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WHAT’S INSIDE

what’s inside...

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Upfront

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Local Business: Cosmetics that Last

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Profile: Sharon Reese

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In Memory: Chapel of Grace

Entertainment: Aaron Ray Vaughan Local Singer Releasing First Solo Album

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War Stories: The First Fallen Soldier Teel Remembered as First Bartian Killed in WWI

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Business Spotlight: The Dynamic Trio Overman Insurance Excels in Customer Service

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Feature: Vietnam War

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Sports: Bartlesville Has Got It All ...

Well, Except Lacrosse

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Feature Sponsor Story: Rags to Riches Hard Work & Determination Were Key for Dr. Pfaff

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Unsung Heroes: Al Rohleder Quiet Bartian Scored WWII Counterintelligence Coup

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Kids’ Calendar

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Once Upon a Time: Taking the Right Turn ...

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Chick-fil-A Events Calendar

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A Fresh Perspective: WWII Hero Lived a Quiet Life

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Meeting a Need: Veteran Resources Bartlesville Joins Fight Against Veteran Suicide

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On the Osage: Putting Fairfax on the Map ... ... One Sip at a Time

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Military Careers: Colonel Ken Suggs

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Arts & Entertainment: Back on Broadway!

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Out & About: Photos from Around Town

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From the Heart: Have Courage to Change No Matter What You’re Facing, You Have a Choice

Knowing Nowata: Emma McGruder 1919 Nowata Elementary Principal Served in WWI

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Funny You Should Ask: The Things We Do for Love

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Tell Me Something Good: Heaven on Earth

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Giving Back: Grave Interest in Honoring the Dead

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Let Freedom Ring: Remembering Our Veterans

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A Good Word: THANKS is life GIVING

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Fundraisers: Kiwanis Holiday Wreaths

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Now You Know: Vietnam Fallen ... Roll Call

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Looking Back: Horse & Buggy Doctor

NOVEMBER 2021 4

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UPFRONT

upfront Welcome to November friends. The first thing I want to say is THANK YOU to all of our Veterans who served, fought, and defended our great country — the United States of America. You are heros. It is hard to believe that we are just 36 days from Thanksgiving as I write this Upfront.

Where did this year go? Ever since we started working with the magazine fourand-a-half years ago, we have always wanted November to be our veterans issue ... and it has!

History is so important to Christy and I, not only here in Bartlesville and our great state of Oklahoma, but also our country's 245-year history. We have ventured out of Bartlesville to do Feature stories that we believe needed to be told, like the Tulsa Race Massacre, the Cherokee Nation history, and stories of War War II. In this issue, I wanted the Feature story to be about the Vietnam War, and I turned to Sarah Gagan to write it. As always, she hit a homerun.

This war was a dark time in our country, as millions of young Americans took to the streets to denounce and protest this war.

The war really started in 1955, but in 1961 President Kennedy sent over the first large group of soldiers, and in March of 1965 President Johnson, with solid support from the nation, started sending troops.

By June, we had more than 82,000 stationed in Vietnam, and the average age was 22 years old. We had a total of 2,700,000 soldiers who served in Vietnam, and we lost 58,220 heros.

serve in War War II, and today we have less than 240,000 still with us. We lose 234 each day, which is 85,420 a year. By the year 2028, they could be all gone! That's just seven years from now. They are the greatest generation of young men who sacrificed all for people they never met.

They did it for the love of this country and to keep America free.

The total number of veterans alive today who fought in all of our wars and served during peacetime is less than 18 million. What is shocking to me and just makes my heart so sad is that we lose 23 veterans a day to suicide. That is an American soldier taking their own life every 65 minutes. We, as a country and society, have to do better taking care of these heroes. We have to! We owe them that!

I finally want to say that I never served in the military for this country. Every time I see a veteran proudly wearing their hat or shirt that symbolizes what war they were in, I always tell them THANK YOU for serving and protecting this country. Freedom doesn't come Free. For me and this family, we will always be indebted to the brave men and women who left everything behind and knew they might come back in a casket draped with an American flag. They did it to fight for me, you, and the greatest country ever — the United States of America! God bless and God bless our Veterans!

Keith

When I first started looking at over 700 pictures to use for the cover and the Feature story, I found this picture that I made the cover for this issue. I was drawn in by the rawness of being dropped off in the middle of Vietnam and being left in Hell ... very much like being let out on the beaches of Normandy. What absolute bravery these young men had! I always try each month to make the cover a special work of art. When you see the cover, I want you to know I’ve spent many sleepless nights thinking about it and days of making subtle changes to the image. The cover speaks volumes to me. I always want the cover to be something you can't keep from picking up. It is art to me, and I am very proud of this cover and this issue.

I want to talk about our veterans and some numbers that may shock you ... they did me! We had 16 million Americans

Volume XII Issue XI Bartlesville Monthly Magazine is published by

ENGEL PUBLISHING

Offices located in Downtown Bartlesville in the historic Price Tower 510 Dewey Ave, Suite 400, Bartlesville, OK 74003 P.O. Box 603, Bartlesville, OK 74005

www.bartlesvillemonthly.com facebook.com/bartlesvillemonthly Publisher

Brian Engel brian@bartlesvillemonthly.com Art Direction

Copper Cup Images design@coppercupimages.com Director of Sales & Marketing

Keith McPhail keith@bartlesvillemonthly.com Community Liaison

Christy McPhail christy@bartlesvillemonthly.com Project Manager

Andrea Whitchurch andrea@bartlesvillemonthly.com Administration

Shelley Greene Stewart Delivery and Distribution

Julie Drake Calendar/Social Media

calendar@bartlesvillemonthly.com Contributing Writers Debbie Neece, Kay Little, Jay Webster, Lori Kroh, Sharon Reese-McGlory, Kelly Bland, Keith McPhail, Rita Thurman Barnes, Jay Hastings, Maria Gus, Sarah Leslie Gagan, Carroll Craun, Brent Taylor, Mike Wilt, Travis Keener, Aaron Kirkpatrick, Adrienne Kallweit, Tim Hudson, Delaney J. Williams, Jo Crabtree Contributing Photographers Nowata County Historical Society Museum, Becky Burch, Bartlesville Area History Museum, Kathy Peaster, Matt Conley, The Fairfax Chief, Bartlesville Symphony Orchestra, US Army Chief of Military History Kids Calendar

Jessica Smith

All Rights Reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, copied or otherwise, without prior permission of Bartlesville Monthly, Inc.

ABOUT THE COVER Cover photo shot in Vietnam courtesy of US Army Chief of Military History, Washington, DC. Creative Concept by Keith and Christy McPhail

bmonthly managing editors Keith & Christy McPhail.

Design by Copper Cup Images

NOVEMBER 2021 | bmonthly

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PROFILE

Sharon Reese-McGlory Connecting a Community

by Sarah Leslie Gagan The willingness of America's veterans to sacrifice for our country has earned them our lasting gratitude. They have served to protect our freedoms and our lives. We live with a quality of life that exists because of the expense paid by our veterans, yet when their service is complete, it is their own quality of life that is often sacrificed. Bartlesville native Sharon Reese-McGlory has made it her life’s purpose to advocate for the veteran population, and in turn, improve and restore their quality of life.

Born the fourth of five children to Kermit and Wanda (Cookie) Reese, Sharon enjoyed an active childhood playing softball. Her father, Kermit, was an area softball coach, and sports became a family affair for Sharon and her siblings. Sharon’s older brother, Walter Hays, was a popular football player with the class of 1976. Sharon’s younger sister, Arlene Reese Sutton, was a member of the 1985 girls track team and was inducted into the Bartlesville Sports Hall of Fame in 2018. Sharon and her siblings are third generation Bartians, as her grandparents also resided and worked in the community.

Four years after graduating high school in 1980, Sharon joined the U.S. Navy and was on active duty from 1984 to 2004. She was stationed in Washington State for five years, then spent 15 years stationed in San Diego, California. She has one adult son, Dwight Jenkins II. Sharon is an active member of Spirit Church and enjoys sharing their community focus of selfless giving.

She has also had the recent honor of being selected as the first African American female board member of Arvest Bank in Bartlesville and looks forward to the opportunity to be a part of their organization. Sharon is a current newlywed, having recently married Charles McGlory in June of this year.

After Sharon’s retirement from the military in 2004, she worked at the VA hospital in Oklahoma City, in the social services department homeless program. She was the supportive coordinator for veterans with severe mental illness. She had many veterans on her caseload, but time only allowed her attention to focus on those with severe mental illness. This trend was unsettling to Sharon, as she desired to be able to help all veterans find the care and services they needed.

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Due to the struggle within her, Sharon resigned from the VA in 2011 and started her own non-profit, Veterans Connection Organization.

This allows her to focus on assisting all veterans, rather than only those with the most severe needs. As a disabled veteran herself, Sharon is equipped with the compassion and care required to empathize with other veterans in need. She relates to their situation and strives to help them live a better life.

In 2018, Sharon retired from her job with Housing and Urban Development to focus on her non-profit venture full time. This also entailed a God-directed move back home to Bartlesville from Oklahoma City. It had been over three decades since she had lived in Bartlesville, but hearing the Lord speak to her heart, she knew it was time. She clearly recalls God telling her that she was coming to Bartlesville to change the minds of others, and to change the landscape of Bartlesville. She

PROFILE

Sharon Reese-McGlory, seated in the center, with her mom and siblings

moved her entire non-profit to the area, settled in, and began paying it forward to her community.

The need in the Washington, Osage, and Nowata County area is great for veteran assistance. It is estimated that 5,000 to 6,000 veterans reside in the area. Veterans Connection Organization improves the quality of life for veterans by connecting them with area services to meet their specific needs, whether it be housing, medical, food, utility assistance, or any other obstacle they may face. Sharon is a true advocate for all those she works with, persevering until the need is met.

They are connected with Oklahoma Veteran Alliance, which selected Veterans Connection Organization to be a connection point for veterans in the Northeast Oklahoma area.

Bartlesville, noting that it is often overlooked in our area.

Sharon would like to be remembered in Bartlesville as a pacesetter that has come back to follow in the footsteps of the local African American trailblazers, to let the younger generations know their pacesetters are still around and now it’s time to come back and pay it forward to our community. She encourages others to “reach out and grab the world, it’s here for us to grab, and put effort into it and know that nothing is impossible.” Sharon acknowledges that

her family’s accomplishments in sports encouraged her greatly and left her some big shoes to fill.

Every human being deserves to have quality of life, and there is always room to improve. Sharon’s heart for our veterans is an inspiration to us all, setting an example of how to love our veterans well.

She has earned the lasting gratitude of our community for her military service, and for her daily sacrifice of care and concern for the brave men and women who have served our country.

Sharon feels a sense of accomplishment every time a veteran’s need is met.

She has tackled some difficult tasks, such as assisting veterans to receive disability benefits — often taking over a year for approval. It is rewarding to her soul to overcome an obstacle and assist the veteran in bringing more income to their household. Sharon sees the need to make the public aware that we have a very vibrant veteran community here in NOVEMBER 2021 | bmonthly

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WE LIVE, WORK, AND PLAY IN BARTLESVILLE, AND WE’RE PROUD TO SERVE OUR NEIGHBORS WITH INTEGRITY Experienced, Honest, Local

IN MEMORY

Chapel of Grace Quaint Country Church Honors Late Doris Stumpff

by Debbie Neece, Bartlesville Area History Museum Doris Harrison was raised at the Tipton Children’s Home in Tipton, OK where she found strength and spiritual guidance. She graduated as Salutatorian at the Tipton High School, attended Abilene Christian College in Texas and Central Christian College in Bartlesville, graduating in 1958.

After her marriage to Keith Stumpff, they took a leap of faith, in 1966, establishing Bartlesville’s Stumpff Funeral Home, a comforting outreach for the community where they were raising their family.

volunteers have created a quaint, rustic country church in a country setting as a tranquil, peaceful retreat.

It’s from the humble beginnings of an orphanage that the legacy of Doris Harrison Stumpff brings a family and community together, wrapping the hurt of others in the comfort of the Lord.

And, it’s through the volunteer spirit of the First Baptist Church and every carpenter, with the guidance of Joe Lewis, who has tirelessly crafted the Chapel of Grace as their labor of love. This is about community.

After the death of Delaware Chief and Reverend Charles Journeycake and his wife Jane Journeycake, their daughter, Nannie Bartles was instrumental in building the Journeycake Memorial Baptist Church in Dewey. The church was embellished with stained glass windows, two of which were dedicated to Jane JourDoris’ giving nature extended to the Service League of neycake and Reverend John Sarcoxie, Sr., ordained Baptist Bartlesville, Bethel White Shrine, Adams Blvd. Church of Christ minister, Delaware Counciland throughout the community.

“The chapel will embrace guests’ families and friends as an man and beloved missionary.

So, on January 16, 2002, when intimate gathering space and safe refuge in the presence of a fatal accident brought angels Doug and Penny Quinn love, grace and serenity.”

— Doug & Penny Quinn to carry Doris home, commusalvaged the two windows nity wide heartache was felt. after the church was razed and have donated the stained glass, Family and friends opened their hearts in prayer, searching for adding history to the project.

The Journeycake and Sarcoxie glass guidance in honoring her memory. artwork was placed in the craftsman hands of Joe Lewis, who created backlit display boxes to show the detail and reverence of On April 6, 2021 members of her community took shovels in the century-old stained glasses now adorning the Stumpff hand and broke ground paving the path for the Doris Stumpff Chapel of Grace.

Chapel of Grace at The Journey Home. The project took an army of planners, volunteers and supporters. It is with the generous The Journey Home is unique for our area with open arms to support of Scott Holz and the Stumpff Funeral Home and Cremabless all in need. On November 9th, from 4:00-7:00, all who wish tory that the project took hold. The Richardson Foundation, the to attend are welcome to join in the dedication ceremony of the Williford Family and the Bank of Oklahoma have also been genStumpff Chapel of Grace at The Journey Home. erous supporters.

For anyone who has faced the final adventure of life and needed a place to call home, The Journey Home has been the respite for many in need of peace and comfort. The non-profit, donation supported 501(c)(3) organization offers a comforting homey setting for family and friends away from a clinical atmosphere, free of charge. Volunteers and staff provide physical, emotional, medical and nurturing support while our community’s love pours upon The Journey Home visitors with nourishing meals, laundry, housekeeping and the comforts of home.

The one thing missing was the Chapel of Grace in honor of Doris Stumpff. One shovel of earth and pounded nail at a time, NOVEMBER 2021 | bmonthly

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bmonthly | NOVEMBER 2021

WAR STORIES

The First Fallen Soldier James Teel Remembered as First Bartian Killed in WWI

by Delaney Williams At 10:43 a.m. on Saturday, July 3, 1921, the body of Sergeant James H. Teel arrived back home to Bartlesville, nearly three years after his death. His body was greeted by eight men in complete overseas uniforms who escorted him to the McCallister Undertaking Chapel. There it was watched over by soldiers who had served overseas in the same Division as Teel, day and night, until his funeral at 3 o’clock the following afternoon.

Sergeant Teel’s death and funeral were significant to the community because he was the first Bartlesville man to be killed in World War I. On September 12, 1918, Teel, a member of Company E of the 358th Division, was engaged in battle. He participated in a machine gun charge at the storming of Gey-en-Haye, on the southern line of the St. Mihiel. Teel was only in his early 20s at the time of his death.

The American Legion Bartlesville Post 105 carefully planned a simple but solemn ceremony to honor his life and sacrifice. At 3 o’clock that Sunday afternoon, other former servicemen assembled at the chapel to escort him to his final resting place at the White Rose Cemetery. Leading the procession was a detail of mounted police, followed by the municipal band, and a firing squad in full military uniform. A black-draped carriage carrying Teel’s body came next, followed by family members in motor cars. The entire city stopped to mourn the death of Sergeant James H. Teel.

The Organization of the American Legion Following the end of World War I, in February 1919, U.S. Col Theodore Roosevelt Jr. gave a dinner for his fellow officers in Paris, France, and suggested an organization for Veterans of World War I.

A committee of 100 men met on April 7, 1919, and laid plans for what would become the American Legion.

On October 7, 1919, a charter petition for a Bartlesville post of the American Legion was filed. The post was officially organized on November 1st, just in time to celebrate Armistice Day on the 11th. The post celebrated with a large parade followed by a special dinner prepared by the War Mothers of Bartlesville, later renamed the Women’s Auxiliary of the American Legion.

