2023 July Oak Cliff Advocate

Do it all this summer. Except for the ER.

Most summer-related ER visits are preventable with a little precaution, but we’ll always be here when you need us. Remember to use sun protection and insect repellent, stay hydrated, wear life jackets, and leave the fireworks to the professionals. Helping keep our friends and neighbors safe. That’s community and why so many people Trust Methodist.

For more summer safety tips, scan the QR code

Texas law prohibits hospitals from practicing medicine. The physicians on the Methodist Health System medical staff are independent practitioners who are not employees or agents of Methodist Dallas Medical Center, Methodist Health System, or any of its affiliated hospitals. Methodist Health System complies with applicable federal civil rights laws and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, or sex.

There’s No Greater Force than Strong Women

As Ebby Halliday agents, these empowered women receive the best training, resources and technology available, which helps them provide the best service and results for you. In the end though, it’s their own spirited drive as entrepreneurs and an intrinsic dedication to their craft that set each apart, one from another, and especially from competitors that come and go. Need a fierce female? We recommend one of ours.

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FOLLOW

Newsletter:

july 23

contents

OAK CLIFF ADVOCATE

VOL. 17 NO. 7

PROFILE

6 The Date

DINING

14 Lexy’s

FEATURES

10 Ladies Club

21 Fierce Females

30 Hikerbabes

A rose wall in Lexy’s restaurant in Trinity Groves. Read more on page 14.

Photo by Kathy Tran.

THE DATE

Interview by EMMA RUBY | Photography by VICTORIA GOMEZ

Meet Amanda, founder of Oak Cliff Pilates, an Oak Cliff resident, and a trailblazing woman in business. From humble beginnings in 2016 to now serving over 500 members, OCP has become a staple of the fitness community. Despite challenges, Amanda's resilience and commitment to inclusivity have driven her success. With a unique style and genuine connection, she has won the hearts of her clients.

85 CLASSES PER WEEK

17 AMAZING INSTRUCTORS

13 UNIQUE CLASSES

“WHAT’S THE DATE OF YOUR EVENT?”

When a potential customer calls The Date catering, that’s the first question Carol Hampton will ask.

Hampton has run The Date, a full-service catering company, for nearly 20 years. She offers everything from brunch to Southern comfort food, Thanksgiving meals to tea party finger sandwiches. She says if you can find a cookbook with a recipe, she can figure out the dish.

And she’s already booking events as far ahead as 2024.

Born and raised in Oak Cliff, Hampton learned to cook by spending time with her grandmother in the kitchen.

“She owned a restaurant at one time before I was born and would always cook, and I’d be in the kitchen. That’s how I learned how to do seasonings, how to measure, those types of things,” Hampton says.

ness, and Hampton seldom finds herself outside of a kitchen.

The most difficult part of the business has been navigating her relationship with her friends and family, Hampton says. Some friends and family who received Hampton’s cooking free of charge before The Date now often expect a discount for her services.

“That’s really the most difficult part, just helping people to understand your worth,” Hampton says. “They often don’t understand the time and effort that I’m putting into it. That’s really what you’re paying for. You’re not really paying for just the food because you can find a bargain on food anywhere. But it’s the time and effort you’re paying for.”

Hampton says she has an “old school” way of doing things; she attributes her skill for presentation to church garden club lunches she attended growing up, for instance.

But she has also adapted to the times.

While the social media landscape was virtually nonexistent when The Date was founded, Hampton now uses Instagram and Facebook to find new customers and show off her tables. Social media has also helped her find clientele that are looking to support a business such as hers.

“I thought that I really needed to hone in on being a Black woman in this field,” Hampton says. “I started making my hashtags be those things, #blackowned, #womanowned.”

And while she has adjusted her pricing to account for rising food prices over the years, Hampton says her first priority when developing a menu with the customer is making sure they are getting “the most bang for their buck.”

Her early love for cooking was always more of a hobby. Hampton worked for UNT Dallas College of Law, and would cook for family and friends, her daughter’s birthday parties and school events.

But Hampton began thinking about starting a business after reading a magazine article encouraging women to pursue a second stream of income.

“It said even if it’s selling your grandmother’s sweet potato pies, at least that would give you money to fill up your gas tank,” Hampton says. “And then I thought about it and said, ‘OK, everyone always wants your food. Let’s see if you put a price tag on it, will they still want your food?’ And I went and started putting a price tag on the food. And I’ve been selling it ever since.”

