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May
1, 2005
Craftsman has penchant
for preserving history
By
Ryan Myers
Midland Reporter Telegram
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Photo
by Kris Murante
WOODWORKER
Kenn Hill,
turns a piece of Texas while shaping it into a beautiful
writing instrument. Hill Makes pens from "famous"
wood. Years ago, he made many pens out of the Treaty Oak
in Austin, Texas
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A
dozen or so years ago, a man in Odessa began barking up
the trees of Texas with a penchant for history that has
led him to carve ornate writing pens from some of the
most historical wood in the state, such as the 600-year-old
Treaty Oak in Austin and even a few Nolan Ryan baseball
bats.
Kenn Hill, who retired in 1992 from Oberkampf Supply to
pursue pen-making, learned the handcrafted pen trade from
his brother, Tom Hill, about 12 years ago.
"I thought he was crazy when he told me he was retiring
early to make pens," Hill explained. "I said,
'What kind of pens? Chicken pens?"
Kenn's doubt evaporated into sawdust when he and his wife
went to one of his brother's first craft shows outside
of Dallas.
"We saw this huge crowd around one of the trade booths,
and sure enough it was Tommy," Hill recalled.
"That's the first time I had seen the pens. I immediately
knew he was going to have to teach me how to make those."
Today Kenn Hill has made pens for families, mayors and
even the president.
In 1995 Hill called the city of Austin and pitched his
idea to make pens from fallen limbs of the Treaty Oak
where Stephen F. Austin sat to negotiate treaties. The
project took root and Hill was eventually able to present
a treaty oak pen to then-Gov. Bush. The pens also were
sold in a campaign to replant Austin trees recently lost
to oakwilt.
Texas Rangers Cpt. Barry Caver with Ranger Company E in
Midland has delivered Hill's pens into the hands of Texas
senators and representatives, including Speaker of the
House Tom Craddick and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst.
"He's made all the Texas Rangers here in my company
pens out of Texas mesquite," Caver said. "He
did such a good job -- I'm also a member of the Texas
Department of Public Safety Officer's Association and
we do a lot of dealing with the legislators. We decided
we would identify key legislators that had helped us in
the past and ended up having 25 or 30 pens made for certain
legislators around the state."
Hill said he had never used a wood lathe in his life when
he set about learning to craft pens.
"The first pen I made took me maybe two hours --
now I can get one out in about 15 minutes."
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March
22, 2000
Carving
one pen at a time
Local
craftsman works art from historic trees
By Matthew
Trail
Odessa American |
Kenn
Hill
has been crafting pens out of wood from famous historical
trees and trees not so famous for eight years. Hill recently
finished 250 limited-edition pens from the last-known apple
tree planted by Johnny Appleseed.
(Lara Meckfessel / Odessa American) |
| Local
craftsman Kenn Hill literally can write with a piece of
history. For eight years, the 65-year-old Odessan has crafted
pens out of the wood of famous historical trees.
He
has made pens out of dozens of historic trees, including
the first burkett pecan tree in Texas, a century old Mulberry
tree in Lubbock and a tulip poplar from Andrew Jackson’s
home, the Hermitage.
Hill
recently completed a set of 250 limited-edition pens made
from the last-known apple tree planted by Johnny Appleseed.
"That tree
was planted in the late 1780s and it was still producing
fruit until 1996," Hill said. Appleseed, whose real name
was John Chapman, planted the tree in Nova, Ohio, while
on his famous western tree-planting trek.
Like
all of the historic trees Hill works with, the Appleseed
tree died of natural causes.
Hill
was given wood from the tree by the American Forest Famous
& Historic Trees organization, a conservation group
that works to preserve national forest.
"There was only enough wood for a few hundred, which is
why this is a very limited edition," he said.
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Mesquite
wood from a tree grown at Valley Ranch was turned into pens.
The most popular type of pen Hill makes is the Texas mesquite.
(Lara Meckfessel / Odessa American) |
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As
with most of the trees that he works with, he received the wood
in log form that he would then cut into square boards.
Then,
the boards would be cut into small blocks, which would be formed
into pens using a wood lathe, he said.
Hill
said he makes about 10,000 pens a year from historical wood,
common mesquite trees, and even deer antlers.
"Actually
the most popular of all the types of pens I make is the Texas
mesquite," he said.
He
sells a variety of pens from his home with cost ranging from
$20 to $35.
The
Appleseed pens, which will be sold exclusively through the American
Forest organization, cost $50 each with a portion of the proceeds
going to the Johnny Appleseed Museum in Ohio.
The organization can be reached at 1-800-320-8733 or at its
web page at www.americanforest.org.
Through
his contact with American Forest, Hill said he plans to make
pens out of several more famous trees, including the Texas champion
Durand Oak and the Spyglass Oak in Virginia
"I
am always looking for more historical trees," he said.
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1/1/99
The
National Champion
PecanTree
And
Our Pens
Are
Featured
In
Texas
Highways Magazine
January, 1999
Issue
Larry D. Hodge - Author
See Article Below
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http://www.texashighways.com
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Texas
Highways-Jan, 99
Do
the WRITE
THING
EVEN THE MOST MAJESTIC OF TREES
Will
someday fall victim to old age, drought, disease, storm, or human
indifference.
