March 2024 Ponca City Monthly

5 Under 40 Ponca City Main Street's

Pictured: Ponca City Main Street’s 5 Under 40

Cover Design by Andy Hicks

Photo by Photography by Jes

Letter from the Editor

The first time my Granny took me to the Salt Fork River to pick sand plums, I was around the age of 8. We took brown Braum’s sacks to carry the plums in, of course. Braum’s paper sacks are designed to hold two, full gallon jugs of milk, so they are meticulously folded and saved for projects such as these. I spent many young years eating her homemade sand plum jelly, but she was finally showing me the magic of how it was made.

One early July morning we drove down a highway and turned on several roads, stopping on the side of the road. Granny said she knew all the best sand-plum picking places, but made me swear to keep them a secret. Granny looked out, and squinted her eyes at the steep slope and then looked over at me with a grin, and said this was going to be a good year for sand plum-picking.

is my favorite word!

Give me a call, let’s work together.

We trudged together through the sandy soil to the small prickly bushes where bright red pearls of succulent plums weighed down the tiny branches. Sand plum bushes don’t produce every year, and they only grow wild she said. They grow in the sandy loam soil along the Salt Fork River. “Remember,” she told me, “they are always ready right around the 4th of July.” We picked for hours, each coin-sized plum dropping into the sack with a soft plunk.

This was only the first trip of dozens we took to pick sand plums together over the years. And every summer, I would learn more and more about her process. Find the plums. Pick the plums. Wash the plums. Lay them out. Then you wait, and can only mash them at the optimal time of ripening. Granny would have counters full of plums for weeks, and would meticulously pick out each ripe plum, mashing about one bowl of ripe plums once a day. Each day’s harvest would then be frozen. Finally, once all the plums were processed, and we had accumulated several gallons of mashed plums, it was finally “Jelly-making Day,” which was an all-day event that produced a year or more supply.

Jelly Making Day brought its own set of complexities. Special tools, special methods of sanitizing, cooking, and filling jars. Granny was a busy bee and had perfected just about every household art there was. She always made everything she did look effortless. I watched her with such intent, always trying to keep up and remember what she did exactly. I told her once many years later as a young mom, how frustrated I was that I wasn’t any good at laundry or cooking, and how I envied her advanced skills. She looked at me, looked right into my soul, and smiled, “Honey, it took me 50 years to get this good.”

It took me years of watching and asking her questions to fully understand her jelly-making processes. I watched, and learned, but it felt like I would always forget everything I had learned after an entire year had passed by, and then suddenly I had to re-remember what she taught me all over again. It took me ten years of our annual routine of picking, sorting, mashing, freezing, making, and canning alongside her to wrap my brain around it all.

I still make sand plum jelly, just like Granny taught me. I’m also a busy bee, like her. She showed me that some things take years to learn, and that’s okay. With time, patience, and practice, the years teach us lessons that we don’t even realize we are learning.

Story contributed by Liz Threlkheld

Did you know that anyone can contribute a story for possible publication in Ponca City Monthly magazine? Though space is limited, we love to print stories from members of our wonderful community! Submit your complete stories to our Editor at editor@poncacitymonthly.com.

My Apology Letter to Small Business Owners

Before starting my own business, I subconsciously stereotyped most small business owners because of their prices. It’s true; their prices are almost always higher than big box stores or chains. I always felt like these small businesses were trying to rip off the public, or charging inflated prices, or the old adage, “they are very proud of their products.” Wow … I couldn’t have been more wrong … and more right (about the proud part)!

My business is not even a year old, and let me just tell you about the fees to get a business in my field started.

Wanna make an LLC? State Filing Fee.

Wanna sell something in town? Permit Fee.

Wanna sell farm fresh eggs off the farm? License Fee.

Wanna grow plants to sell AND sell them? Two Separate Fees.

Wanna collect customer’s payment via card, bank invoice or an app? Fee.

Need extra digital space because now you have a business to run? Monthly Fee.

Making DIY graphics from a website to promote your business? Monthly Fee.

Must have a domain name to build a website? Yearly Fee.

How about getting a facility inspection done? Huge fee.

Trying to raise your kids to be entrepreneurs, but do you also want to borrow their table for an event? They charge you a $2 Fee.

None of those fees even touch the cost of the facility or booth rent, utilities, gas money or insurance. Now, ask me about hiring professionals to do/manage things for the company.

Furthermore, it doesn’t take into consideration things you don’t think about, like the cost of the labels and ink, office supplies that you need, T-shirts and signage, storage items and all the equipment necessary to create and sell the product.

After all of the things listed above, we finally get into the cost of the product itself: a container with something in it

… with the hope that the product will be profitable for the business owner.

But wait, there’s more! There are also hidden costs – ones that very few people ever see from the outside. It’s the owner’s time, energy, heart and passion that’s poured into the business. That cost is usually only recouped by the customer’s smiles, verbal and social encouragement and repeat business. This, to a small business owner, is real support – support of their dream or even their livelihood.

My thoughts used to be, “Why would I pay twice the amount here when I can go to ______ and buy it cheaper there?” If only I could teach my old self what I know now. My product is not created equally to the one at

201 N. 2nd St.

• Ponca City, OK 580-382-4018

A cozy event space and studio for sharing life’s memorable occasions, situated in Downtown Ponca City, featuring:

• Outdoor courtyard

• Kitchenette

• Cozy seating

• Handcrafted wooden tables

For pricing and booking information, visit our website!

www. theharvesthallpc.com

The Ponca City High School Alumni Hall of Fame was established in 2017 to honor alumni of Ponca City High School, living or deceased, who have achieved outstanding accomplishments in their life, careers and community. The inductee’s picture will be exhibited in the “Hall of Fame” hallway on the second floor of the Howell Building. The purpose of the display is to educate, encourage and inspire the students who pass through that hall every day. Requirements to be inducted into the Hall of Fame are: the individual must be a graduate of Ponca City High School and an official nomination form be completed and submitted to the Ponca City High School Alumni Hall of Fame Committee for consideration.

For more information on the Hall of Fame and for nomination forms, visit www.pcps.us and select MENU, then under About, “Hall of Fame.”

Hall of Fame ENDOWMENT

Ways to Donate

• Cash/Check

has been established so that alumni can make a lasting difference by helping Ponca City High School seniors for generations to come, and receive a tax deduction along the way. The Endowment is truly a gift that keeps on giving. Each year, only a portion of the Endowment is spent, while the remainder continues to grow. In this respect, an endowment is a perpetual gift. As the amount of the Endowment grows, so will the number of scholarships awarded to individual students each academic year.

• Donation of the Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) from a retirement account.

• Gift made in your Will or Trust

• Designation of the Ponca City High School Alumni Endowment as a beneficiary of your Life Insurance Policy or Retirement Plan

• Donation from Class Reunions ALL DONATIONS ARE TAX DEDUCTIBLE

– SAVE THE DATE –

The 2024

Ponca City High School Alumni Hall of Fame Banquet is scheduled for

Thursday, September 26 at the High School Commons Watch for announcement of ticket outlets.

2023 HOF inductees: Luciean L. Clinton (posthumously), Christopher L. LittleCook, Michael J. McGraw, Carol M. Stauffer and Mary M. Young Frates

(insert big box store here). It is not apples to apples. The more expensive price point covers all the abovementioned costs of bringing YOU that item.

It matters to the business owner that you have the option to purchase this item. They stand behind their goods and take pride in what they offer! There is

All this to say, if you resonate with the old me, here is a way to support your local small businesses: Politely ask the business owners their “why” if you want to know why the prices are higher. Owners can, and will, tell you! It’s OK if you cannot afford it. The business owner gets that. Give them your support in other ways! Tell them what you like, offer advice, tell your friends, ask how you can help, like, share, follow, invite friends to their social media, etc. … It all matters, more than you know! And if you buy that item you’re on the fence about, you might find out you love it!

likely a family behind that product that’s counting on your support. That family has risked and sacrificed more than you’ll ever know to make sure the customer gets the chance to stand face-to-face with their product.

So, to all you small business owners out there, I get it! Please forgive my former self’s ignorance. I understand you now, and I support you!

Sincerely,

Liz Threlkeld A Small Business Owner

AUTHORIZED BAD BOY MOWER DEALER

NOC History Instructor Contributes To May Lillie Documentary

Story by Scott Cloud Director of Public Information, Northern Oklahoma College

Northern Oklahoma College Social Science Instructor Dr. Alyce Webb recently appeared on the OETA-TV documentary “Back in Time,” OETA’s award-winning documentary series showcasing significant people, events and stories that shaped the history of Oklahoma.

Webb contributed as an expert on May Lillie, the sharpshooter wife of Gordon William “Pawnee Bill” Lillie.

Together, the couple owned and operated Pawnee Bill’s Historic Wild West, an enterprise that traveled all over the country and to Europe to teach urban audiences what life was supposedly really like in the American West.

How did Dr. Webb become an expert on May Lillie?

“I did my doctoral dissertation on Pawnee Bill’s Historic Wild West, and since 2019 I have portrayed May at the reenactment of Pawnee Bill’s Original Wild West Show every June,” Webb said.

“It is truly humbling to portray May,” she said. “May was indeed a trailblazer and paved the way for women to participate in what were considered “masculine” occupations. She pushed the envelope in so many ways for women at the turn of the century.”

May Lillie engaged in what many people of the era considered “masculine” activities, such as working for pay, traveling, owning a business and shooting guns. To keep her actions respectable, she carefully crafted a public persona that emphasized femininity – she kept her hair long, always rode a sidesaddle and pointed out that her work and travel was only done to support

her husband. Her plan was successful. She once won a shooting competition by hitting 24 out of 25 targets at a distance of 200 yards. In 1908 she became the first woman in the world to run a bison ranch, and she and Pawnee Bill celebrated their golden wedding anniversary in 1936.

Lillie’s skill in the Pawnee Bill Show paved the way for women to participate in rodeo and the early western film industry during the 1920s.

Webb was interviewed for four hours for the 10-minute clip for the OETA program.

Webb also volunteers at the Pawnee Bill Ranch.

Lucille Mulhall, May Lillie and Lillian Smith were remarkable “Wild West Women” who broke gender barriers and impressed audiences in the late 1880s. Mulhall was known as the “First Lady of Rodeo,” while Lillie was an expert sharpshooter and trick rider. Smith set unbeaten shooting records and was Annie Oakley’s rival.

The program originally aired in July 2023.

It is available for viewing at https://www. oeta.tv/shows/back-in-time/ .

Dr. Alyce Webb

Invest in Success!

PONCA CITY

Your investment in the Chamber is an investment in our community. It takes all of us working together to invest time, resources, and knowledge to lead the Ponca City area into a future of growth, diversity, and prosperity! Invest in Success and Build NAMES for your business and our community with the Ponca City Area Chamber of Commerce.

N – NETWORKING: It is not just who you know, it’s who others know! Networking is a powerful tool for building your business.

• We have monthly sponsored Business After Hours events for Investors to attend free of charge.

• Attend our Ribbon Cuttings, Cash Mobs, and Political Forums, or join one of our many committees.

• Be a part of our Ponca Young Employees group.

A – ADVOCACY: The Chamber publicly advocates for everyone!

• The Ambassadors Committee establishes touchpoints with all investors to determine needs they may have and serves as goodwill diplomats for our community.

• The Ponca Politics Committee advocates for our businesses, industries, organizations, and community at the local, state, and federal levels.

• We have unprecedented access to our local and state elected officials, as well as the field representatives of our national elected officials. This committee creates a legislative agenda specifically tailored to meet our community’s needs and provides forums to have a voice and to understand the political issues facing our community.

• Our Community Development Committee encourages the development of a comprehensive commercial and public infrastructure system educating our community to enhance services and the quality of life in Ponca City. (Think streets, highways, air, and rail service!)

• The Education Workforce Committee supports all local education systems, organizations, and agencies and provides an open forum to connect interns and apprentices with local businesses. Our “Stuff the Bus” program helps all children of Ponca City by providing supplies for any student who needs them. The unique and popular Partners in Education (PIE) Program connects businesses with schools to support educational opportunities and foster a school/community relationship. This committee also serves as the goodwill ambassador to our new educators in the community.

