Just as suddenly as the craze had taken the country by storm, it ended. By the early part of 1956, major department stores across the country had cut their Crockett counter space by 2/3rds, and items were drastically reduced as much as 70 percent and still not selling. The coonskin cap that was selling upwards of 5,000 a day, during the summer of '55, was now in the back at the discount rack. Disappointed store retailers cried, "Kids were more fickle than women!" Simply put... every kid had one. As a 3-year-old, I recall that the older kids in my neighborhood, when seeing me and my (younger) Crockett crowd, stopped playing their Crockett games, saying it was 'kids stuff!'
Who can say why it ended? No one can even really say why it all started. It just was the biggest unplanned ,unrehearsed, unexpected craze of the decade that became the blueprint for all the others that followed. From the Hula Hoop to the Power Rangers, to whatever's coming next on the horizon, they all owe a debt to 'ol Uncle Walt's Davy, his song, his hat, and a substance that few that followed had! "Daveeee... Davee Crockett, King of the Frontier" -- the ballad can still be heard. Sing it loud and sing it proud, boomers, it's our song!! |
