Twin Boys Named for Wiley Post, Will Rogers
| 12 February 2013 |
On July 10, 1935, Bert and Irlean Ash of Oklahoma City welcomed twin sons. The boys went without names — they were “designated merely as No. 1 and No. 2″ — for more than a month.
Then, on August 15, a plane crash in northern Alaska killed two fellow Oklahomans — pioneering aviator Wiley Post and popular comedian/actor Will Rogers.
Bert and Irlean decided to honor the pair by naming their sons Wiley Rogers Ash and Will Post Ash.
Bert was quoted as saying, “We hope the twins will be able to fly sometime.”
Source: “Twins Named to Honor Dead Pair.” Ellensburg Daily Record 20 Aug. 1935: 6.
P.S. Wiley Post flew solo around the world in 1933 in a plane named Winnie Mae.
P.P.S. Will Rogers, who was part Cherokee, was named after Cherokee leader William Penn Adair.
I do really like Wylie, and I wish it would become more popular
HOLY SMOKES!! THAT’S MY DAD AND HIS TWIN BROTHER!!!!!!!!!!!! WOWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!! HOW COOL IS THIS!!! There’s no way.. lol.. IM STUNNED!!! Bert! Irlean! my grandma and grandpa!!! My dad’s twin brother will died in 1977 of getting hit in the head by a pipe letting out the pressure on a gas well, and my dad (wiley) died in 2002 of cancer when I was 18. Incredible you have something involving my dad. Please email me if you want to talk more about the history! My family and I are honored!!! codyash7@yahoo.com