Canyon Country Zephyr page 31

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Roy adds, "Dale studies her Bible a lot. She knows it frontwards and backwards."

"I hope I am helping these older people," she continues. "I just pray I am. I pray that I will be USED, that God will use me.

People ask me, 'Do you have a goal?' I say, 'Yes. I want to have a SERVANT heart, to serve others.' And that's what makes me happy—helping."

They receive a lot in return. Roy looks at a canvas in the next room and speaks with hushed awe. "That's a painting of Dale and me and Dusty. I think that's about the biggest one we've seen. A guy did that! He had to go to the trouble to make a big painting like that. They brought it in yesterday.

"People send us all sorts of things. A lot of the stuff in the museum are things that people have done for us. It surprises us, that there are so many of them," he says.

Dusty returns and hands a bit of yellowed newsprint to his father. "This is what I was looking for," says Roy excitedly.

"It's a newspaper piece called 'The Value of a Smile.' People always ask me about why I smile so much. I tell them, 'It takes a lot more muscles to frown than it does to smile.' The American

Mothers and the Missouri Mothers Association sent this to me." He gives it to me and I read aloud.

"A smile is nature's best antidote for discouragement. It brings rest to the weary, sunshine to those who are sad, and hope to those who are hopeless and defeated. A smile is so valuable that it can't be bought, begged, borrowed, or taken away against your will.'"

We shake hands with mom and dad and we try to find out where you are from and we take pictures....' 'Oh!' she said. You take pictures?'

"And that settled it," says Roy, beaming. "She was very happy that we took a picture with her and her mother and father.

And I've been doing that ever since. Every morning I go out there and take pictures till we get 'em ALL taken care of, and talk to them. It really perks you up for the day." He smiles gently.

"And real thrilling things happen for me," he goes on. "I've had men 60 years old, tears running off the end of their cheeks. They become five years old all of a sudden! And a lot of ladies the same way.

"Yeah, they remember you when they were kids, and I guessl impressed them. Sometimes those things grow with you all your life." He stops, lost in thought.

On a hot, spring morning,

I've driven northeast from Los Angeles

to the high desert and

the mountain town of Victorville,

site of the Roy Rogers-Dale Evans Museum,

which opened in 1976.

It's still early, but tourists are

lining up outside.

"A lot of people look at me and say that they can't believe I am 80 years old. A guy asked how it felt to be 80 years old, and I said that I didn't know, 'cause I just GOT that way!" He grins. "But I guess I'm very fortunate, even though I've had some rough things happen with my heart situation.

"Whatever I got left, I'd like to be UP and not be in bed."

He is vehement. "I'd rather be dead than laying in bed someplace the rest of my life."

Roy has been diagnosed with congestive heart disease, a condition that sobers him. "I don't want to push it. I've had two heart operations in the last few years, and this aneu-rysm just last year. I take it day by day. I suppose whatever I'm supposed to have, I will ride it out and do what comes naturally, just living another day.

"I have so much to be thankful for," he goes on. "I saw my mom and dad getting physically older and how they aged and the things they could do. They were a very pleasant couple," he says sweetly. "My mom died at 76 and my dad was 89, so he did pretty good.

"I've got a wonderful family to brace me up, to give you something to live for. As long as I can stay healthy—I'm not the healthiest guy in the world, but I can still get around and try to pace myself. I sure can't run." He laughs.

Roy moves quite easily, as I see when he gives me a tour of the museum warehouse.

They revel in their large family. It's their greatest joy: six children, 16 grandchildren, and 25 great-grandchildren. "We have so many in our family and most of them live nearby, so we have birthdays or family reunions two or three times a year," says Roy.

"We had a party a while back before Easter and 65 people were here, all relatives, and some friends from our church."

Their oldest son Roy, Jr., affectionately known as "Dusty,"walks in and introduces himself. A blond giant of a man with a wide smile and take-charge attitude, he handles public relations for the family and museum.

"You know," Dale goes on, "you talk about attitude. It's the way you look at getting older. I mean, when I was a child, I thought that when I was 30 years old, I was going to be DEAD!

To a child of six or seven, 30 seems ancient.

"The only birthday I ever minded when I came to Hollywood, was when I turned 30," she admits. "After that, it didn't make any difference. I don't feel any different today than I did then, except that I have learned a great deal and experienced a great deal. But I'm still the person I was at 30.

"To me, life is exciting," she says with verve. "We're living in some perilous days, rough days, morally, spiritually, and economically. But God is ABLE and He is still on His throne.

There are those that would have you not believe it."

Do you talk with God? I ask.

"Oh, yes, of course," she replies quickly. "First thing when I awake in the morning, that's when I talk to the Lord. I talk to Him when I'm driving in my car, and at night, but not so much, because I'm tired at night. We'll have grace at the table and pray. Christ is my best friend. I can talk with Him about things I can't talk with anyone else about. "I'm grateful for everything, even for the sorrows that I've experienced in the past, because they helped me grow. Yes, ma'am," she states emphatically, looking at me sharply. "You take a tree without storms and wind, and a tree doesn't grow. That's where the growth comes—they dig that root down DEEPER into the ground. And we should, too! I speak a lot to senior citizens, I mean people who are quite morose and some of them despise being old."

