Fort Worth Magazine - August 2022

TOP TEACHERS: Meet the Area's Best Educators / HEAD CASE: How Interscholastic Athletics Battle Concussions

Reata

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Elizabeth Batterton, M.D.; Mark Wylie, M.D.; Carson Fairbanks, M.D.

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36

It’s All Gravy

The chicken-fried steak is Texas’ signature culinary dish, thanks, we’re told, to German immigrants who were looking for an adaptation to Wiener schnitzel. We went out to find the best CFS in Fort Worth. Here’s our list.

BY MALCOLM MAYHEW

47

‘We Are Exactly Where We’re Meant to Be’

With a 19-year-old SMU law school graduate, a 16-year-old MBA, and a 14-year-old college junior, the Schlitz family of Keller has an uncommon zeal for knowing and doing.

BY TYLER HICKS

52

Top Teachers

It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge, the very learned Albert Einstein once said. Meet 11 area teachers who meet that standard.

65

School Guide A no-fuss guide to area schools and universities.

86

Tackling Football Schools are getting a better handle on how to protect their student athletes from concussions and the impact of head injuries.

BY RICK MAUCH

the fort

: know

12 Buzz

The pride of TCU, Cam Norrie plays the role of Frog Prince in a Wimbledon breakthrough during a “pretty sick” English summer.

18 Calendar

Salivating is one thing, but this BBQ Fest Pit Stop at Heim Barbecue on the River has us, like, frothing at the mouth. Mark Aug. 18 on your calendar.

20 Fort Worthian

Becca Waugh, owner and designer of Sleepy Panther Design Co., is back in her native Fort Worth, still gushing with creativity.

: live

24 People

Ruby Bellows Tintype began with Sheena Dorton’s discovery in her greatgrandmother’s closet, and “1883” took notice of her distinct talent.

26 Books

Three area teachers tell us what they’ve been reading on summer break, including one outrageously funny tale set in a family restaurant in Chicago.

: eat

28 Restaurant News

With a new location on Berry Street comes a new food option at Lola’s Saloon, “Food at Lola’s,” a creation of chef Zaq Bell.

: snaps

64 Good souls and soles, one and all. Fort Worth Inc. holds its annual Entrepreneur of Excellence Boot Pickup Party.

112 A different kind of blue angel, perhaps? A member of the photography club at Tarrant County College Southeast Campus turns in this composite of a Bass Hall angel.

CLOSE

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So stop by Don Davis Auto Group. Check out the new Bronco. Or perhaps a Ford Mustang. And unleash the animal spirit within. dondavisautogroup.com

Chicken-Fried Convert

There was a movie I watched in my formative years called “Roadhouse 66.” It was one of those B-minus movies that dominated the Home Box Office channel past midnight — when HBO was only one channel. I can’t say I remember the plot (something about a car race through a desert), but there is a particular moment from the flick that’s stuck with me — that of the movie’s lead, played by a pre-“Platoon” Willem Dafoe, demanding a chicken-fried steak at a bar.

At the time, I wasn’t sure I’d ever had a chicken-fried steak. It sounded bizarre to me — chicken and steak do not and shall not share space on my dinner plate. I remember my dad explaining what a chicken-fried steak was and assuring me it was a good meal. He had dabbled in making such dinners, but his version was more on the country-fried than chicken-fried side of the fried-foods spectrum. I still wasn’t convinced, and my imagination took flight. What on earth could this strange concoction look, taste, and smell like?

I wound up ordering a chicken-fried steak at my first opportunity. I believe it was at a generic Tex-Mex restaurant or at least some place where such a dish was far from a popular menu item. The slab of meat was so large — the white gravy pooling over the brim of the plate with every stab of my fork — that I became overwhelmed. It wasn’t the taste that turned me off. The experience of eating pounded tenderloin encased in rich, fried batter drowning in

Brian Kendall EXECUTIVE EDITOR

gravy was simply too intense for my 9-yearold self. I’ll admit, it took years for me to muster the courage to order such a meal again. I was traumatized.

Fast-forward 25 years, and I rarely pass up an opportunity to dig my teeth into a gravy-covered chicken-fried steak with mashed potatoes and canned corn. It’s unquestionably one of my favorite meals — heck, chicken-fried anything is one of my favorite meals. I don’t remember “the” steak that made me a convert, but I can say that if I had tried any of the steaks featured in our story on the city’s best chicken-fried steaks (page 36) during my unfortunate hiatus from the meal, I no doubt would have converted much sooner.

The moral of the story: Chicken-fried steak is scary good.

ON THE COVER:

Shot by director of photography, Crystal Wise, the cover shot features the chickenfried steak at Reata, a restaurant that’s made headlines in recent months after announcing its exit from Sundance Square. The restaurant is still accepting new location ideas via its website.

Corrections? Comments? Concerns? Send to executive editor Brian Kendall at bkendall@fwtexas. com.

The Greatest Fort Worthians of All Time

All the Buzz on Cowtown’s Coffee Shop Owners

Gayle Reaves

Let’s Chat

A few words from our readers

I was taken aback by the broodiness of the play, but it was an interesting take. The interracial couples weren’t a problem at all. I applaud using the best cast members for each part. I did notice people leaving, but that’s their prerogative. I stayed. I wanted to see where we were going in this “Oklahoma.”

Teresa Stafford Carpenter

All the perks of the big city without the crazy traffic!!!

Laura Ann

Yee-friggin-haw!

Anthony Parker

This was lovely to read and well-written.

Naushad Kabir

DIGITAL EDITION: The virtual editions of both current and previous issues are available on our website. Flip through the pages to read more about the great city of Fort Worth by visiting fwtx.com.

Runts available on the menu yet? LOL, gotta try this one out!

Melanie Holland Gee

Place is really good. And hilarious. Cliff Hargis

owner/publisher

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SHADY OAKS

‘Pretty Sick’ English Summer

Ex-Frog Cam Norrie makes splash at Wimbledon

BY JOHN HENRY

It’s not something you see every day, members of the top tier of the British royal family, in this case the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, cheering wildly for, well, a Frog Prince.

But there was William and Kate having both a heckuva time and the back of 26-year-old lefty Cameron Norrie, the No. 9 seed and fellow countryman and more importantly — well, at least to us — a TCU Horned Frog, who went where no Horned Frog had ever gone before: the men’s singles semifinals of tennis’ most sacred ground, Wimbledon at the All England Club in London.

Norrie did so by defeating David Goffin in an exhausting five sets over David Goffin of Belgium.

“It’s great for our school and community,” says David Roditi, TCU’s men’s tennis coach who oversaw Norrie’s development from 2015-17. “I think it’s great for Fort Worth and our tennis community here. Not just our program. It’s fun. We’ll enjoy it while we can.”

2022 marks Norrie’s fifth appearance at Wimbledon. In his

previous 18 Grand Slam events, he had never reached the Round of 16.

The duke and duchess weren’t the only Brits watching him.

In his semifinals match against Novak Djokovic, nearly 15,000 spectators watched from seats in Centre Court — I say “center”; they say “centre” — thousands more watched from a big screen on Henman Hill, and an estimated five million watched on BBC.

That semifinals match was a David-vs.-Goliath task, with Djokovic, the defending champion, the world’s top-ranked player and 20-time major winner, on the other side.

Our guy needed more than David’s slingshot and a sack of rocks to advance to the final, but it sure looked good at the start. Norrie dispatched Djokovic quickly in the first set, 6-2, but fell in the next three sets. Djokovic went on to win his seventh Wimbledon title and fourth consecutive by defeating Nick Kyrgios two days later.

Norrie left with his confidence not only intact but boosted.

“I think it was a good experience to play him, especially with the level he brings here,” Norrie told reporters afterward, according to Sky Sports. “To reach the semis is pretty sick. But I want to do more of that and go one further and try to win a [grand] slam.”

TCU has had two other players win major titles in doubles. David Pate, who played at TCU at the start of the 1980s, was part of a doubles championship at the Australian Open in 1991, and Sandon Stolle won a doubles title at the 1998 U.S. Open.

TCU’s men’s program also had another former player this year swatting balls on Wimbledon’s iconic grass courts. Alastair Gray, another Brit, won in the first round before falling to American Taylor Fritz.

During the tournament, a candid Norrie shared with reporters one particular experience at TCU that he says changed career projection.

During his second year at school after “a pretty big night and definitely a couple too many,” Norrie crashed his motor scooter. The accident required six stiches to repair a crackedup chin, and he missed a tournament because of his injuries.

He remembered his coach was furious.

“It was a realization that I was kind of not doing it the way I wanted to do it and making not the best decisions,” he told reporters in a media scrum. “I was going out more than I probably should have been, like a typical student there at TCU, enjoying myself a lot.”

Roditi, of course, recalled the incident and “nervously” telling his pupil that he had decisions to make if he wanted to continue playing at TCU.

The incident and aftermath were both, Norrie says, a “wake-up call” for him.

We all need those from time to time.

Another former Frog was at Wimbledon, too. Facundo Lugones was Norrie’s teammate at TCU. The Frogs this year, by the way, under Roditi won the ITA Indoor National Championship, which Norrie celebrated on Twitter.

And soon to arrive at TCU is American Sebastian Gorzny, who went three rounds deep at the Wimbledon Juniors boys singles tournament.

“I was joking with someone that we should make our courts grass over here,” Roditi says. “How does purple grass look?”

Payday

FanJolt, TCU collective partner in NIL opportunity

BY JOHN HENRY

Opportunity knocked in recent days for TCU student-athletes seeking a booth, so to speak, in the marketplace most commonly referred to as the “NIL space.”

FanJolt and Think NIL, a TCU collective, have partnered to provide TCU athletes opportunities to monetize their “name, image, and likeness.” FanJolt, an experiential digital platform founded in 2022, creates interactions between fans and a curated list of celebrities and, now, some college athletes.

TCU women’s basketball player Knisha Godfrey, men’s basketball player Eddie Lampkin, and Cam Lancaster, a women’s soccer player, have all come to an agreement to use the FanJolt platform. A FanJolt product specific to TCU’s athletes will be delivered to the school in August, with hopes for more student-athletes to join the platform.

Says Trevor Short, founder and CEO of FanJolt: “I’m a former college tennis player. I know if I had had a platform like ours available to me in college, a platform like this probably could have created an extra couple hundred dollars a week of revenue. Which would have been more than what I had, which was zero, and changed my college experience.”

Think NIL is a collective led by TCU Neeley School of Business alum Guillermo Zamarripa, a media and entertainment executive, and serial entrepreneur, and Brent Cunningham, a former TCU athletics administrator.

» Fort Worth Good for Women in Tech

The results of a recent study published by SmartAsset are no mere cowboy ballyhoo.

In a comparison of 59 U.S. cities, Fort Worth ranked sixth in the nation among the best cities for women in tech.

“Another Texas city in the top 10, Fort Worth moves up from 18th place in our study last year,” researchers wrote. “The percentage of women in the tech force is 27.3% [20th-best]. After housing expenses, women tech workers can expect an income of $52,737. When compared to men tech workers, women earn 94.3% what men do. The Fort Worth tech industry has grown substantially in recent years, with employment growing by 26.5% between 2017 and 2020.”

Houston was No. 3. Arlington, Virginia, and Washington, D.C., were ranked Nos. 1 and 2.

Other Texas cities on the list include Irving (30th), Plano (33rd), Dallas (43rd), cutting-edge Austin at 45, and San Antonio at 53.

SmartAsset compared 59 U.S. cities with at least 200,000 residents and ranked them according to the following four metrics: gender pay gap in the tech industry, income for women in tech after deducting housing costs, women as a percentage of tech workers and threeyear growth in tech employment.

FORT WORTH DESIGN FIRM TO WORK PRO BONO IN UVALDE »

THE BUTT FAMILY AND H-E-B GROCERY STORES RECEIVED MOST OF THE NATIONAL PUBLICITY IN ANNOUNCING A SIGNATURE $10 MILLION GIFT FOR A NEW ELEMENTARY SCHOOL to replace the soon-to-be-demolished Robb Elementary School, site of a mass shooting that killed 19 children and two teachers in Uvalde. But, in addition to that very generous donation, Fort Worth-based architectural firm Huckabee said it would offer its design services without fee — pro bono. Joeris General Contractors also said it would waive its fees.

“Public schools are the foundation of a community,” says Huckabee CEO Chris Huckabee in a statement. “Our team is honored to partner with Joeris construction, the Butt family, H-E-B, and so many others to design a new facility that will honor Uvalde and serve its future generations.”

The location and design of the new campus and timeline for the project have not been determined.

Contributions to support this effort can be made by donating to the Uvalde CISD Moving Forward Foundation, a nonprofit charitable trust set up to help fund the new elementary campus. Visit UvaldeCISDMovingForward.org.

» CASA MAÑANA’S REID CABARET THEATRE IS GROWING

Casa Mañana visionaries are giving the acclaimed House of Tomorrow, a Fort Worth cultural staple since the late 1950s, another update, with an expansion of the Reid Cabaret Theatre.

The project includes a theater renovation that will expand the space to 1,700 square feet, boosting the seating capacity from 70 to 110. Also, a new 2,100-square-foot building will be constructed. It will house a new bar, caterer’s kitchen, and office space.

PRIM Construction is the general contractor.

Casa Mañana plans to unveil the newly renovated Reid Cabaret Theatre with “Christmas,” featuring Nat & Natalie, a father-daughter duo full of holiday songs. The show will run from Nov. 29-Dec. 17.

The new building housing the bar, kitchen, and office space is expected to be completed in the spring.

“It’s an honor to work on a building that means so much to this city and its cultural district,” says Trent Prim, CEO of PRIM.

The Reid Cabaret Theatre was designed by 97w Architects and housed in the original lobby of Casa Mañana, where it holds smaller shows. It is also available to rent for cocktail events.

The current Casa Mañana was designed in 1958 by A. George King, and its renowned geodesic dome designed by Henry Kaiser and Richard Buckminser Fuller.

In the years following the opening of Bass Hall in the late 1990s, Casa’s most prominent attraction is the Children’s Theatre, which brings in more than 165,000 students and educators annually.

JUMPING, DRESSAGE WORLD CUP COMING TO DICKIES »

THE MOMENT DICKIES ARENA EMERGED FROM THAT CLEARING ON MONTGOMERY STREET, THE ACTS STARTED SHOWING UP, including high-profile international events choosing the arena through highly competitive bidding processes. And they haven’t stopped coming.

The most recent to secure a spot on the itinerary: Longines FEI Jumping World Cup Final and FEI Dressage World Cup Final in April of 2026.

City and Dickies officials say the prestigious international equestrian event is expected to bring more than 60,000 spectators over the five days of competition with an estimated economic impact of more than $21 million.

“This is a major win for the city of Fort Worth and further bolsters our position as one of the best destinations in the world to host equestrian events,” says Michael Crum, director of public events for the city of Fort Worth.

The event was secured as part of a collaborative effort between the city of Fort Worth, Dickies Arena, the Fort Worth Sports Commission, Split Rock Jumping Tour, and Visit Fort Worth.

Previous U.S. host cities include Omaha, Nebraska and Las Vegas. Most recently, the competition was hosted by Leipzig, Germany, in April. The FEI — Fédération Équestre Internationale — is based in Lausanne, Switzerland.

“This is yet another opportunity for Dickies Arena and Fort Worth to highlight that we are a player on the international event scene,” says Matt Homan, general manager and president of Trail Drive Management Corporation, the not-for-profit entity managing Dickies Arena. “We promised the city of Fort Worth we would bring in an array of top-notch events, and we are making good on that promise with this incredible event.”

The competition will be broadcast to more than 130 countries with more than 800 million impressions expected across all media platforms. More than 20 million people tuned in to watch the 2019 Final in Gothenburg, Sweden. The FEI World Cup Finals typically attracts anywhere from 250 to 450 members of the international media.

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*Please visit each event’s website for information on COVID-19 protocols.

AUG. 8

DFW Restaurant Week 2022

One of North Texas’ largest culinary events is back and bigger than ever before. Explore the Fort Worth food scene at “prix fixe” while supporting North Texas Food Bank, Lena Pope, and local eateries. This year’s foodie fundraiser will run through Sept. 4.

Participating Restaurants

AUG. 11

Open Studio

Embrace a space dedicated to creative collaboration or independent art projects.