The first set of officers of the Bartlesville post were: S.J. Montgomery, P.C.; Dr. J.V. Athey, V.P.V.; W.F. Jorgenson, adjutant; Sol Degen, post finance officer. Members of the executive committee, in addition to the officers were: H.C. Farell, M.E., Mihcaleson, Dr. F.J. Bradfield, T.B. Hudson, and Harold Price.

James H. Teel Post of the American Legion For some time there was an effort to change the name of the post to honor the first fallen man from Bartlesville in World War I. This change had to wait until the records of a number of Bartlesville military men killed in action were investigated. The name change officially took place on September 12th, 1921. From then on, the Bartlesville post was the James H. Teel Post No. 105, Bartlesville.

NOVEMBER 2021 | bmonthly

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The Vietnam War

by Sarah Leslie Gagan The Unnecessary War “History creates its own geological layers, entombing the carnage of warfare under a bustling town. The scenery of battle—the man with a bandaged head being dragged under the arms by two others, the exploding shells forming craters, the staccato crackle of automatic fire drowning out shouts of command, the attacks and counterattacks barely visible through smoke-saturated air, and the knowledge that human life is incidental to both victory and defeat—is all submerged, along with the decayed bodies of the fallen. Now, the civilian population attends to its daily needs, so that it never occurs to the children playing hopscotch, or to the mothers haggling over the price of an orange, or to the peasants carrying improbable loads at both ends of a bamboo pole balanced on their shoulders, that with every step they are treading on the fallen who have fertilized the soil.”

— Ted Morgan

French Indochina The French conquest of Indochina, which would one day become Vietnam, began in 1858. They boasted about bringing 16

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their civilization to Vietnam. The Vietnamese saw the French as the enemy, and the people struggled for independence.

At the end of World War I, President Woodrow Wilson went to Paris in 1919 to help rebuild the world, advocating for the independence of colonized nations. A man named Ho Chi Minh attempted to present a petition to the president, asking that Vietnam become an independent state. The president’s secretary promised to show it to Wilson, but there is no evidence he did. Ho Chi Minh had been marked for arrest in 1911 after taking part in a demonstration against the current emperor and fled Vietnam, remaining in exile for 30 years. Soon, Minh became a communist after discovering the anti-colonial writings of Lenin.

World War II began in 1940, and Germany conquered most of Western Europe, including France, paving the way for the Japanese to occupy Vietnam. Ho Chi Minh returned to Vietnam to help fight the Japanese invaders, founding a revolutionary movement named The Vietnam Independent League, also known as the Viet Minh.

The new fighting force grew quickly, relying primarily on guerrilla warfare tactics and hit-and-run strategies. When two atomic

SUTTERFIELD FINANCIAL FEATURE

feared that if one nation fell to communism, others would soon follow. The U.S. sent thousands of troops to push the invaders back into North Korea. Their success showed Western powers that communism could be contained in Asia.

By 1953, the French had been fighting for seven years in Vietnam, with the help of American aid. They had suffered more than 100,000 casualties. The Viet Minh, supplied by the Chinese and the Soviets, were a force to be reckoned with. The Vietnam War French proposed to begin talks to end the fighting. Before talks began, both sides Strength tried to reinforce their military position.

860,000 - 1,420,000 The French set up a fortified base in the Casualties Dien Bien Phu valley and saw no need to 667,130 - 392,364 worry about the jungle-covered hills that overlooked their 11,000 men. Heavy Total losses artillery fire began when 50,000 Viet4,249,494 (both sides) namese soldiers surrounded the valley.

The French were trapped. Following 55 days of brutal attack, they surrendered.

After 100 years of colonial rule, the French were leaving Vietnam.

The Viet Minh now believed they could fight a Great Western power and win. An Armistice was signed, splitting Vietnam

bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japanese surrender seemed imminent. Ho Chi Minh called upon all the people of Vietnam to rise up and take control of their country before the French could reestablish their rule. On September 2nd, 1945, the same day the Japanese surrendered thereby ending World War II, hundreds of thousands of people went to Hanoi to witness Ho Chi Minh proclaim Vietnam an independent nation.

The Threat of Communism President Franklin Roosevelt, who had campaigned for a world of independent self-governing states, was now dead and his successor, Harry Truman, was facing an entirely different world. The Soviet Union occupied Eastern Europe and looked to spread further into Turkey, Greece, and Iran, beginning the Cold War. The French warned if their colonies were to become independent under American assistance, France would have no choice but to fall under Soviet influence. The French sent thousands of men back into Vietnam with the help of American aid.

In 1950, communist North Korea invaded South Korea. American politicians

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SUTTERFIELD FINANCIAL FEATURE

into two parts separated by a demilitarized zone. civilians had 300 days to relocate to their choice of North or South Vietnam.

900,000 refugees fled South seeking a life free from communism.

The South was now known as The Republic of Vietnam, with Ngo Dinh Diem as president, and Saigon as the capital city. South Vietnam was protected by the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN). In the North, the capital was Hanoi with Ho Chi Minh appointed as leader. The communist North Vietnamese leaders were willing to break the peace to head South along what would be called the Ho Chi Minh trail, to fight for a united Vietnam.

John F. Kennedy had been elected and Cold War tensions were at new heights. U.S. politicians and leaders believed aggressive dictatorships must be stopped before they constituted a serious danger to the peace of the world. Critics complained about Kennedy’s leniency when he failed to stop the construction of the Berlin Wall. Communism was spreading in neighboring Laos and Cambodia as the civil war escalated in Vietnam, and Kennedy's advisers insisted he send ground troops into Vietnam to help the South push back the North Vietnam army, known as the Viet Cong. Kennedy refused to send in troops, instead sending an elite group of soldiers, the Green Berets, as military advisers to train and organize South Vietnam's military.

Kennedy also doubled military funding, sending helicopters and armored personnel carriers, and authorized the use of Napalm and Agent Orange defoliant, to destroy ground cover to the Viet Cong and to kill the crops that fed them.

The American military presence in South Vietnam worried Ho Chi Minh who believed invasion of the North was inevitable. He sought and received military aid and arms from the Chinese.

The government in South Vietnam had become so oppressive to its civilians that in an expression of protest against Diem and his regime, a 73-year-old monk set himself on fire as a silent crowd watched him burn to death. Soon other monks would become martyrs, but instead of allowing greater freedoms for his people, president Diem imposed martial law and arrested anyone 18

bmonthly | NOVEMBER 2021

that protested the South. A place promised to become a democracy had become a dictatorship. Diem’s reign could not continue.

Vietnam's military generals, who had been told a coup would not be stopped by the United States, assassinated Diem and his brother. People took to the streets in celebration.

Weeks later, President Kennedy was assassinated on November 22nd, 1963 and Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson was in charge. The Viet Cong continued to carry out attacks throughout the countryside as a new power struggle began in the South.

Between January 1964 and June 1965 there would be eight different governments. Coup after coup left the government in ruins.

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The Lie that Sparked a War In August 1964, the USS Maddox destroyer was stationed in the Gulf of Tonkin off the coast of North Vietnam. On August 2, it was attacked by North Vietnamese torpedo boats. And then, two days later, on August 4, the Johnson administration claimed that it had been attacked again. After the second attack, the U.S. Congress passed a resolution almost unanimously allowing the federal government to “take all necessary measures” to protect U.S. forces in Vietnam. It was as close to a declaration of war that the Johnson administration would ever get, but it was based on a lie.

After decades government secrecy, the truth finally came out in 2005 when nearly 200 documents were declassified and released by the National Security Agency. They showed that there was no second attack on August 4th. U.S. officials had distorted the truth about the Gulf of Tonkin incident for their own gains, and perhaps for Johnson’s own political prospects. This lie jumpstarted the war that would unnecessarily claim 58,220 American lives and more than 3 million Vietnamese lives.

In response to the second fictitious attack, Johnson was told by his advisors it shouldn't be left unanswered. American pilots were sent to attack North Vietnamese torpedo boat installations and oil facilities. For the first time, American pilots dropped bombs on Vietnam. The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution gave Johnson the legal justification to deploy U S forces in Vietnam.

In retaliation, North Vietnam guerrillas shelled an American air base near Saigon, killing five Americans and destroying five

B57 bombers. Advisors again suggested to Johnson he place troops on the ground and carry out an air attack on targets in the North, but he refused.

Operation Rolling Thunder When the Viet Cong struck an American helicopter base at Pleiku, eight U.S. advisors were killed and hundreds more were wounded. Later they blew up a hotel killing 23 Americans. Hoping to bomb them into surrender, Johnson responded on March 2nd, 1965 by systematically bombing targets codenamed Operation Rolling Thunder.

The president had changed his policy from retaliatory bombing to an all-out attack, something that was kept from the public.

The American people couldn't know he had widened the war. Viet Cong’s attacks continued but America couldn't leave, they were too heavily invested, and a withdrawal would make them look weak. In March 1965, Johnson ordered ground troops in Vietnam.

It was no longer a fight against communism, Pentagon declassified papers would later reveal it was to avoid humiliation.

The Jungle As 1966 began, 2,344 Americans had died in Vietnam.

There were 200,000 men stationed there with more on the way. The Viet Cong now controlled 3/4 of South Vietnam's countryside, moving their supplies and weapons through Laos and Cambodia along 12,000 miles of twisted jungle roadways known as the Ho Chi Minh trail. The Americans reasoned if the trail could be sufficiently damaged, their

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enemy wouldn't be able to sustain itself. Three million tons of explosives would fall in the Laos portion of the trail alone.

As the months and years went on, with the death toll of American troops climbing, the American people were told not to worry.

They were assured that the enemy was being defeated. General Westmoreland claimed he could win the war in three years and

sent an urgent cable to Washington asking for 200,000 additional troops. Robert McNamara, the Secretary of Defense, told Johnson the war was unwinnable, but Johnson gave General Westmoreland his men. Hundreds of thousands of American troops were being prepared to be deployed to a war those in Washington knew was a lost cause.

It wasn't just the Vietnamese the Americans were fighting, it was also the terrain. Soldiers had to make their way through elephant grass, thornbushes, bamboo 60 feet tall, and jungle so thick it would take an hour just to move 100 feet. Long black leeches caused wounds that quickly became infected, and sunlight rarely hit the jungle floor. Booby traps, landmines, and grenades laced the terrain, often causing the loss of limbs or life.

U.S. soldiers also had to deal with M16 rifles that jammed in gunfights, often costing their lives. Although the enemy rarely won a battle, American victory seldom seemed to matter. Enemy soldiers were quickly replaced, and U.S. soldiers were spread so thin that any land they captured was quickly taken back by the enemy once the troops left.

By the end of 1967, nearly 20,000 Americans would be dead.

Those back home were told victory was in sight, that there was light at the end of the tunnel. Yet the anti-war protests intensified.

The Tet Offensive At the beginning of 1968, half a million U.S. troops were in Vietnam. American leaders promised victory was close, but they were overconfident. The North Vietnamese Army (NVA) and Viet Cong were planning a huge general offensive, with scores of coordinated attacks on South Vietnamese towns and cities, hoping that if Saigon was defeated, it would leave the Americans no choice but to withdraw.

The date chosen for the attack was January 31st, 1968, the first day of the Vietnamese lunar new year celebration known as Tet. “Advance and we will achieve total victory,” Ho Chi Minh told his soldiers. On January 30th, a 36-hour truce for Tet was in effect and thousands of unsuspecting ARVN troops had gone home for 20

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the holiday. The next day, 84,000 Viet Cong guerrillas and North Vietnamese soldiers attacked 36 of South Vietnam's 44 provincial capitals, dozens of American and ARVN military bases, and the six largest cities in the country.

As the fighting raged on, the plan the Viet Cong and NVA had put in place was failing. South Vietnamese soldiers and U.S. troops were inflicting significant casualties. For the first time, U.S. soldiers could see what they were fighting. The Viet Cong were in the streets rather than in the jungle, and in the buildings rather than hidden in the trees. The Viet Cong were now playing America's game — the game America was best at.

After months of fighting, the Viet Cong were pushed back North. Johnson claimed the offensive was a devastating defeat for the communists. Of the 84,000 enemy troops that took part in the Tet offensive, 58,000 were killed, wounded, or captured. It was an overwhelming victory for America and the ARVN and a major turning point in the war.

Broken Trust and Treason The Vietnam War was the first television war, with-on site coverage from the front lines brought into the American living rooms. The public had been told prior to the Tet Offensive that the war was nearly over, that the North Vietnamese were so ground down victory was imminent.

When the offensive was launched, it contradicted what the American people had been told. Trust in the government was broken. Protesters took to the streets. On March 31st, 1968, Johnson spoke to the nation on televi-

sion, announcing the U.S. was to stop bombing North Vietnam in the hopes of getting them to the negotiating table. He also announced he would not run for reelection, that he would begin to focus his efforts on achieving peace.

Martin Luther King was then assassinated, sending protesters to the streets once again. The nation hadn't been this divided since the civil war. And as Robert Kennedy began his run for president, campaigning to bring the war to an end, he too, just like his brother, was assassinated. The nation was torn apart.

Richard Nixon was elected president on a program of ending the war and bringing a broken nation together. When he took office in January 1969, 37,000 U.S. troops had died. How he came to be elected to the highest office in the land was kept a secret.

As the election drew near, Johnson was making significant progress in Vietnam peace talks, and had agreed to stop all bombing of Vietnam. Hanoi for the first time had agreed to talk to Saigon and the U.S. had agreed to include the Viet Cong in the peace talks. For what seemed like the first time, peace was in sight.

However, on November 2nd, just three days before the U.S. election, President Thieu of South Vietnam unexpectedly withdrew from the peace talks. A representative of the Nixon campaign had secretly contacted the Saigon government urging Thieu to stay away from the talks, promising that once Nixon was elected president, he would drive a harder bargain with Hanoi than his competition. Due to a CIA bargain with Thieu’s office, and an FBI wiretap in the South Vietnamese embassy NOVEMBER 2021 | bmonthly

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in Washington, Johnson found out what happened. He discovered that Nixon and his team were committing treason by contacting a foreign power in the middle of a war. Nixon had been willing to continue the bloodshed to get elected. Johnson, unwilling to share how he got the information, said nothing.

Nixon’s secret was safe as the peace talks reached a stalemate and the war continued. American men were sent to their deaths in pointless battles. They were to fight for land such as Hamburger Hill, just to later give it up to the enemy. Enemy body count, which was often exaggerated, was all that mattered. As the protests back home continued, Nixon had to change his policy.

The American people were angry. Thousands of men were dying for nothing.

A policy called Vietnamization was to take place. ARVN troops would gradually take on more and more responsibility and American troops would start coming home. The Americans began training the ARVN, sending more than a million M16 rifles, 40,000 grenade launchers, and thousands of vehicles. Both American and

South Vietnamese officials knew if America couldn't win with half a million of its own troops, South Vietnam by itself stood no chance.

Publicly, Nixon claimed the campaign was a great success. On September 2nd, 1969, the 24th anniversary of Ho Chi Minh's declaration of Vietnam's independence, Ho Chi Minh passed away.

Although American military victories increased and casualty numbers fell, anti-war sentiment grew when the public found out that American soldiers had slaughtered more than 500 innocent men, women, and children in the small village of My Lai. Protests and anti-war sentiment reached new heights. Hundreds of thousands of people across the country took to the streets. Four students were killed at Kent State University and another two at Jackson State University.

With negotiations at a stalemate, Nixon began a bombing campaign around Hanoi, remembered as the Christmas bombing, where 1,600 civilians were killed. On December 26th, Hanoi agreed to return to negotiations. It would take them just six days to reach a final agreement. America had bombed them into accepting a deal. Prisoners of war were to be released and American troops were to withdraw from Vietnam.

The Fall of Saigon On March 29th, 1973, the last American troops would leave South Vietnam. Only 200 Marines would remain, helping guard the American embassy and other buildings in Saigon, along with diplomats and CIA agents. The South and the North would fight on, and the population was once again caught in a brutal civil war.

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Nixon had pledged to South Vietnam that if Saigon was ever in trouble, the U.S. Air Force would provide assistance. In August 1974, Nixon resigned amid the Watergate scandal and Congress was in no mood to help. They cut South Vietnam's funds and assistance in half. Up to 20,000 ARVN troops were leaving the military each month. The Americans had provided guns but not enough bullets. They provided planes but no pilots or training.

They provided trucks but no spare parts. Things in the South were quickly falling apart. The North pushed on ARVN forces at every turn. After 30 years of civil war, Saigon was going to fall.

Everything the Americans had fought and died to prevent was going to happen. Soldiers and civilians began to flee South to avoid the North Vietnamese army. President Thieu resigned.

