The Roy Rogers Story: Family Man, American Legend

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See app for details. 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 Our American Stories podcast, go to the iHeartRadio app or Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Up next, the story of a name you all know, Roy Rogers told by Roy Dusty Rogers Jr. 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 Dale 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, The Roy Rogers Show.

Here's Dusty to share the behind the scenes story of what it was like growing up in the home of the King of the Cowboys and the Queen of the West. People say, well, when did you know your dad was famous? I said, well, I really didn't know he was famous at all until I was probably five. I mean, I went to the movie set with him when I was two. I spent every birthday 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.

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, we're surrounded by thousands of people and especially young kids who loved him. It was a little bit difficult to swallow sometimes. You want your mom and dad yourself. You don't want to share them with anybody when you're young like that. I mean, wait a minute, that's my mom and dad.

What are you doing? It was difficult in that way. I think all of us grew up under that veil of constantly being photographed, constantly being on the road, constantly being Roy and Dale's son or daughter. It didn't matter if you were adopted or not. You were Roy and Dale's son or Roy and Dale's daughter. Dale is my mother. My biological mother passed away when I was just a few days old.

I never got to know my natural mother. I was born by cesarean section and she got an embolism in her system, which at the time in the 40s, this was 1946, and they didn't have any way of detecting blood clots in this system. This blood clot had formed during the cesarean operation. It just kind of set dormant there in her system because there was no way of detecting them. They didn't get the ladies up and walk around like they do today after childbirth to help dissolve these clots away.

This one just set dormant in mom's system for about four days, five days. When she became more active, the clot had began to move through her system, unbeknownst to anybody. Actually, I was on the bed ready to come home. Dad was on his way to get us and mom just, this embolism hit her heart and just, she just, her eyes rolled back in 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 and king of the cowboys and 1946 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 it 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 over us. So I never got to know my 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 to 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 adopted 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 what she called her mommy passed away.

And of course it didn't happen. Dad needed some adults to do it so and but when she married, when dad married Dale because it's 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 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 till you get older. Well that's where I would and Dale was my mom by that time so I couldn't ask for a better one.

Couldn't ask for a better one. Dad was an old country boy 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 you know like a pair of good boots. Mom didn't she could care less about the westerns she was she was an ingenue. She wanted to be she wanted to be the big band singer. 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 sing do do everything and 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 is 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 to she needs to be able to ride. Oh yeah Dale if it she's from Texas she fit the point. Mom had not been on a horse since she was three four years old on her mom's farm Ramadeth farm so but they and again the good lord stepped in they and her mom went out to location you know dressed to the nines thinking she was going to try out for this music thing and she showed up in a long dress and thinking she was going to play and the next thing they know the director said Dale we want you to get up on this horse we want you to ride to 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 horseback.

So she did she got on horse I mean mom was mom was a when mom was a trooper I mean like dad said you can tell a Texan but not much you cannot tell Dale she can't do something because she'll just prove you wrong every time. And you're listening to Dusty Rogers tell the story of his mother and father Roy and Dale Evans and my goodness this happened 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 Jr. here on Our 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 if you love our stories in America like we do please go to our americanstories.com and click the donate button give a little give a lot help us keep the great American stories coming that's our americanstories.com. Following last year's amazing turnout the Black Effect Podcast Network and Nissan are helping HBCU scholars jumpstart their futures by throwing another thrill of possibility summit. The thrill of possibility summit is an opportunity to network with peers and professionals and gain career knowledge from leaders in the industries of science technology engineering art and math also known as STEAM. To kick it off Nissan is giving 50 HBCU scholars who major in STEAM disciplines the opportunity for an all expenses paid trip to Nashville Tennessee. This year's summit location this is a remarkable opportunity to be mentored by some of auto tech and podcasting's brightest minds bringing together notable voices of the Black Effect Podcast Network featuring Charlemagne the God, John Hope Bryant and Debbie Brown all brought to you by Nissan. Success is a journey you're in the driver's seat. To learn more about the thrill of possibility summit please visit www.blackeffect.com. Nissan.