Muse, Studios & Venues

5501 Thelin St., Ste. 130 createwithmuse.com

817.770.7138

AUG. 13

Twined Basket Workshop

Join artist resident Sarita Westrup in a beginner class on basket weaving.

Arts Fort Worth

1300 Gendy St. artsfortworth.org

817.738.1938

AUG. 17

Bowling Night Out

Form a team or come out on your own to partake in this annual charity bowling tournament. All proceeds from wristband sales benefit Children’s Charities of Fort Worth.

Bowlounge FTW

941 W. Vickery Blvd. childrenscharitiesfw.com

AUG. 18

Texas Monthly BBQ Fest Pit Stop @ Heim Barbecue

Why wait for the Texas Monthly BBQ Fest? For a sneak peek of what’s to come, they’re hosting a pit stop featuring four of the best barbecue joints around town.

Heim Barbecue on the River

5333 White Settlement Road heimbbq.com

682.707.5772

AUG. 20

Tanger Outlets Farmers Market

Spend your day strolling through this Europeanstyle farmers market where you’re sure to come across an exciting assortment of homemade and handcrafted delicacies and designs.

Tanger Outlets

15853 N. Freeway tangeroutlet.com

817.464.5400

AUG. 20

Bubbles + Beer + Yoga

Taking your yoga game to the next level, Fort Brewery & Pizza invites you to add a bit of beer or wine to your sun salutation.

Fort Brewery & Pizza

2737 Tillar St. fortbrewery.com

817.923.8000

BRIT

Fort Worth Botanic Garden 3220 Botanic Garden Blvd. fwbg.org 817.463.4160

AUG. 23

Pictionary at Martin House

It’s the world’s most popular drawing game like you’ve never played before. While the rules remain the same, they’ve sweetened the deal by putting beer and treats on the line.

Martin House Brewing Co. 220 S. Sylvania Ave., Ste. 209 martinhousebrewing.com 817.222.0177

AUG. 27

Hogwarts Bar Crawl

We solemnly swear you’ll have a good time at the fourth annual Hogwarts Bar Crawl along West Seventh.

West Seventh St. 945 Foch St.

SEPT. 1

Fall Menu Tasting

Fall marks cooler weather, changing leaves, and a brand-new menu for Taste Community Kitchen. Celebrate the start of the season with small bites prepared by chef Jeff and the team.

Taste Community Kitchen 1200 S. Main St. tasteproject.org 817.759.9045

SEPT. 3

Wild Acre Luau and Vendor Market

Wandering Roots Market

Wild Acre Brewing Company 1734 E. El Paso St., Ste. 190

AUG. 9

Dine Out for Dogs

Show your support for the canine community at this “paw-some” profit share. Order online to benefit Love & Paws Rescue

Any Krispy Kreme Doughnuts location loveandpawsrescue.com // 901.356.8193

SEPT. 3

Rahr & Sons Oktoberfest 5K Social Run/Walk –SeptemBEER

Staying in shape shouldn’t be a chore. That’s why Rahr & Sons started its social run series. This month, run — don’t race — with your friends and family to have fun and feel good.

Rahr & Sons Brewing Co. 701 Galveston Ave. rahrbrewing.com

SEPT. 5

2022 Labor Day Race

Celebrate the American labor movement by strapping on your sneakers and participating in this Labor Day 5K and fun run.

Fort Worth Police and Firefighters Memorial Trinity Park Pavilion #1 2300 West Seventh St. labordayrun.athlete360.com

Becca Waugh

BY JILLIAN VERZWYVELT

BY

Graphic Designer

PHOTO

CRYSTAL WISE

Rebecca (Becca) Waugh has always dabbled in different facets of the fine arts. From painting to digital design, she was determined to do it all.

Waugh is the owner and designer of Sleepy Panther Design Co., an independent creative studio based in Fort Worth that specializes in graphic design, illustration, and animation. Starting her own business allowed Waugh to follow whichever path life showed her.

“My professors in college told me that I was all over the place and that I needed to focus, but I felt like I was constantly overflowing with creativity,” says Waugh. “I like to dabble in a lot of things because they all serve different purposes.”

Growing up, Waugh was vocally trained through church choir. This sparked her interest in music and laid the foundation for her to eventually become a guitarist and lead vocalist in a band.

During her brief stint in Denver, Colorado, she tried her hand at improv comedy, enrolled in an improv comedy school, and found a new creative outlet to entertain.

Although you can’t quite pin down exactly what Waugh does, her personality comes to life in everything she produces.

“You can say a lot with any art form,” says Waugh. “Whether it’s painting or performing, you can express yourself and have an effect on an audience with any art practice.”

As a testament to her ability, Waugh is versatile. Her paintings and personal projects are often loud and vibrant, but her commercial endeavors can be more subdued, catering to the needs of her clients.

“I still add a touch of my personal style, but I love being able to help other people bring their visions to fruition,” says Waugh.

After college, Waugh left Fort Worth to pursue her creative career, but that search eventually led her home. She returned in 2020 to a

new city transformed by both the ongoing pandemic and the influence of a flourishing artistic community.

“Fort Worth looked a lot different when I came back,” says Waugh. “I’ve appreciated the opportunity to become reacquainted with my hometown and become a part of its ongoing development.”

5

TOP

1. Unless she’s on stage, it’s not often Waugh gets to be the subject of her own work. 2. Waugh’s mom, niece, and sister stopped by to support Waugh’s booth at ArtsGoggle. 3. Waugh’s dog, Rufio. 4. Waugh had the opportunity to perform with Scott Franklin at Scat Jazz Lounge. 5. While in Denver, Waugh had the opportunity to paint a few murals. 6. Waugh and friends at the She Dares Christmas Party. 7. When she’s not working, Waugh enjoys getting outside and kayaking at Panther Island.

Envision simple moments.

You won’t believe what’s possible with Realtors ® like us.

Positive Exposure

Tintype photographer Sheena Dorton will make you look old, and it just might be the coolest thing in the Fort.

BY BRIAN KENDALL

As Sheena Dorton puts it, it was dead people who inspired her to become a tintype photographer. That’s not to say that Dorton, who owns and operates Ruby Bellows Tintype, a photography studio and pop-up, has a morbid curiosity. You see, when Dorton was 16, she was moving her great-grandmother’s things and happened across hoards of postmortem tintype photographs of deceased family members — in the 1800s, it was common practice to photograph dead bodies.

“There were actually a couple of ones that stood out to me, and they were on metal, and I was, like, this is kind of intriguing,” Dorton says. “So, I put that on the backburner for 15 or so years, and in 2018, I decided to jump headfirst into [tintype photography]. No one else was doing it in this area, and I think it’s a beautiful form of photography.”

In an era of Googling, YouTubing, and discussion boarding, Dorton was able to use new technology to master an old craft. Proudly self-taught in the art of tintype photography, Dorton purchased an old camera — you know, the kind with lenses and no electronic buttons to speak of — a lens from before Abraham Lincoln became president, all the chemicals necessary for tintype development, built a portable dark room, and started doing popups all around town and occasionally

shooting portrait sessions at her house.

The chemicals themselves — including silver nitrate and calcium bromide (while dangerous, some recipes for development included potassium cyanide) — are kept in old TX Whiskey bottles, so even her lonesome work in a dark room carries a 19th century DIY flavor.

The photographs, which are literally produced on a slab of metal, look like the old-fashioned cowboy portraits one might see when Google image searching Jesse James or Butch Cassidy. It makes everyone’s mug look as if it could be on a wanted poster — and without the need for an iPhone camera filter. The Wild West aesthetic aside, Dorton speaks of the visceral reaction many of her customers have when they first catch a glimpse of tintype photos of themselves.

“I think, our generation, we’ve all seen images of our great-grandparents or our great-great-grandparents like [the tintype photograph],” Dorton says. “And you realize, they were young at one point, you know? They had interesting lives before we came about. I think it gives people a sense of their own mortality.”

When the hit show “1883” rolled its large cast and crew into town — thanks to local writer/director/ rancher/all-around awesome dude, Taylor Sheridan — Paramount+ photographer Sarah Coulter — who

also had a role in launching Dorton’s career as a tintype photographer — reached out to Dorton to achieve the aesthetic the self-taught photographer had recently mastered.

Six photographers were recruited to shoot the anachronistic-style images that would become a staple of the show — including a big appearance during the show’s opening credit sequence. What CGI cityscapes are to the “Game of Thrones” opening credits, tintypes are to the “1883” opening credits. While Coulter would be the one behind the camera, Dorton would be the one developing the slabs of glass and metal — even handling the aforementioned potassium cyanide. Ultimately, Dorton would assist in shooting nearly 150 photographs, including images of main cast members Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Sam Elliott, and local Eric Nelsen.

Dorton now operates out of an art space on Thelin Street in south Fort Worth, not far from the intersection of I-35W and I-20. There, she captures multiple portraits every day — personal, family, and otherwise — and develops the images in her makeshift darkroom fashioned out of a greenhouse grow tent. She’s considering doing more pop-ups at the Stockyards’ Hooker’s Grill — the site of a rebuilt façade courtesy of “1883” — once the heat subsides this fall.

“I’ve never taken a photography class in my life, but I just love every bit of doing [tintype photography],” Dorton says. She humbly adds, “At least I kind of know what I’m doing now, and that’s awesome.”

To schedule an appointment with Dorton, you can visit her website at rubybellowstintype.com

Left to right: The lens on Sheena Dorton’s camera dates back to 1863; Dorton uses toxic chemicals such as silver nitrate during the developing process — making such masks a necessity; Dorton photographs a customer at her studio space in south Fort Worth.

Summer School

Local teachers share their summer reading favorites.

BY TINA HOWARD

Students aren’t the only ones who have enjoyed summer break — getting a moment to relax and refresh before tackling a new school year. We know teachers have appreciated spending time with families, taking vacations, and reading books that are not school or teaching related. We asked a few of our local educators what they’ve been reading over the summer, and here are their recommendations.

1

Mrs. Wiggins by Mary Monroe

Maggie Franklin, a woman with disreputable parents, realizes she must marry someone upstanding and churchgoing to get away from her past. Despite crafting the “perfect” family, the obstacles she faces threaten the life and respect she wants, and she must decide how high a cost she’s willing to pay to preserve them.

“I chose to read this book because I wanted to escape and read something engaging and different. Not to analyze literary devices or teachable moments, but for pure enjoyment.” — Laneta Spivey, elementary instructional coach at Sunrise-McMillan Elementary School

Nausea by Jean-Paul Sartre

Nausea is the first existential novel written by philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre and details the story of a French writer who is horrified by his own existence. “The Nausea is not inside me: I feel it out there in the wall, in the suspenders, everywhere around me. It makes itself one with the cafe; I am the one who is within it.”

“Jean-Paul Sartre’s philosophical novel gripped me to my core. Nausea wasn’t just enjoyable to read; it spurred me into action and made me realize I could live my life like a work of art.” —Jerrett Lyday, humanities teacher at I.M. Terrell Academy

Marrying the Ketchups by Jennifer Close

Marrying the Ketchups is a laugh-out-loud comedy about three generations of a Chicago family who are tied together by their family restaurant, JP Sullivan’s. As the family members grapple with relationships, strange times, and love affairs, how can any of them be expected to make the right decisions when the world feels sideways — and the bartender at JP Sullivan’s makes such strong cocktails?

“This book made me feel like I was managing a restaurant instead of a classroom. It was full of complicated family relationships and big meals. This book is the baby that Anthony Bourdain and Ann Patchett should have had.” —Dr. Michelle Hurst, secondary science coordinator at Mansfield ISD

Tina Howard, along with her husband, Todd, is the owner of Leaves Book and Tea Shop on St. Louis Avenue in the Near Southside.

Dr. Mitch Conditt

Back in the Saddle — Again

The third edition of Lola’s Saloon is also the third concept to move into a supposedly cursed restaurant and venue space near TCU. That curse has officially been broken.

BY MALCOLM MAYHEW

Zaq and Aarika Bell

PHOTOS BY EVAN MICHAEL WOODS

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Summer has barely started, and on this sunny June day, it’s already 107 degrees out. Weather forecasters warned Fort Worth to stay in. Some of us did.

But some went to Lola’s Saloon, Pete Delkus be damned. It was, after all, for a celebratory occasion: Lola’s first farmers market in its new digs, the supposedly cursed entertainment venue/restaurant at 4200 W. Berry St., where two previous concepts came and went.

Despite the temperatures, a dozen local and regional vendors showed up to hawk their wares, from salsa to tamales to jewelry. And dozens of Lola’s denizens made their way through the maze of sellers, as if they didn’t notice the crackling sound of their skin burning.

The scene perfectly illustrates the allegiance to which many Fort Worth music/art/food lovers pledge to Lola’s. Many of Lola’s followers remember owner Brian Forella from his days running the Wreck Room, a much-missed club that catered to noisy bands and sometimes noisier fans.

Forella is the last member of a small pack of club owners who ran rock

venues in the 1990s, when Fort Worth’s underground rock scene was at its peak. Forella, ironically, was the last to join Kelly Parker, who ran a string of pivotal underground punk clubs in Fort Worth, and Danny Weaver, who for years ran The Aardvark, another popular live music venue that catered to young, alternative bands.

Parker passed away, and Weaver got out of the business, leaving Forella the last man standing from that golden era in Fort Worth’s music scene.

Others follow Forella because of Lola’s, which rose from the ashes of the Wreck Room as a new concept. It wasn’t just a club. It was a club, an art gallery, a beer garden, a live music venue, and eventually a makeshift restaurant. Before the last incarnation of Lola’s closed, it had been reborn as a must-eat barbecue destination, thanks to Dayne’s Craft Barbecue, which sold barbecue and burgers on weekends out of a trailer parked in Lola’s backyard.

When Forella announced Lola’s would be moving to the old Americana/Berry Street Ice House space near TCU, Dayne’s, shortly thereafter, announced it wouldn’t be joining him. Instead, Dayne’s will open its own brick-and-mortar location on the far

west side of Fort Worth.

Forella wanted to keep a food component to Lola’s, and for that he turned to Zaq Bell, a longtime Fort Worth musician, former record label owner, and onetime soundman at Lola’s and The Moon.

Bell’s other passion is food. He spent years working for the New York Mets, in both their clubhouse in New York and also as their personal chef, and is currently the executive chef at two restaurants, The Backyard and Bottled Blonde.

His recently launched concept at Lola’s is called “Food at Lola’s.” “I thought the name perfectly fit the smart-ass attitude of Lola’s,” he says. But he’s serious about the food: a mix of gourmet hot dogs, sandwiches, housemade potato chips, and bar bites. He and his wife, Aarika, run the walkup food counter together.

“I think that’s the best part about this — it’s something we can do together,” he says. “I worked in Dallas for five years, working in the corporate restaurant business, and I wasn’t home a lot. She’s been very patient with me. We have two kids, too, so they’ll be up there sometimes. We wanted to do something family oriented. That’s what Lola’s is anyway — a big family.” 2000 W. Berry St., lolasfw.com

Fried pickles, a chicken sandwich, hot dogs and small bar bites are up for grabs at the new location of Lola’s Saloon.

Fit for Adventure

As a fitness trainer, Kelsey Salton’s goal is to make exercise a challenging yet enjoyable experience. And she’s energized by the heart-pounding driving experience she gets with her 2022 Ford Bronco Sport Outer Banks from SouthWest Ford. Bold and sporty looking, the newest Bronco is a lively, athletic, good-looking package that provides a lot of driving fun, with 4WD and GOAT modes for the more casual off-roader. “Once I saw the Bronco Sport released, I was instantly intrigued. It was the perfect combination of sportiness and sexiness with countless ‘wow’ features,” says Salton, fitness director at Vigor Active. “The features are endless. I feel spoiled!”

The Fort Worth resident is quick to praise the superior customer service at SouthWest Ford for her seamless car-buying experience. “I wasn’t aware of the SouthWest Valet Service for my over-the-phone sales purchase and delivery of my new vehicle. Talk about hassle-free and time efficient!” Salton says. “Although I never actually stepped foot in the dealership, GM Chris Bonnett and the team at SouthWest Ford exceeded my expectations when it comes to buying a vehicle. Their patience and zero pressure to purchase made me feel valued, comfortable, and confident when I made my selection.”

