Treasures from the Dalston Oxfam

Charity shopping in Dalston is a great way to spend an afternoon. Its dead cheep and you often come away with some fun finds. Last week I came back with these coasters, at a cost of a pound forty-nine:

1950’s Cowgirls posing with a Palomino who looks suspiciously like Trigger

At first I thought the images were of woman posing with Trigger but the bridal is wrong so it’s probably another Palomino. Still, it got me thinking about Roy Rogers. I first got to know about Roy Rogers when my mom gave me a few Roy Rogers reels for my 3-D View-master back when I was little. Rogers gained the rights to use his own likeness, voice, and name for merchandising in 1940 and at one point was second only to Walt Disney in the amount of items featuring his name. By the way it appears Mattel still makes View-Masters! For those who don’t know Roy Rogers was a very famous movie and television cowboy. In fact he, his wife Dale Evans, and their horses Trigger and Buttercup appeared in over 100 movies in the 40’s and 50’s.

Roy Rogers and Trigger, Dale Evans and Buttercup

Trigger was Roy Rogers horse. Actually 3 different Palominos played the part of Trigger over the years. The first Trigger was originally called ‘Golden Cloud’ and had a white sock on his left hind leg. Rogers changed Golden Cloud’s name to Trigger as the horse was fast on his feet and quick with his mind. He died in 1965 at the ripe old age of 33 and was made into a taxidermy which resides at the Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Museum in Victorville, California.

Little Trigger does at little dance on the Perry Como Show

The second horse to be Trigger, called ‘Little Trigger’ was a wonderfully talented filly who could dance and do stunts. Trigger became wildly popular, especially with Roy’s younger fans. Rogers and his wife were both huge contributors to charity both with their time and money and Rogers would even take Trigger to the hospitals to visit sick children.

Ok, I’m off to Canada tomorrow so until then ‘Happy Trails to you…!‘