Hello there this is Malcolm Globo host of Revisionist History. eBay Motors is here for the ride. You saw the potential through some elbow grease fresh installs and a whole lot of love you transformed 100,000 miles and a body full of rust into a drive entirely its own. Look to your left look to your right no one's got a ride like this. There's nothing else that sounds like feels like or looks like the set of wheels in your garage. With over 122 million parts for your number one ride or die you can make sure your ride stays running smoothly so there's no limit to how far you can take it. Brake kits, turbo chargers, engines, exhaust kits, roof racks, LED headlights, bumpers, whatever your baby needs eBay Motors has it. And with eBay Guaranteed Fit it's guaranteed to fit your ride the first time every time for your money back.

Plus at these prices you're burning rubber not cash. Keep your ride or die alive at ebaymotors.com eligible items only exclusions apply. On Heart of the Game we're talking with some of the most successful families in sports to learn what's really making them tick from staying healthy to fostering strong family bonds. We'll hear from athletes such as Kurt Warner on what lessons are being passed down to a new generation of athletes. There is a level when we play that we feel we're invincible. You feel like it's not going to happen to you but then anytime it does whether it's you suffering an injury or teammates suffering a traumatic injury that's what stops you in your tracks and it makes you go okay we're not invincible and it becomes more personal.

It's a part of the process to have to work through those things you know and understand the risks that go into it and understand the rewards or the love for the sport. Listen to Heart of the Game every Thursday on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts and we continue with our American stories and with Dusty Rogers telling the story of his mother and father Roy and Dale Evans. Wannabe big band singer Dale first met Roy Rogers in 1944 on the set of a western movie where she was screen tested riding a horse. Let's pick up here with Roy Rogers Jr. again also known as Dusty.

