Journal Notes

Take a chance! Enter to win a copy of The Cowboy and the Senorita: A Biography of

Roy Rogers and Dale Evans and

Happy Trails: A Pictorial Celebration of the Life and Times of

Roy Rogers and Dale Evans.

Dale Evans described her upbringing in Uvalde, Texas as “idyllic.” As the only daughter of Walter and Betty Sue Smith, she was showered with attention and her musical talents were encouraged with piano and dance lessons.

While still in high school, she married Thomas Fox and had a son, Thomas Jr. The marriage, however, was short-lived. After securing a divorce, she attended a business school in Memphis and worked as a secretary before making her singing debut at a local radio station. In 1931 she changed her name to Dale Evans.

By the mid 1930s, Dale was a highly sought-after big-band singer performing with orchestras throughout the Midwest. Her stage persona and singing voice earned her a screen test for the 1942 movie Holiday Inn. She didn’t get the part, but she ended up singing with the nationally broadcast radio program the Chase and Sanborn Hour and soon after signed a contract with Republic Studios. She hoped her work in motion pictures would lead to a run on Broadway doing musicals.

Enter to win now and Happy Trails.

It’s time to enter to win a copy of The Cowboy and the Senorita:

A Biography of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans and

Happy Trails: A Pictorial Celebration of the Life and Times of

Roy Rogers and Dale Evans.

…that in 1936, Leonard Slye (Roy Rogers) had an unaccredited role as a Sons of the Pioneers guitar player in the Gene Autry’s 1936 film, The Big Show?

…that Roy Rogers hit #7 on the U.S. Country chart in 1946 with “A Little White Cross on the Hill”?

…that actress and singer Dale Evans was born Frances Octavia Smith on October 31, 1912, in Uvalde, Texas.

…that after being discovered by a talent scout, Evans did a screen test for Paramount Pictures, which was considering casting her in Holiday Inn (1942) with Bing Crosby. She didn’t get that part, but she soon landed a one-year contract with 20th Century Fox.

…that Evans appeared in the 1942 comedy Girl Trouble with Don Ameche and Billie Burke. She had parts in such musicals as Swing Your Partner (1943) and Hoosier Holiday (1943). Changing studios, Evans moved to Republic and appeared in her first western film, In Old Oklahoma (1943) (the film was later retitled The War of the Wildcats), opposite John Wayne.

Enter to win now and Happy Trails.

Enter to win a copy of The Cowboy and the Senorita: A Biography of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans and

Happy Trails: A Pictorial Celebration of the Life and Times of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans.

“I’m an introvert at heart…And show business – even though I’ve loved it so much – has always been hard for me.” – Roy Rogers

“Cowgirl is an attitude, really; a pioneer spirit, a special American brand of courage. The cowgirl faces life head on, lives by her own lights and makes no excuses. Cowgirls take stands. They speak up. They defend the things they hold dear. A cowgirl might be a rancher, or a barrel racer, or a bull rider, or an actress. But she’s just as likely to be a checker at the local Winn Dixie, a full-time mother, a banker, an attorney, or an astronaut.” – Dale Evans

“Until we meet again, may the good Lord take a liking to you.” – Roy Rogers

“I have studied many religions, many different persuasions of thought in Christian belief, and I have come, in this experience to this: the most important question in anyone’s life is the question asked by poor Pilate in Matthew 27:22: ‘What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called Christ?’ No Other question in the whole sweep of human experience is as important as this. It is the choice between life and death, between meaningless existence and life abundant. What will you do with Christ? Accept Him and life, or reject Him and die? What else is there?” – Dale Evans

Enter to win now and Happy Trails.

Like to win? Now’s your chance. Enter to win a copy of

The Cowboy and the Senorita: A Biography of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans and

Happy Trails: A Pictorial Celebration of the Life and Times of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans.

Elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1980 as a member of the Sons of the Pioneers and elected again in 1988 as Roy Rogers.

Roy got his horse Trigger in 1938 and rode him in every one of his films and TV shows after that. He had appeared in one earlier movie, ridden by Olivia de Havilland in The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938). Trigger died in 1965 at age 33.

Roy’s theme song, “Happy Trails”, was written by Dale Evans.

Inducted (as a member of the Sons of the Pioneers) into the Hall of Great Western Performers of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in 1995.

Enter to win now and Happy Trails.

You can’t win if you don’t enter. Spend the holidays with the

King of the Cowboy and the Queen of the West.

Enter to win a copy of The Cowboy and the Senorita: A Biography of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans and Happy Trails: A Pictorial Celebration of the Life and Times of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans.

The Cowboy and the Senorita was Rogers’ first film with Evans, who was to appear in twenty films in a row with him and finally marry him in 1947. She was a versatile work horse of a singer-dancer whose maternal sexuality complemented Rogers’ boyish charm. She’s the senorita of the title, Ysobel Martinez, whose cousin, Lee, is left a gold mine that Hubbard tries to seize, Rogers and actor ‘Big Boy’ Williams (parading the simple smile that was his trademark) foil Hubbard. Made in 1944, the film is fun for Roy and Dale fans of all ages.

Enter to win now and Happy Trails.

Spend the holidays with the King of the Cowboy and the Queen of the West.

Enter to win a copy of The Cowboy and the Senorita: A Biography of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans and Happy Trails: A Pictorial Celebration of the Life and Times of

Roy Rogers and Dale Evans.

