TulsaPeople December 2022

CAFFEINE CULTURE

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DONNA REED’S TIME IN TULSA

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WELLNESS GUIDE December 2022

WELLTOWN’S WINTER WONDERLAND

25 WAYS TO CELEBRATE THE SEASON

From the trimmings and tidings to the spirit and smiles, we are incredibly grateful to share in this Holiday Season with you.

Thank you, Tulsa, for being a part of the Mabrey family.

Blessings to you and yours, and we wish you Peace and Joy in 2023.

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LOCAL PROVIDERS

VIDEO VISITS

WARREN CLINIC 24/7 VIRTUAL URGENT CARE No matter what time it is or where you are in Oklahoma, you can conveniently connect to a locally-based Saint Francis provider through Warren Clinic 24/7 Virtual Urgent Care.

Through a simple video visit, adult and pediatric patients with minor illnesses or non-emergency conditions can be evaluated and provided with a treatment plan.

To access Warren Clinic 24/7 Virtual Urgent Care through your smartphone or computer, visit saintfrancis.com/urgentcare or sign in to your Saint Francis MyChart account to start your visit.

*If you are experiencing severe illness, a major injury, symptoms of a heart attack, stroke or shortness of breath, please call 911 or visit your nearest emergency room.

saintfrancis.com/urgentcare

Wishing Everyone a Heartwarming Holiday Season

This year, give the gift of heart health. We offer lifesaving heart screenings that can help prevent heart attack and stroke.

Call 918-592-0999 or visit oklahomaheart.com/lifesavingscreenings to schedule your appointment.

DECEMBER 2022 | VOLUME 37 ISSUE 2

Notion’s Wild Blueberry coffee curation

7 CITY DESK Where to go for a dose of holiday nostalgia.

Quilt fit for a queen.

This year’s Tulsa ornament.

Bringing services to the unsheltered.

50 TABLE TALK Recipes for Christmas morning.

Warm up with a bowl of curry.

36 RED CARPET, GREEN COUNTRY

42 DAILY GRIND

When actress Donna Reed lived in Tulsa.

BY CONNIE CRONLEY

The best places for your daily dose of caffeine, coworking, friendly gatherings and more.

BY NATALIE MIKLES

Interfaith trailblazer reflects on 60-plus years in Tulsa.

BY GAIL BANZET-ELLIS

54 COUNTDOWN TO CHRISTMAS Twenty five ways to celebrate the season.

BY ANNE BROCKMAN AND TIFFANY HOWARD

40 CREATING A COLLECTION Inside the OKPOP archives as staff inventories a growing collection of artifacts.

BY TIM LANDES

Calaveras reopens.

SPECIAL SECTIONS 56 Holiday Hints 67 Wellness

65 LIFESTYLE Popcorn for the masses.

Tulsa-themed painting kits.

ON THE COVER: The Cozy Cabin at Welltown Brewing’s Iglootown. Read more on p. 54. Photo by Michelle Pollard.

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TulsaPeople DECEMBER 2022

Destinations for an Okie Christmas.

Connie Cronley is focused on flies.

MICHELLE POLLARD; CITY DESK: GREG BOLLINGER

38 LEGENDS: YOLANDA CHARNEY

A cinnamon roll big enough for a family.

ELECTRIC VEHICLES TAKE AN AVERAGE OF

4 HOURS TO FULLY CHARGE.

HOLIDAY GIFT GIVERS AVERAGE

4 HOURS

TO WRAP PRESENTS. Charge Your EV While You Wrap. Sure, there’s a lot of hype around electric vehicles (EVs) right now. But there are also a lot of questions about their performance, reliability and how they actually fit into most people’s everyday life. At PSO, we want to provide you with answers to your EV questions, so you can make informed decisions. Learn more at: GetToKnowEV.com.

FROM THE EDITOR

This time of year the nostalgia bug is a busy one.

Volume XXXVII, Number 2 ©2022. All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced without written permission from the publisher, including created advertising in a proofed or printed stage.

TulsaPeople Magazine is published monthly by

It seems to come out as our annual holiday tradi-

VIP experience complete with champagne, a pri-

tions recur and reinvent themselves.

vate rooftop seating area and serious hygge vibes.

For many, holiday traditions have gone on for

The eight igloos and cabin remain up through

countless years. There are some who can’t have a

March 26, so there is plenty of time to explore

Christmas season pass without watching “It’s A

this entertainment option even after the New

Wonderful Life,” the endearing story of George

Year has passed.

Bailey as he reflects on what could have been while

A reservation at Iglootown is just one of many

realizing his life is pretty … wonderful. One of the

suggestions we have to celebrate the season. The

stars of this classic is Donna Reed, a woman who

complete list begins on p. 54.

would earn an Oscar for 1953’s “From Here to

Leaning away from the holidays — yet ever so

Eternity” and accolades for her eponymous tele-

timely during T-Town’s colder temps — we explore

vision show. She also happened to be a Tulsa resi-

the city’s coffee houses. A round-up starts on p. 42.

dent briefly. Learn more about this on p. 36.

Natalie Mikles profiles many of our favorite spots

For others, traditions have been formed more

for meeting up with friends or getting some work

recently. In a few short years, Welltown Brewing

done away from the office. Plus, they all serve up

has become synonymous with the winter season

some fantastic drinks.

It’s been a busy year for everyone. And I know

had seen the concept in other big cities, “but

if your calendar is anything like mine, we tend to

COVID prodded us to explore the option. It also

go out with a bang. The datebooks get filled with

allowed us to ignite and re-energize our rooftop

parties among co-workers, friends, family and

during the winter,” he says.

neighbors. I hope you have the chance to unwind

has been the site of first dates, engagements and even weddings. Friend groups have booked gath-

PUBLISHER Jim Langdon PRESIDENT Juley Roffers VP COMMUNITY RELATIONS Susie Miller EDITOR DIGITAL EDITOR ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR CITY EDITOR

Anne Brockman Tim Landes Blayklee Freed Tiffany Howard

EDITORIAL CONSULTING Missy Kruse, The Write Company CREATIVE DIRECTOR ART DIRECTOR GRAPHIC DESIGNER MANAGING PHOTOGRAPHER VIDEOGRAPHER

Madeline Crawford Georgia Brooks Ashley Guerrero Michelle Pollard Greg Bollinger

SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Andrea Canada ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVES Josh Kampf Rita Kirk CONTROLLER Mary McKisick DISTRIBUTION COORDINATOR Amanda Hall INTERNS Abby Beller J. D. Myer

MEMBER

through its Iglootown. Owner Jeremy Diamond

Now in its third season, the winter wonderland

1603 South Boulder Avenue Tulsa, Oklahoma 74119-4407 P: 918-585-9924 F: 918-585-9926

a bit after the buzz of the season. And I hope TulsaPeople helps you do that.

See you next year. TP

TulsaPeople’s distribution is audited annually by

Langdon Publishing Company sets high standards to ensure forestry is practiced in an environmentally responsible, socially beneficial and economically viable manner. This issue of Tulsa People was printed on recycled fibers containing 20 percent post-consumer waste with inks containing a soy base blend. Our printer is a certified member of the Forestry Stewardship Council and the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, and additionally, meets or exceeds all federal Resource Conservation Recovery Act standards. When you are finished with this issue, please pass it on to a friend or recycle it. We can have a better world if we choose it together.

Disregard any TulsaPeople subscription solicitation that is not directly mailed from the Langdon Publishing office at 1603 S. Boulder Ave. Contact Langdon Publishing directly if you are interested in subscribing or renewing your TulsaPeople subscription.

erings year after year — a tradition sparked.

Iglootown is such a must for so many Tulsans that when online reservations begin in early November, bookings are fast and furious. This year Welltown debuts the Cozy Cabin, which happens to grace this month’s cover. It ups the game with a 6

TulsaPeople DECEMBER 2022

Anne Brockman EDITOR

S AY N O T O H A T E

Christmastime cookies GREG BOLLINGER

‘T

is the season for … cookies! Whether you’re needing festive party treats, a hostess gift or a little Christmas Eve something for Santa himself, OK Cookie Momster has every holiday wish and whim covered. In addition to custom iced sugar cookies, the shop also offers cookie bouquets, thick slabs of cookie cake in multiple sizes and other year-round fan favorites. TP SEE P. 14 FOR MORE ON OK COOKIE MOMSTER. TulsaPeople.com

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NOTEBOOK

BY T IFFAN Y HO WAR D

From left, Rob Wilder receives the Carnegie Catalyst Award on behalf of World Central Kitchen; 2022 Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy recipients were Manu Chandaria, Lyda Hill, Lynn Schusterman, Dolly Parton and Stacy Schusterman.

Randy, a Tulsa Day Center client, receives the key to his new apartment.

Schustermans share stage NEIGHBOR NEEDS with Dolly Parton

Tulsa Day Center staff rehouse one client or family per day, on average, making sure they are set up with bigger items like a bed and furniture, as well as smaller household items of comfort and utility. To help these Tulsans turn an empty space into a home, the Day Center accepts year-round housewarming basket donations with objects like dishes, bath towels, cleaning supplies, cooking utensils, shower curtains and bed linens. Those donating are invited to include an encouraging note for the recipient.

“I’ve seen that situation with clients where they move in and they have nothing,” says Noe Rodriguez, associate director for Tulsa Day Center. “They’re super grateful for the apartment, and many of them just say they’ll sleep on the floor and you’re like, ‘That’s not OK; we can do better.’ We want them to feel successful. We want them to feel like this is a home.”

Housewarming items can be placed in a large laundry basket and dropped off between 8 a.m.-5 p.m. any day of the week at Tulsa Day Center, 415 W. Archer St. Go to tulsadaycenter.org or scan the QR code to access a full list of needed housewarming items, or to build a basket through the Day Center’s Amazon Wish List.

VO I C E S O F O K L A H O M A “One of my jobs was the growth and development at Saint Francis. So we went and we called all our little groups together and went, ‘What is a great hospital?’

I was given the job of articulating it. We wanted to have an acute care general hospital, but we wanted it to have regional expertise or even national expertise in certain areas … I would like to be remembered as a good doctor, as a good surgeon, as a problem solver, and as one that is willing to give back to community.”

— Dr. C.T. Thompson was a pillar and pioneer in the medical community. After establishing a surgical private practice in 1956, Thompson became chief of surgery at Saint Francis Hospital and eventually chief executive officer. His medical service occurred at a time when polio, hospital segregation and the growth of Saint Francis hospital were issues. Thompson was 97 when he died June 17, 2022.

“Voices of Oklahoma” is an oral history project founded by John Erling in 2009. Visit voicesofoklahoma.com.

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TulsaPeople DECEMBER 2022

SCHUSTERMANS: FILIP WOLAK; RANDY: COURTESY TULSA DAY CENTER; VOICES: COURTESY SAINT FRANCIS

Lynn Schusterman and Stacy Schusterman were honored Oct. 13 in New York City alongside Dolly Parton with the 2022 Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy, an award that recognizes innovative philanthropists making the world smarter, cleaner, healthier and more equitable for all.

