More Baby Boomer Nostalgia (Fury and Joey)
Today seems to be the day for the universe to be sending out horse-nostalgia vibes for us baby boomers.
No sooner did I find out about the impending closure of the Roy Rogers-Dale Evans Museum (see previous post), I opened an email to find this link to history of another TV favorite for kids of my generation--the show about Fury, the black stallion.
This was yet another TV show, featuring horses, that imprinted virtually every TV-owning family with children in a certain era. In the days of only three mainstream television networks, just about all Saturday morning programming was geared toward youth-age viewers (the better to sell cereal and the like), and the majority of shows were some variety of horse opera with kid appeal.
There was the Roy Rogers Show, with Dale, Trigger, Buttermilk, and Bullet, the dog.
There was the show with Fury and Joey, and Jim, at the Broken Wheel Ranch.
There was the Lone Ranger and Tonto, with Silver and Scout.
There was the Hopalong Cassidy Show. And the Sky King Show, about the cowboy with an airplane.
And others some of you will no doubt wish to chime in and add.
This programming, in an era when media influences were so much more concentrated (and thus more universal than today), stands tall as one of the greatest PR campaigns the horse world ever knew. Its influence on people of a certain generation has helped fuel and support much of the horse industry's base for, what--half a century now?
But as the impending closure of Roy's museum underscores, the fuel source is not endless.
I consider myself to be among a blessed demographic, just to have experienced the Saturday a.m., horses-on-TV phenomenon that seemed so everyday-normal when I was a kid.
But eras do end, sometimes underscored by events that become historic markers--and I can't help but wonder if the closure of the Roy Rogers-Dale Evans Museum isn't one of those markers.
Your thoughts?
posted by Juli Thorson @ 4:06 PM
7 comments
7 Comments:
Sad as it is to say, all good things must come to an end....as much as we wish they didn't have too.
I can only say, Thank goodness I am of that certain generation that is/was fortunate to be a part of all those wonderful Western shows,,, those shows instilled in us that Right is Right & in the end the bad guys lose. That a cowboys best friend/companion is his or, in the case of a cowgirl, her horse. That a horse will get you swiftly and safetly away from the bad guys, a horse will keep you company when you settle in at a lonely campfire out on the plains, a horse will carry you off into the sunset..And in some cases a loyal horse will walk, saddled and riderless in an arena at your dear friends momorial...
In the end, all we can say is "Happy Trails" and sigh and be greatful for the wonderful memories.
I gave my copy of the "Fury, The Black Stallion" book to my nephew 2 years ago. :-)
Ahhh, the memories of those shows. I had read about Roy's place and was saddened. It's like watching a beautiful field being eaten up by houses. Too often these days.
Thanks for the Fury info. I remember a show called "Sugarfoot" too. Gosh, I just loved those shows!
I try to do what I can to keep the love of equines alive.
I invite friends and acquaintences out to see my horses. I encourage them to interact with them by leading and grooming them.
Then if they have the bug, and many have, I've got reference trainer names and numbers available.
I tell them all they need is 3 hours of their day to come out, take a lesson and ride. I tell them how much stress it relieves, how good it is for the body and the soul.
I try to nurture the love of horses on anybody I can. It's one way to keep the love and spirit of equines alive and well.
Don't forget a handshake and a mans word was all that was needed back then. Wow we are showing our age. There was Sky King and as I mentioned before Cisco Kid. The Virginian, Rifleman. Boy I can't remember what I had for lunch but I sure do remember these. Saturday morning TV - there was nothing like it.
OMG how could I have forgotten Fury???!!!!! There was also a movie about a mustang....Smokie, I think. What was the tv show with Indian chief Cochise? I remember that most movie and tv horses were solids but I occasionally saw Appaloosas and Paints. And who can forget Mr. Ed!
You had THREE channels? Our ranch was so far in the out back of beyond that we only had one, and the reception was awful. In spite of that however I knew about Roy Rogers (we considered him a drugstore cowboy -- sorry) and Gene Autry (at least he rode well, but Roy sang better), and Hopalong. I read books about horses too ... Misty of Chincoteague, Flicka, and another about a small horse named Nimpo that went with back packing trips into the bogs and fogs of western British Columbia. The ironic thing is that we now live a moderate distance from the town in which Gene Autry was born. Like any home town boy he is not regarded as all that great by the locals. They do know his Cowboy Code of Honor though -- at least the older ones do. The kids are mystified as to why he'd be remembered. One wonders, are there any celebrities now that might advocate such a thing as a code of honor? Maybe Chuck Norris ... ?
I was fortunate to see Fury, in the flesh, in Salem. He was on tour with his trainer...
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