by DEEANNA HANEY
Intern Lifestyles Reporter
 
If he were alive today, Daniel Boone, the famous Boone pioneer, trailblazer and namesake would have celebrated his 275th birthday last week.

“He was kind of a legend in his own time,” English professor Sandra L. Ballard said.

With Robert Morgan, author of “Boone: A Biography,” Ballard co-taught an English class in Spring 2009 called “Daniel Boone in Fact and Fiction.”

The class focused on a six-week lecture and a three-week study of Daniel Boone in fiction and film.

One of the most prevalent misconceptions of Daniel Boone is that he wore a coonskin cap, Ballard said.
In actuality, he wore a three-cornered hat, also worn by Quakers.

Many believe Daniel Boone killed several American Indians.

“I think people think of him as big fighter of [American Indians] and, in fact, he was a very gregarious person who would rather talk himself out of trouble than fight his way out,” Ballard said.

Senior English major Forrest G. Yerman was a student in Ballard’s class last semester.

“[Daniel Boone] just had a passion for the land and the native people – more than [a passion] for just conquering the land,” Yerman said.

Yerman said the class learned Daniel Boone killed over 155 bears during his lifetime.

Daniel Boone’s family lived near Yadkin River, which is how he found his way to Boone, Ballard said.

Although the exact location is unknown, Daniel Boone frequently camped near Appalachian State University.

He often hunted and, on several occasions, likely trailed the town of Meat Camp.

In 1775, Daniel Boone was contracted to improve trails between the Carolinas and Western United States by using American Indian trails, according to “History of Western North Carolina” by John Preston Arthur.

Daniel Boone was also a member of Freemasonry, a fraternal organization with members including Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin, among others.

“It made him feel like he had a part of the founding of this country, in a way,” Ballard said.

Founded as a restaurant in 1959, Dan’l Boone Inn attempts to carry on Daniel Boone’s legacy by providing customers with a country atmosphere.

Named after Boone because of his local influence, Dan’l Boone Inn features memorabilia from times past scattered throughout the restaurant.

“We have antiques dating back into the 1800s,” Jeff D. Shellman, general manager of Dan’l Boone Inn said.

Customers are likely served similar to how Boone experienced meals with his family: “family style.”

“We just try to serve an old-fashioned, Western North Carolina mountain-type meal,” Shellman said.

Because of such preservation of the past, the name of Boone lives on.

TrackBack URI for this entry

Comments (0)

Show/Hide comments