PICTURED: Kelsey Salton, customer; Stephen Gilchrist, Dealer Operator

Cerealsly Awesome

Whether you’re looking to relive your youth or you’re just hungry for a bowl of Trix, a new cereal bar in Arlington will have you bowled over.

BY MALCOLM MAYHEW

Forget being a kid in a candy store. Welcome to a cereal store.

More accurately, a cereal bar, the first of its kind in the Tarrant area. Opened earlier this summer by local entrepreneur Devon Wordlaw, Roadrun’r Exotic Cereal Bar offers bowls of cereal in both straightforward and wildly imaginative varieties. If you want a bowl of Frosted Flakes, Wordlaw can do that. Or if you want a bowl of Frosted Flakes decked out with gummy bears, whipped cream, powdered sugar, caramel, ice cream, and chocolate sauce, Wordlaw can do that, too.

You can also mix and match cereals, some of which are imported from other countries, such as a chocolate caramel version of Cap’n Crunch, and most varieties of milk are available.

Cereal bars have become a thing in other parts of the country, especially in Los Angeles and New York, where people wait in line for hours for bowls of their favorite breakfasts. The trend is now hitting Texas. In addition to Roadrun’r, a cereal bar recently opened near Houston.

Wordlaw says they draw people who are nostalgic for the past, but they’re also trendy. “Cereal never goes out of style,” he says.

Roadrun’r’s menu isn’t made up of cereal only. There are sinfully sugary and beautifully crafted specialty milkshakes, towering with your favorite cereal and toppings, and madeto-order waffles, too. Many of the recipes were dreamed up by Keara Toombs, a Chicago native who recently moved to the North Texas area.

“I love being creative, and Devon said, ‘Be as creative as you want,’” she says. “So, yeah, I kinda go a little wild sometimes.”

Similar to Kith Treats, a popular New York cereal bar, Roadrun’r shares a space with a retail shop that sells street wear, skateboards, and tennis shoes. Customers are welcome to peruse the retail side or grab a seat at Roadrun’r’s colorful bar.

“It’s a lot of families who come here, so we thought it’d be a good idea to combine the two concepts,” Wordlaw says. “Kids always need new clothes, right?”

This is the first venture for Wordlaw and his partners, and it’s already off to a good start. Wordlaw says several of Roadrun’r’s crazy-cool cereal concoctions have gone viral, creating long lines on weekends. “We weren’t sure if a cereal bar would work here, because no one in this area has done one before,” he says. “There was no real gauge. We’ve been excited and surprised about how well we’re doing. I know my mom’s proud of me.” 1201 West Arbrook Blvd., Arlington, exoticcerealbar.com

PHOTOS BY EVAN MICHAEL WOODS

A custom-made cereal shake at newly opened Roadrun’r Exotic Cereal Bar.

Bowls of cereal — some imported from other countries — and a custom cereal shake at Roadrun’r.

Ready to Roll

Bedford’s popular Colossal Sandwich Shop opens a ghost kitchen near the Cultural District

BY MALCOLM MAYHEW

The Colossal Sandwich Shop, one of the very best sandwich shops in the area, now has a bite-size location in Fort Worth, near the Cultural District.

Store owners Terry Duncan and Jonathan “Jono” Merrill recently opened a ghost kitchen version of their popular Bedford restaurant at 3004 Cullen St. As is the case with most ghost kitchens, the Fort Worth Colossal focuses primarily on carryout and delivery, although there are a few tables for those who wish to dine on-site.

“We get a lot of people from the Fort Worth area who come to the Bedford store say, ‘Why don’t you open a location in Fort Worth?’” Merrill says. “This is our way of testing those waters.”

After opening two years ago in a Bedford strip mall, Colossal quickly became known for living up to its name; any meat sandwich is piled high with a half-pound of meat. Their sandwiches include pulled pork, a Reuben, a club, steak and cheese, and a Cubano made with braised, spicerubbed pork.

Merrill says the Fort Worth location will offer some items not available at the Bedford store, including burgers.

“This is our time and space to experiment,” he says. “If all goes well, we’ll figure out how to expand this space, or we’ll open a more permanent location in Fort Worth.”

Merrill and Duncan are former classmates at both Arlington High School and at the culinary program at Dallas College El Centro Campus. After El Centro, the business partners went their separate ways, only to reunite over their mutual love of sandwiches. Sandwich-making, Merrill says, is somewhat of a lost art he’s not about to let die.

“We make everything from scratch, from the ground up, and what we don’t make from scratch, like the meats and cheeses, we only use top quality,” he says. “We’re known for the size of our sandwiches, but what we’re most proud of is the quality of the ingredients we use.”

3004 Cullen St., colossalsandwich.com

Bits and Bites

Nearly two dozen Tarrant restaurants are participating in the 25th edition of DFW Restaurant Week, happening August 8-14, with optional extension lasting until September 4. News to me: This is the second longest-running restaurant week in the U.S., behind New York City. As per usual, for each meal purchased at a Tarrant-area participating restaurant, 20% will be donated back to Fort Worth nonprofit Lena Pope, which provides prevention and early intervention services that support child development and improve the behavioral and mental health of children and families, says a press release.

Participating restaurants will offer three-course prix fixe dinners for $39 or $49, with some offering two-course lunch or brunch menus for $24 or $29. In Fort Worth, those restaurants include B&B Butchers, Don Artemio, Fitzgerald’s, Bonnell’s, Rise, and, among others, Wicked Butcher. Arlington restaurants include Restaurant 506 at Stanford House and Piccolo Mondo. In the mid-cities and beyond, Next Bistro, Moxie’s, Perry’s Steakhouse, and The Classic Café at Roanoke are among the participants. For more info, visit LenaPope. org/DFWRestaurantWeek.

Gigi Howell’s forthcoming burger joint, JD’s Hamburgers, is tentatively set to open midSeptember. We profiled Howell earlier this year, and in the story she said the burger spot will be an homage to her family, which has deep roots in the area — far west Fort Worth — where JD’s is opening. Her parents, she said in our profile, met just a few feet away from JD’s, at Margie’s Italian Kitchen, and she named the restaurant after her grandfather. Look for JD’s at 9901 Camp Bowie West. jdshamburgers.com

After conquering Arlington and Little Elm, Hurtado BBQ is now coming to Fort Worth. Owner Brandon Hurtado will open the third location of his self-named ‘cue spot in the space most recently occupied by another ‘cue newcomer, Derek Allan’s Texas Barbecue. Allan plans to focus on a new smashburger concept he’s hoping to open a block away, in the pindot spot originally occupied by FunkyTown Donuts at 1000 Eighth Ave. (FunkyTown’s downtown location remains open). Hurtado’s Fort Worth store should be open in the next few months. hurtadobbq.com

Finally, a reason to venture into the West Seventh area besides Hatsuyuki Handroll Bar. Fort Worth’s first location of Happy Lemon has opened at 1019 Foch St. Happy Lemon is a Taiwan-born chain that specializes in salted cheese and milk tea drinks, freshly made lemonades, and frosting-filled “bubble waffles.” happylemonwest.com

Restaurant news written and compiled by Malcolm Mayhew. You can reach Malcolm at malcolm.mayhew@hotmail. com or on Twitter @foodfortworth.

PHOTOS BY EVAN MICHAEL WOODS

Put on your eating pants for a sandwich at the aptly named Colossal Sandwich Shop, which just opened a Fort Worth location.

F O L L OW THE

Gravy

BY MALCOLM MAYHEW PHOTOGRAPHY BY CRYSTAL WISE

My first memory of a good chicken-fried steak — not the plank of mystery meat I was served at school and certainly not the droopy, soggy gravy sponge I reluctantly ate out of a TV dinner at home — is perhaps the same as yours.

For me, and maybe you, too, chicken-fried steak started and stopped at Massey’s, an old-school diner on Eighth Avenue that served simple and delicious comfort food to all walks of Fort Worth life. The wealthy, the poor, blue collars, and white collars lined up to sit at wobbly tables and red plastic booths for meatloaf and fried chicken and chicken and dumplings and freshly made dinner rolls and desserts.

But the restaurant’s star attraction was chicken-fried steak. Theirs was glorious, a hunk of round steak tenderized until you could cut it with a fork, its golden-fried batter crisp but light,

its cape of cream gravy so addicting waitresses had to bring out extra bowls of it to those who couldn’t get enough of the stuff.

It was like seeing Adele in a club, the Stones at a frat party, Pink Floyd in someone’s backyard — who knew, at the time, we were experiencing something that could never, ever, ever, ever be topped?

It was 26 years ago, nearly to the day, that Massey’s closed its doors after a five-decade run — and ever since, Fort Worth restaurants have been trying to top, or even be just equal to, or maybe just be in the same ballpark with, Massey’s CFS.

That’s been a tall order for Fort Worth to fill, one worth investigating. Here, then, are our results, a list of the Fort Worth restaurants whose CFS may not exactly best Massey’s, but they’re certainly worth celebrating.

Café

THE RESTAURANT

The Stockyards are filled with restaurants that serve CFS — it’d be a little weird if they didn’t. From newbies like the Hotel Drover’s 97 West Kitchen & Bar and Marcus Paslay’s Provender Hall to battle-scarred veterans like Cattleman’s and Riscky’s Steakhouse, the area has so many CFS spots, it’s practically Fort Worth’s CFS capital.

The very best old-school CFS in the Stockyards comes from a restaurant that’s sometimes overlooked, Star Café, a little place with a big heart. In true Fort Worth fashion, servers at this rustic café call you sweet names while delivering plate-engulfing portions of fried chicken, pork chops, and of course CFS.

The restaurant harks back to the 1930s but over the years has gone by other names, including “Black Eyed Pea” in the ‘70s when the chain was first starting out. Don Boles bought the restaurant in 1980, giving it back its original name. Earlier this year, Boles sold the restaurant to entrepreneur Chris Flores, who’s all but promised to not change a thing about this dusty little gem.

THE CFS

You gotta have a love for cream gravy to fully appreciate the Star’s excellent CFS. Gravy doesn’t just cover the CFS; it engulfs it here, practically hiding every speck of its golden-brown batter. But I happen to be a big fan of cream gravy, even this much, and I was shocked that with each bite, the inch-high blanket of pepper-flecked gravy didn’t make a dent in the batter; it was crisp and crunchy from first bite to last. As for the steak, it was tender to the touch, requiring not even the slightest of tugs.

MANDATORY SIDES

The CFS is served with your choice of fries or mashed potatoes. Go with the latter, which also come drenched in cream gravy. A salad comes on the side, plus tiny dinner rolls.

THE RESTAURANT

Michael Thomson’s selfnamed restaurant has been one of the city’s best spots for chefdesigned Texana/Americana cooking since Thomson opened it in the Cultural District/ Monticello area in 1992. Many flock to the bar, where they can dine on a completely different menu than those in the dining room, while others fight for spaces on the small but picturesque patio, where you can watch Monticelloans walk, jog, or BMW by. The dining room is tastefully decorated in a wide arrange of art, some of it local, and Thomson himself is often on-site, either cooking or greeting guests.

THE CFS

A onetime food stylist, Thomson is all about presentation, so it’s no surprise that his CFS looks as good as it tastes. The first thing that strikes you is the gravy. Orange in color, instead of the usual white, it has a soft bite to it, like a lover nibbling on your ear, thanks to its infusion of chipotles; servers will pour on the black pepper table-side, if you want. The CFS itself was fork-tender, its golden-brown batter crunchy and seasoned nicely. Under it came a mound of mashed potatoes, appropriately buttery, and on the side was a small ramekin of fat, flat green beans, good to their last morsel of bacon.

MANDATORY SIDES

There’s a small menu of sides you can sub, including french fries, but the green beans and mashed potatoes are excellent.

Betcha Didn’t Know They Have Good CFS Here

THE RESTAURANT

Jesus BBQ

One of the oldest restaurants on the city’s south side, this tiny family-run diner — an essential visit for any Fort Worthian — has always been known for its expertly smoked barbecue: brisket, ribs, and chicken that could hold their own against many of the city’s BBQ stalwarts. But over the course of the restaurant’s five-decade-plus life, those in the know have also come to love Jesus Borja’s charmingly ramshackle spot for several non-BBQ dishes, including Tex-Mex food and chicken-fried steak. Coincidentally, after Jesus reopened postpandemic, BBQ is no longer on the menu, at least for the time being. This puts the restaurant’s focus squarely on Mexican food and fried stuff.

THE CFS

Jesus’ chicken-fried steak is one of the most popular items on the small menu, so much so that sometimes there’s a

Old-School CFS

THE RESTAURANT

little bit of a wait for it, since each CFS is cooked to order. When your server arises from the kitchen and brings it to your table, steam still rising from the gravy, all eyes in the dining room will be on you. The steak itself is thinly pounded — you can sometimes hear them hammering on it in the kitchen — and well tenderized; my fork easily slid through it. The breading was light and extra crispy on the corners, which I love. White cream gravy oozed all over it and the accompanying side of mashed potatoes. Nicely seasoned with salt and pepper, the CFS was as delicious as it was frills-free.

MANDATORY SIDES

Sides rotate per what the restaurant has in stock. During my most recent visit, the CFS came with a pleasantly unobtrusive salad and a small pile of steamed veggies. Jesus’ crinkle-cut fries are a good alternative to the healthy stuff.

West Side Café

THE CFS

There are those in Fort Worth who would swear the ghosts of Massey’s inhabit the West Side Café, a beloved pitstop for people running low on calories and coffee. Like Massey’s, the café is a gathering place for anyone hankering for home cooking, be it neighborhood usuals, tourists, cops, or the people they’re chasing. First-timers always wander the bustling, seemingly never-slow dining area, looking at all the pictures of military veterans and old Fort Worth clinging to the walls.

Opened 26 years ago in a former pizza joint, the café was originally owned by Bill and Judie Byrd and their partner, Tracey Sanford. Ultimately, Sanford purchased the restaurant and ran it until he passed away last year; a manager says the restaurant is now under “staff ownership.”

West Side Café’s CFS is the closest we’ve come to Massey’s: The well-breaded cutlet is the perfect size, not ridiculously enormous nor pitifully small, the cream gravy is piping hot, and the seasoned batter stays crispy until your last bite. It is about as uncomplicated and tasty as CFS can get.

MANDATORY SIDES

Two sides of your choice come with each CFS. The no-brainer mashed potatoes are a lumpy delight. Green beans, spiked with bacon, are a good option, too, but the broccoli chunks smothered in cheese sauce are the perfect combo of healthy and dangerous. Freshly made dinner rolls, delivered in a red plastic basket lined with tissue paper, come straight from the oven, hot and fluffy.

THE RESTAURANTS

The Babe’s restaurants, ten in all, spread out over North Texas, indeed make up a chain, and while we tend to try to spotlight mom-and-pop spots over chains, there’s no denying the CFS served at Babe’s is fantastic, no matter the location. Plus, Babe’s is a familyowned chain: Opened by Paul Vinyard, the former president of El Chico Mexican Restaurants, and his wife, Mary Beth, the original Babe’s in Roanoke will celebrate its 30th anniversary next year. Mary Beth passed years ago; Paul now runs the restaurants with his son and daughter. For the uninitiated, Babe’s CFS comes with mashed potatoes, creamed corn, green beans, rolls, a salad, and a side of cream gravy, all served a la carte with free refills, and then the CFS itself. I love that you can, basically, put together your own CFS dish, choosing the exact amount of gravy you want (a lot), how much of the mashed potatoes you’re going to dump on the CFS (seconds, please!), and how much of the juice from the bacon-y green beans you’re going to allow to spill onto the CFS (always half the bowl).

THE CFS

The recipe is a well-guarded family secret that area manager Bill Spielman won’t budge on divulging. “Is the steak round steak or tenderloin,” I ask. “I can’t tell you, but it’s not just round steak. It’s a mix,” he says. “Of what,” I say. “Can’t say,” he says. “How do you get that batter so crisp every time?” I try to pry. “It’s how we fry it,” he says, leaving it at that. “OK, well, what can you tell me about the batter? It’s perfectly fried, perfectly seasoned every time at every restaurant,” I

say, to which he replies, simply enough, “That’s good; that’s what we want.”

MANDATORY SIDES

The aforementioned sides all play a small role in the big picture: the bacon-studded green beans are ridiculously addicting; the crisp-kernel corn is appropriately buttery; and you’ll use the freshly made rolls to sop up every centimeter of the mashed potatoes and cream gravy. And then, because you can, you’ll ask for more.