On April 29th, the invasion of Saigon began, and evacuation was urgent. Helicopters picked up groups of people, many from the helipad on the U.S. Embassy roof, and took them to aircraft carriers and ships. The last of the U.S. ambassadors and military

were airlifted just as the Viet Cong invaded the city. Several hundred South Vietnamese U.S. allies and contractors were left behind. When the ships were full, helicopters were pushed into the ocean.

The South surrendered to stop further bloodshed. Many were sent to communist re-education camps for upwards of 10 years.

Graveyards were bulldozed or padlocked as every effort was made to wipe away the memory of the South Vietnamese regime.

The Vietnamese, after 30 years of war, 2 million deaths, millions of refugees, and destroyed villages, were finally united under one communist nation. With Soviet help, Vietnam would be turned into a new socialist system. Agriculture was state-controlled, capitalism was abolished, industry was nationalized, and leaders were appointed to run the country along strict communist lines.

The result was economic catastrophe. The standard of living fell and people starved. Nearly 1.5 million people would eventually flee as refugees.

Soldiers arriving home to America didn’t receive a hero’s welcome. Instead, they were spat upon, yelled and cursed at, or simply ignored. Their service didn’t seem to mean anything to the American public, who had become jaded by the government’s empty promises.

While in Vietnam, troops engaged in more than combat, they performed many acts of kindness and humanitarianism. They helped the local people medically by providing medicines and vaccinations, they adopted orphanages, dug wells, built windmills, schools, and homes. They were selfless in not only their defense of the Vietnamese, but in bettering their quality of life.

Vietnam was a political war, not a soldier’s war. It was one that America’s pride couldn’t allow itself to lose. Those who fought and died on both sides risked their lives for their country and showed a bravery and sacrifice that should never be forgotten.

The Bartlesville community had many who served in Vietnam, and some did not return.

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Local Heroes Jim Dau, born in Chicago Illinois, joined the Marine aviation program in January of 1967. After completing his flight training, he was sent to Vietnam in November of 1968. He was a newlywed and leaving his bride was difficult. He served as a helicopter pilot, working long and dangerous hours to deliver troops and supplies into the jungle. While at Da Nang, he enjoyed working with the South Korean Marines.

He remembered them as very good fighters, recalling that if a person shot at the South Koreans, he was not going to shoot very long and was never going to shoot again. Jim retired from the Marines as a full Colonel. He is proud of his service, saying, “One thing the Marine Corps instills in you is the willingness to put yourself aside and be able to do whatever it takes for a Marine. It is biblical that the Marine Corps teaches you to be willing to give up anything for a friend. It is not for yourself, but what can you do for the other person.”

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Rocky Crawford received his Army draft notice on January 2, 1969. After completing basic training, Rocky was one of few selected to attend finance school at Fort Benjamin Harrison at Indianapolis. His wife was able to stay with him in an off-campus apartment. Rocky enjoyed learning about military finances. Just 15 days after completing finance school, Rocky got his orders for Vietnam, arriving there on the 17th of July, 1969. He was assigned to the First Cavalry Division, Airmobile, and sent to Ben Hoa. On the first morning of his assignment, there was a rocket attack that drove everyone into the trenches for safety.

Rocky’s assignment at Ben Hoa was 73C, Finance in the processing unit. He processed pay for the soldiers, designating how they wanted their money, if they wanted all their money or to send some home. He also dealt with frequent changing of currency. Rocky served 412 days in Vietnam. He states, “My wife and I had a lot of prayers and I still have some pain about the 58,000 men and women that did not come home alive. I have always

SUTTERFIELD FINANCIAL FEATURE

asked why I got to come home, and those people did not. It comes back more often now, why did I make it? There has to be a reason.”

Willard Parish received his draft notice in November 1963 and had to report the 28th day of November in 1963. He left for Vietnam, from Charleston South Carolina, via a troop ship in August of 1965.

His first experience of Vietnam was clearing out what was called the Green Line.

Any time there was a termite hill or ant hill, anything that would give cover, Willard and the others had to chop it down.

Willard was awarded a Silver Star in November 1965. The inscription reads as follows, “Reasons for gallantry in action, Specialist Four Parish distinguished himself on 15 November 1965 during a search and destroy operation in the Ia Drang Valley, Republic of Vietnam. Specialist Parish was operating an M-60 machine gun on the defensive perimeter of his company when a numerically superior Viet Cong force launched an attack. As the insurgent

forces attacked, Specialist Four Parish delivered lethal fire on to the advancing waves of the Viet Cong. When the hostile troops were within 20 meters of his position, his machine gun ran out of ammunition, with complete disregard for his personal safety, Specialist Four Parish picked up two 45 caliber pistols and stood up in his position and inflicted numerous casualties upon the approaching insurgents. Through his courage and determination and devotion to duty, he saved lives of many comrades who were in the vicinity of his position and contributed immeasurably to the defeat of the advancing Viet Cong. Specialist Four Parish’s unimpeachable valor and extraordinary heroism against a superior hostile force were within keeping with the highest tradition of the military service and reflect great credit on himself, his unit and the United States Army.” Willard is one of the many true heroes of Vietnam. ~ Resources: The Vietnam War, A film by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick, 2017. ~

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FEATURE SPONSOR STORY

Rags to Riches Hard Work and Determination Were Key for Kenneth Pfaff

by Debbie Neece, Bartlesville Area Jistory Museum Sometimes it takes a community to save a child and Bartlesville has long been about community.

Kenneth Pfaff was not born to riches but through grit and determination, he overcame poverty to become a notable Family Practice and Emergency Medicine Physician as well as a Lt. Colonel in the U.S. Reserve Medical Corps.

Pete and Fannie Pfaff struggled to raise five children during the depression and Oklahoma dust bowl days. Life was extremely difficult and the family moved often in search oil work.

They settled in Bartlesville in 1928 and Ken, last of the five children, was born at the Memorial Hospital in 1930.

Three years later, Fannie died of appendicitis, leaving three minor children: Emma (10), Thurman (7) and Kenneth (3).

Their father could not care for the children so they were sent to the Methodist Children’s Orphanage in Newton, KS. Emma was adopted by a Bartlesville couple, while Thurman (12) and Kenneth (9) returned to Bartlesville and became one of five sets of brothers under the care of the Kiwanis Boys’ Club from 1939 until they lived at the Y.M.C.A., 1943-1949.

Ken was deeply humbled and appreciative of Jo Allyn Lowe and Fenton Bisel, role models who offered desperately needed mentoring guidance. He worked the front desk, dispensing towels and locker keys to pay for his Y.M.C.A. room and when Terry McGowan promoted boxing events at the Municipal Stadium, Ken boxed on the card as “Mickey McGowan.”

At sixteen-years-old, he dropped out of school to join the 82nd Airborne Division and received his parachute wings at seventeen with thirteen jumps to his record. He returned to Bartlesville, lived at the Y.M.C.A. and graduated from College High School in 1949. At eighteen, he stood before Washington County Judge J.T. Shipman, with Fenton Bisel at his side, petitioning the court for legal adult status granted to 21 year old adults. The peti26

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tion was granted and Ken set forth on adulthood.

He returned to military service (1951-1953), married and had three children. While struggling to support his family, he completed his education at Denver’s University of Colorado School of Medicine, graduating in 1963 with his Doctor of Medicine degree. He was an A.B.F.P. board certified family medicine physician and certified in trauma and cardiac resuscitation, serving for thirty-three years. Service ran deep in his being. From 1990-1991, he was medical officer for the 82nd Cavalry (Mechanized) Heavy Tank Battalion, Oregon Army National Guard on twenty-fourhour standby for Desert Storm.

In Kenneth’s own words: “Through those hard depression years, with its day-to-day subsistence and poverty, the example of Jo Allyn Lowe, Fenton Bisel, Pop Brewer and many other community leaders who served on boards of civic groups and by their steadfast compassion leavened the harshness of life, and by the precept of their lives taught us that the highest calling in life is human service. In my life, that was the impossible dream of medical practice, the highest calling of all. What a wonderful gift these men gave to the children of Bartlesville.

They exemplified the current concept in education—that no child shall be left behind.”

Kenneth Pfaff died in 2012 and I am proud to have been his friend … he left the world a better place.

of Exceptional Senior Living We are thankful for our residents and front line employees

Green Country Village has helped seniors in Bartlesville enjoy private, maintenance-free residences with exceptional services and great hospitality for the last 30 years. Whether you or someone you love is considering independent living, assisted living or memory care, Green Country Village is the place to live, connect, grow.

Call (918) 335-2086 to schedule an appointment.

GreenCountryVillage.com 1025 Swan Drive • Bartlesville, OK 74006 Not-For-Pro昀t Organization

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NOVEMBER

CALENDAR SPONSORED BY 2

OKWU Men’s Basketball vs John Brown

6

7PM; OKWU Gym

5

5:30PM; P66 Aquatics Center

OKWU Men’s Basketball vs Missouri Valley

Varsity Bruin Football vs Choctaw

7PM; OKWU Gym

7PM; Custer Stadium

6

9

Bruin Boys Basketball vs Webster Scrimmage 4PM; Bruin Fieldhouse

Bruin Swimming vs Fort Gibson & Bishop Kelley

Bruin Girls Basketball vs Cascia Hall

5:30PM; P66 Aquatics Center

12PM; Bruin Fieldhouse

16 17

10AM; Washington County Fairgrounds

OKWU Basketball vs Tabor 6PM; OKWU Gym (W) 8PM; OKWU Gym (M) Thurs Nov 18

7PM; OKWU Gym

Dewey Flea Market

Bruin Swimming vs Stillwater & Wesleyan 5:30PM; P66 Aquatics Center

OKWU Men’s Basketball vs Evangel

13

2nd Annual Bartlesville’s Got Talent 7PM; Bartlesville Community Center Tickets available at Bartlesville Community Center. Proceeds benefit the Washington County School Supply Drive (Pack the Backpacks) and the Lowe Family Young Scholars Program.

Bruin Swimming All State Preview

4PM; OKWU Gym

8PM; OKWU Gym

13

3PM; OKWU Gym

OKWU Women’s Basketball vs Benedictine

OKWU Men’s Basketball vs Mid America Nazarene

OKWU Women’s Basketball vs Baker

18

Bruin Boys Basketball vs VCA Scrimmage 3:30PM; Bruin Fieldhouse

Nowata Harvest Festival and Car Show 12PM; Nowata County Fairgrounds Please join us for Nowata Chamber’s 1st Annual Harvest Festival & Car Show. We will have a chili cookoff, fall and holiday vendors, fall games, a dance with a nice fall decorated lighted dance area, kids movie on the lawn, food, a great car show, and much more! Please join us for a full day of fun!

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Bartlesville Veterans Day Parade 11AM; Downtown Bartlesville

3rd Thursday at BAHM: Night at the Museum 6 PM; Bartlesville Area History Museum

19

26

29

OKWU Basketball vs Bethany 6PM; OKWU Gym 8PM; OKSU Gym (M)

30

Fantasy Land on Foot

7PM; Bruin Fieldhouse

6PM; Johnstone Park

23

Bruin Boys Basketball vs Coweta Scrimmage 4PM; Bruin Fieldhouse

OKWU Basketball vs Kansas Wesleyan 6PM; OKWU Gym (W) 8PM; KWU Gym (M)

25

Bruin Wrestling vs Claremore Dual

Woolaroc Wonderland of Lights opening night 5PM; Woolaroc Museum and Wildlife Preserve The grounds and buildings of Woolaroc will be covered with over 750,000 lights as the historic ranch transforms itself into a magical winter wonderland! The lights will be turned on Friday, November 26th and will be on every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, 5-9 p.m., through December 19th.

Entertainment will be in the Heritage Theater almost every Friday and Saturday night, and a schedule of performances will be distributed at the Front Gate when guests arrive. Again this year, the main drive to the campus will be reversed, allowing guests the unique view, seen only this time of year, of the buildings across from Clyde Lake, outlined in lights.

Admission to Wonderland of Lights is $6 for adults and $1 for children 11 and under.

November 22-26 BPS Thanksgiving Break

Nov 20 - Dec 30 Fantasy Land of Lights Johnstone Park

Month of November Lenape Scaenger Hunt at Bartlesville History Museum Through the months of September, October, and November, bring the kiddos to the Bartlesville Area History Museum to enjoy exploring the exhibit“Delaware: The Faces of the Lenape” through a scavenger hunt. The scavenger hunt is free and all children who participate will receive a sticker declaring them as a “History Hero.” The Museum is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 to 4:00. For more information contact the Museum at (918) 338-4290 or history@cityofbartlesville.org.

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NOVEMBER EVENTS CALENDAR

Know of an upcoming event you would like to see on our calendar? Visit us at www.bartlesvillemonthly.com to submit a free listing!

Mon, Nov 1

6:30 PM

Celebrate Recovery Grace Community Church 1500 King Dr. Looking for a safe place to find healing in your life? Your not alone! Celebrate Recovery is a Christ-centered, 12-step program for anyone with any hurt, habit, and hang-up of any kind! Join us every Monday night at 6:30pm-8:30pm. We have programs for adults, teens, and kids to learn how to cope through life particular steps, principles based of the beatitudes, and the freedom of finding healing in community with others!

Tue, Nov 2

Wed, Nov 3 1 PM

Bartlesville Daughters of the American Revolution Meeting Bartlesville Women’s Club 601 S Shawnee Ave. The guest speaker will be Charlie Daniels, of Bartlesville. He will speaking on Veterans Day. Anyone interested in DAR is welcome to attend. This meeting will also be on Zoom. For more information, call 918-914-9808.

Thu, Nov 4

5 PM

Body Weight Blast w/Ashley Bartlesville Public Library 600 S Johnstone Ave. Body Weight Blast includes 45 minutes of high intensity/interval training, combining strength and cardio followed by 15 minutes of stretch and relaxation for all fitness levels. This class is free and open to the public. It will be held in Meeting Room A at the Bartlesville Public Library.

Please bring your own water bottle.

Fri, Nov 5

9 AM

Quarterly Nonprofit Connect Meeting 10 AM

Truity Credit Union 501 S Johnstone Ave.

The Woolaroc Retrospective Exhibit & Sale

10 AM

The Bartlesville Community Foundation and the Bartlesville Regional United Way invite you to a quarterly nonprofit networking series! Come connect with fellow nonprofit professionals and leave with knowledge that can help you lead your organization more confidently.

Lauren Florence Exhibit final week

12 PM

Woolaroc Museum & Wildlife Preserve 1925 Woolaroc Ranch Rd. The exhibit is open during normal business hours through December 31.

Price Tower Arts Center 510 S Dewey Ave. With a background in silk dyeing, Florence turned to acrylics and canvas after becoming a mother. Her work was inspired by a deep love of the people and wildlife of Oklahoma and the American West. Price Tower Arts Center hours are Mon-Sat 10 a.m.- 5 p.m., Sunday 12- 8 p.m.

Free admission.

12 PM

Rib Basket Made with Reed Part 2

Rib Basket Made with Reed

Bartlesville Art Association 500 S Dewey Ave.

Bartlesville Art Association 500 S Dewey Ave. Learn to make a rib basket made from reed, with accomplished basketmaker Kathy Barham. Kathy will use two half-day sessions on Tuesday & Thursday instead of one full day so students don’t get fatigued. Cost is $83 per student, which covers $45 for tuition and $38 supplies fee for reeds, beads, and handles for baskets.

See November 2 event for information.

4 PM

10 AM

3rd Annual Open House Christmas Crawl Participating Merchants Downtown Bartlesville Participating merchants include Buttercup Market, Kidz Korner, Moxie on Second, Roots + Bloom, and Rustic Pony.

Pick up your card from one of the participating stores. See any of the listed merchants for more information.

Business After Hours Phoenix Insurance 316 S Shawnee Ave.

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EVENTS CALENDAR Sun, Nov 7

12 PM 12 PM

Harvest Festival & Car Show

Bartlesville Artisan Market

Nowata County Fairgrounds

Washington Park Mall 2350 SE Washington Blvd.

The Nowata Chamber of Commerce presents its first annual Harvest Festival & Car show. The festival will feature vendors, outdoor fall games, and a chili cookoff.

The cookoff will be held 2-3:30 p.m. with chili tasting and voting from 3:30-4:30 p.m. Cost to taste and vote is $5. At 6 p.m. there will be a fall dance and kids movie on the lawn.

The artisan market is held every Friday and Saturday, from 12-4 p.m.

12 PM

Bartlesville Artisan Market Washington Park Mall 2350 SE Washington Blvd

6 PM

Black Coat Regiment Live Virginia Avenue Baptist Church 132 S Virginia Ave. Join the church for this special live event.