Kenn Hill of Odessa, along with his brother
Tom, and his nephew Greg Hill, both of Bedford, specialize in
giving new life to wood from fallen trees.
The trio, who make ball point writing pens
using wood salvaged from dead trees or fallen limbs, seek out
historical trees for the purpose and invited nonprofit groups
to participate. They’ve made pens from Arlington’s Witness
Tree, Grapevine’s Constitution Tree, Georgetown’s Courthouse Oak,
and Austin’s Treaty Oak.
However, Kenn Hill says, “We’ll use wood
from anything” citing pens made from baseball bats autographed
by Nolan Ryan.
Currently, the Hills are making pens from
a fallen limb of the National Champion Pecan Tree near Weatherford.
“After I learned that a storm had torn a
limb from the tree I contacted the Finches, “says Kenn.
They agreed to our making the pens and offering them to charitable
organizations to sell.” Kenn estimates the one limb will
yield 10,000 pens.
The Hills make pens in two sizes.
The larger pen uses Parker refills and sells
for $34; the smaller pen uses Cross refills and sells for $24
(plus shipping and tax). Personal names can be laser engraved
for $5 extra per pen.
Larry D. Hodge
-
Photo By Larry
D. Hodge
Larry D. Hodge - Author
Has
been writing most of his life.
He
has edited and written Texas history textbooks as well
as a variety
of other educational materials.
He
has been a contributor to
Texas Highways
magazine
for 15 years
and is
currently
a contributing editor to
Texas Parks
and Wildlife magazine.
His
words and photos have appeared in both those magazines and in
Progressive Farmer, Texas Sportsman,
Texas Fish and Game, and Texas Monthly.
Hodge
is the author of several guidebooks to Texas, including The
Texas Dog Lover's Companion, Backroads of Texas, and
Good Times
in Texas.
He
is currently working on a guidebook to
Texas wildlife
management areas and a
guidebook
to Texas campgrounds.
http://www.tpwd.com
|
Odessa
American 1999
1/8/99
The Odessa American
Recognizes
KennsPenns
See Article Below
By Laurel Sterkel
Odessa American
What
can you do in 6 minutes? It takes the sun’s rays,
traveling at the speed of light, 8.3 minutes to reach the earth.
Roger Bannister
was the first athlete to run a mile in under 4 minutes.
And a family
trio, two of which are native Odessans, have turned art into science
by being able to handcraft in 6 minutes a piece of lumber into
a ball point writing pen made of polished wood and 24K gold.
Tom
Hill founded T&G Pens in 1991, as a second career after retiring
from General Motors. His son, Greg, became a full time partner
in 1993. Tom’s brother, Kenn Hill, opened KennsPenns of
Odessa in 1992 after retiring from Oberkampf Supply.
To date, the
trio has made about 150,000 pens. You do the math.
Their quality
craftsmanship is known worldwide. The businesses went international
in 1992, and among the 40 countries in their overseas distribution
are England, Russia and China.
“We
specialize in the making of commemorative pens from the wood of
historical trees of Texas and custom make them for individuals,
corporations, gift shops and non profit organizations, who use
them as fund-raisers,” said Kenn Hill.
For
now, the pens-in-progress are made from a fallen limb of the 1,100-year-old
National Championship Pecan Tree in Weatherford. The towns charitable
organizations will sell the pens for their fund-raisers.
Other
types of wood the trio use have collectible qualities. For
example, they have made 1,190 pens from baseball bats autographed
by Nolan Ryan.
The trio is
interested in expanding by offering pens made from historical
wood in other states. For now, the Jack Daniel distillery
has requested pens made from its used whiskey barrels to sell
at the Jack Daniel General Store in Tennessee..
Pens
are sold for retail and wholesale. Call 432-550-4955.
Although
the end product is the same, a profitable business, the beginning
of the enterprise was different for each family member.
When
Tom Hill decided to make and sell writing pens from wood, his
idea flourished beyond his expectations. In less than a decade,
his cottage industry, T&G Pens, grew into an international
enterprise. Yet each pen is still handcrafted and the business
remains privately owned and managed by the family. For Tom, this
venture was purely business.
“I never did
this as a hobby. I learned that few of these craftsmen existed,
yet the product was popular. Once I knew I could sell at least
400 pens a year, I took early retirement and opened the business
in 1991,” said Tom Hill. His projections were a little off.
He sold 2,000 pens at crafts shows and malls in his first two
months. “By September ’93, the business had outgrown me.
I asked my son Greg to become a full partner and now the two of
us make about 12,000 to 15,000 pens a year,” he said. Each year,
the duo travels to crafts shows and malls in 38 states.
Tom’s
brother, Kenn Hill, did have a background in woodworking.
As a child
in Odessa, he remembers that before age 6, he would take one of
his “mothers butcher knives and a ball peen hammer and make toys
out of 2 x 4s my Daddy would bring home.”
Now
64, Kenn, too, has a second career with
KennsPenns
Opened
in 1992
He is
the marketing arm for both businesses and handles packaging
and shipping orders.
By Laurel Sterkel
Odessa American
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Odessa, TX 79761
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