The rules were simple

Recently I had the occasion to observe approximately 70 adults momentarily step back in time. The ages varied but the response was the same, a spontaneous laugh followed by an ahhh. The reason was simple; the person talking was sharing words of wisdom from the past with the youngsters in the gathering. Keith was sharing a bit of history that he and almost everyone else in church that day had grown up with. Strange how these words of our childhood had made such an impression on us that we immediately recognized the source and we all had the same reaction.

Regardless of where these people had grown up they shared a genuine fond memory of their childhood with everyone there.

I know I’ve told before how much the Wild West influenced the lives of the 1950s kids. We had big imaginations, and many of our days were filled with pretending to be one of these heroes or heroines. We used our bikes to be our Trigger, Buttercup, Silver, Scout, Target, Topper or Champion. Because we lived and breathed the Wild West and looked upon these characters as heroes, we took in everything they said as the gospel truth. We listened to their adventures on radio as we cleaned our rooms. Then when television came along we watched with wonder their escapades every Saturday morning. They were the good guys.

   It goes without saying that the Golden Rule, “do unto others as you would have them do unto you” are the words to live by and the icing on the cake. But to really enjoy the experience of the cake you have to have the right ingredients and for us kids of way back when, there were ten- forever to be known as the “Roy Rogers Riders 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 take care of 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 our country



Gene Autry added to our upbringing with the Cowboy Code by reminding us that we also needed to remember that:

1. To have a friend – you have to be one

2. All things change but the truth alone lasts forever

3. All men are created equal and every man has the power to make this a better world.

4. Never betray a trust

5. Never take unfair advantage

6. Always tell the truth

These words of wisdom were right on then, and they still are today and will be in the years to come.

Finally, John Wayne always reminded us that, ‘courage is being scared to death and saddling up anyway.’  All the way through the years we have followed the rules and sometimes we still find ourselves in a situation where we have to saddle up anyway.

Happy Trails to you, till we met again.



Jan’s first book ‘Growing Up With My Best Friend’ is due out soon. For more information check out www. independencekids1950.com.