Today’s guest blog is by Linda Kohn Sheerwood
and first appeared on the High Noon monthly e-newsletter.
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The phone calls, the distraught baby boomers, all declared that this was the end of the Roy Rogers legacy. The museum was closing and how could they hope to keep the era of moral clarity alive?
My announcement today is that all is well.
I witnessed not only the throngs of Roy and Dale passionados stroll through our sale (High Noon’s, held in conjunction with Christie’s in New York), each and everyone of them with huge smiles on their faces, but afterwards, the smiles continue.
Marjorie, a retired homemaker widow, works a few days a month at Christies during their previews, helping with questions and showing material to prospective bidders. She returned on her day off with her grown son and daughter-in-law, who were mesmerized by the sale! They stayed for hours and talked about how it all connected to today’s world!
A young 17 year old arrived from Connecticut after begging her mother to bring her to the sale as a birthday gift. They arrived by bus and stayed 8 hours, to return that evening in order to save money on hotels. She took photos of every item, drank in every nuance. I asked her to write a story of her day and I would print it in our eMagazine Smoke Signals. She smiled the entire day and hopefully will write down her thoughts. Again, she was only 17!
Thousands of photographs were taken both in front of the tricked-out Nudie Bonneville and in front of Trigger in the vestibule. Three generations of families were in those photos: we of the older generations who grew up without a remote control on our televisions, the 30-somethings who had seen the re-runs we insisted they watch, and the little ones whose eyes were aglow with the images of a man on a rearing horse and a loving couple.
People gawked at the row of boots in the sale. Gawking is a word reserved for superstars. But all eyes were on the boots, even the ones that Roy cut around the toes to give him a “scooch” more room.
During the auction over two weeks ago Wednesday, Joseph and I worked at the telephone bidding desk. There were at least 20 of us making calls. While we were on the phone with people waiting to bid, we heard their stories. When they met Roy, when they heard Dale sing. When they met Dusty (Roy Jr) and how kind he was. And how many had now met Dustin, Roy’s grandson, who looks remarkably like Roy.
At the end of the sale there was a huge sigh. The last piece consisted of two 6’x 8′ foam core illustrations of the music and words to “Happy Trails”. They sold for a stunning price of $22,000. Spontaneously the crowd stood and sang the song. Possibly every person in the room sang off-tune but together, it created a magnificent melody.
So is it over? I’m here to tell you it is not. The closing of a museum will not deter the sentiment and values reflected by Roy and Dale. Instead the seeds of values and passion will now be spread and planted all over the US. Children from all walks of life and zip codes will be exposed like they have never been before. The plants will be tended by us new caretakers and blossom everywhere.
Since the auction, I have spoken with the man who purchased Trigger and Bullet and to the woman who bought Nellybelle. They have been inundated with phone calls and emails of warm congratulations. They are now some of the new curators of the legacy. Trigger and Bullet will live at RFD-TV station in Omaha, with programming centered around ranch and country life. Dusty and Dustin and their band The High Riders will be playing both Roy’s and their own music. RFD-TV is talking about taking Trigger on the road, to rodeos and gatherings, for all to enjoy. Pam Weidel, a world renowned breeder of Arabian race horses and endurance horses from New Jersey, went home with Nellybelle. She plans on keeping it in the museum of businessman John B. Haines IV, in Pennsburg, PA.
Dusty made his last, heartfelt speech to the crowds and the last tears were shed. The auction was over, the sales room was packed up and carted away, the seeds to be shipped throughout the United States to all the new curators. With each piece goes a shard of the legacy that will be handed down both publicly and privately, to all those who sing Happy Trails in their heads when they do a good turn for their neighbor and hold their families close.
Check out photos of the event on High Noon Western Americana’s Facebook page and feel the love!