Happy Trail Leads to Museum, Soon to a Theme Town

Bob Clotch was engrossed with the tot-sized six-shooters and official Roy Rogers hat, alarm clock and comic books. “Did anyone see a Roy Rogers lunch box?” he asked hopefully.

Clotch is 59 years old. But who could blame him for the enthusiasm, because for this Ohioan, the trip to see his childhood hero was a dream come true. And he certainly wasn’t alone. More than 2,500 people showed up last Saturday morning (and thousands more during the rest of the weekend) for the grand opening celebration of Phase One of RogersDale, U.S.A., the project Roy Rogers and Dale Evans are building here.

Clotch, his wife, Barb, and friend Keith Day, all in Las Vegas for a conservation district convention, got up at 4:30 a.m. to make the drive to see Ohio’s favorite son. On the way through the barren desert, Barb Clotch said they wondered, “Why would Roy leave Ohio to live here?” The explanation came from Dale Evans during the ribbon-cutting: “There’s something about the high desert that makes you feel closer to God. At night when the valley is clear you can see the lights, it’s so beautiful. And we have the most beautiful sunrises.”

The Roy Rogers-Dale Evans Museum was built 18 years ago, on land Rogers bought 30 years ago, when Joshua trees in the Victor Valley were more visible than people. But the renovation, in its final stages of completion, reflects these high-tech times. It will serve as the cornerstone of RogersDale, a theme town scheduled to be completed next year. The plan is to build about 70 shops, restaurants and entertainment areas that will reflect the West from 1860 to 1960, including places for sock hops and street dances on Saturdays, church services on Sundays. Though Rogers isn’t all that keen on the new technology, he says that “as long as I don’t have to learn it, I’ll be all right.”

Dressed in fancy western wear with fringe and sequins, the couple humbly thanked the crowd from an upstairs balcony of the fort-like museum for what they called a community effort to make the dream of RogersDale a reality. Evans’ voice cracked with emotion as she closed with “we just want to thank you, God bless.”

A check for $20,000 from the Charles Frueauff Foundation was presented to Rogers, who, with a wink and a trademark smile to the crowd, handed the check to his wife. Rogers, 84, and Evans, 83, have been down a lot of trails together, many of them happy, a few not. But they never seemed to waver from their faith in God--or in humanity.

“They were like our surrogate parents,” said Carl Fanning, a member of the Single Action Shooting Society, a competitive shooting club that was well-represented at the opening. “That’s one common thread [members of the group] have all noticed.”

Among the additions to the museum are two big screens, one of which shows a heartwarming documentary of Rogers’ and Evans’ careers and personal lives with their nine children. The Sidekick Theater, soon to open on the opposite side of the U-shaped museum, will show clips of famous sidekicks such as Gaby Hayes, Smiley Burnette and Pat Brady.

Though wildly popular around the world in their heyday--Rogers as the handsome cowboy singer and Evans as the proper, hard-to-get Easterner--they have never faltered in their dedication to children around the world or their faith, making personal appearances in lieu of trying to answer all their hundreds of thousands of fan letters. As one watches their lives unfold on-screen and in hundreds of photographs, news clippings and proclamations throughout the museum, the term “family values” suddenly becomes definable.

In fact, the Rogerses filled 28,000 square feet of space with personal items such as clothing, letters and even the family’s kitchen table and chairs, with a photograph of the Rogers brood sitting down to a meal nearby. There are baby things, saddles, bikes and automobiles (including the Jeep Nellybelle from the TV show and a boat-size Pontiac Bonneville adorned with shiny six-shooters and rifles). There are showcases dedicated to each of the three deceased Rogers children, and one devoted to Rogers’ mom. Copies of the 30 books Evans has written fill one case.

“The memories, that’s what it is,” said Michael Hughes, 25, of Victorville, making his first visit to the museum. Hughes barely remembers watching Roy Rogers on television, but was in awe of the extensive exhibits.

“He bronzed his first boots, that’s what cracked me up,” said Michael’s wife, Elizabeth, 24.

Even for those too young to know who Rogers and Evans are, the museum has its appeal. Shelley Patterson of Rancho Cucamonga brought her children, Allie, 7, and Chase, 3, to the opening. “My daughter loves the horses,” Patterson said. “My son really likes the comics. There’s so much more to see here than I thought.”

RogersDale has been in the planning stages for nearly two decades, said Roy “Dusty” Rogers Jr., 49. Since the beginning, the family tried to get a freeway ramp built, but it was just completed two years ago. “That opened the door and allowed us to do RogersDale,” he said. “Without the overpass [Roy Rogers Drive], people couldn’t get to us without driving miles out of the way.”

Some 60,000 vehicles pass each day through the Victor Valley on Interstate 15. There are no tourist attractions to speak of, he said, so the family hopes the complex will draw people of all ages.

“With interactive video, you push a button to see who the Sons of the Pioneers were,” he explained. “It will play a little bit of the music, bringing to life what was a static display. We know if we don’t do that for the younger generation, they’re not going to appreciate it.”

“Before, kids didn’t have televisions running in their ears out of every room,” Roy Sr. said about kids’ attention spans today.

Although Rogers and Evans no longer teach children right from wrong from a movie theater or on Saturday morning TV, RogersDale will be their way of having what they believe is a positive influence.

“This is a starting point to unite the family,” Evans said. “Roy has always said--and I believe it with all my heart--the family is the backbone of the nation. When the family goes, the nation goes.”

* Roy Rogers-Dale Evans Museum, 16560 Seneca Road, Victorville. Museum admission $5 for adults; ages over 65 and 13-16, $4; ages 6-12, $3; 5 and younger free. Group rates available. Parking is free. (619) 243-4547.