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‘One Book, One Community: Stillwater Salutes Will Rogers’ Exhibit Opening
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“Will Rogers: A Life in Pictures” opens at Sheerar Museum of Stillwater History, 702 S. Duncan, on March 4. |
(STILLWATER, OKLA. / Feb. 20, 2012) –“Will Rogers: A Life in Pictures” opens at Sheerar Museum of Stillwater History, 702 S. Duncan, on Sunday, March 4 at 2 p.m. The exhibit opening and reception are part of “One Book, One Community: Stillwater Salutes Will Rogers.” Collaborative partners include Sheerar Museum of Stillwater History, Will Rogers Memorial Museums, Stillwater Public Library and Oklahoma State University Library.
Steve Gragert, director of the Will Rogers Memorial Museums in Claremore and Oologah, will speak at the opening. Gragert has served as editor of 18 volumes of the writings and letters of Will Rogers and as director of the Will Rogers Research Project at OSU. His most recent book, the fifth and final volume of “The Papers of Will Rogers,” was published by the University of Oklahoma Press in 2006. Gragert has also written articles, papers, encyclopedia entries, and book reviews focused on Rogers. He has appeared as an expert commentator on C-SPAN-2’s “The Writings of Will Rogers” and in an HGTV production about Rogers’ boyhood home near Oologah.
Following the program, attendees are invited to view the exhibit and enjoy refreshments courtesy of the Sheerar Museum Board of Trustees. The exhibit will run March through June and is curated by the Will Rogers Memorial Museums in Claremore and Oologah.
Other programs saluting Will Rogers will be held throughout March and April including:
- Thursday, March 1 at 6:30 p.m. Kick-off event, “Will Rogers Was Not Just a Cowboy” featuring Doug Watson as Will Rogers. Free copies of the book “Will Rogers, His Wife’s Story” will be available for those who sign up to attend a book discussion.
- Tuesday, March 13 at 1 p.m. Film presentation, “Will Rogers 1920s: A Cowboy’s Guide to the Times” with commentary by film producer Peter Rollins and Steve Gragert. This event is during the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute Town Hall meeting at the Stillwater Public Library and is open to the public.
- Tuesday, March 27 at 7 p.m. Cherokee Storyteller Robert Lewis will present a program at the Stillwater Public Library highlighting Will Rogers’ Cherokee heritage.
- Tuesday, April 3 at 2 p.m. Oklahoma City University President Robert Henry will provide commentary on the award-winning film presentation, “Will Rogers and American Politics,”in the Oklahoma State University Library Browsing Room. OSU President Burns Hargis will introduce Henry.
- Thursday April 12 at 3:30 p.m. “Will Rogers, American Blogger” program presented by social media expert Bill Handy in the OSU Library Browsing Room.
- Friday April 20 at 7:30 p.m. “Will Rogers’ Romance with Betty and America” musical performance at the Stillwater Community Center featuring award-winning Broadway film and television star Lynette Bennett with musical direction by Lonnie Liggitt.
Book discussions on “Will Rogers, His Wife’s Story” by Betty Rogers, are being held throughout the community and on the OSU campus. For times and locations visit http://www.library.okstate.edu/news/onebook/. Free copies of the book, while supplies last, are available to those who sign up to attend a book discussion at the March 1 Kick-off event or afterwards at either the Help Desk of the Stillwater Public Library or the OSU Library Information Desk. Books have been made available through the generosity of the Stillwater Public Library Trust and Friends of the OSU Library.
“One Book, One Community: Stillwater Salutes Will Rogers” is a collaborative effort open to all ages designed to foster a sense of community through the arts and a shared reading experience, and to broaden and deepen an appreciation for Will Rogers.
This project is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts. Funding partners include the Frontier Masonic Lodge, Stillwater Public Library Trust, Friends of Stillwater Public Library, and Friends of OSU Library. Community Partners include Center for Oklahoma Studies, City of Stillwater Community Center, KOSU, Stillwater Public Schools, OSU History Department, OSU Native American Student Association, and the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute.
All events are free and open to the public. For more information, visit the Stillwater Public Library web site at library.stillwater.org, email askalibrarian@stillwater.org or call (405) 372-3633 or http://www.library.okstate.edu/news/onebook.
The Sheerar Museum of Stillwater History is located at 702 S. Duncan. The Stillwater Public Library is located at 1107 S. Duck St.
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Contact: Sherry Fletcher, Director of Marketing and Public Relations
Phone: 405.742.8362
E-mail: sfletcher@stillwater.org
Web: stillwater.org