PACIFIC PALISADES (CALIF.) — When Will Rogers and his family lived on their Santa Monica-Pacific Palisades ranch in California, the family home when he was killed in an Aug. 15, 1935 Alaskan plane crash, it was the gathering place for family and friends.
It was a place Will built for outdoor barbecues, roping and riding, polo playing and sitting on a porch looking out on he mountains, where he loved to ride.
Saturday will be reminiscent of those times. His family, the W ill Rogers Cooperative Association and California State Parks invited the public on Saturday, Sept. 25 to join to celebrate the restoration and tour the house given the state of California by Mrs. Rogers in 1944.
The $5 million restoration of the house and grounds and other structures has restored the landscape to the appearance in the early 1930s.
Jim Hartz, Will Rogers Memorial Commission chairman, carried greetings from Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry and an executive proclamation in which Gov. Henry cited efforts of the state of California in preserving the Will Rogers State Historic Park to better teach the public about the life of “one of the great citizens of the world” and restoring the barn and corral Mrs. Rogers dismantled to ease lumber rationing during the “dark days of World War II.”
Hartz was on the program for the free event, which included a rededication ceremony and cornerstone ceremony at the rebuilt Jim Rogers Barn.
The Lost Canyon Rangers, winner of the Academy of Western Artists,“Will Rogers 2005 Rising Star Cowboy Award, provided musical entertainment” Other featured activities included Will Rogers impersonator Robert Basgall, trick ropers Dave Thornbury and Pat and Debbie Puckett, Will Rogers Polo Club demonstration, horseback riding along Inspiration Loop Trail and a western barbecue.
The extensive refurbishment of the house includes Will and Betty Rogers’ extensive collection of western art, including Charles Russell bronze sculptures, new insulation, heating and air, earthquake retrofitting and new electrical systems.
The house and a barn, which had been used for boarding horses, had fallen into disrepair and have been closed during the restoration. It will now be reopen for public tours and use of the ground for various events.
In 1952, the state authorized horse boarding at park. Some of the boarders were Arnold Schwarzenegger and his wife, Maria Shriver (not governor at the time) Billy Crystal and Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman. Schwarzenegger was the governor to sign off on the California state bond issue that funded the restoration.
Grandson Chuck Rogers and Randy Young, a family friend, have been instrumental in leading the restoration project.