CFS Drew’s Place

THE RESTAURANT

Celebrating its 35th anniversary this year, Drew’s Place is quintessential Fort Worth dining, like Carshon’s and Fred’s and the original Kincaid’s. You can’t call yourself a Fort Worthian until you’ve put away a plate of Drew’s fantastically fried chicken and a big slice of sweet potato pie. Owned by former Texas Tech football player Andrew Thompson and his wife, Stephanie, the restaurant is simple and modest — the point is to make you feel at home, which it most certainly does. The restaurant struggled through the pandemic and closed for a time. As of March, Drew’s is open for lunch Tuesday through Saturday, but with a limited crew; be patient with ‘em.

THE CFS

You gotta have the fried chicken at

some point, yes, definitely, but Drew’s CFS is often considered the best in town. The crusty batter and tender, silky meat are the perfect ratio, with the slightly thick batter sometimes outweighing the meat by just a smidge, just the way a lot of folks like it. Good cream gravy, too, and a lot of it. The CFS comes in portions both large and small — one piece for lightweights, two for the hungry, and three for people who can...OK, who can eat THREE pieces of CFS without needing to go to the hospital afterward?

MANDATORY SIDES

Where to begin? In addition to the usual mashed potatoes and green beans, Drew’s offers nearly a dozen sides. I highly recommend the rich mac and cheese and smoky collard greens. The candied yams are a must, too, if they have them.

Old-School

Fancy CFS Reata

THE RESTAURANT

This upscale downtown culinary tribute to all things Texas has played a vital role in Fort Worth’s dining scene ever since it opened in 1996 atop the old Bank One building. The tornado of 2000 temporarily displaced Reata, but it soon found a home within the plush confines of the Caravan of Dreams, which closed to make way for the restaurant. Over the years, Reata’s kitchen has been square one for many once-unknown North Texas chefs, including Tim Love, Juan Rodriguez, and Brian Olenjack; simply, it’s one of the best restaurants in Fort Worth.

THE CFS

Those who have followed Reata’s 26-year journey know its famed, deep-fried CFS has changed very little over the years. Just about the only modification, says general manager Russel Kirkpatrick, came last year when management decided to start using an upper echelon grade of beef for its base: wagyu. “The quality of wagyu is much better than your average beef,” he says. “After all this time, that’s the only real change we’ve made to the chicken-fried steak. It’s one of those dishes that we just don’t mess with. People love it exactly the way it is.” Which is to say, with a nice thick, buttermilk-infused batter, simple salt and pepper seasoning, and a good ladling of creamy, slightly peppery gravy. Nothing complicated. Just good ingredients cooked superbly well.

MANDATORY SIDES

The CFS is very classily presented, more refined than rustic, with pillowly mashed potatoes cleverly hidden underneath the CFS. Offering color and a slight bit of healthiness, mixed veggies come on the side.

310 Houston St., reata.net

THE RESTAURANT

When it opened 22 years ago in an historic Stockyards building once used as a boot shop, a Bob Wills museum, and one of local restaurateur Bill Martin’s seafood restaurants, Lonesome Dove helped usher in fine dining to an area in dire need of it. This wasn’t — and still isn’t — a typical Stockyards hangout, populated with well-cologned dudes on their way to line dancing and fistfights at PR’s Saloon; it’s mostly couples, small parties of friends, a handful of tourists, and Love followers.

The menu is a greatest hits of what Love does best: whatthe-what dishes like kangaroo carpaccio alongside his takes on classic dishes, from American to Asian, glowing in candlelight and delivered with white glove-level service.

THE CFS

Love is one of many Fort Worth chefs who has done wonders with a veteran, sometimes onedimensional dish. Love says he uses prime beef tenderloin as his starting point, then builds from there, encasing the beef in a Shiner Bock-infused batter, pairing it with buttery Yukon gold mashed potatoes, and ladling all in a white cream gravy infused with pitmaster fat. It all came nicely decorated with something colorful and healthy: grilled green beans and yellow and red banana peppers. You won’t need a speck of salt or pepper; everything is perfectly seasoned. You won’t need a knife, either — the meat was perfectly tender.

At $34, it may seem pricey, but two pieces of CFS come per order, making it the perfect dish for sharing.

MANDATORY SIDES

Other sides are available, such as white truffle mac and cheese, but you want to order the CFS here as-is.

THE RESTAURANT

West-side American food fave Lucile’s is housed in a green-tiled building that dates back to 1927. Steve’s Café, which operated nearly two decades, is the original occupant. You can still see the “Steve’s” marker on the sidewalk just outside the front doors. Over the years, other restaurants came and went, including Black-Eyed Pea and the locally owned and much-loved Finley’s Cafeteria, until 1993, when Fort Worth retired attorney Robert McLean and a band of partners, opened Lucile’s. The restaurant focuses on cheffy re-imaginings of American standards, from steak to seafood, along with some nice surprises, including very good lobster rolls.

good lobster rolls.. THE CFS

Winner of several awards, includ-

Betcha Didn’t Know They Have Good CFS Here

THE RESTAURANT

ing some from this very publication, Lucile’s CFS is, for many, the best in town. A healthy, sizable piece of thinly pounded sirloin comes encased in a deep-fried batter like no other I’ve tasted: peppery, rich, a lot more complex than others; the meat itself was a little on the tough, stringy side. Good

Little Red Wasp

This more casual spinoff of nearby fine dining emporium Grace offers chefinspired — and just plain inspired — takes on American classics. Developed by owner Adam Jones, Grace chef Blaine Staniford, and general manager Jason Miller (Grace’s former bar manager), the menu spotlights sandwiches — “knife and fork” sandwiches, LRW calls them, including a Reuben with a housemade cabbage slaw, a cheeseburger with aged cheddar, and a crispy chicken sandwich that puts most other chicken sandwiches to shame. But while the diner-inspired restaurant has made a name for itself on the strength of those sandwiches, attention should be paid to LRW’s larger entrees, including spaghetti and meatballs, pork shank carnitas, and an excellent chicken-fried steak.

THE CFS

Like Lonesome Dove, Little Red Wasp uses beef tenderloin as the base of its CFS, so its price is going to be a little higher than say, Star Café’s. It’s well worth it, though. Pounded thin, the tenderloin comes encased in a buttermilk crust, satisfyingly flaky and crisp, with a ladling of champagne-colored black pepper gravy on top. Yukon mashed potatoes come on the side, but we fell harder for the dish’s other accoutrement: Brussels sprouts, flash fried and tossed in butter and apple cider vinegar. No one had to gripe at me to eat my veggies.

MANDATORY SIDES

When you’re at LRW, always get a side of deviled eggs. Always, always, always.

gravy, though, adequately peppery with a pleasingly thick texture.

MANDATORY SIDES

Here, CFS comes with a side of fries — either hand-cut regular fries or sweet potato fries.

Old-School CFS

Madea’s Down Home Cooking

THE RESTAURANT

People who love soul food and Southern cooking will definitely fall for Madea’s Down Home Cooking, a tiny restaurant that specializes in the type of comfort food many of us grew up on: chicken and dumplings, fried catfish, roast beef and gravy, oxtails, and beef tips and rice. Owner Elbert Penson opened the restaurant in 2005 as a tribute to his late mother, who went by the nickname “Madea” or “mother dear.” It’s not exactly easy to find, this tiny building on a bumpy back road in the small Fort Worth suburb of Everman, but the hunt is well worth it.

THE CFS

Many items on the menu are served cafeteria-style, but the CFS is made to order, and it usually takes about 15 minutes for it to arrive. Madea’s CFS is a little different than most, with a batter that better resembles fried fish than fried steak; it’s not your traditional egg-and-flour mixture. The end result is very much welcome, though: a crisp, crunchy batter that just about melts in your mouth. Some people get the cream gravy on the side because the batter is so good, and I don’t blame them.

MANDATORY SIDES

You get three per order, and, yes, green beans and mashed potatoes are among the choices. But the stewed okra and tomatoes is a rare sight on any Fort Worth menu, making it a must. Broccoli and cheese casserole is more cheese than broccoli — and that’s a good thing. Big chunks of yam, not too sweet, are another good option. You get a choice of a complimentary roll or cornbread. Go for the latter — it’s hot-water cornbread, another item you don’t see at many places anymore.

1019 W. Enon, Everman

If the many fine chicken-fried steaks we’ve brought to your attention in our cover story have yet to sate your CFS appetite, take a drive west to the small towns of Thurber, Mingus, and Strawn, where there’s an all-out CFS war raging.

Four restaurants, within minutes of each other, two on the same stretch of a back road, all have CFS on the menus. Which led us to wonder: Which one’s the best?

The most well-known of these contenders is, of course, Mary’s Cafe, which many claim is the best CFS in the state. Mary’s is trying to ward off two mainstays, Smokestack Restaurant and New York Hill, as well as a newcomer, Mel’s Diner.

Using the totally unscientific method — my tastebuds — I pitted one against the other in a battle fought to the very last drop of … gravy.

I started out on top, literally, at New York Hill (292 County Road 107, Mingus), a restaurant that sits on a hill overlooking Interstate 20 and the surviving buildings of Thurber, a oncebustling coal mining community now whittled down to a ghost town. New York Hill’s CFS was a good, standard-issue, everyday CFS, dressed in a likable black pepper gravy. The batter had a good crunch but needed seasoning. Not bad, not great. Right down the middle. I’d eat it again, or I might completely forget about it. Tell you what, though, if this were a mashed potato battle, NYH would be No. 1.

Next up was Mel’s Diner (816 S. Mingus Blvd., Mingus), a year-and-a-half-old diner run by Melissa “Mel” Freitas. Mel serves an excellent CFS: tender round steak, a crunchy batter with a deep, pronounced flavor, and a crown of creamy gravy. Mel calls her CFS a “happy accident.” “I’m from Maryland,” she says. “What do I know about chicken-fried steak?” Apparently, a lot more than people from Texas.

I’ve been to Mary’s (119 Grant Ave., Strawn) so many times, I practically have their menu memorized: You can get CFS in a small, medium, or large size. A small will fill you up; a large will feed all of Strawn. Each order comes with your choice of potato, plus a salad, toast, and a side of cream gravy. Mary’s makes my favorite batter, a perfect balance of crunchy texture and peppery flavor, so I appreciate the fact that the gravy comes on the side. While some restaurants, over time, lose their touch, Mary’s keeps going strong.

Finally, I landed at Smokestack (239 Private Road 741, Mingus), the cavernous restaurant next to the old Thurber smokestack. Everyone should pay a visit to Smokestack just to soak up the area’s history — there’s lots of Thurber memorabilia on display. But I wasn’t impressed with the CFS — mine lacked flavor, crunch, and personality. But I’ve had Smokestack’s burgers and buttermilk pie, and for those I’d gladly drive out there anytime.

In the end, Smokestack finished last; New York Hill, third; Mel’s, second; and Mary’s, first. But heed this warning: Mary’s may soldier on, but this isn’t the last we’ve heard from Mel.

5

RULES FOR RATING CHICKEN-FRIED STEAK

To be considered for our best CFS in FW story, there were a handful of requirements

1. Fort Worth only. There may come a time when we branch out into the mid-cities and Arlington in search of the perfect CFS, but there are plenty of good ones right here in FW. We did, however, take a road trip out to West Texas to pit four CFS faves against one another.

2. No brown gravy. Chicken-fried steak and brown gravy go together like ketchup and chocolate pudding. Cream gravy is the ONLY type of gravy that belongs on CFS.

3. The “steak” has to be tender. Some restaurants stick to the old-school way of making CFS — by tenderizing round steak — while others simply use a different, more tender cut of beef. No matter. Said beef needs to be tenderized, fried, and succulent enough for a fork to cut through, not tough or stringy.

4. Crisp to the last bite. When I was a burger judge for the Star-Telegram’s notoriously fastidious burger battles, I would deduct points from burgers whose bottom buns turned to mush. Likewise, for this story, I disqualified any CFS whose batter couldn’t withstand the weight of the gravy. Nothing worse than a CFS that has dissolved into a squishy, incomprehensible mess.

5. Seasoning. When it comes to CFS, some restaurants think seasoning means using black pepper in the gravy, and that’s it. A good CFS has a well-seasoned batter. Don’t make us ask for salt and pepper!

We could go on for pages and pages about our favorite Fort Worth chicken-fried steaks. Ah, there’s only so much time and Tums.

But here’s an abbreviated roundup of some of other fave CFS spots:

97 West Kitchen & Bar: The Hotel Drover’s upscalerustic restaurant uses New York strip for its unique CFS, then pours on a sausage-studded gravy — a nice change of pace from the usual black pepper gravy. 200 Mule Alley Drive, 97westkitchenandbar.com

Dixie House Café, multiple locations: This chain of country-style cafes has all but perfected the art of the old-school CFS, bathing it in creamy white gravy and pairing it with any number of veggies. Also: GET. SOME. PIE. dixiehousecafes.com

Fred’s Texas Café: We haven’t had a chance to check out the new Fred’s yet in west Fort Worth, but if its CFS is anything like the greatness of the original location’s, it’ll be among the area’s best. 7101 Camp Bowie Blvd., fredstexascafe.com

Lady and the Pit: Sometimes this East Lancaster mom-and-pop soul food restaurant has its terrifically thin CFS on its menu; sometimes it doesn’t. Call or check out their FB before you go. 5301 E. Lancaster Ave., facebook.com/ LadyAndThePit

“We Are Exactly Where We’re Meant to Be”

A Keller family of three child “geniuses” are taking their achievements in stride — and looking to the future with hope.

BY TYLER HICKS // PHOTOGRAPHY BY DIANE SYMONS

The Schlitz family; Ian, dad William, Haley, mom Dr. Myiesha Taylor, and Hana

Opal Lee, the “Grandmother of Juneteenth,” is in the dining room eating Panera. Across from her sits the 19-year-old holder of two records: youngest woman and youngest Black person to ever graduate from law school. Next to her is the 16-year-old entrepreneur working on his MBA and a Texas Woman’s University student who is 14 years old.

Before the conversation turns to history, politics, and education, the topic

du jour is the new chicken sandwich by Panera. The consensus is that it’s pretty good.

Such is the surreal scene on a scorching summer afternoon at the Taylor Schlitz residence in Keller, home to three child “geniuses” who, if you ask Haley (the record-holder with a law degree from SMU), would rather be called something else.

“A lot of times people will use the term ‘genius,’ which I’m not really a fan of,” Haley says. “It removes the possible

inspiration of our story, and people might feel like they can’t do what we’ve done. But they can.”

In addition to Ian, the 16-year-old businessman, and Hana, the 14-yearold college student, the family includes dad William Schlitz, a communications and political consultant, and mom Dr. Myiesha Taylor, an ER doctor. The family has been in the news recently because of Haley’s dual records, an achievement that has sparked equal parts awe and curiosity. After all, it’s hard enough to wrap your head around a 19-year-old graduating from SMU law school; now consider the fact that one of her younger siblings is approaching college graduation, and the other already has a degree and his own company.

Yet like their eldest daughter, Dr. Taylor and her husband are quick to dispel the notion that there is a “secret ingredient” to their three children’s success. Indeed, each of the children were homeschooled for some duration of time, but the more you talk to the Schlitz family, the more you see there is something far beyond homeschool at work. Each member of the family has an earnest, curious, and compassionate approach to life that seems to pervade every space they occupy.

As Dr. Taylor puts it, “I want to know all the things. Why wouldn’t you want to know all the things?”

Shortly after the Panera is put away and the family (plus friend and living legend Opal Lee) gathers in the living room for a discussion of how they got here, it becomes apparent that they’re not interested in solely talking about their respective accomplishments. Rather, they brim with passion while discussing how to use their time, talents, and stories to make an impact — whatever that impact looks like for each of them.

“Sometimes people look at me and my siblings and they’re like, ‘What’s the rush? Why are you going so fast?’” Haley says. “That’s like asking a second grader, ‘What’s the rush?’ If they’re doing what works best for them, then they’re in the right place.”

“We are exactly where we’re meant to be,” she adds later. “We’re doing what interests us and helps us excel.”

