his efforts.

“At a class reunion, he and a classmate’s wife, they just went up and down the tables taking the (tabs) off,” Jan said. “He has quite a few people saving them for him. Even if it was just 20-25 in a bag, he was excited to get it.”

Those interested in collecting pop tabs themselves can visit Ronald McDonald House Charities at www.rmhc.org.

“When you go to a Ronald McDonald House and see the children that are there, and see their places where they stay, the kitchens and the things they can use, … it just makes your heart feel good that you’re helping those kids,” Jan said.