March 4, 2025 • 38 mins
On this episode of Our American Stories, Roy “Dusty” Rogers was one of 9 children raised by Roy Rogers (“King of the Cowboys”) and Dale Evans (“Queen of the West”). He shares his story of growing up with two of the most iconic parents in American cultural history.
Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate)
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
This is Lee Habib and this is our American Stories,
the show where America is the star and the American People.
And to search for the All American Stories podcast, go
to the iHeartRadio app or Apple Podcasts or wherever you
get your podcasts. Up next to the story of a
name you all know, Roy Rogers, told by Roy, Dusty
(00:33):
Rogers Junior. Dusty has been acting and performing almost since birth.
The only natural born son of Roy, he was raised
by Roy and his wife Dale Evans, along with their
eight children. Roy and Dell were known to millions of
Americans through TV, radio and dozens of beloved Western movies.
As a small child, Dusty appeared in his parents' TV show,
(00:56):
The Roy Rodgers Show, Here's Dusty to share the behind
the scene story of what it was like growing up
in the home of the King of the Cowboys and
the Queen of the West.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
People say, well, when did you know your dad was famous?
And I said, well, I really didn't know he was
famous at all till I was probably five. I mean
I went to the movie set with him when I
was two. I spent every birthday I think I can
think of, from two to five on the movie set
with dad. Then all of a sudden, the reality came
in that this man does something other than just movies.
(01:30):
He's very popular with the populace, with the people, and
of course when we would go out on the road
with him, all of a sudden and we're surrounded by
thousands of people and especially young kids who loved him,
And it was a little bit difficult to swallow sometimes,
you know, want you want your mom and dad yourself.
You don't want to share him with anybody, you know,
when you're young like that. I mean, wait a minute,
that's my mom and dad. What are you doing? You know,
(01:52):
So it was it was difficult in that way, and
I think all of us grew up under that, under
that veil of constant being photographed, constantly, being on the road,
constantly being Royan Dale's son or daughter. You know, didn't
matter if he were adopted or not. You were Royandale's
son or Royan Dale's daughter. Dale is my mother, I mean,
(02:14):
my biological mother passed away when I was just a
few days old. I never got to know my atro mother.
She got and I was born by cesarean section, and
she got an embolism in her system, which at the
time in the forties. This was nineteen forty six, and
they didn't have any way of detecting blood clots in
this blood clott had formed during the cesarean operation, and
(02:35):
it just kind of set dormant during her system because
there was no way of detecting them and they didn't
get the ladies up and walk around like they do
to today after childbirth to help dissolve these clots away.
So this one just set dormant in mom's system for
about four days five days, and when she became more active,
so did the cloud. It began to move through her
system and unbeknownst to anybody, and actually I was on
(02:58):
the bed ready to come home, and Dad was on
his way to get us, and Mom just this embolism
hit her heart and she just her eyes bat rolled
back at her head and she just fell back on
the bed and was gone that quick, no indication at
all that there was a problem. So, you know, of course,
for my dad it was devastating. He has three kids,
(03:19):
and King of the Cowboys in nineteen forty six was
the height of the man's career, and then all of
a sudden, overnight he finds himself a widower with three
young uns and absolutely nobody in his life at that
point to take care of us kids. So he had
to really jump on a at a bad time of
his life and try to get somebody in to take
care of us, and he hired nannies to watch out
(03:39):
over us. So I never got to know many real mom.
And then when I was about a year and a
half old, he married Dale and she just kind of
stepped in and really took over with us kids. And
we just loved her death, I mean all of us did.
I think Cheryl had a little bit of a problem
with her early on, because Cheryl was kind of she
was the first one in the family. Dad had died
(04:00):
at her first and because they didn't think that my
mom and Roy could have children, so they adopted Cheryl,
and she was kind of the queen bee. She was
the one that the oldest one, and she wanted to
be the mom, I mean she did. She wanted to
take care of me and Linda Lou and she just
thought she'd step into that role after Mom and Pat
what she called her mommy, passed away, and of course
(04:22):
it didn't happen. Dad needed some adults to do it.
So but when she married when Dad married Dale, because
it was kind of funny because Cheryl would always get
between Dale and Roy at events and stuff to try
to keep them separated. But you know, it was just
the good Lord. It was meant to be, and it
didn't work out. But Dale was my mother. I mean
(04:42):
she came in and when I was a year and
a half old, and all of us kids just loved
her to death. And I never knew any other mother,
so she was you know, mother means a lot of
things to different people. There's your birth mother, and then
of course you don't know much about your mother un
till you get older. Well that's where I would and
Dale was my mom by that. So I couldn't ask
for a better one, couldn't ask for a better one.
(05:05):
Dad was an old country boy and and things didn't
really matter to him, and he just he just loved
to hunt and fish and do what he wanted to do.
Dale and the Westerns. He Dad fit into the Westerns
just like a pair of you know, like a pair
of good boots. Mom didn't, she could care less about
the Western She was. She was an angeneue. She wanted
to be She wanted to be the big band singer.
(05:27):
She came out to California to work in Buzzy Berkeley's musicals,
and that's what she wanted to do, big band singer,
you know. And they they sent her out to audition
with Dad and on a they were looking for a
Fox was actually Republic was looking for a new leading
lady for Dad, someone who could singk do everything. And
(05:48):
so they called over to Fox and they said, do
you do you have anybody that might we need a
young leading lady for Roy Rogers. And they said, well,
sure we do. Her name's Dale Evans. And they said, well,
the thing is, she has to be beautiful, she has
to sing like a bird, and she has to be
able to set a horse. She needs to learn her
she needs to be able to ride. Oh yeah, Dale
(06:10):
will fit. She's some textas shed fit the point Mom
had not been on a horse since she was three
four years old on her mom farm rom and dad farm.
So but they and again the Good Lord stepped in.
They s and her mom went out to the location,
you know, dressed to the nines, thinking she was gonna
try out for this music thing. And she showed up
(06:31):
in her long dress and thinking she was gonna play
and the next thing that no, The director Saidale, we
want you to get up on this horse. We want
you to ride at the end of the street and
sit there with Roy and Gabby and big Boy Williams.
And when I throw my hat down, I want you
all to ride to the camera and when you get close,
just pull up on your horse and we'll see how
you look on a horseback. So she did, she got
on a horse. I mean mom was Mom was a trooper.
(06:53):
I mean, like Dad said, you can tell a textant,
but not much. You cannot tell Dale. She can't do
something because she'll just prove you wrong every time.
Speaker 1 (07:00):
And you're listening to Dusty Rogers tell the story of
his mother and father, Roy and Dale Evans, and my goodness,
this happens so often in American life, where women would
die of complications from childbirth and so many children die.
When we return more of the story of Roy Rogers,
as told by Roy Dusty Rogers Junior. Here on our
(07:24):
American Story. Here at our American Stories, we bring you
inspiring stories of history, sports, business, faith and love. Stories
from a great and beautiful country that need to be told.
But we can't do it without you. Our stories are
free to listen to, but they're not free to make.
(07:45):
If you love our stories in America like we do,
please go to our American Stories dot com and click
the donate button. Give a little, give a lot, help
us keep the great American stories coming. That's our American
Stories dot Com. And we continue with our American stories
(08:12):
and with Dusty Rogers telling the story of his mother
and father. Roy and Dale Evans want to be big
band singer. Dale first met Roy Rodgers in nineteen forty
four on the set of a western movie where she
was screen tested riding a horse. Let's pick up here
with Roy Rogers Junior again also known as Dusty.