As chair emerita of Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies, Lynn established the Tulsa-based organization with her late husband, Charles, in 1987 to create more just and inclusive societies in the U.S. and Israel. Lynn was recognized as a proud supporter of the Jewish people and the Tulsa community; for her advocacy addressing child abuse and neglect; championing educational opportunities for all young people; and as a pioneering funder of inclusion and equality. In 2011 she signed the Giving Pledge — a promise by the world’s wealthiest individuals and families to dedicate the majority of their wealth to charitable causes.

Stacy, Lynn’s daughter and Schusterman Family Philanthropies chair, was recognized for leading the organization in advancing racial, gender and economic equity in the U.S. through investments in K-12 education, gender and reproductive equity, democracy and voting rights, and criminal justice reform. She and Lynn remain firmly committed to the values and lessons of Jewish ethics that have inspired the family’s philanthropic work since the beginning: to pursue justice (tzedek), to repair the world (tikkun olam), and to treat all people with dignity and civility (derekh eretz).

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MAG108474-0050

DECEMBER COMPILED BY BL AYKLEE FREED

Tulsa artist Alexander Tamahn creates a mural in the Tulsa Arts District ahead of Goff Fest in 2021.

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TulsaPeople DECEMBER 2022

THROUGH DEC. 31 IT’S CORN! Long before it was featured in the viral video of the “Corn Kid,” this plant was and is loved by many Native American tribes, embedded into the fabric of Indigenous culture through feasts, song, dance and art.

PHILBROOK MUSEUM, 2727 S. ROCKFORD ROAD PHILBROOK.ORG

DEC. 17 BACHATURDAY Latin Dance 918 hosts monthly events to teach Tulsans how to dance Bachata. The gathering kicks off with a potluck and ends with a dance session to show your skills.

CENTENNIAL CENTER IN VETERANS PARK, 1028 E. SIXTH ST. LATINDANCE918.ORG

DEC. 3 YULETIDE MARKET Tulsa Farmers’ Market hosts a special shopping event with goods from local farms and ranches, artists and craftspeople showcasing their creative works to kick off the holiday season.

Plus, get a picture with Santa Claus.

WHITTIER SQUARE, 1 S. LEWIS AVE. TULSAFARMERSMARKET.ORG

DEC. 18 A NIGHT OF NO PARKING STORIES SSDD Print Co. has a series of classes with local artists at the helm. This month, create a quick drawing and short story alongside Tulsa artist Dialtone, who will give instruction and guidance for the event.

SSDD PRINT CO., 3306 CHARLES PAGE BLVD. SSDDPRINT.CO

DEC. 5 THE EDGE CHRISTMAS CONCERT Christmas comes to Cain’s Ballroom early with Silversun Pickups and special guest, Tulsa’s own Wilderado.

CAIN’S BALLROOM, 423 N. MAIN ST. CAINSBALLROOM.COM

DEC. 30 ’90S HOUSE PARTY Jam out with Tone Loc, Color Me Badd and C&C Music Factory at a throwback party for the ages.

HARD ROCK HOTEL AND CASINO TULSA, 777 W. CHEROKEE ST., CATOOSA HARDROCKCASINOTULSA.COM

DEC. 10 L’HIVER A PARIS The Hulett Collection’s latest exhibition shows photography by contemporary artist Kit Young and 20th-century Humanist master Louis Stettner from Paris, France.

THE HULETT COLLECTION, 1311 E. 15TH ST. THEHULETTCOLLECTION.COM

VISIT TULSAPEOPLE.COM/ABOUTTOWN FOR MORE LOCAL EVENTS AND A COMPREHENSIVE LIST OF WEEKLY MUSIC LISTINGS.

IT’S CORN: WALDO MOOTZKA/COURTESY PHILBROOK MUSEUM; L’HIVER A PARIS: ESTATE OF LOUIS STETTNER/COURTESY HULETT COLLECTION; BACHATURDAY: TWYLAH RIVERS PHOTOGRAPHY; NO PARKING: COURTESY DIALTONE; GOFF FEST: MELISSA LUKENBAUGH/COURTESY TULSA ARTIST FELLOWSHIP; EDGE CONCERT AT CAIN’S, ’90S HOUSE PARTY: COURTESY

DEC. 1-4 GOFF FEST Marvel at the architectural masterpieces created by Oklahoma architect Bruce Goff in this multi-day festival that includes a documentary screening, tours and community gatherings. Day one kicks off with an architect’s mixer and napkin sketch contest.

CENTER FOR ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN – TULSA FOUNDATION FOR ARCHITECTURE AND AIA EASTERN OKLAHOMA OFFICES, 633 S. BOSTON AVE. GOFF-FEST.COM

paradise never sounded So Good.

Tickets make perfect holiday gifts!

RON WHITE

On Sale Now

Styx DEC 1 Virlan Garcia, Javier Rosas, & Luis CoroneL DEC 2 Clay Walker DEC 8 Ron White New Year’s Eve Show!

DEC 31

All performances subject to change.

RIVER SPIRIT CASINO RESORT · Tulsa

Live Music

7 Nights a Week in 5 o’Clock Somewhere Bar Fridays & Saturdays in Margaritaville!

Visit margaritavilletulsa.com for a complete schedule.

8 3 3 0 R I V E R S I D E PA R K W AY T U L S A , O K 7413 7 8 8 8 . 74 8 . 3 7 3 1 • R I V E R S P I R I T T U L S A . C O M

COFFEE WITH

BRYAN CROWE BOK CENTER EXECUTIVE ON HIS MEMORABLE FIRST YEAR IN TULSA. STORY AND PHOTO BY TIM LANDES

I

t’s a Friday morning in late October when Bryan Crowe stops by neighborhood coffee shop Sona Coffee, 306 E. First St., on his way to his office at the BOK Center. The Chicago native spent 18 years in west Texas working for Destination El Paso, including eight years as its CEO, before relocating to Tulsa to become vice president and general manager of BOK Center and Cox Business Convention Center in October 2021.

BOK CENTER’S REPUTATION MADE IT EASY FOR CROWE TO LEAVE EL PASO … When this opportunity came up and the executives asked if I’d be interested in coming to Tulsa, the facility is well-known not only within our company (ASM Global), but across the industry and has always been one of the top buildings in the U.S. and the world since it opened in 2008. I thought that it was a great opportunity to switch it up a little bit. I’ve been doing sort of the same thing in the same place for a while, and I wanted to try something a little bit different. The BOK has a great team and it’s in a great city, so it was an easy decision.

THE TRANSITION HAS BEEN SMOOTH WITH LOTS OF EVENTS BACK ON THE CALENDAR ... We had a great first year with a lot of successes getting live events back, meetings back, banquets back, all that type of stuff. It’s been an exciting year, and we have another exciting year ahead of us in terms of some concert announcements and some conventions we’re hosting. We’re excited to be hosting the NCAA Wrestling Championships right after we host the Big 12 Wrestling Championships. That’ll be huge in the spring with a lot of exciting concert announcements that will come out before the year is over.

CROWE SAYS THEY PROBABLY RECEIVED THE MOST POSITIVE FEEDBACK ABOUT THE AUG. 17 LUMINEERS CONCERT, BUT HIS FAVORITES WERE ... I was really, really

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TulsaPeople DECEMBER 2022

excited about and really enjoyed seeing Dua Lipa (on March 17). She put on a great sold-out show with Megan Thee Stallion. Megan wasn’t on every date with Dua. It was maybe three days of the tour, and one was here in Tulsa, so that was cool because it was two superstars in one night.

I was really surprised and impressed with MGK. Machine Gun Kelly put on a great show (on July 9), and was just really, really genuine and nice. The staff got him these custom shoes that had been designed by artists that wove his lyrics into the design of the shoes. He absolutely loved them so much that he chose to wear them that night in the show, which never happens. You don’t ever see them change their planned costume that’s been very well thought out. We continue to follow him on social media, and he wore them at shows after Tulsa, including LA, which is really cool.

THE HOSPITALITY IS PART OF THE REASON THE BIGGEST ACTS LOVE COMING TO PLAY THE BOK ... We try to make sure artists really enjoy Tulsa when they’re here. The team comes up with something very unique and special for each artist that comes in here. That’s a really cool thing that they do. It’s something they started doing here in Tulsa, and many other cities now try to emulate that or do something as equally creative and cool everywhere else because people were used to getting the Tulsa treatment in Tulsa.

THE ARTIST HE MOST WANTS TO SEE PERFORM AT BOK LAST PLAYED THE VENUE IN 2016 ... One of my favorite artists is Dolly Parton. And of course, she’s already been here once before, but she would be one that would be awesome to get when she tours again. She’s just an incredible person. TP

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3 4 6 0 W. 1 5 1 S T S T. , K I E F E R • 9 1 8 - 9 7 3 - 4 4 5 5 • V I S TA P O O L S O K . C O M

BIZ WHIZ

Desktop

Inside Teri Bowers’ office

Home

Kitchen trends

Artists in Residence Vintage Wildflowers

October 2011

October 2011 ✻ Kitchen issue ✻ www.tulsaPeople.com

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Fiddling phenoms Talented young musicians

Eight-year-old fiddler Keaton Cunningham

take center stage

CheFs’ seCreTs

inside local tastemakers’ kitchens + Their favorite recipes BEST

11TH ANNUAL WOMEN’S ISSUE

Dancing into the dark p. 74 HOME & LEISURE: Cherry Street crawl p. 100 UP FRONT: The First Wednesday Reading Club p. 22 SENIOR LIVING:

SPJ

AWARDED

2004

Oklahoma’s

MAGAZINE

September 2004

2011 Charitable

Events Registry

Spring break

getaways January 2011

January 2011 ✻ Tulsan of the Year: Mike Neal ✻ www.TulsaPeople.com

LeAnne Taylor One of Tulsa’s favorite TV personalities talks about her fight with breast cancer. p. 48

TP_0111_Cover.indd

Tulsan of the Year

Mike Neal

who shaped 25 our city

Barry

Lives well

Remembering

Tulsa brides and grooms

Tulsans

biggest losers

A year later

with Mayor

Dewey Bartlett

1

25 12/18/10

REAL WEDDINGS

lived

20 notable

The dish on diet-friendly Winning at dining losing Meet Tulsa’s

Friedman’s annual year in review

3:05 PM

Behind the sCenes A look back at 25 favorite covers

Rachael Foster Morley and Libby Morley, co-owners of OK Cookie Momster, 3324 E. 31st St.

BAKED WITH LOVE WITH DECADENT FLAVORS AND A DASH OF NOSTALGIA, OK COOKIE MOMSTER SERVES TULSA SWEETS.

BY JAMIE RICHERT JONES

F

or Libby Morley, co-owner and founder of OK Cookie Momster, the joy of baking — especially during the holidays — is steeped in the comfort of memory. She grew up making Christmas cookies with her grandmother, Boofie, whose original recipe now lives on in the shop’s signature sugar cookie.

Though OK Cookie Momster offers a tasty array of cookie treats year-round, the holidays usher the return of customer favorites like the molasses-based Kringle cookie, and gingerbread and iced sugar cookie kits ($26).

“Christmas is definitely our busiest season,” Morley says. “It’s also our favorite season! We have so much fun with friends and family who come to visit us during those long hours. ” “We both love the late-night baking and decorating hours that we put in during the holiday season,” adds co-owner Rachael Foster Morley, Morley’s wife.

