When Oklahoma’s own, Will Rogers, had grown and tried to fit in at Kemper Military Academy at Booneville Missouri, but had not (much to his chagrin), he was then on his way to West Texas and to South Africa.
Dewey A. Eddy Junior was one of eight children born in 1908 in Verdigris, OK to Eva and Dewey Eddy Sr.
While the Rogers Family lived a very stable life, with Will’s father having been an important community and Cherokee Tribal leader, the Eddy family lived on rented farms in various Northeast Indian Territory communities.
Dewey and Will grew up quite different but they did have shared experiences; They each met their wives, Miss Betty Blake and Miss Mavis Webb, in Oologah. Both men worked extremely hard to make their dreams come true. Mr. Rogers realized his dream was to be an entertainer and Mr. Eddy realized his dreams of owning, farming, and raising cattle on his own land, eventually amassing 220 acres just east of Tiawah.
Each also had four children and grandchildren who loved and adored them. They also shared a great love of laughter, jokes, and cowboy hats. Mr. Eddy was rarely seen without his straw cowboy hat.
Mr. and Mrs. Eddy were well respected in the local community and were proud members of the Will Rogers Round Up Club. One granddaughter remembers, with great pride, that she could go to any feed store or local parts store and tell them what she had been sent to retrieve on behalf of her grandparents and the items would be loaded into the truck, without a penny exchanging hands, because the store owners knew Dewey and Mavis Eddy would take care of the bill promptly.
After many years in construction, Mr. Eddy took a custodial/bus driving position at Tiawah School, which allowed him more time to spend on farming, and he added commercial hay bailing to his resume.
On the day this photo was taken circa 1967, Dewey had driven a bus load of Taiwah school children on a field trip to the Will Rogers Memorial. A staff photographer for the Tulsa World took this poignant photograph of one of Oklahoma native sons’, admiring a statue of another native son, both of whom contributed greatly to the tapestry of stories that make up our state heritage.
Eventually, both men had one last shared experience, both were laid to rest in Claremore, Oklahoma.
Home.
Ralph Peck & Nancy Barber
Photograph - Tulsa World Staff
Will Rogers Memorial
Claremore, Oklahoma 1967
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