Tag Archives: Fort Worth Star Telegram

Fort Worth Heritage

Riding Into The Sunset

Bronze statue of Will Rogers and his horse, Soapsuds in front of Will Rogers Memorial Center, Fort Worth, TX. Photo Courtesy UTA Libraries Special Collections, W.D.Smith Photography

Do you know the name of the man sitting on the horse? It’s American entertainer, radio personality, film actor, and writer who was famous for his pithy and homespun humor and social commentary. It’s the country’s beloved, Will Rogers. The statue of Will and his horse, Soapsuds, sit in front of his Fort Worth namesake, Will Rogers Coliseum and Pioneer Tower.

Dedication of “Riding Into The Sunset” at Will Rogers Memorial Center, 11-4-1947. General Eisenhower in attendance seated to the left of podium. Photo Courtesy UTA Libraries Special Collections, W.D.Smith Photography
Good friends having a laugh. Humorist, Will Rogers (left) and Fort Worth’s iconic figure, Amon G. Carter (right).

Will was a close friend to Fort Worth’s, Amon G. Carter, and visited Fort Worth often to enjoy time with his good buddy. August 15th, 1935 brought sad news to many, Will Rogers died in a plane crash at Point Barrow, Alaska territory along with pilot, Wiley Post.

Will Rogers (left) and Wiley Post in possibly the last photo taken of both of them. Standing in front of Wiley’s pontoon plane.

On a trip to the northwest in search of new material for his shows, Rogers decided to join Wylie Post who would be piloting his pontoon plane. The trip had gone well, but on takeoff from Point Barrow, Alaska Territory, the plane flipped nose first killing both Rogers and Post.

Wreckage of death pontoon plane. Newspapers would circulate this photo upon the announcement that Will Rogers had died in a plane crash.

The country was devastated by losing one of it’s most beloved stars, but none more brokenhearted than Amon G. Carter. He would use his immense power and influence to insure that his great friend would be remembered in Fort Worth through the ages.

In 1936 a great memorial would come to fruition in the building of the Will Rogers Memorial Center as part of the grounds of the Frontier Centennial celebration. Amon would commission a bust, a mural and a bronze statue depicting his good friend, Will, even capturing his horse, Soapsuds. The bronze statue, Riding Into The Sunset, would be sculpted by Electra Waggoner Biggs. The niece of Fort Worth’s well known, Electra Waggoner of Thistle Hill, the Wharton-Scott House on Pennsylvania Avenue.

Statue unveiled with sculptor, Electra Waggoner Biggs in attendance. Fort Worth Star Telegram.

“Riding Into The Sunset” is 9’11” tall, 3200 lbs, solid steel poured and in cased in brass. There were four made and all identical. In 1942, the first one was finished and installed in 1947 in front of Will Rogers Coliseum. The second was installed in 1950 on the campus of Texas Tech in Lubbock. The third was also made and installed in 1950 at the grave of Rogers in Claremore, Oklahoma. In 1989, a fourth statue was made and installed at the Anatole Hotel in Dallas.

  • Amon’s favorite photo of his friend Will Rogers. He would keep this photo framed in his office for the rest of his life. Amon would also use this photo when he commissioned the bust that now stands in the rotunda between the coliseum and the auditorium.
  • The bust of Will Rogers that stands in the rotunda between the coliseum and auditorium. Made in the likeness of Amon’s favorite photo. It’s tradition to rub his nose for good luck.
  • The Will Rogers Complex, built in 1936. Named in honor of the world famous writer, actor, and humorist. The photo is an aerial in the days just after it was finished. Photo courtesy UTA Special Collections.
  • The grand mural of Will Rogers that adorns the wall behind the ticket office in the rotunda of the coliseum that bears his name. Artist Seymour Stone stands next to his creation on the same day that the statue was unveiled.
  • In 1937, Amon Carter commissioned Electra Waggoner Biggs to sculpt the statue of Will Rogers and his horse, Soapsuds. She finished it in 1942, but Amon decided not to unveil it until 11/17/1947. This photo was taken on that day with Electra standing by the statue that Amon named “Riding Into The Sunset”. Photo courtesy UTA Special Collections.
#willrogers #soapsuds #willrogerscoliseum #fortworthhistory #dfw #amongcarter #fortworth #texashistory #oklahomahistory