Learn the history of the Black Coat Regiment and what the church today should be doing to protect their flock.

Mon, Nov 8

Bartlesville Public Library 600 S Johnstone Ave. Explore the exhibit “Delaware: The Faces of the Lenape” through a scavenger hunt.

The scavenger hunt is free and all children who participate will receive a sticker declaring them as a “History Hero.”

The Museum is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Tue, Nov 9

Bartlesville Public Library 600 S Johnstone Ave. The Bartlesville Area History Museum is pleased to present the special exhibit Delaware: The Faces of the Lenape. This exhibit will be on display in the Pioneer Gallery through the end of November. The exhibit contains 21 panels and more than 70 artifacts and covers the story of the Lenape people from Lenapehokin to Washington County. You will not want to miss this exhibit. Museum entry is free, but donations are accepted. The Museum is open Monday-Friday from 8:30 a.m.-4p.m.

6:30 PM

12 PM

Hops for Hope

Cooking Smart with Barb

Bartlesville Municipal Airport Wyle Post Rd.

Bartlesville Public Library 600 S Johnstone Ave.

Hops for Hope patrons enjoy a fun, homebrewing competition to raise funds for Ray of Hope Advocacy Center. As the agency’s only fundraiser, Hops for Hope provides critical funding for survivors of child abuse and domestic violence.

Cheers to beer making a difference!

8 PM

Holiday Sip ‘n Shop

History & Haunts at the Dewey Hotel Museum

Food trucks will be on the scene, along with several Pawhuska vendors.

Thu, Nov 11

Bartlesville Beatdown III

12 PM Dollhouse Road Brewing 301 W Main St., Pawhuska

In the BCS opening concert, we will celebrate our return to singing. You will enjoy selections from great composers such as G.F. Handel and Aaron Copland, as well as selections from some amazing contemporary composers and arrangers including Lloyd Pfautsch, Dan Forrest, Z. Randall Stroope, and Mark Wllberg.

8:30 AM

Oklahoma Asylum 304 W Cherokee Ave.

Two Tall Okie Signs & Such LLC Delaware & East Don Tyler Ave., Dewey

Location TBA

Delaware: The Faces of the Lenape Exhibit

7 PM

6 AM

Bartlesville Community Center 300 SE Adams Blvd.

8:30 AM

Oklahoma Asylum Haunted House

Automotive Swapmeet

11:30 AM

Women in Business Luncheon — Fear of Failure

Lenape Scavenger Hunt

Presented by Pantheon Fighting Championship. Doors open at 6 p.m., fights start at 7 p.m.

Sat, Nov 6

2 PM

We are the Music presented by the Bartlesville Choral Society

6 PM Washington Park Mall 2350 SE Washington Blvd

The Asylum is an isolated experience in a 1940s-ers sanitarium where you and your friends are admitted right as the other patients break free and take over. Navigate your way through their twisted ritualsand try to avoid getting caught by the one thing they fear: whatever they locked up downstairs.

Wed, Nov 10

Dewey Hotel Museum 801 N Delaware St., Dewey

7:30 PM

America’s Sweethearts presented by the BCCA Bartlesville Community Center 300 SE Adams Blvd.

Join the Bartlesville Community Concert Association for a memorable evening as the amazing women of America's Sweethearts sing the music of the Andrews Sisters while celebrating the stylistic tradition of the Big Band era.

Please join the library IN PERSON in Meeting Room A or live on the BPL Facebook page for Cooking Smart w/ Barb.

This free program consists of eight healthy cooking classes. All classes begin at noon and are FREE and open to the public. Barb Kelley comes to us with wonderful culinary skills, recipes and stellar knowledge of new creative cooking choices.

Fri, Nov 12 8:30 PM

Live music with Let it Ride Cherokee Casino – Ramona 31505 US 75, Ramona

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EVENTS CALENDAR Sat, Nov 13

Tue, Nov 16

6 PM

Thu, Nov 24

Fantasy Land of Lights Johnstone Park 205 N Cherokee Ave. Fantasy Land of Lights continues to grow each year. Be sure to visit so you can see what is new this year! There is no admission fee, however, donations are accepted and very much appreciated. Once the expenses are paid, money is set aside to purchase or repair displays and a budgeted amount goes into the Club’s Foundation to cover educational scholarships to students in the Washington County area. The event is a fundraiser for Bartlesville Daybreak Rotary.

2 & 6 PM

Wire-Wrapped Jewelry Class 11 AM

Bartlesville Veterans Day Parade Downtown Bartlesville Starting in Phillips parking lot Parade will start in the Phillips Parking lot and travel East on Frank Phillips Blvd then turn South (right) on Osage then go West (right) on 6th St. then South (left) on Armstrong to Adams Blvd (right) back to the Phillips Parking lot. The community is invited to attend. Come out for a celebration of our Veteran's and our country! If you are participating in the parade please be at staging location at 10 am to line up.

Bartlesville Public Library 600 S Johnstone Ave. A little wire, a few simple tools, and some brightly colored beads are all you need to start creating your own intriguing fashion statements! In simple terms, wire wrapping is taking wire and wrapping it around itself and/or beads and other components to create jewelry. When wrapped, curved, bent and manipulated, the wire itself can become the structure and foundation of your piece or act as a design detail. Learn which gauge (thickness) of wire is best suited for different wrapping techniques and the tools needed to create a piece of jewelry that is one of a kind. Materials provided. Registration is required as space is limited. To register call the Local and Family History desk at 918-338-4167.

Fri, Nov 26 5 PM

Wonderland of Lights Opens Woolaroc Museum & Wildlife Preserve 1925 Woolaroc Ranch Rd.

Hilton Garden Inn 205 SW Frank Phillips Blvd.

The grounds and buildings of Woolaroc will be covered with over 750,000 lights as the historic ranch transforms itself into a magical winter wonderland! The lights will be turned on Friday, November 26th and will be on every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, 5-9 p.m., through December 19th.

Entertainment will be in the Heritage Theater almost every Friday and Saturday night, and a schedule of performances will be distributed at the Front Gate when guests arrive. Again this year, the main drive to the campus will be reversed, allowing guests the unique view, seen only this time of year, of the buildings across from Clyde Lake, outlined in lights.

Admission to Wonderland of Lights is $6 for adults and $1 for children 11 and under.

Dancing with the Bartlesville Stars is an entertaining, fun-filled fundraiser for Paths to Independence.

Live music with Let it Ride

7:30 PM

Cherokee Casino – Ramona 31505 US 75, Ramona

Through New Eyes presented

by BSO

Mon, Nov 29

Fri, Nov 19 6 PM

3rd Annual Fantasy Land on Foot

6:30 PM

Johnstone Park 205 N Cherokee Ave.

Dancing with the Bartlesville Stars

The only night you can walk through Fantasy Land. A fundraiser for Bartlesville Daybreak Rotary.

7 PM

Sat, Nov 20

Bartlesville’s Got Talent

9 AM

Bartlesville Community Center 300 SE Adams Blvd.

There will be dancing, singing, short film, comedy and more! Explore all of the local talent at this family-friendly event. Proceeds support the Lowe Family Young Scholars Program and Washington County School Supply Drive Pack the Backpacks.

Anual Enrollment Period Community Care Presentation Westside Community Center 501 S Bucy Ave. Choosing the right health plan is an important decision and representatives will be there to help. They will explain in person how their plans work and a licensed representative will be on hand to assist you in completing your enrollment form if you choose to join their plan.

Another presentation is also scheduled for Sunday 1t 4 p.m. at the Westside Community Center.

Bartlesville Community Center 300 SE Adams Blvd.

The BSO presents wonderful music by composers who were inspired by other climes and countries, including Mendelssohn, Tchaikovsky, Dvorak, and more. Orchestral virtuosity will abound as symphonic favorites combine with rarer musical gems — some serious and others not so much!

9 PM

7:30 PM

An Officer and a Gentleman Bartlesville Community Center 300 SE Adams Blvd.

Featuring the Grammy Award winning, #1 hit single Up Where We Belong, and a score based on 1980’s catalogue of music that gave voice to a generation, the live stage production is a new adaption by multiple Tony Award nominee Dick Scanlan and the opening show in the new Broadway in Bartlesville! season.

“Friendly dealers, great showroom and vehicles, very accommodating. Really appreciate being called by name.” — Matt from Wichita, KS

Hwy 75 in Bartlesville • (918)333-8010 • gopatriotauto.com

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Now Booking Weddings & Events Visit the 26-room home of oil pioneer, Frank Phillips, in historic downtown Bartlesville. Call today to reserve your event date, book your private luncheon or dinner, or schedule a tour.

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MEETING A NEED

Veteran Resources Bartlesville Joins Fight Against Veteran Suicide

by Sharon Reese-McGlory In August 2021, Bartlesville joined Together With Veterans, as Bartlesville Veterans Suicide Prevention Coalition (BVSPC) joined a nationwide effort to prevent Veteran suicide. This program is sponsored by the U.S. Department for Veterans Affairs Office of Rural Health, and supported by the VA Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention (OMHSP). TWV is a partnership to support our nation's heroes, led by the VA Rocky Mountain Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center for Suicide Prevention (MIRECC), supported by Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE), and implemented by rural Veterans and their community partners.

Suicide is a complex public health issue that affects communities nationwide, with more than 45,000 American adults, including more than 6,000 Veterans, dying by suicide every year.

BVSPC is proud to work with VA and WICHE in finding innovative ways to deliver support to service members and Veterans whenever and wherever they need it.

BVSPC utilizes the public health approach by combining community-based prevention strategies and evidence-based clinical interventions to empower action and support service members and Veterans in Washington, Nowata, and Osage Counties. Recent efforts include naming Sharon Reese-McGlory as facilitator and Jane E. Palmer as coordinator. They have also selected the Steering Committee members, which are James Warring, David Taylor, John Williams, Dr. Amy Thornton, Garry Gibson, Charlie Pilkington, Jason Elmore, and Donna Copeland (co-facilitator). They held their first focus group meeting in October to establish a baseline for this area with several community partners: Tri-County Tech, Osage Nation, OESC, Bartlesville Suicide Coalition, Bartlesville Ministerial Association, Oklahoma Veterans Alliance, an ARVEST Bank.

"Bartlesville Veterans Suicide Prevention Coalition (BVSPC) is working hard to end veteran suicide by learning about local strengths, resources, and needs, and building community awareness and capacity to better support veterans and their families," said Reese-McGlory. “We are excited to be a part of this collaboration effort in preventing veterans suicide and looking forward to continuing our efforts over the next year."

Service members or Veterans who are in crisis or having thoughts of suicide, and those who know a service member or Veteran in crisis, can call Crisis Line 1-800-273-8255.

For more information on this initiative, please visit BVSPC Facebook page email vspcbville@gmail.com.

In additional news from the Oklahoma Veterans Alliance, on July 19, the new 180,000-square-foot Ernest Childers VA Outpa-

tient Clinic, located at 8921 South Mingo Road in Tulsa, opened its doors for Veterans in Eastern Oklahoma.

Additionally, the Bartlesville VA Clinic facility will serve between 3,500 and 5,000 eligible veterans whose current options are limited to local health care or driving to Tulsa for a VA clinic.

The clinic will be in the former Hastings building at 3005 E Frank Phillips Blvd. Funds have been obligated but the projected date wasn’t disclosed.

To enroll for VA health care online, please you can go to va.gov/health-care/apply/application/introduction. To schedule an appointment with the Eastern Oklahoma VA Health Care System, please call 888-397-8387.

Veteran Resources Veteran Crisis Line Veteran PTSD Line VA benefits hotline GI Bill hotline • Students outside the U.S. National pension call center Support for SGLI or VGLI VA life insurance programs Special issue hotline

1-800-273-8255 1-800-273-8255 or 911 1-800-827-1000 1-888-442-4551 1-918-781-5678 1-877-294-6380 1-800-419-1473 800-669-8477 800-749-8387 NOVEMBER 2021 | bmonthly

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MILITARY CAREERS

Col. Ken Suggs Local Resident Spent Long & Fruitful Career in USAF

by Mike Wilt When he was an active member of the United State Air Force, Kenneth Suggs would often participate in “multi-stop out-andback” exercises. He and the other pilots would leave their base, execute several “touch-and-go” landings at various locations, and then return to their home base. It’s understandable how one might consider that an apt description of the now-retired colonel’s life.

Kenneth Suggs was born May 19, 1950 in the now-vacant Washington County Memorial Hospital in Bartlesville. However, he and his family lived in Copan. Kenneth’s dad, Les, was a pipe-liner from Hulah. His mom, Dickie Rae, was a homemaker and one of the popular Dobbs Sisters, a trio who often sang for area churches.

When Kenneth was six-years-old, Les went to where the work was.

Consequently, Kenneth attended six different first grades in Copan, Edmond, Flagstaff (AZ), Winslow (AZ), Gallup (NM), and Palmdale (CA). He went to school for only two weeks in California. His teacher told Dickie Rae to bring her son back for second grade because he was so far ahead of the other students.

While in Palmdale, the Suggs decided to divorce. Dickie Rae loaded up Kenneth and his younger brother, Ben, and drove over 1,400 miles back to Copan. Since his mom couldn’t afford to raise two young boys, Kenneth went to live with an aunt and uncle in the small farming community of Westphalia, Kansas.

“It was the ideal small American town to grow up in. There were 249 people when I got there and 248 when I left.”

Kenneth was 12 years old when he moved back to Copan.

“We lived off the money I made from my paper route. I got up at 4 a.m. every day and drove my Cushman motor scooter. Times were tough back then.”

After completing her schooling, Dickie Rae joined Phillips Petroleum Company as a computer keypunch operator and, later, a data analyst. She also served as president of the Jane Phillips Society.

In 1964, Dickie Rae married Robert K. Moore who also worked for Phillips, and the family settled in Bartlesville. Kenneth first attended College High (now BHS) as a ninth-grader.

“They didn’t know what to do with me. I was just a bad boy from Copan.”

In the fall of 1967, Kenneth transferred to Sooner High School (now Madison Middle School).

“It was fun to have a new school, and I was fortunate enough to have Della Craighead as a teacher.”

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The English literature teacher was the first to be inducted into the Bartlesville Educators Hall of Fame. She passed away in 2018 at 101 years old.

“She made me think of things I had never thought of. I was a ‘cool’ guy driving around with girls, but she made me think of life in general and what I was going to make of it. She was a pure angel.”

After being in Sooner’s first graduating class in 1968, Kenneth headed to the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. In November of 1971, he married his high school sweetheart and Col-Hi cheerleader, Cheryl Martini. Needing to make ends meet, the couple worked at the Pizza Hut in nearby Springdale where Kenneth was an assistant manager and Cheryl was the head waitress.

As bitter fighting continued to involve U.S. forces in Vietnam, Kenneth received a draft notice in November of 1972. He was to report in January.

“I had already used my college deferment, so it was not a question of going but when. My mom and I went to the draft board to ask if they could wait until I graduated. Mom wasn’t real excited after my foster brother joined the Marines and was killed in 1969.”

Kenneth learned the various branches of the military had delayed enlistment programs, so he visited several recruiting offices.

“I was always interested in aviation, but I was a kid from Copan.

Where was I going to meet people who flew planes?”

Kenneth graduated in May of 1973 with a degree in finance, economics, and banking.

“Which I’ve never used.”

While he scored a lot better on a test administered by the Marines, and despite the recruiter leaving a case of beer by his dorm room door, Kenneth joined the U.S. Air Force (USAF) in June of 1973.

“However, I was able to come back to Bartlesville to help coach the Pony League baseball champions. Afterwards, I cut my long hair and boarded a plane for San Antonio.”

Officer Training School (OTS) at Lackland Air Force Base was Kenneth’s first stop.

“It was a whirlwind, but I liked the discipline and the attention to detail.”

However, he almost didn’t qualify. As part of the three-month training, Kenneth went through a Flight Screening Program in which he was taught to fly a plane.

“Most everyone had a private pilot’s licenses and had flying experience. I was a little behind and somewhat in awe that I was up there doing it.”

MILITARY CAREERS

Corky Valentine, a F-4 fighter pilot who had completed multiple tours of Vietnam, was one of Kenneth’s instructors. The pair were flying a Cessna training plane one day when Valentine told Kenneth he was on his own.

“You’re gonna land this S.O.B. or we’re gonna die,” Valentine said.

Kenneth successfully executed three “touch-and-go” landings without any help from Valentine.

“They weren’t pretty, but they were safe,” Kenneth said.

Afterwards, Kenneth was really on his own.

