Any boy in America worthy of his coonskin cap 70 years ago knew that Davy Crockett was born on a mountain top in Tennessee, “greenest state in the land of the free.”

He knew that the famed frontiersman “kilt” (killed) him a “bar” (bear) when he was only 3.

They knew he was “raised in the woods so he knew every tree.”

“The Ballad of Davy Crockett” told him so, and more.

In the summer of 1955 and for much of the year, Crockett was the craze of many little boys in America who helped turn the legend into a $300 million industry that year.

Famous in his lifetime as a frontiersman, a three-term member of Congress and dying a hero as a defender of the Alamo, the craze made the 1830s hero into a 1950s role model.

His exploits, real and exaggerated, were espoused in the No. 1 pop hit song for five weeks in 1955, “The Ballad of Davy Crockett” by Bill Hayes.

He became the stuff of hero worship for little boys and a marketing boom for Walt Disney Studios and local merchants. The coonskin cap became an iconic feature on the heads of many boys.

Anything branded with Davy Crockett – caps, clothes, records, comics, toys – soared in sales as the cultural phenomenon took off across the United States. In 1955, no other name-brand merchandise outsold Davy Crockett-name merchandise.

It didn’t take the Tri-Cities long to buy into the Davy Crockett fad with the amount of attention little boys threw at it.

The movie, “Davy Crockett: King of the Wild Frontier,” mesmerized kids in 1955. The movie made its star, Fess Parker as Crockett, a national celebrity kids swarmed to meet on tour stops. Buddy Ebsen, later starring in the television series “Beverly Hillbillies” as Barnaby Jones, played his sidekick, Georgie Russell.

On Dec. 15, 1954, Walt Disney's Wednesday night television show, “Walt Disney Presents” showed the first of a three-part miniseries, “Davy Crockett: Indian Fighter.” The hourlong showing was followed in January 1955 by the second part, “Davy Crockett Goes to Congress.” The third, shown in February, featured “Davy Crockett at the Alamo.”

When the Crockett craze swept the nation, Walt Disney combined the three-part television miniseries into a single movie for theater release, “Davy Crockett: King of the Wild Frontier.”

This postcard was given to children who saw the movie “Davy Crockett: King of the Wild Frontier,” in June 1955 in Kennewick. This is a photo of the author’s postcard from that showing.

| Courtesy Gale Metcalf

Tri-Cities premier

When the movie premiered at Kennewick’s downtown Benton Theatre on Sunday, July 10 in 1955, every boy and girl who attended was promised a free photo of the frontiersman. Kids were encouraged to dress as Crockett. The best three received prizes.

Local merchants concocted enticing sales to sell Crockett products.

Anderson Motors, “Your friendly Chrysler-Plymouth Dealer” at Stevens Drive and Swift Boulevard in Richland, gave free Davy Crockett tumblers for every 10 gallons or more of Richfield gasoline that mom or dad put in the family car.

Davy Crockett (and Roy Rogers) lunch boxes complete with thermos were on sale for $2.19 at any of the four Diamond stores in Uptown Richland, downtown Richland, Kennewick and Pasco. Regularly priced they were $2.49.

The three Thrifty Drug Store outlets in Richland sold Davy Crockett Frontier Land pencil cases for 69 cents, or Davy Crockett bubble bath and soap sets for 59 cents.

JCPenney had stores in all three towns, but only at the Pasco store could kids snag a fur-trimmed Crockett cap for 50 cents.

The Campbell’s food markets in Pasco, Kennewick and Richland gave kids a chance to pick up a pair of Davy Crockett blue jeans with “guaranteed weatherproof knees” for just $1. But you had to provide a Betty Crocker picture from a package of Betty Crocker pancake or waffle mix. A 4-pound box sold for 49 cents.

Diettrich’s Market at Duportail Street and Wright Avenue in Richland offered a pack of Davy Crockett wieners for 45 cents a pound. They were a little more – 49 cents a pound – at Sherman’s Food Center at Kennewick Avenue and Olympia Street, but you got a free comic book, too.

C & H Foods in Pasco, Kennewick and Richland offered the opportunity for a free Davy Crockett action ring, but you had to send two Karo syrup labels to Karo in New York to receive it. The corn syrup sold for 45 cents a quart at C & H.

A genuine Davy Crockett wagon complete with tractor-type tires was going for $6.88 during the Sears carload sale at its store at 1215 W. Lewis St. in Pasco. It normally sold for $8.95.

A genuine Davy Crockett chair “made in Tennessee” could be found at Kennewick Furniture Co. on Kennewick Avenue.

Longtime downtown Pasco merchant Weisfield’s Jewelers at 121 N. Fourth Ave. offered a Davy Crockett plate, cup and bowl set for tots for $1 during its “Dollar Days” sale. It regularly retailed for $3.50.

Market appeal continued as Christmas neared. Thrifty Drugs offered a rifle and cap set for $1.88. The cap had “real fur” with Davy Crockett's insignia, and the rifle “sparks as it shoots loud popping cork.” The store also sold an all-leather double holster set with Crockett decoration for $2.88.

The Elite Shop in Uptown Richland offered Crockett hats for 79 cents, but the store had only 12 in stock. Economy Drug in Richland and Pasco sold Crockett cap rifles for $2.98.

It was a crazy craze.

Gale Metcalf of Kennewick is a lifelong Tri-Citian, retired Tri-City Herald employee and volunteer for the East Benton County Historical Museum. He writes the monthly history column.