She got on a horse and they took off running and they came to the camera and they guy dropped his hat and they pulled up and when they did the horse just jammed mom into the saddle just I mean just pounded her because she didn't know how to set it right and it broke it knocked the caps off of her teeth and big boy Williams horse set on on her teeth after that and they were all jagged and she had to have them redone but then the producer said well Dale that wasn't too bad Roy what do you think and dad 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 a woman's rear end and a saddle in my life 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 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 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 chance to to have a child of their own you know they jumped right on it and and then of course when Robin was born and and found out that she had Down's syndrome again it was a shock originally you know I mean you're never ready for that but then it settled in that this is a lovely young human being that's from both of us you know there must be a reason why they didn't know nobody knew at that time what caused Down's and they recommended that they put her in institution the doctor said you need to put her in institution and dad said are you kidding me we're not putting her in institution she says this is our child we're going to take her home and love her and so 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 because she was very fragile and but even during the time that Robin was there and very ill they did both of them just love that little girl to death I mean it was just it was part of them and and and 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's syndrome children Robin probably could have lived into her 40s or 50s we don't know but it was a gift from God and and dad always says when you never give a gift up you never throw it away a gift is a gift no matter who gives it to you you keep it and and and she was not only a gift to to Roy and Dale but a gift to all of us kids who 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 she couldn't speak of course but we communicated with she had certain giggles and laughs she'd do and she would we would play hide and seek I'd get under the crib you know and I'd reach up and touch her arm and she'd giggle and roll try to see where I was and and that's the kind of play we had but she was just a sweetheart I still see her eyes and her looking through the bars of that crib today I mean she just was 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 Down's 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 you bring them to the show the Down syndrome 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 them to everybody you know he picks and choose who he wants to have them and they're his angels it 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 you know they're they're they're moments of of angry and and little little fits and stuff but they love you unconditionally and the only other person I know that does that is either a dog or god that loves you unconditionally I mean no matter what happened and and that's what's special about them and so they've always been special to me and always will be I mean they're just 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 it she she was puzzled for the longest time on how how I need to tell robin's story but 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 I don't you know give me some direction on how to write this book this angel unaware book I want to write and she said it was just an amazing thing that the good lord put on her heart well don't you tell the story let robin tell the story angel aware the book that mom finished after robin passed away had a huge impact 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 not realizing that god made it possible for them to have one and that it was going to change their life in the future and and and 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 I that she had passed on and she'd moved but but the god sent her for a short time to be a blessing to Roy Rogers and Dale Evans that was her job the 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 on down syndrome children as less than perfect they're not you know it and 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 they don't 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 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 there was something there that that that 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 syndrome children at out at all 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 wherever they were because they felt that well if Roy and Dale can be blessed with one of these children and take them home and love them why shouldn't we and why should not this child is special and they're a blessing so why why shouldn't I take something that I'm proud of out and and let them experience the world which is cruel sometimes but they're no different than anybody else they they need to have a chance at life like you and I had and you've been listening to Roy Rogers Jr 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 his mother's just can-do spirit and actors and actresses of the time they just always took the work my goodness the storytelling on Robin a down syndrome child of Roy and Dale I wanted to tell Robin's story Dale prayed to God in a New York park bench but I don't know how and a bit 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 is told by their son Dusty Rogers here on Our American Stories. Following last year's amazing turnout the Black Effect Podcast Network and Nissan are helping HBCU scholars jump start their futures by throwing another Thrill of Possibility Summit. The Thrill of Possibility Summit is an opportunity to network with peers and professionals and gain career knowledge from leaders in the industries of science technology engineering art and math also known as STEAM. To kick it off Nissan is giving 50 HBCU scholars who major in STEAM disciplines the opportunity for an all expenses paid trip to Nashville Tennessee this year's summit location this is a remarkable opportunity to be mentored by some of auto tech and podcasting's brightest minds bringing together notable voices of the Black Effect Podcast Network featuring Charlamagne the God, John Hope Bryant and Debbie Brown all brought to you by Nissan. Success is a journey you're in the driver's seat to learn more about the Thrill of Possibility Summit please visit www.blackeffect.com slash nissan. Hello there this is Malcolm Gladwell host of Revisionist History eBay Motors is here for the ride you saw the potential through some elbow grease fresh installs and a whole lot of love you transformed 100 000 miles and a body full of rust into a drive entirely its own look to your left look to your right no one's got a ride like this there's nothing else that sounds like feels like or looks like the set of wheels in your garage with over 122 million parts for your number one ride or die you can make sure your ride stays running smoothly so there's no limit to how far you can take it brake kits turbo chargers engines exhaust kits roof racks led headlights bumpers whatever your baby needs ebay motors has it and with ebay guaranteed fit it's guaranteed to fit your ride the first time every time for your money back plus at these prices you're burning rubber not cash keep your ride or die live at ebaymotors.com eligible items only exclusions apply on heart of the game we're talking with some of the most successful families in sports to learn what's really making them tick from staying healthy to fostering strong family bonds we'll hear from athletes such as kurt warner on what lessons are being passed down to a new generation of athletes there is a level when