King of the Cowboys……….Part II

Just like when I'm getting' a little "cruise time" in my old '56 Oldsmobile..........there is no rule that says I have to be a part of today's culture if I don't want to be.

The more years that go by, the more I want to go back.  As we all leave our childhood....the toys of our youth seem to get left behind or thrown away.  After I'd collected dozens of Roy Rogers movies for my VCR & DVD "library", I decided to start hitting antique stores and EBay to see what toys might still exist out there.

If you didn't grow up when I did, or BEFORE I did,  you most likely will NOT understand what you're about to see, because it's been a long, long time since kids actually learned HOW to be kids.  If you watched BLACK & WHITE television on Saturday mornings however...........sit back and remember..............

My "Roy Rogers" cabinets are almost out of room now.............

The coffee cups came from the museum gift shop.......I found this camera in an antique shop.

...........................read any good books lately?.........................

This was a rare find on Ebay or anywhere else, and priced accordingly              

We didn't have "video games" when I was a kid, you used your imagination to form dreams and plans.  Toys like these only cost a few bucks.............THEN.................but when you manage to find them TODAY.........................

Lots of horses.....including one you could windup while Roy twirled his lasso!

Of course, we had to had something to HAUL our horses in...........just like Roy did!

Pat Brady had a Jeep............................and YOU could have one too!

Gabby Hayes (at one time a SHAKESPEARIAN actor, believe it or not), played a myriad of roles in his western career).  He drove a stagecoach in a few movies, and I was VERY fortunate to find THIS one in a Boise antique shop!

Roy Rogers cap pistols.  Highly sought after, and when you have to bid against other "oldtime fans"...........................................

.....you can sometimes find yourself paying as much for a good Kilgore "RR" cap pistol, as you might pay for a REAL gun, like this Ruger Blackhawk.  (That twin-gun cap pistol set might have cost 9 or 10 bucks back in 1955, but they haven't made them for 50 years now--------Ruger is still building Blackhawks!)

All of us capgun-totin' buckaroos were special "deputies", but we still had to go to school..........and at LUNCHTIME..............

.........you just weren't "cool" if you didn't carry one of THESE!.....

There was a "Chow-Wagon" lunchbox too, shaped like a covered wagon, and a few other designs.

You could buy the old Roy Rogers "78" records to listen to, or if you preferred to make your OWN music, they made a Roy Rogers guitar!  (I'm not gonna say what I had to pay for this, but it's in pristine shape and even has the ORIGINAL BOX it came in..........also in very nice condition).

And while it'll never replace my old Gretsch on any stage, nothing will ever replace IT, in my cabinet!

That coloring book and the yo-yo (lower left) are still factory sealed.  Above the yo-yo is a wristwatch--minus the strap.  That red "horseshoe" cannister is a kid's BANK, and to the right of that, are a pair of RR pocketknives.

The last photo is of course, my most treasured item in the cabinet!

There'll be a "Part III" within the next few days..........maybe even later today.