Twenty years later, The Date is a full-time busi -

Once a menu is agreed on and an invoice has been sent, it is “off to the races” for Hampton.

While she makes the majority of the food she serves on the day of the event to ensure freshness, Hampton has spent the last 20 years perfecting the art of juggling a full kitchen and a deadline that is closing in.

At the end of the day, she says all the hard work pays off once she gets to see the reception her work receives.

“When everything is executed the way I have envisioned, but even more so, the way the client has envisioned. When he or she comes in, they say, ‘Oh, my God, Carol, the food was amazing.’ ‘Oh, Carol, the presentation was amazing.’ That is the best part of it,” Hampton says.

“They often don’t understand the time and effort that I’m putting into it. That’s really what you’re paying for.”

WOMEN OF COMPASS REAL ESTATE

THANI BURKE

One word comes to mind when I think of this year’s market and that’s adaptability. When there’s a shift, and there always is, I see an opportunity to reset, restrategize and evolve to better serve our clients. Between welcoming a daughter, selling real estate, and restoring homes, we feel more energized than ever to continue investing in Oak Cliff and celebrating its richness in culture and history.

I remember when Landon and I settled down in our home on South Ravinia 8 years ago. Newly married, we were both admittedly green, starry-eyed, and completely enamored with the neighborhood. I’ll never forget this feeling, and I love working with new clients and experiencing this same emotion with them as they embark on their homebuying journey. Whether a first-time home buyer or seasoned investor, it’s hard to deny the unique mark that Oak Cliff has carved for itself within DFW, and why I think it’s still one of the best places to buy and invest. Walking down Bishop Arts, most of the locals know each other on a first-name basis. The neighborhood bartender or barista will know your drink of choice, and there’s an air of comfortability and inclusivity that you don’t often get in other neighborhoods. To me, Oak Cliff is like a beautifully creative and vibrant small town without the small-town ideals. I feel so lucky to be a part of this community and helping people find home and conceptualizing their space is beyond gratifying. Over the years, many of our clients have turned into lifelong friends and neighbors, and we couldn’t ask for a better gig than this!

Call Thani Burke today and find your dream home in our dream neighborhood.

Thani.burke@compass.com. 214-701-4884.

Sponsored Content

www.compass.com

Big CIRCLE OF FRIENDS

A club three ladies started eight years ago has taken on a life of its own

Story by CHRISTINA HUGHES BABB

Photography by LAUREN ALLEN

When Katrina Whatley is not doing her actual job as a real estate agent, she’s often putting out virtual fires within a cyber club she created.

Perhaps someone started a conversation about politics, called another person nasty names or otherwise violated the critical rule, “don’t be a jerk.” Maybe a member has hawked her home business one too many times. Or someone suspects a man has infiltrated the membership roll for nefarious purposes.

For the administrator of a popular Facebook group, keeping an eye on such things is an ongoing duty.

Whatley and her buddies Rosa Garcia and the late Kristina Truillio, who died last year of cancer, didn’t start the Oak Cliff Ladies Club imagining it would blossom the way it did.

“We were all newly friends, and we just wanted to make more friends in our neighborhood,” Whatley says.

The founding trio sought other Oak Cliff ladies with whom to share dinner, drinks or advice and generally tap into the community’s collective wisdom.

Because it was 2015, the sisterhood would live on Facebook. Whatley created the OCLC private Facebook group. She invited a couple of friends, and they invited a couple friends, and so on.

“The whole thing grew organically. I think it filled this need we all had to connect.”

Whatley vetted requests to join (doing her best to ensure people are who they say they are). Other members, including Jenna Wilson and Carlin Seale, helped with administrative responsibilities.

Wilson let Whatley know if something might need to be deleted.

“There are rules against political and religious posts,” Wilson says. “Posts about vaginal steaming are OK. Hehe. That’s a real example.”

Over eight years OCLC members have climbed to some 5,000 and counting.

“What made people want to tell their friends about it was the authenticity and vulnerability with which members

were sharing real life with each other,” Wilson says, “like truly doing life together in a new modern way.”

In a given 24 hours, OCLC members see posts about new restaurant openings, lost pets, funny mom- or menopause-related memes or a link to a news story or a notice from one of Oak Cliff’s city council representatives.

Anonymous posts seeking advice about personal topics from dieting to drug addictions, everyday child rearing to domestic abuse, are commonplace. So are posts like “what is that smell at Lake Cliff Park?” or “Warning: the showers at Kidd Springs Aquatic Center are scalding hot!”

and The New York Times.

