A number of East Texans were in the crowd at the University of North Texas in Denton Thursday night, October 3rd, when Don Henley spoke to a full house at the UNT Gateway Center about his lifelong love of Caddo Lake and the activities of the educational organization he founded, the Caddo Lake Institute.

Republican State Senator Bob Deuell of Greenville, who also attended UNT at the same time as Henley during the 1960s, introduced Don.

Dr. Deuell, a family practitioner in Greenville, drew applause and laughter when he recalled that most people assume that Henley majored in Music at UNT, given the school’s music department’s outstanding reputation.

In fact, Don had been an English major. It was Deuell, the future physician, who majored in music, specializing in percussion.

“Nearly forty years later I’m still trying to master the English language and I hear Don’s had a bit of success in the music field,” the Senator quipped.

Senator Deuell praised Henley and Dwight Shellman, outgoing President of the Caddo Lake Institute, for consistently developing “information based on science, not opinion” that is helping legislators make better decisions about water policy in Texas. He said that there is a strong awareness among legislators of the importance of the Caddo Lake and Big Cypress watershed ecosystem and the lake’s unique role in Texas history.