Morley’s professional baking career began as a way for her to spend more time with her son, Sam, who was born in 2011 with craniofacial deformities and required extensive medical attention. She left her career in social work in 2013, baking out of her home until eventually opening OK Cookie Momster’s brick-and-mortar location in 2016.

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TulsaPeople DECEMBER 2022

Sam, who was very much into Cookie Monster at the time, inspired the unique name.

“I created the icing recipe and taught myself how to decorate cookies basically by watching YouTube videos and trial and error,” she says. “The first cookie cutter I had to try the icing with was the Oklahoma cookie cutter my grandmother had given me. So I put the heart over Tulsa and that was that.”

Now, the shop offers over 2,000 shapes and designs for custom cookie orders. “Our business would not be as successful without the hardworking staff and the support of our amazing family and friends,” Morley says.

Foster Morley is the mind behind some of the shop’s more playful cookie flavors such as confetti, cookies and cream, salted caramel white chocolate, and brown butter. Morley’s mom, Laurie, created the recipes for the oatmeal, snickerdoodle and monster cookies.

Offering a full espresso bar and cozy cafe seating, you also can grab a cappuccino to fuel the rest of those holiday errands. And with retail items from mini cookie jars to novelty mugs, magnets, toys and tea towels, you may just find some special stocking stuffers, as well. TP

An 8-year-old fiddling phenom at the time of her October 2011 cover appearance, Keaton Cunningham is now 19 and in her sophomore year at Oklahoma State University, where she’s known as the “Pi Phi That Can Sing.”

Wherever she goes, music and recognition are clearly quick to follow.

Cunningham began training at age 3 in the Suzuki Method with neighbor Jodie Naifeh.

She practiced classical music, but by the time Cunningham appeared on the cover, she’d decided she wanted to play music closer to the style of what she grew up with. “I was over here playing classical music on the violin and in orchestras until one day I was like, ‘I want to learn to play some Merle Haggard!’”

Cunningham says.

When she learned the violin and the fiddle were the same instrument merely played in a different way (“strings” vs. “strangs,” she likes to joke), she started training with local Tulsan Rick Morton, who played with Brooks and Dunn and George Strait.

Under Morton’s guidance, Cunningham eventually added the mandolin and guitar to her musical repertoire and found her singing voice.

Cunningham kept her emerging talent mostly under wraps until her senior year of high school, and her friends were shocked when they saw her old TulsaPeople cover in a shadow box at Cunningham’s house and learned of her fiddling prodigy past.

“The Hannah Montana jokes just started rolling in,” she laughs.

At OSU, Cunningham is a vocal presence on campus — both through directing stage activities like Spring Sing and as a political science major with a concentration in pre-law. Though she loves both roles, it’s still music that drives her heart.

“My answer almost 12 years ago stays the same today: When I grow up, I want to be a musician.”

— TIFFANY HOWARD

GREG BOLLINGER

Covers REVISITED

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DEDICATION POST-RETIREMENT

PAINT THE TOWN

CLEAN HANDS CELEBRATES 10 YEARS OF MAKING MURALS. STORIES BY JULIE WENGER WATSON

W

hat started as a hobby 10 years ago has grown into a business for Clean Hands founders Case Morton, Aaron Whisner and Justin Baney. The Tulsa-based art collective has created over 100 murals around the state and region, including the large-scale depiction of Oklahoma folk hero Woody Guthrie in the Tulsa Arts District. The mural is the perfect photo op for those visiting this burgeoning corner of downtown, a district in which the growth over the last decade has, in many ways, paralleled that of Clean Hands itself.

“We didn’t start with a vision of creating this big brand. We just wanted a studio space where we could be creative collectively,” says Morton, who works on the business end of the organization.

“We got commissioned to do the Woody Guthrie mural across from Guthrie Green. That was the first big mural we did. After we completed it, the mural business just exploded, and we started getting hit up left and right to do murals everywhere.”

The collective currently rents a warehouse on West First Street, near the BOK Center, where their current in-person store is set up. Items ranging from branded graphic T-shirts and hoodies, to sticker packs and water bottles, to premium spray paint and higher-end art supplies are available for purchase both in store and online at cleanhandsshop.com. Eventually, they’d like to purchase their own space for the store and to host events.

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TulsaPeople DECEMBER 2022

Morton and Whisner, who lived outside of Oklahoma for several years, are now back in Tulsa full time. Clean Hands is busy planning its 10-year anniversary showcase, which kicks off the weekend of Jan. 7 at the Gateway Event Center, 851 E. Admiral Blvd. The space previously served as the venue for the Habit Mural Festival, which Clean Hands curated for several years before going on a pandemic-induced hiatus; there is hope for the festival’s return in 2023.

The anniversary event will feature music, live painting and food trucks, highlighting the organization’s growth through art installations — both past and new — and a showcase of the Clean Hands product line from the time they first started designing in 2012 to now, along with the work of the artists who’ve grown with them along the way.

The showcase will remain on display at Gateway through the end of January.

“We really want to showcase how much we’ve grown personally as artists, and how much Clean Hands, the brand, has grown,” Morton says. “But we also want to showcase some of those guys who would really look at Clean Hands as their inspiration to get into the art scene and showcase where we’re at artistically right now.” TP

For more information, visit cleanhandsarmy.com.

If you’ve experienced sexual assault or intimate partner violence, call Domestic Violence Intervention Services 24-Hour Information and Crisis Line at 918-7435763. For more information on forensic nursing, visit goafn.org.

GREG BOLLINGER

Jake Beeson, Aaron Whisner, Case Morton, Justin Baney and Scott Phillips of Clean Hands art collective. Inset, the iconic Woody Guthrie mural on the side of the Woody Guthrie Center created by Clean Hands.

Trauma patients in Tulsa have long had an ally in Kathy Bell. As the City’s forensic nursing administrator, Bell helped to create, expand and grow Tulsa’s Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner program.

SANE uses highly trained forensic nurses to provide trauma-informed, evidence-based care and collect evidence. The program completely changed how sexual assault patients are treated by ensuring they receive priority medical treatment, and that evidence is collected in a more consistent manner. After 28 years, Bell recently retired from her position, but she’ll remain active in the field as a teacher and advocate.

“I will absolutely continue to be involved,” says Bell, who attended nursing school at Hillcrest Medical Center before working there for two decades in critical care and nursing administration. “There’s still so much work yet to be done.

We’ve really only made a dent in it.”

The SANE program, which is part of the Tulsa Police Department, has assisted thousands of people and served as a model for programs in other cities since its creation in 1991. It’s grown to encompass forensic medical assistance in the investigation of a range of violent crimes.

Bell, who was recently honored with the highest award given by the International Association of Forensic Nurses for her work, has been instrumental in advancing the field. In 2018, she helped establish the Academy of Forensic Nursing.

“Our focus is on broadening education and research into other areas not so specifically related to sexual assault,” she says. “Forensic nurses are now working with more intimate partner violence, strangulation, death investigation, community violence, gunshot wounds and elder abuse.”

In many ways this has been a lifelong mission for Bell.

“Growing up, all I wanted to do was be a critical care nurse. I never imagined being anything else.” TP

Thank you,Tulsa Dallas, Tina and Mitch Nikel

...for a great 2022 from all of us at Chris Nikel.

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COMMUNITY

Every Thursday, The City Lights Foundation hosts Night Light, its weekly outreach event. Guests choose the items they need, as well as receive a warm meal and connection with volunteers.

GIFTING WARMTH

BEYOND HIGH SCHOOL LOCAL YOUNG ADULTS WITH SEVERE MULTIPLE DISABILITIES CONTINUE EDUCATION AT THE JOY LEARNING ACADEMY.

BY SARA PLUMMER

G

raduation calls for fanfare, celebrating a student’s transition from adolescence to adulthood. But after Mia Nelson graduated from Jenks High School in 2018, she was left wondering what was next.

Nelson has cerebral palsy and is wheelchair bound, as well as legally blind due to cortical visual impairment. For people like her, who have graduated from public schools but still require assistance with aspects of daily living, there are few — if any — options for peer camaraderie and opportunities to use their functional language and adapted independent skills.

But in 2020, local organization Joys to the World founded the Joy Learning Academy in Tulsa as a post-secondary school for young adults with severe multiple disabilities.

“I don’t feel left out and all alone like I have been since leaving high school,” Nelson says. “And I get to be a mentor to my friends who can’t talk sometimes.”

Mia’s mother Shantana says the program has been a welcome addition to their lives.

“Mia is a very intelligent lady but trapped in her body,” she says. “All of Mia’s high school friends have moved on and she is highly aware she has not.”

For many young adults who need that high level of care, the only options are going to a nursing home each day or staying home with a care-

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TulsaPeople DECEMBER 2022

giver, explains Brandie Murphy, board president of Joys to the World.

“That’s not stimulating to them — it’s depressing,” Murphy says. “This way, we’re not only serving the students, but also their families. We’re offering families a way to continue to work.”

Murphy’s daughter Abbie is also a student at the Academy. “It’s invaluable. It brings us to tears,” she says. “You can’t put a dollar amount on it.”

Right now, the Tulsa location has about 10 students enrolled, and though a second location in Owasso recently opened that doubles the school’s capacity, there is still a waiting list.

The academy does charge tuition, either for part-time attendance (up to 20 hours a week) or full-time tuition (anything over 20 hours and up to 40 a week). Those funds go toward paying teachers and staff, with donations covering the rest of the expenses, Murphy says.

Volunteers are an important part of the organization as well, working in the office, donating supplies and serving on various committees, including the fundraising committee where Shantana volunteers.

“My personal goal is to help the Academy gain funding so more adults like Mia — who are unable to work by state agency standards — can have their own space so they are challenged and engaged,” she says. TP

THE CITY LIGHTS FOUNDATION OF OKLAHOMA Accepting donations throughout the year from 10 a.m.-noon on Tuesdays and Thursdays at its main office at 1018 W. 23rd St. New and barely used men’s and women’s heavy coats in sizes L, XL and 2XL are most in demand. citylightsok.org THE SALVATION ARMY New and barely used adult-size coats can be dropped off year-round at The Salvation Army’s main administration headquarters at 924 S. Hudson Ave. New coats for children can be brought to any Angel Tree drop off site. southernusa.salvationarmy.org TULSA DAY CENTER List of winter clothing and other items needed available on website. Deliveries can be brought to Tulsa Day Center at 415 W. Archer St. tulsadaycenter.org/give-help TRAV’S COATS FOR KIDS Through Dec. 31, children’s or adult-sized coats can be delivered to any Yale Cleaners location for cleaning and mending. Coats will then be distributed by First Baptist Tulsa to those in need. newson6.com/coats-for-kids yalecleaners.com/community/coats-for-kids EMERGENCY INFANT SERVICES Toys and coats are needed this season at Emergency Infant Services. Drop off items at its downtown location, 1110 S. Denver Ave., or donate via its Amazon Wish List. eistulsa.org/holiday.

— J. D. MYER

JOYS: GREG BOLLINGER; CITY LIGHTS: NOAH MITCHELL

Kathy Cott, CEO of Tulsa nonprofit Joys to the World, with Brandie Murphy, board president. Inset, Mia Nelson, student at the Joy Learning Academy, with mother Shantana Nelson.