The hottest post “by far” in recent memory concerned parents patronizing a neighborhood brewery with kids in tow, which spiked heated conversation about the etiquette surrounding children in restaurants.

It is one of the most controversial comment sections Whatley can recall, she says. She had to boot one member from the group for name calling, which pained her, especially when the ousted member bashed her on public social media.

“It feels bad, I’ll be honest,” Whatley says. “I feel like, damn, we have worked so hard to keep this place nice for everybody.”

Whatley, a Lake Cliff homeowner since 2006, has learned in a tangible way the importance of understanding what is happening in her neighborhood.

She’s seen first hand what can go wrong when neighbors are not involved in city hall matters, for example.

So-called Oak Cliff Gateway rezoning, which allowed teardowns and construction happening at Zang, Colorado and Beckley today, was approved in 2015. Despite being a real estate agent and property owner, Whatley knew nothing of the legally required public hearings that took place beforehand.

A fraction of the membership turns out to in-person gatherings, which still makes for a large party. When the group hit 1,000 members, about 50 celebrated at Local Oak, Wilson says.

For better or worse, on occasion, the OCLC has garnered national attention.

In 2020, several members launched a fundraiser to assist an Oak Cliff woman whose husband was murdered. The club became part of a major news story when that woman was convicted of hiring the killer herself. ( People magazine reported that Oak Cliff Ladies Club members don’t regret jumping to their neighbor’s aid and that most would continue to err on the side of kindness, despite this odd case of deception.)

Earlier this year, a mother’s post on OCLC about a questionable Winnie-thePooh crisis preparedness book for preschoolers (as covered by the Advocate ) became a national news story on CNN

Today she can practically touch the five-story Zang Flats, which looms over her home, from her kitchen window.

It’s too late for her to object to that or several other green-lit apartment developments encroaching on her neighborhood, but the ongoing construction reminds her about the urgency of staying proactively informed and involved.

Now she watches and shares pertinent city commission and council agenda items. If she can’t interpret the opaque terminology, there is likely a group member who will. When she recently saw that a developer in the Gateway was trying to make zoning changes, she started a petition to stop it. More than 1,000 people signed it in the next 48 hours, and local media picked up the story.

It was less about opposing the developer’s request to replace retail with additional apartment units and more about letting developers and council representatives

If there was a way to hover from above and look at the ripples coming off this club, we would see how farreaching it is.

know the community is invested with what happens here, she says.

Often multifamily residential developers are met with opposition from distrusting neighbors, and this is why, she says, referring to the teardown of historic homes and towering blocks of expensive apartments.

“I just know that the more that gets destroyed in Oak Cliff the more we all become concerned,” she says.

Whatley and trusted members sell merchandise, including OCLC hats, T-shirts, mugs and stickers — she says the group uses royalties altruistically.

At Christmastime, the club “adopts” families. Last year members raised $11,600 in five weeks and bought gifts for 22 families, Whatley says. Other group-funded projects come up incidentally. During the “Snowmageddon’’ freeze, Wilson led a campaign to raise money that helped about 12 families harmed by the storm with things such as home repairs or purchasing groceries.

“I figured [we’ve given] somewhere around $32,000 in the past six-ish years, not including the countless acts of giving that happen throughout every year where no records are kept,” Whatley says.

Several subgroups — buy/sell, financial literacy, fitness, over-60 and political, to name a few — have emerged from OCLC, Wilson points out.

“If there was a way to hover from above and look at the ripples coming off this club, we would see how far-reaching it is,” Wilson says. “I don’t think even Katrina realizes.”

The hard work required to keep the group safe, useful and fun has been worthwhile, Katrina Whatley says. The group’s initial mission accomplished — not only did she and her co-founders make new friends, but so did hundreds of other Oak Cliff women.

“People are finding our tribe. Best friends have found one another,” she says. “It’s really pretty special. And I don’t personally take any credit. I think the reason that’s so special is because of all the people who love Oak Cliff.”

A teapot full of dry ice and a tequila cocktail sit alongside colorful drinks topped with feminine florals.

a place for

the girls

In Trinity Groves, Lexy’s offers a female-focused dining experience

Story by EMMA RUBY | Photography by KATHY TRAN

A champagne vending machine in Lexy’s is one of the most Instagramable spots in the restaurant.

