- Joined
- Nov 29, 2000
- Messages
- 2,869
(I posted this over on Levine's forum as there's lots of people there who like to hear of a "find". But I thought I'd post it here as well since many of us are ABS members and some of you might even have met Don...)
It was a sad Saturday last as I accompanied my friend Traci Jo up into East Texas to bury her step father Ken Dosier over in Poynor Texas. We went up on Friday for the viewing of the body and the visiting of relatives there at the funeral home over in Frankston, the nearest little town. (Thompson's Funeral home could use some more chairs, a newer coffee pot and some danged coffee creamer...). Afterwards, we drove an extra few miles over toward Lake Palistine to stay at the only motel for miles around so's not to have to drive back to Jacksonville or Palistine for the night. This is one of the most beautiful parts of my state hands down, no wonder Ken and his three other brothers as well as countless kin chose to stay around these parts; Ken actually lived in Marshall, a way over to the east but it's all fine country. It was no suprise then to Traci that I woke her up at seven to go for a drive about the lake in the cool morining air; the funeral was'nt to start till eleven o'clock and we were just four miles from town. We got coffee (better than the funeral home's...) then pulled in to have a look at a boat for sale on the side of the road and next to it was a little glass and curio shop where oddly enough, the door was open and the lights on even though it was only ten till eight. "Hell I could'nt sleep so I just came on over to the shop" the fellow at the desk was saying over the phone as we came through the door. Turns out this fellow Floyd, was a retired oil field supplier from Palistine Texas, sort of in the antiques business now-days, he had lots of glassware and such and it seemed more of a hobby than a business to him. He had a good bit of old farm equiptment out front so I asked about anvils, tools and such, several (anvils) of which he knew of their nearby residence, and of course knives (he showed me some pocket knives none of which were of interest to me). He asked what I wanted with an anvil and I replied that I made hand forged knives and would be using such an animal. "I've got a nice handforged knife over at the house" he said. Really? I replied, "yea I got it from a fellow who forged knives like you I suppose; he lived over'n Palistine--worked for the railroad, his name was Don Hastings. Now, I didn't even snap to this at first but of course; that's where Don was from. I asked if I could see the knife and he said sure, and further more, he'd sell it if I was interested. By now it was getting hot, (his air in the shop was out) and it was getting time to get dressed for the funeral so I told him if time allowed I would come back over in the afternoon if he would go find the knife. He agreed to do just that.
The graveside ceremony was on a hill top in Poynor way out in the country near a horse ranch. Ken loved a horse about as good as anything, he and his brother Charles fooled with'em all their lives. One daughter had him a really fine red white and blue "horseshoe" flower arrangement made up with Carnations: Ken was a Navy man during the Korean war and an American flag graced his coffin. Since it was still early, we had lunch then drove back over to Floyd's shop where he indeed produced the knife. We talked some the I asked what he wanted for it and he said " just what I paid fer'it;... $250.00" Well, that sounded reasonable for a knife by a founding member and one of the first Master Smiths of the American Bladesmith Society so I took him up on the offer. I asked him when he bought the knife and he said 79 or 80; just after his divorce, "I just felt like buying myself something and this fellow was well known for making good knives around here so I bought myself one too".
So now I've a nice example of a Hastings Bowie with a 9 1/2 inch blade hafted in walnut with thru-tang constuction; not to mention the original scabbard. A sad day made a little brighter for me, and Traci as well really as I told her when I sell it, the proceeds are earmarked for our vacation money. Her daddy, Ken, would have liked that. He too was a fellow who loved to find a deal on something, mostly horses but a deal is a deal...
regards, m
It was a sad Saturday last as I accompanied my friend Traci Jo up into East Texas to bury her step father Ken Dosier over in Poynor Texas. We went up on Friday for the viewing of the body and the visiting of relatives there at the funeral home over in Frankston, the nearest little town. (Thompson's Funeral home could use some more chairs, a newer coffee pot and some danged coffee creamer...). Afterwards, we drove an extra few miles over toward Lake Palistine to stay at the only motel for miles around so's not to have to drive back to Jacksonville or Palistine for the night. This is one of the most beautiful parts of my state hands down, no wonder Ken and his three other brothers as well as countless kin chose to stay around these parts; Ken actually lived in Marshall, a way over to the east but it's all fine country. It was no suprise then to Traci that I woke her up at seven to go for a drive about the lake in the cool morining air; the funeral was'nt to start till eleven o'clock and we were just four miles from town. We got coffee (better than the funeral home's...) then pulled in to have a look at a boat for sale on the side of the road and next to it was a little glass and curio shop where oddly enough, the door was open and the lights on even though it was only ten till eight. "Hell I could'nt sleep so I just came on over to the shop" the fellow at the desk was saying over the phone as we came through the door. Turns out this fellow Floyd, was a retired oil field supplier from Palistine Texas, sort of in the antiques business now-days, he had lots of glassware and such and it seemed more of a hobby than a business to him. He had a good bit of old farm equiptment out front so I asked about anvils, tools and such, several (anvils) of which he knew of their nearby residence, and of course knives (he showed me some pocket knives none of which were of interest to me). He asked what I wanted with an anvil and I replied that I made hand forged knives and would be using such an animal. "I've got a nice handforged knife over at the house" he said. Really? I replied, "yea I got it from a fellow who forged knives like you I suppose; he lived over'n Palistine--worked for the railroad, his name was Don Hastings. Now, I didn't even snap to this at first but of course; that's where Don was from. I asked if I could see the knife and he said sure, and further more, he'd sell it if I was interested. By now it was getting hot, (his air in the shop was out) and it was getting time to get dressed for the funeral so I told him if time allowed I would come back over in the afternoon if he would go find the knife. He agreed to do just that.
The graveside ceremony was on a hill top in Poynor way out in the country near a horse ranch. Ken loved a horse about as good as anything, he and his brother Charles fooled with'em all their lives. One daughter had him a really fine red white and blue "horseshoe" flower arrangement made up with Carnations: Ken was a Navy man during the Korean war and an American flag graced his coffin. Since it was still early, we had lunch then drove back over to Floyd's shop where he indeed produced the knife. We talked some the I asked what he wanted for it and he said " just what I paid fer'it;... $250.00" Well, that sounded reasonable for a knife by a founding member and one of the first Master Smiths of the American Bladesmith Society so I took him up on the offer. I asked him when he bought the knife and he said 79 or 80; just after his divorce, "I just felt like buying myself something and this fellow was well known for making good knives around here so I bought myself one too".
So now I've a nice example of a Hastings Bowie with a 9 1/2 inch blade hafted in walnut with thru-tang constuction; not to mention the original scabbard. A sad day made a little brighter for me, and Traci as well really as I told her when I sell it, the proceeds are earmarked for our vacation money. Her daddy, Ken, would have liked that. He too was a fellow who loved to find a deal on something, mostly horses but a deal is a deal...
regards, m
WOW
