Hats Off to Will

The Indian Women’s Pocahontas Club will celebrate Will Rogers’ birthday with their annual Wreath Laying Ceremony on November 2.

The Indian Women’s Pocahontas Club and the Will Rogers Memorial Museum kick off the 75th year of ­celebrating Will’s birthday, together, during Will Rogers Days this November. A ­variety of events are planned to honor Oklahoma’s favorite son. Will Rogers was born at the Will Rogers Birthplace Ranch near Oologah on November 4, 1879 in then Indian Territory. He died August 15, 1935 in an Alaska plane crash.

     The Will Rogers Days grand parade on Will Rogers Boulevard will be at 10 a.m. on November 2, featuring country music legend Larry Gatlin as Parade Marshall. Mr. Gatlin starred as Will Rogers in the Broadway production of “The Will Rogers Follies.”  

    After the parade, the Indian Women’s Pocahontas Club invite you to join them for “Hats off to Will” for a traditional Cherokee feast at 12:30 at the Will Rogers Memorial, honoring Will, one of the most notable members of the prestigious Indian Women’s Pocahontas Club. The Pocahontas Club was founded in 1899, and is a ­virtual “who’s who” of the founding families in Indian Territory.

    At 1:30 p.m., in the ­theater at the Will Rogers Memorial, the Indian Women’s Pocahontas Club will honor the Will Rogers family, community leaders, Cherokee Principal Chief Bill John Baker, as well as Native American Month and special guest Larry Gatlin, followed by a traditional ceremony at the Rotunda and a wreath ­laying ceremony at the tomb of Will Rogers. From the time the Memorial was ­dedicated, this is the 75th year the Pocahontas Club has laid the wreath. It was a ­tradition of Will Rogers’ mother, Mary, to decorate their ranch home with fall foliage, said Debra West, Pocahontas Club ­president.

    For information regarding the Indian Women’s Pocahontas Club, “Hats off to Will” celebration, contact Ollie Starr (918) 760-7499, and for information regarding the Will Rogers Days Parade contact the Rotary Club of Claremore Reveille, Steve Gragert (918) 343-8118.

    Additional events ­celebrating Will Rogers Days (November 1-4) include Children’s Day at the Museum, Night at the Museum (a ticketed event), an Antique and Classic Car Show, a birthday party ­celebration at the Birthplace Ranch and more. For more information, visit ­www.willrogers.com.

For more information, contact

Indian Women’s Pocahontas Club

(918) 760-7499

www.iwpclub.org