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Green Country Living, P.O. Box 1968, Muskogee, OK 74402. Email: publisher@muskogeephoenix.com - Editorial: (918) 684-2929. Advertising and distribution: (918) 684-2813.
Gary and Stephanie Flusche's home in the Country Club area is truly crafty.
Western motif adorns Vanderford home.
BEYOND THE LISTING - 1580 E. DAWSON DRIVE
Wide-open spaces highlight amenities of Housley home.
BEYOND THE LISTING -3816 BUCKS OF GAINS CREEK ROAD
Luxury estate offers variety of features.
MILLIGANS
Milligans serve family treasures during holidays.
Catch a few of your friends in these photo spreads of local events.
Photo by Mandy Corbell
Historic Carey home makes Christmas a magical time
CChristmas in a historical home makes for a magical time of year.
The surroundings give way to thoughts of Christmases past – especially when for the past 70 years, the home has been occupied by only two families, bringing to mind a multitude of fond memories.
Kevin and Melony Carey bought their home in Founders’ Place Historic District, a National Register of Historic Places neighborhood, in 1977 when they were in their 20s.
“We purchased the house from my mother’s friend,
Patty Lippmann, and thought we would fix it up in one year,” Melony said, laughing.
The house has deep significance for the couple because their engagement party was held on the front lawn when Mrs. Lippmann still owned the property. Years later, the house was the backdrop for her younger sister’s wedding party and for her daughter’s marriage ceremony.
“Despite our living here for almost 50 years, we still refer to the house as the Lippmann house,” Melony said. “Maybe after 50 [more] years, it will be the Carey house.”
The Christmas tree in the Carey’s house is in the same place it has occupied for the last seventy years.
A tree in the dining room is decorated with dining-related decorations, including a silver spoon given to the Careys’ daughter, Madison, as a baby.
The dining room table is set with Blue Willow dishes, while the Santa Claus and Blue Willow Christmas tree are precious gifts from a friend.
a tent and toys.
The Classical Revival-style house was built in 1907. The first occupants were the Lesters, who owned the local trolley car business. During World War II, the house was converted to an apartment building, like so many others in the neighborhood.
“People who lived here as children during the war come back all the time to visit the house,” Kevin said.
Melony, whose degrees are in Latin and classical culture, said the pediments over the front door and gable and the Doric columns are reminiscent of the Greek and Roman architecture she fell in love with as a Latin student at Muskogee High School.
She returned to teach Latin at MHS in 1975. Kevin was also a teacher, coach, counselor and assistant princi-
The former bedroom of the Careys’ son, John, has bern converted to a nursery and playroom, featuring
The entry hall staircase is decorated with greenery and lights.
pal in the district.
“There is something magical about teaching a community’s children and then seeing those kids take over as community leaders decades later,” Melony said. “To see them happy and successful, with children and grandchildren of their own, is a gift.”
The Careys, who have two grown children and five grandchildren, have always tried to make Christmas a memorable and meaningful time.
Aside from the religious aspect, a holiday tradition is attending “The Nutcracker” ballet. The Careys first took their daughter, Madison, to the Tulsa Ballet performance when she was 2. Later she performed as Godfather Drosselmeyer in the Ben Franklin Science Academy production of the ballet.
“My National Honor Society students taught ballet lessons at the school, and ‘The Nutcracker’ was an outcropping of that,” Melony said. “We
A collection of international Santas acquired over the decades decorates a table in the hallway.
“The Nutcracker” performance plays a big part in the family’s Christmas holiday. A collection of nutcrackers decorates the fireplace.
The former bedroom of the Careys’ daughter was supposed to be repurposed as Melony’s study, but their granddaughter, Meredith, has taken precedence with the pink decor and “Hello Kitty” motif.
brought in Moscelyne Larkin, one of the Five Moons of Oklahoma ballet to speak to the students during that time to inspire them.”
The Five Moons were the five Native American dancers from Oklahoma who achieved fame nationally and internationally in ballet.