ON ANY GIVEN DAY,

Lexy’s in Trinity Groves may host bachelorette parties, sorority-sister reunions, girls nights out, Disney princess-themed brunches or engagement showers. Even a few divorce parties have had a meal at the restaurant.

With luxury velvet seating, pink feather light fixtures, walls covered in roses and a champagne vending machine, the restaurant looks like a modernized scene out of Bridgerton.

Lexy’s was opened in August 2022 by husband-and-wife duo Julian and Alexa Rodarte, who serve as the Trinity Groves CEO and director of marketing, respectively.

Named for Alexa, every detail at Lexy’s — from certain menu items to the suitcase podium at the front of the restaurant — pays homage to her journey into the restaurant world.

“With Lexy’s, we wanted to embody who I was. I’m very feminine and girly, I always have been,” Alexa says.

On the cocktail menu, tequila cocktails served in teapots reference Alexa’s childhood love for playing tea party. The suitcase podium is a nod to the couple’s shared passion for travel.

The champagne vending machine sells a brand of champagne Alexa sold as a liquor rep for Southern Glazer, her gig before she joined Julian’s up-and-coming restaurateur endeavors.

Lexy’s was the first restaurant concept the Rodartes brought to Trinity Groves together, and Alexa — who spearheads the design of each of their concepts — had a vision for the space before the menu was developed. Despite this, Alexa says the dining experience at Lexy’s is not aesthetically driven.

“We never even planned for it to be the Instagram restaurant, that’s just how it kind of got labeled later on,” Alexa says. “Having a good menu, having quality foods with

Property Group

As residents of East Kessler Park, Kings Highway Conservation District, Dells District, and Kessler Plaza, our love of Oak Cliff runs deep, and our knowledge knows no bounds. From the extraordinary architecture, to the lush landscape of our land, to the community that we serve, our combined 59 years of living, loving, and experiencing the beauty and growth that Oak Cliff has shown us makes us FIERCELY protective, and absolute advocates for our neighborhood! We look forward to our continued love affair with the best neighborhood in Dallas!

Melissa O’Brien Katelyn Gast Alexandra Brady Ann Andrews

quality flavors, is always at the top of our list before the (restaurant’s) aesthetic.”

A foodie at heart, items labeled “Lexy’s” on the menu denote Alexa’s personal endorsement of her favorite dishes.

Julian, who first made his name as “the Son” in Trinity Groves’ Beto & Son, developed the menu for Lexy’s and says the first iteration leaned heavily on salads, hummus and other light dishes.

While he expected those items to be the best-sellers, he quickly reworked the menu when ticket after ticket came in with orders for more savory items.

“What I found is that women eat differently around other women than they do around men,” Julian says. “I realized that we needed more things that women were going to want to indulge in as opposed to choosing because it’s the lighter option.”

The steak and frites, Lexy’s spicy

Top: The bar in Lexy’s is a focal centerpoint of the restaurant, and mirrors many of the aesthetic motifs from around the restaurant such as greenery and velvet chairs. Bottom: The Mediterranean pasta is topped with lemon and white wine butter sauce, capers, feta cheese, sundried tomatoes and grilled shrimp.

rigatoni pasta and lobster grilled cheese are the best sellers on the dinner menu. On the brunch menu, the fried chicken sandwich and the Lexy’s stacked strawberry eclair are fan favorites.

One of Alexa’s favorite dishes is an interactive appetizer called the hot rock. Raw Texas wagyu beef is served alongside a steaming hot rock, and diners can cook their own meat at their table before adding toppings and eating it.

“I think we’re really about the experience when it comes to restaurants. We love experiences, and that’s why we try to provide people with them,” Alexa says.

Lexy’s customer base has taken the idea of a restaurant full of experiences and run with it.

The champagne vending machine has become an Instagram photo mecca, and “girl gangs” show up for meals in high heels, puffy dresses, trendy earrings and full glam makeup.

“(Customers) can come in their yoga pants and feel comfortable and not feel like they have to get dressed up to come here. But if they want to get dressed up to come here, absolutely, please do. I cannot wait to see your outfit,” Alexa says.

When Lexy’s was still just an idea, Julian says he anticipated it would be a female-driven restaurant. He had no idea it would become a feminine oasis among West Dallas eateries.

On a Saturday night, Julian says the number of men in the restaurant could likely be counted on one hand.

