Edge Magazine - March 2014

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M A G A Z I N E

Timothy Schaffert An author among us

Michelle Skillings

From tragedy to triumph

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REACH US We want to hear from you. Ideas, suggestions, compliments and critiques, send them to us at Jack@EdgeMagazine.com

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just around the corner, most of us will bid a fond farewell to another cold, windy winter as we look forward to the sights and sounds that a new season brings. Rather than talk about reminiscing and reflection, I would like to focus on the future and look forward to what the rest of 2014 has to offer.

With two months under our belts, many of us have New Year’s resolutions still intact and professional goals well within our reach. For some, motivation is easy. It’s the discipline that becomes our greatest challenge and what ultimately derails our efforts. So rather than give up, it’s time to get refocused and remem-

ber that the only boundaries that exist are the ones we place on ourselves.

So get back at it, keep your nose to the grindstone and make this year your best yet. Let someone else have regrets—this one belongs to you!

Jack Shotbolt Editor in Chief

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Editor in Chief Jack Shotbolt Jack@EdgeMagazine.com Contributing editor Jennifer Matthes A Little Corner of France in West Omaha levoltaireomaha.com 569 N 55th Plaza | (402) 934-9374

Pepperwood Village

Creative Director Quentin Lueninghoener (402) 517-1228 // quentin@quenluen.com Photo Staff Daniel Muller (402) 943-7151 // daniel@dpmuller.com Abi Smith (402) 651-9334 // lacyabigailsmith@gmail.com Advertising Account Executive Jessica Freedman (402) 250-2529 // Jessica@EdgeMagazine.com Contributing writers Krystal Overmyer, Leo Adam Biga, Heather Origitano

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team manager Chelsey Rawley // Chelsey@EdgeMagazine.com CONTACT US P: (402) 250-3325 // F: (402) 892-7048 Jack@EdgeMagazine.com 15858 West Dodge Road, Suite 100, Omaha NE 68118 Edge is published monthly. Content copyright Š 2014 Edge Magazine. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, without permission in writing from the publisher, Jack Shotbolt. Although care has been taken to ensure the accuracy, completeness and reliability of the information provided, Edge assumes no responsibility therefore.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Edge Magazine, 15858 W Dodge Omaha, NE 68118

contents Cover story

Our home 28

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our health

my concoction

our passion

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our food

my two cents

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our business

varsity corner

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e unique

Timeless

BEAUTY ach item in Sallie Elliott’s carefully curated home tells a story. The twin 19th-century ceramic vases adorning the fireplace mantel belonged to her grandmother. In the kitchen, a 1900s-era wrought-iron candlestick chandelier sheds light over a large island. The wooden pantry door dates back to the 1840s.

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“I like things that I can still fall in love with, things that don’t age,” Elliott said.

Eras and origins are blended and layered to create a classic, timeless look in this custom-built, six-bedroom home in the Legacy neighborhood.

Elliott, an interior designer and realtor with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, relished the opportunity to design a home from the ground up when her family moved to Omaha from Bloomington, Ind. The neighborhood’s location near Zorinsky Lake attracted Elliott. Adjacent to a wooded area, her backyard is no stranger to deer, owls and other wildlife.

A trip to Italy inspired much of the look and feel of the home. The travertine tiles throughout the main floor lend a European flavor and set the neutral color palate. Other custom touches include four fireplaces (“I’m a fireplace fanatic,” Elliott confesses), hearth area with hidden pocket office, and outside, a natural rock hot tub with waterfall feature.

The European-inspired backdrop sets the stage for the antiques and heirlooms

Antiques and heirlooms tell a visual story in designer Sallie Elliott’s home

20-page photo portfolio by Daniel Muller story by krystal overmyer

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5. Invest in quality heavy-use pieces, such as sofas, barstools or dining table. Side tables can be less expensive.

6. Play with scale. Singular big pieces can make a bigger statement than knick-knacks.

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Elliott loves to acquire. In the kitchen and hearth areas are several examples of her finds, including a large French drying rack — functional but eye-catching, Elliott notes. An antique wooden mixing bowl becomes an intriguing centerpiece when filled with dried hydrangea blooms from Elliott’s garden. Elliott likes “things that have that patina,” especially objects with unusual structure and scale. In this home, larger pieces make more powerful statements than myriad knick-knacks.

The dining room showcases Elliott’s talent for making old things interesting.

While the space could easily be converted to an office, Elliott, who loves to entertain, enjoys creating formal dining room tablescapes for family and friends.

In February, the table was decked with mix-matched family silver and china, with clementine oranges adding a pop of color. She encourages clients to experiment with layering and blending to create something new. “I don’t want any space to feel like it came out of a showroom as a matching set,” she said.

Another highlight of the home is the master bathroom. The French-inspired bathroom was featured on HGTV’s “Rate My Space” and offers hints of the Palace of Versailles with its opposing antique Venetian mirrors. Instead of a typical linen closet, Elliott designed wine rack-style shelving for towels around the luxurious tub.

