COUNTY LIFE
‘Dancing with the loom’ – Susan Moody weaving new traditions at Blue Dog Moon
This summer The Bowie News is featuring some of Montague County’s unique artists through a series of stories.
By BARBARA GREEN
editor@bowienewsonline.com
Susan Moody’s studio is filled with colorful spools of thread and yarn every shade of the rainbow on shelves and in baskets. It is a cozy spot where a wall of windows allows her to look out on the beautiful North Texas countryside while she works.
This spring morning the birds were chirping and her dogs were lazily resting outside the screen door. As this hand weaver showed off her studio it was easy to see how she “dances with the loom” in this tranquil place.
Blue Dog Moon Fiber Arts is located north of Saint Jo on a 32-acre ranch she and her husband Dennis call home. The pair operated Ancient Ovens pizza restaurant on the property for 13 years, after Dennis retired from the Navy. She commuted several years to Keller where she was a history and economics teacher, and when it took off she found a teaching job at Sacred Heart.
“One day I started talking to him about starting something entrepreneurial and this was after he had started building the ovens. The economy went down in 2008 and we thought about selling the ovens, but then the folks at Arché asked us to cater a lunch for their grape pickers. One thing lead to another and the idea took off. We always had a full house at the restaurant Friday-Sunday, but then we cut back to Saturday and Sunday. We finally decided to pursue other things as I thought about weaving back when I was a teen. You are never too old to go into another career,” laughed Moody.
Her next act is Blue Dog Moon Fiber Arts and at the age of 62 she draws on textile skills she learned at the hands of the women in her family. In the studio hang photos of her grandmothers and mother who taught her early on how to sew, knit and crochet.
Read this full feature in your weekend Bowie News.
(Top photo) Susan Moody at her Saori loom in her North Montague County studio. (Photo by Barbara Green)
Give blood to save lives and at the time help the Nocona Volunteer Fire Department on March 24.
The blood drive will be from 1-6 p.m. in the H.J. Justin Building in downtown Nocona. First time donors generate $100 in funding and returning donors generate $15 per blood donation.
Go to the Nocona Firefighters Facebook page to scan the QR code to pick a time.
Gold-Burg High
Gold-Burg High School’s one-act play “Lady Precious Stream,” by S.I. Husung will be presented at district competition on March 19 in the Graham Auditorium.
The performance order will be Saint Jo, Prairie Valley, Universal Irving, Forestburg, Universal-Flower Mound, Gold-Burg and Bellevue. Plays begin at 10 a.m.
Nocona High
Nocona High School will be competing in the district one-act play competition on March 27 at Seymour High School.
Chrissy Shubert, theater arts teacher, said they will perform “Antigone in Munich: The Sophie Scholl Story,” by Claudia Haas produced by Stage Partners.
There will be a public performance of the play at 6 p.m. March 13 in the Nocona School Auditorium.
The plays will begin at 10 a.m. and Nocona is the sixth play of the day.
Prairie Valley High
Prairie Valley High School will present “Wild Strawberries” by Jerry Ayers for its University Interscholastic League one-act play contest on March 19 in Graham Memorial Auditorium.
PV will compete in 1A-District 18. The play is directed by Jesse Kincy. It is a comedic farce set in Italy during the Renaissance.
Read the full stories on these productions in the Thursday Bowie News.
Two marble panels collapsed and shattered at the Montague County Veteran’ Memorial on the courthouse square March 4 due to high winds.
This is the second time the monument has been damaged by high winds.
On Nov. 10, 2021 a panel fell over breaking into pieces and another panel shifted. It was a long process to get the slab replaced as the black marble came from India.
County Judge Kevin Benton recalls in 2021 there were delays first in finding the specific marble that was needed and then the first panel broke as it was being worked on and the artists had to start again.
Then the panel had to be shipped to its new home. It was an expensive proposition costing about $16,000. The panels are very large with the small ones weighing in at one ton.
Benton and Commissioner Bob Langford said Monday the wind deductible for the insurance is very high at $50,000. When that first panel was replaced county officials opted to have dowels placed in the panel that went into holes in the base to create a more secure attachment.
Langford said at that time they looked at possibly resetting the whole monument with dowels, but it was cost prohibitive at more than $30,000. He added the installers also indicated they really didn’t want to tackle something like that due to the possible liability if the panel is damaged.
Benton said they are talking to a company to see what is the best way forward with the repairs and what the costs could be to replace them.
Pictured: A precinct crew was removing the broken marble panels on Monday. (Photo by Barbara Green)
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