• Our Ponca City Business Council supports Ponca City’s Business Community through business development, education, recognition, communication, and networking.

• Chamber Investors support making any initiative that attracts people to relocate to or visit Ponca City.

M – MARKETING: The Chamber provides numerous ways to showcase an investor’s business or organization.

• Our Chamber Directory with the City Resource Guide, is published and updated annually and sent to every household in Ponca City. Chamber investors look there first if seeking a service or retail provider. Every new resident in Ponca City receives a copy of this directory, as well, through the City’s utility department.

• Our ID Card, Investor Discount Card, is supplied to all investors at no cost and encourages Chamber investors to shop with each other.

• Social Media Promotion: The Chamber promotes our investors by tagging the businesses of everyone who comes to our events. We also publicly spot light our investors twice a week, share their successful business strategies, and recognize their monthly milestones.

• The Chamber sends a Chamber Email Blast to over 2,000 recipients with relevant information and highlights of our investors twice per week.

• We host Ribbon Cutting Ceremonies for all new businesses, major remodels, and business relocations.

• We promote the Tourism Industry in Ponca City bringing jobs and sales tax dollars to Ponca City for everyone’s benefit, and the Chamber Office serves as the Visitor Center of Ponca City.

E – EDUCATE: The Chamber offers workshops, seminars, and other resources to help investors improve their business and community.

• The Chamber offers free quarterly customer service training to all investors and will schedule training at the investor’s convenience.

• We provide educational workshops called “Lunch and Learn” workshops on a variety of topics of benefit to individual and business investors.

• The Ponca Politics Committee hosts Ponca Politics Forums to inform the community on political issues we face and to learn more about candidates and their platforms for any election.

• All investors are encouraged to participate in one of our many committees to learn more about various topics that affect Ponca City and to engage and participate in developing solutions to challenges.

• The Chamber organizes, plans, and hosts Leadership Ponca City to develop a solid pipeline of a dynamic network of leaders whose increased awareness and commitment to service will help shape Ponca City’s future. Participants of Leadership Ponca City are provided an enlightened perspective of the challenges and opportunities facing our community through a 10-month, enrichment program. We are in our 37th year of Leadership Ponca City.

S - SALES: The Chamber creates a positive impact on sales through Shop Ponca First Campaigns.

• Our Chamber Bucks Program is a way to keep our dollars local. Chamber Bucks work like gift cards to be spent with Chamber Investors and are available for purchase at the Chamber Office. Our average yearly sales totals of Chamber Bucks average $200,000.00 of local spending.

• The Santa Buck Giveaway Program is a long-time community favorite campaign. Participating Investors provide a ticket for each $10.00 spent in their business. Each year over 1 million tickets are distributed, and patrons shopping locally have the chance to win over $9,000 in Santa Bucks that can be spent in participating businesses.

• The February Receipt Campaign promotes shopping for all local businesses. Consumers shopping at any retail business during February collect their receipts and bring them to the Chamber Office for drawings for 1-$500.00 and 5-$100.00 Chamber Bucks prizes.

We are all animal lovers and we treat your pets like family!

Payton Moore Professional Groomer

Allison Yost Pet Care Specialist

Cheyenne Reyes Receptionist

Charity Clark Veterinary Assistant Kortney Watkins Pet Care Specialist

Nye Lead Veterinary

Cheyanne Cummings Veterinary Assistant

Ponca City High School Alumni, Class of 1972: Mike Boettcher

Mike Boettcher’s Latest Accomplishment Is a Warning Where are they now?

Story by Carey Head | Staff Writer

Success is built upon many pillars, including the ability to seize an opportunity and make it yours.

Mike Boettcher is a proven risk-taker with an enviable track record in broadcast journalism. From performing the first live satellite news report on June 1, 1980, for a fledgling Cable News Network, to earning armfuls of national awards for investigative reporting and war coverage, his four-decade career is built upon successfully owning opportunities.

The upcoming Katie Couric-produced documentary, “American Bomber,” is the latest accomplishment for the Ponca City High School

Alumni Hall of Fame inductee. The documentary revisits the April 19, 1995, bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City and explores how America’s historic game changer is still very likely to happen today.

“American Bomber” will premiere April 11 in L.A. and in New York City at the HBO Theater in Manhattan before the bombing’s 29th anniversary. Mike appealed to the documentary’s directors, Marc Levin and Daphne Pinkerson, of Blowback Productions, that those directly affected by the bombing should see the documentary first, “out of respect,” he described.

The families of the 168 victims, as well as the 600 injured survivors of convicted bomber

Timothy McVeigh’s actions, will comprise its first large audience. A private, “sneak peek” on the University of Oklahoma campus will welcome Couric, Levin and Pinkerson to Norman to meet their audience members.

Boettcher states Ponca City Monthly is the only press coverage “American Bomber” is conducting before its premiere. Ponca City Monthly Publisher Kelsey Wagner is experienced with how studios tightly control publicity’s timing. Staff writer Marlys Cervantes’ story about “Killers of the Flower Moon,” and its Ponca City screening, was barred from publication by Apple Studios and Paramount Pictures until after the movie’s national premiere, more than a month’s delay.

He explains the documentary’s inspiration, “HBO wanted to reintroduce this bit of history that a new generation doesn’t know much about because there isn’t curriculum about it except it took place in Oklahoma.”

Boettcher continues, “The starting point is the mandate, ‘Give insight to a younger generation

Mike Boettcher and son Carlos plan their next moves while embedded with a 101st Airborne brigade in Kunar Province, Afghanistan. Their work became the basis for “Citizen Soldier,” a feature-length film available on streaming services, including Amazon’s Prime Video. Mike and Carlos were executive producers of the film. Mike is an honorary member of two “band of brothers” 101st Airborne brigades, the Kurhee and Bastogne brigades, as well as being awarded Combat Order of the Spur. (Photo provided by Mike Boettcher)

what happened here.’ But you have to have an end point, and our end point is the current day in the USA and the difficult headwinds we face in our current political climate.”

He adds this documentary “tells people watching this that this can happen again, and we need to be alert as a nation to violent extremism.”

This seasoned journalist had covered wars and revolutions across the globe and has been the victim of terrorist actions, including surviving a 1985 kidnapping in El Salvador. In 2006, Boettcher witnessed the detonation of a suicide bomber’s 1,000-pound bomb packed into a van. Boettcher was staying at the NBC bureau in Beirut and says everyone inside the news bureau survived. Those outside did not.

But here? This was conflict not only on American soil but in his Oklahoma backyard.

On April 19, 1995, Boettcher remembers, “… I was in Chicago at that moment, (working as) lead domestic correspondent for NBC News. Ask anyone, I was always bragging on my home state and being an Okie. At 9:15 a.m., I got a call from the vice president of NBC News. ‘There’s a Lear jet waiting for you at Midway Airport. Get on it.’”

He continues, “We were in OKC about 12:30 in the afternoon. I spent the next few weeks in OKC covering the aftermath and covering the trail of clues. For the next year, I went out talking to various people and groups and really, really, hard-core extremist groups.

“It was very hard because it was emotional for me. I’m trained as a journalist, for decades covered very difficult circumstances and I’m trained to keep that open mind and be fair, but really it was the most difficult thing

in my professional life to go where the facts lead you and leave your biases out of it.”

The sights of the truck bomb’s aftermath proved to be a trigger for Boettcher, instantly taking him to other fresh bomb sites in South Africa, the Middle East and Central America. “I witnessed terrorist bombings around the world, and I remember it took a while to recover all the victims from the (Murrah Building’s) debris and that smell of death really triggered me. I used to think this could only happen in Beirut, Baghdad or El Salvador. But no, it happened right here. And I really took it personally.”

Following the investigation and subsequent arrest of Timothy McVeigh, a Gulf War veteran, Boettcher was one of four journalists

to interview McVeigh in prison. Defense attorney Steven Jones “wanted people to see McVeigh as someone other than the character in the orange jumpsuit being perpwalked out of the Perry Courthouse. One representative from the major networks (NBC, ABC, CBS and CNN) were allowed to speak to McVeigh,” he explains. “I covered Desert Storm, and he had served in Desert Storm. We initially covered that and then the conversation turned to ‘how do you feel about the government?’ and his eyes immediately turned cold, and I thought ‘This guy did it.’”

Boettcher is a visiting professor at Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication at OU. He teaches several classes, including Advance Broadcast News and Multimedia News Gathering. “Every year I take my seniors up to the bombing site and I talk to them about

that day (and) about the role that journalism played in that day.”

Katie Couric was with Boettcher at NBC during the1995 bombing. They have formed a deep friendship, so it was natural for Couric to approach him about being a character in her planned documentary.

“Couric is executive producer (of) ‘American Bomber.’ It seeks to remind a new generation about how pivotal a point in history this was, and the lessons learned that we could apply in today’s fractious society and the dangers of extremism from any side of the political spectrum.”

“American Bomber” is a production of HBO Studios and will stream on the network at a date to be announced.

On Friday, May 17, Mike will return to Ponca City for “An Evening With Mike Boettcher,” a fund-raiser for the newly established Ponca City High School Alumni Hall of Fame Scholarship Endowment fund. Tickets will go on sale in April.

Mike Boettcher takes a swift-running river in stride while carrying 85 pounds of extra cameras, batteries, tripods, food, water, change of clothes, camera lights and a portable satellite dish in his pack. Mike and son Carlos spent two years embedded with the Army’s 101st Airborne brigades. From their footage and experience came “The Hornet’s Nest,” a documentary available on streaming services, including Amazon’s Prime Video. (Photo provided by Mike Boettcher)

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“She Brought the Fun”

Planned Peace Pavilion Will Honor Dr. Stephanie Husen With a Gathering Place at East Lake Ponca

Story by Carey Head | Staff Writer

Friday, April 19, 2024, will mark what would have been Stephanie Husen’s 50th birthday. To mark the milestone, family, friends and city officials will gather at one of her favorite places to wish her “Happy Birthday in Heaven.”

This April 19 also will be the ceremonial groundbreaking for “The Peace Pavilion.” This new construction will become a lasting tribute to Stephanie, as well as a gift to the people of Ponca City. The Peace Pavilion will be located by the old Sailboat Marina on East Lake Ponca.

For those who hadn’t met Stephanie, she was an entrance maker.

Not that she tried.

But those sky-blue eyes and the cascade of blond hair made Stephanie Husen noticeable.

But there’s another physical feature which her friends and family are united in what made Stephanie truly stand out: Her smile.

“Throughout her entire life and career, Stephanie never met a stranger and ALWAYS had a smile for everyone,” shares close friend and classmate Vicki Rahme Fairchild. “You knew when she walked into a room, even if you were a stranger. Her smile was

constant. Her personality was infectious; everyone truly loved her.”

Kristen Wynn Hallcroft agrees, “She had a magnetic personality — you just wanted to be around her and laugh and have a good time. She was a true friend to all. We always said she was “INCLUSIVE” to anyone and everyone. What a great quality to have. She had so many good friends because she was such a good friend to all! I can still hear her laugh, see her smile, and I strive to be like her every day.”

Wynn Hallcroft met Stephanie in the seventh grade and they instantly bonded. The girls stayed fast friends through junior high, high school, college and beyond. Wynn Hallcroft and Stephanie were suite mates at the University of Oklahoma and pledged Chi Omega sorority together. Stephanie was a bridesmaid in her 1997 wedding to Tim Hallcroft.

Rahme Fairchild and Stephanie maintained a strong bond even after college graduation and shared a core group of friends created from working in Oklahoma City. “This ‘OKC Mafia’ was such a huge part of her everyday life for many years. They have countless memories: OU games, children’s plays, birthdays, Friendsgivings, travels

Stephanie Husen holds her rescue pups, Boomer (right) and Sooner, in this undated portrait provided by family.

Sunrise over East Lake Ponca sets pear tree blossoms aglow near the site for the future "Peace Pavilion," a memorial to Stephanie Husen and a gift to the people of Ponca City.

(Photo by Carey Head)

and concerts,” Rahme Fairchild explains.