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Omaha author Timothy Schaffert delivers again with his new novel, The Swan Gondola

n

Story by Leo Adam Biga Photos by Daniel MulleR

history writing

ebraska has produced many literary heavyweights: Willa Cather, Mari Sandoz, Wright Morris, John Neihardt, Tillie Olsen, Loren Eiseley, Ron Hansen, Richard Dooling, Terese Svoboda, Kurt Andersen, Ted Kooser.

Add the name Timothy Schaffert to this roster of gifted homegrown wordsmiths.

Unlike most of that company, Schaffert has remained in state to write his acclaimed novels and short stories. The Aurora, Neb. native grew up on the Hamilton County farm that’s been in his German-American family for generations. He writes these days in the southwest Omaha home he shares with his life partner. It’s where Schaffert penned his latest novel, The Swan Gondola, (Riverhead Books, a division of Penguin). The historical work of fiction has received strong notices and celebrated a Feb. 6 release.

D a n ie l M u l l er

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“I feel very fortunate I’ve had the opportunity to write what I want to write and to have the support I’ve got for it. ”

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This is Schaffert’s fifth novel following his previous The Phantom Limbs of the Rollow Sisters, The Singing and Dancing Daughters of God, Devils in the Sugar Shop and The Coffins of Little Hope. Like the others, Gondola displays his wicked, yet sweet wit and penchant for depicting surreal events amid ordinary surroundings.

The tragic romance at the heart of Gondola unfolds around the 1898 Trans-Mississippi & International Exposition, a grand event that marked Omaha’s most ambitious attempt to garner world attention.

The protagonist-narrator is ventriloquist Ferret Skerritt, a character inspired

by L. Frank Baum’s iconic The Wizard of

Oz. Schaffert concocted a kind of prequel to the Oz myth that imagines what propelled this humbug artist to leave Omaha in a hot air balloon – Baum’s wizard commandeers a balloon emblazoned with Omaha State Fair – for the hinterland he comes to rule. Schaffert has Skerritt find true love in the ethereal Cecily, a fetching actress and single mother, until circumstances conspire to separate the lovers.

In a story replete with class distinctions, Skerritt comes up against the city’s most powerful man, William Wakefield, and his witch of a sister, who live in a forbidding castle, and the formidable Mrs. Margaret.

Skerritt cobbles together a supportive

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family that includes: August, a Native American dandy; Rosie, a good-natured anarchist; and mercurial Pearl, whose eerie intuition turns possession.

Then there’s Emmaline and Hester, the sisters who nurse him back to health after the balloon that carried him crashes into their farmhouse.

In addition to Skerritt being based on the wizard, several other characters have their parallels in Baum’s Oz, including stand-ins for the good and bad witches, the Tin Man, the Scarecrow, the Cowardly Lion.

As the man who fell from the sky and lived to tell about it, Skerritt is held up as a supernatural diviner. Schaffert says the fact crops and livestock can be lost to capricious nature makes some farmers susceptible to rainmakers and fortune tellers.

“It’s a part of the world where prophets are needed.”

Skerritt and Emmaline construct the Emerald Cathedral, a pillar of totems from neighbors and townsfolk desperate for deliverance.

The Omaha World’s Fair setting is the impetus for a new exhibition of photographs and artifacts from the expo. The novel’s launch and exhibit’s opening both happened Feb. 7 at the W. Dale Clark Library. Schaffert signed copies of his book.

The author is no stranger to the library, which hosts his annual (downtown) Omaha Lit Fest. The ninth edition

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“It’s definitely more sweeping than the other books I’ve written that focus on kind of small moments in characters’ lives and perhaps quiet, emotional developments and transitions.” last fall featured the usual eclectic lineup of guest authors. He’s now organizing the event’s 10th anniversary whose focus on historical fiction is apt given Gondola’s immersion in late 19th century Americana.

The choice of the fair as the milieu for his new novel is a function of his longheld fascination with both The Wizard of Oz and the Trans-Mississippi Expo. As a child reading the Baum story and watching the MGM movie, he was “taken” by the Kansas farm setting and the wizard’s Omaha origins. Later, while researching the expo, he found it a rich metaphorical landscape whose by-turns enchanted and crass goings-on made a perfect backdrop for a doomed love story.

“The Wizard of Oz was published in 1900. The Exposition was held in 1898.

There was an interesting link there that had not yet been exploited but I was sort of daunted by the research I would have to do about 1898,” says Schaffert, who teaches English at his alma mater, the University of Nebraska–Lincoln.

“When you’re writing about the past you have the added responsibility of learning about the past, and not just learning about it but communicating it to readers. You don’t want it to seem like an antique.”

To understand the “cultural consciousness” of the Victorian-era he steeped himself in the Omaha Bee and Omaha World-Herald archives. He dis-

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“I have a little library with a writing desk but most of the time I write in the kitchen, with my laptop on the kitchen counter, and I pace around, fix tea, attend to the dog.” life and love.