“I’ve had girls tell me like they like coming here because they feel safe, they feel like they can come hang out with friends, and they’re not going to be bothered by creepy men at the bar or like men that are trying to hit on them,” Alexa says. “It’s just kind of evolved into that, and honestly I’m not mad at it.”

Lexy’s, 3011 Gulden Lane, 214.833.4175

We worked with Bart during one of the hottest housing markets in recent history. Bart stuck with us through several offer cycles, and each new house he found was better than the last. His background in architecture and construction is a huge plus. He always has a flashlight in the car and is ready to crawl down below a house. You won’t be disappointed with his skills and work ethic.

Thanks Bart for everything!

-Maggie M.

BART THRASHER Realtor®

bartthrasher@dpmre.com

469.583.4819

Story by EMMA RUBY | Photography by YUVIE STYLES

COULD THE NEXT WORLD-SHIFTING TECHNOLOGY COMPANY BE UNDER DEVELOPMENT IN KESSLER PARK?

Taylor Shead certainly thinks so.

As it stands right now, Shead sometimes gets quizzical looks when she explains that her company, STEMuli, is creating the first educational metaverse that will turn school into a video game.

But rather than being discouraged by the confusion, Shead says it is part of the motivation to build her company into a household name.

“I believe it’s going to change the way people see and think about the world and what’s possible,” Shead says.

Born and raised in Plano, Shead was the youngest of seven children who all went on to become Division 1 athletes. She says she spent her childhood working for good grades and academic accomplishments, always striving for validation from her parents by doing her best to live up to the expectations set by her older siblings.

Like her siblings, Shead went on to be a Division 1 athlete, playing basketball at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. At the time, she wanted to become a facial reconstruction surgeon.

Shead says she struggled in her first year of college and lost her scholarship. But what was at first an event that caused “turmoil and grief” eventually planted the first seed that would grow into Shead’s passion for accessibility in education.

At the time, the first iPhone had just been released, but Shead says she was frustrated that technology companies had not yet begun finding ways to integrate technology and her schoolwork.

“When I would go on the road as a college athlete, my education wasn’t everywhere I was. I was looking at these apps on my phone like, how does this make sense? If I’m flying all around the country playing basketball, why are my notes not here? Accessibility to education is the problem that I experienced,” Shead says.

While living in California, Shead began attending entrepreneurship mentorships. She set her sights on starting a business, and her vision was to create a space that would connect students with mentors from around the world over video chat.

In 2013, Shead moved back to Dallas after realizing she had “the second-largest school district

in Texas in her backyard.” In 2016, she launched STEMuli.

“I was on a mission to prove who I am to the world,” Shead says.

That first iteration of STEMuli, which utilized video chat and online communication for education, resulted in Shead being uniquely prepared for the challenges of the pandemic. Shead had already been working with Dallas ISD on a technology learning plan, so she was familiar with the district’s technological capabilities.

“I didn’t even have to call them to know that they were not in the position to be able to get kids online and connected with their teachers,” Shead says. “And so it was a business decision, it was a big pivot for us.”

Shead agreed to use STEMuli to develop a virtual classroom for Dallas ISD teachers. A year later, in August 2021, the first educational metaverse was released.

The video game integrates state curriculum standards with a playable hero’s quest. The game is something that can be used supplementally in the classroom, but it’s also something students can take home and play on the evenings or weekends.

“It’s supposed to absolutely disrupt education in the way that we know it functions,” Shead says. “From an equity standpoint, if we were to only try and get our video game in classrooms, there would be so much politics and so many things that would prohibit everybody from having access to it.”

Last year, Shead became the 94th Black woman in history to raise $1 million in venture capital. She says she is one of less than a handful of Black women in education to ever accomplish the feat.

“At the same time, it means a lot, it almost means nothing,” Shead says. “Because you still have to do something with the money that you get. And you still have to make it to the next level.”

Shead hopes to take the company public within the next 10 years. How she finds time to work towards that goal while also constantly flying between California, Texas, D.C. and New York, visiting classrooms and attending her daily yoga class, she isn’t quite sure.

But she is figuring it out, she says.

And while Dallas may not be a major tech hub, she says she is not ready to move away from her home city just yet.

“I have unfinished business in Dallas. Let’s just say that,” Shead says.

ALEJANDRA ZENDEJAS FOUND HER VOICE THROUGH SNEAKERS. SHE WAS A QUIET KID WHO FOCUSED ON HER SCHOOLWORK. SHE WAS A MIDDLE CHILD, WITH AN OLDER AND YOUNGER SISTER. AND SHE WAS THE DAUGHTER OF IMMIGRANTS, WHO CAME TO OAK CLIFF FROM LEON, GUANAJUATO, MEXICO, WHEN SHE WAS 2 YEARS OLD.

