Fess Parker - Hero of the 50s - Dies March 18

Fess Parker will be remembered for wearing that old cap with a coonskin tail hanging down his back. He could wear that coonskin cap well. During the 50s just about every boy and many girls strapped on their guns and played life on the prairie. That included hunting and tracking "wild animals." I know my brother didn't miss an episode of Davy Crockett. He'd plant himself in front of our black and white TV, waiting for Fess Parker to tell his latest story of life in the time where men hunted and families lived off the land.

In those stories, Fess Parker would fight to the end for his neighbors and friends. But he was a soft and gentle, God-fearing man also. He would care for the sick and show the kids how to nurse and care for sick and broken animals.

Fess Parker brought alive the chases through the southern woods after those the wild animals that could harm people and farm animals. Fess Parker made those stories believable and the good guys always won. He taught young people from those stories on TV. He showed them that truth and honesty should be a goal each one of them strived towards. The characters he played also went through awful times and revealed how difficult some situations become. This happens, not only in the movies, but to all of us even as we're trying to do our best.

Fess Parker stared in the movie "Old Yeller" and if you've ever seen the movie, you know how exciting he made the life of that dog and its family. And who could watch the end without shedding a tear when the family of Fess Parker lost their very special friend.

During the 60s, Fess Parker brought Daniel Boone alive in his TV stories. Everyone watched Daniel Boone and looked forward to seeing what Mr. Parker's character would deliver to us on those evenings. He demanded honesty and truth. Fess Parker's characters and the old coonskin cap were badges of life in days of simpler times gone by.

Children sang the songs - "Davy...Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier" as they rode school buses and played after school. The same with the Daniel Boone theme song that told us it was time for one of our favorite TV shows.

Fess Parker became a Disney Legend in 1991. If you can remember the excitement and joy he brought to the lives of many children of the 50s and 60s, you will truly feel Mr. Parker deserved this special honor.

I'm sure the names Fess Parker, Davy Crockett, Daniel Boone - and that coonskin cap will stick in the minds of many of us. They remind us of simpler times and playtimes of our childhood.

We give tribute to this special person for his life dedicated to show a special time in American history.