MULE TRAIN: Since the laundry product “Borateem” has been
touted in recent columns as a way to combat flea-infested carpets,
we were reminded of the old Western, “Death Valley Days” sponsored
by the U.S. Borax company. People of a certain age will remember
the laundry box and commercials featuring the 20-Mule-Team.

Rosemary DeCamp was the spokeswoman on the commercials, but many
readers will remember Ronald Reagan as one of the hosts of the
program that featured true tales of the American West. Other hosts
were Robert Taylor, Dale Robertson, John Payne and Merle
Haggard.

The show also had a memorable introduction: “As the early
morning bugle call of the covered wagon train fades away among the
echoes, another true Death Valley Days is presented by the famous
Borax family of products – 20 Mule Team Borax and Boraxo.”

A little research shows that back in the late 1800s, 20-mule
teams were actually used to move boron, the mineral used to make
the Boraxo and Borateem, out of Death Valley, Calif., to the
nearest rail connection.

That couldn’t have been an enviable task for either man or beast
since Death Valley has temperatures rising as high as 190 degrees
Fahrenheit.

Death Valley’s history as a source of the mineral is an
interesting one. It seems boron is a result of ash deposits from
volcanic eruptions millions of years ago blowing into lake beds.
These deposits contained boron, from which borax is derived.

All of which leads to the perfect connection between “Death
Valley Days,” the show, and its sponsor.

We must admit to momentarily confusing “Death Valley Days” with
some other “oaters” from that time period, “Wagon Train,” among
them. Let’s face it. These shows all appeared in the golden age of
TV westerns when you couldn’t change the dial – yes, we used that
terminology on purpose – without running into “Bonanza,”
“Maverick,” “Wyatt Earp” and “Gunsmoke.”

The imposing Ward Bond was the wagonmaster on “Wagon Train.”
Wagon train? 20-mule team? After 50 years, memories do blur!

“Remember the whip cracking at the beginning of Wagon Train?” a
friend asked.

That would be at the beginning of “Rawhide,” if memory serves us
correctly. The whip crack introduced the show featuring that
driving theme song sung by Frankie Laine. Clint Eastwood, as trivia
fans know, played Rowdy Yates on the show.

All this from a discussion on flea remedies!