Speaker 2 (08:37):
She got on a horse and they took off running
and it came to the camera and the guy dropped
his hat and they pulled up and when they did,
the horse just jammed Mom into the saddle just I mean,
he just pounded her because she didn't know how to
set it right, and it broke, knocked the caps off
of her teeth, and big Boy Williams horse set on
(08:57):
her teeth. After the end, they were all jacket and
had that she had ev and redone. But then the
producer said, well, Dale, that wasn't too bad. Well, Roy,
what do you think that said? He said, I think
it was Billy Whitney at the time. And he said, Billy,
I swear I have never seen so much sky between
(09:19):
a woman's rand and a saddle in my mind. But
she learned to ride and and that's and I think
she did something totally against what she really wanted to do,
because at that time, you did what you needed to
do to make money to survive. And but she fit
in so well and did it, did it so well. Dad,
(09:40):
he just had to be himself. But Mom was totally opposite.
But she learned to adapt and and go along with
what the thing was, which was western and cowboy songs,
and that's way away from big band and big orchestra music.
But Mom was a trooper and just always whatever the
situation was, she stepped in and said I'm gonna do it,
(10:03):
and and did well she you know, I mean, after
the birth of Tom, I'm sure. And then of course
her husband left her when she was just just young.
And of course then she was, like I said, starving
and trying to make a career. So she I think
she she always longed for a child, and so when
she married Roy and and and they had a u
a chance to have a child of their own, you know,
(10:24):
they jumped right on it. And and then of course
when Robin was born, and and found out that that
she had Down's syndrome. Again, it was a shock originally,
you know, I mean, you're never ready for that. But
then I I it's settled in that this is a
lovely human being that's from both of us. You know,
(10:45):
there must be a reason why they didn't know. Nobody
knew at that time what caused downs. And they recommended that, uh,
they put her an institution. The doctor said, you need
to put her an institution. And Dad said, you kidding me.
We're not putting her institution. She says, this is our child.
We're gonna take her home and love her. And so
(11:06):
against the doctor's orders, they did. They took her home
and made us. Dad built a special area for her
and protect her from us kids, you know, cause she
was very fragile. And but even during the time that
Robin was there and very ill, they did, both of
'em just loved that little girl to death. I mean,
it was just it was part of them, and and
(11:26):
and sh and they wanted her they of course, we
all wanted her to survive with the doctor said that
probably she wouldn't, but you don't know that, you know,
have had we had the medications they have today for
Down syndrome children, Robin probably could have lived in her
forties or fifties. We don't know. But it was a
gift from God. And and Dad always says, if you
(11:48):
can never give a gift up, you never throw it away.
A gift is a gift no matter who gives it to,
you keep it. And uh and and she was not
only gift to to royan Dale, but a gift to
all of us kids who n got a chance to
know her. I was four and five, you know at
the time, and I couldn't physically, you know, wrestle with
her like I really wanted to. But she and I communicated.
(12:12):
Uh she couldn't speak, of course, but we communicated it
with She had certain giggles and last she'd do and
and she would we would play hide and seek. I'd
get under the crib, you know, and I'd reach up
and touch your arm and she'd giggle and roll try
to see where I was. And that's the kind of
play we had. But uh, she was just a sweetheart.
I still see her eyes and her looking through the
wars of that crib today. I mean, she just was.
(12:34):
And that's why those kids are so special to me today.
My son Dustin and I we work with a group
out of Texas called DRI which is Development Resources, Inc.
And they they have group homes for kids that are
that have downs and we work with help raising money
because a lot of them now, a lot of those
I tell people that they're you have people bring bring
(12:55):
them to the show the down Center of kids, and
and I'll say, you know how lucky you are that
you have one of these special children. I said, I
don't give 'em to everybody. You know, he picks and
choose who he wants to have 'em, and they're his angels.
And doesn't matter what color they are. They all have
the same look, and they all love music and they
love people. They have their ups and downs like everybody does.
(13:18):
You know, their their their moments of angry and and
in the little little fits and stuff. But they love
you unconditionally. And the only other person I know does
that is either a dog or God that loves you unconditionally.
I mean, no matter what happened and uh, and that's
what's special about 'em. And so they've always been special
to me and always will be. I mean, they're just
(13:40):
they're just wonderful, wonderful gifts from God. And of course
Mom and Dad knew that from from the beginning, that
it was a gift and they and that's why Mom
wanted to write about her. She she was puzzled for
the longest time on how M how I need to
tell Robin's story about it? I don't know how where
do I? Where do I go? And so she sat
on a park bench in New York and said, God,
(14:01):
I don't you know, give me some direction on on
how to write this book. This angel Lenna ware a
book I wanna write. And uh, she said, it was
just an amazing thing that uh, the Good Lord put
on her heart. Well thought, don't you tell the story?
Let Robin tell the story? Angel let a where the
book that Mom finished, uh after Robin passed away, had
(14:24):
a huge impact on a on a lot of different people.
And I think the biggest impact it really had were
on the families that were fortunate enough to have Down
syndrome children, because it was always looked on as a
stigma and I think people looked at down syndrome children
as something that they did wrong. It was their fault,
(14:48):
not realizing that God made it possible for them to
have one and that it was gonna change their life
in the future. And and uh, like I say, he
only gives them to a few. But I think having
Robin's story told by Robin herself that she was okay,
that yes, that she had passed on and she'd moved,
(15:11):
but the God sent her for a short time to
be a blessing to Roy Rogers and Dale Evans. That
was her job. God sent her there to do that.
And I think the reality for a lot of folks
who have Down syndrome children, they never thought of it
that way because the public wouldn't let them. The public
looked down down syndroom children as less than perfect. They're not,
(15:34):
you know, And instead of coming up and saying what
a beautiful child, they would come up and say, well,
I'm so sorry. Why they didn't know? They didn't know,
they don't. And so the book allowed families to bring
out those children with them in public, and when the
(15:57):
public could actually see the beautiful smiles and the love
of music and the excitement in their eyes, and even
though a lot of them couldn't talk. Uh, there was
something there that that had you had not seen before.
And Mom and Dad and us too. I mean when
I was young, when I was only five, I didn't
see any down some syndrome children at out at all
(16:21):
up until after the book, probably a year or so
after the book was released, you started Mom started looking
and seeing them in the audience at where they were
because they felt that, well, if Royan Dale can be
blessed with one of these children and take them home
and love them, why shouldn't we And why shouldn't I
(16:42):
have This child is special and they're a blessing, So
why why shouldn't I take something that I'm proud of
out and let them experience the world which is cruel sometimes,
But they're no different than anybody else. They they they
need to have a chance at life like you and
I had.
Speaker 1 (17:02):
And you've been listening to Roy Rogers Junior, who goes
by the name Dusty, telling the story of his mother
and father and also his sister Robin, And my goodness,
what a story he told about just his mother's just
can't do spirit and actors and actresses of the time.
They just always took the work. And my goodness, the
storytelling on Robin or down syndrome, child of Roy and Dale.
(17:27):
I wanted to tell Robin's story. Dale prayed to God
in a New York park bench, but I don't know how,
and it later we learned that God had sent her
to the earth for a short time to be a
blessing to Roy and Dale. When we come back, more
of the story of Roy and Dale Rogers as told
by their son, Dusty Rogers here on our American Stories,
(18:08):
and we continue with our American stories and with Dusty
Rogers telling the story of his parents, Roy Rogers and
Dale Evans. Let's pick up where Dusty last left off.
Speaker 2 (18:20):
I remember when Robin. I mean many times I could
see Mom and Dad holding each other and crying because
she had good days and had really bad days. And
I think for them it was a challenge to do
there every day, be in front of a camera, be smiling,
(18:41):
being doing this when they know part of them is
at home slowly dying. I think in their back of
their mind they were hoping that she would come through
it all. But she was so frail and had and
us kids sometimes we couldn't play with her because we
had a cold or whatever, you know, So it was
it was a challenge that way. And they had a nurse,
(19:03):
uh that took care of her all the time. There
was somebody with her all the time. So I think
there was some questioning of of God, you know, w
what what purposes? You know what? We know that you've
given this child to us? What? But f but why? What?