By the time she was a middle school student at Greiner, Zendejas, though shy, was looking for a way to express herself.

So when her older sister, Andrea, started collecting unique sneakers, Zendejas was all in.

The sisters bonded over finding cheap sneakers at the thrift store or online, or convincing their parents to buy them a pricier pair to share.

“I remember in school, people would be like, ‘Your shoes are so cool,’ and they thought we had a lot of money because of the shoes we wore,” Zendejas says. “In my head I was like, ‘We got these on eBay.’”

Sneakers became a way for Zendejas and her sister to express themselves. She says she always felt a little more confident on days she was rocking a new pair of shoes.

That experience is the basis of Pasos For Oak Cliff, the nonprofit organization Zendejas co-founded in 2020.

Zendejas became passionate about community service while a full-ride scholarship student at the University of Texas, where she joined the school’s LULAC chapter and served as president. Her time in the organization opened her eyes to her potential for community impact.

“I had the assumption that if I’m not a citizen or if I can’t vote, I can’t make a difference,” Zendejas says. “I learned that’s not the case. Having a voice and telling other people how to vote is having a voice in the community.”

After graduating with a math degree in 2017, Zendejas returned to Oak Cliff, where she started tutoring students.

She became friends with and later started dating Jesse Acosta, a recent UT grad who was teaching at Kimball High School. They two bonded over their shared desire to serve the Oak Cliff community directly, even if they didn’t yet know how.

They also bonded over their shared love for sneakers.

Within the first few years of her career, Zendejas became discouraged after turning down multiple Oak Cliff families who could not afford her company’s fees for tutoring.

“I had people contacting me asking for help for their kids who were in my area. And when I would bring it up to my boss, they were kind of like, ‘We can discount them some,’ but it was too expensive,” Zendejas says. “And so that’s when I started doing it on my own, because it’s not about the money.”

When the pandemic began in 2020, Zendejas and Acosta knew it was time to focus on helping students in Oak Cliff.

Zendejas recalled the confidence her sneakers had given her as a student, and they decided to hold a shoe drive. In that first event, Zendejas and Acosta gave out 150 pairs of shoes to students in need.

That was the beginning seed that has sprouted into Pasos for Oak Cliff. In the last three years, the organization has gifted students with 3,000 pairs of shoes.

“When we go buy shoes, it’s just like, ‘Oh my god, I never thought I would be doing this.’ It’s something to help other people, and it’s something I like to do,” Zendejas says. “Knowing that I’m doing it to help other people is so cool.”

Pasos for Oak Cliff hosts shoe drives for students whose families may not be able to afford new sneakers regularly. The organization also hosts a summer school program for middle school students who may need to brush up on sub -

jects such as math, literature and the history of sneakers.

For high school students, Pasos for Oak Cliff helps provide opportunities for service hours and gives scholarships to college-bound seniors.

As the organization has grown, so has Zendejas’ ability to mentor students who come

from a similar background that she did, she says.

“It’s a big thing, encouraging students to go as far as they want,” Zendejas says. “I believe that a lot of the students here don’t have that support, and if we can provide that for them, they’ll be able to go as far as they want.”

Zendejas now works in insurance,

but she still tutors and offers test prep for high school students. Her pricing is flexible, she says, to accommodate students whose families may not have the resources to pay for the extra help.

This summer, Pasos for Oak Cliff’s shoe drive will also be an opportunity for students to pick up backpacks and other school supplies

they might need for the upcoming school year.

Zendejas says she hopes to eventually transition to working for Pasos for Oak Cliff full time, but for now, she is doing alright juggling three jobs.

“Seeing the kids’ reactions, it makes me getting home tired worth it,” Zendejas says.

BARBARA BARBEE HAS LIVED IN BRAZIL, FRANCE, ENGLAND, BELGIUM, THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA AND NEW YORK CITY, BUT OAK CLIFF IS WHERE THE 82-YEAR-OLD FEELS SHE HAS LEFT HER MOST IMPORTANT LEGACY.

A Sunset High School alumnae, Barbee set out to see the world, only to return to Oak Cliff in 1995 where she moved back into the Beverly Hills home she was raised in. But as Barbee settled into retirement, she knew she was only getting started on her life’s purpose.