Another Po-Hi classmate had the good fortune of growing up with Stephanie. Carl Szafranski considers Stephanie his first best (girl) friend. The two kids developed a strong friendship from their strollers as their mothers walked the shores of Lake Ponca and enjoyed the nearby Nature Trail. The Szafranskis lived adjacent to Lake Ponca on Ginger Drive, while Stephanie grew up on the shore of East Lake Ponca in what is known as the old schoolhouse.

Dr. Husen’s Heart Was in Healing

After graduating Po-Hi in 1992, Stephanie studied physical therapy at OU, completed her training and opened a physical therapy practice. The call to study medicine led Stephanie to complete a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degree from Oklahoma State University College of Osteopathic Medicine, Tulsa. She completed an Internal Medicine and Pediatrics residency and a fellowship in sports medicine. Stephanie became a sports and internal medicine specialist at Saint Francis Warren Clinic. She maintained her practice for seven years until Wednesday, June 1, 2022.

As her workday was ending, Stephanie was killed in a mass shooting at the Natalie Building on the Saint Francis campus. A patient, upset about ongoing back pain following surgery two weeks prior, shot and

killed his surgeon, Dr. Preston Phillips, and others who “got in his way.” Also murdered were receptionist Amanda Glenn and William Love, the husband of a patient.

The next day, Po-Hi Class of 1992 Reunion Committee member Stacey Smith posted, “Ponca City Class of 1992 lost our leader, Dr. Stephanie Husen, yesterday in the tragic Tulsa Mass Murder … Friends, we will continue with our class reunion this weekend that Stephanie was planning. Her parents suggested that we celebrate her and the town she loved so much.”

Stephanie’s death occurred just two days before her 30th high school reunion. Stephanie had played a very active role on the planning committee. Her parents, Joyce and Greg Husen, were firm in their recommendation to hold the reunion as planned.

A Place for Peace Now Planned

Within weeks of the tragedy, Stephanie’s family was casting around for a suitable tribute for their daughter that would be a user-friendly asset for all to enjoy. The “what” remained elusive; but the “who” came immediately to mind: Childhood bestie, Carl Szafranski. He had grown up to become one of Oklahoma’s most celebrated landscape architects. The Husens hoped he could be persuaded to take the idea from blank paper to tranquil reality.

“The Husens called me about a month

“I call her my ‘best friend,’ but I’m one of probably 40 that say the same thing because she made everybody around her feel that good and she was that available to people.” — Carl Szafranski

after the incident and asked me to do this,” Szafranski explains. “I told them I needed a few more months to observe and process. Obviously, I took it as an honor to even be asked by essentially a second set of parents. I attribute a lot of my upbringing to Greg and Joyce just because Stephanie was my first friend in life. Best friends forever.”

He continues, “I was able, I think, to emotionally remove myself from what the project was about and be a landscape architect. So, I treated it like we treat all our public works where we put together questionnaires … to get public opinion.”

Szafranski describes the questionnaire as being composed of very generic questions asking for input on which colors, textures, animals and descriptive words come to mind when thinking of Stephanie. First to receive the questionnaire were the 23 members of the class of 1992 still in close communication, dubbed “the Ponca Family.” Also included were friends from college days and her medical community.

The responses were summarized, and Szafranski’s team shared the information with Greg and Joyce. “They kind of pared that down to what was important to them. And almost all the answers were the same on every question. It was pretty incredible,” he says.

Teen Hangout Plays a Starring Role

How were people able to come to the same conclusions from knowing Stephanie? “I call her my ‘best friend,’ but I’m one of probably 40 that say the same thing because she made everybody around her feel that good and she was that available to people,” Szafranski explains.

“It wasn’t a pavilion at first. We talked

about doing a dog park, we talked about all sorts of different things. It then migrated into what it is today. The Husens felt it was very important that it was a space for the public to gather and think and celebrate.”

Szafranski explains why the Peace Pavilion will be sited at East Lake Ponca, “It was the 1990-ish to about 1994-ish teenage hangout ... That was Stephanie and my hangout every Friday night and Saturday night. We called it “Sailboat Side” because there were four Lake Ponca locations to meet, and Sailboat was the main one. I mean every Friday and Saturday night that thing would be lined with high school cars until the Park Ranger told us to wrap it up.”

He continues, “This location seemed secluded enough, yet public enough to meet what Greg and Joyce wanted. It’s kind of off the beaten path but not off the beaten path.”

It’s taken nearly a year of work to get to the planned April 19 ceremonial groundbreaking. It will be a celebration of Stephanie, as well as a thank you to those she continues to influence, including those donating their time to see this project become reality. Along with Carl Szafranski Landscape Architecture, Tulsa; are Richard Winterrowd, Winterrowd

Talley Architecture, Ponca City; Bret Smith, Ponca City Noon AMBUCS; structural engineer Jahan Abdoveis, Foundation Engineering, Inc., Tulsa; and Chris Murphy, interior designer, Chris Murphy Interiors, Tulsa.

Wait, what? An interior designer on an exterior project? Szafranski explains Murphy’s talent helped put several “cherries on top of the project” including color, furniture and lighting selections, as well as suggesting the tile mosaic bearing images and colors that were favorites of Stephanie’s.

The Peace Pavilion will be 3,439

Eric Newell, City of Ponca City Parks and Recreation Director, left, discusses the improvements to be made to the future site of the Peace Pavilion, a tribute to Dr. Stephanie Husen, Po-Hi Class of 1992. Meeting with Eric are, from left, Richard Winterrowd, Jacob Kriech, and Bret Smith, all of Winterrowd Talley Architects; and Carl Szafranski, Szafranski Landscape Architects, Tulsa. (Photo by Carey Head)

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Under roof is a 35-foot x

space with furnished seating, wall seating, a fireplace and artwork. Outside areas include a play court, patios, fire pit and a grilling area for an additional 2,004 square feet of patio space.

Teamwork Is Bringing This Gift to Life

Thanks to Ponca City Noon AMBUCS’ successful track record constructing outdoor play spaces, Smith says, “Greg Husen reached out to the AMBUCS some six months ago and the AMBUCS offered to get involved and manage (the project). It is an unbelievable team effort of kindness, donation — there’s been no money spent on any design or any bidding — it’s just a great community and team with groups getting involved and developing what we have today.”

Smith adds, “We’ve got all kinds of people involved, including volunteers. The whole club immediately got behind this. I’ve talked to a couple of contractors here in town, and they

said they’re in, knowing that it is going to be as much donating, whether it is in-kind or monetary, as we can possibly get to make this thing work well.”

In designing the Peace Pavilion, top of mind was maintenance and longevity. To that end, Szafranski says they are using “the stoutest materials we can find, thus we are doing steel framing, masonry walls, epoxy inlay tile, metal shingles, composite ceiling … We’re really trying to make it as user friendly as humanly possible, yet stout. The foundation is insanely overbuilt. Long wear, low maintenance for the City of Ponca City, that was one of the biggest (considerations) and then long, long wear. One thing that Eric Newell has requested is an antivandalism (sealant) paint to protect all vertical elements from lasting effects of graffiti.

Once completed, the Peace Pavilion will be gifted to the City of Ponca City.

In reflecting on its potential as both a memorial and a place to find peace, it’s Rahme Fairchild who found the

words. She shares, “Sadly, Stephanie’s life was tragically taken and a piece of all of us is missing. When the Peace Pavilion is finished, it will be a beautiful place designed to honor and remember our dear Stephanie, as well as to offer a sense of peace and healing to those of us who are grieving. The Peace Pavilion’s

location, both at Ponca Lake and in Ponca City, perfectly represent Stephanie’s past roots and it will serve as a reminder to present and future generations of Stephanie’s special life and her amazing accomplishments. It will be a place that anyone may go to reflect, remember and heal. It will truly be a place of peace.”

Po-HI’s Class of 1992 held its 30th Class Reunion just two days after class member Stephanie Husen was killed in a mass shooting in Tulsa. Classmates hold her picture so she can be remembered in the group portrait. (Photo provided by Stacey Smith)

Story by Steve Dye | Contributing Writer

Going Viral

Business Spotlight

Speak Now Film Co.

From a childhood hobby, to a side gig, to an exploding full-time business requiring several employees, twin brothers Luke and Ben Garrison have turned a lifelong love for film into a rapidly expanding and successful media production company.

"Ben and I both came up very, very creative. When we were young, we were the type that would use creativity to get ourselves out of problems, for the most part, from an early age," Luke says.

Perhaps growing up in Southern California's Menifee Valley, about 90 minutes southeast of Hollywood — as the Garrisons did — found them more exposed than most to the film industry.

"We used to make stop-motion animation when we were kids with an old VHS camera. We'd work with that, and with toys and all sorts of things to recreate and tell stories," Luke remembers. "We would write scripts in our backyard and film them. We did it for fun and by the time we were in high school, that was right when TV shows like Jackass, and prank shows on MTV, that kind of thing, was really popular. We thought that seemed a lot

more fun than going out and partying. And so we got camcorders, made videos all the way through high school and kind of learned editing techniques and all of that."

By then, the Garrison family had moved from the west coast to the Ponca City area. Both Ben and Luke shifted their sights, for a time, to other aspirations.

"We got to college age and thought, well, okay, now it's time for a real job. Ben and I both pursued criminal justice at first. But I still just had a real heart for the arts and changed majors and went into music theater," Luke says. "Really, I was never thinking I was going to make a career out of it. But it would be something fun, and a degree is a degree."

both were deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan.

"We joined essentially to pay for our schooling, but we did it right after 9-11. And so there's just a whole story there," Luke says. "But we did some video edits of our deployment, and when we returned we did a few little things locally here and there to try to showcase and flex that talent. It was still very much just a hobby, but I thought, boy, wouldn't it be great if we could make money at this?"

The brothers had enlisted in the National Guard as they went to college. In the wake of the devastation in New York City in 2001,

After getting home from their overseas service, Ben continued his law enforcement career with the Ponca City Police Department, and Luke went into banking. And they also began offering wedding videography locally as a side gig — their company Speak Now is named for the line heard at every marriage ceremony: "Speak now, or forever hold your peace."

That business did well for the Garrison's, but

Luke Garrison Ben Garrison

it was a much different effort that broke the company's success wide open.

Speak Now had further ventured into producing promotional shorts for local businesses, and one of those was the extraordinarily well-received lip sync video for the Ponca City PD.

"We were at the point where we wanted to take on more challenges," Luke says. "So we got (Police Chief) Donnie Bohon on board, and all the city officials, all the people we needed to — and in 24 hours wrote, staged, and pushed out that content."

The video went viral, and far and wide beyond Ponca City.

"We ended up with something like 3 million views on it, and all of a sudden the phone was ringing off the hook. People were asking 'hey, would you be interested in coming and doing that for us?' and of course, we were."

Speak Now had turned from a side gig into a full-time business, perhaps quicker than the Garrison's had anticipated. Soon, Luke would leave his banking position to run the company full time.

"Ben and I realized that we were at a point where we really needed to bring on somebody full time to help manage it if we were going to stay in our careers. So we hired Ashley Ballinger, who was our first employee and is still with us today," Luke says. "Then, with the help of the Ponca City Development Authority and Pioneer

In a parallel pursuit that dovetails with his company, Luke is also very active with the Evans Children's Academy, and he serves as the president of the Poncan Theatre.

"I became involved in the Poncan because of my daughter going to the Evans Academy, originally," Luke says. "But like I said earlier, too, I've always had a love for theatre, and performed in the theatre several times as a teenager and into early adulthood. And as I became more involved and worked my way into the president's seat, we started coming up with new ideas and opportunities."

Tech we were able to get into an incubator space. We would work in our downtime in the evenings and weekends, and that went on for a couple of years as we continued to grow both our content and our local lists of clients. And as we started to grow, it became obvious that if that growth were to be sustainable either Ben or I was going to have to leave our career and actually come on full time and start working. We decided that between the two of us, obviously he had a pension he was working toward, and I could move my retirement."

Speak Now produced a monthly web series, working with the Chamber of Commerce.

Those efforts morphed into still more projects that were being shown on local broadcast television markets including Oklahoma City, Tulsa, and Wichita.

own marketing campaign.

