Rob’s question led us to Henry Mayo, an Aggie, former county employee and a self-taught expert on the history of this region. He helped pinpoint exactly where Keen lived, but informed us that it was likely too soon to put up a historical marker. Supportive, he encouraged us to look into the possibility of a cultural marker while also getting advice from the City of College Station since it owns the property now. That sent us to the doorstep of Jay Socol, communications director for the city.

Jay soon built on Rob’s suggestion: Commission a statue that would feature a re-creation of the porch structure, and the singer-songwriters as they were in their time as A&M students (Keen was Class of 1978, Lovett was Class of '79), playing guitar and singing on the porch. The proposed design includes a chair in between them so that people can sit and pose for photos.

“Rob’s idea made a ton of sense,” Jay said, adding that his contribution was simply the desire to create something of a larger scale that could be iconic for Northgate and College Station.