Kenneth McKinnish, known by most everyone as Durango was a Lexington Icon. How do I know? He told me so. And you know what, he was absolutely, 100% correct.
Kenneth lived his entire life in Lexington and earned the nickname “The Durango Kid” for the popular Saturday kids’ matinee Western movies in the 40s and 50s. Most people didn’t know his real name, he was simply Durango, one of Lexington’s characters, a Lexington Icon.
There was one person who didn’t like the name Durango, and that was his wife, Annette. She was listening to the radio broadcast one night from Holt-Moffit Field. Durango ran the hand-operated scoreboard for years before a modern, electric scoreboard was installed. She heard the announcers refer to Durango on the scoreboard too many times, so she marched to the ballpark, grabbed her husband whose name was Kenneth, and made him come home!
It was at Holt-Moffit Field that I got to know Durango. I worked with Harold Bowen broadcasting the American Legion Baseball games. Kenneth never missed a Legion game, home or away. Jim Lippard took care of Durango, even having the bus pick him up at his boarding house for away games and giving him a stipend to buy his meals. He would sit behind home plate and yell at the umpires, offering them his glasses when they missed a call.
Durango was also a fixture at the Davidson County Agricultural Fair every year on the third week of September. He would help us at the gate, usually handling the “pass out” stamp for folks leaving the fair who planned to return. There were times that members of the Kiwanis Club would not report for duty, but I could always depend on Durango—he was always there, loving every minute.
When Annette died, Kenneth was devastated. For the rest of his life he carried her picture in his wallet. He could tell you the day, the hour, the minute, and the room number at Baptist Hospital when she died. But it wasn’t too long after her death that he told us he had a girlfriend. I remember Harold talking to Durango as a father would talk to a son, telling him that he didn’t need a girlfriend.
“But she loves me,” Kenneth said.
“No, she doesn’t,” Harold told him. “She loves your money.”
Kenneth couldn’t see that what Harold was saying was true. He was too trusting, too good for his own good. His “girlfriend” took all the money he had. He lost his house and moved to the boarding house across from the police station. He rode his bicycle, smoked his pipe, sat on the bench in front of the police station, attended Legion games, helped us at the fair, and rode with his good friend, Jimmy Snyder, to Wake Forest football and basketball games.
He lived a simple life, but a life that was profound in his loyalty, his friendship, and his commitments. Durango would do anything to help you. I have a number of little trinkets that he gave me, so proud that he had something to share with me.
Kenneth had no material possessions when he died. We talked about a simple cremation as the least expensive option, but Durango was a Lexington Icon and he deserved better. Jack and Dan Briggs at Davidson Funeral Home graciously said they would donate their services. The Wilbert Vault Company donated their services also. Friends at First Baptist Church, the YMCA Thursday morning Bible Study, and the Kiwanis Club collected money to pay for the rest, and on a cloudy Friday morning we all gathered at the Lexington City Cemetery for a dignified and honorable funeral.
Durango would have loved it! All of his friends were there. The town’s leading citizens stood by his grave. Representatives from the Police Department, the City Council, the Kiwanis Club, Legion Baseball, and Davidson Funeral Home were all there. His friends, church family, and his classmates payed homage to a Lexington Icon. It was like a scene out of a movie.
No, he didn’t have any material possessions, but on this day the Durango Kid was the richest man in town!
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