Wilson "Woody" Rawls - Tahlequah, OK
Posted by: 
hamquilter
N 35° 54.797 W 094° 58.386
15S E 321963 N 3976128
Wilson Rawls, known for the beloved "Where the Red Fern Grows".
Waymark Code: WMQE0M
Location: Oklahoma, United States
Date Posted: 02/13/2016
Views: 3
A plaque located on the south side of the historical Tahlequah Carnegie Library reads:
"ALTAFF / Association of Library Trustees, Advocates, Friends and Foundations / Literary Landmarks Register / TAHLEQUAH PUBLIC LIBRARY / WILSON RAWLS / 1913-1984
Wilson "Woody" Rawls discovered the power of the written word as a young boy. Raised on his mother's Cherokee allotment, he had a gift for storytelling. When his family moved to Tahlequah, he loved coming to this Carnegie Library. He fulfilled his lifelong dream of writing two beloved childrens books based on his childhood in Cherokee County: Where the Red Fern Grows and Summer of the Monkeys.
Friends of Libraries in Oklahoma, FOLIO
Cherokee Heritage Center
Tahlequah Friends of the Library
April 30, 2011"
Wilson Rawls grew up dirt poor in rural Oklahoma, home schooled by his mother. Where the Red Fern Grows is the story of his life as a young boy, desperately wanting a dog. Years after writing the book, the author destroyed it, feeling it wasn't worthy of publication. He was later encouraged to re-write it, and it became a children's classic.