Today was devoted mostly to Will Rogers, humorist, entertainer, columnist, "world traveler and good neighor," for whom the thought was to rename Route 66 as the Will Rogers Highway, but that was never done officially. In 1952, the US 66 Highway Association held ceremonies in each state to rededicate (with bronze plaques) the road as the Will Rogers Highway. In 1999, the bronze plaques were given companions of red granite markers.
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| Purpose-built Will Rogers Memorial Museum (1938, addition in 1985) now houses the world’s largest collection of Will Rogers memorabilia and his entire collection of writings, is located in Claremore, OK |
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| The Contemplative Will Rogers (1997, by Philip Alexander Zerkin, in native Oklahoma sandstone) |
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| Statue (1938, by Jo Davidson, with a second cast placed in the National Statuary Hall in the US Capitol) of Will Rogers; we were at the museum along with busloads of students! (KSS) |
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| Replica of the study at his ranch in Pacific Palisades, CA |
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| A mural attempts to show many of the rope tricks invented by Will Rogers, who started out life as a cowboy, and later performed in rodeos, in Wild West shows, vaudeville, and in the Ziegfeld Follies in New York City; from there he starred in silent movies, but became more popular when the movies became "talkies" |
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| Miniature dioramas (1940s, by Jo Mora) illustrated the life of Will Rogers; here he is with his family at his birthplace and boyhood ranch in Oologah, OK |
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| In 1922, Will Rogers began his career in radio (seen here with the Ziegfeld Follies girls), and by 1930 he had his own weekly Sunday evening radio show (KSS) |
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| We joined the kids in the auditorium to learn about Will Rogers and see a couple of rope tricks, first the Flat Loop ... |
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| ... then the Wedding Ring trick with the loop encircling the body |
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| This typewriter was salvaged from the wreckage of a plane crash (1935) in which Will Rogers and the pilot, Wiley Post, died |
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| Roadside America has you look for the items found in the pockets of Will Rogers when he died |
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| A tree trunk carving donated by the Navy crew of the USS Will Rogers (1965-1966), a Benjamin Franklin-class ballistic missile submarine |
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| The school students were taught the Flat Loop rope trick |
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| Tamiko and Kent with the cenotaph of Will Rogers (he is buried with other family members below this terrace) |
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| The epitaph (a quote of Will Rogers) of "I never met a man I didn't like," was emphasized to the school students, and the main reason why it is said we need more people like Will Rogers today |
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| View of the memorial museum from the patio/sunken garden |
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| Riding into the Sunset (1942, by Electra Waggoner Biggs) depicts Will Rogers riding his horse, Soapsuds, and stands in front of the underground entrance to the tomb |
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| The entrance to Dog Iron Ranch, the name Will Rogers gave to his boyhood ranch home when he owned it; is now owned by the Cherokee Nation; Will Rogers was proud of his Cherokee heritage |
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| Birthplace (1975, in Greek Revival style) of Will Rogers, whose father Clem was a judge and politician in what was then the Indian Territory; when Oklahoma became a state, one of the counties was named for Clem Rogers |
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| The present view from the house, which had to be moved about a mile due to the creation of Lake Oologah by the damming of the Verdigris River |
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| Well at Dog Iron Ranch |
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| The Cherokee Kid (1995, by Sandra Van Zandt) is located in the center of Oologah, OK |
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| All I Know is What I Read in the Papers (1996, by Sanda Van Zandt) is located in Claremoore, OK next to the Claremore Daily Progress newspaper office |
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