“I retired so I could get busy,” Barbee says.

Hardly any time passed between Barbee’s homecoming and her first civic mission: repaving North Barnett Avenue, where the house she’d inherited from her mother stood. A petition drive was held, and the street was repaved.

Two years later, Barbee became a founding member of the Beverly Hills Neighborhood Association.

With the power of a neighborhood association behind her, the city was hit with a wave of Barbee-approved petitions. More street repavings, street lights, four-way stops and speed bumps began to trickle into the neighborhood.

Barbee even helped the group secure a school zone on Jefferson Boulevard for George Peabody Elementary School.

“When I decided to keep my little house over here in Beverly Hills, I decided that we needed to really make people understand that Oak Cliff is unique,” Barbee says. “I can’t imagine why anybody would want to live anyplace in Dallas except Oak Cliff.”

When neighbors began discussing founding an organization that would focus on Oak Cliff parks, Barbee was all in. She became a founding member of Friends of Oak Cliff and has served on the board for the last 21 years.

Her resume also includes everything from her involvement with the Old Oak Cliff Conservation League and Oak Cliff Earth Day to just about every garden club that has existed south of I-30 — not to mention an eight-year stint as the District 1 Park and Recreation Board member.

Barbee began serving on the park board in 2013 at the request of Scott Griggs, who served as the District 1 city council member at the time. She was pleased to accept the job because she believes the park department and city libraries provide the most impact to

residents but are often overlooked by city officials.

“A lot of people serve on the parks board that haven’t been on their knees in the dirt. I have been for 20 years,” Barbee says. “So that’s what I’ve been doing. Getting dirt under my fingernails and pushing people to do what they were hired to do.”

While on the park board, Barbee advocated for bond money for improvements to District 1 parks, and she often spoke about the necessity for increased public sanitation in the city parks.

She says the topic may be “an ugly thing to be thinking about,” but it became her consistent rallying cry during park meetings.

“This is really important,” Barbee says. “I’ve lived all over the world, and I’ve seen that we were falling very short as far as public sanitation in the parks was concerned.”

Barbee served the maximum-allowed eightyear term on the park board, but if anyone saw the end of her park board days as a second retirement or an excuse to slow down, she certainly did not.

Instead she has been “pounding the pavement,” dedicating her time to committees for Oak Cliff Earth Day and Friends of Oak Cliff. The organizations combine her love of gardening with her natural tendency for leadership and her passion for Oak Cliff.

Barbee is responsible for the recently approved application for a historic marker from the Texas Historical Commission that will designate Kiest Memorial Garden as historically significant.

“I don’t really know how I end up with those jobs,” Barbee says.

Friends of Oak Cliff is waiting to receive the marker from the foundry so it can be displayed in the garden, she says. When the marker arrives, she will probably find herself spearheading the party planning committee for a neighborhood-wide dedication ceremony.

Barbee’s legacy is not one that will be seen through bronze statues or a name engraved into a marble marker.

Instead, it exists in the flower bed plantings in Lake Cliff Park and speed bumps slowing traffic in the streets of Beverly Hills. Her legacy can be seen during neighborhood park cleanups and as part of funding for park bathrooms.

And she hasn’t slowed down yet, so why start now?

“I guess I’ll just keep fussing, which seems to be what I do best,” Barbee says.

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TRAIL SISTERS

A hiking club for women is reaching new heights across DFW

Story by EMMA RUBY | Photography by VICTORIA GOMEZ

Members of the DFW hikerbabes at Oak Cliff Nature Preserve.

WHEN JANET TAYLOR JOINED A FACEBOOK

group for women who enjoy hiking, she thought it would be an opportunity to try a new hobby while recovering from a leg surgery that impacted her ability to go on runs.

She didn’t expect that two years later, she would be planning and leading a 35-woman trip to Big Bend National Park.

Taylor is a member of the Hikerbabes DFW chapter. Hikerbabes is a hiking club that aims to unite diverse groups of women through outdoor activities and has chapters on five continents.

Originally a runner, Taylor joined the Hikerbabes group in 2020 after a neighbor told her about the group. Taylor, a Lake Cliff resident, says she had never considered Dallas to be a hiking hub before joining the group.

“(My neighbor) had a hike that was just under the Trinity bridges, and I was like, ‘It’s right by my house. I should not be afraid to be going to this,’” Taylor says. “I’m really shy until I know people, and that’s part of this group, encouraging women to get out and not be afraid to do these things.”