"We were working primarily with our Ponca City clients, but looked to expand our wings a little bit. And just kind of from word of mouth, we've done projects all over the country. We've done music videos in California, weddings in Long Island, we've filmed church camps in multiple cities and states from the same client... we do a lot of projects of all kinds."

The quality of the work has been its

Award winning projects, even.

Speak Now Productions has won three gold and one silver Telly Awards for advertising, and a Redbud Award for their outstanding efforts to serve and promote Oklahoma's tourism industry. Having outgrown their initial facility,

Speak Now Productions moved into its own location on Grand Avenue in 2020 and now has several full-time employees.

Those aforementioned ideas and opportunities lead to the gala event and movie premiere held last October for Killers of the Flower Moon, with the support of Carl and Brenda Renfro, marking the first time in more than 20 years that the Poncan Theatre has shown a newly released film.

"First run movies were always kind of a desire for us. So when Carl came up with the idea we jumped at the chance," Luke says. "It was a great way to promote the theater."

Speak Now continues to grow, as having an online presence is now every bit as important as having a shingle hung out on a storefront.

"It's vital for any business or entity to have an online marketing presence. It's the new front door, or window, into your company. If you don't have a social media presence, you might as well close your doors because they're going to think you're closed anyway, " Luke says. "The video industry has just exploded with short form content -- on YouTube, on Facebook, on TikTok -- and we understand that and can translate it to our customers. Most have no idea how to do that themselves, but we are able to produce strong, solid content that is on-message and relevant in modern media. And we can make it relatively affordable when it comes to a marketing budget."

Ashley Ballinger (left), Speak Now employee and Luke Garrison (right)

Ponca City Main Street's

Photos by:

Story by Chelsea McConnell | Staff Writer

Ponca City Main Street began the 5 Under 40 project in 2020. Main Street Director Maci Graves says the goal of the program is to recognize young leaders in our area “who demonstrate significant contributions to our community through their role in their business, community involvement, volunteer work, leadership ability, advocacy and influence.” As expected, this year’s honorees are an impressive group of young people.

James Devinney

James Devinney is an ambitious young man with multiple goals and projects on his proverbial plate. Devinney works as a Project Manager and Estimator for Evans & Associates Construction. His role is to seek projects the company can bid on involving dirt work and asphalt work. The art of the job is putting together bids that place Evans at a competitive advantage to win the work, while still ensuring the company will profit. Devinney says he is a “people first person” and cares deeply about developing himself and the people he works with. He plays the role of hype man when needed, but isn’t afraid to have the sometimes-tough conversations necessary to move a project or person onto a better path.

Devinney is the owner and sole-employee of a company he founded called Dirty and Driven. He says he started Dirty and Driven in 2023 with the goal to “help solve our workforce issues in the blue-collar construction trades.” The business is part podcast/part construction consulting. The Dirty and Driven podcast hosts two episodes each week. Tuesday episodes are geared toward humor with a loose topic. On Friday’s episodes, Devinney and his co-host Casey Anderson interview a guest from the construction industry.

Devinney and his wife, Victoria, own a small real estate company called Triple D Investments. Triple D owns two Airbnbs and four long-term rentals. James and Victoria’s goals within this business are to provide people quality places to stay with quality landlords.

Devinney is equally as ambitious in his free time as he is with work. On weekends he plays bass with local band

Fading Fast, who recently released their first single, “The Thrill of Something New”. When not playing in the band, he and his wife are members of Newpoint Church where he leads a men’s group, as well as being involved in the youth program there. Devinney is passionate about being a role model for others, older or younger, but particularly for his little brother Jason who is 10 years younger than he. James knows Jason is watching and he aims to be a good example and someone his brother can look up to.

At age 21, while in excellent shape, Devinney sustained a difficult back injury. He says this injury showed him his

mortality and has given him the motivation to make the best of each of his days. As a result of the injury, he was in serious pain and had to find ways on his own to mitigate the pain. Battling his pain was a physical and mental war for him. Now on the other side, he feels this setback has made him smarter, less reckless and motivated to strive for more in all areas of his life.

Outwardly, Devinney has a kind and confident demeanor. However, for someone this accomplished, it comes as no surprise there’s a lot going on behind the veil as well. He has a sage and discerning method for choosing his next right thing. He shares, “Before I make any decision, I try to think of every possible scenario or person it will affect. When making a decision I ask, ‘Who is this going to help?’, ‘Is this going to enlarge or diminish me?’ then ‘How will this affect those around me?’, ‘Does this align with God’s plan and purpose in my life?’, and ‘Does this align with my core values?’.” James uses these questions as guideposts to keep him moving forward with intentionality. James isn’t immune to facing struggles or getting lost in the weeds of life though. He cites his wife, Victoria, for being there to give him support when needed or call him on his own stuff when necessary.

You can find Devinney’s Dirty and Driven Podcast and music by his band, Fading Fast, on all major podcast and music platforms.

Kaity Beaty

Kaity Beaty is the General Manager at her family business, Farha Wholesale/ Canteen Fowler Vending (Farha). The business is located in downtown Ponca City and will celebrate their 60-year anniversary next year. Kaity is proud to be the fourth generation

of Beatys to help run her family’s business.

Kaity’s parents and grandparents, respectively Brad and Tina Beaty and Ralph and Pauletta Beaty, provided her with an excellent example of what it means to be a good steward of the family business and of our community.

Kaity joined the Farha team as a fulltime employee in 2016 after finishing college. Since that time, she has focused on growing Farha’s customer base in and around Ponca City, modernizing the business and the way they serve their customers and expanding their ability to care for their customer’s individual and professional needs.

Kaity has excellent people skills. She learned early in her career the better she can get to know her customers, the better she’ll be able to serve them. Kaity’s customers include (but are not limited to) local businesses, industries, restaurants, schools and athletic programs. Farha can source products from all over the United States. When Kaity connects her customers with the items they need, she is helping keep tax dollars in Ponca City. Kaity also acts as a liaison between the family business and various organizations

when it comes to all Farha does to give back. Farha is very engaged with local churches, nonprofits and our Native American community and does what they can to help these groups.

Kaity is passionate about volunteering. Last year when the Northern Oklahoma College Foundation & Renfro Family Foundation and Lectureship presented a screening of the newly released movie “Killers of the Flower Moon,” Kaity was asked to be in-charge of coordinating all tableware and table decorations for the reception by Carl and Brenda Renfro, who provided the event free of charge. Kaity was honored to be a part of the group who worked to bring this incredible event to our community.

Kaity also serves on several local

boards. She was an active member of Ponca Young Employees (PYE) for several years and had a hand in transitioning the group to more than just a social club. Under Kaity’s leadership, PYE hosted educational events for its members and held fund-raisers to create a community leader scholarship for the University Center. Kaity also previously served

on the United Way of North Central Oklahoma Board and was an advocate for United Way expanding their network to serve all of North Central Oklahoma as opposed to just Ponca City.

Kaity is currently serving on the Ponca City Chamber Board, as well as Hospice of North Central Oklahoma

$1,000,000 for the Opportunity Center, an organization dedicated to providing “residential and vocational facilities and services for the life-long benefit of people in Kay County who have developmental disabilities.”

Kaity credits her parents for the gift of supporting her in everything she tried growing up, from rodeo to golf. They taught her to take failures in the same stride as wins. She feels this has kept her humble, while strengthening her willpower and work ethic. Kaity credits her experience rodeoing when younger with teaching her perseverance, drive and being accountable for her actions. She adds, “I cannot thank my grandparents and parents enough for all the things I have been able to accomplish, or fail and learn from, to get to where I am

company’s decision-making structure. In this way, he says his employees are what has made the business successful.

Thanks to family role models like his father and grandfather, hard work has been a routine part of Watson’s life since he was a young boy. He grew up on the farm that’s been in his family for three generations. As a child, he would start his school days early, helping his grandfather feed cattle and sheep before getting on the bus to school. Watson also credits his dad with providing examples of honesty, integrity, hard work and humility. He watched his dad work hard through every season of life to provide a great life for his family, go the extra mile and produce quality work.

Kaity is kind, genuine and deeply driven to further causes she is passionate about. She is committed to honoring her family through her hard work furthering Farha’s success each year while ensuring they do their part to give back to our community.

Gage Watson is the owner and President of Watson Construction. He started the business with two full-time employees and has grown that number to 12. In his book, How to Win Friends and Influence People, Dale Carnegie quotes Ralph Waldo Emerson who said, “Every man I meet is my superior in some way. In that, I learn of him …” Watson says this quote has greatly influenced his leadership style. This quote reminds him that everyone has something to offer, and he is on a team with his employees. He focuses on cooperation with his team. Watson tries to identify each person’s unique strengths and give them some power in the

Watson takes the lessons taught to him by his father and grandfather into his work with his construction business and on his family farm. Adding his knack for innovation to the mix, he has been able to accomplish amazing things in both fields.

On the family farm, Gage is transitioning how they raise their livestock, moving from a chemically intensive operation to organic and regenerative practices. Their new operations use no antibiotics, hormones or wormers on the cattle and has also eliminated all herbicides and pesticides on their hay and crops. These changes have improved the wellbeing of the wildlife and the soils on the farm. Watson has also set a goal for the farm to be carbon neutral by 2026. He feels it is his duty to adhere to strict quality standards for the consumers of his product, as well as the environment.

Watson began working in the construction industry at age 13 through summer jobs where he performed labor tasks for subcontractors. He continued in the field throughout high school and into college, slowly taking on more responsibility.

By the time Watson started his

business, he had identified three areas of inefficiency within the industry he was determined to improve upon. The first was preconstruction and planning. He often saw projects going beyond their estimated budget. To solve this issue, Watson collaborates with the design team and creates a plan for each project that gives the client the highest quality job for the price they have allowed. He explains, decisions are made and priced prior to any construction taking place, “minimizing change orders and creating a seamless job experience.” Watson also saw issues in employee pay and training, so he is dedicated to a higher starting wage for his employees. This has allowed him to retain a solid workforce and attract younger professionals who are passionate about the industry. The third area of inefficiency he identified was communication and transparency with clients. Watson uses BaseCamp to share daily progress with his clients and stay in contact when decisions need to be made.

Watson says he has been blessed with wonderful parents who helped instill in him a strong moral compass helping him make good decisions in life.

Gage Watson

Ashley Villines works at the Opportunity Center as the Director of Vocational Services. The Opportunity Center is dedicated to providing “residential and vocational facilities and services for the life-long benefit of people in Kay County who have developmental disabilities.” Villines explains their Vocational Program “allows people to live productive lives where they work side-by-side with other members of the community.”

Recently, the Opportunity Center was able to acquire a new Vocational Rehabilitation contract with the Department of Rehabilitation Services. This means the Center has additional funding that allows them to increase the number of individuals they can help each year. Villines explains further, “The goal of Vocational Rehabilitation is for a person to be able to successfully acquire a job in the community and eventually, with our support and the support of their peers, sustain that job all on their own.” She has spent months training and working with the Executive Team at the Opportunity Center to build the best vocational program they can for their clients.

Villines is also extremely passionate about animals. Before moving to Ponca City, this passion led her to pursue a career with the Humane Society of Tulsa (HST). While initially a little intimidated by the scope and scale of the job, she set her mind to giving it all she had. Little did she know how that season would test her. In May of 2019 while Villines was Director of HST, northeastern Oklahoma was hit with awful storms including tornadoes and flash floods. Many area residents had to evacuate their homes, including Villines and her family. As head of HST, she led the Tulsa County Emergency Animal Shelter for over 200 pets and organized the transport of more than 500 homeless animals in a two-week timeframe. Villines did all of this while being displaced from her own home.

Challenges like this have taught her how to adapt and rise to meet anything that comes her way. She says

she’s not afraid to discard a plan and start fresh if needed. She has also learned how to think on her feet and take changes in stride, building plans as she goes when necessary. Villines carries these skills with her in every obstacle she tackles.

