Will Rogers’ Legacy : A Historic Park on the Site of the Family Ranch Stands as Memorial to the Cowboy Philosopher

W ill Rogers was America’s most complete human document. He reflected in many ways the heartbeat of America in thought and manner of appearance, and in his daily life he was probably our most typical native born, the closest living approach to what we like to call the true American. --Damon Runyon

Will Rogers captured America’s heart and tickled its funny bone as a Ziegfeld Follies star, radio commentator, movie actor and the author of more than 2 million words of wry commentary on life and politics, many of them in a daily column that appeared in more than 500 newspapers.

But Rogers knew better than to take his fame too seriously. He didn’t expect it to last forever. He once said: “There are no indispensable men, and there is always someone to take our place before our folks get home from the funeral.”

So perhaps he would be pleasantly surprised by the success of the park that bears his name.

It’s been more than 50 years since the “Cowboy Philosopher” died in a plane crash with aviator Wiley Post near Barrow, Alaska. Yet, each month more than 20,000 people turn off Sunset Boulevard in the hills of Pacific Palisades to enjoy Will Rogers State Historic Park.

The 186-acre park is a step back to the past, because the grounds and buildings have been preserved much as they were on Aug. 15, 1935, when Rogers died. A portion of the more than 300-acre ranch--about 100 acres--was donated to the state of California in 1944, after the death of his widow, Betty. The state gradually acquired an additional 86 acres.

Family Wanted to Donate Ranch

“Mother always wanted it to be a memorial,” oldest son Bill Rogers said from his ranch in Tubac, Ariz., “and it was quite expensive . . . just too much for a private person to keep up, and then we were splitting off, you see. When I graduated from college, I got married . . . and my brother (James) had his ranch out near Bakersfield and my sister (Mary) was gone (to live in Greece).”

Today, this memorial to Rogers offers a variety of relaxing attractions. Visitors can enjoy participating in or watching polo or soccer on the grass polo field, hold a family picnic or relax on the spacious lawn, which once was a miniature golf course. They can explore the stables or hike into the hills--all the way to adjoining 7,000-acre Topanga State Park.

And they can learn about Will Rogers.

A small theater shows a 12-minute film on Rogers’ life, and “audio-wands” provide a narrated tour of the park, sprinkled with comments from family and friends of Rogers. Docents give tours through the family home, and a shop offers a number of hard-to-find books by and about Rogers. Other items include a lariat, with instructions on rope tricks, and audio tapes of Rogers’ radio broadcasts and the one-man show in which James Whitmore portrayed Rogers.

The centerpiece of the park is the ranch house, which started out as a small weekend cabin in 1924. After Rogers decided to move from his Beverly Hills home--which he called “the house that jokes built”--the ranch house underwent a series of additions and alterations until it grew to 31 rooms to accommodate his family and a platoon of friends and visitors.

The living room, an impressive tribute to the Old West, occupies almost all of the first floor of one wing. A bronze on the mantel of the massive fireplace is the work of Western artist Charles Russell, Rogers’ close friend, and the andirons, in the shapes of cowboys, were created by artist Edward Borein. Four Russell watercolors are in the living room amid horse tack, bolos from Argentina, Navajo baskets and blankets, and family photos.

A rustic chandelier made from a pioneer-era neck yoke is above a heavy Spanish-style dining table, and recently restored Navajo blankets cover the hardwood floor beneath a Victorian red-wicker swing that hangs from the ceiling. An old cigar-store Indian sits in a corner, silently observing it all.

Ziegfeld’s Present

The opposite end of the room has two major focal points: a floor-to-ceiling picture window and a staircase. The window was a present from Florenz Ziegfeld, a frequent visitor to the ranch. According to Rogers, Ziegfeld “liked the view, but he had to go out on the porch”; Ziegfeld had the window installed as a surprise for his “Follies” star. There’s even a stuffed calf used for roping practice. The calf was a gift from artist Borein and the goal was to spare Rogers’ friends, who were tired of him roping them.

And this is just a sampling of the items in the room, which seems chock-full of artifacts, but Rogers’ younger son Jim says the decor is “really quite sparse, compared to what it was at one time.” Many items were moved to the Will Rogers Memorial in Claremore, Okla., where Rogers is buried. For instance, instead of the one saddle now slung over the stair railing, more than a dozen saddles once sat on racks in the living room.

On guided tours, visitors travel through the family wing of the house, including a sitting room/music room, bedrooms and Rogers’ study. A battered typewriter sits on a desk in the study, along with a metal sculpture of a polo player and books supported by horse bookends. The chair next to the desk holds a well-worn polo hat and polo balls, and a large free-standing globe has air routes traced on it in ink, including the fatal August, 1935, flight to Alaska. Photos of family and friends--William S. Hart and W. C. Fields--line the walls.

Wrote on the Road

Ironically, less of Rogers’ writing was done here than one might think. Many of his columns were written with his typewriter perched on his knees, wherever he might be--in an airplane, a car, on a movie set, on a world tour in Russia, South America, China or Japan.