It’s no secret Oklahoma winters can be harsh.

Tulsa organizations hosting coat drives or accepting donations to ensure those in need of supplies and proper winter clothing may receive the help they need are listed below. Visit websites for more details on location pick-up and drop-off times.

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19

LOCAL TALENT

Bobbie Whaling

FIT FOR A QUEEN

TULSA QUILTER’S CREATION FINDS A ROYAL DESTINATION. STORIES BY LAURA DENNIS

L

ocal quilter Devida “Dee” Bushrod was born and raised on the south coast of England in a place called Hampshire.

Having lived in Tulsa with husband Jason and their two children from 2005-2014, the Bushrods were glad to have the opportunity to return in July 2020. “As soon as we moved back to England, must have taken probably two weeks, we thought ‘Oh my, what have we done,’” she says. “It solidified to us that we now view Tulsa as home.”

Bushrod has been sewing for 17 years and has made more than 60 traditional quilts to date.

But she says, “I never really loved the process; it was always something I had to get through in order to get to something I liked in the end.” In September 2021, her daughter inspired her to try a more unique approach to the craft. With the creation of her first pixelated quilt, a Billie Eilish album cover, she rediscovered her love for quilting.

The making of a pixelated quilt starts with choosing a well-contrasted picture and running it through a pixelated filter to make sure it will translate, Bushrod explains. She then uses a computer program to convert the image into specific fabric colors. “I loved everything about the process,” she says. In fact, it initiated a fun project for 2022 — to create a pixelated quilt each month of a woman who has impacted her life in a big way, then to gift each one to the person or their family.

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TulsaPeople DECEMBER 2022

Maya Angelou, Adele and Oprah were among the list of 12 inspiring women, but perhaps the most prominent was June’s pick: Queen Elizabeth II, in celebration of her Platinum Jubilee. More than 110 hours of work went into making the 72-inch-by-54-inch quilt, comprised of 2,700 pieces of fabric and 2,500 hand-stitched beads that dawn the crown.

As royal protocol dictates, the Queen could not accept unsolicited gifts. But after attempting to contact Buckingham Palace in May, Bushrod finally received a letter in June, stamped with the Royal Crest of Windsor Manor. “I got so excited that I cried,” she says. Once the gift was accepted, she knew she wanted to make a replica for herself and her family to commemorate its significance.

Bushrod’s version differs from the Queen’s in two major ways: The first is it has a gray backing decorated with little corgis whereas the Queen’s is plain white; second, Bushrod’s sports approximately 1,500 additional handsewn beads, bringing the count to around 4,000 total.

The entire endeavor has been one of community involvement. “My quilting group has just been so supportive,” she shares. She recently entered the Queen’s quilt into QuiltCon, a modern quilt competition, and says, “It doesn’t matter if I get accepted, but I wouldn’t have even bothered without their encouragement.” TP

TULSA ADORNMENTS For 35 years, artist Bobbie Whaling has designed and shared a Tulsa-themed Christmas ornament with the local community.

She started her career in Tulsa doing freelance artwork and fashion art for local clothing stores. In 1987, while freelancing for a retail store called Another Point of View, the owner commissioned her to design a holiday ornament featuring Tulsa’s Swan Lake. “I did the Philbrook Museum after that, and the Gilcrease Museum,” she says. “(The owner) would tell me what she wanted, and I would draw it.”

Made from solid brass and dipped in liquid 24-karat gold, Whaling designed the yearly ornamental keepsake for the shop until it closed in 2001. “The owner retired, and so did the ornament,” she says. By 2002, however, collectors had located Whaling and asked her to continue the tradition independently. “They tracked me down.

I decided I’d make an ornament that year, but I’d make it my own.”

That Christmas she showcased Tulsa’s oldest fire station, Fire Station No. 5, in honor of the Sept.

11 firefighters and the heroic work all firefighters engage in. Tulsa’s landmarks, unique architecture and significant anniversaries have inspired the majority of Whaling’s concepts. This year’s ornament is in celebration of Holland Hall’s 100th anniversary and includes the original brick building, the Walter Arts Center and the school logo.

“I feel in my retirement, it’s my way to help the community doing what I do best, and that’s create artwork.”

Whaling’s ornaments are $20 when purchased directly at tulsaornament.com. They also can be purchased at local retailers Ida Red, Ziegler’s Art and Frame, Tulsa Historical Society and Museum, and Red’s Mercantile. TP

QUILT: COURTESY DEVIDA BUSHROD; BUSHROD, WHALING: GREG BOLLINGER

Devida “Dee” Bushrod created a pixelated quilt in honor of Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee in June. In 2023, she plans to complete a quilt for King Charles to be sent to the palace for his May coronation. Inset, Dee Bushrod.

est. 1976

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21

MUSIC NOTES

Science Project band members Brad James, Rick Gomez, Don Morris and Dylan Layton.

Lex performs at Dreamland Festival Spark Summit on Sept. 16.

GET TO KNOW LEX LOCAL MUSICIAN IS FEELING THE TULSA LOVE AS SHE GROWS HER MUSICAL PRESENCE. STORY AND PHOTO BY TIM LANDES

I

t’s been a productive couple years for Alexis Onyango as she continues growing as a musician with her band, Lex. The 21-yearold Owasso High School graduate has released 10 songs the past two years and has another EP coming in early 2023 with its first single, “Manifesto,” dropping this month.

“I think Tulsa is an incredible place to be an artist and feel supported,” she says. “I have never felt more love and support than I have this past year, and the people in this city make it possible to follow your dreams.”

Onyango took part in a Q&A to discuss her progress and big goals for 2023.

HOW DO YOU DESCRIBE YOUR SOUND? Multifaceted, transparent and raw. Essentially, I am an indie pop artist. I grew up listening to rock and alternative and being a woman of color I want to stick to that, as there aren’t very many Black artists in the indie/ alternative genre.

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN PERFORMING? I started

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TulsaPeople DECEMBER 2022

performing/writing my own songs when I was 15.

At first I played in church, and then started getting coffee shop gigs. I played my first venue show at the Vanguard when I was 16 years old.

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST HIGHLIGHT OF 2022? The Tulsa Creative Engine Accelerator Program.

Chris Davis, Bianca Caampued, and Tyrance Billingsley II created this accelerator to provide artists the tools they might need to get to that next step in their career, and at the end we all received a grant to invest in our own projects. I made so many incredible connections with the mentors, sponsors and artists involved. It also helped me get really great gigs where I could pay my band members very well.

GOALS FOR 2023? To keep striding to be a full-time artist. I’m releasing my second EP and I’m hoping to get some kind of publishing deal or record deal.

I want to stay consistent and keep evolving as an artist. This past year I have realized this sort of thing just takes time. TP

If you spend any time with Red Dirt musicians, you’ll eventually hear the name Tom Skinner.

Considered to be one of the pioneers of the genre that originated in Stillwater in the late ’70s and early ’80s, Skinner is revered for his songwriting and his knack for creating musical family. Although Skinner died in 2015, his spirit lives on in the Science Project, a bi-weekly jam on the first and third Wednesdays of the month featuring a core group of musicians and a rotating roster of guests.

Skinner hosted Science Project for 15 years, and his longtime musical partner Don Morris has continued the tradition. In July, Morris and bandmates Dylan Layton (bass), Brad James (guitar) and Rick Gomez (drums) released “Tom Skinner Science Project First Set,” a collection of 14 songs that capture the essence of Skinner’s legacy.

According to Layton, the pandemic-induced hiatus from live gigs provided the opportunity to make the album, which includes cameos from Science Project affiliates like John Fullbright and Roger Ray. Morris wrote most of the songs, and there are a handful of some of the band’s favorite covers.

“Tom was a mentor to so many,” Layton says.

“We definitely wanted to include some of his songs, and we also wanted to honor some of the writers that represent what the band is now.”

For those who haven’t experienced a Science Project performance, “First Set” is a wonderful introduction to the band, as well as the local music scene.

“It’s like a family, and the people who come out to hear us, they’re part of the family, too,” Morris says. “Tom’s responsible for bringing that ‘family feel’ to the Tulsa music scene.”

For more information, visit hortonrecords.org.

— JULIE WENGER WATSON Editor’s note: Julie Wenger Watson is a board member of the nonprofit Horton Records.

SCIENCE PROJECT: GREG BOLLINGER

PASSION PROJECT

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CHANGEMAKERS

The BeHeard Movement offers mobile drop-in facilities for unsheltered clients to shower, do laundry and charge devices, among other services.

Inset, one of the two mobile unit showers. Below, Evan Dougoud, founder and president of BeHeard.

DOING GOOD

NONPROFIT BRINGS SHOWERS AND SERVICES TO UNHOUSED TULSANS.

B

eing without a roof overhead isn’t the only hardship for those experiencing homelessness. What about showering?

Laundry? Getting a haircut? Privacy? Camaraderie? Safety?

These are luxuries to the unsheltered. Something Evan Dougoud — fittingly pronounced “do good” — decided to do something about.

The 26-year-old is the founder and president of BeHeard Movement, the first Black-managed nonprofit in A Way Home for Tulsa’s collective group that aids those experiencing homelessness.

Through mobile drop-in centers for showering, laundry, clothing and access to other services such as case management and job opportunities, BeHeard provides both “soul and social work.”

Dougoud grew up in Virginia, and at 15, after his parents divorced, moved into his grandmother’s two-bedroom home. Living with multiple others, he lacked a consistent bed throughout high school.

But he did, however, have advocates. “I’m still alive today because of teachers who allowed me to be heard,” he says.

When he arrived in Tulsa five years ago to live with his father, Dougoud landed a position as an outreach assistant at Youth Services of Tulsa. On weekends, he took food to the youth encampments, where the youth had him record their stories to show what it was really like being homeless.

“We recorded their story and asked, ‘What should we name this?’ and they said ‘beseen and beheard.’ Thus we got our name, the BeHeard

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TulsaPeople DECEMBER 2022

Movement,” Dougoud says.

As a rapid response case manager for the Mental Health Association of Oklahoma, Dougoud discovered the item most needed by his clients was, simply, a shower. When he started researching how he might be able to provide that, Dougoud discovered mobile shower trailers and started praying for BeHeard to receive one.

In 2020, Dougoud’s prayers were answered when Transformation Church donated $50,000 for BeHeard’s first showering trailer. Its two private showers and case management office serve 50 people daily with hot and cold water, mirrors, seating, heat and air conditioning.

“We clean after each shower to make sure the next person has a dignified experience,” Dougoud says. His 10-person staff includes Ben, who was previously unsheltered but is now housed and employed through BeHeard. Ben says he was “hoping for a shower one season, now providing showers for others.”

Next, a California family donated a $90,000 mobile laundry trailer that houses four washer/ dryers and a phone charging station. A grant from Tulsa Area United Way allowed BeHeard to purchase a second truck to pull the shower trailer and cover operating costs.

In addition to the mobile drop-in laundry and shower units, BeHeard also offers a barbershop bus equipped with two barber stations and mirrors, shampoo station, heat/AC and Clary Sage students to provide grooming services.