When Sadler Arts Academy opened, the music teacher moved to that school, and so did the “Nutcracker” performance. Now the Careys watch their granddaughter perform in the ballet at that school.
Nutcrackers adorn the fireplace and Christmas tree in the Careys’ living room. The tree is placed in the front window, a spot it has held for the past 70-plus years. Tree ornaments have been collected from the Careys’ many trips, as well as crafted or inherited from family and friends.
The dining room is decorated with a tree bearing ornaments related to dining. The table is set with Blue Willow china and adorned with sentimental Christmas curios. But the real magic is upstairs in the children’s rooms, where Melony uses Christmas trees and toys to make the holiday special for her grandchildren.
“Sleepovers, hot chocolate, ‘The Nutcracker,’ and Christmas movies are all traditions that come just once a year,” Melony said. “Jesus implores us to ‘be of good cheer,’ a theme echoed in a line from Thomas Tusser’s 16th century poem, ‘…make good cheer, for Christmas comes but once a year.’” GC
A connecting bedroom serves as the video game room for the Careys’ grandson and their guest room.
Gary and Stephanie Flusche’s home in the Country Club area is truly crafty
By Cathy Spaulding
Stephanie Flusche, owner of Lola’s Living do-it-yourself craft shop, created or repurposed many of its decorations and furnishings.
SThe Flusches have lived in their house since 2007.
“The house was built in 1987, never remodeled,” Gary Flusche said. “We redid the whole thing and repainted the outside.”
The stone exterior was originally natural gray stone, similar to what the Flusches still have for their fireplace.
Now repainted in off-white, the exterior provides a clean backdrop for Stephanie Flusche’s work. The front porch decor changes with each season. Through November, the front porch radiates warmth, with golden yellow fall flowers and different-colored pumpkins.
Stephanie said she made some of the pumpkins from old pergolas her
neighbors had. She even turned an old chair seat into a pumpkin-shaped ornament hanging on a flat wooden tree she made.
“I leave the trees out year-round and just add things to them,” she said. “For Halloween, I put bats or jack-o’-lanterns, signs we made at the shop.”
Inside, the home is a showroom for vintage living.
“We like the old stuff; we can repurpose it, but sometimes you don’t have to,” Stephanie said.
“Crafts and stuff we do at the shop are here. I try to decorate with them.”
She repurposes old doors, too.
“Last year, I built 75 Christmas trees,” she said. “Everything I try to do is repurposed.”
The Flusches turned a barn door into a dining room table.
“It came out of a church in McAlester,” Stephanie said. “We had glass put in, built around the door, put
legs on it and added trim. We just did that this summer.”
She recycles old books and found a treasure trove from a west Muskogee house.
“Their third floor was packed with books; I’m talking 25 boxes,” she said. “I had to think of things to do with these books. We made pumpkins out of them. We made Christmas trees. We decorate with them, too.”
She turns old steamer trunks into trays.
“I use these for drawers,” she said. “I have one hanging on the wall as a shelf. They are perfect for stuff like that.”
Vintage furniture finds new life with the Flusches. An old chest in the living room was found in Fort Smith, Arkansas.
“It had chicken feathers and grease, like oil, caked on that,” Stephanie said. “We liked the character. It actually has concrete on the side of it.”
A military cabinet found in Fort Gibson stores old quilts.
“Most of these my grandmother made,” she said.
Stephanie framed a rosette pattern from a quilt that was falling apart.
The couple found a shoulder-high library card catalog in Tahlequah.
“It was in really bad shape,” Stephanie said. “Because it had been sitting outside, it was really dry.”
She said they fixed the catalog through a process called “wood popping.”
“You wet the wood, then you put the stain on while the wood is wet,” she said. “It will grab and enhance all the imperfections in the wood.”
Their round wooden kitchen table is so old it still has a Confederate stamp on it. It has a peg in the center for a removable lazy Susan. Stephanie said a former teacher wanted to give it a good home.
She likes going to flea markets, estate sales, thrift stores and junk shops, but not every purchase is repurposed. Old loving cups and trophies become bookends.