Special thanks for article collaboration with historian, Mike Musgrove. Photo Courtesy: Fort Worth Star-Telegram and Special Collections, UTA Library W.D. Smith collections

Fort Worth Heritage

A Call for Help…Answered by Fort Worth Strangers


In August of 1967 a group of U.S. soldiers hunkers down deep in the steaming jungles of the Central Highlands of Vietnam, 9,000 miles from home. War-weary minds, clouded from months of sleep deprivation and constant enemy fire, search for threads of hope in the dismal situation.

In the darkness, one lone young soldier scrawls a selfless letter, seeking some sort of encouragement, some token of acknowledgement to raise the morale of his comrades.

The letter soon finds its way to DeWitt McKinley, Mayor of Fort Worth. Touched by the simple humility of a hometown soldier in the throes of war, asking for nothing but a glimmer of hope, the Mayor and the people of Fort Worth respond to the heart-felt plea with great compassion.

In September, Fort Worth’s reply to the letter arrives in Vietnam. Duffel bags stuffed with cookies, cakes, and letters of support arrive weekly. Churches, schools, lodges, and Scout troops all confirm their support of the soldiers. Some people offer prayers for the soldiers’ safe return; others just want the troops to know that someone really cares about them. Tucked among the letters and desserts are proclamations declaring that the City of Fort Worth has officially adopted the soldiers, formally known as Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 503rd Infantry, 173rd Airborne Brigade (Separate).

For the soldiers, the flood of reassurance comes at a time when morale is particularly low. One soldier later commented…”You have no idea how that compassion turned us around.”

Memorial plaque in Botanic Gardens for Charlie Company containing the story quoted here.

Thirty-four years later… July 6, 2001. Twenty-nine surviving members of Charlie Company convene at the Fort Worth Botanic Garden to again say “Thank You” to the people of Fort Worth who lifted them up in their time of need. Sadly among the missing is James David “Shorty” Haas, the soldier who, at 18 years of age, wrote the letter that touched so many lives.

Memorial tribute to Charlie Company located in the Fort Worth Botanic Gardens.

This memorial stands as a tribute to all those who unselfishly served their country, and as a reminder to us all of the enduring importance of compassion.

Symbolism of the Memorial:
*The Circle illustrates both the cohesion of the band of soldiers and the perpetual nature of time, with no beginning and no end.
*The Seven Pillars express wholeness and perfection.
*The Broken Pillar laid awkwardly askew pays homage to the soldiers who fell in service to their country.
*The Bur Oak epitomizes strength and endurance.


The 1907 O’Keefe home once stood on Summit Ave. Fort Worth. Demolished in 1950, the limestone columns were salvaged. Some of these columns can be seen standing at the Charlie Company Memorial in the Botanic Gardens.

The stately 1907 Quality Hill home owned by Cattlemen Col. O’Keefe, 520 Summit Ave. served dual purposes first as a home and then ultimately as a tribute. Upon demolition of this house in 1950 some of the limestone columns were rescued from doom, saved by C.L. Richhart (a dedicated Fort Worth Star Telegram reporter to Amon G.Carter) and stand at this memorial of Charlie Company in the Fort Worth Botanic Garden.

December 25th, 1988 Charlie Company members send greetings via the Fort Worth Star-Telegram to their adoptive “home”.

Members of Charlie Company never forgot the compassion and goodwill shown to them at a time most needed by the Fort Worth community. In December 1988 they would send Christmas greetings of appreciation to Fort Worth through the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.