I learned about Kenneth Morgan from Wyatt Leinart and Charles Ray Russell. Kenneth is a violin maker. When he retired from American Color Graphics, he started repairing fiddles and guitars. Kenneth started this career in 1981 by taking apart violins and with help from J. C. Hounshell, he was able to start putting them back on his own. It takes 30 days if he works steady to make a violin. He has made all of his tools and uses curly Maple wood from Michigan and the tops are spruce. The original Stradivarius violins were made in 1694. The parts of the fiddle are scroll, neck and body. He carves and shapes each one with his measurements from a pattern. I asked what the difference in a fiddle and violin were and Kenneth said, “the way it is played”. He does not play but can tell when it has perfect tune. He also makes bows. He made a fiddle and had it when he and his wife, Ramona, and his mother, Helen Morgan, went to visit relatives in Jefferson, Missouri. They made a stop in Branson and while at the Baldknobber Theater, he visited with the Japanese fiddle player. After the show, Kenneth went to the car and brought the violin to him and he played it on stage. He told him to take it to his friend Shoji Tabuchi. The next day they met Shoji at his office and he played it for about 45 minutes. He asked to buy it but Kenneth's wife would not sell. Eight months later, they were in Branson and Shoji spotted him in the crowd and asked about the violin. Kenneth is a member of the Violin Makers Association in Tucson, Arizona, which Shoji told him to join and there are members that are from Russia, Greece, China and Japan. He entered his violin in the competition and was judged on tone and quality of craftsmanship in 1996 and won 7th place. Famous country western personalities have contacted Kenneth about making or repairing their violins. He credits James Croley at the old Lufkin National Bank for getting him interested in the fiddle. It was interesting to see the neatness of his shop. He uses hide glue so that they can be taken apart if not in perfect tune. He has made about 20 violins in his career and has lost track of them. I told him that as famous as Shoji is, he is something to be from East Texas and have a violin that he would want to buy since Shoji only has 150 fiddles. Kenneth owns Ken's Fiddle at 936-637-7589 if you need one restored, repaired, bow re-haired, strings repaired or a handcrafter violin by Ken.
Thomas Gibbs, 13-year-old son of Karen and Greg Gibbs killed a 7 point buck with a 15 and three quarter inch spread at Eason Lake Hunting Club. Greg was out of town and Karen was with Thomas. The deer weighed 155 lbs.
Happy Birthday: Raymond Saunders, Terri Zeleskey, Todd Hutson, Joy Killam, Joy Eagle, Elizabeth Perkins, Haleigh Reed, Nancy Moore, Sue Morgan, Nelda Morrison, Jimmy Zeleskey, Ben Lively, Mallory Kennedy, Sandra McCarty, and Jacob Cornelius.
Happy Anniversary: Jerry and Geraldine Bishop, James and Mary Gibbs, Maudie and Clifford Trevathan, Theresa and Danny Williamson, Joel and Margaret Dillahunty, Marvin and Patsy Slusher, Jody and Debra Brown, Bryan and Sandra McCarty.
Sylvia and Bill Ricks introduced daughter Amanda (Ricks) and her husband Peter Cain at a party at Lynda and Don Langston's home with other hosts: Martha and John Bates, Barbara and Dan Carter, Julie and Cooper Castleberry, Jan and Tommy Deaton, Lisa and Wayne Haglund, Anne and Jack Halter, Ellen and Bennie Hollis, Patsy and Wayne Lawrence, Paula and David Leeves, Debbie and Louis Lloyd, Cissy and Bobby McCarroll, Linda and Robert Poland, Joann and Abb Roquemore, Donna and Tom Spore, Cathy and Meb Todd, Carol and Will Zbranek.
Carol and Will Zbranek are the grandparents of twins born to Shelley and Cody Kirkman. William Randall Kirkman weighed 2 lbs 4 oz.when he was born May 17 in Fort Worth. Caroline Lee Kirkman weighed 2 lbs. They were born at 26 weeks and Carol calls them her “miracle babies”. Forty weeks is term, I learned this last week. They weigh 14 lbs now. Their three and a half year old sister is Addison. They keep Carol busy helping Shelley since she has returned to her assistant principal job and has help during the week but not on weekends.
Catherine Mann in Austin reads the Diboll Free Press and wrote me about their daughter's Gift Boutique, The Looking Glass, and her friend's tearoom, Primrose & Fine Lace, in Buda, Texas. There is the gift shop, tearoom and an antique shop that are open Wednesday to Saturday on Main Street down from El Jardenia. We will have to make a trip to Buda the next time that we are in the Hill country.