“Now, go do it by yourself,” Valentine said as he walked away from the plane.

world. He was deployed to Southeast Asia, Hawaii, France, Turkey, Spain, and Saudi Arabia, just to name a few. He planned and executed aircraft refueling support during the removal of Manuel Noriega from Panama (1990), combat operation “Desert Storm” (1990-91), and “Shock and Awe” (2003).

In late 1997, Kenneth returned to his native Oklahoma as a commander at Tinker AFB. He created the first “associate” Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) flying unit in the USAF. While at Tinker, he learned to fly an AWACS plane that is similar to a Boeing 707. He also became an instructor. His unit captured 16 of 18 first place awards during a 1999 competition and was named Outstanding Reserve Unit of the Year.

Not only did Kenneth fly the plane solo, but he went on to earn an “outstanding” rating on his final check ride.

In 2010, Kenneth was awarded full military retirement after 36 years of service. Sadly, his 30-year marriage to Cheryl became a casualty.

“I was just a poor kid from Copan, but I learned something about myself and developed the confidence to do anything. I’ll never forget it.”

“The Air Force sent me too far away, and things just started to crumble. She is a magnificent person who did a marvelous job raising our three children. But we just slowly drifted apart.”

On the verge of graduating from OTS, Kenneth was bitten by a brown recluse spider.

Today, the 71-year retired colonel lives in Bartlesville alongside his 86-year-old stepfather. His mom, Dickie Rae, passed away in 2007.

“They called my mom and my wife to make their way to the base because they didn’t think I was going to make it through the night. I had a fever of 108. I remember being in a stainless steel tub with ice up my chin, and I wasn’t cold.”

Kenneth was hospitalized for 67 days during which he developed viral pneumonia and endured multiple skin grafts. He eventually recovered and graduated from OTS in December of 1973.

Due to the oil crisis, Kenneth’s undergraduate pilot training at Laughlin AFB in Del Rio, Texas, didn’t start until April of 1974. But once it started, he soared to new heights. The bad boy from Copan won awards for both academics and flying, and he finished in the top ten percent of his class.

Upon graduating from pilot training in May of 1975, the former newspaper delivery boy spent the next 30 years traveling the

“Pops and I go to church and Bible study together. And I enjoy being back home where many of my boyhood friends live.”

He also enjoys volunteering for OK EAT, a local nonprofit organization that operates a fun-filled kiddie farm designed to educate children about energy and agriculture.

The last Vietnam draft was in December of 1972, just one month after Kenneth received his notice. He was asked if he ever wondered what his life might have been like had he not been drafted.

“I used to. While I like the discipline of accounting and math in banking, there’s a stronger pull to fly, fight, hold the light, or carry out the dead. Just an Okie from Copan.”

Who’s made a perfect landing at home base.

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OUT & ABOUT

BHS BAND

AGAPÉ MISSION EMPTY BOWLS

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bmonthly | NOVEMBER 2021

OUT & ABOUT

WOOLAROC FALL TRADERS ENCAMPMENT

Chamber gala

THE MARK WOOD EXPERIENCE

NOVEMBER 2021 | bmonthly

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Join Us for our annual Bartlesville christmas open house crawl

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 5 - SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 6 BuTTERCUP MARKET KIDZ KORNER MOXIE on SECOND ROOTS & BLOOM RUSTIC PONY Pick up your card from one of the participating stores, See one of the listed stores for details.

3rd Annual

OPEN HOUSE

CHRISTMAS CRAWL

Join us Thursday, November 18 5pm - 7:30pm

Ladie’s Night Out Sip and Shop Little treat with purchase while supplies last

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FROM THE HEART

Have Courage to Change No Matter What You’re Facing, You Have a Choice

by Lori Kroh I think more than ever we need a dose of courage to face uncertainty and a coach to come around and cheer us on to a new day. There has been a lot of fear and people need to hear that no matter what ... they have a choice. You get to choose in your life. One hundred percent and with every part of me, I want you to know that you always have a choice. Pick up the crown of victory and hold your head up as you face your future. It may seem like you are stuck in a corner with no way out ... yet, I want to share with you that you always have a choice. You can choose to absorb or repel. You can choose fear or faith. You can choose to cry or deny. Whatever you are facing, there is always a beautiful crossroad and you are there choosing your path and which way to go.

Chin up, Buttercup! Get up Rocky! Come on Rudy! Muster fortitude and grit and try to remember what your grandparents did when facing hard times — they faced them. Creating a plan B always gives you hope because then you know it’s one hundred percent you. Only you know your compass, and just being open to ideas of different possibilities can reframe the moment. Who you were meant to be will be etched away by fear if you don’t choose courage at times in your life.

A long time ago, many in Bartlesville faced losing their jobs.

The pressure put upon this city by one man was so great it altered the lives of many forever. I know that to be true, because my parents chose to take the early retirement package. I was here since age five and we moved away the summer of my senior year. All I ever knew was Bartlesville.

We moved away to Tulsa and then on to Fort Worth, Texas. I was so far from my home, yet for some reason never felt lost. I learned character traits such as to trust God and how to be flexible and be open to new friends. It expanded me as a person for the rest of my life.

years, living where we lived and the people I have met, were all because I left my comfort zone. Out of your comfort zone is where you will grow.

Although I am back here with my own family now, I have always been grateful that my parents chose their courage and faith over comfort.

Some of you now are facing uncertainty and letting fear creep into your thoughts. Some of you may feel as if you don’t have a choice and nowhere to go ... I can tell you from the other side that you do indeed have a choice. You have so many good things I grew up off Tuxedo before it was a nice, wide road. I grew up going for you and you have to believe in yourself! I want you to walking pathfinder to school and stepping on a cactus as I took climb to the top of your Sooner Hill and breathe deep. You can’t the shortcut home. I met my friends at Sooner Pool and we used even fathom what great things will happen because you won’t baby oil for sunscreen. I raked yellow-amber leaves from our 30see that part on the path until you are there and look back. Your foot-tall elm trees. Sooner Hill was our sledding dream and we roadmap is to trust God, be flexible, and be open to meeting new made igloos because the snow was so deep. Many Saturday people. You never know how someone who knows someone will nights, we popped in a cassette and we cruised downtown, hitbe able to help you with what you need now. You can still be what ting Mcdonald’s, Ken’s Pizza, then on to Jack Griffith’s for potato you always thought you would be, and I believe even today that fries and an icy coke. I was looking forward to graduating with the your crossroad is meant for your best life! There are people who friends I had known my whole life. But my parents had a choice. need what you have to offer in this life and I want to instill This one changed the course of our family forever. courage in you today! You have a “No star is ever lost we once have seen, we always may I want to tell you a secret choice and only you know deep be what we might have been.” though. I wouldn’t change a thing. down what is best for you!

— The quote evolved from a line in Adelaide The memories I made over the Anne Procter’s 1859 poem A Legend of Provenance.

Godspeed friend.

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A GOOD WORD

THANKS is life GIVING

by Travis Keener

In 2004, my brother saw a doctor in Oklahoma City for occasional shortness of breath and was told he needed a heart and lung transplant just to help him live five more years. He was 28 at the time. He took the doctors’ suggested medicine, but he refused to consider a transplant. Instead, while living on the equivalent of 25% of one lung’s capacity, he built a new home, partnered on a big boat, and continued to run his company even while his health continued to decline.

Dad cried four years straight.

Mom cried once, in the

fourth year, after she dreamed her son’s ashes were poured out of an urn right in front of her. My aunt heard the dream and said, “I don’t know what it means, but it doesn’t mean what you think.”

That statement helped block fear from paralyzing my family.

Churches here and miles away prayed diligently. We asked the Holy Spirit (pneuma breath and power) to fill his lungs. I called him around mid-2008, assuming he was aware of the upcoming five-year mark on the calendar. I wanted him to know I was still praying and believing, but when I mentioned the five years, I realized he had blocked out the doctor’s timeline. I deeply regretted bringing up something that could affect his faith.

I didn’t need to worry; he had been having a new type of conversation with the Great Physician. He told me, “I’ve asked God so many times to heal me, now I’ve decided to quit asking and start thanking Him for what I already have. I’m not bedfast. I can still run my business ... He seems to anoint me to work.” I was in awe. I reminded him of a handwritten card I sent him two or so years before. Psalms 50:23, essentially claims, “he who offers a sacrifice of thanks truly honors Me and I will show him the pathway of salvation.”

About the time the sacrifice of thanks began, doctors saw improvement in his heart pressure and size. Within a couple of years, he was married. Now he has plenty of breath to keep up with his two precious children and use the elliptical 30 minutes a day. No surgery — just Thanksgiving! During that time, our extended family started a Thanksgiving tradition each November. Everyone shared thanks and prayer requests. We type the list and send everyone home with a copy. Many prayers were answered beyond our expectation. The Bible says Daniel prayed and gave thanks 3x daily. And it says God answers prayers before we pray. But it doesn’t say He will thank Himself on our behalf if we fail to — it’s a sacrifice we offer to Him. Neurological science supports this Biblical principle — it’s impossible for our brain to be fearful and thankful at the same time.

In closing, I hope this image will mean something to you. Recently I had a half-awake dream where the devil’s servant was holding several blueprints individually rolled up under his arm.

Each blueprint was for a specific person’s destruction. Suddenly flaming arrows shot into the blueprints. The enemy managers decided it was too costly and time consuming to recreate the designs, so they moved on to other projects. I pray thanksgiving from your lips will be used to thwart the enemy’s plans. After these many years, my mom’s dream seems to have insightfully revealed the end of a trial, not the end of a life. The vessel she saw poured out was to be filled with thanksgiving.

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Fairytale Christmas Bartlesville Holiday Wreaths & More Hilton Garden Inn | November 1-11 Amazing Handmade Creations Purchase by Silent Auction All proceeds benefit the participating non-profit organizations Bidding and voting for People’s Choice Cash Prizes opens online Monday, November 1 at 9 a.m. and concludes on November 11 at the Finale Party.

Bid online at www.bartlesvillekiwanis.org

Finale Party Thursday, November 11, 5:30-7:30 p.m.

Hilton Garden Inn Ballroom 205 SW Frank Phillips Blvd.

Tickets: $10 online in advance or $12 at the door Ticket price includes 6 votes for People’s Choice entry, refreshments, door prizes, and more at the non-profit showcase & holiday shopping gallery.

Visit www.bartlesvillekiwanis.org for all the exciting details.

Presented by

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FUNDRAISERS

Agapé Mission of Bartlesville

Bartlesville Civitan

Bartlesville Gymnastics Club

Bartlesville Police Department Foundation

Bartlesville Public Library Literary Services

Children’s Musical Theatre of Bartlesville

The Cottage of Bartlesville

Girl Scouts of Eastern Oklahoma

Good Shepherd Child Development Center

Green Country Pilot Club

Green Country Republican Women’s Club

HeartMatters, Inc.

Hope Clinic

The Journey Home

Kiwanis Club of Bartlesville

Martha’s Task

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FUNDRAISERS

Fairytale Christmas Oklahomans for Equality

OKM Music

Phillips 66 Veterans Network

Price Tower Arts Center

Ray of Hope Advocacy Center

Salty Seniors Troupe

Salvation Army Women’s Auxiliary

Tallgrass Prairie Blue Star Mothers OK 19

Washington County Association for Mental Health

Washington County CattleWomen's Association

Washington County Child Care Foundation (Ivy Learning)

Washington County Democrats

WCSSD (Pack the Backpacks)

Washington County SPCA

Westside Community Center

Youth & Family Services NOVEMBER 2021 | bmonthly

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NOW YOU KNOW SPONSOR

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NOVEMBER 2021 | bmonthly

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NOW YOU KNOW Vietnam Fallen . . . Roll Call

by Debbie Neece, Bartlesville Area History Museum JAMES EDWIN BAILEY • BOB BARBER • FLOYD EUGENE CLOSE • ALBERT FRANK COAST VIRGIL CARLYLE COMBS • WILLIAM CALVIN DIEHL, JR • JOHN PAUL HOFFMAN VERNON DONALD KING • JAMES LESLIE MOORE LITTLER III • BRUCE ANTHONY LYNCH JOHN WESLEY McVeY • JAY ANDERSON MITCHELL • GAYLORD EUGENE NOOTZ ROBERT JAMES OSBORN • RICHARD HOWARD PARKER • DONALD RAY RAGSDALE JACK MILTON SMITH • JOHN DELBERT STARRETT • MICHAEL GENE WARNICK CARL EUGENE WHEELER • RAYMOND AUSTIN WHITE • HAROLD WILLIAM WINGET For some veterans, the wounds have healed while the scars run deep…for others, their journey ended in sacrifice, on the wing of a prayer. Although the faces of our 22 Washington County Vietnam fallen soldiers may be strangers to you, they are among of our County’s heroes:

BAILEY, JAMES EDWIN – Bartlesville U.S. Army, KIA, 4 September 1964 Burial in Memorial Park Cemetery, Bartlesville

BARBER, BOB – Bartlesville U.S. Army, Died in Service, 28 August 1968 Buried in Rest Haven Cemetery, Sperry

CLOSE, FLOYD EUGENE – Dewey U.S. Marines, KIA, 4 September 1967 Buried in White Rose Cemetery, Bartlesville

COAST, ALBERT FRANK – Ramona U.S. Army, KIA, 20 April 1971 Buried in Arlington National Cemetery, VA

COMBS, VIRGIL CARLYLE – Dewey U.S. Army, KIA, 18 February 1969 Buried in Dewey Cemetery, Dewey

DIEHL, WILLIAM CALVIN, JR. – Bartlesvill.e U.S. Air Force, Died as P.O.W., 8 November 1967 Burial Bristow City Cemetery, Bristow

HOFFMAN, JOHN PAUL – Wann U.S. Army, Died in Service, 26 August 1971 Buried in Memorial Park Cemetery, Bartlesville

KING, VERLON DONALD – Dewey U.S. Army, KIA, 26 August 1969 Burial in Dewey Cemetery, Dewey

LITTLER, JAMES LESLIE MOORE III, Bartlesville. U.S. Marines, KIA, 3 July 1968. Buried in Honolulu, Hawaii National Cemetery

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NOW YOU KNPW Every effort was exerted to compile a complete listing of our fallen.

LYNCH, BRUCE ANTHONY Bartlesville. U.S. Marines, KIA, 25 November 1968. Buried in Pawhuska Cemetery, Pawhuska

McVEY, JOHN WESLEY – Bartlesville U.S. Army, KIA, 28 May 1968 Buried in White Rose Cemetery, Bartlesville

NOOTZ, GAYLORD EUGENE “Mike” – Dewey. U.S. Army, KIA, 12 July 1967 Buried in Mountain View Cemetery, Rialto, CA

OSBORN, ROBERT JAMES – Bartlesville. U.S. Army, KIA, 23 December 1969. Buried in Memorial Park Cemetery, Bartlesville

SMITH, JACK MILTON – Bartlesville U.S. Army, KIA, 12 November 1967 Buried in Memorial Park Cemetery, Bartlesville

STARRETT, JOHN DELBERT “J.D.” – Bartlesville. U.S. Army, KIA, 4 October 1970. Buried in Memorial Park Cemetery, Bartlesville

MITCHELL, JAY ANDERSON – Bartlesville. U.S. Marines, KIA, 12 May 1967. Buried in Fort Gibson National Cemetery, Fort Gibson

PARKER, RICHARD HOWARD – Bartlesville. U.S. Army, KIA, 24 November 1967 Burial Unknown

WARNICK, MICHAEL GENE – Bartlesville. U.S. Army, KIA, 2 October 1970. Buried in Memorial Park Cemetery, Bartlesville

RAGSDALE, DONALD RAY – Dewey U.S. Army, KIA, 1 April 1970 Buried in Memorial Park Cemetery, Bartlesville

WHEELER, CARL EUGENE – Bartlesville. U.S. Army, KIA in Quảng Ngãi, 14 December 1969. Buried in White Rose Cemetery, Bartlesville

Did You Know?

In the midst of political turmoil, our Vietnam soldiers returned to America without a hero’s welcome. No parades, no fanfare, just scorning protests. Our soldiers left the comfort of home and the embrace of their families to serve our nation. They faced Agent Orange, stared death in the eye and did the job they were asked to do. They are national heroes and we salute them!

WHITE, RAYMOND AUSTIN – Ramona U.S. Army, KIA, 7 January 1970 Buried in Mount Olive Cemetery, Big Spring, TX

WINGET, HAROLD WILLIAM – Bartlesville. U.S. Army, KIA, 13 February 1967. Buried in Memorial Park Cemetery, Bartlesville

Now You Know*

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LOOKING BACK SPONSOR

Located in the heart of Downtown Bartlesville 100 SW Frank Phillips Blvd | Bartlesville, OK 74003

To book A Room At The Top, Call (918) 440-6773

Holiday Magic Happens at the Johnstone-Sare Building!