Hana Schlitz

When great trees fall, rocks on distant hills shudder, lions hunker down in tall grasses, and even elephants lumber after safety — An excerpt from “When Great Trees Fall,” by Maya Angelou

The future Dr. Myiesha Taylor was born in Compton. When it rained and water seeped through the roof of her family home, she and her mother would spread cups across the floor to catch the drips. In class, she was often singled out whenever the topic of race arose — something her children would experience decades later in Texas.

“It felt bad to be the only Black person in class, and every time they talked about MLK or Rosa Parks, they turned to me,” she recalls. “I’m sitting there like, ‘I’m the same age as you! I eat tacos on Tuesday just like you do!’”

Basketball was one of Myiesha’s earliest outlets, a way to block out the noise and channel her passion. As her husband points out, she was terrific. “My wife can be way too modest,” he says, always eager to give his family the praise they deserve. But the future physician wasn’t just talented; she was a hard worker.

After graduating summa cum laude from Xavier University of Louisiana, she enrolled in med school at USC. As reported by The Dallas Morning News, her interest in a medical career ran deeper than a love of medicine.

Her father, Dwight Taylor, worked in a fish market in the Watts area of Los Angeles. In 1992, after the acquittal of the police officers caught on tape beating Rodney King, the region was engulfed in civil unrest. Dwight was shot, and it took 12 hours for him to get help. By then it was too late; Dwight died when Myiesha was just 18.

“That’s one of the reasons I decided to become an ER doctor,” she told the Morning News. “I wanted a field where you can potentially immediately change the outcome of someone’s illness. There’s a golden hour, where if you can get to the hospital, we can sew up the holes and keep your heart working. But if the hole is not repaired in that hour, your body loses

the ability to compensate. I think that if my dad had gone to the hospital within that hour, maybe he could have been saved.”

Dr. Taylor trained at LA County’s King/ Drew Medical Center, a beleaguered, nowclosed facility that, according to Politico, was an essential resource for people in Taylor’s hometown.

“The county-run hospital was also the only source of health care for hundreds of thousands of residents of this povertyriven area of the city,” journalist Victoria Colliver wrote in 2017. “Its emergency department had been the place mothers went to deliver babies, children were brought if they had high fevers, and gunshot victims were sewn up.”

She learned a lot, but like in class, she suffered casual cruelties for the color of her skin. Dr. Taylor was one of only a few women of color working at the hospital. Sometimes people, not realizing she was a resident, would ask her to fetch them a cup of coffee.

Amidst these indignities and the insanity of a resident’s schedule, her husband William was her rock. It was around this time that Taylor gave birth to their first daughter, Haley. As she told the Morning News in 2013, she handed her first daughter off to William and joked, “See you in two and a half years.” Ian’s birth came a few years later, and a few years after that, the couple adopted Hana from Ethiopia. By that time Dr. Taylor had moved on from King/Drew and spent years serving in various high-profile positions in hospitals throughout California. The family was open to a change, so the Taylor Schlitz crew moved to Texas.

And when great souls die, after a period peace blooms, slowly and always irregularly. Spaces fill with a kind of soothing electric vibration.

Dr. Taylor may indeed be as humble and modest as her husband says, but she will admit one thing:

“I’m a little bit of an overachiever.”

For instance, she didn’t just homeschool her children; she wrote a book about it. And before the book, there

was a blog: an exhaustive, picture-filled document of anything any interested party would ever want to know about the homeschool process.

It was a way to hold herself accountable and keep pertinent info organized, she says, while half-joking that it was also her “self-preservation documentation,” a way to prove to any doubters that what she was doing was indeed legit.

“I made it my business to recruit the type of support I needed to pull it off, and I used the blog as a platform to connect with others so my kids could have a transcript that resembled what colleges are used to seeing,” she says. “I even had a site with pictures to document all the educational activity we did: travel, typing, horseback riding, all of it, so if anyone ever tried to come for me, I had it all ready.”

Technically, it started with math. In

Haley Schlitz

fourth grade, Haley told her parents she didn’t like the subject, and her parents were understanding; the teaching-to-thetest concept irked them. When opting out of the STAAR test (an exam designed to ostensibly measure whether a kid is ready for the next grade) proved to be a convoluted process, Dr. Taylor and William decided to homeschool Haley starting in the fifth grade when Haley was 11. According to the recent law school graduate, the decision was transformative.

“I really was able to thrive in this environment where my needs were being catered to, and I was able to focus on where I was weak and invest in where I was strong,” Haley says. Her education, she says, was no longer just about getting the right answer, and that freedom opened up endless opportuni-

ties. She checked all the boxes that are required of homeschool students, and in addition, she had even more time to pursue the topics and subjects that truly interest her.

Further, she learned math wasn’t the enemy.

“I was like, ‘Oh, you don’t like math? I’ll show you, ‘I don’t like math!’” Dr. Taylor says with a laugh. Haley would ultimately become part of the top 25% of math students competing in global contests, and she graduated high school by age 13. Yet while the specter of a hotly debated standardized exam certainly played a big role, the STAAR test wasn’t the sole reason Dr. Taylor and William decided to homeschool Haley.

The Tarrant County school district in which Haley was enrolled didn’t allow her to test for the “Gifted and Talented” program on the basis that she entered the district after kindergarten. Additionally, like her mother, Haley experienced abject racism while at school: one of the places children are, in theory, supposed to be safe.

One day in class at Bear Creek Elementary School, one of Haley’s teachers was trying to immerse their students in the concept of the Civil War. The teacher separated the class into two sections: North and South. Haley was put in the Southern group and cast as a mixed-race slave (William, Haley’s father, is white). In turn, one of the students looked at Haley and said, “You know, if we lived back in that time, I would own you.”

Her siblings have faced ample discrimination, too. Dr. Taylor says neighborhood parents have called their kids back inside upon seeing Hana and Ian playing in front of their home, and she and her husband don’t let the local police department know when they’re leaving town, so as to prevent any patrolling cops from thinking the young Black man inside their house (Ian) is a burglar.

“People are afraid of the hard conversations,” William says. “But no one thinks about the hard conversations Black, brown, LGBT families, and Asian families in Texas and in this country have to have with their kids.”

For instance, William and Dr. Taylor explained to Ian exactly how he should

act if he gets pulled over by the police, and William has installed a comprehensive camera system in Ian’s car.

“If he gets pulled over, I have an entire recording of that interaction sent straight to my phone,” William says, his tone gravely serious.

For his part, Ian started homeschool around second grade, and like his siblings, he has consistently engaged in a vast array of extracurricular activities. In fact, while sitting in his living room on that hot summer afternoon, Ian has to be reminded of the extent of his resume. He mentions water polo, piano, and the upright bass, but Haley and Dr. Taylor remind he also plays drums and fences. Oh, and he has been a freelance animator for five years, and he started his own company, Kidlamity Gaming, which hosts tournaments for young gamers.

“If you’re homeschooled, it’s almost like people think you’re a freak of nature,” Ian says. “Like, ‘OK, you’re smart, but where are your friends.’”

This sentiment bothers Dr. Taylor. First, it’s simply not true: Each of her three kids have been involved in a litany of activities throughout their childhood, and the family takes an active role in their local Jack and Jill of America chapter. Second, she believes the idea that traditional schooling is the only way to make friends and be social is, well, a bit insulting.

“The No. 1 question I used to get is, ‘What about prom?’” Dr. Taylor says. “I was like, ‘Prom?! Are you kidding me? You want to stay in school for 12 years so you can go to a gym and dance with someone you haven’t talked to in three years?’”

It’s important to note that neither of the Taylor Schlitz parents nor their children harbor any judgment for families who opt for the typical K-12 style of education; quite the opposite. They simply believe families should do what makes the most sense for their children, and for them, that was homeschool.

At the same time, William and Dr. Taylor are both disappointed the Keller community has not embraced their children in the way they hoped. For all the press Haley has gotten for her dual records, William notes, the city hasn’t

Ian Schlitz

recognized her beyond the sharing of a Facebook post.

“If we were in Dallas, she would’ve gotten the key to the city,” William says. “Fort Worth would have done it, too. The council there would have done it. I know Mayor Parker: She’s a Republican, and we’re Democrats, but she would’ve done it.”

To anyone meeting the Taylor Schlitz family for the first time, William’s role becomes clear pretty fast. He’s a protector, a cheerleader, and a fierce, fiery advocate for his wife and children. He’ll also be the first to admit that, at one point, he was an obstacle.

“Haley and I were talking recently, and I said to her, ‘You know, I was one of your biggest hurdles,’” he says. “Because I thought, ‘This is what 13 means. 13 means this. It has to go in this box, and if it doesn’t go in this box, something’s wrong.’ Once I got out of the way and stopped trying to put them where I or society thought they needed to be, they had all the success in the world.”

To him, Hana’s admirable ascent through education is a perfect example of why society shouldn’t put kids in boxes of any kind.

“People see that Hana is a rising junior at TWU at age 14, and they can’t make that work in their head, because two and two has to be four.”

Opal Lee herself was amazed by Hana when she met the family at a recent event for Fort Worth Justice of the Peace candidate Rodney Lee.

“I met Hana and asked where she goes to school, and she said, ‘Texas Woman’s University,’” Lee recalls. “And I said, ‘Texas Woman’s University?!’”

The legendary activist has been friends with the family ever since. They share many passions and common causes, including education.

Earlier this year in an interview with D Magazine, Lee said, “We can’t rest on our laurels. There is still work to be done. Our educational system doesn’t tell the truth, and we need the truth told … we have to work together to get rid of the disparities.”

Haley Taylor Schlitz couldn’t agree more. She sees a career in education policy in her future, and she is a staunch

advocate for the CROWN Act, which stands for “Create a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair.” The legislation aims to ban discrimination based on hair textures and styles commonly associated with race. Hana, the family’s resident book lover, is particularly passionate about school districts banning books in the name of protecting children.

“The fact that books are being banned because people don’t agree with them is terrible,” she says. She recently read several books on topics like race, police brutality, and sexual assault, and she says she “can’t imagine” not being able to read something because someone else deemed it inappropriate for her.

On this point, her sister agrees.

“We often completely miscalculate just how much kids can handle and just how deep the conversations can get with them,” Haley says. “We can handle a lot. Trust us.”

Our senses, restored, never to be the same, whisper to us. They existed. They existed. We can be. Be and be better. For they existed.

When Dr. Taylor’s mother passed, Haley turned to a poem for solace. “When Great Trees Fall” by Maya Angelou is a searing reminder of the pain created by loss: a pain many of us know all too well, and nearly all of us will feel at some point. It’s also a poem of hope.

The final lines — “We can be. Be and be better. For they existed.” — remind readers like Haley that we can learn from those who come before and after us, even when they’re gone. Having Opal Lee in her life has reminded Haley, once again, how important these “cross-generational connections” can be.

Or, as Haley puts it: “If every generation tried to do it on their own, you’d be making the wheel all over again.”

When Opal Lee was 12, around the same age Haley would be starting homeschool about 77 years later, a gang of white supremacists vandalized and set fire to her family’s home. According to a BBC story, the police simply watched as the house burned to the ground. It was June 19, 1939, and roughly 77 years later,

around the same time Haley was now actually starting homeschool, Opal Lee would walk from Fort Worth to D.C. as part of her effort to turn Juneteenth into a federal holiday. She wouldn’t officially succeed for another five years, at which point Juneteenth, a day commemorating the emancipation of slaves, would finally get the seal Lee long sought.

“I believe we should be about the business of change,” Lee says. “And I know it can be done, because I’ve changed a few minds of my own.”

“We just need some sharp minds, and that boy right there has one of the sharpest I’ve ever seen,” she adds later, pointing to Ian. “I’m not preaching; I’m just telling you.”

Toward the end of the conversation in the Taylor Schlitz living room, long after a wide-ranging chant on everything from homeschooling and children’s literature has ended, Opal Lee turns to the family’s three children.

“I’ve heard you all talk about the things you care about,” Lee says, “and as I’m listening, I’m believing change can actually happen.” Now she wants to know if the kids believe it, too.

“Do you all believe we can change the world one at a time? Do you believe we have the strength to make others aware of what has happened?”

One by one, the children say yes. It takes listening, they say. It takes caring. And it takes lifting up one another. This might be their greatest, most admirable trait: not the size of their intellect or the enormity of their accomplishments, but their hope.

“When you’re young, it’s really easy to get bogged down by social media,” Haley says. “It’s really easy to feel helpless and fall into that trap where life is just happening to you. And something I’m always keeping in mind is, ‘How can I happen to life? How can I leave the world better than I found it? How can I make a difference? Not only how can I achieve reaching my beacon of light, but how can I blaze a trail not so they can follow it, but they can make their own. So they see how trails are made.’ Because I don’t think you find your path. I think you make it.”

topeachers

You’ve heard it a hundred times: Education is the bedrock of human development. For our kiddos, it’s what can make the difference between success and failure — however you may define it. Education not only gives students the knowledge and life skills necessary to become contributing members of society, but — in addition to solid parenting — it can also serve as the foundation for positive personality traits.

The following 11 educators have elected to devote their lives to the development and progress of others. They’ve taken on the crucial task of teaching not only words in a textbook, but teaching students how to succeed.

Through an online survey, where we asked fellow teachers, school administrators, students, and parents to nominate educators, these 11 teachers stood out as the best in Greater Fort Worth.

BY FWTX STAFF // PHOTOGRAPHY BY CRYSTAL WISE

jill walters

What do you teach? I teach religion and lead chapel services daily at All Saints’ Episcopal School.

What was your favorite subject in school? English

What inspired you to become a teacher? I’ve been blessed with wonderful teachers, those who were teachers by profession and those who were teachers in a variety of professions. I love working with students of all ages because they bring so many questions and gifts at each stage. We have the privilege of walking with students and their families through the journeys of growing up and learning about themselves and the world. That requires that we grow as teachers and human beings, too.

What’s your favorite book? To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

What’s your favorite song? “Amazing Grace”

What’s an inspirational quote you would like to share? “Jesus said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” – Matthew 22:37-40

Something I have to say about the state of education in Fort Worth/Texas is … Fort Worth offers a variety of educational opportunities for children. As each school strives for excellence, it raises the bar for every school in Fort Worth. And when every child receives an excellent education, we are better as a community and a country.

jensine caranto

What do you teach? I teach music for kinder, first, and second grades at Great Hearts Lakeside.

What was your favorite subject in school? In high school, my favorite period was orchestra, but of the academic subjects, I probably enjoyed Spanish the most.

What inspired you to become a teacher? I really dug my heels against the idea of becoming a music teacher because I wanted to be a professional musician. Most musicians do end up teaching in some capacity, but I wasn’t really looking forward to it. However, in grad school, I took a class on human learning and development with a great professor and realized there’s a real art to teaching well — there’s technique and thoughtfulness and intentionality behind planning a good lesson or even just explaining something well to someone.

What’s your favorite book? Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

What’s your favorite song? “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)” by The Proclaimers

What’s an inspirational quote you would like to share? “Do small things with great love.” – Mother Teresa

Something I have to say about the state of education in Fort Worth/Texas is … That exciting things are happening! Great Hearts is expanding in Fort Worth and Texas and in other states, as well. And the classical education it offers families along with a mission to cultivate the hearts and minds of students is truly revolutionary. We’re striving not only to educate the students’ minds but their hearts and souls as well so our community will be filled with intelligent and compassionate young people that can be lights to the world.

michael stephens

What do you teach? I teach science, social studies, and health to fifth graders at Tanglewood Elementary.

What was your favorite subject in school? Science when I was young. I loved stories as a child and was always reading multiple books at any given time, but I always made sure to check out a science book from the nonfiction section whenever I visited my elementary school library. That changed a little when I was in high school; I found out that math, English, Latin, and Spanish were cool, too.

What inspired you to become a teacher? I don’t know what it was about Missoula, Montana, but the school system was full of great teachers. Like Mrs. Jensen, my first-grade teacher, who wrote on my report card, “Michael needs a hug every day.” And Mr. Edmonds, my American history teacher. He was the chief historian for the National Guard and had taken thousands of pictures at historic sites where he had worked. He did not need a textbook. Mr. Edmonds brought American history to life through pictures and artifacts.

