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Will Rogers and Wiley Post Fly-In
On Saturday, August 13, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., aviation enthusiasts will mark 87 years since Will Penn Adair Rogers (Cherokee) and Wiley Hardeman Post died in an Alaska plane crash on August 15, 1935. A group of pilots of small planes will honor their memory at the Will Rogers and Wiley Post Fly-In, taking off and landing on the 2,000-foot grass strip at the Will Rogers Birthplace Ranch, adjacent to the house where Rogers was born in 1879.
The annual Fly-In near Oologah is an opportunity for the public to get an up-close look at vintage and late-model small aircraft and visit with the pilots. Pilots come from a four-state area to showcase their planes and renew friendships from previous years. Come early to see the first aircraft land! There will also be special activities for children, Cherokee storytelling, a classic car show, and tours of the birthplace and the Amish-built barn. Reenactors portraying Will Rogers and Wiley Post will be a part of the festivities. Admission is free, and ample parking is available on the grounds. This event is generously sponsored by the Cherokee Nation.
Also on August 13, a National Day of Remembrance will be held in person and streamed on Facebook Live at 10 a.m. This ceremony will mark the tragic loss of the lives of Will Rogers and Wiley Post. The service will also honor all those who have lost their lives in small airplane crashes.
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Photo: Humorist Will Rogers, in hat, and pilot Wiley Post, pictured to the right of Rogers, with a crowd gathered by Post's plane, Winnie Mae, at an airfield at Claremore, Oklahoma, June 15, 1931 (2012.201.B1028.0500, Oklahoma Publishing Company Photography Collection, OHS).
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Wreath-laying ceremony and flyover
On Friday, August 12, at noon, the Will Rogers Memorial Museum in Claremore will host a wreath-laying ceremony and flyover to mark the anniversary of the August 15, 1935, death of Will Rogers and Wiley Post in an Alaskan plane crash. The public is welcome to join in viewing the flyover and the wreath laying at the site of Will Rogers’s tomb, overlooking the town of Claremore.
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2022 Will Rogers and Wiley Post Fly-In t-shirts |
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Be the proud owner of a 2022 Will Rogers and Wiley Post Fly-In t-shirt! These shirts will be available for purchase on-site at the Will Rogers Memorial Museum (WRMM) Gift Shop in Claremore for $15 beginning August 6. They come in children’s and adult sizes, so grab one for each member of your family. The design shown here is featured on the back of the shirt.
The Fly-In shirts will be on sale all day at the Will Rogers and Wiley Post Fly-In, to be held from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday, August 13, at the Will Rogers Birthplace Ranch near Oologah. Call the WRMM Gift Shop at 918-343-8115 for more information.
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Shop Will's Online Store and get free shipping!
From published books about Will Rogers, t-shirts with his witticisms, children's toys, and book titles for children, Will's Online Store is the place to find some of the Will Rogers Memorial Museum's most popular items—all available with free shipping! Click here to view the selection of items sold online.
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Take a virtual tour of the Will Rogers Memorial Museum
You can take a full virtual tour of the Will Rogers Memorial Museum (WRMM) in Claremore without leaving the comfort of your home. This online feature available on the WRMM website makes it possible for visitors to see the galleries, exhibit halls, and experience the rich history of Will Rogers's life through photographs, artifacts, paintings, western gear, and museum dioramas. Click here to take the virtual tour. Once your virtual visit is complete, call 918-341-0719 to learn more about visiting the WRMM in person.
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Filed in Fairbanks
For those wishing to read a period publication from 1935, a digital copy of The Chickasha Daily Express from August 16, 1935, is available on The Gateway to Oklahoma History. The newspaper takes readers back to the day when Oklahomans and the people of the world were learning of Will Rogers and Wiley Post's accident at Point Barrow, Alaska. In an age when radio and newspapers were some of the only ways to follow current events, the front page of this newspaper was dedicated to the story, offering news and bits of history about the two men, as well as the reaction of mourners. The content includes the last "Will Rogers Says" column filed by the author in Fairbanks, Alaska, on August 15, 1935. An editor's note with the column makes the bittersweet notation:
“This is the last of Rogers' pithy, philosophical daily comments which have become an ‘institution,’ a part of the daily lives of millions throughout the world.”
