Playtime Inspired by the TV Cowboys
OK, I have to confess that I am getting a huge kick out of everyone's comments about the TV cowboys of the '50s and early '60s, and their influence in the kids of their era.
A few recollections from my own kidhood:
* Endless games of cowboys & Indians. Or, the alternative, good guys & bad guys.
* The decision on whether to name our first pony Trigger, after Roy's horse, or Buttermilk, after Dale's. (Buttermilk won.)
* The hoarding of Hopalong Cassidy boxtops and milk-carton tabs, which were "sent in" (to some mysterious place) to receive Hoppy prizes.
* The opening bars of "The William Tell Overture," signaling the start of the Lone Ranger's spot in the Saturday TV show lineup. ("A fiery horse in a cloud of dust, and a hearty 'hi-yo, SIL-ver!'")
* The Christmas wish list that invariably included such items as cowboy boots, cap-gun six-shooters, cowboy-TV-theme board games, and the like. Our parents stayed up until the wee hours of Christmas Eve, putting a Western town set together for us under the guise of Santa.
* The chance to express favorites with choice of school lunch box. Would I "go girl," and choose a Dale Evans lunch box? Stick with horses, and get a Fury lunch box? Take a more grown-up approach, and opt for the "Bonanza" characters? (And speaking of which, who was YOUR dreamboat Cartwright brother?)
posted by Juli Thorson @ 10:03 AM
19 comments
19 Comments:
I loved Adam Cartwright .... oh yeah. Adam was the man. And my dream wishing on the Christmas list? A Red Ryder BB gun (WAY before the movie came out!), or red cowboy boots, or a new red saddle blanket .... I always wanted a martingale for my horse too, but a rancher's daughter wasn't likely to get one of "those useless things." I made do with a breast strap and learned to sew enough to put a new edge on the old saddle blanket. (I did get the bb gun though, and a scabbard for it as well!)
Ahhh, those were the innocent days, weren't they? Who knew that in reality Adam Cartwright was played by an actor more than likely older than the one playing his father?!
I grew up on the tail end of the Cowboy Era. We had toy horses we played with, our Barbies only rode horses LOL, my sister had the Johnny West doll too, no Kens in our group LOL.
I had a crush on Adam, from Bonanza! Still a great show!
I could only stay up late to watch Bonanza during school vacations. But it made a BIG impression on me. I loved the show.
My mother adored Adam, but I had a thing for Little Joe. In hindsight, I now see Pernell Roberts's classic Bond cool. Ah well.
My favorite horse(s) were Little Joe's paints.
If only there were a way to measure how much Little Joe's Paint contributed to the popularity of Paints in later years!
Ahh the hours spent playing cowboys & indians. I "rode" the back of the old overstuffed sofa when watching the westerns on the old black & white box w/ rabbit ears LOL. I still watch the old westerns including Bonanza & Gunsmoke. The ethics that were taught during those shows should be taught now as it seems it is sorely needed. Little Joe was the cutest cowboy ever!!! The colored horse went to Appaloosa for me though.
I got The Lone Ranger and Silver for Christmas one year, I told mom and dad that Santa musta left it at the wrong house but that was okay, I was gonna keep it anyways.
Juli...did you ever watch "Spin and Marty" on Mickey Mouse Club? When I was a kid I always had a fringed jacket, chaps and holsters with two cap guns. Nothin like it.
Can't say as I recall seeing Spin and Marty. Sounds like I missed something!
I must admit that Adam never did anything for me. He was always dressed in black, like the bad guys in other shows. I was glad when he left and was replaced by Candy. But I think Little Joe was my favorite although I always wished I had a dad like Ben. Not that my dad was bad, he was army with no horses involved, lol. Dad just couldn't compete.Dad and Camp Gagetown couldn't compete with the Ponderosa and Pa.
I watched Fury religiously. We too had only 1 channel at that time, so not much choice. Never was a huge Bonanza fan, but my Dad and I would watch The Virginian together every week. I'm pretty sure that helped seal the Appaloosa in my heart. But I did really like Trampus's buckskin and also the buckskin Joe rode on Laredo, so decided that I wanted one of those with spots. Eventually I did get one too.
hey Juli,
don't laugh, but I was a big(no pun intended) Hoss fan..he was just so sweet and gentle and I especially loved the episode where he be-friended a mentally challenged young man...Hoss had compasion, and a sweetness about him and of course who could forget that silly 10gallon hat of his.