What’s your favorite book? The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

What’s your favorite song? “Dare You to Move” by Switchfoot

What’s an inspirational quote you would like to share? “Think about your hero. Do you think of this person as someone with extraordinary abilities who achieved with little effort? Now go find out the truth. Find out the tremendous effort that went into their accomplishment — and admire them.”– Carol S. Dweck, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success

Something I have to say about the state of education in Fort Worth/Texas is … I feel fortunate because I can say that I sincerely love my job. I often tell my students that I wake up and jump out of bed because I get to go to Tanglewood Elementary and work with them. I am proud to be an educator in Fort Worth.

What do you teach? I teach second grade at Trinity Valley School. I am also the varsity boys volleyball assistant coach and junior varsity baseball coach.

What was your favorite subject in school? My favorite subject in school is math, which is ironic given that it was my worst subject growing up. When I became an elementary teacher, I wanted to make sure that no student ever felt how I did about math.

What inspired you to become a teacher? I was blessed enough to have some truly incredible educators impact my life from an elementary teacher in Mrs. W who taught me the power of the words, “I can do it,” to my high school principal who made it a point to not only know who you were, but also that you were loved. I knew that I wanted to do something that made a difference in people’s lives, was exciting every day, and did not involve an office cubicle.

What’s your favorite book?

My favorite book that I read with my students every year is the Mother Bruce series by Ryan T. Higgins.

What’s your favorite song?

“Hotel California” by The Eagles

Something I have to say about the state of education in Fort Worth/Texas is … We need to continue to nurture and teach the whole child. We have to teach them not only our academic subjects but how to be good people. They are always looking at adults in their lives for examples. We have to show them how to listen to others who have differing opinions than ours. We have to teach them to find their voice and how to use it for positive change. Our students can grow up to change the world, and it is our job to empower them to take on this task.

alex

What do you teach? I teach third grade at Fort Worth Country Day.

What was your favorite subject in school? It’s a toss-up between reading and history. I loved all the books my teachers read to me or had us read. I’ll never forget listening to A Wrinkle in Time.

I couldn’t wait until our teacher would read to us again. Reading exposed me to new people, places, and ideas. This is, I guess, why I love history, too. Learning about different cultures, struggles and triumphs, and understanding how our past has influenced how we live today made me excited to learn more.

What inspired you to become a teacher? I think I was born to be a teacher. My earliest memories are of me playing school with my sister and friends. In college, I was initially going to set the business world on fire. But, after my first economics class, I realized this was not my passion. The second I switched to education, I knew I had found my place.

What’s your favorite book? The Junkyard Wonders by Patricia Polacco

What’s your favorite song? “Beautiful Day” by U2

What’s an inspirational quote you would like to share? “Love challenges, be intrigued by mistakes, enjoy effort, and keep on learning.” – Carol Dweck

Something I have to say about the state of education in Fort Worth/Texas is … Nothing about our world has been easy in the last two years. We all had to adjust and reevaluate everything. We have been presented with challenges we never saw coming.

So, I focus on the kids and on what they need. I give them love, understanding, expectations, and a little fun. Our challenges are an opportunity to grow and do better for our students.

heather

guadalupe perez

What do you teach? I teach third grade bilingual math and science at A.V. Cato Elementary for Castleberry ISD.

What was your favorite subject in school? Definitely math. I loved math since I was little.

What inspired you to become a teacher? My mother inspired me to become a teacher. She dreamed of becoming a teacher when she was little but did not have the opportunity to even attend high school. Her love for education and her love for her children all inspired me when I returned to college after having my first born and being a single mother. As he approached going to school, I felt a need to set that example of finishing college, but I had originally started college wanting to be an immigration attorney. I wanted to be like my mother — a supportive amazing mother who dedicated all her time to her children and who loved schools to be close to

us. I decide to go back to school and change my major to education.

What’s your favorite book? Love You Forever by Robert Munsch

What’s your favorite song? A close tie between Lee Ann Womack’s “I Hope You Dance” and Eli Young’s “Crazy Girl”

What’s an inspirational quote you would like to share? “The greatest gift you can give any child is your love and the ability to believe in themselves.”

Something I have to say about the state of education in Fort Worth/Texas is … There are so many more opportunities for students that come from all backgrounds to be successful today than there has ever been. Students have the power to choose what career paths they want to explore at an early age with so many different schools of choice available. This is the best time to be a student.

What do you teach?

I teach Texas and U.S. history at iUniversity Prep, a Grapevine-Colleyville virtual academy.

What was your favorite subject in school? My favorite subject was history, and I owe my passion for the subject to my father. He taught me from an early age to love historic figures and events, and it was his storytelling that inspired me.

What inspired you to become a teacher?

Out of college, I took a job in advertising, but the long days of cubicle life did not appeal to me. So, when I really started to think about what was important to me and where I wanted to spend my future, I could only think of one thing, becoming a historian. Teaching seemed like the natural place to do that. Teaching history is the best thing that has ever happened in my professional life.

What’s your favorite book? The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

What’s your favorite song? “Dixie Flyer” by Randy Newman

What’s an inspirational quote you would like to share? “It could be so wonderful.” – Leslie Benedict referring to Texas in Edna Ferber’s Giant

chad

Something I have to say about the state of education in Fort Worth/Texas is … The teachers I have met in my career have been highly motivated to teach their students to the best of their ability. They deeply care about the education and welfare of the young men and women we have the honor of molding into the next generation.

What do you teach? I teach sixth grade science at Southwest Christian School.

What’s your alma mater? I have a B.S. in zoology from the University of Oklahoma.

What was your favorite subject in school? English

What inspired you to become a teacher? My high school English teacher, Sherry Vilela.

What’s your favorite book? The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas

What’s your favorite song? “Deep As It Is Wide” by Amy Grant

What’s an inspirational quote you would like to share? “You are never too important to be nice to people.”

Something I have to say about the state of education in Fort Worth/ Texas is … The majority of students will have a desire to learn if they feel safe, cared for, and listened to.

shelly

brittney ynfante

What do you teach? I am the head of the science department at Cassata Catholic High School (CCHS), teaching core disciplines anatomy and physiology, environmental science, physics; electives in art and personal financial literacy, whereby advising the student council.

What was your favorite subject in school? Anatomy and physiology and biology lab integration always fascinated me. However, being a part of Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA) in high school was not only beneficial for my own personal satisfaction but to carry on the strength of social equality and student learning for years to come.

What inspired you to become a teacher? To be honest, my intention was to seek a medical career throughout my life, but after some life changes after undergrad and moving back home to Texas, I came across CCHS and a lab opportunity and decided to utilize my intrapersonal skills. Immediately I fell in love with the students, small class sizes, and unconventional teaching methods.

What’s your favorite book? The Happiness Hypothesis by Jonathan Haidt

What’s your favorite song? “The Scientist” by Coldplay

What’s an inspirational quote you would like to share? “It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light.” – Aristotle. Something I have to say about the state of education in Fort Worth/Texas is … In the past, education policymakers thought that quantitative measures like test scores could be used to hold schools accountable for achieving complex educational outcomes. However, what many of them failed to recognize is that relationships between a student and teacher often have the most positive outcome. The students feel safer and more secure, gain confidence, develop more positive connections with peers, and achieve greater academic results.

What do you teach? I teach algebra I and geometry at South Hills High School. What was your favorite subject in school? My favorite subjects in school are math and American literature.

What inspired you to become a teacher? Teaching has always been my passion since I was a little girl. The inspiration comes from my dad and my seventh grade English teacher.

What’s your favorite book? I don’t have a favorite book, but I do have a favorite poem: “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost.

What’s your favorite song? My favorite song is “Hello” by Lionel Ritchie

What’s an inspirational quote you would like to share? “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” – Maya Angelou

Something I have to say about the state of education in Fort Worth/ Texas is … In Fort Worth, our mission is “Preparing all students for success in college, career, and community leadership.” Our vision is “Fort Worth ISD: Igniting in every child a passion for learning.” I do know that we’re always striving to provide our students with the best education they need to succeed in life.

You May Dance Like Nobody’s Watching, But You’d Better Post, Tweet, Message, Text and Email Like It Will Be Read in A [Divorce] Courtroom by Heather King

With the advent and extreme popularity of computerized social networking, the exponential growth of wordless electronic communications is a fact that most active family law attorneys will have to contend with in their practice. In recent years, emoticons, emojis, GIFs, JPEGs, memes and the like have gained evidentiary prominence in family court.

We already knew that the words we text, email, message or otherwise electronically communicate to another person may be admissible in a court of law, just like a handwritten letter. What the law is now beginning to realize and acknowledge is that the emojis, GIFS, JPEGS or memes that accompany those words (or that stand alone without any words) may also be admissible. With such admissibility comes scrutiny of the intent behind the wordless communication. Was it included for the intentional purpose of alarming, annoying or conveying a threat to the recipient of the communication? Or was it just a cartoon image innocently added for entertainment? Did the image materially alter the meaning of the message? It may seem innocent or harmless, such as a simple smile, wink or sad face used as a regular form of communicating happiness, humor or sadness. However, taken in the context or community in which it is used, the meaning may be interpreted differently in the eyes of the sender and/ or recipient, and this interpretation may come into play in the courtroom. Courts all over the United States and throughout the world are addressing these issues.

For example, a Michigan Court of Appeals, analyzing the facts and circumstances surrounding the use of the “sticking out tongue” emoticon in a communication in a defamation case, found the communication be sarcastic, and therefore the text connected to it not to be taken seriously as asserting facts. On the other hand, a defendant in Pennsylvania was convicted of stalking and harassment by words inferring threats along with the common “smiley face” emoji. In Texas, a defendant was convicted of manslaughter after sending the message “Well I’m on my way” followed by a “sad face” emoji.

Determining the intent behind sending such wordless communications, as well as the feelings of the recipient of the message, has become a prominent issue in communications within divorce and other family law related disputes. For example, did the recipient feel harassed and did the sender intend to cause such feeling of harassment? In an Ohio case, a defendant was convicted of violation of a protective order for, among other things, sending an emoji of a waiving hand to the victim. Context becomes an essential determination. Did your responsive thumbs up or handshake emoticon create a contract? By hitting the “like” button, did you make a legal admission of your approval of the item or words that you liked? Would a “kissing lips” emoji be seen as sexual harassment or consent? Would a “winky face” emoji be seen as consent or show that the recipient thought it was a joke? Hundreds of cases have been recorded throughout the legal world that address issues of this nature. When it comes to emojis, GIFS, JPEGS or memes, things aren’t always as they appear. Along with the complexities of interpreting the meaning and intent of emojis, GIFs, JPEGs and memes in Court is the issue of competing platforms (Apple, Google, Samsung, etc.). Each company designs their own platform, sometimes resulting in inconsistencies and miscommunications. The sender may select one emoji to send utilizing the sender’s platform, yet the receiver may receive a different looking emoji because receiver is using a different platform. The difference in appearance may result in a different interpretation by the receiver than was intended by the sender. For example, an emoji posted on Twitter or Facebook by an Iphone may appear as an emoji with a different appearance when viewed on an Android phone, such as a smiley face sent by one platform being received as a scowl by a recipient with a different platform.

In a nutshell, the lesson to be learned is that any person involved in family law communication (or any type of communication for that matter) needs to realize the potential ramification of including emojis, GIFS, JPEGS or memes as a part of their communication, or as a stand-alone communication. As the title of this article states, you may dance like nobody’s watching, but you’d better post, tweet, comment, text and email like it will be read in a [divorce] courtroom.

1 Ghanam v. Does, 303 Mich.App.522, 845 N.W.2d 128 (2014).

2 Commonwealth v. Danzey, 2019 WL 2049902 (PA. 2019).

3 Kryzac v. State, 2019 WL 4027074 (Tex. App. 2019).

4 State v. Urich, 2019 WL 3544019 (2019).

Drew Williamson, Dana Manry*, Heather King*, Rob McEwan*, Jessica Janicek*, Paul Leopold, and Courtney Walker. *Board-Certified in Family Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.

The 2022 School Guide Is Online

Now Fort Worth Magazine’s School Guide is on our website fwtx.com.

You will find a comprehensive list of private schools, colleges, and graduate programs in the area. From fine arts academies and faithbased schools to Montessori academies and schools focused on accelerated learning for the gifted and talented, the 2022 School Guide gives parents a glimpse at each school, including studentto-teacher ratio, cost of tuition, and enrollment.

We hope you will find this quick reference to the area’s schools and colleges helpful as you explore the possibilities of your child’s education.

2022 School Guide

» Each year, thousands of parents and students begin their hunt for the perfect school. Filling out application after application, setting up interviews, and making multiple visits to schools can be a daunting task. Where will my child excel academically, grow personally, and truly enjoy learning?

Whether you’re seeking a school for a specific teaching methodology or prefer that your child learn in a religious environment at a school that shares your family’s vision, the search can seem overwhelming. Things can get especially tricky if you are enrolling more than one child into private school or college — one size doesn’t fit all, and it’s difficult to find just the right match. Extensive research is often required, and critical questions will arise regarding tuition costs, test assessments, personal interviews, and the application process, among others. When it comes down to it, choosing a school for your child is no easy task, to say the least.

On the following pages, you will find a comprehensive list of private schools, colleges, and graduate programs in the area. From fine arts academies and faith-based schools to Montessori academies and schools focused on accelerated learning for the gifted and talented, the 2022 School Guide gives parents a glimpse at each school, including student-toteacher ratio, cost of tuition, and enrollment.

We hope you will find this quick reference to the area’s schools and colleges helpful as you explore the possibilities of your child’s education.

2022 School Guide | private

All Saints Catholic School, Fort Worth, 817.624.2670, ascsfw.org

All Saints’ Episcopal School, Fort Worth, 817.560.5700, aseschool.org

Anderson Private School for the Gifted, Talented and Creative, Fort Worth, 817.448.8484, andersonschool.net

Bethesda Christian School, Fort Worth, 817.581.5131, bcsfw.org

Burleson Adventist School, Burleson, 817.295.6812, burlesonadventistschool.net

Calvary Christian Academy, Fort Worth, 817.332.3351, calvaryacademy.com

Cassata Catholic High School, Fort Worth, 817.926.1745, cassatahs.org

Children's University, Arlington, 817.784.6655, childrensuniversity.com

Chisholm Trail Academy, Keene, 817.558.4404, ctanet.org

Covenant Christian Academy, Colleyville, 817.281.4333, covenantchristian.net

Covenant Classical School, Fort Worth, 817.820.0884, covenantfw.org

Creme de la Creme, Colleyville, 817.416.3683, cremedelacreme.com

Cristo Rey Fort Worth, Fort Worth, 817.720.3023, cristoreyfw.org

Crown of Life Lutheran School, Colleyville, 817.251.1881, colschool.org

Ekklesia Christian School, Fort Worth, 817.332.1202, ekklesiachristianschool.org

Fellowship Academy, Kennedale, 817.483.2400, fellowship-academy.org

Flint Academy, Arlington, 817.277.0620, flintacademy.com

Fort Worth Academy, Fort Worth, 817.370.1191, fwacademy.org

Fort Worth Adventist Junior Academy, Fort Worth, 817.370.7177, fwaja.net

Fort Worth Christian School, North Richland Hills, 817.520.6200, fwc.org

Fort Worth Country Day School, Fort Worth, 817.732.7718, fwcd.org

Fort Worth Montessori School, Fort Worth, 817.294.9850, fortworthmontessori.com

Success Starts at Hill School

K-12 EDUCATION FOR STUDENTS WHO LEARN DIFFERENTLY.

You want your child to succeed, and we’re here to help. At Hill School, we foster a learning environment that helps every student grow socially, emotionally and physically so they have the skills to reach their full potential.

What makes us different?

