Tour planners visit Birthplace, Memorial

Jim Williams (right), Will Rogers Birthplace Ranch manager, and his grandson, Boots Lawrence, welcome tour planners to the ranch.

Cowboy welcome
Jim Williams (right), Will Rogers Birthplace Ranch manager, and his grandson, Boots Lawrence, welcome tour planners to the ranch.

A Chuckwagon feast at the Will Rogers Memorial Museum.

Chuckwagon feast
Travelers from across the U.S., representing bank tour planners, line up for a chuckwagon feast at Will Rogers Memorial Museum during their familiarization trip across Oklahoma tourist attractions.

"Hello" from Cherokee National Cultural Tourism, who shared in hosting bank tour planners for a visit to the Will Rogers Birthplace and Memorial.

Osiyo
“Hello” from Cherokee National Cultural Tourism, who shared in hosting bank tour planners for a visit to the Will Rogers Birthplace and Memorial, sites on that group’s tourist stops.

“Oklahoma!”
Claremore High School Vocal Music students Hannah Harren (Laurey) and David Billings (Curly) sing songs from the world-famous musical “Oklahoma!” when bank tour planners visited the Will Rogers Birthplace Ranch. Lyrics for the music were adapted from “Green Grow the Lilacs,” written by Lynn Riggs, who shares a Cherokee and Claremore heritage with Will Rogers..

Tour planners got a taste of Oklahoma cooking and preview of state attractions on a four-day Peer Group Conference Pre-FAM (familiarization) event.

Planners from seven states arrived in Oklahoma City for a night in Bricktown before boarding a bus for a drive to tourist attractions in Guthrie, Ponca City, Pawhuska, Bartlesville, Claremore, and back down Highway 66 to Verdigris and Catoosa to the Hard Rock Casino and Tulsa before returning to Oklahoma City for the conference.

The group of about 40 tasted the fare along the Oklahoma River, had lunch at the Marland Mansion in Ponca City, and an Osage feast at the Pawhuska Osage Culture Center. They arrived at the Will Rogers Birthplace Ranch for refreshments and a tour of Will’s birthplace. It was then on to the Will Rogers Memorial for dinner cooked by Cherokee Nation tribal members.

At the Birthplace Ranch, ranch hands on horseback greeted visit ors in front of a pasture of longhorn cattle. They were entertained by Claremore High School student vocalists with numbers from the production of “Oklahoma!.”

At Will Rogers Memorial Museum, they toured the museum, tasted wine from the Rogers County Roberdes Family Vineyards and Winery and had a traditional Oklahoma dinner of chicken fried steak, beans, potatoes and cobbler.

Oologah ranch and Claremore hosts were Claremore Convention and Visitors Bureau, Will Rogers Memorial Museums and Cherokee Nation Cultural Tourism.

Before heading down Highway 66, they spent the night at Comfort Inn in Claremore and stopped for breakfast at the Nut House in Verdigris.

Tour planners represented bank travel groups from across the nation, who were getting ideas for future trips and familiarizing themselves with availability of tourist attractions and overnight destinations.