Delving into the past for his fiction is nothing new for Schaffert, though until Gondola it’d been some time since he’d gone there.

“When I was much younger everything I wrote was set in the past, so strangely for me the books I’d written previously have not been set in the past. So I feel I’m finally writing what I intended to write all along.”

He’s swimming in the past again with an in-progress novel set in the 1920s.

Besides its historical roots, Gondola represents another departure for Schaffert.

“It’s definitely more sweeping than the other books I’ve written that focus on kind of small moments in characters’ lives and perhaps quiet, emotional developments and transitions. Whereas the characters of this book are entertainers and their lives are motivated by melodrama and they’re pushed to the point where there are extremely difficult, even life and death situations. So it’s a larger canvas than I’ve worked on before and I’d like to do more of that.”

As with some of his earlier novels, Schaffert draws on his rural background.

Enamored by the allure of New York sophistication in movies, he didn’t always appreciate growing up on a farm.

“I remember regretting we didn’t live in a city and not only did I regret we didn’t live in a city, I regretted we didn’t live in New York City. I wanted to live in the Manhattan of Fred Astaire and Woody Allen. So I didn’t feel like I was necessarily in the right place when I was growing up. Since then I recognize what a rich experience it was and I love 36 |

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to return to the farm. I’m struck by its beauty and I feel fortunate to have had the experience I have.”

“And it is surprising how much I can keep drawing from it. You kind of feel perhaps the well has run dry but then you embark on some new book and some new characters and you find yourself discovering new things about your own past.”

For Gondola he says he tried to find new ways to describe the countryside.

“The farm Ferret Skerritt ends up on, as is with every farm I’ve written about, is taken from the community I grew up in.

Some of it’s the physical landscape and some of it’s the culture and how in this book this extraordinary thing happens – this man falls from the balloon in the sky and he’s purported to have kind of soothsaying qualities. My understanding of how the community would react to that is based on my own sense of the rural Midwest.”

Schaffert, who once edited and wrote for Omaha alternative newspapers, says early on his parents expressed concern about his making-a-go-of-it as a writer but have remained in his corner. “I don’t think they always understood what I was doing but I never really felt they were discouraging at all. I always felt they were very respectful of this mysterious thing I was pursuing. I don’t know that they thought anything would come of it necessarily but they were supportive and they remain supportive.”

Identified as he is with Omaha’s urban creative center, Schaffert might be expected to reside downtown rather than in suburbia. But he feels at home in wide open spaces.

“I grew up in the country and the house I live in today has a huge backyard. We’re literally half a block from the Chalco Hills Recreation Area.

We can walk right there to Wehrspann Lake and be among deer and the woods.

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We walk there all the time. It’s quiet. I definitely like it.”

“I think you get more space, more bang for your buck basically the further west you go. We entertain, we have people stay over, we have family events. We do value being able to stretch out.”

He wrote his first three novels at his previous home in Millard. Coffins and Gondola were written in his present space.

“I have a little library with a writing desk but most of the time I write in the kitchen, with my laptop on the kitchen counter, and I pace around, fix tea, attend to the dog.”

With his new book adding to his already stellar reputation, Schaffert feels his life and career are in a good place.

“I feel very fortunate I’ve had the opportunity to write what I want to write and to have the support I’ve got for it. My publisher (Riverhead) is bringing my new novel out in a big way.

That’s completely unexpected.”

He’s especially glad Riverhead, an imprint of publishing giant Penguin, is behind him.

“Riverhead is very much committed to recognizing those they think of as underappreciated writers and getting behind their careers and committing long-term to the writer’s success.”

The editor who signed him to the Penguin family was taken

by Janet Maslin’s enthusiastic New York Times review of his Coffins of Little Hope. Schaffert is humble and grateful about the kudos.

“A writer doesn’t always feel like there’s a ladder of success.

You’re just kind of moving from one project to the next, uncertain what’s going to happen with it or what kind of support there’ll be for it. You feel you’re scrambling or scrapping or patching together this living. So, yeah, to have the opportunities I’ve had has been extremely rewarding.”

Follow Schaffert at www.timothyschaffert.com.

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our health

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fighting through tra g e d y

After baby’s death, Michelle Skillings finds strength to fight for her own life

f

ive weeks into her program at Farrell’s eXtreme Bodyshaping in Bellevue, Michelle Skillings was ready to quit. She ran alongside a coach, but each step was so hard. She wanted to give up.

“Do this for Brayden, if not for you,” her coach said.

Brayden. Her sweet baby boy, whose presence was with her through the weight loss surgery, the recovery, her quest to be a healthy mother for her children.

Story by krystal overmyer Photos by daniel muller

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our health

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Brayden, her guardian angel, who never made it to 7 weeks.

Skillings put her head down and finished her mile. Oct. 22, 2008, was the hardest day of her life. Compared to that, this was easy.

The decision For as long as she can remember, Skillings was overweight. From adolescence onward, life was riddled with weight loss attempts — TOPS with her grandmother in middle school, Weight Watchers at 16, weight loss pills at 18, the Atkins diet, Weight Watchers again. “You name it, I tried it,” she said.

