Will Rogers Ranch: A Legacy Restored

March 30, 2006

Libby Motika , Senior Editor

Will Rogers could have strolled into his ranch house Saturday afternoon, passed through his living room and library and on up to his study to work at his desk or stretch out on the daybed for a nap. And he wouldn't have noticed a thing out of place, except maybe that the ears on his practice roping calf in the living room were gone.

The ranch house officially reopened to the public after extensive refurbishing with a rededication ceremony presided over by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, and other state, county and city officials, with members of the Rogers family attending.

Mirroring the ceremony that took place in 1944 when then Gov. Earl Warren accepted ownership of the park on behalf of the state, Schwarzenegger accepted the deed, which he then turned over to State Parks Director Ruth Coleman.

Telling guests that he and his family had a special connection to the park, the governor said that "My family started our journey right next to the park (the Schwarzeneggers lived on Evans Road before moving to Brentwood in 2002). I learned horseback riding for my 'Conan' movies, my kids learned how to play soccer and we played frisbee right here on the grass."

While Schwarzenegger and others rhapsodized over their memories, they acknowledged that over the last decade, the park, which is a state historic site, had fallen into disrepair.

The state finally took serious steps to focus on years of delayed maintenance when Will's grandson Chuck Rogers threatened to sue.

It has been 70 years since Will last walked the grounds, and now, thanks to $5 million from state bonds, three years of restorative work and over 60 specialists, the historic ranch house looks as it did when he lived there with his wife, Betty, and three children.

With scrupulous attention to detail, under the direction of museum curator Rochelle Nicholas-Booth, the house has been restored to its 1940's look. Each room, after being dismantled for structural improvements, was reassembled according to Parks Department archival photos taken in 1944 at the time Will's widow Betty Rogers deeded the property to the state.

But the triumph of Saturday's event was Will Rogers, the man whose life, passions and wise worldview seems to whisper from every part of the property, from the ranch house to the polo field.

State Assemblywoman Fran Pavley turned Will's quip about Los Angeles being "a great place to live, but not to visit" 180 degrees, noting "This house and grounds will have a lot of visitors thanks to all those who voted for two park bonds, Props. 12 and 40."

Thousands of visitors enjoyed the events of the day, including a ranch house tour, cowboy ropers and a good old barbecue, and many recalled memorable visits.

Heidi and Bob Janowski and their boys Ryan, 10, and Matt, 14, spread out on the lawn with plates heaped with chicken and ribs. Heidi recalled that her grandfather, Emil Sandmeier, the Rogers' family ranch supervisor and majordomo for many years, used to give her the inside tour and stories. "He'd take us into the kitchen and show us a rattlesnake in the freezer," Bob remembered.

The Rogers family, however, responded with the most unbridled enthusiasm and pride.

Granddaughter Bette Rogers Branden said it felt like a real home, while her brother Chuck was very pleased. "I had a vision, a mission and it worked," he said of his wakeup call to the state.

Chuck's brother Kem offered a memory from when he was about 4 or 5. "I can remember when we wanted to go riding, I'd take two silver saddles down from the banister for me and my brother. We were just kids riding silver saddles," he said, adding with a chuckle, "but I'd take the spoon before the saddle."

Will's grandniece Doris "Coke" Meyer and nephew Bob McSpadden, who came from Oklahoma to attend the dedication ceremony, spoke of their "uncle Will," recalling his frequent visits back home.

"He would fly into Tulsa, and my sis and I would go to meet him," Coke said. "He would tease us about our boyfriends; he was just our uncle Will, and every Christmas he wrote a check to each niece and nephew for $50. We never got an autograph, we didn't pay any attention that he made movies. He always wanted to visit local cowboys, he didn't care about dignitaries."

Indeed, Will Rogers loved the cowboy life, which he credited for his levelheadedness in the whirl of Hollywood and celebrity. "I am just an old fashioned country boy in a big town trying to get along," he said. "I have been eating pretty regular and the reason I have been is because I have stayed an old country boy."

Born into a mixed-blood Cherokee ranch family on the wild frontier, Rogers was a 19th-century cowboy, fancy trick roper and horseman'activities that he enjoyed all his life. Everywhere a visitor goes at the historic park reveals Will's enthusiasms: in the ranch house, where he practiced roping his stuffed calf and wrote his newspaper columns; in the barn, the stables and on the many trails that still traverse the 186-acre property.

And as restoration efforts continue, more facilities will be restored, while others added by the state such as the gas station and the barn at Sarah's Point will be removed.

Saturday also marked the dedication of Jim's Barn, with a special cornerstone ceremony conducted by the Palisades Masonic Lodge, recognizing the symbolic significance of the reproduction of a building that Will Rogers referred to as the "mule barn." Jim Rogers (Will's youngest son) kept his horses there, and over time it became known as Jim's barn. Many stories explain the removal of the barn during World War II, but thanks to the efforts of the nonprofit Will Rogers Cooperative Association, the barn was rebuilt at the exact same site. And if Will Rogers had been around, he probably would have wielded a hammer himself.

Rogers was his own best biographer, who left behind a bounty of quips that, as evidenced by the numerous quotes repeated throughout the day, remain as pertinent today as they were when he spoke them.

"You must judge a man's greatness by how much he will be missed," Will said. His ranch is open for the public use and enjoyment as a memorial and historic monument to a great man.

Tours of the Will Rogers home are open to the public, as are horseback riding lessons and trail rides. For more information, call 454-8212.