I go on, '"You have to be willing to give a smile away before it can do anyone else any good. So if someone is too tired or grumpy to flash you a smile, let him have one of yours anyway. Nobody needs a smile as much as the person who has none to give.'"

He nods. "To me, that's the best description I've ever heard of a smile."

You smile a lot, I observe.

"Yes, I do smile, HAVE to," he replies cheerfully. "It's ME."

Dale and Roy describe their humble backgrounds and hard times in the Great Depression of the 1930s. "I think I'm the way I am is because of the era I was raised in," says Roy. "I was born in the early era, the greatest era this country will ever have, from the days of the button shoes, the horse and buggy, through the Depression, right up to the man on the moon and computers. I like the earlier days better," he confides with a wink.

"Honey," he looks at me, "we didn't have ANYTHING. I came through the Depression without anything. Everybody was in the same boat those days. I signed with Republic Pictures, starting at $75 a week. Today you can't get somebody to mow your lawn for that." He chuckles and Dale nods.

"If you don't have any tough times," he goes on, "you can't appreciate the good times and vice versa. I thank the good Lord that I was born when I was, and that I got to see some of those experiences and live through them."

Dale speaks quietly, "I remember trying to get by on $5 a week for groceries in Chicago. I was always hungry and never able to buy enough to eat. It was just pitiful along Wacker Drive, by the Chicago River. People were homeless. After the banks all closed, people were jumping out of buildings, committing suicide." She frowns. "I had to SURVIVE."

As a teenager, Dale eloped with her first sweetheart. "I wish now I had stayed home and finished high school and takensome college courses," she says. "Dale did go to business school," offers Roy. "I had to quit high school to help support my family."

Things are different today. Their entertainment and business careers have made them millionaires. "I've tried to get everything in shape for the kids, in case anything happens to me," says Roy. "We've everything split equally among the six kids and it's all in trust. I'm ready any time the good Lord is ready for me. If he needs a cowboy up there, he'll have to get me a short horse." He laughs ruefully.

"Death is just a door," says Dale. "John Milton said that death is but the key that opens the palace gates to eternity. I'mnot afraid."

"I'm not afraid either," says Roy. "I had this last experience with my heart and that's exactly how I felt. I stayed prayed-up all the time, and if it happened, why, it happens."

He looks serene.

"I had a dream not too long ago," Dale continues. "I dreamed that I'd died. I was aware of what was going on, but I didn't feel any pain. I felt WONDERFUL. I'm not afraid. You know, the Bible says, 'He that fears is not made perfect in love.' I love the Lord and I love

continues on next page.....

