Fess Parker

David Boaz, over at Cato@Liberty, points out that Fess Parker has died. He played both Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett on TV, although he's probably better known for the role of Daniel Boone. The above link quotes a speech Davy Crockett made titled "Not Yours To Give". Given the current state of our federal government, it's worth a read.

I grew up on Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett. This isn't necessarily because I grew up in Tennessee, but it probably had some part to play. I remember reading biographies of the two and everything I could get my hands on related to the frontier era. (When I was in elementary school, that is. Later, I discovered science fiction, and then that's all I wanted to read.)

WRT Davy Crockett, it's probably also worth noting that we recently passed the anniversary of the Battle of the Alamo. While this is remembered as one of the pivotal points in Texas history, it should be pointed out that 32 of the 180 or so men who died at the Alamo were Tennesseeans, including Davy Crockett. This is where Tennessee earned the nickname the Volunteer State -- some 30,000 Tennesseeans volunteered to fight in the Mexican War in order to exact their revenge on Santa Anna.