In fact, when Rogers was home he spent as much time as possible outside--roping, playing polo, riding the trails or dining on the patio connecting the two wings of the ranch house.

“It was a wonderful place to grow up,” Jim Rogers recalls from his home in Bakersfield. “My great memories of the place are predominantly centered around the polo field, around the barn where we used to rope calves up in back.”

Both sons played polo with their father, and the Will Rogers Polo Club carries on the tradition on Saturdays at 2 p.m. and Sundays at 10 a.m., weather permitting.

Cowboy’s Sport

It may seem incongruous to some that cowboy Rogers loved polo as much as he did, but not to attorney Joel Laden, who operates the stable concession at the park. He says polo is a cowboy’s game and “the ultimate game” for anyone who loves to ride horses.

Rogers also loved to ride trails up into the Santa Monica Mountains. Bill Rogers says his father was forever creating new trails. He would get a couple of ranch hands, point and say, “Now let’s get a trail from here to there.” Brush would be cleared and he would have a new trail.

This was typical of the Will Rogers style of ranch planning, according to both sons. “Dad was very impatient about things,” Jim recalls. “(If) he wanted something done, he wanted it done yesterday. And when he decided to do something, he just went ahead and did it.”

Bill Rogers says the tennis court next to the theater and docent shop is a perfect example. “It is not an official tennis court. You cannot play tennis on it. It’s about 10 feet too short, and he didn’t care.”

Plans for Park

Today, careful planning must go into preserving the park and promoting Rogers and his ideals without changing the basic character of the historical site.

Parking, for instance, is a problem because there are fewer than 500 parking spaces, and Pacific Palisades has prohibited weekend parking on nearby residential streets. On a warm, pleasant weekend, it’s sometimes difficult to find a parking space in the afternoon. More parking spaces would make the park accessible to more people, but it also could change the character of the park.

“We are now in the process of developing a general plan for this unit,” says Terry Brann, supervising ranger for the East Sector of the state parks’ Santa Monica Mountains District.

He hopes the plan will include ways to draw more park visitors into the house and visitors’ center. He sees the park as “a piece of American history that’s unique,” but rangers have conducted informal surveys of visitors and discovered that the majority of the people are there to enjoy the recreational activities and aren’t aware of Rogers’ life.

Educational Purpose

That is something that Jo Ann Wilkinson, president of the 140-member Will Rogers Docents, wants to change. “I think it’s a teaching thing more than a playground,” Wilkinson says. “I think the historical part is much more important.”

Wilkinson, a Pacific Palisades resident and a self-proclaimed Will Rogers “addict,” says her docents serve as history teachers.

Part of the fun of being a docent at a historical site, Wilkinson says, is that “pretty soon you realize you are helping keep that thing intact. You are an important part of history yourself, by being there.”

One docent who literally has embraced the Rogers persona is actor Ben Wilson, who resembles Rogers. Originally from Alabama, Wilson first visited the park about a year ago, purchased one of Rogers’ books and began to develop a program, including rope tricks. He’s developed Rogers’ rhythm and mannerisms; when conducting tours, he dresses in jeans and denim jacket and wears a well-worn hat atop his sandy-blond hair. He performed at the docents’ party honoring Rogers’ birthday on Nov. 4 and hopes to develop a program he can take to local schools and eventually perform on stage.

Wilkinson believes the fun part about Rogers is that “he pretends to be the humble boy . . . just a poor country fella. The real thing is that he was very sophisticated, very deep philosophically. And if you really look at the things he said, they’re very intellectual.”

Current Events

Most of Rogers’ humor was based on current events, with many barbs at the press and politicians. His stage routines, lectures and columns frequently started with: “All I know is what I read in the papers.”

Grammar or no grammar, his comments were insightful, and much of what he said and wrote about current events more than half a century ago still applies today. For instance:

“Any man that thinks civilization has advanced is an egotist. We’ve got more toothpaste on the market and more misery in our courts than at any time in our existence.”

Or: “You can’t say civilization don’t advance . . . for in every war they kill you in a new way.”

Or: “Politics ain’t worrying this country one Tenth as much as parking space.”

“Never blame a legislative body for not doing something,” he said. “When they do nothing, that don’t hurt anybody. When they do something is when they become dangerous . . . Things in our country run in spite of government, not by the aid of it . . . We shouldn’t elect a President; we should elect a magician.”

Jim Rogers says the lasting value of his father’s words is based on “truisms, like Aesop’s fables. Human nature never changes. People still go around making the same mistakes they made 10,000 years ago and will make 10,000 years from today, if we’re still here.”

Will Rogers State Historic Park: 14253 Sunset Blvd., Pacific Palisades. Hours: 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. Admission is $3 per vehicle , $2 for seniors 62 and older, and includes a tour of the ranch house and a 12-minute movie. The ranch house is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and is closed holidays; (213) 454-8212.