Her mother, whose weight issues mirrored her own, asked her to attend a weight loss surgery seminar at the Methodist Physicians Clinic. Such a life-changing, big surgery scared her. She passed, even as her mother underwent the surgery herself. After she and husband Mike celebrated the birth of their first-born, Noah, Skillings flirted with the idea of surgery again. Then Brayden was born, and taking care of a newborn and 2-year-old took priority.

After maternity leave, Skillings returned to work as a real estate marketer.

A few days later, Brayden, just under 7 weeks old, went down for a nap at daycare and never woke up.

about sids Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) is the leading cause of death among children aged 1 month to 1 year. The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development defines SIDS as the sudden death of an infant under 1 year of age which remains unexplained after thorough investigation.

SIDS claims the lives of nearly 2,500 infants each year in the United States.

Months later, his death would pass to the ill-defined, unsatisfying category of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, or SIDS. Doctors cannot explain what causes SIDS, defined as the unexpected death of a child under the age of 1. Skillings would never know why her baby died.

In the wake of that agonizing loss, Skillings shut down. It was too hard to talk to even those closest to her. Focusing on Noah carried her through.

Slowly, the cloud of grief lifted. She let her walls down enough to talk about her loss and stopped pushing people away.

Soon, she and husband Mike were pregnant with their third son. It was after she had Chase that she knew something had to give. At nearly 400 pounds, her blood pressure was dangerously high and she

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our health

before

was flirting with diabetes. “I hated what I had become,” she said.

One day, she sat on the living room floor watching her two sons play. She realized if she wanted to be active with her boys and live to see them grow, she had to make a change. Even though the thought of surgery still terrified her, she went to the Methodist Bariatric Surgery seminar again and spoke to Dr. Brad Winterstein, who helped allay her fears.

The day of her sleeve gastrectomy in May 2012, she almost chickened out. But she knew she had a guardian angel: Brayden.

“I kept telling myself that I survived the hardest thing in life with my son’s death, so I could do anything,” she said. “I decided I survived that loss for a reason. It was time to honor my son’s memory and to be a good mother and put my health first.”

The change A sleeve gastrectomy works by surgically removing a large portion of the patient’s stomach. Skillings describes it as going from a football-sized stomach to a hot dog. The smaller stomach size limits the amount of food one can eat, making the person feel full after small amounts of food.

As Skillings relearned how foods affected her new, smaller stomach, she continued to receive support from the Methodist program. At each weigh-in, her tally of total pounds lost jumped upward. At six months, she’d lost 100 pounds. It was the proudest she had ever felt. It finally clicked: “I was doing this for me, to save me.”

Under her doctor’s direction, Skillings began exploring different gyms and fitness programs. One of the coaches at Farrell’s encouraged her to sign up for an intense 10-week program. Each time she was challenged with more push-ups, situps, punches and kicks, she realized “it was not going to kill me, and I actually liked it.” For the first time, she found herself looking forward to working out.

Noah and Chase kept her going. After she’d lost the first 100 pounds, 7-yearold Noah gave her a hug — touching his hands behind her back for the first time.

He then touched his mother’s face with both of his hands.

“Mommy, I can touch my hands around you,” he said. “I’m very proud of you.”

It took a tearful Skillings’ breath away.

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Today, Skillings is 200 pounds lighter than she was at her heaviest. At 34, she says she is still discovering who she is and what she’s made of. All those years of beating herself up for failing at the gym, for hating what was in the mirror, are behind her now. She’s confident now.

Skillings says Brayden made all of this possible. She believes that in every situation, no matter how tragic, there is a lesson to be learned. Brayden’s death taught his mother how to fight for her own life.

“Noah and Chase are my drive, but Brayden is why I won’t ever quit,” she said. “I survived every parent’s worst nightmare. I got the awful call saying my son was dead, and it didn’t kill me.”

“If I were to let his death destroy me, the lesson I could have learned would have been missed. For me, my drive was I wanted my sons to learn that yes, my

mom got knocked down, but look at all she’s done since.”

For three years, Skillings has served as co-director of the Nebraska SIDS Foundation. The organization serves to increase awareness of SIDS and support grieving families. The position enables Skillings to talk about Brayden as she supports other parents in the club that no parent wants to join. She can tell them that they, too, have the strength to survive a tragedy.

Sometimes on a clear night, Skillings looks to the stars. Five years after her son’s death, Skillings realizes that despite the challenges and hardships, she fought to pick herself up from unbearable grief and came out on the other side. “I find the brightest star in the sky, and I tell myself, ‘There’s Brayden,’” she said.

