By Larry Ginter

Even a chill in the air and a threat of snow didn’t discourage the capacity crowd that came to hear Simon Kenton.

After another great meal by the foundation and games and music in the tavern, everyone settled in to hear the story of frontiersman, Simon Kenton as portrayed by Mel Hankla. Aided by his walking stick, an elderly Simon Kenton shuffled into the blockhouse to tell his story.

He proceeded to tell the crowd his life story. As a young man of 16 years, Kenton got into a fight with another young man, over a woman. Thinking he killed him, he fled his home with only the clothes on his back.

From the humor, the daring excitement to the tragic death of his little girl, the crowd was spellbound. With a standing ovation and questions afterward, it was truly another great evening.

from Mel Hankla: “ I really felt that it was one of my best performances ever. I have been doing a lot of General George Rogers Clark in the schools and it had been several weeks since I had done Kenton. Actually that’s probably the longest span of time in recent years between Kenton performances. So I came out, and the script just fell away and the storytelling kicked in. That’s when it really comes from someplace deep inside. “

Special thanks to Larry Ginter for photographing and submitting the story from this event. Larry and Jackie Ginter are members of the Fort Boonesborough Foundation and regulars at the fort.

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