KERR COUNTY, Texas — 1903 was a monumental year for American inventions.
The Wright Brothers invented the airplane. Ford, Buick and Harley Davidson launched. Hershey opened the largest chocolate manufacturing plant on the globe.
And the Crayola crayon made its debut.
KENS 5 met a local artist whose love for Crayola began with a little curiosity. As his collection grew, he began to pursue one color in particular. It seemed impossible to find until one routine visit to the thrift store.
A home filled with color
"They know about me."
If you mention Richard Gwyn in a room of Crayola executives, his name might ring a bell.
He's a walking encyclopedia, full of Crayola knowledge.
"Eastern Pennsylvania, that's headquarters."
Gwyn's never worked for the company. Since he was a boy, he's just loved to color.
The 83-year-old lives in Kerr County, about an hour northwest of San Antonio. His one-story, three-bedroom home is decorated with forest-green trim.
To step inside is to enter a world of color.
"Welcome to the house where we have wax to the max!" Gwyn exclaimed while welcoming KENS 5 on a recent visit.
He has been collecting crayons for more than 20 years.
"I can eat and sleep those things. It's unreal."
He's in a constant hunt for the next vivid hue.
"I wanna compare it to maybe a hunter. It's not what he takes in his game, it's the process to locate that game."
Eight hundred and sixty-four Crayola boxes and tins sit proudly in 19 display cases. Color-coordinated cartons showcase hundreds more Crayolas that fill the air with their waxy aroma.
"They're the highest-pigmented for the money," Gwyn said, explaining why he chose Crayola above other brands.
It's a collection that began in 2003. Gwyn found an early-90s Crayola tin and wondered: Were there more where it came from?
"I was just astonished at the vastness and how huge this company is... I think there are a little bit over 3 million crayons a year. They ship to 80 different countries."
"How many crayons do you have in your house?" we asked him.
After a few moments of contemplation, Gwyn replied: "Well over 49,000."
To him, every box tells a story. By looking at a Crayola box, Gwyn can determine when that particular box was made and where.
One display case in his living room exclusively houses the oldest pieces in his collection. Using a wand, Gwyn pointed out Crayola boxes that are more than 100 years old.
"They are 1917," he said, pointing his metal wand. "The one next to it is 1920... that is a very rare box."
Other cases house limited editions. From Star Wars-themed Crayola boxes to freebies of mini Crayola boxes given out by major companies like Energizer, Dole, Chili's and Johnson & Johnson—you name it, it's likely in Gwyn's collection.
"Then they went trilingual... these came out around 2014 and it's got three languages on every crayon by color," Gwyn said, pointing to a slim case by the doorway.
To get his hands on the Target-only series of Crayola, Gwyn and his wife, Ginger, traveled to every Target between Houston and Oklahoma to find the limited edition boxes. The boxes are showcased together in a large picture frame hung on the wall.
There's also a Crayola box of sentimental value.
"One of our daughters who passed away, that's her box under that dome," said Gwyn, pointing to the dome that sits front and center in one of the larger display cases.
'They save all the crayons for me'
Gwyn gets most of his crayons from garage sales, estate sales and thrift stores.
People from as far as Houston know him as "The Crayola Man."
"I will never forget this. I started up the driveway. This is about the fourth or fifth time I've been there, and the lady hollered and said, 'Hey, here comes that Crayola man! Go get those boxes!'" he said smiling, recalling a trip to a garage sale in Houston. "I would tell people, 'Hey, here's my card. If you stumble on [crayons] just give me a call.'"
Local thrift stores in Kerrville know Gwyn well. He says whenever they receive Crayola crayons, whether in bulk or in boxes, they set them aside in a special spot.
"They save all the crayons for me."
He documents every find, listing out his inventory in a binder. He writes down the product, what condition it was in when he received it and where he found it.
"I would probably drive a pretty good distance if I know that it's something that's really rare."
