Memorial Stadium White Oak Pens

May 17, 2016, 11:02 AM

Wanted to pass along some info on a project I've been working on with my dad since 2015. Dad is an avid woodworker, and has been turning pens for the past ~8 years. He got hold of a few chunks of one of the 6 Live Oak trees on the Horseshoe on the USCe campus that was struck by lightning and taken down a few years ago. He started turning those into pens for Gamecock fans after getting a crafter's license from the university. After seeing how popular those were with that silly fanbase, I kept my eyes open for a similar opportunity on the Clemson campus.

In a stroke of bad/good luck, the huge white oak that stood next to the Hill in Death Valley had to be removed at the beginning of the 2015 season. When I heard it was being taken down, I scoured the campus to find somebody who knew what the fate of the tree might be. The Supervisor of Athletic Grounds pointed me in the right direction, and Dad and I were able to save some of this wood before it went into the chipper (terrible fate for something so historic). If you've been to a Clemson game in the last...well, EVER, you know exactly what tree this is.

Every tree on campus is numbered (or at least the large ones). The lone white oak in Death Valley, which stood near the Hill for around 80-85 years (give or take), is Tree #260021.

This tree:

This one is dated from 1959 or 1960. And check out the cypress benches that are now the bartop at the Esso--would love to have some of that stuff:

Not sure of the year on this one:

From the national championship season:

And a recent one, I believe from the 2014 season:

Procuring said wood:

Looks like sushi:

So, we cut up the wood, dried and stabilized it, and Dad turned a couple sample pens for some folks in the AD. Here's the one he made for DRad (just as a sidenote, this was the very first iteration, and the logos are a little different going forward):

Dabo's and President Clements' pens:

A few more:

The AD folks were pretty impressed with Dad's work, and he was awarded a crafter's license which allows him to produce a limited number of products with the licensed Clemson logos. So, here we are today; B-Meist and Crump were kind enough to let us pass this opportunity along to their subscribers. If interested, shoot me an email at clemsonpens@gmail.com, and I'll forward you the order form. Dad also makes bottle and wine openers, letter openers, pill/toothpick caddies, and a few other items--neat ideas for birthdays, Father's Day, or whatever. Couple different pen styles (with varying prices) as well.

Every item comes with a certificate of authenticity.

Again...dad is limited on how many he can produce, so there won't be thousands of these items floating around the country (nor does he have the bandwidth to produce that much even if he wanted to). Thanks again to B-Meist and Crump.

Thanks, Brian
c/o '95 & '97