What is it that you want us to do? What
is it that? And and that's what Mom cu she said.
(19:24):
For the longest time, I couldn't put the book together
because I didn't know. I didn't know what my what
the purpose was. And after she had passed on, and
I remember Mom and dad the day she died, and
Mom and Dad I think they spent at least eleven
ten to eleven hours out in the car port just
holding each other and crying. And I s we'd look
(19:44):
out the window and they'd just be sobbing holding each other.
And I got to thinking, you know, wow, I mean, uh,
look you know again, five years old, you know, couldn't
understand why we couldn't see Robin. You know, we didn't
know what happened. They didn't know quite how to tell us,
I guess and it was a rough It was a
rough go and that and how mom and dad did
(20:05):
what they did and and still s still say, Ryan Dale,
and still do the obligations that they had in life. Uh,
and still raise us kids and take care of us
and let us know that you know, Robin was special,
and you know this isn't gonna happen to all of you.
You're not gonna all pass away now, now, don't you
(20:27):
know she had brought you know, And to try to
explain that to your kids and and make it sound
not so bad, but yet it was devastating to them.
It's a phenomenal thing. And I think they questioned the
grace of God, but yet it was the grace of
God who got them through it. Somebody asked me one time,
(20:47):
they said, Roy, when's the first time you really realized
that the kids of America really looked up to you?
And he said, in nineteen forty one, playing Madison Square Garden.
He said, I was walking back by the cattle shoots,
and around the corner come this little guy about four
years though, dressed exactly like me. He said, That's when
I knew that I had to keep my life in line,
(21:10):
and that I owed these kids something because they're looking
up to me. I can't say one thing and do another.
And so he made a pack then with himself. Then
good Lord, I'm sure that he would do everything he
could to keep his image so that kids could look
up to him and mean something. And of course then
that's and he was hitting hospitals even then. And then
(21:32):
and then when the polio thing was so bad in
the forties and fifties, he would go to the hospital.
He was fighting all the time in his mind because
I know he believed in God, but he was angry
at God somewhat, I think because he couldn't understand why,
if we have such a trusting and just and merciful God,
(21:53):
why he would allow children of all things, his youngest creations,
to come into this life and be attacked by some
terrible disease or born with deformities or born I'm sure
he saw downs kids and at that time too, and
so it was hard for him for a long time.
He couldn't understand why it couldn't he couldn't reconcile, reconcile why,
(22:15):
And so he was almost driven to the fact that
he wanted to go and see those kids and entertain him.
And many many stories I could tell you. The one
that hits the most is is you know, and a
lot of the kids who had polio and the forties
were put into iron lungs. They their lungs were undeveloped
and they needed help, and so these machines iron lungs
(22:38):
would help him breathe a little bit. Of course, they
were in this big iron tube with their head sticking
out and laying flat, of course, and looking up through
a mirror that goes that direction, so they could at
least see. And Dad would would go there and he would, uh,
he would go up to the ward and he'd bring
the pioneers with him and they'd sing a couple songs,
and then he would Dad would actually go to each
(23:02):
iron lung and get around beside the child instead of
looking at him through a mirror, so he could get
eye contact with him, and he'd lean down and talk
to him, every one of 'em a little bit. And uh,
and he'd say, you know, billy, I know you're having trouble,
you know, but you know, all good cowboys are tested,
you know, you got you gotta buck up a little bit.
You gotta you know, the cowboy way has not to
(23:24):
lay here and worry fred about it. It's to fight
and get out of here. And he said, I'm gonna
help you. And he would he would bring these gun
belts with him, kids, gun belts with him in boxes
and he would he would hang the gun belt up
on the mirror. And of course people thought, well, that's cruel.
It's poor little kid. He's can't you got his y,
His head is all he's got out and Roy's giving
him a gun belt. What is that? But then Dad
(23:44):
would say, when you get out of this iron lung,
if you fight hard enough and and and you pray
hard enough, you'll get out. You'll eventually get out. And
what I want you to do is I want you
to wear this gun belt and I want you to,
you know, play cowboy like all the rest of the
boys and girls c do in a country. And then
someday I want you to come to Hollywood and see me.
And Decin will tell you We've had a lot of
(24:07):
over the last and I've had a band for forty years,
and I have seen so many people that have come
that were in iron lungs in the forties, the dad
come to the hospital, put up that gun belt, and
they got out and for some didn't, but most of
them got out, and they still have a gun belt.
So in his in his somewhat little childish way, and
(24:31):
I think that's why kids loved him so much. He
was as big a kid at heart that they were.
If he thought, if he gave him just a little
of encouragement on the level, that they would understand. And
if Roway tells you to do it, especially in the forties,
you did it and it worked really well. Yeah, many
of the kids come to the show even today. In
(24:53):
the last couple of years, I've had I've had three
in the last couple of years. I tried to keep track.
They still have the gun belt and it is their
most prized position. They say, if it wasn't for this
gun belt, and it's most of the time it's in shatters.
I mean it's just tatters of the letters weren't off,
all the spots have come off and stuff, and say,
I wore it everywhere. I know, wre to bed. My
(25:14):
mom used to get so mad at me because I
didn't want to wear it in the bathtub, and they'd
stop me from doing it, but it was their most
prized position and still is today. Mom knew that they
didn't want to have another child. They didn't want because
at that time they didn't know what caused downs. They
(25:35):
thought it might be an rh blood factor problem one
negative and one positive and their blood type, but they
weren't sure. So when they lost Robin just before second birthday,
it had to be different. I mean, I know it
was very difficult because I saw it. But they got
back up on their feet and they the Good Lord
granted him grace and they were able to get back
(25:57):
up and go. But there still was a void, and
they just decided, well, if we can't have any more
of our own children, because we don't know if we'll
have another down syndrome child or not, then we'll adopt.
Speaker 1 (26:10):
And you're listening to the son of Roy and Dale Evans,
Dusty Rogers. That's Roy Rogers Junior, telling the story of
his parents, particularly after the loss of his sister Robin
at the age of two. He was five at the time,
and he remembers looking outside his home and seeing his
parents often just hugging and crying, and what a thing
(26:31):
to watch as a five year old watching your own
parents cope with grief and then having to come right
back in the house and raise those kids and hit
the line as professionals, as actors, as superstars and just
sort of put that grief behind and move on. And
the stories of him visiting these kids with iron lung
machines and parking by their sides, making eye contact and saying,
(26:54):
all good cowboys are tested, finding words of encouragement for
these kids, this big international super star having this art
for kids and questioning God. As Dusty said, my parents
questioned the grace of God, but the grace of God
also got them through the ordeal. And when we come
back more of Roy Rogers' story and his bride Dale
(27:18):
as told by their son Dusty Rogers. Here on our
American stories, and we continue with our American stories in
(27:39):
the story of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans as told
by their son, Roy Rogers Junior aka Dusty. Let's pick
up where he last left off.
