I just got back from my presentation about Footprints in the Dew in Pawnee, Oklahoma and it was standing room only. My friend Doris “Coke” Meyer, who is Will Roger’s great niece, went with me and we had a wonderful time. Coke has written a fascinating book about her uncle, I Called Him Uncle Will.
Down The Road with the Original Buffalo Dale
Welcome back. As football season is coming quickly to an end and basketball season is going ahead full speed, this week starts there for me. Whether you are attending a local game, either elementary, mid-high, high school or college, watching basketball is a great way to spend a few hours. Sharing the excitement of the game with the other attendees and getting out to support our young players are just a couple of the many benefits these games offer. Chances are you will know at least a few people there, if not more and it is easy to get caught up in the frenzy of an exciting game. There is always good food available, usually prepared by volunteers, you will be surrounded by the friendly atmosphere created by other basketball enthusiasts and the price of admission is small making this is an experience you will want to repeat. So the next time you’re looking for something to do, check out a local game. It is time well spent and your dollars along with your enthusiasm provide important encouragement to the teams.
Moving onward, Saturday night found me in Stillwater where I attended my first Murder Mystery Dinner, hosted by my friend Gerry Stover and the local Eagles Club. As many of you know by now, I’ve been working on a true mystery book of my own for the past eight and I thought this event might be good experience for me.
Dr. Clarence Benes who is the Faculty Chair at Pawnee Nation College was the Director of the event and to say that he and his fellow performers are talented would be a large understatement. On this night Dr. Benes was giving an excellent interpretation of U.S. Marshall Rooster Cogburn, the character originally created by John Wayne in the Oscar winning film True Grit. On this evening Rooster was out to solve the murder of Marshall Rick Slow and enlisted the help of the audience in identifying the murderer. For ninety minutes everyone who was there was engulfed in laughter as Rooster led us through the clues that eventually solved the crime.
Later while he was posing for photos with the crowd, I learned that Dr. Benes also directs shows portraying the character “Tom Slick, the King of the Wildcatters” and that he has also created a children’s show, “The Trial of Mother Goose.” Benes is a fun and talented guy and rumor has it he may be coming to Bartlesville. When he does it will be my scoop of the week for sure.
Dr. Benes is also the owner of The Buffalo Theatre which is sponsoring a Book Promotion event for me to be held Friday, January 16, 2015 at 5:30 – 7 pm. Due to construction at the theatre, this event will be held at the Pawnee Nation Community Center just west of the Armstrong Bank on Harrison Street in downtown Pawnee. The following is a press release from Dr. Benes for the event:
“Millionaire Osage County rancher E.C. Mullendore was beaten and shot to death on his ranch in Osage County on September 26th, 1970. This murder is considered by some to be the greatest unsolved murder mystery in Oklahoma state history. Writer and weekly columnist Dale R. Lewis, aka, the Original Buffalo Dale, has finished his eight years of work on this unsolved murder in collaboration with Chub Anderson who was present at the time of the murder. The title of Lewis’ soon-to-be-published book is “Footprints in the Dew: Damon ‘Chub’ Anderson and the Unsolved Mullendore Murder” Lewis will be showing film footage and over 30 pictures of the crime scenes and other photos not seen by the general public until now. “
For more information, visit the BuffaloTheatrePawnee Facebook page or contact Dr. Benes at DrBenes@pawneenationcollege.org.
I hope that anyone who is interested in my project will take this opportunity to learn more about it and to visit historic Pawnee.
Till next time I’ll see ya down the road……………….
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