She reminds herself that he’s watching his mommy.

after

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my concoction

Safari Cigars and Lounge 13110 Birch Drive #108 Omaha, NE 68164 (402)965-1460 Open Daily

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1

5

What you need: 2 oz Maker’s Mark Bourbon 1 packet of sugar 1 blood orange slice

1 orange rind 1 maraschino cherry Couple drops of cherry juice Dash bitters Muddle sugar, orange slice, bitters, cherry and cherry juice in an Old Fashioned glass

steps

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Add 1 oz of bourbon and ½ glass of ice. Stir until ice melts into mixture

3

to the perfect cocktail The bar: Safari Cigars and Lounge The bartender: Anna Hospodka The drink: Old Fashioned

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Flame orange peel over the drink, expressing the oils into the glass

Add 1 oz bourbon, and more ice. Stir slightly and serve MARCH 2014

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our food

Johnny’s Italian Steakhouse Village Pointe, 305 N. 170th St. 402-289-9210 johnnysitaliansteakhouse.com

f

rom the décor to the menu, Johnny’s Italian Steakhouse at Village Pointe pays homage to classy supper clubs of the 1940s and 1950s and the celebrity of the Rat Pack. Dark colors, chandeliers and the sounds of Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr. evoke a certain bygone swankiness. Upon entry, guests encounter the glowing neon Blue Bar with marble countertops and velvet-backed chairs. It’s a restaurant that makes the casual diner feel like a VIP.

g e n e r a l m a n a g e r j a m i e a r n o ld

A Class Act story by KRYSTAL OVERMYER | photos by abi smith

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“Honestly, some customers think, ‘Are we dressed right?’” said general manager Jamie Arnold. “People do get that immediate sense of wow.”

Arnold stresses that despite the luxury, there’s no dress code at the steakhouse.

Prices are approachable and menu options are varied — from a soup and salad for lunch to a 22-ounce, bone-in ribeye for dinner. Now in its ninth year of operation in Omaha, the restaurant remains a favorite for its Rat Pack-inspired vibe and unique service philosophy.

s t u f f e d p o r k ch o p s MARCH 2014

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our food

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our food

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our food

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our food The lengthy menu includes classic Italian fare, signature Italian-style dishes unique to the restaurant, and certified Angus beef specialties. Menu favorites sporting the Rat Pack influence include the Veal Sinatra, comprised of veal sautéed with shrimp, crab meat, mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes and basil in a cream sauce. Named for muse Marilyn Monroe, the Chanel No. 5 dish offers lobster, shrimp, artichokes, prosciutto, garlic cream sauce and ravioli.

Also among the many dinner options:

the signature steak deburgo, drunken steak marinated in Samuel Adams, filet medallion trio and salmon fiorintino.

Private rooms offer an even more intimate option for groups. The Boardroom seats up to 42 people (naturally, Sinatra is the chairman) and offers Wi-Fi and visual capabilities. The Sammy seats up to 60, but can be split into separate spaces with floor-to-ceiling velvet curtains for the ultimate in privacy. The private spaces attract rehearsal dinners, receptions, anniversary parties and

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more, Arnold said.

Part of the experience is attentive service. The Des Moines-based restaurant group incorporates a unique philosophy of service based on the idea that staff are like cast members in a play, performing for the benefit of guests. Every day, the stage managers (hosts), culinary maestros (chefs), bartenders (bootleggers) and servers (performers) are working to get that standing ovation from each guest.

The strategy lends itself to a superior experience. Servers particularly are called to “be more than a server — be a performer,” Arnold said. “Exceed the guests’ expectation: That’s the goal.”

Arnold served as a chef for 25 years before taking the helm at Johnny’s as general manager three years ago. The Bellevue native was drawn to the industry because of the instant gratification of creating something special and getting an immediate response. The ultimate compliment, he said, is when guests come back and ask for the same server again and again — a testament to the quality of the staff.

Johnny’s Italian Steakhouse is open daily. The restaurant offers a “Really Happy Happy Hour” Monday - Saturday from 3-6:30 p.m. and 9 p.m.-close. An à la carte brunch is served 11 a.m.-2 p.m. on Sundays.

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worth the haul CenturyLink Center Omaha 445 North 10th Street, Omaha, NE 68102 (402) 341-1500 www.CenturyLinkCenterOmaha.com Tickets: www.TicketMaster.com or (800) 745-3000 UNO Hockey: All tickets $15-$25

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worth the haul Omaha Performing Arts Holland Center: 1200 Douglas St., Omaha, NE 68102 (402) 345-0606 The Orpheum: 409 S 16th St, Omaha, NE 68102 (402) 661-8501 www.omahaperformingarts.org

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MARCH 2014

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our business

Entertainment center offers fresh take on American pastime

m

ike Zabawa’s typical attempt to take his family bowling used to go something like this: Cart the kids to the local bowling establishment. Put your name on a waiting list, since only a few lanes are open to non-league bowlers.

Meanwhile, attempt to keep the kids occupied in a facility that hadn’t been updated for decades.

The lackluster experience got the former Kiewit executive wondering: Could he create a better, more family-friendly option?

The V, opened last June, is Zabawa’s answer. The 46,000-squarefoot building near Oak View Mall offers multiple entertainment options to keep kids and adults occupied for hours.

