Why The Roy Rogers Museum Closed Its Doors For Good

Roy Rogers was an American icon known most prominently for his acting and singer from the 1930s to the 1980s. “Ruler of the Cowboys,” Roy Rogers has stood out as a symbol of his time. In the same way as other world-renowned icons, the celebrity had a whole museum devoted to his life and profession – one that once pulled in more than 200,000 guests every year. Presently, however, the attraction is no longer attractive. All in all, what’s the reality behind this pitiful shutdown, and for what reason did the Rogers family let it occur?

Be that as it may, obviously, Rogers wasn’t as prominent of a celebrity to keep his museum doors open. He was conceived by Leonard Slye in 1911 – 20 years before the Great Depression grabbed hold. As a youth, the future star figured out how to ride horseback by square moving and warbling. These abilities would work in his favor when he made his way into the entertainment industry.

Furthermore, he got into a bluegrass music bunch called the Rocky Mountaineers. Bob Nolan and Tim Spencer were likewise Rocky Mountaineers toward the beginning of their vocations.

Some of their melodies, for example, “Cool Water” and “Tumbling Tumbleweeds,” are still known and popular today. You’d think that these hits would be sufficient for the Roy Rogers-Dale Evans Museum to stay contemporary and tourist-filled, yet the poor museu, still had to shut its doors.

However, he wound up as the more established entertainer’s important rivals. As the rising star got deeper into the realm of movies, he changed his name from Leonard Slye to Roy Rogers. We think Roy Rogers has a much better ring to it.

After Rogers bought the majestic creature, the entertainer changed his name to Trigger in view of his speed and insight.

Trigger and Rogers were best buds, constantly seen together. As the distinction of the entertainer developed, so too did that of his pony. Thus, it’s no big surprise that the equine star was respected in Rogers’ exhibition hall.

That very year, however, Rogers wedded Grace Arline Wilkins. They later adopted a child together. Yet, while Grace bore two different children, she shockingly passed away from severe complications after giving birth to their son.

Evans had a child already from a previous marriage, but had to hide the fact that she was an unmarried mother as this could hurt her reputation as an actress within the entertainment industry. To conceal the secret, Twentieth Century Fox told individuals at the time that the youngster, Tommy, was really her more youthful sibling instead of her son.

Flashforward and the couple welcomed a child together named Robin Elizabeth. Unfortunately, their young child passed on from  issues emerging from Down Syndrome before her second birthday. Evans in the long run composed a book, named Angel Unaware, as a method of honoring her late daughter.

Evans had such an effect that the Dale Rogers Training Center, a committee for disabled youngsters, is named after her. Rogers and Evans later adopted and raised four more children together as well.

Also, Sandy, another one of their adoptive children, went on to serve in the Army. However, in 1947 she died in a military hospital.

Evans, as well, turned into an easily recognized name, showing up in nearly 30 of her better half’s motion pictures. Furthermore, because Rogers purchased the rights to his own resemblance and likeness in 1940, he gained quite a financial standing due to all the merch sold.

Furthermore, the show was well known enough to run for six seasons and 100 episodes prior to reaching a conclusion in June 1957. Indeed, the series is still recollected affectionately today, and you’d presumably expect this would be sufficient enough to keep the museum open. So what happened?

However, Rogers wasn’t done at this point. He showed up in other TV shows, including Wonder Woman and The Muppet Show.

However, they moved the museum and its inhabitants to Victorville, California in 1976.

Furthermore, Trigger’s stunt double in the films, Trigger Junior, could also be found in the museum. However, these memorialized remains of the Rogers’ beloved animals were not enough to continue to draw visitors to their doors.

Thus, Rogers got cash for letting the firm utilize his name – in addition to a charge for any appearances that he made at the cafés. His name and persona was something of gold back in the day and Roy was doing well on money because of it.

In 1987 his child Roy Rogers Jr. (a.k.a. Dusty), did an interview with People Magazine about his adolescence. Furthermore, Dusty’s mom and father participated with their own thoughts too.

He continued by saying, “If you spend time to teach kids right and wrong when they’re little, it’s much easier for them to grow up. And it shows you love ’em.”

Indeed, it appears to be that Rogers didn’t want his child to emulate his own example and career. Instead, he advised him to get a “good job.” This angered Dusty a bit and he tells People that he ended up leaving town with his friends. Fortunately, however, the pair made up eventually.

“Then I got to going through all the clippings, the fan mail, the thousands of pictures of all the things he’s done, the children’s hospitals he’s visited. It’s almost unbelievable. This is the man I had spent my whole life with and never really gotten to know.”

