Located in Victorville, California, it was one of the most inspirational places I ever visited: the Roy Rogers Museum...
Born Leonard Slye in 1911 in Cincinnati, Ohio, he became a cultural icon of life in the American Southwest... the King of the Cowboys! Roy Rogers!
The museum was wonderful. These guys kept everything. Cereal boxes with Roy's picture on the front. His old clarinet he played in high school band. Drawings his kids did in school. This was the world's largest refrigerator door! I could spend hours in this place.
It closed down in 2002 in Victorville, having originally been located in Apple Valley, where Roy and wife Dale Evans are buried. Roy died in 1996 and Dale died in 2001 at the age of 88. Their grave is located at Sunset Hills Memorial Park.
Everything moved... including the taxidermized remains of Trigger, Buttermilk, and Bullet...
And it all moved to Branson, Missouri, in 2003...
The museum in Victorville is now the local office of the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department. Victorville's police department.
Born Leonard Slye in 1911 in Cincinnati, Ohio, he became a cultural icon of life in the American Southwest... the King of the Cowboys! Roy Rogers!
The museum was wonderful. These guys kept everything. Cereal boxes with Roy's picture on the front. His old clarinet he played in high school band. Drawings his kids did in school. This was the world's largest refrigerator door! I could spend hours in this place.
It closed down in 2002 in Victorville, having originally been located in Apple Valley, where Roy and wife Dale Evans are buried. Roy died in 1996 and Dale died in 2001 at the age of 88. Their grave is located at Sunset Hills Memorial Park.
Everything moved... including the taxidermized remains of Trigger, Buttermilk, and Bullet...
And it all moved to Branson, Missouri, in 2003...
The museum in Victorville is now the local office of the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department. Victorville's police department.
Unfortunately, the museum in Bramson was closed at the end of 2009. Declining numbers and high expenses were cited as the cause. Memorabilia were to be auctioned off by the Rogers Trust.
ReplyDeleteMaybe they might go back to Victorville!
ReplyDeleteBill