Fenton Historical Society and The A. J. Phillips Museum issued the following announcement on Mar 10.
Fenton Fun Fact!
Did you know that Fenton was once home to a Wild West trick shot artist?
Charles Damon-- otherwise known as "Left Hand Charlie," was born in 1863 in New York, then moved to Fenton with his family when he was a youngster. While his father, George Damon, ran his store downtown, Charlie would get his friends to throw eggs into the air so he could shoot them. By the late 1880s, he put those sharpshooter skills to good use by performing in Wild West shows throughout the United States.
These shows began as theatrical stage productions and eventually evolved into open-air shows. They romanticized the American West and blended myth and reality to reinforce notions about Manifest Destiny, identity, and gender roles. Essentially, they were dramatizations of the "winning of the West."
After he retired, Damon purchased the home at 308 W. Shiawassee, and eventually opened Damon Orchards at 1010 S. East St. The orchard sold peaches, apples, pears, plums, grapes, and cherries.
Damon died in 1934 at the age of 71
Original source can be found here.
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