Forever Friends: Sam and Roy

By PATSY STODDARD Editor

Sam Singleton of Ferron recently had a visit from an Army buddy. Roy Rogers and Sam Singleton met in September of 1950 and have been friends ever since. Their friendship has spanned 65 years and is still going strong.
Rogers has been out to visit Sam a few times in Ferron because he has a sister in Salt Lake and includes a visit to Sam when he makes the trip to Utah. Sam has yet to make it back to Oklahoma, where Rogers is from, but he keeps reminding Sam he owes him a visit.
Rogers has been impressed with the cordial people he has met in Ferron. They have talked about gardening which is a favorite of his.
Singleton said, “We met at the Fifth Army Headquarters in Fort Sheridan, Ill.”
Rogers said, “There was a lot of snow that winter. That winter I became good friends with Sam. One Saturday evening Sam came looking for me. All of the other people were out at the bars and I was the only one there. Sam asked what I was doing. I said nothing. Sam had relatives back there in Chicago. We started going to plays out there, because neither one of us went to bars. We saw Cyrano deBergerac, Oklahoma, South Pacific and Sonya Haney; He had a cousin there that worked for Campbells foods and we went to their place in the wintertime. We went skiing, too. We spent our weekends together doing things and going to plays. That’s how we met.”
Rogers is from Newkirk, Okla.
Singleton said, “I was teaching school when I was drafted. I taught for three weeks, before I left for the service. When I got back in September of 1952, I went back to teaching. I worked for the Emery County School District for 41 years.”
Rogers said, “I worked for Southwestern Bell Telephone Company when I got my love letter from the draft board. I reported to Kansas and from there to Ft. Sheridan, where I met Sam. We put up our pup tents there in six inches of snow. We took basic training there. We took marchs down the hills and had mock battles in the gullies there. There were explosions and some of the guys got down and stayed down all night. I enjoyed all of it. We had good leaders there and learned a lot. I got along really well, with all the guys. They even offered me a job there, but I said no, I wanted to go back to Oklahoma. I got notice I was supposed to ship out for Korea. I was going to leave out of Fort Sill. I was going to work on the radios since I had experience from the telephone company. Then I got notice I was going to the West Coast unit and then to the East Coast unit. I went through more schooling and then became a radioman in a tank company in Germany. We were out in the Mediterranean sea and in Italy in the Adriatic Sea. I was in communications there and lived on a pier.
Then I was in charge of maintaining an ammunition dump. I kept the lines maintained, if the phone lines went out at 3 a.m. I would go out and put on hooks and go up the poles and fix them.”
Singleton said, “After we go out of the service, we kept track of each other. We called on the phone and sent letters. Because Roy had a sister and she married a fellow from Salt Lake, he would come out to see her. This is the third time he’s been out. I think it was about the year 2000 when he was here last.”
Rogers said, “There’s a lot of agriculture back in Oklahoma and the oil wells. It’s a pretty busy place. I worked for the phone company for 38 years. I started there in 1948 and then went into the Army. After the army, I went back to the phone company and helped put in the switching systems. In the early days, the government would give money to help put in the systems, but no money to maintain them. So, I maintained the systems and went around to all the little towns. It was the best job. This was when the circuits went to dial.”
The two friends have been seeing the sights together in Emery County. Sam brought Roy over to see the Museum of the San Rafael. Sam said, “I have been showing him the cows and farms. We went up the Millsite Reservoir to see the dam spill. That’s a beautiful sight. The last time Roy was here, he played golf at Millsite with JJ Grant. We are going out to see the Buckhorn Panel and to the Little Grand Canyon. Today we are seeing the museum and on Saturday we are taking him on the mountain to take the cows.”
Roy attributed their long friendship to common interests. He teases that Sam is the educated half of their team. They could talk freely together and got along well and played by the rules. The two have a love and zest for life in common. Sam said he’s four days older than Roy which makes him a little wiser; the two will celebrate their 88th birthdays on Oct 19 and Oct. 23, respectively. They are 87 now.
Roy said life has had its ups and downs. As a 7 year old boy his father passed away leaving him and two younger brothers and his younger sister. As the oldest he was used to hard work to help out the family.
He had a friend in the Navy that lived in their neighborhood and when the neighbor’s friend from the Navy came to visit, he met Roy’s younger sister and she married the Navy man and now lives in Salt Lake.
Singleton said, “Roy’s sister has joined the LDS church while living in Salt Lake and is now a widow. Her daughter there takes good care of her and the daughter and sister are the ones who brought Roy down to Ferron to have his visit with Sam. His sister is really good to look out after him.”
“The only difference between me and Sam is he’s a Republican and I’m a Democrat,” said Roy, “but sometimes I’m not happy with either one. I am a member of the American Legion and have been for years.
“My dad died in 1939, he was in World War I and was a combat engineer. He died from the effects of mustard gas,” said Rogers.
Singleton too, is an active member of the American Legion and just recently participated in the Memorial Day observances at four local cemeteries. Rogers had some observations on life, “You’re here, make the most of it.”
The pair have been going strong for 65 years and they know their friendship will continue from this life into the next as they plan to enjoy each other’s company as best friends forever.