Her heart for animals didn’t get left in Tulsa. Upon moving to Ponca City, she worked as Director of the Northern Oklahoma Humane Society and was instrumental in running many wonderful programs and projects in our area. Under Villines’ direction, our local Humane Society began low cost Spay/Neuter Clinics that resulted in 2000 animals getting free spay/ neuter services, microchips and vaccine services. She also helped set our community on the path to becoming a No-Kill Community by 2025.

Villines is passionate about volunteering in our community and does so in many capacities with many groups. She has volunteered with Ponca City Rotary, NERA, McCord PTM, Ponca City Main Street and the Ponca City Chamber of Commerce. Villines is also a member of the 2023 Class of Leadership Ponca City.

Villines and her husband, Cecil, have one child, Bonnie, age nine. The family also includes many furry friends in their count. They have three dogs, five cats, 10 chickens, eight ducks and six peafowl. She credits Cecil with keeping her firmly planted when life gets crazy and her worries try to get the best of her. When asked how she moves forward in life trying to be a good human, Villines says she tries to walk the lines of truth and fairness while considering what’s best for all concerned.

Ashley Villines

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Casey McClaskey is the owner of local businesses Legacy Signs and BOSS Custom Tees. McClaskey started Legacy Signs as a side gig in 2007. He would work all day at his job in his dad’s hydraulic shop, then in his free time go to work on projects for Legacy Signs. McClaskey often worked until one or two in the morning completing work for Legacy before getting a few hours of sleep only to wake up and do it all again the next day. During these late nights, McClaskey’s wife and oldest daughter, their only child at the time, would bring him dinner and keep him company while he worked.

Legacy started out as McClaskey using a plotter to cut lettering for semitruck doors. It quickly morphed into much more. After getting started, he was able to recognize that Legacy Signs was filling a need in our community for betterbranded businesses. McClaskey grew from lettering on vehicle doors to also printing decals, banners and magnets. He continued to grow his business as local demand grew as well. As his workload increased, he was able to begin building a team of employees to assist him.

In 2012, McClaskey got interested in vehicle wrapping. McClaskey saw this as another need for our local businesses. He attended schools and purchased more equipment so he could bring this service to our community. He continued to work his regular job by day and pursue Legacy after hours. Over the years Legacy has become a focus for McClaskey and he prides himself on building a team that is bringing what he calls the “highest quality design and product in the sign making and wrapping industry.” He began BOSS Custom Tees in 2018. This business creates unique designs and gear, specializing in screen printing,

embroidery, heat press and custom apparel needs.

As head of two companies, McClaskey is invested in giving back to our community. His companies sponsor many of our high school booster clubs, as well as local events and local sports teams. He and his companies have also donated generously in time and product to local fund-raisers like JuJuStrong, Spurrin’ One for Autism and the Back the Blue Campaign. Legacy Signs also helps many local charities and nonprofits with signage for events.

McClaskey is very passionate about supporting local businesses. While his companies are helping our local businesses build their brands, he makes sure to support them as well by shopping and advertising locally.

Legacy and BOSS also support special events like the Stuteville’s “Fill the Sleigh” drive and winter coat drives held by local schools.

He is not afraid of hard work and says it takes “a lot of grit and grind to be successful in whatever industry one chooses to work in.” McClaskey is proud of the fact that while he’s given 100% to building his businesses, he’s also been able to support his children in their endeavors. He has never missed a ball game, program, cheer competition or any other activity his kids are involved in. McClaskey and his wife, Tiffany, have three children … Emersyn (14), Paisley (10) and Caden (5). He credits his wife for being “the rock my Savior Jesus Christ sent me to cling to.” McClaskey says she is always there for him and has been an ardent supporter of every business venture he has pursued. He holds firm to his faith in Christ and uses it to help guide his decisions and actions each day, “doing his best to wrong no one.”

CaseyMcClaskey

QA &

NATIONALLIBRARYWEEK*

by Patrick Jordan

ACROSS

1. Roster of top celebrities (2 wds.)

6. Practice one's boxing skills

10. Part of a three-piece suit

14. Interior ___ (room design)

15. Havana is its capital

16. Alternative to Reebok or Nike

17. Give a negative reply (2 wds.)

18. Former dictator Idi ___

19. "What will they think of ___?"

20. Chambers in firearms (2 wds.)

23. 23rd Greek alphabet letter

26. Loch ___ Monster

27. Very light rains

28. Upper levels in some houses

30. Insect circling a porch light

31. Handbags

34. Beaver's structure

37. Dull pain

38. ___ Vegas

39. Gambling town that rivals 38-Across

40. Place for clouds and airplanes

41. Small orders at pancake houses (2 wds.)

45. "Moby-Dick" captain

46. Sums

47. "Deck the Halls" is one

49. "Fine with me"

51. Tina who wrote the "Mean Girls" script

52. Item on an applicant's résumé (2 wds.)

55. Semi-frozen drink brand

56. Salary

57. Take in, as a shelter pet

61. Parking areas

62. At the earliest chance (abbr.)

James Devinney

Q: What do you consider your personal strengths which you bring to a teamwork table?

A: I am people first person with drive and focus and I like to be a hype man. I am very picky when it comes to the projects, causes, or jobs I want to pursue. When I choose one, I am bought in and motivated to make it the best possible. I am very good at keeping everybody focused on the prize and not rabbit holing, keeping everyone excited and hyped up, and seeing the best quality product or result possible. I care deeply about the people involved and I am passionate about developing myself and developing everyone around me. I am willing to give praise when praise is due or have hard conversations when somebody needs coached or is not quite cutting it.

Q: Please share a setback or failure which served to strengthen you personally?

A: I messed my back up in a serious way when I was 21. I was the strongest, fastest, and fittest I had ever been and it was a really bad injury. I still battle it almost 5 years later. I had to stop all physical activity and there was nothing I could do to keep me out of pain.

63. Above the horizon, as the morning sun

64. "That's the ___ straw!"

65. Strong desires

66. Action film highlight

DOWN

1. Billboard displays

2. ___ & Perrins (sauce brand)

3. Bitterly cold

4. 47-Across, for example

5. Defeat decisively

6. Crooked schemes

7. Cougars

8. "You're making ___ mistake!" (2 wds.)

9. Went wild (2 wds.)

10. Disappear

11. "Wheel of Fortune" category

12. "Boxcars," in dice games

13. Inked body art, briefly

21. Robin's residence

22. Pimples, in slang

23. Mates of mamas

24. Wall Street purchase

25. Scratchy's pal on "The Simpsons"

29. Eisenhower's nickname

30. The M in MVP

32. Oozing movie monster

33. Canoe paddle

34. Coffee option that won't make you wired

35. Joint just above the foot

36. Like tree trunks in rainforests

39. Maze solver in a laboratory

41. 16-Across product

42. At the central point of a trip

43. Spider-Man creator Lee

44. Hot Wheels, for instance (2 wds.)

45. Book at the police station

47. Hot drink on a winter day

48. Assists in a crime

49. Hymn player in church

50. Retains

52. Jack's hill-climbing

I lost all my fitness progress, got really unfocused at work, and got extremely depressed. It truly made me want to kill myself. I went to the “best” doctors and was essentially told there’s nothing to do about it - it is, what it is. I took matters in my own hands and have learned what I can do to mitigate the pain and get back into the weight room and sit comfortably in the car or at work. This has motivated me in every way possible. I have had to fight some serious mental and physical battles, but this has made me smarter and less reckless. It has shown me my mortality and that I need to make the most of life before it is too late. It is still a struggle, but this injury has made me excel at everything in my life and kept me motivated to strive for more.

Q: In thinking about your greatest influences — parents, teachers, coaches, most likely come to mind. But, is there a relationship that has helped shape your beliefs and actions that is beyond these adults in your life?

(dogs and horses are certainly allowed!)

A: I have two. My little brother, Jason, is one. He is 10 years younger than me and I have always wanted to be an example and light in his life. When I find myself straying off a good path, I ask if I am being a good example to him and how it could affect his life. I have avoided a

*April

57585960

partner

53. "At ___, soldier!" ("Relax!")

54. Check for spelling errors

58. Stillwater school (abbr.)

59. Check-signing implement

60. Initials on cartoon dynamite sticks

lot of bad paths because I knew he was watching. The other is my wife. I feel a lot of pressure from my career and from my other businesses. She is the first to give me support when I need it and the first to call me on my bull****when I need it. We hold each other to a very high standard and if I am not meeting that standard, she knows exactly how to light a fire under my a**. I am very appreciative to have her and the support and strength that she is.

Q: (follow up) Just as importantly, why?

A: See above

Ashley Villines

Q: What do you consider your personal strengths which you bring to a teamwork table?

A: Adaptability is probably my biggest strength in the workplace. I’m always

willing to scrap the plan and start over if that is the best option. I’m also not afraid to roll with the punches and make up the plan as we go.

Q: Please share a setback or failure which served to strengthen you personally?

A: In 2018, the non-profit I was working for, Spay Oklahoma, underwent some structural changes which ultimately led to a layoff for me due to the closure of one of their 2 surgery clinics. This left me looking for new opportunities and I was met with one at The Humane Society of Tulsa. I’ll admit that I wasn’t ready to lead an organization of their stature, but I did it for a year and I think I did a pretty good job. My family was displaced from our home during the 2019 Floods while I was with HST and I was able to lead the Tulsa County Emergency Animal Shelter for over 200 pets and organize the transport of more than 500 homeless animals in a two week timeframe, all while dealing with my own issues at home. I think

this strengthened my faith in myself to adapt and overcome any obstacle that comes before me.

Q: In thinking about your greatest influences — parents, teachers, coaches, most likely come to mind. But, is there a relationship that has helped shape your beliefs and actions that is beyond these adults in your life? (dogs and horses are certainly allowed!)

A: This may sound corny, but my husband is one of my greatest influences.

Q: (follow up) Just as importantly, why?

A: There have been lots of times over the course of our relationship that I have handled situations less than gracefully. He tends to always be the calm, cool and collected one who talks me off the ledge, so to speak. He has a way of bringing me back to earth when my head is spinning with the what-if’s and worries that I

sometimes let get the best of me. I see him do this with our daughter too, and it’s just the best thing in the world.

Kaity Baity

Q: What do you consider your personal strengths which you bring to a teamwork table?

A: I am able to read people and a situation, which makes me excel in the workplace and at fundraising, which is what I am focusing on for the Cherokee Strip Golf Classic. I can typically get people engaged with what I am saying or selling, by my own experiences as a business-minded person as well as a caring person for our community and what it has to offer.

Q: Please share a setback or failure which served to strengthen you personally?

A:I don't remember a specific failure or setback, but I was raised to accept losing just as well as I accept winning!

This has made me become a very humble, strong willed, and hard worker and helps me thrive in all aspects of life. No matter what I do, I do it with great respect for myself and others, and I try to put 200% into it, I challenge myself to be better and do better each day, and that comes from many humbling experiences throughout my life and different things I have had to overcome.

Q: In thinking about your greatest influences — parents, teachers, coaches, most likely come to mind. But, is there a relationship that has helped shape your beliefs and actions that is beyond these adults in your life? (dogs and horses are certainly allowed!)

A: My family!

Q: (follow up) Just as importantly, why?

A: Being raised in our family-owned business instilled a work-ethic that has allowed me to reach potential I didn't know I had. But then, having the opportunity to rodeo as a child and young adult was something that held me accountable for my actions, my work ethic, and my perseverance and drive through all the highs and lows that come from that lifestyle. So I cannot thank my grandparents and parents enough for all the things I have been able to accomplish, or fail and learn from, to get to where I am today.

Gage Watson

Q: What do you consider your personal strengths which you bring to a teamwork table?

A: The biggest strength that I bring to my team is my ability to cooperate, although I am in the leadership position, developing the skill of cooperation has helped me grow a team that works seamlessly together. I’ve been able to identify areas that I can give and sacrifice, allowing everyone in the organization to feel a sense of ownership and pride.

The best quote I ever read was from Dale Carnegie’s book. It stated “every man is your superior”. I think most leaders fail to keep their ego in check, they want to rule on dictatorship rather than democracy. Being able to identify individual strengths and give them personal power in the company’s decision structure has been a key to my success.

Being able to cooperate has helped strengthen my team and train them in the areas I see most important to being a team player:

• Trust in each other

• Healthy conflict

• Peer accountability

• And to be hyper focused on results.

