Clem Rogers McSpadden wore many hats and played a role in many different aspects of Oklahoma’s history, some of which are not widely known.

In addition to his contribution to the rodeo circuit and the Oklahoma Senate, Clem had a role in three different movies —”J.W. Coop,” “Dark Before Dawn” and “My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys.”

“J.W. Coop” was a 1972 movie about the rodeo circuit where Clem played “rodeo announcer #4.” “Dark Before Dawn” is a 1988 movie where Clem played a cattleman. And in 1991, Clem played the Bullmania announcer in “My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys,” alongside Mickey Rooney, Gary Busey and Kate Capshaw.

John H. Burrows is a longtime friend of Clem, and he dates their friendship and business partnership back to the 1950s.

“I did a little politicking with him. We’ve been real good friends since the 50s, but I knew him before that,” Burrows said. “We built a building together in the 60s when the Wal-Mart store came to town.

“We have lost an exceptionally good, good friend. I’m sure gonna miss him.”

I have to agree with Burrows. At each and every opportunity I had to sit down with Clem, he always taught me something about life through his exceptional storytelling.

In February, Clem and I sat down at a cafeteria table just before he presented awards to four outstanding Chelsea Junior High School students for their efforts to learn about the community’s history. The first thing Clem said to me after greeting me was, “I am so proud of these kids.”

As we sat and talked about his history of growing up in Oologah and then moving to Chelsea, he took me back to those prosperous days in Rogers County. He talked about the friends he had and what activities they were involved in and reminded me that “there’s always a place you can come back to. A place you can call home.” Words of wisdom I will never forget.

Over the past three days, those who were honored to know Clem have shared stories with me, all with a common theme — Clem’s stories were not only entertaining, but also educational. “It was like traveling through time when he told you his stories,” one Chelsean said to me.

Chelsea Mayor Norman Wooten described Clem as a “fine citizen of Chelsea and the state of Oklahoma and a great native son.”