Speaker 2 (27:50):
Dad felt bad for me because I had any sisters
and I had no brother. Unbeknownst to me, they went
on a trip to Ohio and then down from Ohio
down to Kentucky, uh down to Louisville, and they had
heard of UH a orphanage. Dad would always invite orphanages
to bring their kids over for the show, and they
(28:11):
had had a chance to visit one of them. And
then UH in Covington, Kentucky, and they ran across this
little boy and Dad was going around shaking hands to
all the little boys, and Sandy just stuck out his
hand and said howld her partner, and Dad just kind
of fell in love with him. You know, he was
just a little he was stunted in his growth, and
he had all kinds of problems. He slept in the
chair since he was born, practically didn't know what a
(28:31):
bed was, and and they treated him pretty badly. So they,
you know, they said, this is the guy we gotta
get for for for Dusty. And then they stopped by
Hope Cottage on the way back home and they adopted
a little American Indian girl chalked out Indian Mary. Little
dog called her Dody. So I'm coming to the airport, uh,
(28:54):
thinking I'm gonna meet mom and dad, And down off
the airplane comes Dad. He's carrying this little kid, and
Mom's carrying a little girl, little baby girl. I got
to thinking, hey, what's going on, you know? And uh,
and I've got pictures of our first meetings. Sanday I
(29:16):
first meeting, and I did not like him. I thought,
oh wait a minute, just a minute, now I was
the prince here. Now all of a sudden, I got
somebody horning it on my spot. And mom's mom explained, now,
this is your new brother. You know. His name is
John David Harry Hardy, but we're gonna call him Sandy.
And this is Dodie. We're little Mary little she's gonna
be your sister. Well, Dody I fell in love with
(29:37):
right away. But I had a hard time with Sandy
for a while. But uh, we grew to be really
good buds. And I protected him a lot because he
was smaller than me, and he was you know, guys
were picking on him all the time, and he had
a lot of physical problems. And uh, but there was
a there was and then of course they that wasn't enough,
you know. They a little later on they adopted, well,
(29:59):
the got a little Marion from they'd gone in nineteen
fifty four. They went to uh to England and Scotland
and Ireland and fell in love a little girl named
Marion or her name of Marian Fleming and wanted to
adopt her and couldn't because she uh uh international adoptions
weren't allowed, so they became her foster parent and uh
(30:20):
then they uh adopt a little girl. Uh and they
wanted to adopt a little girl. There was a uh
one they had the ban on international adoptions was listed
and lifted in the sixties. They adopted a little girl
from Seoul, Korea. Her name was in Iley, called her
debut Lee and uh so it just kept going on
and on until they ended up with a nine children total.
And uh and uh, boy, it was a bunch, I'll
(30:43):
tell you, it was a bunch. And you know n
six six months old, six and a half months old
in nineteen you know, Tom was nineteen twenty years old
at that time. Aunt tellya we were. It was wild
and crazy, it really was. But uh Dad pulled us
all together, said, hey, you're all the same in God's eyes,
You're the same in your mother's in my eyes, and
you all be our kids, and you're gonna all be
(31:04):
treated equal. It doesn't matter if you're male, female, or black, brown,
or blue. You know, you're in the Rogers family now,
and you didn't ask to be, but here you are,
and UH, so deal with it, and and we did.
We moved to Apple Valley in about nineteen sixty five.
I think this was a year we moved up there.
(31:25):
And the reason we moved was a little Debbie, the
Korean orphan UH the year before sixty four. UH was
on her way back from Mexico. UH. The church had
done a good willed mission down They were kind of
kind of out of Sister Church and the bus blew
a left front tire and it came across the highway
(31:47):
on down their ocean side and was hit head on
by a station wagon. Of course, Debbie and her friend
were sitting right in the front seat on the right side,
and that's exactly where it hit. And of course Debbie
was killed again. My dad was in the hospital at
the time. He had UH his neck fused u A,
the third vertebrae, fourth vertebrae fused together. He had staff infection.
(32:11):
It was in bad shape in the hospital and Debbie
was killed while he was there. And Mom, I mean,
poor Mom was just I mean, she was a basket case.
And they tried to keep all the news away from Dad.
Art went to the hospital and tried to keep him
from seeing anything or reading anything until everybody could be told.
And so, long story short, the Chatsworth place, for my dad.
(32:35):
I loved it there, but for my dad became a
sad place. It was where Debbie was, and and you know,
he passed her bedroom every day, and Debbie was kind
of his favorite. Debbie was very outgoing and UH and
would Comba sit and Comba's hair, you know, for hours,
and just you know, put curlers in it and stuff.
And she just she was kind of his favorite. And
(32:58):
she just and and he just she just put it
to the hilt with him. And UH had a very closepond.
So it was very difficult, you know, to come home
at night and see her room and see her things.
And so Dad just decided, we've we've got to move.
We got to get out of here. I this isn't
the same place that I remember. And so we moved
to Apple Valley in nineteen sixty five. I was already there.
(33:22):
I had moved up early. I was there two or
three weeks, well actually a little longer that before Mom
came up. They came up around Christmas time and I
started there in September I think in school senior year
in high school, mom and dad moved, which was not
a whole lot of fun for me, but I again
learned to da adapt. Okay. But then mom and dad
came up and uh and uh got little house on
(33:43):
the highway. There was beautiful that Apple Valley was very
quiet and about eight thousand people and and everybody knew
Royandale that kind of left him alone, which was nice.
And uh, everything was going really great. And then on
October thirty first, my mom's birthday, nineteen sixty five, got
a call from the DV Defense Department that my brother
(34:04):
Sandy had choked to death while serving with the army
in Germany. Well, here we go again, you know. And
Dad especially took it really bad, I think both of them.
Well Mom did too, but uh, Dad was especially upset
over it. And uh again questioning, you know how much
(34:27):
how much more God do you have to lay on
us before you know? Well, God doesn't give you choices.
He doesn't tell you why you know, and you may
not know the reason for years. But out of those
deaths came from beautiful books that Mom had written. The
cowboys had a code. Uh, every cowboy had their own
(34:49):
ten codes. Dads was different than hoppies. Hoppies was different
than gene. Dads was based on the Bible, and it
was based on the Ten Commandments, but it was in child,
in child, but that they could understand it. You need
to go to Sunday school every Sunday, and you need
to weigh your parents, and you you need all your food,
no waste any and there were you know, I just basic,
(35:10):
just basic things that kids could. They wanted to aspire
to because they love the men that told them that
they needed to. And it was the same when I
was a care everybody who want to be a cowboy,
even the little girls want to be a cowboy I want.
They would buy Roy Rogers stuff. They wouldn't buy the
Dale Evans outfits. They wanted Roy. We don't have that today.
There's nobody out there today to tell our children that
(35:33):
that's wrong. What you're doing is wrong. You need to
put that up and you need to This is where
you need to go and make them believe it. There
there's no reality anymore. So I just wish that the
producers and directors and and and people in the media
(35:54):
today would take an account that they're still young. They
may be, and they may have a spendable income when
they're thirteen. Maybe I don't know, but the target audience
for most all of almost everything today is seventeen to
twenty seven, thirty, maybe forty if you're lucky. Most of
it's younger than that because we've gotten away. We've gotten
(36:17):
away from what's important, and that's the family unit. My
mom used to say to us. See, when the family
unit fails in this country, we are in big trouble,
and you can see it every day. That isn't the
way this country was founded. It wasn't the thing that
our forefathers fought for. It isn't what the Constitution was
written for. But yet we've gotten so far away from
(36:38):
it and s so far out uh away from it.
I don't know if we can come back. We can
if if as Americans we say our k our children
are not junk. God doesn't make junk. They deserve better.
What can we show them? What can we give them
that's better?
Speaker 1 (36:57):
And a terrific job on the storytelling and editing by
Great Kangler and a special thanks to Roy Rogers Junior
aka Dusty sharing the story of his mother, father, and
sibling and my goodness what he said about his father.
Dad felt bad for me because I didn't have sisters
or brothers. And of course, the response by Roy and
(37:18):
Dale to that grief, the loss of his downs in
Jerome's sister, was adoption. The response to grief was love.
The response to loss was addition. The response to loss
was adoption. And not one, not two, but many more
would join the Roy Rogers family. And of course then
(37:40):
came those two losses, and more questioning of God, how
much more are you going to lay on us? Dale
and Roy said, and how many of us have been there?
