tamatoledonews.com (SPECIAL) – Remember singing cowboys? Western serial movies? Shane? Hopalong Cassidy? Roy Rogers and Dale Evans? Even if you are too young to have experienced the era of Westerns in movie theaters, you will “thrill” to the tales of heroes, villains, stuntmen and the many characters that portrayed the pioneer days on the silver screen. These tales will be shared during a program at the LeGrand Pioneer Heritage Library on Tuesday, Jan. 19, at 7 p.m.. This program is made possible by Humanities Iowa.

Martin Kelly, a former plant manager of Thomas & Betts and President of Iowa City Area Development Corp. has been a collector of cowboy movie memorabilia for over 45 years. He recently was guest curator for the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library’s exhibit of “Hollywood Cowboys.” He not only shared some of the objects he has collected, but also shared his many stories – to the delight of visitors and audiences. He will provide this same experience during his program at the library.

During the 1920s through the 1940s, and even into the early 1950s, the predominant entertainment for the masses was either radio or movies. Youngsters (and some adults) spent their Saturdays at a local theater watching a western or double feature, a serial chapter, some cartoons and a newsreel. Cowboy films were produced at prolific levels during this period, and the so-called B-western was the dominant entry in the genre.

The stars that rode the dusty trails to adventure included Tim McCoy, Buck Jones, Johnny Mack Brown, Ken Maynard, Bob Steele, Tom Tyler, Wild Bill Elliott, and many others. In the mid to late 1930s, the “singing cowboy” arrived in the form of Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, Tex Ritter, and others. An entire “posse” was needed to staff all the supporting/character roles, walk-ons and bit parts in these cowboy flicks. These were the scores of actors and actresses that portrayed villains, lawmen, bandits, wagon train members, kid roles … and the grizzled old ranch owner. Some men, and a few women, parlayed their expertise and physical capabilities into stuntwork and doubling.

By the mid 1950s, kids (and their parents) were staying home to watch the tube. Some even ate a newfangled “TV dinner” while viewing a favorite late afternoon or evening show. Many “Hollywood Cowboys” became born again stars with starring or supporting roles in the many television westerns that were so popular in the 1950s and 1960s. Many “Baby Boomers” remember watching Gene Autry, Roy Rogers Duncan Renaldo, Leo Carrillo, Guy Madison, Andy Devine, Russell Hayden and others in shows that are still shown in syndication to this day. Big screen westerns with John Wayne, Randolph Scott, Gary Cooper, James Garner, Henry Fonda, Clint Eastwood and others were big moneymakers in the 1960s and 1970s.

If you loved to watch Hollywood Cowboys during a Saturday matinee, at the local drive-in, on that new-fangled television set or on a late-night cable channel, this program is for you. For more information on this program contact the library at (641) 479-2122.

Shelley Barron, Director, Pioneer Heritage Library, LeGrand