Cowboy humorist/celebrity Will Rogers attended military school in Boonville – Jefferson City News Tribune
Cowboy humorist/celebrity Will Rogers attended military school in Boonville Jefferson City News Tribune
Vivian Hansbrough, in an article printed in the Kansas City Star on Nov. 20, 1977, wrote that when Rogers arrived at Kemper Military School on Jan. 13, 1897, “everyone in sight was aware of him.”
She added, “Mac Koontz, officer of the day on that occasion, reported that Rogers was all dressed in a 10-gallon hat with braided horsehair cord, flannel shirt with red bandana handkerchief, highly colored vest, high-heeled, red-top boots with spurs, and his trouser legs in boot tops.”
This memorable cowboy clothing was soon swapped for a Kemper military-style uniform. The drabness of the school’s dress failed to holster his boisterous personality and resulted in many humorous moments, some of which were compiled in a booklet in 1935 by Lt. Col. A.M. Hitch, superintendent for Kemper.