During the 1940s and 50s, thousands of boys and girls were members of the “Roy Rogers Riders Club.”  These were the membership rules:

            1.  Be neat and clean.

            2.  Be courteous and polite.

            3.  Always obey your parents.

            4.  Protect the weak and help them.

            5.  Be brave but never take chances.

            6.  Study hard and learn all you can.

            7.  Be kind to animals and care for them.

            8.  Eat all your food and never waste any.

            9.  Love God and go to Sunday School regularly.

            10.  Always respect our flag and country.

            With the dearth of role models for youngsters today, we wish we had someone like Roy Rogers.   He was certainly a hero for my generation.  For 10 or 20 cents we could go to the movies each week and watch Roy ride Trigger into trouble and strike a blow for the cause of justice.  At his side was Dale Evans on her little horse Buttermilk.  In the middle of the fray was their faithful dog Bullet, helping them solve crimes and right wrongs.

            Roy never cussed or smoked or drank.  He used his six-shooters only in self-defense, never in anger.  When he pulled his gun, it was to force the bad guy to drop his.  If Roy had to knock a man down to get him to come to his senses, he would help him back up again when the lesson had been learned.

            As a superstar of movies, radio, and television, Roy toured the country.  In each city, he made it a point to visit the children’s ward of the local hospital.  Special rubber shoes were made for Trigger, and Roy would ride the beautiful palomino right into the hospital ward, much to the thrill and amazement of the young patients.

            Roy and Dale were wonderful role models for decades.  They reared many orphan and foster children at their California ranch and worked for church and charitable causes.     

            Perhaps we should all resolve to observe the rules of the rider’s club.  We should also search for a role model for today’s youth – one who can measure up to Roy Rogers, the king of the cowboys.