Q: Please share a setback or failure which served to strengthen you personally?

A: A major setback I’ve had in my life is dealing with an auto immune disease. I’ve struggled with my health since I was 4 years old. Although it has caused a lot of pain and suffering it has also forced me to create a strict regimented lifestyle. The habits I developed in order to take care of myself I have used to keep myself consistent and disciplined in the business.

Q: In thinking about your greatest influences — parents, teachers, coaches, most likely come to mind. But, is there a relationship that has helped shape your beliefs and actions that is beyond these adults in your life? (dogs and horses are certainly allowed!)

A: The biggest influence I’ve had in my life has been my Dad. Growing up I was able to learn so many life skills through osmosis by simply watching his behavior. I learned honesty, integrity, hard work and how to take care of things beyond yourself. Like so many other men who work in bluecollar professions, I watched him put on his work boots every day and provide for his family regardless of the struggles he was facing, I watched how he cared for my mom and did everything in his power to provide a great life for my sister and I. I watched as he always went the extra mile with everything he did, how his main objective was to produce quality and took so much pride in his work. I was blessed to have such great parents.

Casey McClasky

Q: What do you consider your personal strengths which you bring to a teamwork table?

A: I carry the presence of leadership and organization.

Q: Please share a setback or failure which served to strengthen you personally?

A: An employee who I had 7 years invested in, moved on to another job. I could not find help to fill his role and ended up running all three businesses with just two other people. It was painful, but we were able to see what was possible if we were ever short-staffed again.

Q: In thinking about your greatest influences — parents, teachers, coaches, most likely come to mind. But, is there a relationship that has helped shape your beliefs and actions that is beyond these adults in your life? (dogs and horses are certainly allowed!)

A: My wife.

Q: (follow up) Just as importantly, why?

A: She has been my biggest fan and supporter. When I was working 14-18 hour days most of my career, she was always there. Rather it was bringing me dinner or managing our house/ children, her and my Savior Christ are the rocks I cling to.

3200 N. 14th

City • 580-762-8525 Hours: Monday thru Saturday 7 am - 9 pm

CRAVING SOMETHING SWEET?

Stop by for homemade creme pie or cobbler!

Pies: Lemon, Coconut, Chocolate, Cherry, Almond Joy, Pineapple, Reeses, Banana, Sour Cream & Raisin, Peanut Butter and Peanut Butter Crumb (Ask for availability.)

Cobblers: Apple, Blackberry and Peach

DAILY SPECIALS SERVED ALL DAY in addition to our menu!

MONDAY Ham & Beans Chicken & Noodles TUESDAY Liver & Onions Salisbury Steak WEDNESDAY Burrito Supreme Hot Beef Sandwich Taco Salad Beef Nachos

THURSDAY Bone-In Fried Chicken Meatloaf

Smothered Chicken

FRIDAY Fried Catfish

Salmon Patties Popcorn Shrimp

THURS: All-American Buffet 10:30 am - 2 pm FRI: BBQ Buffet 4-9 pm • Salad Bar 4-9 pm

SATURDAY: Breakfast Buffet 7-11 am • Baked Potato Bar 4-9 pm • Salad Bar 4-9 pm

CHAMBER BUZZ

Story by Shelley Arrott, Ponca City Chamber of Commerce CEO | Contributing Writer

The year 2024 marks an investment drive year for the Ponca City Area Chamber of Commerce. As we embark on this year’s investment drive for our Chamber of Commerce, we are poised at a pivotal moment. It is a time to come together, to innovate and to invest in the future that we envision for our businesses, our residents and the collective heartbeat of Ponca City.

Six years have slipped by since our last investment drive for the Ponca City Chamber of Commerce. We focus on an investment drive each year following The Party at the Palace Chamber Fund-Raising Year. Keep in mind we only have a focused fund-raiser biennially, or every other year! The year 2023 was a Party at the Palace Fund-Raiser, and in 2022 rather than having an investment drive, Chamber Chair Wendy Stobbe Martin focused on a Kindness Campaign after our world, state and community disconnected during the pandemic as lockdowns isolated individuals, businesses faced closures and differing opinions on safety measures created rifts among neighbors. With that said, we should have had an investment year in 2020, but it was derailed when the pandemic was in full force throughout 2020, challenging our community with unprecedented health, economic and social impacts, which disrupted everyone’s plans and priorities. So, the last Chamber Investment Drive was in 2018.

As the dust settles on the past six years, we find ourselves at a crossroads of opportunity and renewal. The last year our Chamber of Commerce rallied for an investment drive of this scale was 2018. In that time, our community has evolved, businesses have thrived and faced challenges, and our collective aspirations have grown more ambitious. With our 2024 Chamber Chair Kelsey Wagner at

the helm, we stand on the cusp of a new era of growth and collaboration. It’s a moment to reignite the spirit of Ponca City, forge new partnerships and lay the groundwork for a future that reflects our shared vision. The time is ripe for us to come together once again, to invest not just in our businesses but in the very spirit of our community. Let’s seize this opportunity, harness our collective energy and pave the way for a brighter, more prosperous future!

Wagner’s Invest in Success Campaign is designed to help our businesses and community overcome challenges the pandemic brought, such as inflation, rising interest rates and rising costs of doing business. Her goals are to focus on telling our businesses and community’s success stories and sharing how they have overcome obstacles to help other businesses. We need to expand our thinking and come up with new and innovative ways to serve business, because what worked 130 years ago certainly will not work today. This year we will focus on building the Chamber of the future and we have to make certain we are open to new ideas for the businesses we represent.

Together, we are going to create a stronger, more prosperous Ponca City. Help us Invest in Success with the Ponca City Chamber. The pulse of our community beats the promise of progress and prosperity, and we want you to be a part of that progress.

As we move toward the future, it is important to remember we have a very storied past that helped make Ponca City the wonderful and vibrant community it is today. Last month I shared some nostalgia about four past Chamber Chairs, the Northcutt cousins. Let’s take a stroll down memory lane with some more of the

Chamber’s history, where the threads of our community’s success stories are woven together. We are going to focus on the connections to the Ponca City Chamber of three generations of Muchmores!

Clyde Estes Muchmore was our Chamber Chair in 1930 and as the publisher of The Ponca City News for 40 years, he was very invested in our community by engaging with local events, maintaining a network of community contacts and listening to the feedback of our community. In addition to serving as the publisher of The Ponca City News, he was also the Managing Director of the Radio Station WBBZ from 1949-60, which gave him a direct line to the pulse and voice of the Ponca City that shaped our narrative. Clyde and his wife, Leola, had four children – Gareth, Allan, Harold and Marjorie. Of course, these children grew up with community service and dedication in their lives!

In 1960, Allan Muchmore served as the Ponca City Chamber of Commerce Chamber Chair. Allan and his brother Gareth purchased the Ponca City Publishing Company from their father, Clyde, in February of 1960, with Gareth serving as the editor and Allan as the business manager of The Ponca City News. The brothers were also partners in their dad’s venture with WBBZ. With his strong business and journalistic acumen and respect from his professional peers, Allan was the first person to ever serve as president of both major news media organizations – the Oklahoma Press Association and the Oklahoma Broadcasters Association. Allan devoted much of his time to Ponca City community affairs, earning him the 1975 “Outstanding Citizen” award of the Ponca City Chamber. He was also named “Outstanding Boss” at the Jaycees’ 19th Annual Boss’

Appreciation Banquet in 1970. Allan and his wife, Lyntha, had three sons –Clyde, James and Thomas.

Following in his civic-minded father’s footsteps, Thomas (Tom) Muchmore took the helm of the Ponca City Area Chamber of Commerce and served as the Chamber Chair in 1995. Tom was the third-generation publisher of The Ponca City News and was an owner and manager of WBBZ Radio and president of poncacity.net, an early internet provider. Tom graduated from Ponca City High School and earned a B.A. degree from OU. He was involved in a multitude of professional organizations in Oklahoma and served on the Lew Wentz Foundation at OSU. He was also a member of the OSU Student Media Board. Tom received the Chamber’s Outstanding Citizen Award in 2001. He served as president of the Oklahoma Press Association in 1997 and was the recipient of OPA’s high honor, the Milt Phillips Award in 2009. He and his wife, Sherry, still reside in Ponca City.

The impact of three generations of Chamber chairs is woven into the heart of Ponca City as their collective vision, dedication and leadership have shaped the Chamber’s initiatives, partnerships and growth over the years. Their multigenerational commitment not only showcases a deep-rooted passion for our Chamber, but also creates a unique continuity of vision and values that sets our Chamber apart, fostering long-term relationships and sustainable growth within our community.

I can’t wait to share more history next month!

Have a wonderful April, Ponca City!

Our very own BOB BANTA has been selected to run for Mr. Ponca City!

With that being said we are in it to WIN it. Bob Banta has been a resident of Ponca City for 70 years! His charity of choice is the Ponca City Opportunity Center and Kay County Council which he has been involved with for nearly 40 years! A portion of his points is the money he has collected to donate to his charity, please feel free to drop any donations by Stuteville Ford or contact his pageant coaches Callie Price (580)-628-1534 or Jamie-O at (580)-7610939. We are trying to keep the stress off of our contestant but feel free to wish him good luck!

The pageant is based on points, and a portion of the points is based on “tips” that will be used as a donation to the local charity Bob has chosen. Make sure to follow us on Facebook to see the fun ways we are helping Bob raise the money!

PROVIDED BY

GHOSTS OF HONOLULU: A Japanese Spy, a Japanese American Spy Hunter, and the Untold Story of Pearl Harbor

By Mark Harmon and Leon Carroll, Jr.

Let’s talk authors first. Mark Harmon portrayed Leroy Jethro Gibbs on NCIS for 18 seasons. Leon Carroll, Jr., was the real deal. He was a commissioned officer in the United States Marine Corps. When he left the Corps, he spent the following 20 years as a Special Agent with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS). When Carroll retired from NCIS, he became the technical advisor for the television drama NCIS.

The authors thoroughly researched their subject matter. Footnotes on most of the pages are proof. Ghosts of Honolulu shares the covert history of Honolulu before, during and after the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor by Japan.

There are many people we meet throughout Ghosts. The protagonist is American-born Japanese American naval intelligence special agent Douglas Wada. Through him we gain an understanding of the Japanese American culture in Hawaii, as well as learning how the Naval Intelligence Service (NIS) carried out its investigations prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor, throughout World War II and the subsequent International Military Tribunal for

the Far East (the war crimes trials).

Another critical person in this story is Takeo Yoshikawa, aka Tadashi Morimura, the Japanese spy in Honolulu. His cover is vice-consul at the Japanese Consulate. He is tasked with reporting daily on the readiness of the American Fleet stationed at Pearl Harbor.

Throughout Ghosts of Honolulu, we see how Japanese Americans became suspect overnight simply based on their ancestry. We meet the people charged with building the lists of those Japanese Americans who will be interred immediately once war is declared. We meet those who work to show the American government the loyalty the Japanese American community in Hawaii has for America.

This is an exceptional book, documenting part of our history of which many of us have been unaware. I’m hoping Harmon and Carroll team up for another.

Reviewed by Lorrie Layton

The Lightning Thief (PERCY JACKSON AND THE OLYMPIANS, BOOK 1)

By Rick Riordan

My favorite thing about this book is not the characters, although they’re amazing. Nor is it the storyline, which is a lot of fun. It’s not even how the series is based on Greek mythology plopped down in our present-day world. Nope, my absolute favorite thing about The Lightning Thief is the chapter titles. Really. OK, how about these?

• I Accidentally Vaporize My Pre-Algebra Teacher

• Three Old Ladies Knit the Socks of Death

• My Mother Teaches Me Bullfighting

• I Ruin a Perfectly Good Bus

• We Get Advice from a Poodle

Remember your basic Greek mythology? Zeus was the head honcho of the Greek gods. Each Greek god was associated with specific aspects of life. For instance, Ares was the god of war; Aphrodite was the goddess of love and beauty; Athena was the goddess of wisdom and courage; and Hades was the god of the underworld. These

gods regularly squabbled amongst themselves; they also regularly became infatuated with humans, resulting in progeny who were demigods (half god and half human).