And then of course the final lament by Roy Rogers Junior,
which was the family as all we have. Family will
save the country. Family and love is what saves everything
(38:00):
that makes life worth living. The story of Roy Rodgers
and Dale Evans their family as told by Dusty Rogers
here on our American Stories
This is Lee Habib and this is our American Stories,
the show where America is the star and the American People.
And to search for the All American Stories podcast, go
to the iHeartRadio app or Apple Podcasts or wherever you
get your podcasts. Up next to the story of a
name you all know, Roy Rogers, told by Roy, Dusty
(00:33):
Rogers Junior. Dusty has been acting and performing almost since birth.
The only natural born son of Roy, he was raised
by Roy and his wife Dale Evans, along with their
eight children. Roy and Dell were known to millions of
Americans through TV, radio and dozens of beloved Western movies.
As a small child, Dusty appeared in his parents' TV show,
(00:56):
The Roy Rodgers Show, Here's Dusty to share the behind
the scene story of what it was like growing up
in the home of the King of the Cowboys and
the Queen of the West.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
People say, well, when did you know your dad was famous?
And I said, well, I really didn't know he was
famous at all till I was probably five. I mean
I went to the movie set with him when I
was two. I spent every birthday I think I can
think of, from two to five on the movie set
with dad. Then all of a sudden, the reality came
in that this man does something other than just movies.
(01:30):
He's very popular with the populace, with the people, and
of course when we would go out on the road
with him, all of a sudden and we're surrounded by
thousands of people and especially young kids who loved him,
And it was a little bit difficult to swallow sometimes,
you know, want you want your mom and dad yourself.
You don't want to share him with anybody, you know,
when you're young like that. I mean, wait a minute,
that's my mom and dad. What are you doing? You know,
(01:52):
So it was it was difficult in that way, and
I think all of us grew up under that, under
that veil of constant being photographed, constantly, being on the road,
constantly being Royan Dale's son or daughter. You know, didn't
matter if he were adopted or not. You were Royandale's
son or Royan Dale's daughter. Dale is my mother, I mean,
(02:14):
my biological mother passed away when I was just a
few days old. I never got to know my atro mother.
She got and I was born by cesarean section, and
she got an embolism in her system, which at the
time in the forties. This was nineteen forty six, and
they didn't have any way of detecting blood clots in
this blood clott had formed during the cesarean operation, and
(02:35):
it just kind of set dormant during her system because
there was no way of detecting them and they didn't
get the ladies up and walk around like they do
to today after childbirth to help dissolve these clots away.
So this one just set dormant in mom's system for
about four days five days, and when she became more active,
so did the cloud. It began to move through her
system and unbeknownst to anybody, and actually I was on
(02:58):
the bed ready to come home, and Dad was on
his way to get us, and Mom just this embolism
hit her heart and she just her eyes bat rolled
back at her head and she just fell back on
the bed and was gone that quick, no indication at
all that there was a problem. So, you know, of course,
for my dad it was devastating. He has three kids,
(03:19):
and King of the Cowboys in nineteen forty six was
the height of the man's career, and then all of
a sudden, overnight he finds himself a widower with three
young uns and absolutely nobody in his life at that
point to take care of us kids. So he had
to really jump on a at a bad time of
his life and try to get somebody in to take
care of us, and he hired nannies to watch out
(03:39):
over us. So I never got to know many real mom.
And then when I was about a year and a
half old, he married Dale and she just kind of
stepped in and really took over with us kids. And
we just loved her death, I mean all of us did.
I think Cheryl had a little bit of a problem
with her early on, because Cheryl was kind of she
was the first one in the family. Dad had died
(04:00):
at her first and because they didn't think that my
mom and Roy could have children, so they adopted Cheryl,
and she was kind of the queen bee. She was
the one that the oldest one, and she wanted to
be the mom, I mean she did. She wanted to
take care of me and Linda Lou and she just
thought she'd step into that role after Mom and Pat
what she called her mommy, passed away, and of course
(04:22):
it didn't happen. Dad needed some adults to do it.
So but when she married when Dad married Dale, because
it was kind of funny because Cheryl would always get
between Dale and Roy at events and stuff to try
to keep them separated. But you know, it was just
the good Lord. It was meant to be, and it
didn't work out. But Dale was my mother. I mean
(04:42):
she came in and when I was a year and
a half old, and all of us kids just loved
her to death. And I never knew any other mother,
so she was you know, mother means a lot of
things to different people. There's your birth mother, and then
of course you don't know much about your mother un
till you get older. Well that's where I would and
Dale was my mom by that. So I couldn't ask
for a better one, couldn't ask for a better one.
(05:05):
Dad was an old country boy and and things didn't
really matter to him, and he just he just loved
to hunt and fish and do what he wanted to do.
Dale and the Westerns. He Dad fit into the Westerns
just like a pair of you know, like a pair
of good boots. Mom didn't, she could care less about
the Western She was. She was an angeneue. She wanted
to be She wanted to be the big band singer.
(05:27):
She came out to California to work in Buzzy Berkeley's musicals,
and that's what she wanted to do, big band singer,
you know. And they they sent her out to audition
with Dad and on a they were looking for a
Fox was actually Republic was looking for a new leading
lady for Dad, someone who could singk do everything. And
(05:48):
so they called over to Fox and they said, do
you do you have anybody that might we need a
young leading lady for Roy Rogers. And they said, well,
sure we do. Her name's Dale Evans. And they said, well,
the thing is, she has to be beautiful, she has
to sing like a bird, and she has to be
able to set a horse. She needs to learn her
she needs to be able to ride. Oh yeah, Dale
(06:10):
will fit. She's some textas shed fit the point Mom
had not been on a horse since she was three
four years old on her mom farm rom and dad farm.
So but they and again the Good Lord stepped in.
They s and her mom went out to the location,
you know, dressed to the nines, thinking she was gonna
try out for this music thing. And she showed up
(06:31):
in her long dress and thinking she was gonna play
and the next thing that no, The director Saidale, we
want you to get up on this horse. We want
you to ride at the end of the street and
sit there with Roy and Gabby and big Boy Williams.
And when I throw my hat down, I want you
all to ride to the camera and when you get close,
just pull up on your horse and we'll see how
you look on a horseback. So she did, she got
on a horse. I mean mom was Mom was a trooper.
(06:53):
I mean, like Dad said, you can tell a textant,
but not much. You cannot tell Dale. She can't do
something because she'll just prove you wrong every time.
Speaker 1 (07:00):
And you're listening to Dusty Rogers tell the story of
his mother and father, Roy and Dale Evans, and my goodness,
this happens so often in American life, where women would
die of complications from childbirth and so many children die.
When we return more of the story of Roy Rogers,
as told by Roy Dusty Rogers Junior. Here on our
(07:24):
American Story. Here at our American Stories, we bring you
inspiring stories of history, sports, business, faith and love. Stories
from a great and beautiful country that need to be told.
But we can't do it without you. Our stories are
free to listen to, but they're not free to make.
(07:45):
If you love our stories in America like we do,
please go to our American Stories dot com and click
the donate button. Give a little, give a lot, help
us keep the great American stories coming. That's our American
Stories dot Com. And we continue with our American stories
(08:12):
and with Dusty Rogers telling the story of his mother
and father. Roy and Dale Evans want to be big
band singer. Dale first met Roy Rodgers in nineteen forty
four on the set of a western movie where she
was screen tested riding a horse. Let's pick up here
with Roy Rogers Junior again also known as Dusty.
