Visiting the Rogers Daisy Air Gun Museum, Rogers AR

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Remember the 1983 movie “A Christmas Story” when all Ralphie wants is a Red Ryder Daisy BB gun? Most boys wanted those in the 40s and 50s and back then a kid could walk into a store and buy one. Today, you have to be 18. Hard to believe Daisy is still a viable enterprise in this anti-gun era. The company has called the Arkansas town of Rogers home since 1958. While driving into town you can see the factory and headquarters marked by the vintage neon sign. The museum is located downtown in an 1894 building. The company began in 1882 as the Plymouth Iron Windmill Company in Michigan. Air guns were not new. There is a display of ancient ones from 1600s to 1800s. Plymouth began manufacturing air guns in 1889 and changed names to Daisy in 1895. No explanation given for the 1958 relocation. Virtually every Daisy model is displayed from the beginning to the current available for sale in the gift shop (naturally). The originally 1889 model is a crude looking affair. In 1951, the transition from wood grip and stalks to cheaper plastic was made. The museum arranged decade by decade. Each section features not only air guns of the period but an array of vintage signs, advertising, pellet tins and boxes and other memorabilia. There is the company clock from 1898. The company ceased production of air guns during World War II to produce parts for the war effort. The famed Daisy Red Ryder BB gun came from a 1938 licensing agreement with the owners of the “Red Ryder” name. “Red Ryder” was a very popular kids radio program (and later movies) thus a natural fit. Most today do not know Red Ryder was a cowboy character. There was a poster from “A Christmas Story” displayed in the museum. The movie was sales booster.