Christmas a la Carte DECEMBER 10TH - 12TH Tour three beautifully decorated homes as well as five Jewel Box apartments, located in the Sare building.

The Sugar Plum Shoppe, filled with nutcrackers and gifts, will be on display in the Johnstone-Sare ballroom area.

Tickets on sale November 15th exclusively at Moxie on Second

Proceeds fund Ballet Bartlesville productions.

November 26

November 27

6:00 - 9:00pm

3:00 - 9:00pm

Johnstone-Sare Building Bartlesville, OK Small businuesses, local vendors, home-made items, snacks, fashion, home decor, and much more!

For questions call or text Molly 918-766-2356

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bmonthly | NOVEMBER 2021

LOOKING BACK

Horse & Buggy Doctor Looking Back On the Many Works of Dr. Somerville

by Kay Little, Little History Adventures Okey Sanford (O.S.) Somerville was born in West Virginia in 1871. After graduating from medical school, he practiced medicine there for 10 years. He married a local girl, Gretta Coe. They had two daughters, Rae and Virginia.

While attending post graduate school, a friend told him he made quite a bit of money being a doctor in Texas, so Dr. Somerville took his family out west to make money. He eventually landed in Bartlesville, Indian Territory in 1905, where he lived until his death in 1968.

When he came to this area, there were no automobiles, so he traveled in a horse and buggy.

Gretta died in 1928 and in 1929, O.S. married Flora Cramer, a cousin to his first wife and a daughter of Dr. Athey, a good friend of his.

The first 12 years in Bartlesville, Dr. Somerville was in general practice. Outlaws Henry Starr and Emmett Dalton were some of his patients. Another one of his patients was Frank Phillips. After Frank organized Phillips Petroleum Company, he hired Somerville as the medical director of the company, where he served for the next 30 years. As Somerville was retiring from Phillips in 1947, he said, “I feel like I am leaving home. I am going to miss the employees. Mr. Phillips and Mr. Adams have been grand to me and I have enjoyed my work with them very much.”

He did not rest much after retirement. During his years of doctoring and after retirement, he served on the school board, was county and city physician, county superintendent of health, and local surgeon for the railroad. He was the vice president of the Bartlesville State Bank and member of WWI Appeals Board. He was also a member of Rotary, American Medical Society, Masons, Elks, Sons of American Revolution, Philresters, and First Presbyterian Church.

He was a member of the Dr. Somerville’s doctor’s bag and some of his instruments.

Indian Territory Pioneer Association, which I have talked about in past articles. In 1963, he was the oldest member, at age 92. Goodness, I got tired just writing all that!

Dr. Somerville and Nurse Ann Mayfield at Phillips Petroleum Company.

I started researching Dr. Somerville several years after my husband told me the building where he works was at one time the residence of Dr Somerville. The Somervilles were the first to live at 412 E 5th Street. Dr Somerville lived there from 1940 until his death in 1968. In 1971, Rex Jones, CPA, bought the building and it has been a CPA office since. It is now Bryan, Little, Haley & Kent, CPAs. When Dr Somerville died in 1968, survivors included his wife, two daughters, two grandchildren, six great grandchildren, and three great-great grandchildren. I found this quote about Dr O.S. Somerville, which described him well.

“Whatsoever his hand finds to do, whether in his profession or in any other sphere, he does with his might and with a deep sense of conscientious obligation.”

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BARBARA HOPPER

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LOCAL BUSINESS

Cosmetics that Last Bartlesville Cosmetic Solutions Adds Kelsi Edwards to Staff Bartlesville Cosmetic Solutions, located inside Green Country Dental Arts at 1824 SE Washington Blvd in Bartlesville, is excited to announce the addition of Kelsi Edwards to the staff.

Kelsi is a Bartlesville native. She earned a Master-Medical Aesthetics certification from Acaydia in Provo, Utah, where she was originally trained in permanent makeup. She is a licensed practical nurse and is now a board-certified medical micropigmentologist (permanent makeup artist) here in Oklahoma. Kelsi is married to Tanner Edwards and has 3 children, Addison, Beckett, and Presley.

Permanent makeup is a cosmetic technique which employs semi-permanent tattooing. The procedure fades over time and usually needs a touch-up every year to 16 months. Bartlesville Cosmetic Solutions offers procedures like permanent lipstick, eyeliner, and brows. They are also licensed and trained in scar camouflage, removal, and 3D areola tattooing for women with mastectomies.

Many women seek out permanent makeup to save time and money. They can cut down on the tedious morning routine, without the need to apply eyeliner, lip liner/lipstick or the need to get those eyebrows perfectly symmetrical. They no longer have to pay for tints, lipstick, or eyeliner. With permanent makeup, it is one payment per year to keep your makeup in tiptop condition.

KELSI EDWARDS

If you are considering permanent makeup, don’t let age get in the way. “My oldest client was 94 years old,” said Stacy Lard.

Many mature women lose natural pigment around lips and eyes as they age. With permanent makeup, they can wake up with confidence every day. Also, many mature women lose eyesight and it becomes difficult to see to apply makeup.

“I am fortunate to be able to help clients with skin sensitivity, poor eyesight, or busy moms who just do not have the time to neatly apply makeup on a daily basis. Further, we can help the cancer patient who has lost hair and mastectomy patients who need areola pigmentation. It is a great feeling to help them to feel more confident,” said Lard. “My favorite part about my job is meeting amazing women from all over the Oklahoma and Kansas area.

They are mostly hard-working women who just want the convenience of permanent makeup. Sometimes you just need a permanent enhancement to make you feel beautiful from the moment you wake up to the moment you go to bed.”

For a full list of services or to book an appointment, visit their website at: https://cosmetic-solutions-by-stacy.business.

STACY LARD

If you have questions, Bartlesville Cosmetic Solutions would love to answer them. They usually work from 9 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. so please leave a message, and they will return it as soon as possible. Check their Facebook page at Bartlesville Cosmetic Solutions for upcoming holiday specials!

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CONSTRUCTION TECH NOLO GY PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS - One Year to Complete - Evening Classes - Hands-on Learning - Level 1 Certification for HVAC, plumbing, electrical, & carpentry - OSHA 10 Certification - Financial Assistance Available

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ENTERTAINMENT

Aaron Ray Vaughan Local Singer Releasing First Solo Album

by Tim Hudson Music fans will be sporting a big grin come December 3rd, as local favorite Aaron Ray Vaughan releases his first solo album.

“It’s my first solo album so I’m really excited about it. It's red dirt country, so it’s a lot different than anything I've done before,” he said.

The effort titled Sparks will also be heralded by a series of CD release shows, beginning with an evening at Crossing 2nd. “I have a tentative release date and party scheduled for December,” he said, noting that the date is also the same night as the opening of Christmas in the ‘Ville.

“I’m going to have the release party at at Crossing 2nd and I'll sing and play some of the music from the album, and then I'll have a DJ there that is going to play for the rest of the evening so we can all get together have some fun, talk about it, and mingle.”

The record will be somewhat of a departure from what Aaron’s fans are used to, since his recent output was more of the classic rock persuasion. “Prior to this I was in a Christian band.

We played more like southern rock, but it was Christian-influenced. It wasn't in-your-face worship or anything, but it had a lot of that spiritual faith-filled stuff that we carry infused in our music,” he said. “I did that for 10 years or so.”

The new direction, however, was somewhat dictated by fans.

where a lot of people were asking me to play at their venue. So it just kind of evolved.”

“After 10 years of singing that syle of music, I just decided after talking to a lot of family and friends to record the original stuff I had been doing over the years. A lot of people told me you should do this song or you should do that song, which wasn’t really what we were doing. I veered off that and decided that I wanted to start recording the music that everyone had been asking for,” he said.

“So I decided to step away from New Kings, which was the band that I was with before, and start doing the solo stuff. I was just going to record everything for family and friends so they could have the songs that they wanted, and it turned into a situation

It has been a big experience being a part of the music and the people who make it. “It’s that that hunger for live entertainment.

I would like to hit some festivals. Ideally, I think my goal is that I want to do a show at the Cains Ballroom sometime next year, and then we'll see how the release goes and how much of a response we get from it,” he said. “But if I can get some festivals and other dates scheduled on the weekends, and people really want to get out to see me, and it's not too cold in the winter, I will try to make those happen.”

NOVEMBER 2021 | bmonthly

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AGENT FOR GOODVILLE MUTUAL

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Personal, Commercial, and Specialty lines of insurance. Overman Insurance Agency has been in Oklahoma since 1921 and Bartlesville for 20

years.

Our staff takes pride in going beyond expectations to help our customers achieve the right coverage, at the best possible price, in today’s complex world.

BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT

The Dynamic Trio Overman Insurance Excels in Customer Service

by Maria Gus With over 65 years of combined experience, Steve McConnell, Stacy Fowler, and Linda Schoonover are a dynamic trio of customer service. Paired with a century of experience in their company, the Overman Insurance Agency, this Bartlesville team provides a personal touch with the support and knowledge of an Oklahoma insurance institution.

Overman Insurance began in 1921 when James S. Overman bought an existing agency with one contract in Cleveland, Oklahoma. As the agency grew and changed, they started to branch out all over the state. With offices now located in Cleveland, Norman, Antlers, and Bartlesville, the company has insurance expertise they can draw on to meet any customer’s needs.

“Being in business 100 years is great,” said Steve McConnell, who has been serving Bartlesville for 20 years. “Not many people can say that.” McConnell began his work with Bartlesville Insurance Associates and has been building business and community partnerships ever since. They partnered with Overman Insurance 20 years ago because of their 80-year insurance history. Fowler handles the commercial lines and Schoonover takes care of personal lines, personal auto, home, boat, and motorcycle insurance.

“I do whatever Linda tells me to do,” McConnell said with a laugh. “It works better that way.” McConnell said that he and Fowler work hand-in-hand. Fowler is a pro at preparing quotes and handling submissions, and the entire team works closely together. “We all support each other, working quickly together,” added McConnell.

Schoonover has worked in the insurance world for more than 16 years. "Every time I am presented with the opportunity to offer an estimate that completely covers the insured’s needs and also results in a lower premium, I have the greatest feeling of happiness and satisfaction," said Schoonover. "Especially when seeing a smile on their face."

McConnell has taken a steady and strategic approach to how he builds his book of business and it has certainly paid off. He introduces himself to a potential customer, explains what he does, how long he’s been in insurance, and simply says he’d like a chance to earn their business. “I’ve been told ‘no’ a lot,” McConnell said, but he doesn’t give up.

He’s slowly built his customer base by proving himself through home and auto.

Soon, customers began to ask for quotes for business or non-profit insurance. The team’s hard work has proven to be a great return on investment for their customers.

Fowler said insurance is all about the details. She gathers details from the customer and then works with underwriters to find the best quote that fits the customer’s needs. "There are so many different businesses out there," said Fowler. "It’s always interesting!"

"No one really likes dealing with insurance," added Fowler.

"But we try to make it as painless as possible. We explain all your options and hope that you leave with a better understanding of your insurance needs than when you came in."

McConnell credits some great connections that helped Overman Insurance find their niche in the community. Several people introduced him to the nonprofit world in Bartlesville and the company is proud to support and insure several of Bartlesville’s favorite service providers.

McConnell also credits a few Bartlesville community leaders with helping him grow the company. He called on one long-time resident, not knowing him at all, and developed a great and humorous rapport. “He kind of took me under his wing and introduced me to people in Bartlesville,” said McConnell.

The Overman Insurance Agency has provided great support to the McConnell, Fowler, Schoonover team in Bartlesville.

More importantly, the trio of insurance pros offer strong, consistent customer service. The company is one of the quiet supporters in the community but the team of three speaks volumes with their hard work, dedication, and desire to help Bartlesville in any way they can.

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NEW SPORT ALERT!

Lacrosse Bartlesville US Lacrosse is the nation’s fastest growing team sport producing nearly 300 college-offer scholarships for men and women nationwide.

Get connected now for SPRING 2022 season

Important Dates to Attend

Indian Nations Lacrosse Conference (INLC)

INFORMATIONAL MEETING

Spring/Field lacrosse program consists of multiple

Learn more about the sport November 12, 6:30pm Richard Kane YMCA

member clubs with locations around Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Muskogee, and Northwest Arkansas. INLC works with the clubs to coordinate scheduling,

PLAYER’S CLINIC

rules, and the direction of the league. Fostering a

Free instructional event November 14, 2-4pm Field TBD

love for the sport is the mission with minimum play time rules and players clinics for further instruction.

The Spring lacrosse program in Bartlesville will be

SPRING SEASON LAUNCH

managed through the Richard Kane YMCA.

FEBRUARY 2022 check the YMCA website for more information

Visit the YMCA website for more information.

www.rkymca.org/lacrosse 58

bmonthly | NOVEMBER 2021

SPORTS

Bartlesville Has Got it All ...

Well, Except Lacrosse

by Adrienne Kallweit Over the past several months, our family of nine has been on a cross-greencountry journey relocating our life to Bartlesville. In search of better schools and land for our growing goat farm, we stumbled upon Osage County. We have been familiar with Bartlesville for most of our lives but had never imagined calling the area home.

What we found in Bartlesville was beyond our wildest imaginations. We never thought we would get so immersed in the dynamic community and culture so quickly. But that is just what Bartlesville does. It is the smartest small town on the planet. “We should welcome people into our city,” thought Bartlesville, and Bartlesville flourished.

From what I am learning about this rich culture, this is exactly how Bartlesville was founded — with an attitude of growth, community, and unity. This approach was apparent in the early 1900s when the town was booming and remains true today.

Because of this attitude of growth, Bartlesville has much to offer. Shopping, eating options, retail possibilities, and an event for every occasion. A quick drive down Adams Blvd to check out the billboards and any family’s social schedule is planned.

Meeting with YMCA to discuss Lacrosse opportunities in Bartlesville.

From Left to Right: Katrina Spalding (Director of Operations), Josh Kallweit, Tyler Kallweit, Tyler Deaton (Sr. Program Director), Ethan Kallweit, and Benjamin Kallweit.

Ethan Kallweit talks with Tyler Deaton about different lacrosse rules.

But we have found Bartlesville is missing one important aspect of Oklahoma life — lacrosse.

With a family our size, the battle over what sport each kid was going to play ended many years ago when we picked lacrosse as the one and only. It was an easy decision; practice was at the same field and there were even girls’ and boys’ teams available. But more than that, we all completely fell in love with lacrosse. The sport took off in the Tulsa area in 2014 and all our kids were part of the explosion. It was so fun watching hundreds of kids (and coaches too) learn how to play the sport and go from unknown to just five years later affording kids scholarships to Ivy League schools.

Lacrosse is popular in other areas of the US. The fact that it is slow to arrive in Oklahoma is a surprise, because the sport itself is immersed in Native American culture. Lacrosse was started by the North American Indians, originally known as stickball, dating back to the 1400s.

Through consideration of other sports it was formed into what we call lacrosse today.

The players use sticks and toss a small rubber ball to teammates in hopes of making it into a goal at their respective

ends of the field. Each team has 10 players on the field: a goalie, three on offense, three defense, and three middies. There’s tons of running, lots of action, some slashing (landing a player in the penalty box), and definitely the hardest part for the parents when first learning all about the game is keeping up with that tiny white ball on the field.

Indian Nations Lacrosse Conference (INLC) is the governing body for the lacrosse league in NE Oklahoma and just a few of the clubs are Claremore, Bixby, Broken Arrow, Jenks, Owasso, Metro, and Union. The main lacrosse season is from late February through late May, and teams range from kindergarten through high school.

As our family worked to get the word out about lacrosse and how to get it launched here, the YMCA — in typical Bartlesville “we can do it” style — raised their hand. Program Director Tyler Deaton Sr. was eager to learn more. "The YMCA team is thrilled to introduce lacrosse to Bartlesville."

I am so thankful to be part of such an amazing community that we now get to call home, and beyond excited that I get to sign my kids up for Bartlesville Lacrosse spring season 2022!

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bmonthly | NOVEMBER 2021

UNSUNG HEROS

Al Rohleder Quiet Bartian Scored WWII Counterintelligence Coup

by Delaney Williams The obituary of Alfred H. “Al” Rohleder reads like that of an ordinary man. He worked as an engineer for Phillips Petroleum Company. He was born in Kansas. He had a wife, two sons, and two daughters. One small line reads, “He served with the U.S. Army during World War II in the European Theatre.” Such a small mention of his military service does not do justice to his remarkable achievements.

