HH HOMEGROWN HEROES
JOHN CASH AND HIS DAUGHTER, CHRISTA RICE
WHETHER HE IS SERVING GOOD FOOD OR SELFLESSLY GIVING TO LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS AND INDIVIDUALS IN NEED, TRAILS END BBQ’S JOHN CASH DOESN’T LIKE SEEING ANYONE GO HUNGRY. BY Michele Chiappetta PHOTOS BY Valerie Grant
Among the well-established restaurants in Owasso sits a humble, rustic barbecue spot known as Trails End BBQ. Trails End consistently serves its customers with pleasure, making sure people leave a little happier than they came in. That same sense of service and giving quietly and consistently to others is something that seems to be the guiding philosophy of Trails End’s owner, John Cash. Trails End BBQ and Cash’s dedication to help make his community a great place to live have both been fixtures in Owasso for over two decades. “It’s been a long, hard road, though it doesn’t seem like it now,” Cash says of his journey from past to present. “The Lord has blessed us with great success and a community that, for the most part, welcomes us with open arms. We’ve tried our best
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to be a good business operating in the community and be a part of it, not just be here to take but be here to help.” Cash’s dedication to taking care of others started at a young age. He had a habit of helping friends, sometimes spending money on them to the point that his parents fussed over his generosity. “I guess I just always looked at money as a tool to be used, and not to hoard it, not to be selfish with it,” he says. “I love giving to the church, giving to needy organizations.” Cash shares details of his charitable work with reluctance, feeling that it is better to simply give as he can, without drawing attention to himself while he does it. “I believe enough in the Bible when it says the left hand is not supposed to know what the right hand is doing,” he says. “In other words, if you do something, just do it in quiet, and don’t make
a big deal, don’t bring attention to yourself where it doesn’t count. We just like to help.” Still, it’s clear from talking with him and others who know about him that he cares a lot about doing what he can do to
“I DON'T LIKE SEEING ANYONE GO HUNGRY. NOT IN THIS COUNTRY.” make a difference. Among his preferred local charities are Mission Owasso, sponsored by First Baptist Owasso to help those in need, and Night Light Tulsa, which offers
meals and toiletries to Tulsa’s homeless population. “I don’t like seeing anyone go hungry,” Cash says. “Not in this country.” His sense of the advantages he has as an American has been shaped by his mission trips to Nicaragua, where he saw firsthand what many people in underdeveloped nations struggle to handle. Another area where Cash likes to give is to the local Owasso school system. He cares deeply about teachers, he says. “My kids went to school here, so I do anything I can do to help the schools out.” Cash helps the sports teams out because he values the amount of work and dedication that local coaches spend in teaching children and helping them to develop a purpose. “That’s a lot of selflessness — coaching,” he says. His own stepdaughter serves as