August 2, 2022
The Paper Of Record for Fannin County Texas
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The Man Behind the Pens – It’s a Bois d’Arc Thing Story & photos by Rose Schwartz During the month of June’s Bonham City Council Meeting, a familiar figure came forward to present each member
of the council, a custom Bois d’Arc wood writing pen he had created. He was familiar to me because this was not the first time I had witnessed David Keene presenting one of these unique writing utensils to a
local dignitary. However, at this meeting, he also presented a copy of “Wood Eternal The Story of Osage Orange, Bois d’Arc, Etc.” by Fred Tarpley along with his pens and my curiosity was
piqued. Obtaining the green light from my editor, I sched-
07/02/19
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uled an interview with Mr. Keene to learn more about his story. When Mr. Keene arrived for our meeting, his love for Fan-
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nin County became very apparent as one of the first things he wanted to get clear when I had mentioned having read “Wood Eternal” was that though it was a good book, Mr. Tarpley erred in naming Commerce as the Bois d’Arc Capital of Texas as it is not in Fannin County. He then proceeded to detail how though he had not been born in Fannin County, with his dad having grown up in Fannin County, he spent his summers here as a child. He noted how his mom and dad retired in Fannin County in 1975 (his mother moved away after his father’s death in 1986) and how he and his wife moved here in 1996 after his retirement in 1994 as an engineer with Alcoa in Pittsburgh, Pa. Add to Mr. Keene’s story, a great great grandfather settling in Fannin County in 1852, and some might say his draw to this part of Texas was just natural. When asked how he came about making his pens, he explained how there are these bois d’arc trees on his property he had cut into lumber and when told by his sister-in-law about a neighbor of hers who did woodwork, he gave her a 2x4 of bois d’arc wood for her to give to him. Upon her next visit, she brought back a beautifully crafted pen from the piece of wood he had given her. He liked it so much, he took it to a meeting and promptly lost it. He said he tried finding someone to make another to replace the pen he’d lost and when he could not find anyone to do so, he converted a metal lathe to make a pen similar to the one he’d lost, and he was hooked. Since then, he has been making pens as a hobby and about fifteen years ago he decided to give pens to the County Commissioners and the members of the Bonham City Council in appreciation of their civil service. Others he has given his pens to include 336th District Judge Laurine Blake (she is a great fan of his pens) Senator Cruz, Senator Cornyn, Representative Smith, Representative Fallon and members of different civic organizations. He showed me two similar pens that differed in color as one was lighter wood than the other and explained how the pen changes color as it ages. And though he gives his pens as a gesture of appreciation for those who serve the greater good, I learned a huge part of his gifting of pens is “so everybody in Fannin County have at least some contact with bois d’arc; see it, touch it, hear of it.” Mr. Keene is a great fan of the bois d’arc tree. Continued See Bois on page 4
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