The Flusches have a collection of vintage bulldog figurines — mostly ceramic, but one cast iron. Stephanie said some of the old figurines are so ugly they don’t even look like bulldogs anymore.
“We found one last weekend and we got one,” she said.
Not all the bulldogs sit on a shelf. The Flusches have two real English bulldogs named Stella and Rosie, plus a lab named Olive.
Not all their collectibles are vintage, either. The kitch-
en boasts a variety of MacKenzie Childs containers, known for their black-andwhite checkerboards. But there’s more to the pattern than meets the eye.
“What they are known for is their colors,” Stephanie said, pointing out slivers of yellow, teal and pink. “There’s supposed to be seven colors in this.”
She said she decorates for different seasons inside as well.
The day after Thanksgiving, they clear out the pumpkins and put up the trees. She said the main Christmas tree goes right at the base of a curved staircase that seems built for that purpose. GC
FEATURED HOME: VANDERFORD
Western motif adorns Vanderford home
By Angel Ford
TThe first thing a visitor will notice in Sue Vanderford’s Christmas-decked home is not the beautifully decorated tree in the corner of the room or the 19-foot-high ceilings. It’s the moose.
Towering above the fireplace, its glass eyes glittering beneath a bright red Santa hat, the massive mount seems to welcome guests into a holiday wonderland unlike any other in town. For Vanderford, Christmas decorating is less about matching colors and more about celebrating personality – and her home has plenty of it.
Picked up at an estate sale in 1989, the one-of-a-kind paper mâche mounted moose has horns weighing over
90 pounds and is 6 feet from the tip of his horns to the base of his neck. Vanderford said her moose always gets a new look every Christmas.
“I always have to have a place for him,” she said. “I knew I had to have ceilings tall enough, so it ended up being 19-foot ceilings. Not exactly my original plan, but I knew I had to have a place for my moose. And so, there he sits, every place we move. He’s just my old buddy.”
Two and half years ago, Vanderford and her husband built the house at 3800 E. Smith Ferry Road, a place that would become their 14th home. Each piece and design was chosen specifically by Vanderford herself, and she
had a vision: She did not want it to be overly modern.
“I like Western memorabilia, and then I’ve got some old pottery and stuff,” said Vanderford. “When we built the house, I wanted these huge windows because I knew we were going to be out where I’d have views and I could run naked through the house without the people on the street seeing.”
While it has modern elements, Vanderford wanted to keep her love of Western style alive in her home. Alongside the black metal-encased fireplace stand shelves lined with family photos, heirlooms, and Western memorabilia, such as vintage Justin cowboy boots collected by Vanderford herself. Included on one shelf are boots previously worn by her father, placed next to his old hat, and a red pair of boots she once wore.
The warmth of those family stories carries throughout the rest of the room, where another beloved tradition is showcased. Just beyond the shelves of well-worn boots, an 1860s 8-foot Pennsylvania Dutch deacon’s bench is lined with handmade Santa Clauses of varying sizes, each with a story of its own.
“All the Santa Clauses my mother-in-law made; she used to make them and sell them,” Vanderford said. “I would buy quilts at the flea markets and then she would take them and cut them up to make Santa Clauses out of them.”
She has a touch of wild sprinkled into every room, with animal skin rugs, an elk horn chandelier, and
mounted animals and paintings done by her dear friend Dee Dee Dodd, who paints under the name Newton Conder.
That theme carries through into the kitchen, where art takes on another form, both playful and personal. A painting of a 1940s-style cowgirl graces the front of the refrigerator, done by local artist Leah Payne. The Western charm continues nearby, where an old bathroom door salvaged from Vanderford’s former restaurant finds new life, its lower half painted with the legs of a cowboy by the late artist Roger Davis.
“It just stood out to me,” Vanderford said. “It was just cool. I like all the old stuff. I think the best way to put it is that I like everything. I’m not prissy, and I just like different things.”
