Fannin County, Texas -- The Lake Fannin Volunteers is having a fund-raising drive to repair the roof on the Lake Fannin lodge. Half pint jars of mustang grape jelly are being made available to the public at Owens-Parker Medical on the east side of the Bonham square. There is no fixed fee. A donation in any amount will be appreciated.

Why mustang grape jelly?

"If your grandmother or great-grandmother made grape jelly, it was probably this same type," David Keene says of the mustang grapes he cultivates on his farm. "Unlike how grandma may have made jelly, this is canned in jars sterilized to the current USDA home canning guidelines. I did cheat and used propane burners instead of wood to cook the juice and sterilize/can the jars."

David Keene examines some of his mustang grapes.

This is a row of cultivated mustang grapes.

photos by David Keene