Since my humble beginning long, long ago I have felt drawn to Red River like a divining rod drawn to water.
I remember the story well. My dad and mother and dad's
brother and wife had gone fishing on Red River. "The year was 1940, and the best I can remember it was September," Dad would begin. "We threw our pallets on the sandbar. Your mother and Dovie built sand castles while Earl and I caught fish for supper. After supper we searched the skies for the Little Dipper and watched the moon rise." Nine months later, July 11, 1941, I made my debut. Dad moved us to Mulberry Bottom, on Red River, in 1947. There we fished, trapped, hunted and truck farmed for a living. I graduated from high school in 1959 and moved to Dallas. I went to work for Braniff Airlines; married the former Miss Della Riley, and we started a family, all in that order. By 1969 we had had enough concrete jungle. We moved back to my old stomping grounds. I created myself a job — Price Floor Maintenance; but I never gave up wishing to find some way of making a living from Red River. It took me a long time but I finally did it! In 1986 I began to design and build furniture using dogwood hoops like dad had used in his fish nets. I perfected my designs and I became Wildwood Dean. By 1998 I had perfected my designs; which resulted in me receiving the Texas Forestry Association's annual "Award of Merit for Architectural Excellence in Wood Design."
In 2002, I hung up my hammer and picked up my pen; and then embarked on a 16-day 400-mile canoe trip down Red River. My goal: Interview people along the river; study her history and tell her story. I became obsessed with Red River. I became her most astute scholar. I invite you into my world; the world of Red River where we can become river people together ... if only for a little while.