Shortly after joining the Hikerbabes, Taylor took on an ambassador position.

As one of six ambassadors for the DFW chapter, she says the position is nearly a full-time job. She estimates she spends 30 hours a week working on Hikerbabes projects, answering questions for members and planning and leading hikes.

When planning a 35-woman trip to Big Bend, Taylor spent seven months working out logistics and planning an itinerary that included river rafting and hikes of varying skill levels.

“Of course, now everyone’s like, ‘When are we going again?’” Taylor says.

Members of the Hikerbabes come from across North Texas, and range from ages 18 to 76, Taylor says. She estimates that around 2,700 women are members of the Hikerbabes Facebook group, with careers ranging from teachers to military members.

“We are a diverse group of women,” Taylor says. “And because Oak Cliff is so diverse, I’d love to get more out there more and get more Oak Cliff members involved.”

Jenna Wilson has lived in Hampton Hills for nine years and joined the Hikerbabes shortly after Taylor. She says Oak Cliff has “hidden gems” hiking trails that most people don’t know about.

Wilson says she gravitates to trails maintained by the Dallas Off-Road Bicycle Association, or DORBA, because their trails are well-cared-for and hiker-friendly. A “huge asset,” DORBA built the trails at Oak Cliff Nature Preserve that the Hikerbabes frequent.

While Wilson isn’t an ambassador for the group, she says it’s not uncommon for members to make spontaneous hiking plans on days that a formal meetup isn’t planned. Many of the women in the club operate with a “safety in numbers” mindset, she says.

“Anybody is allowed to just throw it out there and have

an unofficial meetup, and you know that they’re like-minded sisters who enjoy the outdoors,” Wilson says. “You may or may not have met them at a previous hike, but you know you have friends in common. And so there’s some security in that.”

In addition to the Oak Cliff Nature Preserve, Taylor says the Cedar Ridge Nature Preserve, the Trinity Audubon Center and Coombs Creek offer walkable outdoor opportunities in and around Oak Cliff.

Each location offers a different level of difficulty for hikers, but Taylor says no matter how difficult a hike, any skill level is welcome.

After hearing several members say they didn’t think they would be able to complete a hike because of distance, Taylor organized a trip to the Dallas Zoo. The members walked around for several hours, and Taylor says they were shocked at the end of the event when she announced they had walked the same distance as her upcoming hike.

“No one’s ever left behind, we always make sure,” Taylor says. “That person who’s struggling, we want to encourage them to finish and be happy and want to come back.”

While Wilson joined the group for the hiking, she has benefitted from the social aspect as well, she says. Making friends as an adult is hard, she says, but Hikerbabes has put her in contact with women who she knows will have at least one shared interest with her.

She has also brought other women into the club, who have then met new acquaintances and become close friends.

“It provides a lot of camaraderie and encouragement, but it also provides knowledge,” Wilson says. “There are always hikers who are more experienced than you, whether it’s how many years they’ve been hiking, or they’ve hiked a place that you haven’t hiked yet, or they have maybe some first aid knowledge because they took a class. And so there’s a great sense of just helping each other grow in confidence and ability and experience.”

While Dallas isn’t known for being a pedestrian-friendly city, Wilson says since joining Hikerbabes, she has been more confident in walking while out and about, even when it draws confusion.

While waiting for her car to be fixed at an auto shop, Wilson told the mechanic she planned to walk to Home Depot to pass the time. He was incredulous, she says, insisting the .7-mile route couldn’t be walked.

Wilson’s response: “Watch me.”

Taylor agrees that joining Hikerbabes has instilled her with a sense of “girl power.”

While on the trip to Big Bend, Taylor was one of 10 women who decided to summit Emory Peak. The mountain is one of the tallest in Texas at 7,825 feet.

“I got to the top, and there was this man, and he had a GoPro. He was like, ‘Wow, look at that. There’s a woman,’” Taylor says. “I said, ‘You just wait. There’s nine more behind me.’”

THESE WOMEN MEAN BUSINESS

Being a real estate agent is not the glamorous, cush life portrayed on TV. For these independent selfstarters, it most often looks like hard work in the form of back-to-back-to-back showings, managing vendors and repair people, strategizing and negotiating, late night contract-writing and more. But everyone pictured here knows it’s all in a day’s work. And because it’s driven by a desire to serve others with excellence, it doesn’t feel like work.