CLAREMORE (OK) — A step into history at the top of a hill overlooking Claremore was an inspiring adventure for a man who has had a lot of awesome adventures in his life.
Bob DeFlores is an archivist for the rich and famous in the movie industry. He made his first visit to the Will Rogers Museum in Claremore, where he was interviewed for a depression era series being filmed by Oregon Public Broadcasting.
DeFlores restores old motion pictures, which we see on many of the television cable and public channels … and archives for the Bing Crosby family, Loretta Young and others.
On his first visit to Oklahoma, “the biggest treat is to be able to see the museum, what a wonderful job has been done here,” the Minnesota man said looking down the length of the museum to the theatre, where “Welcome OPB and Bob DeFlores” was on the marquee.
“I grew up watching Will Rogers movies in the theater, then they reissued a lot in the early 40s.”
“But,” he emphasized, “this is the most spectacular, cleanest place … The way they have things presented in every room.”
DeFlores was impressed with the Museum’s Will Rogers movies poster collection of fellow northerner Gordon Kuntz.
OPB is creating a second 10-part series on American History for the U.S. Department of Education “Teaching American History.” It will be nationally distributed by the Annenberg Foundation to high school level teachers to be used for professional development, according to Shawn Hutchinson of OPB.
This particular episode is on the New Deal depression era and “golden age of film and radio,” he said.
Will Rogers was selected as one of the important historical figures of the time.
Persons interviewed are scholars and non-academic types such as DeFlores, an expert film archivist.
The series is expected to be completed in February of 2007 and released on the Annenberg website a few months later. It may be used by some Annenberg channel outlets.
Although it was a short visit and a working one for DeFlores, he said he was taking away lasting memories to add to his repertoire of movie greats.