Will Rogers Heritage Gallery open
Welcome
Cherokee Nation Chief Chad Smith and his wife, Bobbie Gail, (left); CN Councilwoman and Will Rogers Memorial Commissioner Cara Cowan Watts; and Doris “Coke” Meyer, Will Rogers’ great-niece; cut the ribbon opening the Will Rogers Memorial Museum’s Will Rogers Heritage Gallery.
Visitors at Claremore’s Will Rogers Memorial Museum are enjoying a second renovated gallery.
Will Rogers Heritage Gallery, celebrating Cherokee heritage and the family of Will Rogers, is in the north gallery of the museum (north of the large Jo Davidson statue). The Jo Mora Diorama Gallery. “A View Through The Life of Will Rogers”, opened in June.
Cherokee Principal Chief Chad Smith and Councilwoman and Will Rogers Memorial Commissioner Cara Cowan Watts helped celebrate the opening and host a Cherokee Town Hall meeting.
Chief Smith said the gallery marks a “closing the gap” of Will’s birth roots and the fame and attention he brought to Oklahoma although he never lived in Oklahoma, the state. Born in Indian Territory, Will left before statehood and lived in New York and California until his death.
“The Cherokee Nation takes its responsibility very seriously in honoring the memory and furthering the story of Will Rogers through the exhibits at the Will Rogers Memorial Museums and the Will Rogers History Tours,” he said.
The Cherokee Nation Cultural Tourism team shared their vision of “Osiyo”, cultural tours of the Claremore Will Rogers Memorial and Oologah Birthplace Ranch, that respond to Will’s Cherokee heritage.
The gallery renovation allows visitors to “learn more about Will Rogers’ Cherokee roots and family life,” said Steve Gragert, museum director. “With its prominent spotlight thrown on the Cherokee heritage of Will Rogers, the Memorial Museum’s new gallery completes an important link in the museum’s presentation and interpretation of Will. His Cherokee roots are critical to defining and understanding the man and his life,” he said.
“Partnerships with the Cherokee Heritage Center and Cherokee Nation Cultural Tourism strike the perfect balance in preserving the memory and presenting the legacy of Will Rogers,” he said.
“We greatly appreciate the magnificent cooperation of Mickel Yantz and the Cherokee Heritage Center and the generous support of the Cherokee Nation,” Gragert added. Funding the renovation is possible in part by the generosity of the Cherokee Nation.
Renovation is a project directed by Jennifer Holt, museum curator, in cooperation with Yantz, curator of the Cherokee Heritage Center in Tahlequah.
New storyline descriptions regarding Will’s Cherokee heritage and family information answer visitors often asked questions.
Items on loan from the Cherokee Heritage Center contain handmade baskets and pottery and stickball sticks and a bow, examples of early day Cherokee traditions.
Three sets of descriptions outline Will’s Cherokee family on both sides in pre-and post-removal years, focusing on Cherokee roots.
One is post-removal, the old settlers, not a part of the Trail of Tears.
“Mary’s family was part of the Trail of Tears. It is a part of both worlds,” Holt said.
A third description focuses on the history of Clem Rogers’ Indian Territory Ranch, and the birth of Will Rogers and his siblings, including those who died in infancy.
Portraits of Will and Betty are in place of honor on either side of the massive native stone floor-to-ceiling fireplace.
The opposite side of the gallery highlights family, including the wide-angle photo taken when Will was home in about 1927. About everyone who lived in Claremore at the time is pictured at the gathering. Family trees of the Rogers, Will Rogers and Blake (Mrs. Rogers) families hang on the wall.
Descriptions tell about Clem and Mary and something of each of Will’s sisters. There are large pictures of Will and his sisters.
Of particular interest among family items is the family guitar, used by Jim Rogers in the 1942 movie “Dudes are Pretty People”.
Posters from Jim’s movies and a movie card when Will Jr. played his father hang in the room.
A description features each of Will and Betty’s children and something about their life.
“One Day in 365,” a black and white silent movie produced by Will —but never released —shows continuously in the gallery.
Special day
It was a special day for Cara Cowan Watts when the Will Rogers Heritage Gallery opened at Will Rogers Memorial Museum. Cowan Watts serves as a Cherokee Nation councilor and is a member of the Will Rogers Memorial Commission. The Cherokee Nation helped finance the gallery renovation.
Miss Cherokee
Danielle Culp, picked this year as Miss Cherokee, is the second Miss Cherokee in history. The first was Lisa Phillips, daughter of Juna and the late Jay Phillips. Juna Phillips works in the Will Rogers Memorial Museum store. Danielle, a Claremore High School graduate and Northeastern State University sophomore, is the daughter of Terry and Ellen.
Cherokee roots
Barbara Herndon (right), Daughters of American Revolution Tulsa Chapter leader, at the opening of the Will Rogers Memorial Museum Will Rogers Heritage Gallery, joins Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chad Smith and his wife, Bobbie Gail.