The Greek gods haven’t changed over the centuries. They’re still squabbling, still becoming infatuated with humans and still producing demigods. Percy is one of those demigods. Just like Hercules, Perseus and others were given quests in the really olden days, Percy is given a quest – and it’s a doozy. Zeus’ lightning bolt has been stolen. If Percy doesn’t return it to Zeus before the summer solstice (in 10 days), the gods will go to war with each other. (The last time the Greek gods warred, we experienced The War Between the States.)

Percy, along with Annabeth (daughter of Athena) and Grover (Percy’s best friend and a satyr) set out to accomplish the quest and save Olympus. This is one of my very favorite books, ever.

Reviewed by Lorrie Layton

Book Reviews

Starting, Sowing and Planting

Story by Kat Long / Contributing Writer

April is the month gardeners wait for all year. The month of planting, of safely sowing seeds and of cleaning up the yard … well, for me at least.

All March, I have been holding the hubby (and myself) back from really cleaning up the yard: the mowing, the whacking of old plants and the pulling up of sticks and stems left over from last year. “Why?” you ask. Well, pollinators to be specific. In these piles of leaves, stems and sticks are ladybug eggs, solitary bee babies, walking stick egg sacs and of course, spider egg sacs. But with the advent of April, let the cleaning (and planting) begin.

Starting

If you are like me, you paid someone else to start some seeds for you (thank you Sunny Creek Trading Post) or you are visiting your local greenhouse for some plants (Greenfields and A Painted Leaf Plant Studio) or you are waiting for the Herb Festival to buy ALL the plants. Whichever way you lean, hardening off your starts (baby plants) to acclimate them to the Oklahoma wind, sun, lack of sun and heat/cold is necessary (See Planting on page 48).

Backyard Gardener

And it isn’t too late to start some heat-loving plants from seed in April. Okra, bean and basil plants sprout and grow quickly. They also don’t like cold weather, making a later transplant in May or early June ideal for them. If you want a fun vining spinach-like plant, try Malabar spinach. It loves heat, will grow all summer and subs quite nicely for spinach greens in salads and on hamburgers. Bonus: you can use the purple-blue berries to dye things with the kids.

Sowing

This is my favorite. The time has come to throw some seeds; or meticulously plant them in very organized rows according to a well-thought-out and designed schematic. But that is not me. So, sowing/throwing seeds is where we are right now. There is a butterfly plot I have been seeding every two weeks since January; I have thrown out a few pounds of clover seed all over the yard; and the lettuce seeds were scattered in their plot last week. But enough about my yard. Now is the perfect time to get broccoli, cauliflower, kale and all its relatives, as well as carrots, beets and radishes into the ground. And it’s not too late to get the seed potatoes in the ground or bury some of those potato eyes from your cupboard potatoes.

Also, keep an eye out for returning plants from last year’s fallen seeds, fruit plants like blueberries and strawberries or biennials such as sage, parsley, kale or mint … mint, glorious mint!

Planting

There are a lot of ways to prep the yard for planting: tilling, lasagna gardening and raised beds are just a few. Tilling is pretty self-explanatory. If you are a tiller, understood. I probably can’t change your mind. Lasagna gardening is a way to kill weeds and add nutrients to the soil, but it does take a little time. If you are not ready to plant in April, and have some time, this might be a method to prep your garden area.

Take brown cardboard and newspapers and lay them down two to three thick, covering all the grass/weeds. If you have old leaves lying around, layer those on next. The next layer can be compost or compost scraps (they don’t have to be completely broken down). The next layer can be topsoil, garden soil or your own soil mixture and then cover that with a layer of straw or mulch (grass clippings, mulched leaves, etc. …). Water each layer well as it is put down, and then water the whole “lasagna” area every couple of nights. You can also do this prep inside a raised bed. This will save on buying so much soil to fill the raised bed.

If you are planting close to the last frost date, make sure to harden off your new babies. Steps to harden off plants:

• Begin hardening off 7-10 days before transplanting outdoors.

• Commence by placing plants outside in a shady, protected area for one to two hours a day for two to three days. Bring them back inside after two hours (before dark).

• For sun-happy plants, put them in the sun for longer hours after the first three shady days. For partial shade to full shade, keep using the shady, protected areas.

• No wind for the first five days as the plants can snap or dry up. Keep them in a protected area either with a windbreak or in a covered container.

• After 8-10 days, your plants should be ready to be transplanted. To reduce stress on you and the plants, transplant in the evening. Some say a cool, cloudy day, but as we know, Oklahoma weather can turn on a dime. At least you know the sun will go down and not reappear for 10-12 hours.

If you still are missing a few specific plants or you want to check out other people’s seeds and

plants, The 6th Annual Seed Swap is happening on Saturday, April 6, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at City Central in the Lobby. The Seed Swap is free to attend, and all plants and seeds are free to trade or just take with you.

If you want to avoid losing too many plants to a late freeze or cold snap, there will be a plethora of plants for sale at the Herb Festival at LA Cann Gardens. This year’s event will be on Saturday, June 1, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., which is also the opening of the Ponca City Farmer’s Market, 8-11 am. Mark your calendars, get ready and Happy Gardening!

Left to right: Kevin Konrade, Jacob HudsonOwner, Mazy Hudson, and Jacob and Mazy’s two children.

For more tasty food fun, check out @foodcrushok on IG and Facebook.

Snyder’s Chicken & Catering

Story & Photos By Amy Dewitt Geurin | Contributing Writer

Food is often the catalyst for nostalgia. When studying why food and memories are so entwined, it is fascinating to learn how food not only triggers but reinforces familiar bonds. Fried chicken immediately transports me to Sunday lunch at my parents’ house where, for years, my dad would spend all morning preparing a homecooked meal for anyone that showed up. As adults, if my siblings and I knew fried chicken was on the menu, there was no doubt EVERYONE was showing up.

Nestled inside a humble grocery store, the Snyder family has been serving up exceptional fried chicken since 1981 and they show no signs of slowing down anytime soon. Courtney Primeaux is running the show and pushing out some of the most craveable

comfort foods of all time.

The chicken is the showstopper here, no question. Using the same quick brining method since opening, this seasoned chicken is crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside, as it should be. Texture is key with fried chicken, and Snyder’s knocks it out of the park consistently, due in part to using the same unique breading since opening more than 40 years ago. It’s all about that crunch, and this plump chicken is both crispy and succulent.

It can be challenging to change things up while preserving the technique and flavors people have come to love. Courtney and her team recently rolled out a new recipe for Spicy Chicken Strips, and they are fantastic.

Top Three For Me

Snyder’s caters! Consider them for your next event when you need some salty goodness.

Don’t sleep on the fried catfish. Grab some hot sauce and enjoy.

Check their specials! Always great food that can be hard to find anywhere else around the area.

Full of spicy, sweet richness, these are mouthwatering. The distinct, but controlled, flavor of hot honey coats the crunchy strips but does not weigh them down. Paired with their potatoes that are hand cut and breaded in-house daily, it’s hard to find a better combo.

Fried chicken holds a special place in my heart and in my memories. To this day, my dad’s fried chicken is the best I’ve tasted. He was a damn good cook, and I don’t see my opinion ever changing. But when those fatty, salty, crispy cravings hit, the beautiful golden-hued chicken at Snyder’s is hard to beat. Convenience meets comfort food in the best, and juiciest, way possible. Happy Eating!!

Snyder’s Chicken

3151 W. North Ave.

Ponca City

Phone: 580.762.4686

Hours:

Monday-Friday 5 a.m.-8 p.m

Saturday 6 a.m.-8 p.m

Closed Sunday

Check out Snyder’s menu and specials on Facebook at Snyder’s Chicken & Catering.

LET’S TALK ABOUT IT…..

Corn on the cob … the underrated perfect side dish to fried chicken that no one thinks about because potatoes always steal the show. Corn on the cob is juicy and sweet. You can slather it in loads of butter and get zero judgmental looks. It’s fun to use those little stabbers with fake little corn cobs on them that go in the ends. But honestly, I can’t eat it in public. I am one of those people that is going to get every single kernel off the cob. Every one. I eat it like a typewriter, left to right, top to bottom, so no kernel is missed. So, if you see me eating corn on the cob like a maniac, no you didn’t. Mind your business.

STREAM IT

Story by Hayley Harrison | Staff Writer

This past month has been jam-packed for me. It seems like once Halloween hits, time just speeds up, months fly by in a blink and then one day you look up in Wal-Mart and everything is heart-shaped. So, I felt as if I hadn’t had time to watch, listen to or read anything new to report back on this month. But then it hit me, that that’s not entirely true. There is a show that I watch nightly (often the same episode every night, thanks to my precious husband who falls asleep, without fail, right smack dab in the middle of an episode and then restarts said episode night-after-night) that I absolutely love, and that I have been shocked many of my fellow millennials haven’t seen, and that show is The West Wing.

The West Wing boasts a star-studded cast, including Martin Sheen, Rob Lowe, Dulé Hill, Bradley Whitford (my fav) and Allison Janney. The show centers around the President of the United States (Martin Sheen) and his

dedicated staff who work tirelessly to ensure the betterment of the country and the lives of all Americans. The seven-season show ran from 19992006, and the 42-minute episodes are so well written and have such great flow that it’s easy to get caught up in them, only to realize its 2 o’clock in the morning and you have kids to get ready for school in a few short hours. There are many things I love about this show, the cast, the sets, the plots, etc. But the thing that stands out most to me, is that the issues they were talking about on the show 20-25 years ago, are the same, exact issues that we are still talking about today. Which makes the show still feel incredibly relevant. The writers did such a fantastic job broaching hard, polarizing topics (immigration, women’s rights, etc.) in a way that left the viewer with hope at the end of every episode. They leave you feeling that

compromise, empathy and understanding can win-out at the end of every day, and that whether a person is right-wing, leftwing, independent or otherwise, we’re all Americans and we can progress forward together. And that is a sentiment I think we can all get behind right now.

You can stream all seven seasons of The West Wing on MAX.

Celebrating Excellence: The Significance of Teacher of the Year in Ponca City.

I like to ask this question whenever I can. If you had to close your eyes and reflect on the five people who have made the biggest difference in your life, who would you name? I suspect two or three are former teachers.

In my first year as superintendent, I am privileged to witness the tireless dedication of educators who shape the minds of our future leaders. Among these exceptional individuals, the Teacher of the Year process stands as a beacon of excellence, symbolizing the profound impact teachers have on the lives of their students and the Ponca City community at large. In Ponca City, we pause to recognize our Teacher of the Year and each of the nominees who is setting the bar for top talent in the field of education. We have three excellent finalists for the district teacher of the year, Jordan Biester, Mike Arnold and Karen Myatt. Each of these three teachers is a phenomenal professional who is leaving an indelible mark on the students of PCPS.

I believe public education is the cornerstone of a thriving society, fostering intellectual growth, critical thinking and social development in our children. The role of our teachers is pivotal in this process, as they guide students

through their educational journey, imparting knowledge, values and skills that extend far beyond the classroom. Our teachers of the year embody each of these qualities.

The title of Ponca City Teacher of the Year is not merely an accolade; it is a celebration of commitment, passion and the unwavering belief in the transformative power of education. These distinguished educators exemplify the qualities that make them not just instructors, but mentors and inspirations to their students.

I want to remind our community that respect for teachers is paramount, as they shape the minds that will shape our world. Public education is a collective effort, requiring the collaboration of teachers, parents, administrators and the broader community. By honoring and encouraging our teachers, we invest in the foundation of our society, nurturing a generation that is equipped to face the challenges of tomorrow.

Our teachers dedicate countless hours to fostering a positive and inclusive learning environment. The Ponca City Teacher of the Year embodies the values of resilience, innovation and compassion that are essential

in navigating the complexities of education. Their impact extends far beyond academic achievements; they instill confidence, curiosity and a love for learning that lasts a lifetime.

I would like each of you to be mindful of encouraging and supporting teachers in their career field. A well-supported teaching force is more likely to inspire students, create positive learning experiences and contribute to a community that values education as a cornerstone of progress.