Al Rohleder was born in Emmeram, Kansas on May 4, 1920 to Pete and Clare Rohleder. At the age of 20, Al went into active duty.

Being brought up by German immigrants and speaking German at home, he was fluent and was able to speak and write in the language. This skillset landed him in the Counterintelligence Corps. He was handpicked to be one of four interpreters to assist General Patton during his invasion of Germany.

Al was a part of the Counterintelligence Corps of the 35th Infantry Division of the 9th Army, a group tasked with sabotage, espionage, and tracking down Nazis. In April of 1945, he was tipped off about the location of a Gestapo chief hiding in a forest nearby. He assembled a small group of 11 handpicked soldiers to go on a mission to capture the man. On April 24, the team emerged from the forest with the notorious Major General Heinz Jost in tow, an accomplishment that earned Rohleder a Bronze Star.

While Al was not allowed to talk about all of his experiences in the C.I.C., a newspaper article after his discharge declared: “A

Al Rohleder pictured during World War II, second row, third from left.

GESTAPO CHIEF HIS BIG PRIZE Sgt. Alfred Rohleder Captures Heinz Jost, One Worst of Nazi Tyrants.”

Al was released from active duty on October 22, 1945. Shortly after, on November 27 that same year, he married Charlette Kippes. The couple made their home in Hays, Kansas, where Al owned his own appliance store. In 1953, he went to work for Phillips Petroleum Company. In 1955, he and his family relocated to Bartlesville for his job.

His son, Steve Rohleder, recalls that he did not talk about his time in the military. “The only time his service was brought up was when he was at the VFW or American Legion,” said Steve. “I learned a lot more about him from his brothers later on … He was involved in D-Day and the Battle of the Bulge, but I don’t know to what degree … He was a part of the military police.”

Al Rohleder remained in the Army Reserves until the 1960s.

Steve recalls him as being a classic father figure. He was involved in the Boy Scouts with Steve and Mike as a scoutmaster.

Their troop was based out of the family’s church, St. John’s. He was involved in the Little Theatre and the Frank Phillips Men’s Club and supported his children’s sports. He was also involved in the American Legion, the Knights of Columbus, and the V.F.W. Steve remembers his father helping him with his Sunday morning paper route.

Al passed away on April 18, 1997 in Bartlesville, at the age of 76. He was interred with all military rites in the Memorial Park Cemetery.

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ONCE UPON A TIME

Taking the Right Turn. . .

That can Make All the Difference in the World

by Rita Thurman Barnes Do you enjoy your birthday? You may or may not be aware of this bit of statistical information, but, if you fill a room with twentythree people (or more); it is likely that at least two of them will share a common birthday. My husband shares a birthday with several people in our own circle of friends and his birthday is March 7. So, on his big day a number of years ago we decided to set off on a little adventure to enjoy a nice lunch somewhere along the way.

It was a beautiful sunny afternoon and not a cloud in the sky as we drove west on highway 60 toward Pawhuska. We didn’t feel prone to stop in that Osage County town so we went on searching. We soon found ourselves in the fair city of Fairfax, Okla. and remembered a nice café there where we had dined about a year before. We turned right off the main street and saw various and sundry vehicles parked in front of the Elm Street Cafe so my husband parked the car as we stretched our legs and made our entrée through the unlocked front door of the ancient refurbished building past a yellow piñata hovering on the breeze. We waited a couple of minutes for someone to seat us, but everyone just seemed to be roaming around enjoying themselves. Shortly the owner approached us and said, “Folks, I’m sorry. We’re closed today. This is a private family gathering.” I told him we had driven all the way from Bartlesville and were hunting a nice place to eat lunch. In typical Oklahoma fashion, he invited us to have a seat and proceeded to cook us up a steak dinner to die for.

When our salad was served, I mentioned that it was my husband’s birthday and that we were very appreciative of their kind hospitality. The owners introduced themselves as Jeff and Tracie Redden and said we had stumbled upon the celebration of their daughter’s second birthday. Jeff went away and soon came back with his in-laws, State Senator J. Berry Harrison (Osage County) and his lovely wife Jackie. It then seemed apparent to us that the whole group, including the Harrisons (grandparents of the birthday girl), were gathered at the cafe to enjoy Jolie Redden’s second birthday.

They treated us like long lost family members and Mrs. Senator Harrison even offered to refill our iced tea glasses. It was the first time my glass had ever been topped off by a senator’s wife!

The meal was wonderful and a living definition of the word hospitality. Who would have thought that of all the directions we could have taken that day, that in veering to the west we would find a ready-made birthday party! It was indeed a serendipitous afternoon and we even shared in Jolie’s birthday cake.

J. Berry Harrison, 81, of Fairfax Oklahoma, former Rancher and State Senator, passed peacefully from this world Wednesday, October 21, 2020, at the OSU Medical Center in Tulsa due to complications following a stroke. And Jolie would now be just about 17 years old. Life takes some funny turns but sometimes at the end of an unanticipated destination you find the most delightful people.

Look around you; the world is just full of them. Robert Frost said of taking the right turn; “that has made all the difference.”

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A FRESH PERSPECTIVE

WWII Hero Lived a Quiet Life “Shell-Shocked” Soldier Survived Normandy

by Brent Taylor My father, Terrel Taylor, was raking hay on a neighboring farm when his mother, Grace Walker Taylor, drove towards him in the meadow crying, saying that her brother, Kenneth Walker, had been shot.

Kenny Walker’s U.S. Fourth Infantry Division arrived off the shore of Utah Beach in Normandy not long after the first wave on D-Day and he climbed over the side of the ship to prepare for the worst experience of his life. Bill Walker, Kenny’s son, said he wasn’t sure that his dad knew how to swim, so when the heavy gate on the front of the Higgins fell open, it was a hellish experience. The soldiers jumped into the cold, choppy waters and moved toward the beach. Machine gun fire was hitting all around them. Kenny’s job was to load bodies and wounded soldiers onto Army trucks. When he pointed to a soldier who was not dead, his commanding officer ordered him to throw the soldier on a pile of bodies. “He won’t make it anyway,” the officer shouted. American bodies were starting to float by the Higgins boats, and some wounded soldiers flailed in the water, screaming for help. Higgins pilots were under strict orders to keep the landing boats moving toward the beach and soldiers were ordered to worry only about the landing and taking out the German machine gun nests.

Kenny Walker told the family very little about his war experiences. His outfit “cleaned up” after Gen. Dwight Eisenhower’s troops had moved through the quaint French towns that had been held by the Germans. Many wounded and dead Americans were left behind for Kenny to pick up. Kenny cared for the dead and tended to the wounded. They even made Kenny a field medic, without any training.

Kenny’s unit had their share of fire fights. But the injury that ended Kenny Walker’s military career came in a French town where everything seemed quiet. The tanks, cannons, and trucks had moved to the next town, and Kenny’s outfit was left to do their grim job. He was shot twice by a German sniper — once in the back then in his arm and shoulder. Nobody noticed that he had fallen. His fellow soldiers had others to care for, and he lay for eight hours in the mud and rain before he was found. At one point, he played dead as he waited for help, when German soldiers came through the area, kicking bodies to make sure they were dead. The pain was horrendous, and he passed out. When he rallied around, he remembered that as a medic, he carried syringes of morphine, so he was able to give himself one or two

shots. He was later taken back by ship to England for treatment, then sent back to a military hospital in Texas.

He was given some training in radio repair, which was supposed to help him make a living after the war. Kenny returned home in late 1945, and worked in a little radio shop, located in their back yard on the west side of Vinita.

The VA also paid for piano lessons, thinking it might be good therapy. His upright piano was in that radio shop. Kenny worked for several years at a filling station in Vinita. He applied for work at the state hospital and the post office, but his arm and shoulder injuries kept him from getting a good job. That’s when his sister, Grace Taylor, stepped in and wrote a pithy letter and hand-carried it to O.B. Campbell, editor of the Vinita Daily Journal, knowing he would relay it to proper authorities. That apparently worked, because Kenny was hired in the mid-1950s to work as a maintenance worker at the Vinita Post Office. So, a full decade passed from the day Kenny Walker took those two German bullets before he was fully employed at a respectable wage.

Kenneth, wife Irmogene, and sons, Bill and Russell, soon moved to a larger two-story home in the south end of Vinita, and life took a good turn for them. The piano was moved to the front hallway and he always enjoyed playing simple tunes for friends and family. A framed photo of Kenneth in his Army uniform hung on Grandma Pearl Walker’s wall.

He was a hero to our family, who came home “shell shocked.”

Thunder and lightning drove him to private places, where he would pace back and forth and stare into the distance. Today, we would call it PTSD. He was never known for being a tough guy, but his experiences with the Normandy invasion etched his memory with nobility and horror that he seldom shared with anyone, especially those in his family. Most of us will never know or understand what servicemen like Kenneth Walker endured on the battlefield. Mr. Walker died at the age of 75 in 1993 after living a quiet life in Vinita. Although those wartime experiences were never silenced inside his mind, he continued to live simply and peacefully, with the grace of one who sees each sunrise and sunset anew, warmed by the presence of family and the gratitude of a nation. ~ Selected excerpts from an article written June 7, 2019, by my Uncle Rudy Taylor, who was the nephew of Kenny and the son of Grace Taylor ~ NOVEMBER 2021 | bmonthly

65

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bmonthly | NOVEMBER 2021

709 NE WASHINGTON BLVD., BARTLESVILLE, OK 74006

ON THE OSAGE

Photo courtesy of The Fairfax Chief

Putting Fairfax on the Map. . .

One Sip at a Time

by Kelly Bland If rural sweetness and wholesome goodness had a coffee flavor, I’ll bet my bottom dollar you’d be able to pour yourself a cup and sip it at Treats in Fairfax, Oklahoma. Yes, I said Fairfax.

As The Tourism Gal, I travel across all parts of the county, and one of my favorite stops is at the four-way across from the Osage Baptist Church, in an old Skelly gas station in downtown Fairfax. The smiles of Monte and Luella Nabors are almost as bright as the newly-painted exterior of their home away from home coffee shop.

“Hello Kelly,” they always say with a great big grin, followed by “what can we make you today?”

I always tell Monte to just surprise me, and he does his darndest to do just that every time. In all of the inoculant concoctions he’s brewed up for me, never have I had a coffee there that didn’t leave me wanting to go back for more or that wasn’t good to the last drop.

In addition to freshly-brewed perfection, Luella bakes bountiful batches of made-from-scratch cookies every day, and the scent of them and coffee beans invites you in as you walk through the door. Like I said, rural sweetness and wholesome goodness — just like you used to find at Grandma’s house when you’d spend the weekend — is there in generous supply, and Monte and Luella have a way of making you feel just as welcome at Treats.

In the adjoining room you’ll find an area where you can sit and enjoy the morning and your coffee from within a gift shop stocked

with books and art available for purchase. Many a visit I have found Joe and Carol Conner, owners of The Fairfax Chief, in there.

I always enjoy sitting down with them and visiting about local politics, the latest news, and buried history. One thing Fairfax definitely has no shortage of is history.

While Pawhuska has dominated most of the media focus, filming for Killers of the Flower Moon has also taken place in Fairfax, which is fitting, since most of the story in David Grann’s bestseller took place in Fairfax. In fact, if you pay close attention downtown, you’ll see where “Hale Hall” is still painted above a doorway at 229 1/2 No. Main. William Hale, if you’ve read the book, was the Fairfax rancher and mastermind villain in Grann’s novel.

In addition, in the lobby of the Tallchief Theater, a new exhibit telling a bit of the back story behind Killers of the Flower Moon is now on display. I’d encourage you to swing by before you head out of town. Joe Conner has taken much time and effort to bring out historic details not widely known.

So, let the coffee draw you over — let the history bowl you over — as you explore the mystery that still hangs in the air in a place on the western edge of Osage County. A place where greed and corruption once created a reign of terror, but now where Monte and Luella Nabors are redeeming the atmosphere one cup of coffee, smile, and cookie at a time at the four-way — in a place called Treats in downtown Fairfax, Oklahoma. #OsageCountyOklahoma where #TheSmilesAreAlwaysFree.

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Back on Broadway!

Entertainment is back on the menu for the Bartlesville Community Center, with a couple of upcoming performances that kick off an exciting 2021-22 season.

Following a long intermission, Broadway in Bartlesville! opens its 19th season with An Officer and a Gentleman on Monday, November 29 at 7:30 p.m. at the Bartlesville Community Center.

An Officer and a Gentleman, a national touring Broadway show, celebrates triumph over adversity. Zack Mayo has the raw talent and strength for the U.S. Navy’s Officer Training School. Graduating from the elite program will secure Zack’s career and future. But only the brave and determined can endure the relentless commands of Drill Sergeant Foley, who is determined to weed out all those unable to pass the strenuous tests of knowledge, coordination, and strength. On his journey of self-discovery, Zack finds comfort in the arms of a strong-willed local factory worker. But it isn’t until tragedy befalls a fellow candidate that Zack learns the importance of friendship, commitment, and honor; finds the courage to be his best self; and wins the heart of the woman he loves.

An Officer and a Gentleman features an iconic score including the Grammy and Oscar-winning #1 hit Up Where We Belong (Joe Cocker/Jennifer Warnes) and your favorite 80s hits including: Higher Love (Steve Winwood), Owner of a Lonely Heart (Yes), Love is a Battlefield and Invincible (Pat Benatar), Lost In Your Eyes (Debbie Gibson), Right Here Waiting (Richard Marx), Venus (Bananarama), I Can’t Hold Back (Survivor), Never Surrender (Corey Hart), Do The Walls Come Down (Carly Simon), Fly By Night (Rush), Hold On to Your Dream (Rick Springfield), Overkill (Men at Work), Renegade (Styx), and more.

Another holiday special hitting the stage at the BCC is the Million Dollar Quartet Christmas.

The original team behind the Tony® Award-winning Broadway hit, Million Dollar Quartet, reunites with Million Dollar Quartet Christmas, the brand-new heartwarming holiday rock ‘n’ roll musical, coming in December to the Bartlesville

Community Center on Friday, December 3rd at 7:30 p.m.

There’s no place like home for the holidays, and Sun Records is just that for rock ‘n’ roll newcomers and soon to be legends – Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Elvis Presley. In a fortuitous twist of fate, all four musicians stop by their famous Memphis recording studio alma mater the same wintry evening, unbeknownst to them that they had the front seat to a revolution.

your spot in the audience for Million Dollar Quartet Christmas show. Ticket reservations and season tickets can be purchased by stopping in or calling the BCC box office at 918-337-2787 from 9 a.m.

– 5 p.m. on weekdays or online at bartlesvillecommunitycenter.com. Online orders will be placed in Will Call for your convenience. Orders may be picked up during regular business hours or one hour before the show.

Million Dollar Quartet Christmas brings that momentous homecoming to life with an electrifying tale of family, nostalgia, faith, humor, heart break, and revelry.

Journey through a story of Christmas past, present and future, jam packed with unforgettable performances of classic holiday hits and favorite chart toppers such as Jingle Bell Rock, Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree, Don’t Be Cruel, Blue Christmas, Santa Claus is Comin’ To Town, Ring of Fire, Santa Baby, I’ll Be Home For Christmas, Run Run Rudolph, and more.

There is still time to purchase season tickets to ensure good seats for An Officer and a Gentleman and for the other four shows in this 19th season of Broadwayin Bartlesville! as well as time to reserve NOVEMBER 2021 | bmonthly

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JEFF HALL REAL ESTATE “My commitment to service is my commitment to you!”

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KNOWING NOWATA

Emma Magruder 1919 Nowata Elementary School Principal Served in WWI

by Carrol Craun World War I broke out on July 28, 1914 with the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria. Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, and the Ottoman Empire fought against the combined forces of Great Britain, France, Russia, Italy, Romania, Japan, and the United States. By the time the war began to wind down, more than 16 million people — soldiers and civilians alike — had perished due to the unprecedented carnage inflicted by so-called modern weaponry. American troops entered into the fray on April 6, 1917 when President Woodrow Wilson asked Congress to declare war against Germany.

President Wilson immediately established a War Council that included a variety of organization heads. One was National President Virginia Hill Cowles of the General Federation of Women (1916-20). At the request of General John J. Pershing, Commander of the American Expeditionary Forces (A.E.F.), the War Victory Commission was established. One focus was to help soldiers overseas with spiritual, mental, and physical strength along with providing a small sense of home comfort with food, books, letter writing, and canteen services. Two women from each state (a total of 98) would be chosen and receive training to bring a 'touch of home' once the American forces proved victorious. They would travel to the war zones of France, Belgium, Italy, and the Rhine River areas of Germany. This group of Federation women would work as a part of the A.E.F. with the YMCA, the only civilian organization allowed to work with the Army at that time. The other focus of the commission was to help provide food and support here in American to free up men to go to war and to help with jobs that needed to be filled. Victory Gardens arose, women filled many jobs once held predominately by men, and America thrived under war conditions due to the efforts of many women. This was a period of change in the perceptions of what women could do.

