Cassidy's young fans, and some of his older ones as well, rushed into the street, hoping to touch him or Topper. The cowboy hero slowed down and let them touch him and pet his horse.

The 10,000-square-foot museum holds several thousand items of Hopalong memorabilia and includes the 250-seat Bar-20 Theatre that will play Hopalong Cassidy movies.

Indeed it was a Christmas tree, and surrounding it were hundreds of gifts, ... The Hopalong Cassidy Museum, 15231 SW Parallel Rd., Benton, Kan., is open 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Saturday.

Hopalong Cassidy was introduced in 1907 as a fictional character in a story by Clarence E. Mulford. During the years, Mulford wrote 28 books featuring the cowboy. Hopalong was so ...

My “Hopalong Cassidy: King of the Cowboy Merchandisers With Value Guide’ (Schiffer Publishing, 1995, $29.95, 168 pp.) devotes over half a page to U.S. Time’s Hopalong Cassidy wristwatch.