we play that we feel we're invincible you feel like it's not going to happen to you but then anytime it does whether it's you suffering an injury or teammates suffering a traumatic injury that's what stops you in your tracks and it makes you go okay we're not invincible and it becomes more personal it's a part of the process to have to work through those things you know and understand the risks that go into it and understand the rewards or the love for the sport listen to heart of the game every thursday on the i heart radio app apple podcast or wherever you get your podcasts so 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 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 uh and i think for them it was a challenge to do their every day be in front of a camera be smiling 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 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 what what what purpose is you know what we know that you've given this child to us what but but why what what is it that you want us to do what is it that and and that's what mom because she said 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 mom and dad i think they spent at least 11 10 to 11 hours out in the carport just holding each other and crying you know we'd look out the window and they'd just be sobbing holding each other and i got to thinking you know wow i mean you know again five years old you know couldn't understand why we couldn't see rob and 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 what they did and and and still still say roy and dale and still do the obligations that they had in life 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 going to happen to all of you you're not going to all pass away now now don't you 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 him through it somebody asked him one time 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 1941 playing madison square garden he said i was walking back by the by the cattle shoots and around the corner come this little guy about four years old dressed exactly like me he said that's when i knew that i had to keep my life in line 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 pact then with himself then good lord i'm sure that he would do everything he could to keep his image what so that kids could look up to him and and mean something and of course then that's and he was hitting hospitals even then and then on and then when the the polio thing was so bad in the 40s and 50s he would go to the hospital then he he was fighting all the time in his mind because i know he believed in god but he was he was angry at god somewhat i think because he couldn't understand why if we have such a trusting and just and and merciful god why he would allow children of all things his youngest creations to come into this life and and be attacked by some terrible disease or born with deformities or born and 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 he couldn't he couldn't reconcile reconcile why and so he was almost driven to the fact that he wanted to to go and see those kids and entertain them and many many stories i could tell you the one that that hits the most is is you know a lot of the kids who had polio in the 40s were put into iron lungs their lungs were undeveloped and they needed help and so these machines iron lungs would help them 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 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 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 them a little bit 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've got you've got to buck up a little bit you got to you know the cowboy way is not to lay here and worry fret about it it's to fight and get out of here and he said i'm going to 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 this poor little kid he's can't he got his he his head is all he's got out and roy's giving him a gun belt what is that but then dad 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 boys and girls would do in the country and then someday i want you to come to hollywood and see me and that doesn't tell you we've had a lot of over the last you know i've had a band for 40 years and i have seen so many and i have seen so many people that have come that were in iron lungs in the 40s that dad came to the hospital put up that gun belt and they got out and of course 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 i think that's why kids loved him so much he was as big a kid like at heart that they were he thought if he gave him just a little of encouragement on the level that they would understand and if roy tells you to do it especially in the 40s you did it and it worked really well yeah many of the kids come to the show even today in the last this last couple years i've had i've had three in the last couple years i try to keep track they still have the gun belt and 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 as aware the leather's worn off all the spots have come off and stuff and say i wore it everywhere i wore it to bed my mom used to get so mad at me because i didn't want to wear it in the bathtub and they stopped me from doing it but but it was their most prized possession and and still is today mom knew that she they didn't want to have another child they didn't want because at that time they didn't know what caused downs they thought it might be an rh blood factor problem one negative and one positive in their blood type but they weren't sure so when they lost ramen just before her 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 them grace and and and they were able to get back 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 if we'll have another down syndrome child or not then we'll adapt and you're listening to the son of roy and dale evans dusty rogers that's roy rogers jr 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 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 all good cowboys are tested finding words of encouragement for these kids this big international superstar having this heart 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 as told by their son dusty rogers here on our american stories yes following last year's amazing turnout the black effect podcast network and nissan are helping hbcu scholars jump start their futures by throwing another thrill of possibility summit the thrill of possibility summit is an opportunity to network with peers and professionals and gain career knowledge from leaders in the industries of science technology engineering art and math also known as steam to kick it off nissan is giving 50 hbcu scholars who major in steam disciplines the opportunity for an all expenses paid trip to nashville tennessee this year's summit location this is a remarkable opportunity to be mentored by some of auto tech and podcasting's brightest minds bringing together notable voices of the black effect podcast network featuring charlamagne the god john hope bryant and devi brown all brought to you by nissan success is a journey you're in the driver's seat to learn more about the thrill of possibility summit please visit www.blackeffect.com nissan hello there this is malcolm glaubel host of revisionist history ebay motors is here for the ride you saw the potential through some elbow grease fresh installs and a whole lot of love you transformed 100 000 miles and a body full of rust into a drive entirely its own look to your left look to your right no one's got a ride like this there's nothing else it sounds like feels like or looks like the set of wheels in your garage with over 122 million parts for your number one ride or die you can make sure your ride stays running smoothly so there's no limit to how far you can take it brake kits turbo chargers engines exhaust kits roof racks led