Women in war zones existed under the same conditions as men — eating poor food, getting lice, living with constant fear, and suffering the Spanish flu pandemic of that era. Many perished.

Mary Emma Magruder (later Cook), 1919 Nowata Elementary School Principal and teacher, was one of the two Federation women chosen to represent Oklahoma overseas working with the A.E.F. The other was Maud Morris of Alva. They

were instructed to report to Barnard College in New York on January 22, 1919 to attend training. They prepared to travel to France shortly after the first of February, where they would assist with reconstruction work under the auspices of the Y.M.C.A. Magruder was stationed at General Pershing's headquarters at Chaumont, France and worked in England, Belgium, and along the Rhine River in the post-war period.

Miss Magruder was chief of the Overseas Omaha Unit of the American Red Cross, served in the YMCA Canteen at the Officers 'Y' in France, worked in the Women's Bureau in Paris, and worked at the Enlisted Men's 'Y' Hut at Liverpool, England. For her service to Belgium, she was awarded the Medal of the Rhine and the Queen Elizabeth Medal (Medaille de la Reine Elizabeth), presented to those who performed exceptional services to Belgium in nursing the ill and wounded. The medal was presented to her personally by the King and Queen of Belgium.

She was one of the lucky to return home, continue with her life, marry, and have a family. She eventually moved to Arkansas.

Many of the women serving overseas perished from illness or wounds.

One of her uniforms can be seen in the Nowata County Historical Museum.

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FUNNY YOU SHOULD ASK

The Things We Do for Love

by Jay Webster So, we did a thing.

It wasn’t something I wanted to do. I did voice my hesitations, but my concerns were outvoted. And so a year ago this December, we bought a 17-foot, 1973, two-tone Shasta Starflyte camper trailer.

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It started like this; we went tent camping at Osage Hills State Park in March of the Pandemic, (the first wave). Over two nights we fought flash flooding, tornado warnings, and subfreezing temperatures. Combined sleep for the two adults was 40 minutes over both nights. But that wasn’t the real issue. The real challenge (apparently) was the girls didn’t want to go out with raccoons and

FUNNY YOU SHOULD ASK other creatures of the night in order to bare it all in the woods every time nature called.

heating & air unit that can put frost on your nose, so we met that hurdle just fine.

What it also had, which we didn’t know at the time, was a sizSo my wife, Ann-Janette, took matters into her own s’moreable hole in the “holding tank.” The holding tank holds (or is stained hands and researched: “What’s the smallest camper supposed to hold) just what you think it does. So with a hole and available with an indoor potty?” To which the Googles happily triple digit temperatures, it smelled like a hot August rodeo going replied: “The answer to your quest is the 17 foot Shasta Starflyte into day three. It also had a brotrailer, which your husband will be The Shasta does get a lot of love from strangers and I ken valve release on it. That valve forced to pull from your vehicle have to say, she is pretty comfortable inside. We get lots is supposed to keep the waste even though he has no such desire of offers from others who would love to buy her — all of water at bay until you get your to do so.” (Google has gotten which I have been willing to consider. But most of all drainage hose hooked up at the incredibly specific as of late.) she’s a small act of love. dump station.

If you stop to think about it, If all this sounds technical, it should. You have to be a licensed the whole idea of trailers is a little strange, right? I mean you’re plumber to work on all this stuff at your home. But put your home essentially pulling a motel room behind your car to the outskirts up on some wheels and drag it out to God’s Country, well then of civilization so you can still enjoy civilization when you get there. any idiot like yours truly is suddenly qualified in wastewater manIt has everything typical travel accommodations have — except agement and home utilities and sanitation. housekeeping. My problem is … well, one of my problems is … someone has already perfected this system — they’re called HolSo with a broken valve, there was no longer anything iday Inns. They thought, “Hey, people want to travel but they can’t damming up three days of camping sewage as our hero got down strap a bedroom to their cars (Oh, that’s what you think), so we’ll on his hands and knees to empty the “black water” from the now build little bedrooms and when they get here they’ll have a place non-holding holding tank. Keep in mind … I didn’t want the trailer to stay.” Isn’t that convenient. in the first place. And this is part of the reason why. When you’re at home and you flush something, your expectation is that you But, to her credit, my wife skimped and saved and researched will never see it again. With a holding tank, the waste just goes and watched and waited and bid and rebid until finally we were to sewer purgatory until you relive the deposit experience by indeed the new owners of one “vintage” (read used) 1973 Shasta sending the “fresh” sewage through a three inch hose into a hole Starflyte with limited water and fire damage and all original 1970’s in the ground. It’s more information than the average first-world wood paneling. human wants to know about himself, his family, and his tempoThat’s when the decisions start, like: Are you going to keep it rary camping neighbors … who are all eating and drinking like retro? In my case our new-to-us Shasta had a lot of retro … retro heathens because they’re, well, camping. smells, retro water leaks, retro beds and cushions, retro wiring We have now taken three “pretty fun” trips in the Shasta. I am and fire damage … So, based on the advice of counsel — we gutrelieved to say, the plumbing is mostly resolved. We’ve been ted it. Now here’s the thing about trailers, there’s an old through two torrential storms and stayed bone dry on both occaexpression about how no one wants to know how the hotdogs sions. We’ve even survived a tire blowout, which miraculously are made … the same is true about trailers. Once you strip all the (and I mean it) happened only after three hours of driving through “aesthetics” away, you learn RV’s are really just made of tooththe Osage hills as we literally pulled into town. picks and aluminum foil. On the upside, for an idiot like me they’re also very forgiving when you’re trying to reconstruct one with no The Shasta does get a lot of love from strangers and I have to prior experience in mobile living units. say, she is pretty comfortable inside. We get lots of offers from othSo that’s what we did. We gutted the Shasta down to the ers who would love to buy her — all of which I have been willing to “framing.” We waited for wood and building materials to get as consider. But most of all she’s a small act of love. Something I expensive as they’ve been in a generation, then we put in new didn’t want, but my determined, persistent, and lovely wife did. So insulation. Replaced damaged wood. Brought in qualified that’s that. I like my wife friends to put in all new electric and plumbing, twice (because I and daughter … and they shot one electric line with a nail gun when I was installing the like the Shasta so “what new paneling). We rebuilt the cabinets and seats and beds. We can a poor boy do, ‘cept bought new appliances and lighting and bedding and decor. sing in a Rock n Roll band” And finally, we water-sealed the outside and repainted it. It all … and I can’t do that, so I took about six months. It would have gone faster, but I didn’t guess this is what I can do. know what I was doing.

If you see us out and At last it was time to take our inaugural trip. We booked a about in the beloved Shasta … stand back. I still weekend at lake Skiatook because we figured that was close enough that if anything went wrong we could easily transport don’t know what I’m doing. the pieces back to our office dumpster. Fortunately for us, we Cheers my friends. I’ll arrived safely and without incident just in time for record-breaklook for you next month. ing high temperatures in June. Now the Shasta does have a

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TELL ME SOMETHING GOOD

Heaven on Earth How Can We Make the World Better for Someone Else?

by Aaron Kirkpatrick “What would you do with three million dollars?”

That’s the question my daughter asked me the other day. I love that question. Go ahead. Answer it. I know you can. I’ll wait.

Maybe your answer is extravagant: vacations everywhere, private jets, and a house with those towel racks that warm the towel up while you’re in the shower. Fancy!

Maybe you’d be more practical: pay off the credit cards, secure the kids’ college, and fill up the retirement account.

are small enough to manage. And it’s amazing how much impact you can make once you decide you want to change the world.

For instance, there’s a group of guys at our church who are really into setting captives free. Okay, they wouldn’t actually say it like that. They’re really just a bunch of guys who enjoy carpentry, and for more than a decade they have been building ramps for elderly or disabled people around Bartlesville. They build a handful of ramps each year, and each one takes them about a day to complete. For those guys, building a ramp is no big deal, but for the people who are on the receiving end, the gift is life-changing.

Several of those people had been unable to leave their home for years because they could no longer navigate stairs, and then in a morning their life is changed. A captive is set free, and their world becomes a little more like Heaven on Earth.

Maybe it’s a mix.

I don’t know how you would spend the money, but I know you COULD. My daughter’s question hit a sweet spot. It’s a number that’s big enough to spark the imagination, but small enough to manage. It’s not easy, but it’s practical. There are a thousand right answers, and each one is meaningful.

This is the way I feel as a Jesus follower. Jesus asks his people “Do you want to help me make the world a little more like Heaven on Earth?” If the answer is “yes,” then it’s just a question of how we use our specific gifts and passions to lean into Christ’s mission. It’s a goal that sparks the imagination, but the actual tasks

That’s just one cool example out of infinite options. There are countless more. Show kindness to a neighbor. Stand shoulder to shoulder with the disenfranchised. Practice hospitality. Treat others the way you want to be treated. You don’t need me to tell you exactly how to go about making the world a better place, because when you’re acting out of love for others, there are no wrong answers. You lean into Jesus’ way of life, and then you look for opportunities to act.

You already have everything you need. So let me ask you a question, like my daughter asked me: If you could make the world a better place for someone today, what would you do?

Now just go do it.

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GIVING BACK

Grave Interest in Honoring the Dead

by Jo Crabtree Busy lives, daily activities and countless distractions often cloud the vision of everyday Americans who rarely think about a cemetery until a loved one dies, or they attend a funeral.

Having a down day? Discouraged by the condition of the world? A magnificent way to take inventory, to embrace perspective — for any generation — is to make it a priority to visit a burial ground or a cemetery in a local community. Walking among the headstones of the dead, you quickly acquire insight into the many lives by viewing inscriptions carved on a stone at the head of their graves, as well as expressions of love and devotion left behind by family members. Telltale signs of how they may have lived and pain they may have experienced. They — like all of mankind — have faced daily struggles for survival in a vast world of the unexpected, and at times insurmountable, challenges of life. Given the opportunity to stop and digest such an experience can be a peaceful pursuit.

stones. For those individuals whose families never set a headstone, or did not have the funds, or the means to do so, their desire is to recognize and honor those lives. Determined to honor every individual who is buried in the cemetery, Ernie spends many hours hand-making blocks of cement. He uses a dremel to carve into the stone the name, birth, and burial dates when he has them, in order to mark their graves. He is giving them individuality and value as a life lived, and at the same time hoping to make it possible for loved ones or family to have tangible evidence of that person’s life on earth.

To that end, Ernie spends many hours dousing graves to locate bodies that have been buried in often inopportune places.

Due to the age of the cemetery, many are unidentified and unmarked in any way. Numerous old records were lost in a fire in early years and much effort has been dedicated to trying to reconstruct as many of the burials as possible.

There are special and devoted individuals, or caretakers, who are equipped with compassion and love to administer honor and respect for those who have lived before, whose footprints are left behind and unseen by present inhabitants on the same parcels of land and obscured in America’s cemeteries. Some, more than others, as there are two such individuals who spend hours of their lives doing just that in the Ramona Cemetery.

Mayor of Ramona Cyle Miller said of Crabtree, “Ernie is a great asset to the community. I see him frequently at the cemetery and I am always amazed at the countless, possibly hundreds of hours he devotes to working at a thankless job. I have helped him on occasion and have seen the hundreds of homemade headstones he sets out all over the cemetery for those who were less fortunate to have a professionally-crafted headstone.”

Volunteers are no stranger to Ramona. Over the years, many have devoted their personal time and efforts for the continuing care and upkeep of the graveyard. It is my blessing and joy to know one such individual who spends countless hours and dedication to just such an endeavor. Ernest Dean Crabtree is life-time resident of Ramona and a volunteer at the Ramona Cemetery.

Citizen volunteers are always available to serve on the cemetery board. One such individual, Elizabeth Little Collins, of the well known Ramona “Little Ranch,” worked closely with the board for several years. One of the legacies she left before her death was a refurbished, very nice cemetery office in the old historic jail next door to the old bank building, later the town post office for many years on Main Street.

A life of service is nothing foreign to Ernie, who served two tours in Vietnam in the Army on a helicopter as a combat medic (military evacuations) for those injured or deceased. His second tour of duty was driven by concern that if he went back home, he would be letting friends and fellow Army buddies down.

Every human born lives a life of dreams, memories, and emotions. Their lives have untold and unknown stories, happiness, tragedy, love, and sorrows. Without knowledge or research it is often impossible to know who they were, or who their families were.

Every cemetery or burial throughout the nation includes an Ernie has been a constant in the community for many years, expression of life if you care always ready to help out, to look deep enough at assisting family, friends, This is a Cemetery what you see. Life is not and neighbors. He is a per“Lives are commemorated — deaths are recorded —families — memories are tanobsolete as long as we son of great compassion gible — and love is undisguised. This is a cemetery. continue to respect it, and desire to serve others.

Communities accord respect, families bestow reverence, historians see informarevere the privilege and the He works closely with tion and our heritage is thereby enriched. blessing of it. God gives Cemetery Sexton Holly Testimonies of devotion, pride and remembrance are cast in bronze to pay warm life; let none of us ever take Ward, who has managed tribute to accomplishments and to the life — not the death — of a loved one. it for granted. "Then the the Ramona Cemetery for The cemetery is homeland for the memorials that are a sustaining source of comLord God formed a man approximately 25 years. fort to the living. from the dust of the ground While Ward is in charge of A cemetery is a history of the people — a perpetual record of yesterday and a and breathed into his nosthe Cemetery, the two work sanctuary of peace and quiet today. A cemetery exists because every life is worth livtrils the breath of life, and together to discover burials ing and remembering — ALWAYS” man became a living being.” that are not located and — Author unknown — Genesis 2:7 who do not have headNOVEMBER 2021 | bmonthly

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LET FREEDOM RING

Remembering Our Veterans

by Jay Hastings

Please take time to remember our Veterans who have served in the armed forces. November 11th is a National Day of Remembrance; however, we should thank our military veterans every day for the fact we are able to celebrate our freedom. Veterans Day was known as Armistice Day until 1954. The holiday differs from Memorial Day, as Memorial Day is a time to remember those in the military service who died fighting in wars. Veterans Day is a day to celebrate and honor the men and women who have served in the military. Here are some examples the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs suggests to show your appreciation to those who have served our country:

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Attend a Veteran’s Day event.

Ask a Veteran about their time in the military, and really listen to their answer.

Hang a flag in your yard.

Ask an aging Veteran to share with you the song that most takes them back.

Visit the gravesite of a Veteran.

Visit a homebound Veteran in their home; talk with them, and thank them for their service.

Take a Veteran out to dinner.

Take dinner in to a Veteran.

Take flowers to a Veterans memorial.

Write and send a letter to someone who’s currently serving in the military.

Ask a neighbor about their deployment.

Call a Veteran family member.

Thank a Veteran co-worker for their service.

Take a private moment to be proud of your country.

Teach your children and friends what it means to be a Veteran.

Share pictures of a Veteran you know on social media.

Say a silent prayer for those who are currently serving.

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Learn about a current or past war or conflict and understand the sacrifices made.

Look up your ancestry and learn about someone in your family who was a Veteran.

Observe a moment of silence with family and friends.

Read something a Veteran wrote about their experience.

Make sure your children and grandchildren know who the Veterans are within their own family, and share the family stories with them.

Do a project about Veterans with young children or grandchildren. For example, let them make their own Veteran flag and plant it in a pot of flowers in front of the house.

Write on your blog about your appreciation for Veterans.

Help young children or grandchildren make a thank you card, and post them in the window or at a grocery store bulletin board or library or some other public place.

(Good for any day:) Stand out in front of the VA to greet Veterans as they are being dropped off at the door. Some older folks even need a hand getting out of the car.

Tell a loved one why you enjoy serving Veterans.

Buy a homeless Veteran a cup of coffee.

Donate time, money, or supplies to local Veterans Day drives.

Volunteer to help a Veteran’s Service Organization.

Take a moment to reflect on what it means to live in America.

Go to a Veterans Day parade.

Shake a Veteran’s hand.

Send an email that tells a Veteran’s story to the people on your contact list.

Select one or two of the activities, and resolve to do them at least one time every month this year when it’s NOT Veteran’s Day.

NOVEMBER 2021 | bmonthly

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