Christmas decorating was a week-long affair this year. No theme was chosen, but Vanderford decided on bows, color and glitter everywhere.
“Everything’s got to sparkle,” she said.
As the matriarch of the family, Vanderford does not really have a tradition of decorating with others. Everyone just kind of gets out of her way and lets her do her thing each holiday. One tradition, however, is still alive and well.
“I’ve always had a tradition that we eat at 1 o’clock on the holidays,” Vanderford said. “I don’t care if you’re coming or not, I have enough
food here for everybody who shows up, and at one o’clock, we sit down and eat. It doesn’t matter what holiday it is, at 1 o’clock we eat. Every time.”
While their family traditions are few, she aims to create a welcoming and warm home with personality for family, by blood and by choice, to enjoy.
“I want anybody who walks through my front door to feel like they can come in, kick their shoes up and put some feet on the coffee table,” Vanderford said. “I want it comfortable, I want it warm, and I just want it to be family.” GC
BEYOND THE LISTING: 1580 E. DAWSON DRIVE
Wide-open spaces highlight amenities of Housley home
CChris and Vicki Housley swapped their woodsy log cabin for a wide-open space in 2020.
“We used to live on the lake, but the snakes, the trees – I was allergic to the trees,” Vicki Housley said. “I wasn’t meant to live in the woods.”
However, after living in their custom-built, 4,059-square-foot house for five years, the Housleys are moving on.
“We did plan on this being our forever home,” Vicki Housley said, adding they’re moving to be near their daughter on Grand Lake.
Chris Housley said they loved living on their 1-1/2-acre lot east of Fort Gibson.
“You can be by yourself, but also have neighbors close by,” he said.
Vicki said it took about a year to plan the house they wanted.
“We found a plan, made a bunch of changes to it, and got it the way we wanted,” she said.
Cody Deathrage built the house.
“He did an outstanding job for us,” Chris said. “If we didn’t like something, he’d make the changes we wanted.”
The brick and stone house features a small, welcoming front porch. Massive arched wooden doors open into the spacious entrance.
“We wanted all open space,” Chris said.
A formal dining area with a raised ceiling is to the left. The spacious feel continues into the living room and kitchen area
with its 19-foot-high beamed cathedral ceiling, onto the sunroom with another cathedral ceiling, and out to the backyard.
An electric fireplace, surrounded by rectangular stones reaching toward the ceiling, is at one end of the living room. The fireplace can be converted into wood or gas.
The living room and kitchen have matching iron chandeliers. Off-white shelves and cabinets with baked-on enamel were made by Twin Oak Cabinets in Neosho, Missouri. Lower cabinets have slide-out shelves and soft-close drawers.
A separate bar area with a sink, wine rack, small refrigerator and ice chest lines one side of the kitchen. Next to it is a massive stainless steel refrigerator/ freezer.
The oven has a French door opening, and the microwave can be used as a convection oven and air fryer as well, Chris said.
Stainless steel appliances came from Metro Appliances in Tulsa.
Sliding doors that open wider than 12 feet lead into the sunroom.
“So it’s basically an extension of your living area,” Chris said. “It’s heated and
cooled. If I want to watch something different than what Vicki does, that’s kind of a man cave, so to speak.”
The laundry room features a sink for hand-washing and a counter for folding.
Windows filling two walls of the sunroom enhance the view.
“We can close it off if we have company,” Chris said. “There is an exhaust fan that keeps smoke out if someone smokes.”
A hall behind the fireplace leads to two guest bedrooms, each with a walk-in closet. They are joined by a with a Jack-and-Jill bathroom with a tiled shower and dual vanity.
A room near the entrance could be an office or fifth bedroom. It has a pull-down Murphy bed.
On the opposite wing, the master bedroom has a tray ceiling and large window.
A sliding white barn door opens onto the master bath, which features a spa tub walk-in shower with rain showerhead. The master suite has his-and-her closets. A walk-in closet has a 13-foot ceiling with pulldown rods.
