Historical Niagara’s Dave Bennison died a day before he was to take part in Marshville Festival

Dave Bennison had been talking about being part of the Marshville Heritage Festival “for the past six months straight,” said Jack Hilts.

“That’s how excited he was.”

Bennison, the host and producer of Historical Niagara, a Facebook page on which he shared videos about local history with over 20,000 followers, made his passion for history clear. A post Friday morning — a day before the 35th Marshville Heritage Festival began — encouraged his followers to visit him there.

It included a photograph of Bennison and Hilts dressed in period costumes, standing in front of a log cabin at the heritage village in Wainfleet.

Bennison died later that day of kidney failure.

“I still can’t believe it,” Hilts said. “He died the day before. It’s unreal. It’s not fair.”

Bennison was supposed to be wit