Kevin Daniels is a true history enthusiast from small-town Iowa whose life is filled with passion and adventure. Daniels’ obsession with history, fueled by his personal experiences and curiosity, drives his dedication to learning all he can and sharing his knowledge. His passion for history is evident in every word he speaks and artifacts he collects.
Daniels’ interest in history is rooted from his childhood.
“When I was little, hearing different stories from when our great uncle lived with us, and he’d tell stories of his dad in the civil war,” he said. “I’m more into the Civil War” he points out that he’s especially into the surgery and other medical techniques developed during those times.
Daniels is also a member of the National Congress of Western Shootists, who participate in Wild West reenactments and other activities such as attending lectures and discussing varying topics.
“We had a Buffalo Bill impersonator that actually goes around and does shows with the crew, you know watch specialists… I went to a couple lectures on Winchesters and on clothes and stuff,” Daniels said.
In reenactments, Daniels wears period attire and acts out cowboy shootouts. Daniels enthusiastically shares his shootout stories.
“…he comes up I pull out my gun I start shooting blanks at him, now there’s tv cameras and stuff, the front half of my gun just falls off on the ground and they caught my face,” he said. “Jack just comes up and shoots me and he tucked a gold piece in my shirt to bury me. It was fun; that corrupted me. It got me really into the cowboy competitions. I’m a current marshall of a 20-person posse.”
He also shares his historical knowledge through presentations that he says he will give to “anyone that will feed me.” Daniel’s historical interests extend beyond that of American history.
“I would pick [a time he would travel back to] being really with King Kamehameha of Hawaii, back in that time period, yes. because they were interesting people. It’s just an interesting culture and time period…I’m multifaceted,” Daniels said.
He views history through multiple perspectives, pointing out that “history is whoever wrote it.”
Daniels is akin to a walking textbook, and if he does not know an answer he knows right where to find it. He says he used to be able to remember every number he ever heard and he tells me why now he cannot.
“A couple years ago I ended up with a bit of spinal fluid that was coming up out of my brain, down through my nose and oh, my memory is not worth crap. I had original neurosurgery, exploratory surgery in ‘72 because I went blind and they thought I had a brain tumor,” Daniels said. “And so they did exploratory and I lost half of high school and grade school. It kind of came back years later, and I still have problems remembering, like if you surprised me I can’t think of anybody’s names. Now I’m working with this neurosurgeon and he just thought that was funnier than heck because I can remember so much other, everything but a name.”
Daniels also has an extensive collection of historical artifacts that vary from Civil War surgical instruments to antique firearms. His most prized possession is a little nickel-plated microscope from the Civil War that he acquired at a National Congress of Western Shootists event.
“They all loaned me five bucks a piece and I buy this thing, I get home and look it up on the computer and at the Bausch and Lomb library,” Daniels said. “They have a whole building full of microscopes and stuff. They don’t have this one that they made.”
Despite his sentimental connection, Daniels is willing to donate it to a museum, who “really want to get their hands on it,” which reflects his commitment to history.
He has also acquired a number of historical guns including a rare ivory-plated one. Although it can get Daniels going when there are historical inaccuracies in movies, he appreciates successful replications of guns and he in fact owns a gun that was replicated for a movie.
“All the ivory inlay, and the brass, it’s just absolutely gorgeous. It’s just a piece of art,” Daniels said. “I’m thinking this thing should be two or $3,000. Well, I paid 75 bucks. The difference is it’s not a real gun, it’s a movie prop, but all the work is exquisite.”
Daniel’s collection includes several Civil War-era medical instruments which he finds very intriguing. This interest aligns with his career in nursing.
“I had a fabulous career, the last 25 years… You couldn’t have anything more interesting, never bored for a minute, but like I said I ended up with one of the greater jobs,” he said. “Nursing school I think I got interested in that because… I lost my two close friends growing up, fourth grade and sixth grade to Leukemia. That’s what got me interested in going into that. This came later.”
His voice carried the weight and impact of these tragedies.
Additionally, Daniel’s historical interests extend to his own family’s past. Through many stories passed down through generations and from his own research, Daniels finds out all he can about his own ancestors’ involvement in history, from the Revolutionary War to conflict in the ‘Wild West.’ Many of these stories are funny ones about familial misconceptions or surprising revelations such as one about his great-grandfather, great-great uncle, and great-great grandfather who all went into the Civil War at the same time and were a part of the 116th division. He chuckles about this.
”They were part of the 116th Ohio, bloodiest outfit of the whole Civil War… Well you think of that meaning they were the worst fighters, [but] no they were the best fed,” Daniels said. “They went into town and stole horses and mules and whatever they could eat, and in fact they sacked one town, these are our own union towns…the other companies nicknamed them the bloodiest unit. It had nothing to do with battles. I find that interesting.”