headlights bumpers whatever your baby needs ebay motors has it and with ebay guaranteed fit it's guaranteed to fit your ride the first time every time for your money back plus at these prices you're burning rubber not cash keep your ride or die alive at ebaymotors.com eligible items only exclusions apply on heart of the game we're talking with some of the most successful families in sports to learn what's really making them tick from staying healthy to fostering strong family bonds we'll hear from athletes such as kurt warner and what lessons are being passed down to a new generation of athletes there is a level when we play that we feel we're invincible you feel like it's not going to happen to you but then anytime it does whether it's you suffering an injury or teammates suffering a traumatic injury that's what stops you in your tracks and it makes you go okay we're not invincible and it becomes more personal it's a part of the process to have to work through those things you know and understand the risks that go into it and understand the rewards or the love for the sport listen to heart of the game every thursday on the iheart radio app apple podcast or wherever you get your podcasts and we continue with our American stories and the story of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans as told by their son Roy Rogers Jr. aka Dusty let's pick up where he last left off 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 went down from Ohio down to Kentucky down to Louisville and they had heard of the orphanage dad would always invite orphanages to bring their kids over for the show and they had had a chance to visit one of them and 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 how old a 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 a chair since he was born practically didn't know what a bed was and and they treated him pretty badly so they you know they said this is the guy we got to get for for uh for Dusty and then they stopped by Hope Cottage on the way back home and they adopt a little American Indian girl Choctaw Indian Mary little doe call her Doty so I'm coming to the airport uh 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 a little baby girl I got to thinking here hey what's going on you know and uh and I I've got pictures of our first meeting sand and I first made and I did not like him I thought oh wait a minute just a minute I was the prince here now all of a sudden I got somebody horning in on my spot and mom's mom explained now this is your new brother his you know we his name is John David Harry Hardy but we're going to call him Sandy and this is Doty we've got a little Mary little doe she's going to be your sister well Doty I fell in love with 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 uh 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 uh well they got a little Marion from they'd gone in 1954 they went to uh to England and Scotland and Ireland and fell in love with a little girl named Marion or her name was Marion Fleming and wanted to adopt her and couldn't because she uh international adoptions weren't allowed so they became her foster parent and uh then they uh adopted a little girl they wanted to adopt a little girl there was a uh when the ban on international adoptions was listed and lifted in the 60s they adopt a little girl from Seoul Korea her name was Inae Lee called her Debbie Lee and uh so it just kept going on and on until they ended up with nine children total and uh and uh boy it was a bunch I'll tell you it was a bunch and you know six six months old six and a half months old to 19 you know Tom was 19 20 years old at that time and I'll tell you we were it was wild and crazy it really was but dad pulled us all together and said hey you're all the same in God's eyes you're the same in your mother's in my eyes you'll all be our kids and you're going to all be treated equal 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 so deal with it and and we did we moved to apple valley in about 1965 I think it was the year we moved up there and the reason we moved was that little Debbie the Korean orphan the year before 64 was on her way back from Mexico the church had done a goodwill mission down there kind of kind of a sister church and the bus blew a left front tire and it came across the highway on down near Oceanside 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 his neck fused to the third vertebrae fourth vertebrae fused together he had staph infection 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 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 and would comb his set and comb his 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 she just and he just she just played it to the hilt with him and he had a very close bond 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 got to move we got to get out of here this isn't the same place that I remember and so we moved Apple Valley in 1965 I was already there I had moved up early I was there two or three weeks well actually a little longer that before mom came up he came up around Christmas time 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 adapt okay but then mom and dad came up and and they got a little house on the highway there was beautiful and Apple Valley was very quiet and about 8,000 people and and everybody knew Roy and Dale they kind of left them alone which was nice and everything was going really great and then on October the 31st my mom's birthday in 1965 got a call from the defense department that my brother sandy had choked to death while serving with army in Germany well here we go again you know and dad especially took it really bad we got I think both of them well mom did too but dad was especially upset over it and over it and again questioning you know how much 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 every cowboy had their own 10 codes dad's was different than Hoppy's Hoppy's was different than gene dad's was based on the bible and it was based on the 10 commandments but it was in child in child words but that they could understand it you need to go to Sunday school every Sunday and you need to weigh your parents and you need to eat all your food no waste any and there were you know just basic 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 kid everybody wanted to be a cowboy even the little girls wanted 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 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's no reality anymore so I just wish that the producers and directors and and people in in the media today would take an account that they're still young they may be you know they may have a spendable income when they're 13 maybe I don't know but the target audience for most all almost everything today is 17 to 27 30 maybe 40 if you're lucky most of it's younger than that because we've gotten away we've gotten away from what's important and that's the family unit my mom used to say dusty 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 it and so far out away from it I don't know if we can come back we can if if as Americans we say 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 and a terrific job on the storytelling and editing by Greg Hengler and a special thanks to Roy Rogers Jr. aka Dusty for 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 Dale to that grief the loss of his Down syndrome 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 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 Jr. which was the family is all we have family will save the country family and love is what saves everything and makes life worth living the story of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans their family as told by Dusty Rogers here on Our American Stories. 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