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	Roy adds, "Dale studies her Bible a lot. She knows it frontwards and backwards." "I hope I am helping these older people," she continues. "I just pray I am. I pray that I will be USED, that God will use me. People ask me, 'Do you have a goal?' I say, 'Yes. I want to have a SERVANT heart, to serve others.' And that's what makes me happy—helping." They receive a lot in return. Roy looks at a canvas in the next room and speaks with hushed awe. "That's a painting of Dale and me and Dusty. I think that's about the biggest one we've seen. A guy did that! He had to go to the trouble to make a big painting like that. They brought it in yesterday. "People send us all sorts of things. A lot of the stuff in the museum are things that people have done for us. It surprises us, that there are so many of them," he says. Dusty returns and hands a bit of yellowed newsprint to his father. "This is what I was looking for," says Roy excitedly. "It's a newspaper piece called 'The Value of a Smile.' People always ask me about why I smile so much. I tell them, 'It takes a lot more muscles to frown than it does to smile.' The American Mothers and the Missouri Mothers Association sent this to me." He gives it to me and I read aloud. "A smile is nature's best antidote for discouragement. It brings rest to the weary, sunshine to those who are sad, and hope to those who are hopeless and defeated. A smile is so valuable that it can't be bought, begged, borrowed, or taken away against your will.'" We shake hands with mom and dad and we try to find out where you are from and we take pictures....' 'Oh!' she said. You take pictures?' "And that settled it," says Roy, beaming. "She was very happy that we took a picture with her and her mother and father. And I've been doing that ever since. Every morning I go out there and take pictures till we get 'em ALL taken care of, and talk to them. It really perks you up for the day." He smiles gently. "And real thrilling things happen for me," he goes on. "I've had men 60 years old, tears running off the end of their cheeks. They become five years old all of a sudden! And a lot of ladies the same way. "Yeah, they remember you when they were kids, and I guessl impressed them. Sometimes those things grow with you all your life." He stops, lost in thought. On a hot, spring morning, I've driven northeast from Los Angeles to the high desert and the mountain town of Victorville, site of the Roy Rogers-Dale Evans Museum, which opened in 1976. It's still early, but tourists are lining up outside. "A lot of people look at me and say that they can't believe I am 80 years old. A guy asked how it felt to be 80 years old, and I said that I didn't know, 'cause I just GOT that way!" He grins. "But I guess I'm very fortunate, even though I've had some rough things happen with my heart situation. "Whatever I got left, I'd like to be UP and not be in bed." He is vehement. "I'd rather be dead than laying in bed someplace the rest of my life." Roy has been diagnosed with congestive heart disease, a condition that sobers him. "I don't want to push it. I've had two heart operations in the last few years, and this aneu-rysm just last year. I take it day by day. I suppose whatever I'm supposed to have, I will ride it out and do what comes naturally, just living another day. "I have so much to be thankful for," he goes on. "I saw my mom and dad getting physically older and how they aged and the things they could do. They were a very pleasant couple," he says sweetly. "My mom died at 76 and my dad was 89, so he did pretty good. "I've got a wonderful family to brace me up, to give you something to live for. As long as I can stay healthy—I'm not the healthiest guy in the world, but I can still get around and try to pace myself. I sure can't run." He laughs. Roy moves quite easily, as I see when he gives me a tour of the museum warehouse. They revel in their large family. It's their greatest joy: six children, 16 grandchildren, and 25 great-grandchildren. "We have so many in our family and most of them live nearby, so we have birthdays or family reunions two or three times a year," says Roy. "We had a party a while back before Easter and 65 people were here, all relatives, and some friends from our church." Their oldest son Roy, Jr., affectionately known as "Dusty,"walks in and introduces himself. A blond giant of a man with a wide smile and take-charge attitude, he handles public relations for the family and museum. "You know," Dale goes on, "you talk about attitude. It's the way you look at getting older. I mean, when I was a child, I thought that when I was 30 years old, I was going to be DEAD! To a child of six or seven, 30 seems ancient. "The only birthday I ever minded when I came to Hollywood, was when I turned 30," she admits. "After that, it didn't make any difference. I don't feel any different today than I did then, except that I have learned a great deal and experienced a great deal. But I'm still the person I was at 30. "To me, life is exciting," she says with verve. "We're living in some perilous days, rough days, morally, spiritually, and economically. But God is ABLE and He is still on His throne. There are those that would have you not believe it." Do you talk with God? I ask. "Oh, yes, of course," she replies quickly. "First thing when I awake in the morning, that's when I talk to the Lord. I talk to Him when I'm driving in my car, and at night, but not so much, because I'm tired at night. We'll have grace at the table and pray. Christ is my best friend. I can talk with Him about things I can't talk with anyone else about. "I'm grateful for everything, even for the sorrows that I've experienced in the past, because they helped me grow. Yes, ma'am," she states emphatically, looking at me sharply. "You take a tree without storms and wind, and a tree doesn't grow. That's where the growth comes—they dig that root down DEEPER into the ground. And we should, too! I speak a lot to senior citizens, I mean people who are quite morose and some of them despise being old." I go on, '"You have to be willing to give a smile away before it can do anyone else any good. So if someone is too tired or grumpy to flash you a smile, let him have one of yours anyway. Nobody needs a smile as much as the person who has none to give.'" He nods. "To me, that's the best description I've ever heard of a smile." You smile a lot, I observe. "Yes, I do smile, HAVE to," he replies cheerfully. "It's ME." Dale and Roy describe their humble backgrounds and hard times in the Great Depression of the 1930s. "I think I'm the way I am is because of the era I was raised in," says Roy. "I was born in the early era, the greatest era this country will ever have, from the days of the button shoes, the horse and buggy, through the Depression, right up to the man on the moon and computers. I like the earlier days better," he confides with a wink. "Honey," he looks at me, "we didn't have ANYTHING. I came through the Depression without anything. Everybody was in the same boat those days. I signed with Republic Pictures, starting at $75 a week. Today you can't get somebody to mow your lawn for that." He chuckles and Dale nods. "If you don't have any tough times," he goes on, "you can't appreciate the good times and vice versa. I thank the good Lord that I was born when I was, and that I got to see some of those experiences and live through them." Dale speaks quietly, "I remember trying to get by on $5 a week for groceries in Chicago. I was always hungry and never able to buy enough to eat. It was just pitiful along Wacker Drive, by the Chicago River. People were homeless. After the banks all closed, people were jumping out of buildings, committing suicide." She frowns. "I had to SURVIVE." As a teenager, Dale eloped with her first sweetheart. "I wish now I had stayed home and finished high school and takensome college courses," she says. "Dale did go to business school," offers Roy. "I had to quit high school to help support my family." Things are different today. Their entertainment and business careers have made them millionaires. "I've tried to get everything in shape for the kids, in case anything happens to me," says Roy. "We've everything split equally among the six kids and it's all in trust. I'm ready any time the good Lord is ready for me. If he needs a cowboy up there, he'll have to get me a short horse." He laughs ruefully. "Death is just a door," says Dale. "John Milton said that death is but the key that opens the palace gates to eternity. I'mnot afraid." "I'm not afraid either," says Roy. "I had this last experience with my heart and that's exactly how I felt. I stayed prayed-up all the time, and if it happened, why, it happens." He looks serene. "I had a dream not too long ago," Dale continues. "I dreamed that I'd died. I was aware of what was going on, but I didn't feel any pain. I felt WONDERFUL. I'm not afraid. You know, the Bible says, 'He that fears is not made perfect in love.' I love the Lord and I love continues on next page.....

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