My Red River, grammer school education began in 1947 after a farm with a fishing hole, located on Red River in Mulberry Bottom, became a reality for us Prices. The next 12 years of my life I became dad’s student. I followed him religiously as he taught me the basics of what he termed “Red River’s Nature.”
It seems like yesterday, that Delton and me sat on a cottonwood log on the banks of Red River and listened to dad deliver his “You’re fixin’ to learn how to swim in Red River,” speech. “Red River is a thing I don’t want you boys to be ‘fraid of. You gotta respect ‘er ‘cause she delights in taking those who panic. Don’t ever fight against her current. Let ‘er have ‘er way with you and she’ll spit you out … fight ‘er and she’ll swallow you up!"
I graduated from high school in 1959, took a job and began an unhappy period of my life. I felt owned by my job. In 1969, I began a migration back to nature … back to owning my job rather than it owning me. The transition culminated in 1986 when I began to rely fully on the Red River and its rich fertile bottoms for my livelihood. I entered a period in my life that I like to think of as being my formal Red River education. For the next fifteen years Red River became my classroom and Mother Nature my instructor. I gathered dogwood, cedar, willow, rattan vines and all sorts of vegetation. Two and three days a week — sometimes a week at a time — I collected the fruit’s of the Red RiverValley. Back at my shop I turned my collection into furniture and other beautiful designs. I became Wildwood Dean to those of whom I peddled my wares.