Speaker 2 (08:37):
She got on a horse and they took off running
and it came to the camera and the guy dropped
his hat and they pulled up and when they did,
the horse just jammed Mom into the saddle just I mean,
he just pounded her because she didn't know how to
set it right, and it broke, knocked the caps off
of her teeth, and big Boy Williams horse set on
(08:57):
her teeth. After the end, they were all jacket and
had that she had ev and redone. But then the
producer said, well, Dale, that wasn't too bad. Well, Roy,
what do you think that said? He said, I think
it was Billy Whitney at the time. And he said, Billy,
I swear I have never seen so much sky between
(09:19):
a woman's rand and a saddle in my mind. But
she learned to ride and and that's and I think
she did something totally against what she really wanted to do,
because at that time, you did what you needed to
do to make money to survive. And but she fit
in so well and did it, did it so well. Dad,
(09:40):
he just had to be himself. But Mom was totally opposite.
But she learned to adapt and and go along with
what the thing was, which was western and cowboy songs,
and that's way away from big band and big orchestra music.
But Mom was a trooper and just always whatever the
situation was, she stepped in and said I'm gonna do it,
(10:03):
and and did well she you know, I mean, after
the birth of Tom, I'm sure. And then of course
her husband left her when she was just just young.
And of course then she was, like I said, starving
and trying to make a career. So she I think
she she always longed for a child, and so when
she married Roy and and and they had a u
a chance to have a child of their own, you know,
(10:24):
they jumped right on it. And and then of course
when Robin was born, and and found out that that
she had Down's syndrome. Again, it was a shock originally,
you know, I mean, you're never ready for that. But
then I I it's settled in that this is a
lovely human being that's from both of us. You know,
(10:45):
there must be a reason why they didn't know. Nobody
knew at that time what caused downs. And they recommended that, uh,
they put her an institution. The doctor said, you need
to put her an institution. And Dad said, you kidding me.
We're not putting her institution. She says, this is our child.
We're gonna take her home and love her. And so
(11:06):
against the doctor's orders, they did. They took her home
and made us. Dad built a special area for her
and protect her from us kids, you know, cause she
was very fragile. And but even during the time that
Robin was there and very ill, they did, both of
'em just loved that little girl to death. I mean,
it was just it was part of them, and and
(11:26):
and sh and they wanted her they of course, we
all wanted her to survive with the doctor said that
probably she wouldn't, but you don't know that, you know,
have had we had the medications they have today for
Down syndrome children, Robin probably could have lived in her
forties or fifties. We don't know. But it was a
gift from God. And and Dad always says, if you
(11:48):
can never give a gift up, you never throw it away.
A gift is a gift no matter who gives it to,
you keep it. And uh and and she was not
only gift to to royan Dale, but a gift to
all of us kids who n got a chance to
know her. I was four and five, you know at
the time, and I couldn't physically, you know, wrestle with
her like I really wanted to. But she and I communicated.
(12:12):
Uh she couldn't speak, of course, but we communicated it
with She had certain giggles and last she'd do and
and she would we would play hide and seek. I'd
get under the crib, you know, and I'd reach up
and touch your arm and she'd giggle and roll try
to see where I was. And that's the kind of
play we had. But uh, she was just a sweetheart.
I still see her eyes and her looking through the
wars of that crib today. I mean, she just was.
(12:34):
And that's why those kids are so special to me today.
My son Dustin and I we work with a group
out of Texas called DRI which is Development Resources, Inc.
And they they have group homes for kids that are
that have downs and we work with help raising money
because a lot of them now, a lot of those
I tell people that they're you have people bring bring
(12:55):
them to the show the down Center of kids, and
and I'll say, you know how lucky you are that
you have one of these special children. I said, I
don't give 'em to everybody. You know, he picks and
choose who he wants to have 'em, and they're his angels.
And doesn't matter what color they are. They all have
the same look, and they all love music and they
love people. They have their ups and downs like everybody does.
(13:18):
You know, their their their moments of angry and and
in the little little fits and stuff. But they love
you unconditionally. And the only other person I know does
that is either a dog or God that loves you unconditionally.
I mean, no matter what happened and uh, and that's
what's special about 'em. And so they've always been special
to me and always will be. I mean, they're just
(13:40):
they're just wonderful, wonderful gifts from God. And of course
Mom and Dad knew that from from the beginning, that
it was a gift and they and that's why Mom
wanted to write about her. She she was puzzled for
the longest time on how M how I need to
tell Robin's story about it? I don't know how where
do I? Where do I go? And so she sat
on a park bench in New York and said, God,
(14:01):
I don't you know, give me some direction on on
how to write this book. This angel Lenna ware a
book I wanna write. And uh, she said, it was
just an amazing thing that uh, the Good Lord put
on her heart. Well thought, don't you tell the story?
Let Robin tell the story? Angel let a where the
book that Mom finished, uh after Robin passed away, had
(14:24):
a huge impact on a on a lot of different people.
And I think the biggest impact it really had were
on the families that were fortunate enough to have Down
syndrome children, because it was always looked on as a
stigma and I think people looked at down syndrome children
as something that they did wrong. It was their fault,
(14:48):
not realizing that God made it possible for them to
have one and that it was gonna change their life
in the future. And and uh, like I say, he
only gives them to a few. But I think having
Robin's story told by Robin herself that she was okay,
that yes, that she had passed on and she'd moved,
(15:11):
but the God sent her for a short time to
be a blessing to Roy Rogers and Dale Evans. That
was her job. God sent her there to do that.
And I think the reality for a lot of folks
who have Down syndrome children, they never thought of it
that way because the public wouldn't let them. The public
looked down down syndroom children as less than perfect. They're not,
(15:34):
you know, And instead of coming up and saying what
a beautiful child, they would come up and say, well,
I'm so sorry. Why they didn't know? They didn't know,
they don't. And so the book allowed families to bring
out those children with them in public, and when the
(15:57):
public could actually see the beautiful smiles and the love
of music and the excitement in their eyes, and even
though a lot of them couldn't talk. Uh, there was
something there that that had you had not seen before.
And Mom and Dad and us too. I mean when
I was young, when I was only five, I didn't
see any down some syndrome children at out at all
(16:21):
up until after the book, probably a year or so
after the book was released, you started Mom started looking
and seeing them in the audience at where they were
because they felt that, well, if Royan Dale can be
blessed with one of these children and take them home
and love them, why shouldn't we And why shouldn't I
(16:42):
have This child is special and they're a blessing, So
why why shouldn't I take something that I'm proud of
out and let them experience the world which is cruel sometimes,
But they're no different than anybody else. They they they
need to have a chance at life like you and
I had.
Speaker 1 (17:02):
And you've been listening to Roy Rogers Junior, who goes
by the name Dusty, telling the story of his mother
and father and also his sister Robin, And my goodness,
what a story he told about just his mother's just
can't do spirit and actors and actresses of the time.
They just always took the work. And my goodness, the
storytelling on Robin or down syndrome, child of Roy and Dale.
(17:27):
I wanted to tell Robin's story. Dale prayed to God
in a New York park bench, but I don't know how,
and it later we learned that God had sent her
to the earth for a short time to be a
blessing to Roy and Dale. When we come back, more
of the story of Roy and Dale Rogers as told
by their son, Dusty Rogers here on our American Stories,
(18:08):
and we continue with our American stories and with Dusty
Rogers telling the story of his parents, Roy Rogers and
Dale Evans. Let's pick up where Dusty last left off.
Speaker 2 (18:20):
I remember when Robin. I mean many times I could
see Mom and Dad holding each other and crying because
she had good days and had really bad days. And
I think for them it was a challenge to do
there every day, be in front of a camera, be smiling,
(18:41):
being doing this when they know part of them is
at home slowly dying. I think in their back of
their mind they were hoping that she would come through
it all. But she was so frail and had and
us kids sometimes we couldn't play with her because we
had a cold or whatever, you know, So it was
it was a challenge that way. And they had a nurse,
(19:03):
uh that took care of her all the time. There
was somebody with her all the time. So I think
there was some questioning of of God, you know, w
what what purposes? You know what? We know that you've
given this child to us? What? But f but why? What?
What is it that you want us to do? What
is it that? And and that's what Mom cu she said.