Athletics opportunities, including basketball, volleyball, golf, and cheerleading Music, visual and performing arts programs 1:1 technology utilizing Microsoft Learning Tools

2022 School Guide | private

Fusion Academy Southlake, Southlake, 817.416.0306, fusionsouthlake.com

Grace Preparatory Academy, Arlington, 817.557.3399, graceprep.org

Grapevine Faith Christian School, Grapevine, 817.422.1605, grapevinefaith.com

Harvest Christian Academy, Fort Worth, 817.485.1660, hcasaints.org

Hill School of Fort Worth, Fort Worth, 817.923.9482, hillschool.org

Holy Cross Christian Academy, Burleson, 817.295.7232, hccaburleson.com

Holy Family Catholic School, Fort Worth, 817.737.4201, hfcsfw.org

Holy Trinity Catholic School, Grapevine, 817.421.8000, holytcs.org

Immaculate Conception Catholic School, Denton, 940.381.1155, catholicschooldenton.org

Joshua Christian Academy, Joshua, 817.295.7377, joshuachristianacademy.org

Key School, Fort Worth, 817.446.3738, kcld.org

Lake Country Christian School, Fort Worth, 817.236.8703, lccs.org

Liberty Christian School, Argyle, 940.294.2000, libertychristian.com

Lighthouse Christian Academy, Fort Worth, 817.237.7641, lcafw.org

Messiah Lutheran Classical Academy, Keller, 817.431.5486, mlcatexas.org

Montessori School of Fort Worth, Fort Worth, 817.732.0252, msftw.org

Mosaic Academy, Fort Worth, 817.204.0300, mosaicacademy.org

Nazarene Christian Academy, Crowley, 817.297.7003, fwf.org

Nolan Catholic High School, Fort Worth, 817.457.2920, nolancatholichs.org

North Park Christian Academy, North Richland Hills, 817.498.8456, northparknow.com

Pantego Christian Academy, Arlington, Mansfield, 817.460.3315, pantego.com

Park Row Christian Academy, Arlington, 817.277.1021, parkrowchristian.net

2022 School Guide | private

Primrose School of Bedford, Bedford, 817.545.5485, primrosebedford.com

Primrose School of Columbus Trail, Fort Worth, 817.423.4000, primrosecolumbustrail.com

Primrose School at Eagle Ranch, Fort Worth, 817.236.6760, primroseeagleranch.com

Primrose School of Grand Peninsula, Grand Prairie, 817.477.0077, primrosegrandpeninsula.com

Primrose School of Hall Johnson, Grapevine, 817.416.0404, primrosehalljohnson.com

Primrose School at Heritage, Keller, 817.741.5044, primroseheritage.com

Primrose School at Hidden Lakes, Southlake, 817.337.4666, primrosehiddenlakes.com

Primrose School of Keller, Keller, 817.337.0717, primrosekeller.com

Primrose School of Mid-Cities, Hurst, 817.485.8993, primrosemidcities.com

Primrose School of NE Green Oaks, Arlington, 817.543.2626, primrosenegreenoaks.com

Primrose School of Parkwood Hill, Fort Worth, 817.281.5322, primroseparkwoodhill.com

Primrose School of Southlake, Southlake, 817.421.8087, primrosesouthlake.com

Primrose School of Walnut Creek, Mansfield, 817.477.0880, primrosewalnutcreek.com

St. Andrew Catholic School, Fort Worth, 817.924.8917, standrewsch.org

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic School, Keller, 817.431.4845, seascs.net

St. George Catholic School, Fort Worth, 817.222.1221, stgeorgecatholicschool.org

St. John the Apostle Catholic School, North Richland Hills, 817.284.2228, stjs.org

St. Joseph Catholic School, Arlington, 817.419.6800, stjosephtx.org

St. Maria Goretti Catholic School, Arlington, 817.275.5081, smgschool.org

St. Paul Lutheran School, Fort Worth, 817.353.2929, stpauleagles.org

St. Paul's Preparatory Academy, Arlington, 817.561.3500, stpaulsprep.com

St. Peter's Classical School, Fort Worth, 817.229.4675, stpetersclassical.org

THE SCHOOL THAT WORKS!

2022 School Guide | private

St. Peter the Apostle Catholic School, Fort Worth, 817.246.2032, spsfw.org

St. Rita Catholic School, Fort Worth, 817.451.9383, saintritaschool.net

Southwest Christian School, Fort Worth, Elementary: 817.294.0350; Preparatory: 817.294.9596, southwestchristian.org

Temple Christian School, Fort Worth, 817.457.0770, tcseagles.org

The Clariden School, Southlake, 682.237.0400, claridenschool.org

The Montessori Academy of Arlington, Arlington, 817.274.1548, tmaonline.org

The Oakridge School, Arlington, 817.451.4994, theoakridgeschool.org

Trinity Baptist Temple Academy, Fort Worth, 817.237.4255, tbta.tbtchurch.org

Trinity Christian Academy, Willow Park, 817.441.5897, tcaeagles.org

Trinity Valley School, Fort Worth, 817.321.0100, tvs.org

Waypoint Montessori, Colleyville, 817.354.6670, waypointmontessori.org

–

– $16,200

2022 School Guide | college & university

Abilene Christian University, Abilene, 800.460.6228, acu.edu

Amberton University, Garland, 972.279.6511, amberton.edu

Angelo State University, San Angelo, 800.946.8627, angelo.edu

Arlington Baptist University, Arlington, 817.461.8741, abu.edu

Austin College, Sherman, 903.813.3000, austincollege.edu

Baptist University of the Américas, San Antonio, 210.924.4338, bua.edu

Baylor University, Waco, 800.BAYLORU, baylor.edu

Concordia University, Austin, 512.313.3000, concordia.edu

University, Irving, 972.929.6777, devry.edu

Hardin-Simmons University, Abilene, 325.670.1000, hsutx.edu

Baptist University, Houston, 281.649.3211, hbu.edu

Howard Payne University, Brownwood, 800.880.4HPU,

Lubbock Christian University, Lubbock, 806.796.8800, lcu.edu

McMurry University, Abilene, 325.793.3800, mcm.edu

Midwestern State University, Wichita Falls, 800.842.1922, mwsu.edu

Our Lady of the Lake University, San Antonio, 210.434.6711, ollusa.edu

University, Houston, 713.348.7423, rice.edu

St. Edward’s University, Austin, 512.448.8400, stedwards.edu

2022 School Guide | college & university

St. Mary’s University, San Antonio, 210.436.3126, stmarytx.edu

Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, 936.294.1111, shsu.edu

Schreiner University, Kerrville, 800.343.4919, schreiner.edu

Southern Methodist University, Dallas, 214.768.2000, smu.edu

Southwestern Adventist University, Keene, 800.433.2240, swau.edu

Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Fort Worth, 817.923.1921, x 2700, admissions. swbts.edu

Southwestern University, Georgetown, 800.252.3166, southwestern.edu

Stephen F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches, 936.468.2504, sfasu.edu

Sul Ross State University, Alpine, 1.888.722. SRSU, sulross.edu

Tarleton State University, Stephenville, 254.968.9000, tarleton.edu

Tarrant County College, Fort Worth, 817.515.8223, tccd.edu

Texas A&M University, College Station, 979.845.3211, tamu.edu

Texas A&M University-Commerce, Commerce, 1.888.868.2682, tamuc.edu

Texas Baptist College, Fort Worth, 817.923.1921, texasbaptistcollege.com

Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, 817.257.7000, tcu.edu

Texas Lutheran University, Seguin, 830.372.8000, tlu.edu

Texas Southern University, Houston, 713.313.7011, tsu.edu

Texas State University, San Marcos, 512.245.2111, txstate.edu

Texas Tech University, Lubbock, 806.742.2011, admissions.ttu.edu

Texas Wesleyan University, Fort Worth, 817.531.4444, txwes.edu

Texas Woman’s University, Denton, 940.898.2000, twu.edu

University of Dallas, Irving, 972.721.5000, udallas.edu

2022 School Guide | college & university

University of Houston, Houston, 713.743.1000, uh.edu

University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, Belton, 800.727.8642, umhb.edu

University of North Texas, Denton, 940.565.2108, unt.edu

University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, 817.272.2011, uta.edu

University of Texas at Austin, Austin, 512.471.3434, utexas.edu

University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, 972.883.2111, utdallas.edu

University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, 915.747.5000, utep.edu

University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, 210.458.4011, utsa.edu

University of the Incarnate Word, San Antonio, 210.829.6005, uiw.edu

Weatherford College, Weatherford, 817.594.5471, wc.edu

Wayland Baptist University, Plainview, 806.291.1000, wbu.edu

$60

2022 School Guide | graduate program

Houston Baptist University, Houston, 281.649.3269, hbu.edu/GRAD

State University, Wichita Falls, 800.842.1922,

Prairie View A&M University, Prairie View, 936.261.3311, pvamu.edu/graduatestudies

AT UT ARLINGTON A New Era

“I

believe that UT Arlington can be one of the nation’s most inclusive and impactful research universities. We owe it to ourselves and to the state of Texas.”

Earlier this year, The University of Texas at Arlington made history when it welcomed Jennifer Cowley, Ph.D., as its new president, the first woman and 10th overall to lead the institution.

An accomplished leader with a background in urban planning, Dr. Cowley has dedicated her career to public service. Before joining UT Arlington, she served as provost and vice president for academic affairs at the University of North Texas and spent 16 years at The Ohio State University.

An Arlington native, Cowley now returns to her hometown to begin writing the University’s next chapter.

“Our state needs us to dream big,” she says. “With our commitment to making college education affordable, we have the passion and the programs to provide access to a college education for ordinary Texans and help them lead extraordinary lives.”

2022 School Guide | graduate program

Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law, Dallas, 214.768.2550, law.smu.ed

South Texas College of Law, Houston, 713.659.8040, stcl.edu

Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Fort Worth, 1.877.GO.SWBTS, swbts.edu

Stephen F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches, 936.468.2807, sfasu.edu

Sul Ross State University, Alpine, 1.888.722.SRSU, sulross.edu

Tarleton State University, Stephenville, 254.968.9104, tarleton.edu/graduate

Texas A&M University, College Station, 979.845.3211, tamu.edu

Texas A&M University - Commerce, Commerce, 903.886.5163, tamuc.edu

Texas A&M School of Law, Fort Worth, 817.212.4144, law.tamu.edu

Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, 817.257.7515, graduate.tcu.edu

Texas Southern University Thurgood Marshall School of Law, Houston, 713.313.4455, tsulaw.edu

Texas State University, San Marcos, 512.245.2111, gradcollege.txstate.edu

Texas Tech University, Lubbock, 806.742.2787, depts.ttu.edu/gradschool

Texas Tech University School of Law, Lubbock, 806.742.3791, law.ttu.edu

Be a Pioneer in Science

At TWU, our students are leaders in discovery—from data science to health science, biochemistry to biotechnology, and everything in between. With a degree from TWU, you'll be ready to make a difference in your community.

2022 School Guide | graduate program

University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, Belton, 800.727.8642, umhb.edu

University of North Texas, Denton, 940.565.2383, unt.edu

Health Science Center at Fort Worth, Fort Worth, 817.735.2000, unthsc.edu

University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, 817.272.2688, uta.edu/gradschool

a tour today!

• Focus is on quality of life and comfort

• Symptom management experts

• Patient and family-centered care approach

• A comprehensive clinical team dedicated to meeting the goals of the patient and family

• In-home visits at a time that is convenient for you

• Coordination with your primary care physician

injury caused by repeated head injuries. His mother sued Riddell, the football helmet company, to no avail, but arguments such as hers have prompted many trainers, doctors, and coaches across the nation to take a much closer look at concussions and their long-term effects.

ETackling Football

very athlete wants to keep playing. For those who love their sport, nothing short of a broken bone sticking through the skin is going to keep them off the field or court.

There is a famous — and true — story about former San Francisco 49ers Hall of Fame defensive back Ronnie Lott. Faced with missing a wild-card playoff game a week after breaking his pinkie in the final game of the regular season, Lott had doctors cut it off — a decision he later regretted.

Lott told Sports Illustrated: “We’re becoming gladiators. If I ever become a coach, I hope I never lose sight of the fact that players are people. They feel. They have emotions. I could have all of Eddie DeBartolo’s (then 49ers owner) corporations, and it isn’t going to buy me a new finger. It

BY RICK MAUCH

Myers, by the way, only played football from sixth grade through high school. That’s a relatively short time for many players in Texas and certainly much less than athletes who go on to take poundings throughout college and even into professional careers.

A look at concussions, their impact on the state’s favorite sport, and what local schools are doing to protect their student athletes.

has given me a new perspective on life.”

Lott lost a finger, but there is a much bigger danger in the world of contact sports that also thrives on athletes’ determination to continue playing no matter the circumstances. Concussions are a silent injury that, over time, cannot only end a career but also a life.

Locally, a notable case is that of the late DuQuan Myers, who, in 2017 at only 26 years old, took his own life just two months shy of graduating from Texas State University with a degree in criminal justice — which would have been his third college degree. He also spoke several languages and, in general, was known to be a very intelligent young man.

But researchers at Boston University determined he had chronic traumatic encephalopathy, also known as CTE, an

“SMU takes concussions very seriously and encourages our student-athletes to take them seriously as well,” said Brad Sutton, senior associate athletic director/ external affairs.

Sutton said the athletics department provides concussion education training twice for incoming freshman studentathletes during their first year. This training includes:

1. Review what a concussion is and how they occur

2. Common symptoms of concussions

3. Importance of early reporting

4. Understanding their role in concussion management — self-report and be a good teammate and report concern

5. Review baseline testing

6. Review management plan (initial injury, recovery, RTP, and academics)

7. Opportunity to ask questions

He added that the topic of concussions is also covered with each team at the start of every season, so all athletes get fresh education on the topic annually.

Likewise, TCU Associate Athletics Director for Communications Mark Cohen said annual concussion education training is held with student-athletes and all staff who work directly with them.

Small College Taking Giant Steps

But it’s not only large universities that are tackling the subject of concussions and long-term effects with studentathletes. Texas Wesleyan University has emerged among the leaders in educating participants in sports to recognize and self-report when they believe they have a concussion.

Every year prior to the beginning of the season, head athletic trainer Ritchy Hitoto gives a 45-minute review of the signs and symptoms of concussion. Athletes are taught how to recognize their own symptoms (what are they experiencing) and how to recognize signs of concussion in one another. The coaching staff also participates in this activity as a refresher.

Faculty are, likewise, trained to know how to look for a possible concussion in student-athletes even as they sit in class.

“As the concussion return-to-learn case manager, I provide an annual review to our faculty, informing them on the signs to look for in class or in academic performance so that they can report suspected concussion,” said Pamela Rast, professor/ chair of kinesiology at Texas Wesleyan.

“As we gradually return concussed student-athletes back to class, the brain is stressed, and symptoms can return. We need to know these things so that we do not return an athlete to play before their brain is healed. I believe our process works to protect our athletes because we have smaller classes and faculty can actually get to know their students.”

Return-to-learn protocol references the effects of a concussion on a student’s cognitive ability, which may require educators to provide classroom and school accommodations for a student until he/ she is fully recovered.

And while CTE isn’t detectable until after a person’s death, Rast said any and all education student-athletes can receive about the dangers of concussions is important — now and in the future.

“The training and discussions don’t really revolve around CTE, although it might be mentioned. The key is to get our athletes treated as soon as possible,” she said. “So, we focus on those things that the athlete can see as more immediate issues. But by doing that, we may be helping to reduce that repetitive trauma associated with CTE.”

Texas Wesleyan Rams head football coach Joe Prud’homme is a huge advocate of concussion education.

“The whole goal is so the athlete can recognize symptoms, signs, when to selfreport, and that way we can encourage them to report if they feel like something’s wrong,” Prud’homme said.

“We have a lot of kids that we’ve gotten at an earlier stage. Sometimes kids think it was just a headache, or they just shake it off and you have a second impact syndrome. But we’ve had a lot of guys who have been able to self-report, and it’s really helped fend off potentially worse situations.”

Prud’homme also noted that, unlike other injuries, such as ankles, knees, or joints, which are all noticeable, concussions often show no immediate signs. Often, only the athlete themselves know there is a problem, and that might not be until practice or the game is over.

“That’s why it’s so important for athletes to self-report and have an awareness of it — and going forward, protect themselves long term,” Prud’homme said.

Don’t Blame It All on Football

So much of the blame for concussions is automatically directed at football. And while that sport certainly has its share, statistics show that it is not the top sport in which concussions are seen.

A study recently published in the American Journal of Sports Medicine analyzed the NCAA Injury Surveillance Program data from Fall 2014 to Spring 2019 and over 8.4 million athlete exposures for sportsrelated concussion counts and rates. What they found was that men’s ice hockey and women’s soccer actually had higher rates of concussion than football.

Other sports noted in the top 10 (listed from most to least) were women’s ice hockey, women’s gymnastics, men’s wrestling, women’s field hockey, women’s basketball, women’s volleyball, and men’s soccer.

