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Enola Gay Mathews
Old ways can be some of the best ways. How to guess when spring has arrived is one of those ways.
It is said that when the bois d’arc tree blooms, it’s safe to plant your garden because the danger of frost is over.
Wood from the humble bois d’arc, or horse-apple tree, is called “100-year wood” or “iron wood” because it is virtually rot-resistant. That made it perfect for fence posts and gate posts as settlers began to tame the land. Some landowners planted living fences of bois d’arc because of its fast-growing nature and its low, dense, and thorny branches. Only the female tree bears the lumpy, green fruit called 'hedge apples' or 'horse apples.'
From the December 2022 'Texas Parks & Wildlife Magazine,' we learn that the name bois d’arc is French for “wood of the bow.” Indians of the Osage tribe used it. The wood is hard yet flexible, and largely unaffected by changes in humidity. As settlers came west, the same qualities served them in making wagon-wheel rims.
Bois d’arc still grows wild in its home range of North and Central Texas and the Red River Basin. The state champion tree, 62 feet tall with an 88-foot canopy, is in Bowie County. Commerce, Texas, has been holding a tribute to the Bois d’arc tree for almost 40 years. There’s the Bois D’Arc Spring Car Show coming up on April 27 in Commerce, and the annual Bois D’Arc Bash this fall.
Local Turning 90
On March 17, Colleen Hines of Sulphur Springs is turning 90. She was born on her mother's birthday, and because it was St. Patrick’s Day, she was given an Irish-sounding name. Friends are invited to her birthday party next Saturday.
Lillian Colleen Lewis was born in Red Lick, Texas, near Texarkana, and grew up there with two brothers and two sisters. She graduated from East Texas State Teachers College, earning Bachelor's and Master's degrees with a major in Home Economics. Her first job was as assistant to the County Extension Agent of Lamar County.
In 1958, Colleen married Donald Hines of Bonham, Texas. Don’s career was in management for Sears & Roebuck, a job which moved them to Lovington, New Mexico, where Colleen taught school, then later to Sulphur Springs.
Colleen taught Home Economics at Sulphur Springs High School from 1971 until 1994 and inspired many students through Future Homemakers of America and Young Homemakers of Texas. Several of her students became home economics teachers in Hopkins County. She is a lovely and gracious lady.
Colleen’s daughter, Donna Morris, and husband, Craig, of Mansfield; and her son, Russell Hines, and wife, Angelia of Euless, along with grandchildren and great-grandchildren, are hosting Colleen’s 90th birthday party. It is set for Saturday, March 16, 2024, from 1 p.m. until 4 p.m. at The ROC in Sulphur Springs, and is come and go, with friends invited.
A reference to the longevity of wood like the bois d’arc is found in a line of the song, “I Wish I Was Eighteen Again,” made famous by George Burns. It goes “Old folks and old oaks standing tall, just pretend.” It may make you think of a beloved grandparent who approached the century mark, or it might bring home the realities of living long. Let’s plan now to be grateful and gracious as we age, embracing our own “golden years” and treasuring those of others.