Retired minister writing Will Rogers Jr. biography

Retired Methodist minister and published biographer Lyle Johnston searches through materials at Will Rogers Memorial Museum.  He is writing a biography about Will Rogers Jr., the eldest son of Will Rogers.

 

Lyle Johnston grew up knowing he shared a birthdate with Will Rogers. Born Nov 4, 1948, the Iowa native discovered by the late 1960s he “not only shared the birthday, but had two thick files on Will Rogers and Will Rogers Jr.”

When he retired from the ministry—he was pastor of Methodist Churches in Iowa, Nebraska and Arizona 35 years — he said everyone asked,  “What are you going to do next?”

An already published biographer, he pulled from his file cabinet his collection of materials on Will Rogers and Will Rogers Jr.

That’s what brought him to Claremore where he spent several days sifting through box-after-box of materials in the Will Rogers Memorial Museum archives, planning his next book.

He was comfortable sorting through the volumes of materials — newspaper articles, letters, photos. After all, while attending Morningside College in Iowa, a liberal arts college, he had his own “study office’ in archives — and his fifth grade teacher had instilled in him an historical desire for reading, research and writing.

He researched in the museum through weekdays, weekends, even the Veterans Day holiday, soaking up Rogers family history, in particular that relating to Will Jr.

In 2003, he turned his research and writing attention to a biography about newsman Chet Huntley. He had grown up watching the Huntley and Brinkley news show.

At that time he was living in Williams, Ariz., 45 miles south of the rim of the Grand Canyon, and decided he would work on his PhD. “I found myself so engaged with work on Huntley that he got the book, but I didn’t get a PhD,” he said with a knowing smile. “Huntley took up my time.”

His daughter, Celesta, urged him to go to Tubac, Ariz., where Will Jr. and his wife, Collier, lived through the last 14 years of  their marriage and where both are buried. Will Jr. died in Tubac, July 9, 1993, several years after his wife’s death.

It was while making plans for that trip it occurred to him that Will Jr. would turn 100 on Oct. 20, Roy Rogers on Nov. 5 and Huntley on Dec. 10. It was not by accident Johnston’s son is named Milton Will.

In Tubac, where he found “the friendliest people in the world,” doors were opened through Shelby’s Bistro, the Tubac Historical Society, Tubac Villager, the town newspaper — and not in the least, Leroy Doyle, who “knew Will well”and manages a gallery in the town.

From the newspaper files he learned Will Jr. “promoted Tubac like you wouldn’t believe … Tubac Golf Resort and the Festival of Arts for some 35 years.”

Collier’s love for Tubac was well known there. She was the first postmistress for a short time, ran a restaurant, and, with husband, was instrumental in getting the first state park established.

She promoted the first ever what we now call “adopt a highway” crew. Kids would line up with her to clean the roadways — their way to get to use the Rogers’ pool.

The couple witnessed the town growing from 10 to 70 houses and 93 to 900 folks. Now there are 100 houses and about 1,500 people.

Will Jr. was gone about half the year and kept his California residency, drivers license and voter registration, Johnston said.

The Rogers’ family owned the Beverly Hills Citizen newspaper, which brother, Jim, ran while Will was in World War II. “It was interesting that while Jim endorsed Dewey for president, Will Jr. was a Roosevelt man,” laughed Johnston.

Will Jr. and his wife were involved in Indian affairs, education, healthn and future needs and called for more Indians in the Bureau of Indian Affairs. “He had an understanding of Indian needs from his Oklahoma heritage and their work with  Indians in the West,” the researcher said.

Johnston, tired of the cold in his native Iowa, and after living in other Arizona towns, settled with his wife, Paulett, in Prescott Valley for retirement.

When he left Claremore he had “pretty well wrapped up research” on Will Jr. He said he has a nine-page bibliography and probably four to five more ready.

His research in Claremore and Tubac has revealed a lot of things many people do not know about Will and Collier and their family, which will come out in the book. He’s ready now to  get down to serious writing.

(Editor’s note: Will Rogers Jr. died July 9, 1993, and is buried in Tubac beside his wife. His parents, Will and Betty Rogers, are interred on the grounds of the Will Rogers Memorial Museum in Claremore with their sons, Freddie and Jim; daughter, Mary; and daughter-in-law, Astrea. For more information visit the website www.willrogers.com or call 918-341-0719.)