Whatever the sport, Rast said there are several reputable internet resources for information on concussion and other sports-related conditions to help athletes while they are in school and beyond. They include the CDC HEADS UP Resource Center, which has some strong resources for school and club coaches, and the Korey Stringer Institute has a lot of important information about heat illness and concussions.

Stringer was a former Minnesota Vikings defensive lineman who died from heat stroke.

This information is for more than the

athletes themselves, Rast stressed.

“It is important to educate not just the athlete and the coach but also parents (of minors) and teachers,” she said.

A Doctor’s Take

Recent studies have shown that many people who are concussed do not go on to develop CTE, but evidence suggests a pattern of repeated minor head injuries increases the risk.

Renowned neurologist Dr. George Cravens of the Center for Neurological Disorders noted that “Concussion rates for kids under 19 —especially those who play football — it’s doubled in recent years. But football is a major part of our heritage.”

That said, several former NFL athletes such as Emmitt Smith and Brett Favre have come out in favor of more consistency of the league’s enforcement of concussion protocol. Favre has even said that, while he’s not certain he has CTE (again, no way to know until after death), he is experiencing memory loss that he’s sure is connected to his playing days.

Cravens said it is important for young athletes to be aware of what could be awaiting them years down the road. He said ultimately it is up to them to learn all they can.

“I think athletes should take interest in his or her own health care and to be aware of the possible long-term consequences. Make the athlete aware of what can happen, and they can take ownership,” he said.

Cravens strongly suggested learning the laws in your state concerning concussions.

“I think it’s important for parents, coaches, kids, everyone connected to be aware of the laws. They differ from state to state,” he said.

Texas has “Natasha’s Law.” It requires school districts to create concussion oversight teams that must include at least one physician and to establish return-to-play protocols that involve evaluation of the athlete by a physician.

The law was named after former Allen High School and Texas State University soccer player Natasha Helmick, who suffered so many concussions she had to give up the sport and her dream of playing in the Olympics.

Cravens also stressed that, in addition to looking out for concussions during the season, he would like to see impact testing to get a baseline on where an athlete is at the beginning of a season and again at the end. If things change, take note and do something, even if it means not playing.

After all, it is possible for an athlete to not experience a concussion but still suffer from repetitive impact.

“If you don’t let it recover, it’s only going to get worse,” he said. “I love football. I played football, and honestly, I remember some times when I probably had a concussion.

“Of course, you do start getting into that privacy thing, but I’d want to know if I were an athlete. You test at the beginning of the season and if, at the end, you’re worse, you’ve got to do something.”

Some folks have gone as far as suggesting all football becomes no-contact, such as in flag football. And while that is something Cravens sees as a possibility, though far from a probability, there’s also bumping, falling, and collisions in that sport like others.

So, when you break it all down, he said it’s really not that complicated. Try to prevent concussions, of course, but if you do suffer one, treat it as you would any injury and give yourself proper time to heal. He said that’s at least a week to 10 days, longer for younger players.

Just like trying to make a sharp turn on a knee or twisting a back that hasn’t healed properly risks further and even permanent damage, it’s the same with the brain. Many athletes hobble later in life because they pushed their knees too far, or they can’t bend over because of a permanent back injury.

You definitely do not want to permanently damage the brain, Cravens said.

“If you bruise the brain and do it again, the bruise gets bigger, bleeds, and then you’ve got something really bad going on,” he said. “Today’s players are faster, heavier, they hit harder. Maybe you can reduce contact in practice, but you’re still gonna have the game.

“If you don’t take the proper precautions, it will come back and haunt you.”

FOCUS

Sports Health Professionals

Participating in sports and exercise is a great way to stay fit, build endurance, and grow community. When it comes to a physical injury – who wants to sit out on the bench? Whether you go to the gym, participate in sports, or just need preventative health care, it’s critical that you have a team of professionals in your corner. The individuals showcased in the following section are the esteemed behind-the-scenes sports health care heroes of game day.

The information in this section is provided by the advertisers and has not been independently verified by Fort Worth Magazine.

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SPECIALTY: Orthopedic surgery, podiatry, foot and ankle, trauma, joint replacement, sports medicine. EDUCATION/CERTIFICATIONS: Board-certified and fellowship-trained physicians. RECOGNITIONS: Proud to have 29 years serving Tarrant/Johnson counties (and all outlying areas) with a stellar reputation among patients and our peers. PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENTS: Our physicians and staff are focused on superior quality and outcomes for all our patients. We are proud of our long track record, and we treat all orthopedic and podiatric conditions/injuries in all ages. UNIQUE PATIENT CARE: We are credentialed at multiple hospitals and ASC facilities and have five highly trained physician extenders with decades of experience to ensure the best patient experience. Customer service is something all offices strive for, but we feel we go above and beyond to provide the best experience and outcome for our patients. INNOVATIONS: In-house physical therapy allows us to custom tailor and focus physical therapy to the specific needs of the individual patient. FREE ADVICE: Take the time to research the doctors you are entrusting with your care. It is vital for your health and well-being to ensure the best treatment/surgical outcome. PICTURED: Blaine Farless, MD; Brad Harman, MD; Zach Cohen, DPM; David Minor, MD; Braden Moore, DPM.

Chisholm Trail Orthopedics & Sports Medicine

3625 Camp Bowie Blvd. Fort Worth, Texas 76107

5540 Sycamore School Road, Ste. 312 Fort Worth, Texas 76123

2010 W. Katherine P. Raines Road, Ste. 300 Cleburne, Texas 76033

817.556.3212

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The Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Institute

SPECIALTY: Orthopedic Surgery; Sports Medicine; Minimally Invasive Arthroscopic Surgery of the Shoulder, Hip, Knee, Foot and Ankle; Shoulder, Hip and Knee Replacements. AWARDS: Top Docs Awards for a decade. AFFILIATIONS: Baylor Surgicare Fort Worth, Mansfield; Park Hill Surgery Center; Baylor Surgical Hospital Fort Worth; Texas Health Downtown Fort Worth, Southwest, Cleburne, Mansfield; Methodist Hospital Mansfield, Midlothian; Medical City Hospital Fort Worth. GREATEST PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENTS: State-of-the-art care including robotic-assisted hip and knee replacements; reverse total shoulder replacement technique. INNOVATIONS: Orthopedics Today, walk-in clinic for same-day treatment of orthopedic injuries, provides convenient, expert care on-site at OSMI Fort Worth. Physical therapy at Fort Worth and Willow Park delivers expert rehabilitation by highly experienced therapists. Adjustable depth, Hydroworx Pool with underwater treadmill for training and rehab is available at Fort Worth. PATIENT CARE: OSMI’s philosophy is to provide professional athlete level of care to all who seek it. ADVICE: Determine your personal goals for your health care. Seek that level of care and trust until you find the physician who meets your needs and expectations. PICTURED: Michael H. Boothby, M.D.; G. Keith Gill, M.D.; Vincent J. Inglima, DPM; Nicholas E. Martin, M.D.; Bret D. Beavers, M.D.; G. Todd Moore, D.O.

The Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Institute

2901 Acme Brick Plaza • Fort Worth, Texas 76109 305 Regency Parkway, Ste. 405 • Mansfield, Texas 76063 817.529.1900

1000 Medical Center Drive • Decatur, Texas 76234 940.626.2410

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SPORTS HEALTH PROFESSIONALS

Texas Health Care Bone & Joint Clinic

SPECIALTY: Orthopedics, Sports Medicine, Total Joint Replacement, Spine Surgery, Hand Surgery. EDUCATION/CERTIFICATIONS: Board-certified orthopedic surgery, fellowship-trained sports medicine, hand, total joints, spine, arthroscopy. AWARDS/HONORS: Team physicians, Fort Worth Country Day School and the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo; TCU’s official orthopedists and team physicians, 58 years until 2015; Fort Worth Magazine Top Docs; Texas Super Doctors; Fort Worth Business Press Heathcare Hero. GREATEST PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENTS: Established in 1958, the Bone & Joint Clinic is the oldest and largest orthopedic clinic in Fort Worth. INNOVATIONS: Hip arthroscopy, minimally invasive total hip replacement, regenerative orthopedic injections with patients’ own platelets and stem cells. PATIENT CARE: With highly specialized physicians and integrated, on-site physical therapy, we can diagnose, treat, and rehabilitate any orthopedic condition, either a degenerative condition or injury, including traumatic sport and overuse injuries to any part of the body. FREE ADVICE: If you have an injury or are feeling pain in your body you’ve not experienced before, please don’t ignore it or try to “walk it off.” Most orthopedic conditions only get worse without timely treatment. We do offer same day appointments for urgent issues. PICTURED: James Brezina, Jr., M.D.; Steven J. Meyers, M.D.; Joseph C. Milne, M.D.; Stephen L. Brotherton, M.D.; Torrance A. Walker, M.D.; David P. Brigati, M.D.; Andrew Lee, M.D.

Texas Health Care

Bone & Joint Clinic 1651 W. Rosedale St., Ste. 200 Fort Worth, Texas 76104

817.335.4316

Fax 817.336.2504

thcboneandjoint.com

Dr. Christine Quatro

Varsity Orthopedics

MEDICAL SPECIALTY: Pediatric Orthopedics. EDUCATION/CERTIFICATIONS: Medical school, Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences; fellowship in pediatric orthopedics, Campbell Clinic and Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital, Tennessee; residency in orthopedic surgery, DFW Medical Center with a six-month rotation in pediatric orthopedics at Denver Children’s Hospital. AWARDS/HONORS: “Top Docs,” Southlake Style Magazine (2021); Society Life Magazine’s 100 “Tops in Tarrant” in health care – best in pediatric orthopedics (2020); “Mom Approved Doctor,” DFW Child magazine (2019). MEMBERSHIPS/AFFILIATIONS: Tarrant County Medical Society, American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, American Osteopathic Association. GREATEST PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENT: Relocation procedure performed on a charity patient from Mexico with dislocated hips allowed the patient to run and play sports, which he originally could not do. INNOVATIONS: Digital U-ARM system for X-rays and electro surgery unit used for minor procedures. UNIQUE PATIENT CARE: Vast experience and proof of longevity with 28 years of experience working in the DFW area. FREE ADVICE: Your children are not just small adults; they should be treated by pediatric practitioners. PICTURED: Dr. Christine Quatro.

9545 N. Beach St., Ste. 133 Fort Worth, Texas 76244

817.431.1017 varsityorthopedics.com

Varsity Orthopedics

FOCUS SPORTS HEALTH PROFESSIONALS

CR Massage

Cyril Russel-Harris

SERVICES: Sports Massage. EDUCATION/CERTIFICATION:

Owner Cyril Russel is a licensed massage therapist since 2005 and certified in myofascial release, trigger point therapy, IASTM (instrument assisted soft tissue mobilization) and formerly A.R.T. certified (Active Release Techniques). RECOGNITIONS: Since 2013, CR Massage has been rated the “Best Sports Massage” in Fort Worth by Competitor and Fort Worth Magazine PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENTS: Opening team leader at Four Seasons Spa in Bora Bora, French Polynesia. WHAT’S UNIQUE ABOUT HIM: Cyril is a multiple Ironman finisher and World Championship triathlete; he understands the demand and stress from training. He looks for the source of the problem rather than just treating the symptoms.

PICTURED: Cyril Russel-Harris, owner/operator.

CR Massage

6040 Camp Bowie Blvd., Ste. 54 Fort Worth, Texas 76116 214.405.6521 cyrilmassage.com cyrilmassage@me.com

Melanie Gray, DO Integrative Pain and Wellness Center

MEDICAL SPECIALTY: Performing Arts Dance Medicine, Board Certified Family Medicine, and Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment. EDUCATION/ CERTIFICATION: Osteopathic Family Medicine Residency, UNT Health Science Center; DO, Rocky Vista University-COM. RECOGNITIONS: Fort Worth Magazine Top Doctor 2019, 2021, 2022. GREATEST PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENT: Consulting physician for North Central Ballet, Ballet Ensemble of Texas, Contemporary Ballet Dallas, North Texas Dance Arts. PATIENT CARE: Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment, neural and stem cell injections, office ultrasound, pointe shoe clearance, and other dancer specific evaluations. ADVICE: As a former professional ballet dancer, I can relate to your lifestyle and injuries. Take care of your body now so you can dance for life!

Integrative Pain and Wellness Center

1100 North Kimble Ave., Ste. 130 Southlake, Texas 76092 817.912.1436 ipawc.com • drgray.ipawc@gmail.com

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Fort Worth Inc. magazine

Winners of Fort Worth Inc.’s 2021 Entrepreneur of Excellence (EOE) program have been awarded a pair of custommade Justin boots in honor of their win. This annual celebration recognizes successful entrepreneurs whose vision, creativity, and integrity have made Fort Worth the premier place to do business. The Boot Pickup Party for the 2021 winners was held recently at the beautiful downtown office of presenting sponsor Whitley Penn. Every year, finalists of the competition are fitted for their own pair, but only winners are the ones who get to take those custom boots home. A special thanks to our EOE sponsors: Whitley Penn, Kelly Hart, and CapTex Bank.

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Humane Society of North Texas

More than 200 animal-loving enthusiasts attended the Party for Paws on June 4 at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth to support the lifesaving mission of the Humane Society of North Texas. Guests dined on slowbraised boneless short ribs or artichoke and hearts of palm griddled cakes prepared by Wolfgang Puck Catering, while emcee Brian Curtis and HSNT president Susan Gulig reviewed heart-warming videos of the organization’s key programs in action. The After Party included lively entertainment from the acclaimed Manhattan Band.

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Every year, Fort Worth Magazine sponsors more than 100 charity events, which range from luncheons to black-tie galas. The following promotional section is devoted to these charities and their fundraisers. We invite you to consciously peruse and consider lending a helping hand by either making a donation or attending these events.

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August 20, 2022

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The Worthington Renaissnace hotel in Fort Worth will soon be the place to be! Meals On Wheels and Bell have teamed up to host a special fundraising event paying tribute to America’s armed forces. The program honors the branches of the United States military for their service to the country and our local community. This patriotic salute includes a seated dinner, USO-style entertainment and a lively dance band. The fun continues with live and silent auctions, and much more! Don’t miss out, see you on August 20, 2022 at 7:00 p.m.!

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29TH ANNUAL AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY

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The angels of Bass Hall have graced the corner of Fourth and Commerce streets since spring of 1998. Sculpted by world-renowned Hungarian sculptor, Márton Váró, the angels stand 48-feet tall and are carved from Texas limestone. If the above photograph of one of the angels seemingly shooting an airliner from its trumpet seems too perfectly timed to be real, well, that’s because it is. Purists might scoff at such a composite, but the image, provided by local photographer Thien Tu Tran Nguyen — and submitted as an entry to an “Angels Photo Challenge” — remains an awe-inspiring work of art.

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When you make it easy for a customer to do business with you, you have a return buyer in the making. That’s the case for Faith Geiger who revisited Platinum Cadillac of Terrell, where the car-buying experience is easy — with online purchasing and door-to-door vehicle delivery. Geiger turned to the dealership for her most recent purchase, a 2022 Cadillac CT4. “My previous purchase was a 2021 Cadillac XT5 from the same store. They also service my car,” says Geiger, an inner transformation coach, workplace therapist, and psychedelic-assisted therapy advocate at TULLA. And though she relishes the styling and great ride quality of her compact luxury sedan, it’s the dealership’s unparalleled service that exceeds her expectations. The Fort Worth resident says, “Justin Rudd and Sky Wills treated me like family and made sure that the entire process was smooth. I didn’t even have to visit the dealership – we took care of paperwork electronically, and then the car was delivered to my home!”

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One of a Kind

The one-of-a-kind 2022 Mercedes-AMG GT 53 is simply a stunner: striking good looks, heart-pounding performance, and handcrafted features both inside and out. A super sports luxury sedan steeped in this much appeal could come from only one car company in town: Park Place Motorcars Fort Worth. Just ask Marcus Patterson Sr., a police officer at DFW Airport, who says, “I purchased my vehicle from Park Place Motorcars Fort Worth because they ensure your experience is always great and your vehicle needs are solved. I’ve always loved the MercedesAMG. I love how these vehicles provide the extra-sporty handling for when you want to cruise around town or feel as one with the open road.” The performance, comfort, and industry-leading technology, Patterson says, combine for a one-of-a-kind driving experience. “This is a family car but a sports car, all in one.”

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