If he has multiples of certain colors or products, he'll put them in storage—open to swap products at trade days or flea markets.
How much is his collection worth? Not much, he believes, saying the older boxes would probably be the most valuable.
There can only be one...
In a special case by the window, sitting outside their protective box, is a row of colors with discontinued names.
It features his most rare find of all: Torch Red.
"It took me forever to just get that one."
Two years ago, Gwyn picked up a large, old plastic bag full of crayons from a local thrift store. He sat down in his living room and started sifting through the colors.
He couldn't believe what he found.
"I'm checking it and thought, 'No, no, here it is!'"
It was a Torch Red crayon.
"It's now Scarlet and it's just got a different label on it," he explained. "It's the exact same color, same crayon, they just rewrapped it."
Torch Red is the only crayon in his inventory that's one of one.
KENS 5 reached out to Crayola to learn the history of this highly coveted find in the Gwyn household. A spokesperson said:
"In 1997, Crayola launched a 'Search for True Blue Heroes' on specially marked crayon boxes. These boxes contained eight new, unnamed crayons. The contest invited children to choose a new color and draw a picture joined with a paragraph that explained how their hero inspired them. More than 10,000 entries were received.
"Nominated by Bryan Wayne Purifoy, Torch Red was named in honor of True Blue Hero, Gary K. Woodring. These crayons were then put into a special collector's edition tin to honor all of the True Blue heroes in 1998.
"After one year of production, the crayons were given their permanent names. Torch Red is now in Crayola boxes under the name 'scarlet.'"
Dandelion
"There have been moments of frustration, right?" we asked.
"I just thought the world was over whenever they decided that they were going to completely discontinue Dandelion," Gwyn replied.
On March 31, 2017, in celebration of National Crayon Day, Crayola announced the color Dandelion would be retiring.
"I'm thinking, 'Oh, don't do this to us.' I mean, that is a beautiful color. It's so rich and yellow," said Gwyn, still in disbelief.
Its replacement, a blue color, was announced on May 5 that same year. The public could submit ideas for the name of the new blue crayon, and Gwyn didn't miss his chance to submit his own.
"I wrote mine in: 'You Blue It,'" he wrote to Crayola. "'You took out the most deep, school-bus-yellow crayon.'"
To see the list of the retired crayon colors, read more here.
Spreading the love of color
Gwyn doesn't just collect. He creates.
Every summer, he teaches children at the Museum of Western Art in Kerrville how Crayons can make magic on paper.
"I give them a box of 24 and say, 'Now here's your starter of the collection!'"
Gwyn supplies the children crayons, and at the end of each summer day, he'll take them home to sharpen them. Gwyn built special sharpeners for the crayons, and a special cutter that will perfectly shave the crayon paper.
An artist himself, Gwyn doesn't seek commissions. When he's created artwork in the past for someone, he says he'll just charge for the picture frame.
Mr. Gwyn is as humble as can be, so we'll be the ones to say it. He's as talented as can be. His art that's hanging on the walls of his home may be for visitors' eyes only, but let us brag: They're darn good.
Remember, when you work with crayons, you can't erase.
"That was so fine and so small, I had to do it with colored pencil," said Gwyn, pointing at a tiny piece of an old truck he drew. "SHH! Don't tell anybody about that."
Now, Richard is on the hunt for his next unique discovery.
"What is your dream find?" we asked.
"Right now it is the original '58 pristine box of 64."
In 120 years, change is inevitable. As other inventions evolved, Gwyn is as thrilled as ever that the regular wax crayon is still alive and well.
"This might be an unfair question: Do you have a favorite color crayon?" we asked him.
"I do," he replied. "It's probably going to be asparagus... it's that beet-green."
Finally, we asked, "Do you think you have the largest Crayola collection in Texas?"
"In Kerr County, maybe."
Richard Gwyn can be reached via e-mail at gwynv1964@gmail.com
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