What’s more, he and Evans were also essential for Oklahoma’s Western Performers Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum. The star was also accepted into the Sons of the Pioneers in 1995. What a career!

Currently, he’s the sole individual at any point to have this honor. Yet, even that is not all. In 1983 he packed away a Golden Boot Award and in 1996 he received a Golden Boot Founder’s Award.

Such news affected American mainstream society. Even then-President Bill Clinton honored his demise. “Today there will be a lot of sad and grateful Americans, especially of my generation, because of his career,” said Clinton.

Rogers was survived by his children, Cheryl Barnett, Roy Rogers Jr., Tom Fox, Dodie Sailors, Linda Lou Johnson, and Marion Swift. At this point in time, Roy Rogers Jr. became the leading curator of this parent’s museum.

“He continued to wear his white Stetson, his gabardine shirts and his silver-and-leather belts. Even though his legs ached and he would have been more at ease in sneakers, he always pulled on his pointy boots with the high heels.”

Most impressively, she was the author behind the well known Roy Rogers signature melody “Glad Trails to You.” She composed the verses only 40 minutes before his show went on air.

The choice of the move had to do with cash. After the passing of Evans, the IRS collected a high tax expense on the Rogers estate, and more money was needed to keep the museum open. A more “touristy” region was required in order to keep the museum open and the money flowing.

There was an excess of competition from other tourist attractions, and the sentimentality factor simply wasn’t in Branson the way that it had been in Apple Valley.

“After millions of visitors and countless stories of what Roy and Dale have meant to you, the Board of Directors have voted to close the museum at the end of 2009.”

“The decision to close the Museum has come after two years of steady visitors to the Museum. A lot of factors have made our decision for us.”

Rogers continues with his explanation by saying, “Second, with our high fiscal obligations, we cannot continue to accumulate debt to keep the doors open.”

“Myself and the family have tried to hold together the museum and collection for over 15 years, so it is very difficult to think that it will be gone soon,” he stated.

“Remember, Roy Rogers and Dale Evans will live forever in our hearts and minds and will continue to ride across the silver screen through their movies. Every time you think of Roy and Dale, that warm feeling you have always felt will always return.”

Eventually, the safeguarded horse was acquired by the cable organization RFD-TV, as was Bullet the Wonder Dog. Bullet was sold for $35,000 and Trigger for an enormous sum of $266,000.

For this special, Trigger and Bullet the Wonder Dog would be in the background. behind the scenes. “The goal is to introduce Roy Rogers to a whole new generation of kids,” Gottsch clarified.

“Over the last 24 hours, I’ve received so many emails of thank you, just wonderful letters, saying, ‘Thank you for saving Trigger,’” Gottsch told the Associated Press.

The genuine Nellybelle sold at $116,500 to horse mentor and Rogers fan Pam Weidel, who intended to keep the vehicle in a more private museum.

Also, toward the end of the auction, the audience even joined together to sing “Happy Trails.” Rogers and Evans would have without a doubt admired the sheer joy and fond memories shared that fateful night.

Hardcore Rogers and Evans fans can still see lots of memorabilia dedicated to them in one of the museum’s bungalows. Don’t forget to call ahead though since getting there via GPS is a challenge because it’s not found on traditional forms of GPS navigation.

The Apple Valley Legacy Museum stands to preserve the history of Apple Valley (not just Roy Rogers) and is a place for both locals and visitors alike to attend and enjoy. Another bonus is that it is free and jam-packed with everything you can imagine. From full-on installations to scrapbooks, artifacts, and more you’re sure to gain a thorough experience throughout memory lane.

One of the elements that make this festival different and more special than others is the fact that it isn’t just a film festival for fun and nostalgia, it’s also a fundraiser. The film festival raises money for Happy Trails Children’s Foundation helping abused children.

Charities like the Happy Trails Children’s Foundation for severely abused and neglected children were only one of many NGOs that Roy and Dale cared about.

As Dodie visits annually for the Roy Rogers Festival she was quoted saying to the Portsmouth Daily Times, ” “I love coming here. We’ve gone out to the (boyhood) home (on Duck Run) just about every year. We talk about some of the stories he told us and we think about how they grew up. So it gets us back in touch. It’s like coming home now.”

Roy was celebrated as the “king of cowboys” so it makes sense that his children would continue to pay homage to such a thing, being known as the “cowboy kids.”

It looks like their children were brought up with those same values. They continue to give back and visit children in need, perhaps sparking a whole new generation of Cowboy fans in the process. Cheers to Roy and Dale!