We Were Soldiers Cowboys Once… And Young

Today’s Pics: Talk about long ago and far away! What I know: these pics were taken in the Sacramento, CA area, most likely in base housing on McClellan AFB (the Christmas pics) and in the house my parents bought somewhere near Mather AFB. What I don’t know: The exact year. I’m probably between four and five years of age in these pics…that’s my best guess.

These five pics were taken on at least two different occasions, but they reflect my very young boyhood obsession: cowboys. Hopalong Cassidy, in particular, but Red Ryder, Wild Bill Hickok, and Roy Rogers were up there on my list of heroes as well. My shirt, pants, and boots are Hopalong Cassidy signature items, as is the small table radio and the camp chair in the Christmas shots. I kept that radio until my teen-age years…the rest of the stuff sorta disappeared, as stuff tends to do when you move every three years or so.

My memories of this time are pretty faint to non-existent. I do remember my mother taking me to the “Kids Matinee” at the base theatre nearly every Saturday. The “show” was free and featured one “B” cowboy movie from the 40s and a few…usually three… “shorts,” that could have been about nearly anything. The moms on our block in the housing area rotated “kid duty” and took a gaggle of small boys on these outings every Saturday morning. That outing was the highlight of my young life at the time.

I also remember that we had one of the first televisions in our sub-division after Dad and Mom bought the house near Mather AFB, which was quite the Big Deal. Sacramento didn’t have a TV station when Dad bought the teevee, and he and his friends erected a 20-foot mast (at least, more than likely taller) and a huge antenna on our house so we could receive broadcasts out of San Francisco…badly. All the kids in the neighborhood and quite a few of their parents would gather to watch teevee in our living room. That was a real social event for the times, even though there wasn’t a whole helluva lot to watch. I also remember getting out of bed in the morning, running into the living room and switching on the teevee to wait for the morning shows to begin…impatiently waiting for the test pattern to disappear and the programming to begin.

Our family stayed in the Sacramento area until 1953, at which time Dad was reassigned to London, England. Dad was the recipient of one of those infamous “short-notice” assignments, and he preceded us in England by several months. My Mom, my sister and I followed about six months later. The trip from Sacramento to London…via Mom’s home in Atlanta, Georgia… was quite an adventure for an eight year-old boy, not to mention Mom… who drove across the US of A with my sister and I all alone. That was quite daring in 1953. I’ve told the tale of the move and subsequent adventures in three installments… here, here, and here… if you’re interested, Gentle Reader.