#156 Claremore, OK 10-23 thru 24-09

We stopped at the Claremore Elks Lodge. They have about 5 sites with electric and and one with water. No one else was there, so we hooked up to the water and electric and went inside to check in. Lucky us! It was BBQ Ribs night! So we signed up for dinner in the dining room. Each Friday there is a volunteer cook, and they have a huge BBQ/Smoker they use. Food was good and we ended up with a box to take home! We also found out that Claremore is the home of Will Rogers. And we were only about a mile away from his Memorial Museum. So we stayed two nights and went to the museum the next day—and it was sunny! A really nice day.

We walked into the museum through the front door and were greeted with a Will Rogers recording of the song “I Never Met A Man I Didn’t Like.”

Outside is a beautiful from the back of the Museum. Above is a beautiful statue of Will on his horse. Very nice.

Frank is standing by the bronze statue inside the museum. A nice plaque below is near the entrance telling a little about the man.

The picture below is a recreation of his study/bedroom at their home in CA. He did a lot of writing for the many newspaper columns he produced over his career. He also did radio shows. Acted in movies, before and after Talkies.

Some of the playbills from movies that Will Rogers starred in

Before he became a famous columnist, radio and movie star he was performing in Wild West Shows. He traveled from Argentina to South Africa doing his rope tricks.

When the world lost Will Rogers he was mourned in many countries. He knew presidents, Kings and Queens, but never lost his home town, country boy appeal.

After touring the Will Rogers Museum, we drove a little further into town to the “Worlds Largest Private Gun Collection.” Hopefully you can click on the plaque and read about this amazing collection. There were display after display of more kinds of guns than I even knew existed.

How do you like the artistic way they are displayed?

There must have been hundreds of displays like the ones above over the entire inside of the building. All different makes, models, countries and sizes of weapons. It was overwhelming.

Above is a replica of a “backyard” gun shop. Many farmers had their own gun making shops, usually attached to the back of the barn, and made their own guns. Everything is all done by hand. There was a video playing showing how each step was done. Very nice.

Cowboy Frank!

How to make black powder and how gauge is determined. Very interesting!

There were also many displays of old instruments such as the one below.

Now if you read this below, you will know how, where and why the name Dixie came to be!