Upstairs is a 900-squarefoot loft, with a full bathroom and walk-in closet. A door leads into the attic.
A cozy back porch features a ceiling fan.
An iron fence surrounds the broad backyard to help keep dogs safe. A back door even has a dog door. Two pairs of garages can hold six cars. Cabinets, counters and pegboard line some garage walls. GC
Luxury estate offers variety of features
By Ronn Rowland
ADDRESS: 3816 Bucks of Gains Creek Road, McAlester ASKING PRICE: $1,375,000.
SQUARE FOOTAGE: 10,138.
ACRES: 6.5.
BEDROOMS: 6.
BATHROOMS: Five full, three half.
APPLIANCES: Built-in range, built-in oven, double oven, dishwasher, electric water heater, disposal, gas water heater, ice maker, microwave, oven, range, refrigerator, generator.
FLOOR: Carpet, tile, wood.
SCHOOL DISTRICT: Crowder.
OTHER FEATURES: Wet bar, granite counters, high ceilings, hot tub/spa, Pullman bath, vaulted ceilings, ceiling fans, gas range connection, gas oven connection, programmable thermostat.
INFORMATION: Natalie Tracy 918-720-5773.
NNatalie Tracy remembers the first time she saw the property at 3816 Bucks of Gains Creek Road on Lake Eufaula.
Tracy, an agent with Lakeside Real Estate, was touring the 10,138-squarefoot home, built in 2007, and was impressed with the highlights throughout the house.
“With its size, you have so many rooms you can entertain,” Tracy said. “Each bedroom has its own private bath. The pool table, the movie room – it’s like the ultimate entertainment home. The current homeowners are empty-nesters and downsizing. You don’t need that many toilets to clean when downsizing.”
The custom-built house is on 6.5 acres and features six bedrooms and eight bathrooms, five full and three half-baths. While it does not sit right on the shore of Lake Eufaula or have a
dock, it is within walking distance.
The floor is carpeted in the bedrooms, with tile in the bathrooms and a mixture of tile, hardwood and carpeting on the first floor.
“The [built-in] appliances have been in the home since it was built,” Tracy said. “All the countertops in the home are granite. The fireplaces in the home are all gas.”
While the home is listed at 6.5 acres, Tracy said additional space is available.
“We listed it at acreage that comes directly
around the home with a shop,” she said. “But there’s an additional 135 acres available. It’s a large estate.”
With an estate this size, Tracy said, lawn maintenance is a chore for the homeowner.
“You’d have to have a riding mower or a lawn maintenance crew,” Tracy said.
A pool and a hot tub are behind the home. A pond is in front of the house, and there’s also one on the back end of the lot.
“They’re both stocked,” Tracy said. “[The
homeowner] said he hasn’t stocked it in a while, but he assumes they’re still in there.”
Among the other amenities besides the movie room are an executive office, a game room and a fitness room. A three-car detached garage sits off to the side of the home.
“There’s also a full safe room downstairs,” she said. “There’s an entire bedroom and bathroom behind the door and reinforced concrete. So it’s definitely very safe.”
Tracy pointed out some of the features not noted in the listing.
“This home is exquisitely maintained,” Tracy said. “There’s not even a scuff on any of the baseboards or paint. It’s so meticulous.”
She remembers showing the homeowners other properties and touring their current property.
“It’s interesting that even though they’re downsizing, they have a standard of what they’ve taken care of,” Tracy said. “When I walked through it the very first time… there was a place for everything and everything had a place. I even asked her, ‘How often do you polish this woodwork?’ She said she has a cleaning schedule she maintains.
So every six months, she’s oiling the baseboards. That’s something that doesn’t come across in the actual listing.” GC
Milligans serve family treasures during holidays
DBy Melony Carey | Pics by Mandy Corbell
Darla Milligan knows life offers so much to be thankful for, especially around the holidays.
She and her husband, Nick Milligan, along with her sister and brother-in-law, Teresa and Russ Scott, recently gathered with their children and grandchildren for a holiday feast at the Milligan home near Fort Gibson Lake.