La June Bradley has been making the Markets in east Texas. La June, Julia McKelvy and Judy Winger went to Houston to the Nutcracker Market. Then on Saturday, La June, Barbara Pulaski and Julia went to Tyler to Mistletoe and Magic and had lunch at the Potpourri House. Next is Holiday in the Pines in Nacogdoches. Guess they will make that one.
The Lufkin Rotary Club will hold it's 50th Annual Waffle Bake Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, November 28, 29 and 30th at the Angelina College cafeteria. The event will start at 5:30 p.m. and end at 7:30 p.m. Advance ticket prices are $4 for adults and $2 for children and may be purchased from any Rotary Club member. Tickets at the door will be $5 for adults and $3 for children. There will be holiday entertainment nightly and all proceeds support the Lufkin Rotary Club. The funds generated will help the club continue to support the Ellen Trout Zoo and give local scholarships.
Billie Willmon enjoyed working the early voting and Election Day on November 7. Diboll had a good turnout. On Wednesday, Billie went to Tyler to keep grandchildren Olivia (2 years) and Simon (10 months) while her daughter Andra Willmon Terburgh had a booth at the Junior League of Tyler's Mistletoe & Magic. Andra has a custom bedding and drapery shop “Silk Threads” in Tyler and also works for MRI Central on Broadway.
Constable Tom Selman has a sign on his red truck “A policeman dressed in a Santa Claus suit with a message: He sees you when your drinking, He knows when you're .08”
The Diboll Pilot Club will have the annual Tree of Light program on December 7 at 5:30 p.m. at the Diboll City Hall. An Sweeny will light the tree. The program will be the children's choir from Diboll Elementary, Boy Scouts, scripture reading and a special by Claire Beaty. Everyone is invited.
I visited with Hester Mary Eddins and found out that daughter Flossie Eddins-Folensbee is the Associate Dean of Student Affairs at Baylor Medical School in Houston. She also is the Training Director of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. She and husband Rowland have four children: Tre is 17, Tyler is 15, Matt is 12, and Meredith is 7. Dr. Frank Meredith Eddins is the grandfather of these children. Belated birthday greeting to Hester Mary for her birthday on November 12. Debbie Wilson had a birthday on November 17.
Rudolph the Red-nosed Pumping Unit is lighted and again the Christmas season is near. I read an article by Nancy Croom Wilson about her dad Guy Croom who thought about the song “Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer” that was made popular by Gene Autry in 1949 and wanted to create the first Rudolph Pumping unit. So in 1952, the tradition began in Lufkin more than 50 years ago. Since that time, Rudolph has had other units called Dasher and Dancer side by side behind him. One year the Rudolph was “tiny” and my daughters, Julie and Nancy, called Frank Stevenson, President of Lufkin Industries who had been our neighbor, and told him that Rudolph needed to be the bigger unit. I call Joe Byrd, our neighbor, Rudolph's granddad because the units today are his invention the Mark II. Now the Lufkin trailer is behind Rudolph showing what makes our town famous. Rudolph is a major star and Lufkin is now known far and wide for Rudolph the Red-nosed Pumping Unit at Christmas time. The 40th Anniversary Christmas ornaments are on sale for $10 with the proceeds going to the Lufkin Industries Scholarship Foundation.
Frank Sheffield, of Lufkin, always enjoys the time he spends at a Texas A&M football game but recently it was even more special. Frank was honored at the A&M and Oklahoma game a couple of weeks ago for the Bugle Call award. Frank's children, Bryan Sheffield, of Tyler, and Charlee Sheffield Garbs, of Gladewater, nominated him by writing a letter to Texas A&M about the Aggie pride that their dad has always shown. The Bugle Call award recognizes former Texas Aggie students who have been very loyal to A&M. Frank has not only served on numerous boards at A&M but has also held football season tickets for over 35 years and has only missed 2 home games in those years. Pictures of Frank of his days as a student at A&M and present pictures with his Aggie children and grandchildren were shown to the football game crowd. Frank's family was all able to be there as 86,000 people at Kyle Field gave Frank a standing ovation and yelled "Whoop" the traditional Aggie yell. Congratulations and Gig'em to Frank.
Hope that your holiday was a good one. Tell me about yours.
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