Story by krystal overmyer Photos by daniel muller

the V 3375 Oak View Drive Open 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Sunday-Thursday; 11 a.m.-1 a.m. Friday-Saturday 402-255-3225 TheVOmaha.com

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bowled

over

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At the heart of the entertainment is bowling — but this isn’t your typical bowling alley. The alley’s 16 lanes are arranged in a V shape (hence the facility’s name), maximizing space for seating and socializing. The club-like atmosphere is complete with 12-foot projection televisions at the end of each lane pair, crescent-shaped couches and tables for comfortable watching and socializing, and a sleek bar in the middle of the action. The V Bar and Lounge offers a good view of the lanes plus specialty cocktails, The V signature ale and bourbon, and a well-rounded wine list.

Next to the main lanes is a private VIP area, boasting four lanes, pool and shuffleboard tables and a 30-foot projection television.

On the other end of the facility, blinking arcade lights and sounds invite kids and adults to let loose and play awhile.

The game zone offers 100 arcade games, a 4,000-square-foot casino-themed laser tag arena, a rock climbing wall and mini-bowling for the little ones.

Bringing multiple entertainment options together, Zabawa believes, gives

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Omaha, NE 68118

www.immanuelcommunities.com

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time-pressed families more bang for their buck in one location.

Plus, people love to bowl.

“Bowling is uniquely American,” he said. “It’s an activity that Americans love to do. It’s social and competitive at the same time. You can be as competitive or not competitive as you want to be.”

Gamers and bowlers also have quality dining options on site. Skrach, a 20,000-square-foot restaurant, offers menu items that work at a table or at the bowling lanes. The varied menu features made-from-scratch fare such as the smoked pork belly appetizer, ½ pound “Cardiac Arrest” burger, thincrust pizza, baked mac and cheese and even a rack of ribs.

Tasty desserts are also made from scratch. For those seeking hot dog and nacho options, the Hot Spot Café is just steps away from the lanes.

The V also offers five party and meeting rooms outfitted with dry erase boards and audio/visual capabilities. Zabawa reports that thus far, local companies are embracing the meeting space with a work first, play later mentality: Groups can schedule a half-day meeting followed by a few hours of socializing in the private VIP area.

Zabawa thoroughly researched bowling-based entertainment centers across the country before embarking on his own project. True to his prediction, customers are responding positively to The V, and guests may sometimes encounter wait times during peek weekend hours.

“The cool thing is we have something for people to do while they’re waiting,” Zabawa said. “You can have dinner, play a game in the game zone — or send the kids to play games while the parents grab a drink.”

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our passion

a

CAL Automotive Creations drives home triumphant

s a young boy, Ron Cizek never imagined that rebuilding the 1940 Ford Coupe sitting in his father’s garage would one day become a passion of his – and never did he imagine his newfound passion would result in winning the prestigious 50th Annual Ridler Award.

The 1940 Ford, now rightfully named Checkered Past in honor of its history, was the start of a rewarding partnership for Cizek and CAL Automotive Creations.

A successful custom homebuilder, Cizek is very familiar with the building process. “I started out as a carpenter, trimming houses, and graduated from that by building a few houses,” he said. “I built homes exclusively for 10 years and expanded into commercial building in the ’80s.” Today, between spending time with his wife of 22 years, Deb, their four children and 11 grandchildren, Cizek still has a hand in home construction, land development, as well as building and property management. Even with all of his professional success, Cizek continued to feel the urge to fulfill his father’s dream of rebuilding their 1940 Ford.

“I have always enjoyed being around hot rods and I’ve always wanted to build one,” he reminisces.

Story by heather Origitano Photos by daniel muller 74 |

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past ch e c ke r e d

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our passion

visit EdgeMagazine.com

BRING ON THE FLAVOR Olive Oil • Balsamic Vinegar Dried Mushroom Sea Salt 10920 Prarie Brook Rd. 402-968-7944

The story of Checkered Past starts with its original owner, Mike Dizona, a Midwest dirt track racer. In order to get his 1932 Ford Roadster to the track, Dizona would tow it with his trusty 1940 Ford Coupe. He had visions of transforming the car into a racer but when a family came along, the coupe was replaced with a more family friendly station wagon. Cizek’s father, Gordon, bought the car in 1957. A then 10-year-old Ron jumped at the chance to get his hands dirty and help his father rebuild the car. “I helped him rebuild the engine and did a lot of sanding…I got to do all the dirty work,” Cizek chuckled.

“We worked on it for a couple of years together and then he decided to build a new home and the car went into the garage, where it remained for about fifty years.”

The 1940 Ford was then stored in a barn on a piece of property owned by Cizek before heading to the location that would define its future. “I thought it was time to finish it,” Cizek said. “So I rented this shop, now home to CAL Automotive Creations, about seven years ago and started working on it part time and on the weekends. During that time, I finished the chassis. I was looking for someone to do sheet metal and body work; through word of mouth, I was introduced to Andy Leach.”