For Christmas last year, BeHeard partnered with Zumiez and Nike to provide footwear for every client. Dougoud recalls what one client said: He hadn’t owned a new pair of shoes since age 6.

The nonprofit plans on gifting clients with new shoes again this year and also providing hygiene products by partnering with SheaMoisture. Visit beheardmovement.com to donate funds for shoes and find volunteer opportunities.

As for the future, BeHeard’s plans include a mobile night shelter and permanent supportive housing with wrap-around services. So far, two campers have been donated to keep clients receiving BeHeard’s work and case management services safe while awaiting a more permanent residence. Dougoud also hopes to expand drop-in center solutions to other parts of the state.

Follow BeHeard on social media for events and drop-in center schedules. TP

GREG BOLLINGER

BY JANE ZEMEL

ON DISPLAY

Inset, Kao Morris, facilities manager at the Dennis R. Neill Equality Center. Local artist Tyler Thompson’s work “We’re in This Together” was on display at the Equality Center in November. Below, Tyler Thompson.

ART WITH HEART

THE EQUALITY CENTER’S GALLERY SHOWCASES WORKS TO MOVE THE COMMUNITY.

T

he Allie Jensen Memorial Art Gallery is up and running again at the Dennis R. Neill Equality Center, featuring local and national artists after a pandemic hiatus. This month’s show opens Dec. 1 and presents work by local mixed media artist David Martfeld.

Kao Morris, facilities manager at the Equality Center, explains the importance behind the community art space dedicated to showcasing LGBTQ+ artists and causes that affect the community. “Throughout history, you see that art plays a part in advancing social causes,” Morris (Mvskoke) says. “Whether that’s missing and murdered Indigenous women, about gay rights, about women’s rights, climate change, things of that nature, (we want) to ensure that not only do we have quality art that’s affordable and accessible to people, but to ensure that art is saying something, that it has a message to move the community.”

November’s show “We’re in This Together” by local artist Tyler Thompson (Cherokee) featured his digital illustrations representing LGBTQ+ pride and raising awareness of missing and murdered Indigenous women. Earlier this year, the Equality Center commissioned Thompson to memorialize Aubrey Dameron, a transgender Cherokee woman who went missing in 2019 from the Locust Grove area. Thompson, who identifies as bisexual, had recently worked on a digital illustration of Dameron, his cousin-in-law, and the

26

TulsaPeople DECEMBER 2022

portrait turned out to be exactly what the Equality Center was looking for. “I added a background, redid some details and I had her family write her name on the bottom right of the portrait,” Thompson says. “The piece is on permanent display in the Equality Center on their memorial wall.”

Missing Indigenous women is a recent focus for Thompson, who grew up in Locust Grove. “I realized how important it is to hear that voice in a different way, and I like to be able to capture those missing peoples in my process so they can still have a voice, even though sadly, they’re missing, and there’s a chance they may have been murdered, too,” Thompson says.

When he’s not working as a pharmacy tech at Reasor’s, Thompson is working remotely on his art and his associate’s degree in fine arts from Tohono O’odham Community College in Arizona. This year he designed posters to raise awareness for missing and murdered Indigenous women, which were published in the Tribal College Journal and distributed to tribal colleges.

Thompson’s brother, Brandon, inspired him to take up art when they were kids, and he started by sketching Batman and other beloved characters.

By high school, he’d painted murals in classrooms at the old Locust Grove High School. But in 2021, Thompson fell ill with COVID. “Since then, I feel that my hand shakes a lot, and I talked to my doctor and he was like, ‘That’s

just something (COVID) has done,’” Thompson says. “I was so discouraged for a long time afterwards, (thinking), no, I’m an artist, I draw. My hand’s never been this shaky. It’s always been really still. So I have to push myself through that.”

Morris says Thompson’s work aligns with the causes the gallery hopes to bring to light. “We are visitors on tribal land, and as a tribal person, that’s something that I care about deeply,” he says. “I’m hoping that people can see and recognize that we have benefited off these tribal people for so long, and we need to make steps to reconcile that.”

Find more of Thompson’s work on his Instagram @thompsonartdesign. In January, the gallery will showcase magazine collages by Nancy Morgan. For details on the gallery and upcoming shows, visit facebook.com/okeqartgallery. TP

GREG BOLLINGER

BY BLAYKLEE FREED

DECEMBER 7

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27

ART SPOT

THIS MONTH AT

Circle Cinema

POSITIVELY DIFFERENT NEW GALLERY DOUBLES AS SPACE FOR WOMEN CREATIVES TO FEEL ACCEPTED AND HEARD.

BY BLAYKLEE FREED

M

entorship and community are a big part of Nicole Finley’s story as an artist, and the Tulsa native opened her first gallery this year with a vision to bolster fellow artists in her hometown.

“I really feel strongly about mentorship,” says Finley, who teaches graphic design at Tulsa Community College. “I can name people who helped me along the way.”

Finley launched her design career about 20 years ago after graduating from the University of Tulsa. She got a taste of teaching and worked with several area nonprofits related to arts and creativity.

The summer of 2017, she found a Master of Fine Arts program in New York that was low-residency (so she could stay in Tulsa and spend summers in New York) and earned the master’s degree necessary to teach college art classes. “Also to enrich my own studio practice, which had become interdisciplinary,” she adds.

Her latest project came to fruition this fall when she opened Positive Space Tulsa. In addition to the gallery, Positive Space Tulsa has three studios that local artists rent out.

“I thought about how challenging it is to be a woman in any space, and it occurred to me to just make this room for womxn* artists.”

Most gallerists Finley has worked with across the country have been men, and her eyes are set on evolving the typical roles gallerists play — one that, Finley notes, hasn’t always been favorable toward women. “I want to be a solution to both issues,” she says. “I don’t want any sense of gate-

keeping for artists, especially womxn, with the x,” Finley says.

For example, the proposal process can be discouraging and a headache, she says. “Paying a fee to even send that proposal and waiting months to hear from somebody you don’t even know, potentially in another state — I’ve gone through all of this before, and it doesn’t have to be this way.”

“What do women artists need?” she asks. “They need a space where they feel accepted, first and foremost, and they feel like they are being heard, by me, this person in this role (and) feel like they can share their ideas on how they want to see their exhibition in the space and even for the community through programming.”

More than 200 people attended the first show’s opening night in September. Local artist Anne Pollard James’ first solo show, “Surfacing,” was on display through October. In addition to the show, Finley’s recent community-centric events showcase her vision for the space — yoga sessions, sound baths and fundraisers. Positive Space Tulsa is a partner site where people can pick up Take Control Initiative’s emergency contraceptive kits and recently hosted a drawing session and a fundraiser for TCI. Finley is in talks with local artists to finalize details for January and February shows. Visit positivespacetulsa.org for updates and information on upcoming events. TP Read more at TulsaPeople.com.

*Positive Space Tulsa believes the letter “x” in womxn recognizes all women, including gender expansive identities. Positive Space Tulsa is for women, nonbinary, genderfluid, genderqueer and agender artists (excluding those who identify as male/men). Womxn is pronounced the same as woman or women.

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TulsaPeople NOVEMBER 2022

WHITE CHRISTMAS (1954) Opens for daily screenings Dec. 9 with Sing-A-Longs at select weekend shows The annual audience favorite returns!

Sing-A-Longs are the perfect family outing, with fun trivia and props to join in with the timeless Christmas tunes. In the film, a successful song-and-dance team (Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye) become romantically involved with a sister act (Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen) and team up to save the failing Vermont inn of their former commanding general.

THE POOR LITTLE RICH GIRL (1917) — SECOND SATURDAY SILENT SERIES 11 a.m., Dec. 10 Enjoy a classic silent film with a live score played by Bill Rowland on Circle’s restored 1928 theater pipe organ with early Hollywood icon Mary Pickford starring as a lonely and unhappy young girl from a rich family.

THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW (1975) 10 p.m., Dec. 30; 10 p.m., Dec. 31 Ring in the New Year with Janet, Brad, Dr. Frank-N-Furter and the whole cast of wild characters. Audience participation is strongly encouraged, and prop bags will be on sale at the concession stand with everything you’ll need to have the true Rocky Horror experience.

Compiled by Circle Cinema’s Ryan Thomas. Visit circlecinema.org for pricing and more information.

GREG BOLLINGER

Nicole Finley in her gallery, Positive Space Tulsa, at 1324 E. Third St.

A CHRISTMAS CAROL: A GHOST STORY 7:30 p.m., Dec. 1; 2 p.m., Dec. 4 Mark Gatiss (“Sherlock,” “Dracula,” “Doctor Who”) stars as Jacob Marley in his own “irresistibly theatrical” (The Telegraph) retelling of Charles Dickens’ classic winter ghost story, “A Christmas Carol,” alongside Nicholas Farrell (“Chariots of Fire,” “The Crown,” “The Iron Lady”) as Scrooge. It was filmed live for cinemas during the 2021 stage run at London’s sumptuous Alexandra Palace Theatre and filled with Dickensian, spine-tingling special effects. Prepare to be frightened and delighted in equal measure as you enter the supernatural Victorian world of “A Christmas Carol” on the big screen.

ART SPOT Aaron Beck

‘EMBARRASSMENT OF RICHES’

Inset, Brent Burk, the artist behind Historical Art Creations. Burk created a threepart collaged mural at Edison Preparatory School from past yearbook photos spanning from the 1950s to the 2000s; depicted here is the ’70s and ’80s segment.

MURAL MASTERPIECES TULSAN UNEARTHS HISTORY TO CREATE WALL-SIZED COLLAGES. STORIES BY ETHAN VEENKER

EDISON MURAL: COURTESY BRENT BURK; BURK: GREG BOLLINGER; BECK: COURTESY TULSA OPERA

H

armoniously combining the past and the present is usually no easy task. But that’s just what Sensus Marketing owner Brent Burk has been doing with Historical Art Creations — a service he offers through Sensus that brings new life to old photographs — for over 20 years.

“It’s kind of like putting together a giant puzzle,” says Burk of his work digitizing the photos and combining them with other mixed media and graphics to create new murals.

Ever since his first commission 20 years ago

by American Heritage Bank in Sapulpa, Burk has helped clients such as banks, schools, hospitals and more bring their history back to the surface.

Take, for example, Edison Preparatory School, for which Burk created a three-part collaged mural of yearbook photos spanning from the 1950s to the 2000s. In the segment depicting the ’70s and ’80s, an action basketball shot dominates the image, while other colorized photos of players fade in and out of each other like a wheel around the center (with no shortage of righteous, era-appropriate sideburns).

This is the hallmark of Burk’s work. He carefully digitizes and colors old photos, then arranges them in a unique, eye-catching way. His history in fine art and graphic design has honed his gift for composition — each mural demands attention, even investigation, from its viewer.

He estimates he’s created about 200 to date, on media ranging from canvas, to plexiglass, to wall-vinyl murals and even sheet metal.

Oftentimes, his clients — all in Oklahoma, at present — will have their own photos when they approach Burk. These can be vintage shots from the client’s past, or perhaps the facade of the business which once occupied their building (old movie theaters are popular). Sometimes, though, Burk gets to do his own sleuthing, working with the Tulsa Historical Society and Museum to find and revive old, forgotten photographs.

