I just loved the opening theme of Death Valley Days–that haunting bugle solo. And there was something evocative in that distant view of the 20-mule team.
And then, of course, Rosemary DeCamp would come on with another ad for 20-Mule Team Borax, whatever that was, and the spell would be broken.
Death Valley Days first aired in 1952 and ran to 1970. In 1964-65 future President Ronald Reagan was the host (he quit to run for governor of California, which he eventually achieved).
Oh, I remember this one. Hadn’t thought of it in a long time, but I rather liked it at the time.
I never did quite understand what borax was.
We watched it at our house – had no idea it was on TV that long. Why were Westerns so popular with my parents’ generation?
Boraxo is still available and is a laundry booster, when clothes are really dirty, it will help.
I had forgotten all about this program. Thanks for reminding me. It starting airing in 1952, a year before I was born. Wow, so long ago. It’s to bad I can’t stop remembering programs like “My Mother the Car,” which only lasted a very short while.
I don’t know that our country could have survived 18 years of My Mother the Car.