Roy Rogers and Dale Evans at the 1968 Lorain County Fair

Back at the end of April, I posted an article announcing that Roy Rogers and Dale Evans were to be featured performers at the 1968 edition of the Lorain County Fair.

Since performers sometimes have to cancel an engagement due to an illness or booking conflict, I wondered if Roy and Dale did show up. But indeed they did perform, and were a rip-roaring success.

Pat Brady

Read all about it in the article below, which appeared in the Lorain Journal on Saturday, August 24, 1968. In it, Roy and Dale give a hilarious interview to Journal Staff Writer Bill Wilgren. I was surprised to read that not only did the Sons of the Pioneers (Roy’s singing group) appear, but so did Pat Brady – Roy’s comic sidekick. (Hey, I wonder if he was kin-folk?)

The article makes me wish that there were still stars around like Roy and Dale, people with old-fashioned principles and values that kids could look up to.

But their era was a simpler, more innocent time.

Lorain County Fair Ad – August 22, 1968

Fifty years ago today, the ad below appeared in the Lorain Journal announcing the appearance of Dale Evans and Roy Rogers at the 1968 edition of the Lorain County Fair.

(I posted an article announcing the beloved Western duo as Fair headliners back here on the blog in April.)

So did Roy and Dale both show up for their two Friday night shows? Did Roy bring Gabby Hayes along? And how about Trigger?

Stop by here tomorrow to find out!

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Ha, an omen! This morning when I turned on the TV to watch the news while waking up, I caught the tail end of a 1950 Roy Rogers oater on Grit TV, Sunset in the West.

Roy Rogers is a-coming to the 1968 Lorain County Fair

I’ve mentioned many times on this blog how I look forward to the Lorain County Fair each year.

Although I haven’t been to a Grandstand show in a long time, it’s still interesting for me to see what acts are going to be performing. The local newspapers usually announce them in the spring; this year, Grand Funk Railroad is one of the featured attractions.

Back on April 30, 1968 – fifty years ago today – the Lorain Journal provided the traditional fair preview. None other than Roy Rogers and Dale Evans were among the headliners, as seen in the Norm Bergsma Journal photo below which appeared on the front page of the paper that day.

That would have been a lot of fun to see.

At some point in the early 1960s, The Roy Rogers Show was being rerun on TV locally. I remember watching it.

Here’s a funny publicity photo. You can tell they were hitched by then.

In addition to knowing who he was from the TV show, I was also familiar with Roy Rogers from a Golden Book in the old Brady toy box, although its story highlighted Dale Evans.

Roy Rogers never seemed to age. He remained a positive, white-hatted role model for Baby Boomers right up to the end of his life, the way a Western hero should be. He passed away in 1998.

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Roy Rogers was a hero in another way too. Long after Arby’s switched to the chunked and jelled, faux-roast beef in the 1970s, Roy’s namesake restaurants were still serving up real roast beef – for a little while, anyway.

The restaurant is currently celebrating its 50th anniversary. You’re going to have to hit the trail for a long ride if you want to visit one, though, as they’re only in the mid-Atlantic states. Here’s the link to its website.