Time marched on and I graduated from BonhamHigh School. I had other things on my mind rather than take a float trip down Red River. I moved to the city, got married and then moved my family back home to Bonham, Texas. I never told Della, my wife, that Red River was close to Bonham. Dad and I resumed our Red River relationship. In 1974 Dad died ... I lost him. More than ever I found solstice in Red River. 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!
One Saturday afternoon in 1986, my wife and I paid a long over due visit to Della's brother and wife in
Brownwood, Texas. They owned "COUNTRY ROADS" and they bought and sold primitives and pioneer furnishings. I saw some of their willow twig furniture and began to tell them about dogwood.
They all but begged me to build some furniture from dogwood after they heard my dogwood net hoop story. I promised them I would think about it.