Oh & poor Hop Sing, he never got the credit he deserved,,for getting the hot food on the table and he kept the Ponderosa Ranch House clean for all the "guests" that came through.
g.
Little Joe, of course!
But my true love was Zorro.
good old ponderosa. that was a 'family' activities in my household when i was a wee one, and like many of you, we only had one channel as well.
you had to love little joe for those curls and boyish good looks, but calm and steady hoss had his own teddy bear appeal. I think i would have felt safe in those arms. LOL.
even mysterious adam had it going on. i found i was always disappointed when he didn't make an appearance. I never knew where he went or why he was not a weekly regular. He had those brooding dark good looks. They really had all their basis covered especially if you include Pa and hop sing. someone for everyone's fantasy. LOL! my god how things have changed.
does anyone remember the one show where someone cut off hop sing's braid, and who it was that cut it?
Went to the Fair today, and they had two different pony rides. One with real tiny ponies, and one with regular sized ponies. My husband and I were sitting across from the pony ring, eating our ice creams, and watching all the children pass by with nary a glance at the ponies. A couple of small boys went riding, and later two toddlers and their older sister. Outside of that, the kids weren't interested. This is a huge Fair, with tons of kids attending, and it was amazing to see the lack of interest from girls who should be in that "horsey stage." Perhaps it is because they don't see the cowboys on TV & in the movies, like we did, so many years ago. Do they even know who Roy Rogers & the Lone Ranger are? These kid's parents most likely are in their late 20's or early 30's. There weren't any cowboys on TV when these parents were growing up, either. Just think, two generations who haven't had cowboy heros. Sad.
A very telling vignette that the children weren't interested in the ponies.
And sad.
We rode and roped whatever we could, including rocks, fences and the neighbor dogs. I even tried to ride my bike like it was a horse by attaching rope to my handle bars..didn't work too well.
We had miles of woods to act out our favorite shows, and we watched them all. Our parents let us run free, never worried about WHO we might encounter in the woods.
We were gone from dawn to dusk, eating or lunches "on the trail" out of our Roy lunch boxes and drinking from out Trigger thermos bottles.
We ran the woods with our cap guns strapped to our little waists. I recall we never walked, we always ran.
We climbed trees to amazing heights to "scout" for the bad guys. I remember being up there and all I could see for miles was more trees.
We smelled of fresh air...and pitch.
When it rained we stayed indoors and spent hours with our Fort Apache set.
The woods became new neighborhoods and I wonder if the invention of technology has created a world of "Hurry, get it now", leaving our youth without the vivid imaginations we had?
I recently met one of the kids who I ran the woods with. We recalled playing cowboy, those great woods and all the trails we 'rode'. It was great to share the memories and for a brief second be back there.
Am I the only one traumatized by Little Joe's horse dying?! I somehow learned that the horse used in the show, and ridden by Little Joe, had died. I was so upset about it and brought it up so endlessly that to this day (45+ years later?!) my family will use it as a way to say "we've heard it-move on" :) They say "AND Little Joe's horse died" We all know that means we're droning on too long. Amazing the ways these wonderful shows affected us for life!
Reb
Great comments...brought back lots of good memories. Asking for twin six guns & holsters. My Hopalong Cassidy outfit when I was 4 - unfortunately it had a skirt instead of pants! But it was beautiful. The Lone Ranger - I watched the "how he became the Lone Ranger" every year, and I now own it on VHS. My dream horse was black with a white mane & tail. Running free all day & coming inside only for meals. Picking a lunch box - very serious thought needed for this difficult decision!
Growing up in the 50's I had my fill of TV westerns. They were a big influence. In all of them good and bad were clearly defined. As kids we emulated those western stars and no one wanted to be the bad guy. I think the cowboy values we saw on the shows taught us right from wrong. I loved all of those shows and dreamed about riding horses like theirs. My favorite was the Cisco Kid played by Duncan Renaldo. I really liked his Paint horse and maybe that is why I like paints today.
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