Ohio State Fair Broadside Featuring Roy Rogers   Save
Ohio History Connection Archives/Library
Description: The 1956 Ohio State Fair opened on Friday, August 24 with a sellout crowd attending a grandstand performance by America's "King of the Cowboys," Ohio native Roy Rogers. It was Rogers's first appearance at a state fair. Rogers, his wife Dale Evans, Trigger, and their performing troupe headlined the five-day event. This poster announcing the show also advertises the "Farm Animal Babyland" at the fairgrounds in Columbus. The poster measures 21" x 14" (53.34 x 35.56 cm). Roy Rogers (1911-1998) was born Leonard Frank Slye in Cincinnati, Ohio. In July 1912, his father and uncle built a houseboat and sailed upriver to Portsmouth, Ohio. It was in nearby Duck Run that "Len" grew up as a typical farm boy. In 1923, he raised a black Poland China piglet that became a championship sow at the Scioto County Fair. The prize was $5 and a week-long trip to Ohio's capital city and the 4-H Club Congress in Columbus. In 1929, Rogers moved to California and worked as fruit picker. He changed his name to Dick Weston and began singing with the Sons of the Pioneers. In 1938 he starred in Under Western Skies using the name Roy Rogers. He made more than eighty films during his career, including King Of The Cowboys, Son Of Paleface, and Hollywood Canteen. From 1951 to 1957 Rogers starred in the television series "The Roy Rogers Show." View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: Om1602_2751954_001
Subjects: Agriculture; Arts and Entertainment; Ohio State Fair; Rogers, Roy, 1911-1998
Places: Columbus (Ohio); Franklin County (Ohio)