2004 Workshop

Spring Guild Workshop in Texas

Monday dawns cool and clear after several inches of rain over the weekend.

We're in Athens, Texas, at the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center, about halfway between Dallas and Shreveport (LA) in beautiful rolling hills populated by cattle, hardwoods, and an unbelievable variety of waterfowl. The waterfowl are probably attracted to the center, since it also serves as an experiment station and fish hatchery.

We're attracted to it in part because of old friend and three-peat TFG hosts Allen and Darlene Forshage, ably assisted this year by the charming daughter Emily. Tim Chauvin is our Local Hero. This is an amazing place, including a visitors' center, which features an auditorium with a huge aquarium containing an astonishing variety of freshwater fish, most notably the largest blue catfish ever caught with rod and reel, at 121.5 pounds and about the size of a motorcycle.

Great site, perfect material, plans complete, and Allen's Gumbo to start it all off. Twelve students and four instructors for a building the size of the one we are working in, with the bonus of a complex roof system.