Oklahoma Home of Humorist Has Will Power

He was as homely as a mud fence, yet as beautiful as a sunrise over an Oklahoma field of alfalfa. Will Rogers was one of those individuals we could call without embarrassment a great man. --Carl Sandburg

Millions the world over loved Will Rogers--the self-designated Oklahoma “country boy” who made it big but never got a big head.

Here in the town he called home, the rambling Will Rogers Memorial is perched on the highest hill overlooking a folksy community of 16,000 about 20 miles northeast of Tulsa on Highway 66.

At the memorial, the fellow with the shy grin, tousled hair and quick wit who once claimed “everyone is ignorant, only on different subjects,” is still around to entertain you.

You see his films, hear his voice on radio tapes, read his columns and touch his ropes and saddles. You even see the leather chaps he wore as star of the Ziegfield Follies and the typewriter he used to peck out two million words before he died on Aug. 15, 1935, at the age of 55.

He and around-the-world ace pilot Wiley Post crashed in a shallow Alaskan pond 15 miles from Point Barrow.

Rogers’ tombstone, where he is buried with his wife and infant son, is in the garden just opposite the memorial’s entrance. You may mourn there for the easygoing humorist but it helps to recall what Rogers foresaw:

“When I die, my epitaph, or whatever you call those signs on gravestones, is going to read: ‘I joked about every prominent man of my time, but I never met a man I didn’t like.’ I am proud of that. I can hardly wait to die so it can be carved and when you come ‘round to my grave you’ll find me sitting there proudly, reading it.”

In the memorial’s soaring foyer, a huge bronze statue of the cowboy seems to personally greet each visitor.

The tip of his left shoe glistens golden from the touch of admirers. Head slightly bowed, shoulders slightly stooped, hands in pockets, suit rumpled, Rogers gives a schoolboy grin as if to drawl, as he once wrote: “Welcome to Claremore, the town where you can take those wonderful baths that cure you of everything but being a Democrat.”

Claremore’s memorial to the man who declared, “No man is great if he thinks he is,” has four main galleries. In the diorama room, 13 miniature scenes depict Rogers’ life from his birth in Claremore to his death in Alaska.

The philosophizing cowboy was born Nov. 4, 1879, the eighth child of Mary and Clem Rogers. His birthplace is just 12 miles north of the Memorial near Oologah.

One of the memorial’s most popular galleries is the saddle room. Rogers collected saddles from around the world. He was particularly proud of his Mongolian saddle. It dates to the 5th Century, when Attila the Hun invaded western Europe.

You’ll also see a replica of Rogers’ den at his Santa Monica ranch in California, excerpts from newsreels, hundreds of personal mementos, clippings and photographs, murals and posters from his days as “The Cherokee Kid” and as star of a full-length Will Rogers film.

He was once the nation’s highest-paid entertainer, earning $25,000 a week in Hollywood and $250,000 a movie. He made 36 silent and 21 talking movies.

The most moving exhibit contains the possessions Rogers carried on that fatal plane trip to Alaska: hat, shoes, gloves, scarf, sleeping bag, magnifying glass, typewriter, leather bag, tin of Band-Aids and a can of Williams Quick and Easy shaving cream.

He also had eight three-cent stamps, two books, “Alaska Dog Driver” and “Arctic Village,” a pencil stub, pocket knife, rodeo program from Los Angeles, two pairs of glasses, two watches and a small, square wooden puzzle.

In Rogers’ smashed typewriter was the third page of his latest weekly column. It ended mid-sentence with the last word he had typed--”death.” He had been writing about an Eskimo’s dog and a bear.

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The Will Rogers Memorial is Oklahoma’s top tourist attraction, with more than 500,000 visitors a year. Entrance to the memorial is free; it’s open daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Free films are shown at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., April through Labor Day. From September through March, films are weekdays at 2 p.m., weekends at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. On request, visitors may use the memorial’s library, which contains books by Rogers and about him, his original papers and many works related to his varied career--volumes on ranching, horses, early radio, films, Cherokee Indians, aviation and vaudeville.

Visitors to Rogers’ birthplace at Will Rogers State Park near Oologah will see a seven-room house with two large central halls, open porches and fireplaces in four rooms. A piano dominates the living room where the Rogers clan used to gather. Admission to the house is free; hours are daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

A few minutes away is tiny Oologah (Pop.: 850), which calls itself, “The beginning of Will Rogers Country.” The main street, with a replica of Rogers’ birthplace in the square, is being restored to its turn-of-the-century ambience.

The town’s pride is the elegant red-brick 1906 bank. A sign on the door tells you to borrow the key from the nearby Leader News office in the green building. It’s a real sign of trust. You can wander inside unsupervised. Antique objects such as adding machines and oak holders for coins are not bolted to counters.

Oologah Lake, eight miles north of Claremore on Highway 88, has facilities for camping, boating, swimming and fishing. The Redbud Bay Marina has dining facilities June through September.

Besides the memorial, Claremore’s other big attraction is the J. M. Davis Gun Museum, 333 N. Lynn Riggs Blvd. It houses the world’s largest collection of firearms--20,000 antique and modern guns--as well as saddles, swords, knives, 1,200 steins, musical instruments, Indian artifacts, more than 600 World War I posters and hundreds of animal horns and trophy heads.

One of the most popular displays features guns of such notorious outlaws as Pretty Boy Floyd, Jessie James and Bonnie Parker. The museum is open Monday through Saturday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday, 1 to 5 p.m. Entrance is free.

Doll devotees love Claremore’s Treasure House Doll Museum, 1215 W. Will Rogers Blvd. It displays 1,000 antique, international, Kewpie, porcelain, clay and Shirley Temple dolls, every day, April through December, from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. From January through March, it’s open weekdays and Saturdays. Admission is free.

A choice place to eat is the Hammett House, 1616 W. Will Rogers Blvd. Home cooking is the draw--from soups and breads to chocolate, sour cream raisin and lemon pecan pies. It’s open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, until 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday and until 9 p.m. Sunday. Closed Mondays.

The six-story Will Rogers Hotel is the tallest building in town. To see what the hotel looked like when Will Rogers stayed there, peek at the salmon stucco lobby with its wagon wheel chandelier. The hotel, known for its hot mineral baths, has mostly residential units for the elderly. However, some rooms are still available for guests ($25 double); the hot mineral baths are open to the public.

For accommodations and information on the Claremore area, contact the Claremore Chamber of Commerce, P.O. Box 984, Claremore, Okla. 74018, (918) 341-2818.