(19:24):
For the longest time, I couldn't put the book together
because I didn't know. I didn't know what my what
the purpose was. And after she had passed on, and
I remember Mom and dad the day she died, and
Mom and Dad I think they spent at least eleven
ten to eleven hours out in the car port just
holding each other and crying. And I s we'd look
(19:44):
out the window and they'd just be sobbing holding each other.
And I got to thinking, you know, wow, I mean, uh,
look you know again, five years old, you know, couldn't
understand why we couldn't see Robin. You know, we didn't
know what happened. They didn't know quite how to tell us,
I guess and it was a rough It was a
rough go and that and how mom and dad did
(20:05):
what they did and and still s still say, Ryan Dale,
and still do the obligations that they had in life. Uh,
and still raise us kids and take care of us
and let us know that you know, Robin was special,
and you know this isn't gonna happen to all of you.
You're not gonna all pass away now, now, don't you
(20:27):
know she had brought you know, And to try to
explain that to your kids and and make it sound
not so bad, but yet it was devastating to them.
It's a phenomenal thing. And I think they questioned the
grace of God, but yet it was the grace of
God who got them through it. Somebody asked me one time,
(20:47):
they said, Roy, when's the first time you really realized
that the kids of America really looked up to you?
And he said, in nineteen forty one, playing Madison Square Garden.
He said, I was walking back by the cattle shoots,
and around the corner come this little guy about four
years though, dressed exactly like me. He said, That's when
I knew that I had to keep my life in line,
(21:10):
and that I owed these kids something because they're looking
up to me. I can't say one thing and do another.
And so he made a pack then with himself. Then
good Lord, I'm sure that he would do everything he
could to keep his image so that kids could look
up to him and mean something. And of course then
that's and he was hitting hospitals even then. And then
(21:32):
and then when the polio thing was so bad in
the forties and fifties, he would go to the hospital.
He was fighting all the time in his mind because
I know he believed in God, but he was angry
at God somewhat, I think because he couldn't understand why,
if we have such a trusting and just and merciful God,
(21:53):
why he would allow children of all things, his youngest creations,
to come into this life and be attacked by some
terrible disease or born with deformities or born I'm sure
he saw downs kids and at that time too, and
so it was hard for him for a long time.
He couldn't understand why it couldn't he couldn't reconcile, reconcile why,
(22:15):
And so he was almost driven to the fact that
he wanted to go and see those kids and entertain him.
And many many stories I could tell you. The one
that hits the most is is you know, and a
lot of the kids who had polio and the forties
were put into iron lungs. They their lungs were undeveloped
and they needed help, and so these machines iron lungs
(22:38):
would help him breathe a little bit. Of course, they
were in this big iron tube with their head sticking
out and laying flat, of course, and looking up through
a mirror that goes that direction, so they could at
least see. And Dad would would go there and he would, uh,
he would go up to the ward and he'd bring
the pioneers with him and they'd sing a couple songs,
and then he would Dad would actually go to each
(23:02):
iron lung and get around beside the child instead of
looking at him through a mirror, so he could get
eye contact with him, and he'd lean down and talk
to him, every one of 'em a little bit. And uh,
and he'd say, you know, billy, I know you're having trouble,
you know, but you know, all good cowboys are tested,
you know, you got you gotta buck up a little bit.
You gotta you know, the cowboy way has not to
(23:24):
lay here and worry fred about it. It's to fight
and get out of here. And he said, I'm gonna
help you. And he would he would bring these gun
belts with him, kids, gun belts with him in boxes
and he would he would hang the gun belt up
on the mirror. And of course people thought, well, that's cruel.
It's poor little kid. He's can't you got his y,
His head is all he's got out and Roy's giving
him a gun belt. What is that? But then Dad
(23:44):
would say, when you get out of this iron lung,
if you fight hard enough and and and you pray
hard enough, you'll get out. You'll eventually get out. And
what I want you to do is I want you
to wear this gun belt and I want you to,
you know, play cowboy like all the rest of the
boys and girls c do in a country. And then
someday I want you to come to Hollywood and see me.
And Decin will tell you We've had a lot of
(24:07):
over the last and I've had a band for forty years,
and I have seen so many people that have come
that were in iron lungs in the forties, the dad
come to the hospital, put up that gun belt, and
they got out and for some didn't, but most of
them got out, and they still have a gun belt.
So in his in his somewhat little childish way, and
(24:31):
I think that's why kids loved him so much. He
was as big a kid at heart that they were.
If he thought, if he gave him just a little
of encouragement on the level, that they would understand. And
if Roway tells you to do it, especially in the forties,
you did it and it worked really well. Yeah, many
of the kids come to the show even today. In
(24:53):
the last couple of years, I've had I've had three
in the last couple of years. I tried to keep track.
They still have the gun belt and it is their
most prized position. They say, if it wasn't for this
gun belt, and it's most of the time it's in shatters.
I mean it's just tatters of the letters weren't off,
all the spots have come off and stuff, and say,
I wore it everywhere. I know, wre to bed. My
(25:14):
mom used to get so mad at me because I
didn't want to wear it in the bathtub, and they'd
stop me from doing it, but it was their most
prized position and still is today. Mom knew that they
didn't want to have another child. They didn't want because
at that time they didn't know what caused downs. They
(25:35):
thought it might be an rh blood factor problem one
negative and one positive and their blood type, but they
weren't sure. So when they lost Robin just before second birthday,
it had to be different. I mean, I know it
was very difficult because I saw it. But they got
back up on their feet and they the Good Lord
granted him grace and they were able to get back
(25:57):
up and go. But there still was a void, and
they just decided, well, if we can't have any more
of our own children, because we don't know if we'll
have another down syndrome child or not, then we'll adopt.
Speaker 1 (26:10):
And you're listening to the son of Roy and Dale Evans,
Dusty Rogers. That's Roy Rogers Junior, telling the story of
his parents, particularly after the loss of his sister Robin
at the age of two. He was five at the time,
and he remembers looking outside his home and seeing his
parents often just hugging and crying, and what a thing
(26:31):
to watch as a five year old watching your own
parents cope with grief and then having to come right
back in the house and raise those kids and hit
the line as professionals, as actors, as superstars and just
sort of put that grief behind and move on. And
the stories of him visiting these kids with iron lung
machines and parking by their sides, making eye contact and saying,
(26:54):
all good cowboys are tested, finding words of encouragement for
these kids, this big international super star having this art
for kids and questioning God. As Dusty said, my parents
questioned the grace of God, but the grace of God
also got them through the ordeal. And when we come
back more of Roy Rogers' story and his bride Dale
(27:18):
as told by their son Dusty Rogers. Here on our
American stories, and we continue with our American stories in
(27:39):
the story of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans as told
by their son, Roy Rogers Junior aka Dusty. Let's pick
up where he last left off.
Speaker 2 (27:50):
Dad felt bad for me because I had any sisters
and I had no brother. Unbeknownst to me, they went
on a trip to Ohio and then down from Ohio
down to Kentucky, uh down to Louisville, and they had
heard of UH a orphanage. Dad would always invite orphanages
to bring their kids over for the show, and they
(28:11):
had had a chance to visit one of them. And
then UH in Covington, Kentucky, and they ran across this
little boy and Dad was going around shaking hands to
all the little boys, and Sandy just stuck out his
hand and said howld her partner, and Dad just kind
of fell in love with him. You know, he was
just a little he was stunted in his growth, and
he had all kinds of problems. He slept in the
chair since he was born, practically didn't know what a
(28:31):
bed was, and and they treated him pretty badly. So they,
you know, they said, this is the guy we gotta
get for for for Dusty. And then they stopped by
Hope Cottage on the way back home and they adopted
a little American Indian girl chalked out Indian Mary. Little
dog called her Dody. So I'm coming to the airport, uh,
(28:54):
thinking I'm gonna meet mom and dad, And down off
the airplane comes Dad. He's carrying this little kid, and
Mom's carrying a little girl, little baby girl. I got
to thinking, hey, what's going on, you know? And uh,
and I've got pictures of our first meetings. Sanday I
(29:16):
first meeting, and I did not like him. I thought,
oh wait a minute, just a minute, now I was
the prince here. Now all of a sudden, I got
somebody horning it on my spot. And mom's mom explained, now,
this is your new brother. You know. His name is
John David Harry Hardy, but we're gonna call him Sandy.
