GUNTERSVILLE (ALA) — About 200 years after John Gunter, the first white man to settle in the Tennessee Valley took an Indian wife, Guntersville, Ala., celebrated his famous great-grandson.
The three-day Will Rogers Heritage Festival in the town on the Tennessee River focused on the many interests of Will Rogers. The town’s community theatre group presented the musical extravaganza “The Will Rogers Follies,” and Gene McFall, longtime Will Rogers’ intepreter, made about a dozen appearances in “The Witty World of Will Rogers.” A more than mile long parade route showcased horses, wagons, carriages, cowboys and members of the Cherokee Nation.
The Guntersville Historical Museum presented a special exhibit of Will Rogers, including boots, chaps and a rope on loan from the Will Rogers Heritage in Claremore. Kem Rogers, Will Rogers’ grandson, and Karen Griffin, widow of a Gunter relative, represented the family during the celebration. Pat Reeder, Will Rogers Museum publicist, represented the Museum and Will Rogers Heritage. Rogers lives in Tennessee, Griffin lives in Florida.
The weekend was dotted with a demonstration pow wow, an antique aircraft fly-in, chuck wagon show, musical presentations, outdoor and storefront exhibits,
Kem Rogers complimented the “Follies” cast and crew as comparable to the famous stars of Broadway and road shows.
Guntersville, set along the Tennessee River, is tourist and fishing center, a community chosen by Relocate America in their list of “The 100 Best Places to Live in America.”
Family legend shows Gunter, a trader, ferryman and gunpowder maker, who owned a salt claim, negotiated an agreement with a Chief of the Cherokee Paint clan to trade salt for his daughter, Ghe No He Li (anglicized to Catherine or Katy). They were parents of Elizabeth Hunt, who married Martin Matthew Schrimsher, maternal grandparents of Will Rogers. Will was the son of Clement Vann Rogers and Mary America Schrimsher.
Ancestors of the United Cherokee Ani-Yun-Wiya Nation lived in Guntersville more than 650 years ago.
Guntersville Mayor Robert L. Hembree Jr. and Milla Sachs, executive assistant to the mayor, said plans call for continuing the Festival as an annual celebration.