While some clients occasionally provide contemporary photos he’s happy to put his artistic spin on, Burk points out that about 90% of his work is historical. “And that’s what I love doing, because it’s not just creating the art; it’s going and doing the research and pulling pieces together.”

Visit hacsensus.com to see more. TP

Tulsa Opera’s newest artistic director, Aaron Beck, may not be a Tulsa native (he’s from Joplin), but by his passion for this city and its historied opera company, you couldn’t guess that. Of his 17 years in T-town, Beck has spent 12 with Tulsa Opera, and this new position reflects his devotion to both.

“I really feel like I’m an adopted Tulsan at this point,” he says, “and I think it’s really important to the company — it’s important to me — that we are local. …

We’re going to be the best regional opera company we can be.”

With a master’s in opera coaching from the University of Florida and experience as a singer, conductor and pianist, Beck says he’s seen it from all different angles.

This latest advancement in his career represents an apex of his life’s pursuit — and it’s only up from here. He’s already looking ahead, while paying homage to the past.

Beck notes Tulsa’s first documented opera performance was Charles Gounod’s “Faust” in 1904, pre-statehood and preTulsa Opera — evidence of the opera in our city’s very DNA. He aims to expand that partnership with the Tulsa community as his tenure progresses, wanting to hear from us what we want to hear from him.

“We’re one of the smallest cities in the entire United States to have an opera company, a symphony and a ballet,” he says. “It’s kind of an embarrassment of riches here in Tulsa.” If our cup runneth over, Beck has no intention to stop pouring now.

Tulsa Opera’s 75th anniversary season began with “The Italian Girl” in October.

2023 performances kick off Feb. 25 with “Aida” and “Into the Woods” on May 12 and 14. TP

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SPORTS

Luis Ramirez Mendoza wears a pair of Oculus Quest 2 virtual reality goggles to play “Golden Gloves VR.”

TRUE TO HIS ROOTS TULSAN MAKES THE SOONERS’ COACHING ROSTER.

BY STEPHEN HUNT

S

ince Ryan Humphrey was named a McDonald’s High School All-American at Booker T. Washington High School in 1997, basketball has taken him around the world, including stops at Oklahoma and Notre Dame.

His 12-year professional playing career took him to the NBA, back to Tulsa and abroad.

In 2014, Humphrey entered coaching as Northwestern’s director of player development, leading to an assistant coach position at Notre Dame, where he spent six seasons. On July 1, he became an assistant at the University of Oklahoma, returning to his roots.

“Every place I’ve been, I’ve kept my 918 number because I’ve always been proud of being from Oklahoma,” Humphrey says. “I’m excited.

I’ve been able to see my friends more in this short period than in the last six, seven years. All my family’s in Tulsa.”

Over the years, basketball has given him much.

As a coach, he loves passing on the countless lessons he’s learned, on and off the court, from mentors like legendary former BTW basketball coach Nate Harris and many others who helped him along the way.

“I can’t say it enough, God has truly blessed me,” says Humphrey, a husband and father of two.

“It’s bigger than basketball. If the one thing my players learn from me is how to shoot a jumper,

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TulsaPeople DECEMBER 2022

I’m failing. This is my form of ministry, and I’m excited I get to help the next group of young men from Oklahoma.”

As a coach, he considers himself a resource for both his current and former players, someone who can offer sage advice no matter what life throws at them. “Impacting (lives), the ability to talk to younger versions of yourself (is what I love about coaching),” he says. “I want to help this next group of young men. Just preparing them for that next step in life.” TP

GOLDEN-GLOVED

GAMERS

As a tech enthusiast, Aaron Sloan, owner of Tulsa’s Engine Room Boxing Gym, 316 E. 11th St., has been following the growth of virtual reality in the fitness and gaming industries for years.

Equipped with a pair of Oculus Quest 2 virtual reality goggles, Sloan worked his way through all the VR boxing games currently on the market. With an entrepreneurial spirit and decades of experience as a boxing coach, he believed he could create something better and established Engine Room VR in fall 2021, hiring four young game developers and moving them to Tulsa, where they share a workspace with his gym. One year later, “Golden Gloves VR” is ready to hit the market, with an official release through the Oculus online store on Christmas day.

“We’ve really focused on the physics inside the gym. All of our equipment works like real world equipment. The speed bag, double-end bag and heavy bag — all of the equipment — works like a real gym experience,” Sloan says.

Players can hone their basic skills in the virtual gym before facing opponents in venues that range in prestige from a high school gymnasium to a Vegas-style arena. The game’s “career mode” allows players to face increasingly difficult competition as they advance toward a title belt. Plans are in the works for a two-player option, as well as an eventual eSports component.

“There’s a lot of focus and financial support going into the tech community in Tulsa to try to build it up,” he says. “We’re excited to be a part of that.”

For more information, visit goldenglovesvr.com.

— JULIE WENGER WATSON

HUMPHREY: COURTESY OU ATHLETICS; GOLDEN GLOVES: MATT SCRIVNER

Ryan Humphrey, assistant basketball coach for the University of Oklahoma, talks with junior guard Joe Bamisile during a practice session.

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WHERE TO

JINGLES AND JAMS

THREE TULSA TRADITIONS TO CATCH THIS HOLIDAY SEASON.

BY JULIANNE TRAN that will fit into the final set of the future. This offers an opportunity for a reimagining of our set and allows all involved to see the production in a new light, with full emphasis on the moving story of hope and redemption that has always been the heart of ‘A Christmas Carol.’”

Audiences will enjoy new choreography for two of the major musical numbers and see some familiar Tulsa thespians return to the stage this year.

Karl Krause, who has performed in “A Christmas Carol” for most of its 45 years, returns as Scrooge.

Sean Rooney plays the Ghost of Christmas Present alongside Paige Dickey, a resident with Tulsa Opera, as the Ghost of Christmas Past.

“It’s always a beautifully stressful and insane time of year,” Carlson laughs, preparing for her 11th year of managing the show.

Showtimes vary; visit americantheatrecompany. org for more information.

Prop cups are given to audience members attending Circle Cinema’s “White Christmas” Sing-A-Long to participate along with the film.

Tulsa actor Karl Krause has played the role of Scrooge for decades in American Theatre Co.’s “A Christmas Carol.”

Interact with a Christmas classic

A holiday favorite told by Tulsa’s best Running Dec. 9-23 at Tulsa Performing Arts Center, AMERICAN THEATRE CO. presents its 45th annual production of the family favorite, “A Christmas Carol.”

Throughout these 45 years, this December show has become a holiday tradition for many Tulsa families. “There are people who have come to see it every year,” says Laurie Carlson, resident production stage manager.

“As we continue fundraising for a completely new set, this year we are moving forward with new set pieces that will become part of the new, beautiful moving set of the future,” Carlson says, noting the London facades and moving turntables of past productions have been retired. “This year each scene will be a vignette of a few set pieces 32

TulsaPeople DECEMBER 2022

Slack, executive director of Clark Youth Theatre.

“Because it’s our 35th year, we are putting together a fundraising event called The Best Christmas Party Ever,” Slack says. Local groups and companies can reserve the entire theater to watch this production with special Christmas snacks and pictures with Santa.

To find showtimes and to book The Best Christmas Party Ever, visit clarkyouththeatre.com.

This year marks Clark Youth Theatre’s 35th annual production of “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.”

As told by Tulsa’s up-and-comers To see both seasoned and fresh faces take the stage, attend CLARK YOUTH THEATRE’s 35th annual production of “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever,” happening Dec. 4-7.

Its cast of children ages 8-14 tells the unlikely story of misfits who end up in a Christmas pageant.

“It’s a story of acceptance and kindness and overcoming socioeconomic obstacles. We just love telling that story every single year,” says Tammy

To get more involved with this holiday classic, make your way to CIRCLE CINEMA for its “White Christmas” Sing-A-Longs.

These weekend Sing-A-Long screenings are a big hit with Tulsa crowds. “The tickets will sell out in the lead-up to the weekend show,” says Ryan Thomas, communications manager for Circle Cinema.

The theater provides props for audiences to participate along with the movie. They give out sleigh bells to ring during festive moments, blue feathers to accompany the famous “Sisters” song and a glass to raise for the closing toast. “(The Sing-A-Long showing) brings everyone together for a few hours, united as the audience,” Thomas says.

Select weekend showtimes occur throughout December. Visit circlecinema.org for exact dates. TP

A CHRISTMAS CAROL: COURTESY; BEST CHRISTMAS PAGEANT EVER: AUDIE PRITCHETT; WHITE CHRISTMAS: COURTESY CIRCLE STAFF

N

othing feels more festive than dressing up in your winter best to see a performance or a show. You take your coat off in the warm auditorium, drape it over the chair and sink deeply into the soft cushions as you scan the shiny pages of the program.

And in Tulsa, there’s plenty of shows and performances that capture the holiday spirit. Whether you want to watch a familiar story unfold or see something completely new, there’s much to enjoy this December.

BOOKWORM

Annette LaFortune Murray

READING ALONG ROUTE 66 Published this year, the children’s book “One Pink Balloon” is based on the real-life friendship between Averie Hight, center, and her best friend. Averie’s mother Marty Hight, left, wrote the book and Averie’s father Richard Hight, right, illustrated it.

LETTER FROM HEAVEN BALLOON WITH A NOTE BRINGS HOPE AND INSPIRES A CHILDREN’S BOOK.

BY ASHLEY HEIDER DALY

GREG BOLLINGER

I

n the middle of grief, a small mistaketurned-miracle brought hope to the Hight family.

Averie Hight met her best friend Katelyn when the two were students together at Little Light House, a local nonprofit that offers tuition-free education and therapeutic services for children. After their time at Little Light House, the girls later attended middle and high school together in Sand Springs until Katelyn was just shy of 17.

“We got a call (in January 2017) from Katelyn’s pastor, who’s a friend, telling us that Katelyn had unexpectedly passed away,” says Marty Hight, Averie’s mother. “We were shocked and very, very sad.”

During a special ceremony at school, students and teachers let loose 16 pink balloons in honor of Katelyn’s life, affixing notes written on photos of her to each balloon. A teacher’s aide, in her emotional distress, accidentally wrote “Miss you dear friend. Love you, Katelyn.” Realizing this made it look like the note came from Katelyn but having no extra photos to write a new note, she taped it to a balloon and released it.

Once the Hight family went home, Averie felt especially emotional and went to her upstairs bed-

room. Then, from her window, she spied a pink blob laying in the backyard. She ran downstairs and outside, dragging her parents with her.

“It was the pink balloon the teacher had taped her note to,” says Marty, still in awe of the experience. “I read it to Averie, and she stopped crying and said, ‘My friend Katelyn wrote me a letter from heaven. I know where she is, and she knows where I am.’ And it just, in her spirit, settled something.”

“I think the moment it happened, it was obvious that it was an incredible story that needed to be a children’s book — because it’s full of hope,” says Richard Hight, Averie’s father. He and Marty started conceptualizing the book in early 2020. By mid-2021, Richard, an artist and speaker, began the illustrations and eventually sent them to a friend to be digitized.