To read this newspaper online, click on the image below. There you will find the entire issue, as well as a zoom feature to facilitate reading the text. To search the OHS’s extensive collection of digital assets available on The Gateway to Oklahoma History, click here.
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OHS COVID-19 safety measures
We recommend that visitors who are not fully vaccinated against COVID-19 wear face masks in indoor public areas. We ask that you avoid visiting OHS museums, sites, and affiliates if you have COVID-19, are experiencing symptoms, have a fever, or are otherwise feeling sick or unwell.
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Click event listings below for more information.
4 - Back to School Bash, Oklahoma History Center, Oklahoma City
5 - The Battle of Honey Springs Special Feature Film Screening at the Fly Film Festival, Gaslight Theatre, Enid
6 - Blacksmithing Demonstrations with the Saltfork Craftsmen, Cherokee Strip Museum and Rose Hill School, Perry
6 - Family Fun Day, Cherokee Strip Museum and Rose Hill School, Perry
6 - History Alive! on the Cherokee Strip, Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center, Enid
6 - The Battle of Honey Springs DocOKC Film Festival screening, The Auditorium at the Douglass, Oklahoma City
12 - Wreath-laying ceremony and flyover, Will Rogers Memorial Museum, Claremore
12 - Museum After Dark: Village Sounds featuring Kalyn Fay, Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center, Enid
13 - Will Rogers and Wiley Post Fly-In and National Day of Remembrance, Will Rogers Birthplace Ranch, Oologah
13 - Quilting workshop with Martha Ray, Sod House Museum, Aline
13 - Mushroom Growing workshop, Fort Towson Historic Site, Fort Towson
16 - Oklahoma Route 66 Centennial Commission meeting, Oklahoma History Center, Oklahoma City
18 - Thursday Night Lecture Series featuring the Oklahoma Capitol Restoration Project presentation by Trait Thompson, Will Rogers Memorial Museum, Claremore
19 - The Virginian (1946) film screening, Buffalo Theatre, Pawnee
20 - Will’s Cowboy Trader Days at the Ranch, Will Rogers Birthplace Ranch, Oologah
20 - Oklahoma All-Black Towns State Conference, Oklahoma History Center, Oklahoma City
20 - History Alive! on the Cherokee Strip, Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center, Enid
20 - Family Day at the Birthplace Ranch, Will Rogers Birthplace Ranch, Oologah
20 - Let’s Talk About It: The Virginian (1902) by Owen Wister, Pawnee Bill Ranch and Museum, Pawnee
23 - Tuesday Tunes featuring Hunter Thomas, Henry and Anna Overholser Mansion, Oklahoma City
26 - Movie Night featuring Will Rogers Jr. in The Story of Will Rogers (1952), Will Rogers Memorial Museum, Claremore
26 - “History and Hops: Mid-Century Modern Architecture” presentation by Lynda Ozan, Henry and Anna Overholser Mansion, Oklahoma City
30 - “Shut the Door! Barns in Oklahoma: Signs of Ethnicity and Adaptation in Oklahoma Barns” webinar (VIRTUAL), State Historic Preservation Office, Oklahoma City
31 - From Institution to Inclusion: The History of disAbilities in Oklahoma exhibit closes, Oklahoma History Center, Oklahoma City
31 - Early Influencers: How Anna Overholser & Henry Ione Overholser Perry Set the Style for Oklahoma City Women, 1903–1929 exhibit closes, Henry and Anna Overholser Mansion, Oklahoma City
1 - Working America: A Sam Comen Photography Exhibition opens, Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center, Enid
1 - Drummond Heirlooms exhibit opens, Fred and Addie Drummond Home, Hominy
3 - History Alive! on the Cherokee Strip, Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center, Enid
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Masthead photo: Pictured standing near the back of this group, wearing a suit and straw hat, is railroad promoter W. E. Wells. Seated in front of Wells are Cottie and Sammy Hallman. The Hallmans operated the Capital Hotel on Capital Avenue near the Pennington Creek Crossing in Tishomingo, Chickasaw Nation, Indian Territory, c. 1901 (20288.93.152.2, Chickasaw Council House Museum Collection, OHS).
This photograph is available on The Gateway to Oklahoma History
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