Dale Evans and Roy Rogers are such icons of the American West – quintessential cowgirl and cowboy – that sometimes its is difficult to remember that their personas were media creations and not the real thing. Neither of them grew up riding the range. Dale Evans, born Frances Smith, was married as a very young teen-ager, and then left to struggle as a single mother. Roy Rogers, originally Leonard Slye, grew up on a hard-scrabble farm.

Talent and the Hollywood machine transformed them into stars. They married after Rogers was left a widower with small children. Tragedy – and the triumph over it – didn’t stop there. Both adoptive and natural parents, they endured the sad loss of three of their children over the years.

Rogers and Evans managed to project an image of wholesomeness decade after decade over changing times.

Roy Rogers and Dale Evans made 81 western for Republic Studios

The Roy Rogers Show was among the top NBC television programs from 1951 to 1957

In 1947 alone Roy Rogers received more than 900,000 fan letters

In 1953 alone 408,000 pairs of Roy Rogers slippers, 900,000 lunch kits, and 1,203,000 jeans and jackets were sold.

Enter to win now and Happy Trails.

This month marks the 68th anniversary of when Roy Rogers and Dale Evans were married. To commemorate the union of the King of Cowboys and the Queen of the West in 1946, I’ll be giving away two signed copies of the books the Cowboy and the Senorita and Happy Trails. Both books were written by Howard Kazanjian and myself and feature personal photos and tales about the cowboy duo. From their first singing jobs to their successful film careers, these books chronicle their early struggles and rise to stardom. Throughout December I’ll present fun facts about Roy and Dale, share behind the scenes information from their popular films, and provide updates on the status of a new film being developed based on the Rogers’ life.

Enter to win now and Happy Trails.

On an upcoming episode of the Travel Channel’s program Mysteries at the Museum entitled The Robber’s Bride, I’ll explain why a mail-order bride left her fiancé at the altar.  The original airdate of the episode is Friday, November 28 at 9/8 c. 

In other news, congratulations to Janet Vavloukis of Chicago. 

Janet won the drawing for a copy of

Cowboy True’s Christmas Adventure.

There’s still time…  Enter to win a copy of the children’s book

Cowboy True’s Christmas Adventure.

Long before Halloween was the go-to holiday to be in costume, children in New York City would dress up on the final Thursday in November in what was known as Ragamuffin Day — which also happened to coincide with Thanksgiving.

As part of the Ragamuffin festivities, children, dressed in rags and masks (known as Thanksgiving Maskers), would go door-to-door and ask, “Anything for Thanksgiving?” Usually they would receive a treat of some sort: candy, fruit, or pennies.
The tradition stemmed from the late 1700s, when grown homeless men, during the holidays, would dress in women’s clothing and beg for food and money. In the late 1800s, the tradition evolved into annual event for children.

Ragamuffin Day ended in 1941, when President Roosevelt and Congress established Thanksgiving as a federal holiday. Many of the traditions associated with Ragamuffin Day found their way into Halloween.

To learn more about how Cowboy True celebrated the holidays read

Cowboy True’s Christmas Adventure.

All proceeds raised from the sale of the book go to benefit UC Davis Children’s Hospital.

Enter to win a copy of the children’s book Cowboy True’s Christmas Adventure.

Love cranberry sauce or hate it, but that sweet desert (or relish — depending on how you consume it) has become quite the Thanksgiving commodity. Although cranberries were very present in America and easy to access, the Pilgrims likely weren’t devouring the commodity. Why, you ask? Considering that sugar — a key component of cranberry sauce — was a luxury item when the first Thanksgiving unfolded, making the jam was expensive. It’s unclear when the sauce was even created, research indicates it was 1663 — decades after the supposed first Thanksgiving — that people began commenting about a sweet sauce that was made from cranberries. But if you’re thinking about modern-day canned cranberry, that’s actually brought to you by Ocean Spray, a company that began selling the product in the early 1900s.

For many, turkey and football go hand in hand. As much as Thanksgiving is about acknowledging what one has been given, it is also about tuning in — or even playing — one of the nation’s most popular sports. According to The Pro Football Hall of Fame, Thanksgiving Day football was once a tradition among colleges and high schools, but that practice has since subsided and the NFL has picked up the torch. The modern-day tradition, it seems, dates back to 1934, when the Detroit Lions decided to play on Thanksgiving Day.

The team’s owner, George A. Richards, knew scheduling a game on the holiday was risky, but he decided to do it anyway in an effort to bolster the team’s standing in Detroit. The Lions played the Chicago Bears in a duel that inevitably attracted 26,000 people to the University of Detroit Stadium, selling out two weeks before the game.

Hence, the football and Thanksgiving tradition was born. The Pro Football Hall of Fame noted that Detroit has had a game every year since, aside from a brief hiatus from 1939 to 1944. Just the same, Dallas Cowboys, too, have played every year on Thanksgiving since 1966, only missing two years in 1975 and 1977.

As mentioned, though, football games on Thanksgiving were unfolding prior to the Lions’ 1934 holiday face off. According to the Library of Congress, “The American Intercollegiate Football Association held its first championship game on Thanksgiving Day, 1876.” And it didn’t end there. In the 1890s, Yale and Princeton attracted tens of thousands of fans for championship games and many high schools followed suit. Eventually, they stopped the practice and the NFL simply continued it.

To learn more about how Cowboy True celebrated the holidays read

Cowboy True’s Christmas Adventure.

All proceeds raised from the sale of the book go to benefit UC Davis Children’s Hospital.