Andy Leach, an Omaha native, earned his graphic and web design degree from Concordia University before taking his passion for cars and design talent to Chicago in 2003. While in Chicago, he worked for a premier hot rod shop - Rad Rides by Troy. Missing his hometown, Leach moved back to Omaha in 2008 taking a job as a welder and operated his

402-255-3225 3375 Oak View Dr. Omaha, NE 68144 (South of Oak View Mall, Next to Kohl’s)

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TAKING

ENTERTAINMENT to the NEXT LEVEL!

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6 3 3 N 1 1 4 T H S T REET | 402. 493. 7343 W W W. C H R I S T E L S C L OT H I N G. C O M 80 |

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side business of building cars out of his garage called CAL Creations. Leach met Cizek through a friend of a friend, and between welding and being a fulltime dad to his daughter, Madysen, he worked sparingly on the 1940 Ford. “I had an e-mail to Ron drafted and I was always too scared to send it,” said Leach.

“It basically stated that I wanted to work full-time on his car. I worked up the courage to finally send it and he called me immediately…he told me it was the best idea he had ever heard. We met the next morning and I quit my job right after that.” With Cizek’s help, Leach formed CAL Automotive Creations – his first task: rebuilding Checkered Past from scratch. “It was never intended to be a Ridler car, it just snowballed into that,” Leach said.

Cizek always imagined Checkered Past being maroon, a color he admired.

When it was time for body and paintwork, the car went to Charley Hutton, a man well known and respected in the custom car world. “All the colors needed to work together in the end,” said Leach.

“Charley’s wife was putting up the Christmas tree and he liked the color of the berries, so he started mixing up the color and that was it.” The custom color was naturally named Checkered Past Red. The brown/tan leather and suede custom interior keeps with the retro/ modern theme of the car, as well as compliments the paint color and gold accents. The one-off billet aluminum wheels were styled to resemble vintage racing designs. Even the tiniest of details were thought out during the rebuild. The car features custom gauges and many modern amenities, including GPS. The coupe is also adorned with several custom checkered flag emblems throughout. It’s all topped off with a

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our passion flathead V-8 engine with electronic fuel injection and a GMC 4-71 supercharger, a shortened and re-contoured hood, and custom grille. “I wanted to put a flathead engine in it,” said Cizek. “We kind of souped it up and added power steering.

It’s a classic design that we wanted to improve on and give a more modern look. The wheels are a take off of the old Halibrand wheels.”

Leach started working on Checkered Past in January 2010 and finished it March 6, 2013. “I knew we had a pretty

strong car,” said Leach. “Our biggest obstacle was getting the car done and to Detroit Autorama on time. We didn’t sleep for three weeks; we finished the coupe, put it on the trailer and drove to Detroit.”

Detroit is the home of the annual Detroit Autorama, America’s Premier Custom Show Car Series. Entries for The Ridler Award, named for creative event planner Don Ridler, are judged on creativity, workmanship and engineering – the vehicle must also be making

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its first public showing. “Part of our plan was to secure future business; we thought it would be a good idea to build a show car, and since we only had the one car, that was it,” said Cizek. “We thought we would go to Detroit Autorama. They have two tiers of awards; they pick the Great 8 and from that list of finalists they choose The Ridler Award winner, which is kind of like the Super Bowl of hot rod awards. Our goal was to get a Great 8 Award; we thought that would be a good way to get our budding business going. We were fortunate to win the Great 8 and a couple days later they awarded us The Ridler Award.”

Ron and his wife happily accepted the award, along with the whole Checkered Past team. Along with a list of prizes, Cizek received a check for $10,000. “I was blown away,” he said. “I thought I had died and went to heaven when we got the Great 8!”

CAL Automotive Creations has since won two other awards: Good Guys Street Rod of the Year in May 2013 and Street Rod d’Elegance in July 2013.

The recent success of CAL Automotive Creations is also thanks to team members Erik Hanson, Sam Kita and Nick Zoucha. “We now have at least a years worth of work ahead, but we are trying to grow sensibly,” said Cizek. “This all has been a hoot. Andy is a young kid, so to help him with his career…I get a kick out of that. I am in this for the fun of it and to build a nice little business.”

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D a n i e l M u ll e r

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PREVENTION As we enter warmer weather, most people know fleas and ticks (external parasites) will begin to show up in our yards and thus, our pets.Internal parasites (which we worry about year-round) and external parasites can be easily prevented by medications prescribed by your veterinarian.

Most pet owners are familiar with these products. New medications are available this year with better coverage, including an oral flea and tick preventative treat.

By Dr. Joanne Gaines Veterinarian/Owner

Ridgeview Animal Hospital

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18142 Wright Street Omaha, NE 68130 (402) 333-3366 84 |

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ith spring just around the corner, we wanted to get advice from our Edge Magazine pet expert, Dr. Joanne Gaines of Ridgeview Animal Hospital. She shares healthy springtime tips for your dog or cat.

