Erick Oklahoma, boyhood home of Roger Miller, on Old Route 66. (original) (raw)

Hometown of Roger Miller

Beckham County

35� 12' 55" N, 99� 51' 59" W (35.215278, -99.866389)

State Hwy 30 I - 40 (formerly Route 66)
15 miles W of Sayre, Oklahoma, the county seat
6 miles E of the Texas State Line
23 miles E of Shamrock, Texas
134 miles W of Oklahoma City
ZIP code 73645
Area code 580
Population: 1,000 (2020)
1,052 (2010) 1,023 (2000) 1,083 (1990)

Erick, Oklahoma has a name that begs for musical accompaniment. Look at what The Music Man did for Gary, Indiana.

We include Erick here in Texas Escapes since it is so close to Texas you could see the state line from there - if someone would hold it up. It's also happens to be in an area that used to be part of Texas - one of Texas' forgotten "ghost counties" that were authorized but not organized.

Roger Miller and Sheb Wooley

Erick was the boyhood home of Roger Miller who was (technically) born in Fort Worth - and served briefly as a fireman in Abilene. Sheb Wooley, related to Roger Miller by marriage, is also from Erick and the town today has an intersection of Sheb Wooley Blvd and Roger Miller Road.

Roger used Texas as a source for his first guitar - borrowing it from a pawn shop while the place was closed. This incident led to Roger's stint in the military in the early 1950s.

Famous Visitors That Never Arrived

Erick had been the destination of Bonnie and Clyde in 1933 when they took their "Red River Plunge" - an incident that warranted a Texas historical marker.

En route to meet his brother Buck, Clyde was going 70 mph at night when the pavement abruptly stopped. The car, however, didn't and Bonnie was pinned upside-down in the burning wreckage.

She barely survived the severe burns on her leg and face. It was actually just borrowed time, since five weeks later she and Clyde were killed in Louisiana.

Roger Miller Museum

Grand Opening October 23, 2004 to coincide with their �2nd Annual Roger Miller Festival�.
Hours - Wed. - Sat. 10 am - 5 pm, and Sun. 1:00 to 5:00 pm.
(Groups and tours by special appointment)
Admission will be $3.00 for Adults 18 - 61,
$2.00 for Senior Citizens 62 & over and Students 12 to 17.
Children 11 and under will be admitted free.
Call 580-526-3833 for membership inquiry and hours.

Chamber of Commerce: 580-526-3505

�

John Troesser

Related Stories

• The Great Greyhound Hijacking on Route 66 in 1931 by Mike Cox
  "... In the early 1930s commercial bus travel could hardly be considered luxurious, but a Yellow Coach Co.-built bus beat the horse-drawn stagecoaches of the previous generation, an era many Texans still remembered. The bus had left Tulsa on the night of June 6, 1931 bound for El Paso. The last stop had been Erick, Oklahoma where two men boarded with tickets to the Panhandle town of Shamrock, Texas.
  About 2:30 a.m. on June 7, driver W.E. Trammel felt something hard poke him in the back-the barrel of a pistol..." Reas full story

Erick Oklahoma Forum

• Subject: Erick Oklahoma
  I was also raised in Erick and knew Roger Miller, Jerry Reed, & Sheb Wooley. I sat in on some playing by Roger at the original Cal"s Cafe one night in Lefores. I lived in Borger when it was a REAL rough town. I attended several street dances in Erick. In those days we had great BBQ's on the Fourth of July, St.Patrick's Day, etc. I recall one street dance featuring Mac Wiseman. As usual the performers used a flatbed trailer for a stage. I remember spending several evenings in the city park where the swimming pool was. My Grandparents (Ed & Ottie Alexander) lived about a block from there.
  Any old-timers in [or from] Erick reading this are invited to e-mail me. By old timers I mean 70+ years of age. - Homer A., brassstetson@webtv.net, May 09, 2006
• Subject: Erick
  I am proud to say that I had a part in the awesome history of Erick, Oklahoma. My dad Bobby D. Pierce, his brothers J.L Pierce, and Dale Pierce were all raised in Erick where they subsequently graduated. My dads first job was at Cal's and as a child I grew up loving the town eating at Cal's. The Martins Ropha Wayne owned the Texaco gas station and all the kids grew up together, my dad and his brothers with the older generation and me, my cousins and brother with their children. We went yearly to visit and for the reunions. As I grew up I met the legendary Roger Miller and at one concert in Tulsa he introduced my dad and his brother, Dale as those boys from his "hometown." My grandpa Claude Cotter had a carpentry shop there on main street and I used to go shopping at the Dixie. We attended the street dances when were there as well. I miss the town and plan on taking my daughter to walk the now deserted streets that both my dad and myself grew up loving. - Tammy Lynn Pierce, October 16, 2005

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