OKEMAH, Okla. — The annual celebration of Oklahoma’s own Woody Guthrie is going on this weekend in Okemah. It takes place each June, near his birthday.
But the festival has turned into a frustrating reminder for one family, and it centers around the land where Woody’s home once stood.
WATCH: Family demands answers on Woody Guthrie home restoration:
It is now an overgrown lot. Back in the 1960s, Brenda Duke’s dad, Earl Walker, had a dream.
“He bought the home when Woody got sick, and he thought someday the people of Okemah might like to honor him,” she said.
READ MORE>>>Famous Okies: Woody Guthrie
With the home deteriorating, Walker wanted to restore and build a museum. But the finances just weren’t there.
In 1980, city officials deemed it a public nuisance and ordered him to take it down. However, he did it piece by piece, saving the lumber and his hopes.
Earl Walker died in the 1990s.
Duke took over the family trust.
“That’s been my whole goal, to see my father’s vision completed,” she said.
Eventually, the family was going to give up hope until a man named Dan Riedemann came to town.
Riedemann told the family that he had made a name for himself restoring homes like Johnny Carson’s. He runs a Kansas-based company called 19th Century Restorations and took a great interest in restoring the home.
“Naturally, I’m excited,” said Duke.
Duke had a busy family and did not want any part in the money or fundraising. In 2013, Riedemann convinces Duke to sign over the deed. She carried the mortgage, with a verbal promise that he would rebuild the home and fundraise to do it.
“I firmly believed for several years, I believed that he was going to do it,” she said.
The plan grabbed national headlines. He held a benefit concert featuring Kris Kristofferson at the Mabee Center.
He told news outlets that $450,000 in pledges were coming in and that the project is a go.
“Then all of a sudden, I couldn’t get him to answer his phone, text, or email,” said Duke.
Duke has been paying the property taxes, so the home does not go into foreclosure. She says Riedemann never finished paying on the mortgage.
The family has put a sign in front of the lot, asking the public to direct maintenance or questions about previously donated money to Riedemann.
Now, all Duke wants is for Riedemann to sign the deed back over to her. That way, they could potentially find someone else to finish her dad’s dream.
2 News Oklahoma was able to reach Riedemann on the phone.
“We were hamstrung from the beginning due to the powers that be in the Woody Guthrie world,” he said.
Despite announcing public support 13 years ago, Riedemann claims otherwise. He blames a series of mistakes, a bad concert promoter, small-town politics, and a lack of fundraising support post-COVID.
Ultimately, he said he believes the time has passed for him to complete the job.
“We will sign the paperwork and send it in the mail next week,” said Riedemann.
2 News will follow up with the family.
Duke says she does not care about lost money. She just wants this land back in her name.
It is unclear how much money was made from the concert or other fundraisers, or what the money went toward.
Riedemann said he sued the promoter of the concert in a Tulsa County court, but we have been unable so far to find a record of that.
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