DIET Obesity is a major issue for some pets.Often due to spoiling our pets with treats, obesity leads to joint problems and many other conditions. Weight loss can be accomplished by controlling the number of calories and how much fat is consumed, as well as how much exercise the pet gets.Several newer foods are available that speed up metabolism and help with weight loss.

DENTAL CARE Dental disease occurs in 80 percent of dogs over 2 years of age. It can be slowed by brushing the teeth daily with pet toothpaste and a regular toothbrush. Most pets need professional dental cleanings once a year at a veterinary clinic.These cleanings and daily brushing help prevent tooth loss, root infections, and secondary problems such as heart valve infections.

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varsity corner

DIFFERENT

STROKES Dana Posthuma | Age 17 | Burke

From an early age, it was clear that Burke High School’s own Dana Posthuma had a love for swimming, an interest shared by her two sisters, Tasha and Kelli. The family’s interest in the sport propelled Dana to begin competing at the age of 10, later becoming a member of the Greater Omaha Aquatics, Inc. Leopard Sharks (GOAL), a competitive swim team that provides professional coaching for ambitious youth swimmers.

Posthuma’s early competitive experience prepared her well for high school swimming where she burst onto the scene as a freshman. That year, she notched a 2nd place finish in the 500-yard freestyle and a 3rd place finish in the 200-yard individual medley at the Metro Conference Meet, going on to capture a 5th place finish in the 500-yard freestyle at the Nebraska State Meet. All were notable results for her first year with the Bulldogs.

Last year during her sophomore campaign, Posthuma continued to impress, bringing home 4th place finishes in both the 100-yard butterfly and the 200-yard freestyle at the Metro Conference Meet. She went on to win 5th and 6th place finishes at the Nebraska State Meet in the 100-yard butterfly and 200-yard individual medley, respectfully.

In 2013, while competing with the Leopard Sharks, Posthuma brought home first place medals from the Midwestern Division Championship Meet in both the 100-yard butterfly short and long course events. With these qualifying times, she was invited to compete at the Minneapolis Grand Prix Meet, which is one of the largest national swim competitions that include current Olympians and international competitors. In the toughest competition to date, she was able to place in the top 25 in both the 100 and 200-yard butterfly events.

Now working toward this year’s state meet as a junior, Posthuma is off to a tremendous start, shattering the meet, pool and Burke High School records while winning the 100-yard butterfly at the Metro Conference Meet. She also finished 2nd in the 200-yard individual medley, again breaking the Burke High record.

Dana is the daughter of David and Audrey Posthuma of Omaha. She has two sisters: Tasha, 19, who was a 2012 Metro Conference Champion; and Kelli, 14, who is also a competitive swimmer. In addition to swimming, she is also a member of the National Honor Society and volunteers at Christ Community Church in Omaha.

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ON TOP

Brett Velasquez | Age 18 | Bennington Every now and then you hear about a dominant athlete, one who takes their sport to another level, shattering school records on the way to state championships. Bennington’s defending state champion wrestler Brett Velasquez is one of those rare student-athletes.

Velasquez, a senior, began his journey to the top at age 5 while his family lived in Grand Island. There, he wrestled for Grand Island Central Catholic’s youth program, later wrestling for Team Grand Island. After moving in 2006, he continued his training with the youth program in Bennington, eventually competing for the Badger’s varsity team as a freshman.

In his first season, Velasquez compiled an overall record of 37-2, capturing both conference and state championships in the 103-pound division. During his sophomore year, he picked up where he left off, going 40-1 in the 113-pound division, grabbing the district championship and again capturing both conference and state crowns. Last year as a junior, Velasquez went 45-1 in the 120-pound division, clinching the three-peat as champion at all three levels.

This year, wrestling in the 126-pound division and with a record of 35-0, Velasquez is well on his way to closing out his high school career with another state title. He now has a career record of 157-4.

In addition to various state titles, Velasquez has been named Academic All-State each year. In the off- season he has represented Nebraska in the Disney Duals twice; and last year he was named All-American. He is currently first in his class academically, is a member of the National Honor Society and is the Student Senate President. He was recently nominated for the Nebraska School Activities Association Believers and Achievers Award. In addition to wrestling, he plays baseball where he is a 3x letter winner, is in a Jazz Ensemble and is participating in the school musical.

Brett is the son of David and Dawn Velasquez. He has a younger brother, Josh Velasquez, who is a sophomore wrestler for Bennington.

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our little secret

Left to right: Coach Pete Wilson and his son, Reese, Jeff Brown and Owen Bogacz

When Jeff Brown and Pete Wilson aren’t coaching their “Mites” team with the Omaha Hockey Club, they head out to Lake Zorinsky, Carter Lake or Whitehawk Lake for a little pond hockey with some of the kids.

“We can’t really take credit for the idea,” said Brown, but the winter months have provided some opportunities for the team members, their families and friends to take over a pond after passing the word out to the parents. “Some of the dads get together to clear the ice, and the parents just sort of bring their kids by all day,” added Brown.

So the next time you see some guys cleaning off an icy pond, you can be sure a team of boys carrying skates and sticks is about to follow!

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