Growing up in a Southern Baptist church I hated children’s choir. Nothing against singing or even hymns, but choir practice was my least favorite time of the week. That’s because it was at 6pm Sunday night at the exact same time the Wonderful World of Disney came on TV, and it was there I could see old reruns of Davey Crockett, and Daniel Boone.

Both shows were my favorites as a boy. I missed the coon skin cap craze that swept the nation in the 1950s but I still spent many an afternoon exploring the nearby woods fighting imaginary foes with my trusty musket in hand. ( It even had a place where you could put a little cap of gun powder in the flintlock, but of course did not fire so all the neighborhood songbirds were safe)

This year the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum honored the star of those shows, Fess Parker, with their annual Western Heritage Award. It was a real treat for me, and one I think his family certainly enjoyed. In this week’s On the Horizon video blog we look back at America’s favorite Coon Skin Cowboy.

~ Rob McClendon