With only two days to tour Claremont, OK, we doubled up on our museum visits. First stop was the Will Rogers Memorial Museum. Admission is $8, $6 for seniors.
The front of the museum as seen from the bottom of the garden where the family crypt is located (underground)
We started our tour with this guide who told us of Rogers’ life while performing rope tricks the way Rogers did when he was delivering a monologue.
In the 1930’s Will Rogers was a cowboy, humorist, movie star, nationally syndicated newspaper columnist, vaudeville trick roper, radio star, world traveler, crusader, and family man. His aphorisms, couched in humorous terms, were widely quoted. His earthy anecdotes and folksy style allowed him to poke fun at gangsters, prohibition, politicians,government programs, and a host of other controversial topics in a way that was appreciated by a national audience, with no one offended. He crusaded for aviation expansion, and aid for victims of natural disasters. He provided Americans with first-hand accounts of his world travels by writing his story on his typewriter then sending it through telegrams. In today’s jargon, he was a tweeter and blogger.
Comedian Ron White paraphrased that top quote: You can’t fix stupid.
Stop #2 (that’s not a hashtag it’s the number sign), was down the street and around the corner on Rt 66. The J. M. Davis Arms and Historical Museum features over 50,000 unique items including 20,000 firearms (including several toy guns), swords, knives, military weapons, saddles, spurs, outlaw guns, the smallest commercially produced handgun in the world, Native American artifacts, John Rogers statuaries, Western memorabilia, antique music boxes, musical instruments, and 1,200 steins from all over the world. Admission is free, but a $5 donation is greatly appreciated.
J. M. Davis started collecting firearms and other unique artifacts when he was 7 years old. He began displaying his collection throughout the Hotel Mason which he owned.
A tiny selection of the firearms displayed in the hotel.
some unique rifles
canes, including sword canes on the right
political buttons, ribbons, posters
steins
pipes
musical instruments and music boxes
Like Will Rogers, Davis was buried on the premises.
One display gave me the creeps. It was of eye bands, hoods and pieces of rope used in actual hangings of convicted murderers. Yeesh!
Tomorrow, another twofer.
Louise and Duane
1 comment:
Boy would Wiil Rogers would have been very busy these days with all the natural disasters that have occurred lately. We need him to stir up aid to PR.
I bet Duane loved that second museum. I wouldn’t like looking at the eyeball exhibit either! Yuck!
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