The Teacher of the Year is a symbol of the dedication and excellence that defines the teaching profession. As the superintendent, I advocate for the continuous celebration, respect and encouragement of our educators.

By recognizing the importance of public education and supporting our teachers, we pave the way for a brighter future, one where knowledge, compassion and lifelong learning thrive. I hope you join with me to recognize the work of our teachers, and we can celebrate Ponca City’s Teacher of the Year!

Story by Adam Leaming, Ponca City Public Schools, Superintendent / Contributing Writer

TRY OUR NEW Fire Grilled T- Bone Steak

Saturdays | 3PM - 9PM

Delicious fresh cut re grilled 16 oz T-bone steak, served with a loaded baked potato and country style green beans or broccoli.

Including a slice of New York Cheesecake for dessert.

Get Fit!WITH KERA KESTER

Happy April! I hope you all are enjoying the sunshine and beautiful aspects of life! Just recently, I took some time to simply relax, reflect and clear my mind a little. It felt far too foreign to me than it should. Furthermore, the first thoughts that popped into my head were things from my to-do list and upcoming schedule events. Not one thought was easy-going or peaceful. I also struggled to remember the last time I even took a couple of minutes just to think in silence with no agendas. I’m sure, there are many of you that have shared a moment or two like this.

I understand life gets busy! We have children, jobs or other factors to consider. However, moments of openness and free space are often overlooked as urgent or vital because other deadlines or pressures easily take over. The thing is, these moments are more than necessary – they help us become better, interact with others better and live better and more productive lives. So, in the midst of our schedules and overactive hamster wheels of the mind, here are three ways that I have found help foster a more peaceful sense of clarity and freedom in life.

1. Carve Out Time For It

This is arguably the most important first step in all of this, and often the most difficult. How can we create space in our minds if we don’t have space in our schedules? Even starting out with five minutes in your day can be a huge help. I am preaching to myself here. A number of you can probably also relate to every deadline and concern in the world flooding into your mind as soon as you close your eyes. For

this reason, I recommend starting an extra 5-15 minutes earlier for these thoughts to come and go or be met with a solution. Additionally, environment can be a game changer. For a long time, my “free space” was my bathroom. This was a place that reduced the chances of me being interrupted or rushed.

2. Use Your Imagination To Your Advantage

Sometimes, it is more beneficial to focus on directing your thoughts instead of clearing them out. It is easy to imagine what

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could go wrong or negative thoughts people may have about you, etc. Instead, try focusing on things that are in your control and that also matter, maybe even matter more. For instance, if I feel one of my character flaws is being weak, it will benefit me to imagine myself as a strong woman. What would that look like? How could I do things differently

or more consistently to align myself with that?

When we start looking at ourselves through an edifying lens and develop the belief in ourselves to become better, we have a higher probability of making it a reality.

As soon as we start becoming better, the way we interact with others changes! It becomes easier to disassociate with discouraging or harmful relationships and habits. That disassociation can lead to building an edifying, supportive and helpful community that pulls us into our potential and raises our bar into greater purpose. The doors of opportunity, as well as the healthy emotional and mental state that follows, is beautiful! Go join a local church or gym, for example. Life becomes so much more

enjoyable and can feel much more meaningful.

3. Clear Your Environment!

Clean your house or your car! You’d be amazed at how much a clean and clutter-free environment can help our own mental state. Not only can cleaning be a relaxing habit in and of itself, but it creates a sense of fresh openness and free space. This can easily translate to your mental state and even check off a couple of those to-do list thoughts that come. Another plus is that there is also a clean and additional space to lay your body on or move around in … or even dance, if in the quietness a special song pops into your mind!

My hope is that you all live with as much peace and stability as possible. Taking these steps toward mental and emotional health does wonders for us all. Additionally, if you are one that feels a desire to create or expand your community, always feel free to reach out through my email or social media pages. I love meeting new people and friends! Have a fabulous rest of your month and, as always, much love to you all!

Changing jobs or being laid off can cause you to look at your Qualified Employer Sponsored Retirement Plan (QRP) savings.

You generally have four options for your QRP distribution:

1. Roll over your assets into an Individual Retirement Account (IRA)

2. Leave your assets in your former employer’s QRP, if allowed by the plan

3. Move your assets directly to your new employer’s QRP, if allowed by the plan

4. Take your money out and pay the associated taxes

Each of these options has advantages and disadvantages and the one that is best depends on your individual circumstances. You should consider features such as investment choices, fees and expenses, and services offered. Your Financial Advisor can help educate you regarding your choices so you can decide. Be sure to speak with your current retirement plan administrator and tax professional before taking any action.

Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network does not provide legal or tax advice.

APRIL IS Stress Awareness Month!!

Story by Kelli Northcutt| Contributing Writer

We’ve all seen the stressed-out person at the grocery store. They have dark bags under their eyes, a phone up to their ear, they’re checking their watch every two minutes and they might even be yelling at their three children in tow or the unsuspecting cashier! We’ve probably not only seen this person at the store, but more than likely we’ve BEEN this person!

Living without stress is impossible. Stress is a normal part of our lives and is a natural response to demands and pressures we encounter every day. The problem occurs when we do not manage that stress well. The American Psychological Association reports that more than three fourths of adults report having physical symptoms of stress in the last month, and half of all adults report that stress has negatively affected their behavior.

Each person responds to stressors differently based on their personality, support system and many other factors, including genetics and life circumstances. Stress can cause a variety of physical symptoms, including

increased blood pressure, heart rate and blood flow to muscles. These effects are intended to help you respond to a high-pressure situation, but if

you’re constantly reacting to stressful situations, the effects can negatively affect your physical and mental health. Ongoing stress keeps the nervous system in high gear. The stress hormones, like cortisol and adrenaline, produced by your body in stress remain at high levels so that your mind and body stay on full alert and you do not wind down. Too much stress, or stress carried for too long, can leave us feeling overwhelmed and unable to cope. These ongoing physiological effects from stress can lead to heart disease, digestive issues, anxiety and depression and much more.

Because stress is inevitable, it’s important that we find ways to manage stress in our lives and our reaction to it. Just as different stressors impact individuals in distinct ways, managing stress and what is effective for each individual will be different as well.

This month, try multiple stress management techniques and find the methods that best help you cope with life’s stressors.

Stress Management Techniques

Schedule rest and relaxation – time for rest will likely not happen on its own so schedule it in your day!

Do a “worries” or “to-do” list brain dump. Write down all of your concerns and separate those into things you can and can’t control OR write down all of the things that come to mind, big or small, that you need to accomplish. Next, make a plan to address the worries you can control and schedule the items on the to-do list so you have a plan for how to accomplish them. People who do this regularly before bed sleep better!

Set a sleep routine with regular bedtime and wake time. When you get a good night’s rest, your body naturally reduces the circulating levels of stress hormones.

Get out of your house or office and take a walk. Studies show that being in nature lowers the stress hormone cortisol and even decreases your heart rate.

Do physical activity several times per week. This helps your body relieve tension and to produce endorphins that make you “feel” better.

Reach out to, and spend time with, family or friends. Connection with others can calm us and improve our reaction to stressors in our life.

Play with a pet – Interacting with a furry friend can reduce stress hormones that cause us to feel the physical effects of stress!

Shift from negative self-talk to positive – Every time you catch yourself “talking” negatively to, or about, yourself shift the narrative. For example, change “I hate it when this happens” to “I can handle this” or “I feel helpless and alone” to “I can reach out and get help.” Positive self-talk can calm you down and move you forward.

Step away from a situation, take a few deep breaths, or a few hours, to figure out how to respond.

Take a few minutes to meditate or pray – This can help you to calm your mind and focus on one thing.

Stretch your muscles – this decreases muscle tension and has been shown to increase serotonin levels, the hormone that stabilizes our mood and overall makes us “feel good.”

Do the things tonight that in the morning you will thank yourself for – pick out and prep outfits, make lunches and snacks, prep dinner ingredients (thaw meat, cut veggies), lay out items needed for meetings or extracurricular activities.

Reduce intake of alcohol, tobacco and caffeine –these items can actually increase blood pressure. Cutting back or quitting them can decrease anxiety.

Embrace JOMO aka the Joy of Missing Out –constantly staying connected through our devices by social media, email or the news can lead to burnout and more stress. Set boundaries around using your device for work or shutting off electronics at a certain time every night.

Seek help from a professional counselor – Therapy can help you explore the causes of your stress and give you tools and solutions to combat it.

On That

by Rachel Stewart / Contributing Writer

You know the saying “go with your gut” … what does that even mean? My gut literally can’t even handle a glass of milk or an ice cream cone, yet I’m supposed to trust it with important decisions and my future like it’s some kind of oracle? This saying wasn’t meant for people with anxiety. If I have an upset tummy, my mind instantly goes to intestinal tumor. My knee hurt the other day and I diagnosed myself with gout. And I don’t even know what gout is. Turns out I had just been sitting crisscross-applesauce too long. The other day I had a stroke, I think. My symptoms? Just a headache. Nerves before getting on a flight? How do I know if that’s normal or if that means the plane is going to crash and I shouldn’t get on it? I also constantly think I’m going to get trafficked when I’m at Walmart or really any public setting, until a dear friend reminded me that I’m far too old to get trafficked, that they target young girls, not middle-aged moms. Which hurt to hear, but I do

feel slightly more at ease in public now. Anxiety really is no joke. How do I teach my body that “fight-or-flight” response is for life- ordeath situations, not for small-talk with the cashier at the gas station or responding to an email? My other favorite symptom of my anxiety is the over-thinking. If you send me a text that says “Okay” … are you mad at me? If you send me a text that says “Okay.” A PERIOD?! Why are you furious at me?!! And if you send “K” I will simply pass away. You have to send “Okay!” otherwise I won’t be able to sleep that night. Anyways, I have to go, I have a doctor’s appointment for what I believe to be a pulmonary embolism.

Fishing buddies Shaun (left) and Madden (right) at Kaw Lake.

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YOU’VE GOT MAIL

Story by Hayley Harrison | Staff Writer

January was a super busy month for our little family! It seemed like we were busy every single weekend of the month. It was full of basketball games, family time, and me bidding farewell to my twenties (didn’t hurt as much as I thought it would), but my favorite thing about January was my oldest daughter turning the big E I G H T years old! I’m not sure if you all know what a big deal turning eight is. It’s huge! It means you are only two years away from being double digits (or so I’m told)!

We obviously had to craft a celebration befitting of this monumental milestone, so I was agreeing to pretty much whatever my daughter wanted to do. Have a family party at home and then another party at the RecPlex!? Of course! Two different themed birthday cakes!? Absolutely! Sleepover with five friends!? Definitely! I just wanted to do whatever I could to make her birthday everything she wanted it to be. (I’m a

millennial parent, it’s what we do. LOL)

Fast-forward past both parties, to the sleepover. It reminded me a lot of that scene in Bridesmaids where Megan takes nine golden retriever puppies from the wedding shower and later goes on to say: “I did slightly overcommit to the whole dog thing. It turns out I’m probably more comfortable with six.” That is the best way I can think to explain what the sleepover was like.

So anyways, after several hours of running around the house at full speed like sugar-fueled crazy ladies, we finally made it to bedtime. Everyone was settled into their pallets and anxious to start the movie that the birthday girl was going to pick. She was absolutely giddy to introduce her friends to her favorite movie of all time, because she knew that just like her, they were going to love it. She talked this movie up all night, so much so that the other girls were just as excited to watch it! So upon

pressing play, she was absolutely stunned to find out that most eight-year-olds don’t get too excited to watch the timeless Tom Hanks/Meg Ryan classicYou’ve Got Mail. This shocked her, so much so that she began to tear up, either from utter exhaustion or the unfathomable realization that anyone would prefer a Disney movie over the emotionally gripping tale of You’ve Got Mail.

I tried to quickly avert the crisis and gently explain to her that though her feelings are valid, and You’ve Got Mail is a masterpiece of its time, it typically isn’t something that captures the attention of 2nd graders. Though still dejected, she understood, and they were able to finish their night out with cartoons. And this story is one of the many reasons we will never forget the slumber party of 2024!