And this is Dodie. We're little Mary little she's gonna
be your sister. Well, Dody I fell in love with
(29:37):
right away. But I had a hard time with Sandy
for a while. But uh, we grew to be really
good buds. And I protected him a lot because he
was smaller than me, and he was you know, guys
were picking on him all the time, and he had
a lot of physical problems. And uh, but there was
a there was and then of course they that wasn't enough,
you know. They a little later on they adopted, well,
(29:59):
the got a little Marion from they'd gone in nineteen
fifty four. They went to uh to England and Scotland
and Ireland and fell in love a little girl named
Marion or her name of Marian Fleming and wanted to
adopt her and couldn't because she uh uh international adoptions
weren't allowed, so they became her foster parent and uh
(30:20):
then they uh adopt a little girl. Uh and they
wanted to adopt a little girl. There was a uh
one they had the ban on international adoptions was listed
and lifted in the sixties. They adopted a little girl
from Seoul, Korea. Her name was in Iley, called her
debut Lee and uh so it just kept going on
and on until they ended up with a nine children total.
And uh and uh, boy, it was a bunch, I'll
(30:43):
tell you, it was a bunch. And you know n
six six months old, six and a half months old
in nineteen you know, Tom was nineteen twenty years old
at that time. Aunt tellya we were. It was wild
and crazy, it really was. But uh Dad pulled us
all together, said, hey, you're all the same in God's eyes,
You're the same in your mother's in my eyes, and
you all be our kids, and you're gonna all be
(31:04):
treated equal. It doesn't matter if you're male, female, or black, brown,
or blue. You know, you're in the Rogers family now,
and you didn't ask to be, but here you are,
and UH, so deal with it, and and we did.
We moved to Apple Valley in about nineteen sixty five.
I think this was a year we moved up there.
(31:25):
And the reason we moved was a little Debbie, the
Korean orphan UH the year before sixty four. UH was
on her way back from Mexico. UH. The church had
done a good willed mission down They were kind of
kind of out of Sister Church and the bus blew
a left front tire and it came across the highway
(31:47):
on down their ocean side and was hit head on
by a station wagon. Of course, Debbie and her friend
were sitting right in the front seat on the right side,
and that's exactly where it hit. And of course Debbie
was killed again. My dad was in the hospital at
the time. He had UH his neck fused u A,
the third vertebrae, fourth vertebrae fused together. He had staff infection.
(32:11):
It was in bad shape in the hospital and Debbie
was killed while he was there. And Mom, I mean,
poor Mom was just I mean, she was a basket case.
And they tried to keep all the news away from Dad.
Art went to the hospital and tried to keep him
from seeing anything or reading anything until everybody could be told.
And so, long story short, the Chatsworth place, for my dad.
(32:35):
I loved it there, but for my dad became a
sad place. It was where Debbie was, and and you know,
he passed her bedroom every day, and Debbie was kind
of his favorite. Debbie was very outgoing and UH and
would Comba sit and Comba's hair, you know, for hours,
and just you know, put curlers in it and stuff.
And she just she was kind of his favorite. And
(32:58):
she just and and he just she just put it
to the hilt with him. And UH had a very closepond.
So it was very difficult, you know, to come home
at night and see her room and see her things.
And so Dad just decided, we've we've got to move.
We got to get out of here. I this isn't
the same place that I remember. And so we moved
to Apple Valley in nineteen sixty five. I was already there.
(33:22):
I had moved up early. I was there two or
three weeks, well actually a little longer that before Mom
came up. They came up around Christmas time and I
started there in September I think in school senior year
in high school, mom and dad moved, which was not
a whole lot of fun for me, but I again
learned to da adapt. Okay. But then mom and dad
came up and uh and uh got little house on
(33:43):
the highway. There was beautiful that Apple Valley was very
quiet and about eight thousand people and and everybody knew
Royandale that kind of left him alone, which was nice.
And uh, everything was going really great. And then on
October thirty first, my mom's birthday, nineteen sixty five, got
a call from the DV Defense Department that my brother
(34:04):
Sandy had choked to death while serving with the army
in Germany. Well, here we go again, you know. And
Dad especially took it really bad, I think both of them.
Well Mom did too, but uh, Dad was especially upset
over it. And uh again questioning, you know how much
(34:27):
how much more God do you have to lay on
us before you know? Well, God doesn't give you choices.
He doesn't tell you why you know, and you may
not know the reason for years. But out of those
deaths came from beautiful books that Mom had written. The
cowboys had a code. Uh, every cowboy had their own
(34:49):
ten codes. Dads was different than hoppies. Hoppies was different
than gene. Dads was based on the Bible, and it
was based on the Ten Commandments, but it was in child,
in child, but that they could understand it. You need
to go to Sunday school every Sunday, and you need
to weigh your parents, and you you need all your food,
no waste any and there were you know, I just basic,
(35:10):
just basic things that kids could. They wanted to aspire
to because they love the men that told them that
they needed to. And it was the same when I
was a care everybody who want to be a cowboy,
even the little girls want to be a cowboy I want.
They would buy Roy Rogers stuff. They wouldn't buy the
Dale Evans outfits. They wanted Roy. We don't have that today.
There's nobody out there today to tell our children that
(35:33):
that's wrong. What you're doing is wrong. You need to
put that up and you need to This is where
you need to go and make them believe it. There
there's no reality anymore. So I just wish that the
producers and directors and and and people in the media
(35:54):
today would take an account that they're still young. They
may be, and they may have a spendable income when
they're thirteen. Maybe I don't know, but the target audience
for most all of almost everything today is seventeen to
twenty seven, thirty, maybe forty if you're lucky. Most of
it's younger than that because we've gotten away. We've gotten
(36:17):
away from what's important, and that's the family unit. My
mom used to say to us. See, when the family
unit fails in this country, we are in big trouble,
and you can see it every day. That isn't the
way this country was founded. It wasn't the thing that
our forefathers fought for. It isn't what the Constitution was
written for. But yet we've gotten so far away from
(36:38):
it and s so far out uh away from it.
I don't know if we can come back. We can
if if as Americans we say our k our children
are not junk. God doesn't make junk. They deserve better.
What can we show them? What can we give them
that's better?
Speaker 1 (36:57):
And a terrific job on the storytelling and editing by
Great Kangler and a special thanks to Roy Rogers Junior
aka Dusty sharing the story of his mother, father, and
sibling and my goodness what he said about his father.
Dad felt bad for me because I didn't have sisters
or brothers. And of course, the response by Roy and
(37:18):
Dale to that grief, the loss of his downs in
Jerome's sister, was adoption. The response to grief was love.
The response to loss was addition. The response to loss
was adoption. And not one, not two, but many more
would join the Roy Rogers family. And of course then
(37:40):
came those two losses, and more questioning of God, how
much more are you going to lay on us? Dale
and Roy said, and how many of us have been there?
And then of course the final lament by Roy Rogers Junior,
which was the family as all we have. Family will
save the country. Family and love is what saves everything
(38:00):
that makes life worth living. The story of Roy Rodgers
and Dale Evans their family as told by Dusty Rogers
here on our American Stories
Host
Lee Habeeb
Popular Podcasts
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.