Time marched on and I graduated from BonhamHigh School. I had other things on my mind rather than taking 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 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 was diagnosed as having a bad case of, Red River in the veins!
One Saturday afternoon in 1982, my wife and I paid a long over due visit to Della's brother and wife in
Brownwood, Texas. They owned "Country Roads" and dealt in primitives, country collectables, and pioneer furnishings. I saw some of their willow twig furniture and began to tell them what I've just told you about dogwood. They all but begged me to build some furniture from dogwood after they heard how dad had always passed up willow for dogwood. They wouldn't let me off the hook. I finally gave in and told them I would think about it.
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As is my nature; I must know all there is to know about everything I know. Dad always called the little mongrel tree dogwood. But was it? Dogwood has beautiful flowers ... the little tree dad called
dogwood bears clusters of small blooms. I was astounded by what I found. My research brought goose bumps! The fact is, a lot of the dogwood that grows along Red River is Cornus priceae or Price dogwood. Price is my last name! Now this had me wondering. Goose bumps popped out on my skin and brought me a shiver; akin to the kind I get when I look at Red River.
On our drive home I shuddered at the thought of the way that everything I built when I was a child, fell to staves. I fastened things together with scrap twine and nails that I managed to steal from the barn, smokehouse or even the outhouse. What more could I have expected? With dad's help I had successfully built box traps from dogwood twigs, held together with a bow across the top and held up with figure 4 triggers that I carved from ash strips split ash saplings. The wheels in my mind, however, were turning. A thought crossed my mind that would haunt me and force me, after several days, to give it a try.