“The holidays hold an exceptional place in my heart because they bring our family together in such a special way,” Milligan said.
Coming from a large family with 29 first cousins means holidays could have as many as 100 or more people gath-
ered in one place, usually in a large hall.
“Grandma and Grandpa Eller instilled in all of us the true meaning of love, faith, and togetherness. Each generation makes it a priority to teach the true meaning of family,” she said.
One of her favorite ways to show she cares for family and friends is through cooking.
“I learned to cook by spending time in the kitchen with my mom,” Milligan said. “She was an excellent cook, as were the women on both sides of my family, the Ellers and the Hobbses.”
A memorable Thanksgiving came the year the Ellers decided it was time for responsibility for the meal to be passed onto the next generation, so the older generation could relax. Now Milligan and her sister, Teresa, have taken over cooking the staples for the holiday meals, while their daughters, granddaughters, nieces and even great-nieces take over the sides and desserts.
“My niece and nephew are Mandy and Wade Scott, owners of Harmony House, so it is sure nice when we call and ask them to bring some of their well-known pies,” Milligan said.
She has her own special appetizer, sides and dessert recipes handed down from her mom, aunts and cousins.
“These dishes have become staples at our family gatherings, and they bring back sweet memories,” Milligan said.
Gathering with her sister and cousins to prepare precious family recipes makes for a treasured time of the year.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Microwave rice in the water for 8 minutes; set aside. Melt margarine on low heat and add broccoli and onions. Turn up heat to medium and sauté, covered until onions are transparent. Add soups, Cheese Whiz and milk, blending well; remove from heat and combine with rice. Pour into buttered 2-1/2-quart dish and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
Pumpkin Chiffon Pie
1 small envelope Knox gelatin
1/4 cup cold water
3 egg yolks (reserve whites)
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup sour cream
1-1/4 cups pumpkin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1-1/4 cups additional sugar
1 baked pie crust, cooled
Whipped topping
Chopped pecans
Mix gelatin and cold water together and set aside. Beat egg yolks with 1/3 cup sugar. Add sour cream and pumpkin, salt and spices. Place in saucepan; cook and boil for two minutes. Remove from heat and add gelatin mixture. Mix well; set aside and let cool. Beat egg whites with 1-1/4 cups sugar. Fold into pumpkin mixture. In prepared crust alternate your pumpkin mix and whipped topping layers, beginning with a pumpkin layer first and ending with whipped topping. Chill for several hours. When ready to serve, sprinkle with pecans.
Patti Ann’s Bundt Cake
1 yellow cake mix
3 eggs
1 cup water
1 cup oil
1 can coconut pecan frosting
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients together. Spray Bundt pan with non-stick cooking spray. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes, check at 35 minutes; more cooking time may be needed. Check for doneness with a skewer that comes out clean when tested in the middle of the cake. Cooking times may need to be adjusted, depending on the oven. Let cake cool in the pan about 10 minutes or so, then invert onto a serving plate.
Teresa’s Cheese Ball
16 ounces cream cheese
10 ounces sharp cheddar cheese
1 small jar pimentos
1 onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped 1/8 teaspoon Worcestershire Chopped pecans
Place all ingredients in bowl and knead together with hands. Place chopped pecans on wax paper; form cheese into a ball and roll in pecans, covering all over. (To decorate as a turkey, create a face and tail feathers out of additional peppers and pecans, as desired.) Serve with Wheat Thins.
too, while cherishing the memories of those who have gone before us,” she said.
A particular holiday favorite is pumpkin chiffon pie, followed closely by Patti Ann’s Bundt cake.
After dinner is one of the family’s favorite times.
“We all huddle for games and watching football and to map out our Black Friday shopping rendezvous,” Milligan said. “Life is full of special moments waiting to be made. God has blessed me richly with the best family and friends.”
Here she treats us to some of her special recipes. GC
Small Town Welcome Fort Gibson
Small Town Welcome Fort Gibson
Small Town Welcome Fort Gibson
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