The book, titled “One Pink Balloon,” came out in April. With a portion of the proceeds benefiting Little Light House, it can be purchased from the One Pink Balloon Facebook page, at Sky Gallery in Tulsa or ordered anywhere books are sold. If you’d like a signed copy, Averie, Richard and Marty will be doing a book-signing event noon-2 p.m. on Dec. 10 at the Burnett showroom, 11202 E. 61st St. TP

For the inspiration behind her debut children’s book “ABC What Do You See? Rolling Along Route 66,” Annette LaFortune Murray cites her fascination with Cyrus Avery, the father of Route 66; weekend trips to Grand Lake by way of the Mother Road; and her love of children’s literature.

After more than three decades as an elementary school teacher and librarian, Murray decided to switch gears. “I’ve been exposed to fabulous literature … and I thought someday I want to write a book,” Murray says. And so she did just that. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she decided to spend time taking online courses at the Writing Barn — an Austin-based retreat center for writers to develop their craft — learning about the writing process, and it was there the book was born.

With playful illustrations from Joyce Harbin Cole of Pontiac, Illinois, the book highlights some of the wonders travelers can find on the stretch from Los Angeles to Chicago. From the art in Arizona canyons to zig-zagging time zones, readers get a peek into the sights and scenery of America’s Mother Road. — ABBY BELLER

Find “ABC What Do You See? Rolling Along Route 66” at multiple locations in the Tulsa area: • Buck Atom’s Cosmic Curios, 1347 E. 11th St. • Eleanor’s Bookshop, 1102 S. Lewis Ave., Suite D • Kiddlestix Toy Store, 3815 S. Harvard Ave. • Ribbons, 3525 S. Peoria Ave. • Tulsa Historical Society and Museum, 2445 S. Peoria Ave. More locations at authorannettemurray.com

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Flight Night Approximately 800 guests attended the annual Tulsa Flight Night gala Sept. 15 at Tulsa Technology Center’s Riverside campus, raising an estimated $730,000 to directly benefit Tulsa Regional STEM Alliance and support science, technology, engineering and mathematics education programs statewide. The evening’s thrilling events included an air show, live auction and nighttime drone show of more than 100 drones. Guests also enjoyed a sit-down dinner provided by PARTYSERVE and specialty gin and lychee liqueur cocktails to accompany the drone show.

Established by late NORDAM founder Ray H. Siegfried II, Flight Night has donated over $4.28 million to STEM education since 2014, creating transformative learning opportunities for more than 850,000 Oklahoma students.

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1. Four Oklahoma educators were awarded Siegfried STEM Innovator Grants: Andrea Sagely, Barbie Jackson, Michelle Rahn and Amy Moore. KJRH anchor Karen Larsen was the event emcee.

2. The evening air show included a flyover of the Tulsa Warbirds.

3. Flight Night President Mandy Monahan, Co-Chairs Steve and Dede Soulé, and Levi Patrick, executive director for Tulsa Regional STEM Alliance 4. Bailey Siegfried, chair of the Flight Night board and vice president of culture, communication and corporate responsibility at NORDAM, with wife, Kellner Siegfried.

Pink Ribbon

1. Co-Chairs John and Leigh Reaves of Asphalt and Fuel Supply 2. Steve Aberson, owner of Abersons clothing store, with Anne Bogie, executive director at Oklahoma Project Woman.

Aberson is passionate about OPW’s mission, making the annual runway show possible and bringing in a different designer every year.

3. Marla Roberts, development director for OPW, with Duane MenNe, Abersons manager/buyer 4. Tulsa model Kai Parnosky walks in the Pink Ribbon fashion show. All models wore Max Mara clothing and jewelry by Dana Kellin.

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FLIGHT NIGHT: ACE CUERVO; PINK RIBBON: TONY LI

Oklahoma Project Woman held its 2022 Pink Ribbon fundraising event Oct. 10 at OKPOP Museum. The nearly 200 guests in attendance enjoyed a cocktail reception, dinner catered by Justin Thompson and champagne and dessert on the terrace. Emceed by KJRH anchor Karen Larsen, the evening’s activities included a live auction and fashion show featuring designers Max Mara and Dana Kellin Jewelry. Funds raised benefit OPW’s mission of providing breast health care for uninsured Oklahomans with limited income. From mammography to surgical services, OPW pays for clients’ full continuum of care.

CH A RITA BLE E V ENT S COMPILED BY AMANDA HALL

Through Dec. 4, 8-30 Botanic Garden of Lights Benefits Tulsa Botanic Garden.

TULSABOTANIC.ORG Through-Dec. 31

Philbrook Festival Benefits Philbrook Museum of Art. PHILBROOK.ORG Through-Dec. 3

Cascia Christmas Tree Lot Benefits Cascia Hall Preparatory School.

CASCIAHALL.COM/CASCIA-CHRISTMAS-WALK

2-3 Peggy V. Helmerich Distinguished Author Award Gala Benefits Tulsa City-County Library.

TULSALIBRARY.ORG 3

Darnaby Arts and Crafts Show Benefits Darnaby Elementary PTA. DARNABYARTSANDCRAFTSSHOW.COM Holiday Art in the Park Benefits Arts Alliance Tulsa.

ARTSTULSA.ORG/HOLIDAY-ART-IN-THE-PARK Jingle Bell Run Benefits the Arthritis Foundation.

JBR.ORG/TULSA

4 Toy Run Benefits Tulsa Dream Center.

TULSADREAMCENTER.ORG/EVENT

11 ABATE of Tulsa Toy Run Benefits Toys for Tots.

ABATEOFTULSA.COM

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Christmas Luncheon and Fashion Show Benefits Tulsa Area Salvation Army.

SALARMYTULSA.ORG

World Class Winter Charity Gala Benefits Historic Greenwood Chamber of Commerce.

HISTORICTULSAGREENWOODCHAMBER.COM

Grady Nichols Christmas Show Benefits American Parkinson Disease Association OK Chapter.

GRADYNICHOLS.COM/SHOWS

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Fa La La Ball Benefits several local charities.

OKEQ.ORG/FALALA-BALL

EDITOR’S NOTE: HIGHLIGHTED EVENT S SPONSORED BY TUL SAPEOPLE

TulsaPeople.com

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WHEN ACTRESS DONNA REED LIVED IN TULSA.

BY CONNIE CRONLEY

I

n the early 1980s, Tulsans might have thought they were witnessing a minor holiday miracle when they saw Donna Reed step out of the classic Christmas movie “It’s a Wonderful Life” and take up residence here.

It wasn’t a mirage. The Hollywood movie star, known for her fragile beauty and her Academy Award-winning role in “From Here to Eternity,” was briefly a Tulsa local.

Her husband, retired U.S. Army Lt. Col. Grover W. Asmus, came to Tulsa in 1979 on a job with Williams Brothers Engineering Co. and Reed came with him. They bought a home in a south Tulsa cul de sac, they attended events at Southern Hills Country Club, she went to lunch with neighborhood women, she worked on her genealogy research. And then, like other wonders, it ended. Reed and her husband moved back to Beverly Hills around 1982 where she performed until her death in 1986 at age 64. Soon after Asmus founded the Donna Reed Foundation for Performing Arts, which is based in her hometown of Denison, Iowa.

Tulsa had another movie star in residence at that time: Peggy Dow Helmerich, who co-starred with James Stewart in the gentle comedy “Harvey,” had moved to Tulsa when she married oilman Walter H. Helmerich III. In Oklahoma’s

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TulsaPeople DECEMBER 2022

sky-is-the-limit philosophy, if one movie star is good, two are even better.

“She was a dear, dear person,” Helmerich says of Reed. Although the two did not know one another well, they met at social functions and Helmerich remembers Reed as impeccably dressed and personable, although a bit demure, holding her husband’s arm at a large event.

Helmerich was more familiar with another person in Reed’s family. She says, with a bit of an eye roll, “Walt had dated her sister, Lavone.”

Peter Walter, another Tulsan personally familiar with Reed, was a young real estate agent when mutual friends introduced him to her. “She was unpretentious and sweet,” he says, “just like her character on TV’s ‘The Donna Reed Show.’ And so lovely, she looked as if she had just left the studio to meet friends for lunch.”

“It’s a Wonderful Life” was never intended to be a Christmas movie, either by the short story author Philip Van Doren Stern or director Frank Capra.

Both saw it as a nice, universal tale. The story is simple: George Bailey is so depressed he considers throwing himself into a river, but a guardian angel named Clarence appears and shows him what his life has meant to others. This revelation happens on Christmas Eve. An alternative ending with George falling on his knees and reciting “The Lord’s Prayer”

was dismissed as too religious.

Before James Stewart was cast as George, Cary Grant was considered for the role. So was Henry Fonda. Jean Arthur refused the role of Mary Bailey, George’s wife, and so did Ginger Rogers.

It became Reed’s first starring role, and she so transformed the part, one movie critic claims that it is she with her love who is the real guardian angel creating miracles.

The 1946 film was nominated for five Academy Awards and won a technical achievement award for the invention of falling snow with a formula including foamite, a fire-fighting chemical. The film had mixed reviews and mediocre sales, but after its first showing on television in 1956 it began its climb to holiday classic status. Now it is No. 20 on American Film Institute’s list of 100 Greatest American Films of All Time.

It is a major Tulsa sighting to see Sylvester Stallone or Leonardo DiCaprio, but these actors are visitors, just passing through town. It was different when for one brief, shining time, Tulsa was home to two film stars of the first magnitude: Donna Reed and Peggy Dow Helmerich. Did they lean close together and talk about one leading man both had worked with? Perhaps it was “Jimmy” to them; James Stewart to movie fans.

We can only wonder. TP

IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE: RKO RADIO PICTURES, PUBLIC DOMAIN, VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS; REED AND ASMUS: RON GALELLA/RON GALELLA COLLECTION VIA GETTY IMAGES; AUTRY, BLANE: COURTESY OKLAHOMA HISTORICAL SOCIETY; MCPHERSON: JOSHUA BLACK WILKINS

Donna Reed, left, with James Stewart and Karolyn Grimes in the 1946 holiday classic, “It’s a Wonderful Life.” For a few short years, Reed lived in Tulsa with husband Grover W. Asmus, seen here in a photo from the 1982 AFI Life Achievement Awards dinner honoring director Frank Capra.

Give the Gift of Film Year-Round Benefits for Members Supporting Tulsa’s Iconic Theater Circle Cinema Memberships and gift cards are gifts that keep on giving all year for movie lovers.

“Here Comes Santa Claus,” co-written and performed by the Singing Cowboy Gene Autry in 1947, was a top-10 hit on the country and pop charts. Autry topped that two years later with his recording of “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” written by Johnny Marks. It was No. 1 on U.S. charts Christmas week of 1949. Autry was working as a telegraph operator in Chelsea when Will Rogers heard him sing and encouraged him to sing professionally. In 1929, Autry was known at Tulsa’s KVOO as “Oklahoma’s Yodeling Cowboy.”

Member Popcorn Free Through 2023 Tulsa’s best popcorn just got better! Members now receive one FREE small popcorn with every Member ticket purchase until 12/31/23.

Holiday Films and Events White Christmas Sing-A-Longs Weekends in December A perfect holiday treat for the whole family, sing along to all the timeless Christmas tunes.

“Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” was written by Broken Arrow native Ralph Blane, right, and Hugh Martin for the 1944 movie “Meet Me in St. Louis” and sung by Judy Garland. Her recording of the song was popular with American troops in World War II. It has been recorded by artists from Frank Sinatra to Garth Brooks to John Legend. Martin later claimed he wrote the song himself.

The Poor Little Rich Girl 2nd Saturday Silent Film Sat 12/10, 11:00a Only at Circle, Mary Pickford stars in a classic silent film with a live score on Circle’s 1928 pipe organ.

A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story Thu 12/1 & Sun 12/4

JD McPherson grew up on a family cattle ranch near Talihina and is a graduate of the University of Tulsa. Rolling Stone magazine described the Oklahoman as a “retro-rock revivalist” and said he blew up Christmas cliches with his 2018 holiday album “Socks.” McPherson and his rockabilly album were featured in interviews by NPR’s Scott Simon on “Weekend Edition” and NPR’s “Fresh Air” where host Terry Gross called the album “original and really fun.”

Recorded live from London, Mark Gatiss directs and stars in a bold retelling of Dickens’ story.

Scan to buy your Memberships and gift cards online

Scan for all films coming to Circle this holiday season

CircleCinema.org |(918) 585-3456 |10 S Lewis Ave TulsaPeople.com

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LEGENDS

Yolanda Charney INTERFAITH TRAILBLAZER REFLECTS ON 60-PLUS YEARS IN TULSA.

BY GAIL BANZET-ELLIS

S

oft-spoken and sophisticated, 87-year-old Yolanda Charney is a Tulsa transplant who accompanied her new husband to Oklahoma more than 60 years ago. They planted roots in a sleepy town that would later become one of Tulsa’s most booming suburbs and raised a family that has grown today to include three children, five grandchildren and four greatgranddaughters. The daughter of Mexican immigrants, Charney has spent decades serving in civic leadership roles and advocating for minorities to enhance Tulsa as a community where all are welcome.

Yolanda Charney has called the Tulsa area home for decades.

She converted to Judaism when she married her husband, Harold, and remains a constant in the city’s Jewish community.

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WHAT WAS ONE OF YOUR MOST DEFINING MOMENTS IN LIFE? It had to be meeting my husband, Harold Charney, and getting married. We met in El Paso when he was visiting his brother. He had just passed the Oklahoma Bar to be an attorney.

He wanted to learn a little bit more about oil and gas law in Texas. He got a job there in El Paso, and that’s when we met.

It was a defining moment for me because he was an Okie (from Henryetta). Oklahoma is where he needed to practice and set up his law office. We knew we were coming back to Oklahoma. We spent some time looking around different places where he might want to set up his own law office.

He looked at Tulsa and Oklahoma City, but we

MICHELLE POLLARD

WHERE DID YOU GO TO SCHOOL/UNIVERSITY? WHY? I was born and raised in El Paso, Texas, where I went to Catholic grade school, high school and college. As a student at Loretto Academy High School, I received two scholarships to women’s colleges in St. Louis and Denver. A young nun close to me took us around to visit different college sites, and I liked the looks of Denver. I graduated in 1954 from Loretto Academy and went to Loretto Heights College in Denver where I studied education. I thought I was going to be a teacher. I went two years to Denver and then came home and went to the University of Texas at El Paso for another year. El Paso is where I met my husband and got married.

had heard of a lawyer who was retiring in Nowata.

We visited Nowata. We still had stars in our eyes about what our future would be, and what we found there was not what we had in mind.

We drove back down Highway 75 from Nowata, and we passed this little town called Owasso. Right down Main Street, we saw all these new little GI homes being built. We were going up and down Main Street, and we stopped and started talking to this guy on the corner. He was a real estate man. He got excited when my husband introduced himself. He said he had a place for my husband’s office, and we could live in the back of the building. We ended up in a oneroom efficiency in a strip center type building in Owasso where my husband set up his law office.

Some streets were dirt streets back then. We lived in Owasso for 60 years.

TELL ME ABOUT YOUR FAMILY. We had three children — a daughter, Rebecca, (our eldest) and two sons. The office was in the front. We lived in the one-room efficiency until our fi rst baby came.

The landlord built on a little nursery in the back.

My husband loved the fact that we were living in the back. He’d take the baby in the stroller up and down Main Street when he’d have some time in-between appointments. When the second baby, David, was coming, we knew we had to move. It was $54 a month for a loan on one of those lovely little GI homes that we had admired.

My daughter (now) lives in New Jersey. The boys both live in Tulsa. My husband died six years ago. I told him he had to promise me he’d hang around for our 60th anniversary. He made it to 60 years of marriage, plus one week.

WHAT AGE DO YOU FEEL RIGHT NOW AND WHY? I turn 87 in December, and thank God, I feel like I’m 60.

I don’t want to be 20 or 40, 60 sounds good. You know what’s coming. You feel mature.

HOW WOULD YOUR FRIENDS DESCRIBE YOU? Active, caring and determined.

WHAT WOULD PEOPLE BE SURPRISED TO KNOW ABOUT YOU? That I was extremely shy. English is my second language. I’m fluent in Spanish. Both of my parents were Mexican immigrants, and I spoke Spanish at home. My father came from a family of means in Mexico, and he had been sent to school in the U.S. He spoke flawless Spanish and English.

My son, Eliot, suggested I also mention that people would be surprised to know that I play the castanets (clackers worn on your fingers) and do Spanish dancing.

WHAT CONCERNS YOU TODAY? I was director of community relations for the Jewish Federation of Tulsa for 20 years. Those kinds of issues, although I’m retired, are still with me all the time. The political climate is horrible. (People running for) public office are spouting antisemitism. Other people running for elected office are advocating for doing away with the separation of church and state. History tells us that would be a

horrible thing — it was horrible for Europe. It’s not something we want here, and our founding fathers would not want it.

HOW DO YOU MEASURE SUCCESS? Th ree wonderful children. I once heard a rabbi say, “Parents, your job is not to have the best-looking, smartest, most beautiful children. Your job is to raise good human beings, good people.” Success for me is the fact that I have three great children and that I’ve had a hand in organizing several civic organizations. Those organizations have all had anniversaries and are going strong and still existing and thriving. That’s it, baby. At this age, it’s been wonderful. That’s pretty good stuff.

YOU ALSO SERVED AS THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE HISPANIC FOUNDATION OF TULSA. WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO TAKE ON THAT ROLE? We started the foundation in 1990 for the purpose of giving scholarships and having cultural programs. We were swimming along beautifully. Our vice president at the time was the head of Citgo Oil. We had staff who could help us get all the administrative stuff done. Then in the 1980’s, Citgo went to Houston, and we were left with no clerical help.

They decided we needed an executive director, and I got the job as the fi rst executive director. I was with the foundation for five years, and then we started the Coalition of Hispanic Organizations.

The foundation had wonderful corporate support, but the board felt we couldn’t get too political.

We needed that advocacy. That was when an influx of Hispanics were coming to Tulsa. We formed the Coalition of Hispanic Organizations to handle legislative advocacy.

I learned so much as a member and president of the local section of the National Council of Jewish Women. They believed in very extensive, national training for leadership. I just got good training, and it prepared me for a world of work and everything I was able to do afterward. That was the fi rst thing I got involved in as a volunteer was the Tulsa section of the National Council of Jewish Women.

TELL ME ABOUT YOUR JOURNEY FROM CATHOLICISM TO JUDAISM. I converted when I married my husband.

That’s why my marriage was such a defining moment in my life. We fell in love. We knew it was right, and he was willing to raise the children Catholic, which was a requirement of Catholics.

He had had a quick marriage with a Jewish young lady from Chicago while he was in law school for 20 months. She hated Oklahoma, and she left.

He was divorced. When the priests found out that he had been divorced, they said, “Sorry, we can’t marry you.” Oh, my father blew a gasket. Th is was before they started changing a few rules in the church. I said, “OK, I’m going to start learning about Judaism.” I went and I heard. It wasn’t a sermon, it was a beautiful lecture, and I thought I can do this. It was hard because I knew the rest of my family would be Catholic, but by this time they loved my husband so much. He was a very special person. Their only fear was that I would not be accepted when I came to Oklahoma, but

that never materialized. That was never an issue.

NAME A FAVORITE TULSA MEMORY. When I was working at the Jewish Federation of Tulsa, we experienced white supremacists and hate mongers. A group of neo-Nazis marched in Skokie, Illinois, in the 1980s. Skokie is a community of mostly Holocaust survivors. That same day, the Christian community here in Tulsa said if neo-Nazis are going to march in Skokie, we’re going to march in unity in Tulsa. We had developed a really wonderful inter-religious and interfaith network here. We’re great about that here in Tulsa. We marched from First Baptist Church and had a program at Bartlett Square as Christians and Jews. People joined us. It was wonderful. It was quite a day.

Another memory was when Oral Roberts called me in his office and said the Rev. John Hagee from San Antonio was here and wanted to have a night to honor Israel. There were nights to honor Israel scheduled all over the southwest, and he wanted to host one at ORU. Roberts asked if I could help him plan it so it would be inclusive.

I was honored. I asked Rabbi Arthur Kahn (head of Congregation B’nai Emunah at the time) to be on the stage with Oral Roberts, and we had Tulsa’s fi rst night to honor Israel at ORU, and it was fantastic. Oral Roberts and Rabbi Kahn prayed the 23rd Psalm together — Oral Roberts in English, and Rabbi Kahn in Hebrew. There were around 4,000 ORU students present.

DESCRIBE A PERFECT WEEKEND IN TULSA. Shabbat dinner at my son David and daughter-in-law Randee’s house on Friday night, the Sabbath Friday night dinner. Then walking. I love to walk the neighborhoods with my family. Sunday, I like to watch the news talk shows in the morning.

Sunday evening, I like to go to India Palace. Just anything with family. Sure, I love to get dressed up and go to the galas and things like that, but I find when I’m with my family, I’m happiest.

WHAT HAVE BEEN THE MOST SIGNIFICANT CHANGES YOU’VE EXPERIENCED IN TULSA? In 2007, the Oklahoma legislature passed a bill, Senate Bill 1804. It was during the time the antiimmigrant movement was rampant all over the country. Oklahoma decided they were going to pass a law that made it hard on the immigrants moving to Oklahoma. The law was so stringent and wouldn’t allow you to help immigrants in any way.

The Catholic church that many Hispanics were going to on the east side of town was half empty on Sunday mornings. I’ve heard 25,000 people left Tulsa County because of that law. It was a horrible time for merchants and the Hispanic community.

Now, our wonderful mayor, G.T. Bynum, has a committee that welcomes them with open arms, and it’s not just Hispanics. There’s a committee that helps facilitate the move to Tulsa for immigrants, and he has a Hispanic individual on his staff. Things have gotten better. I also remember the horrible movement against LGBT people, but thank God, we now have same-sex marriage.

I hope that doesn’t change. TP TulsaPeople.com

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OKPOP has 1,200 boxes holding over 5,000 hours of recordings from the Leon Russell collection.

Doug Claybourne worked as an assistant director on Francis Ford Coppola’s “Apocalypse Now.” Pictured is the combined continuity book for the movie’s many reels of film. At the top is the megaphone Claybourne used on set.

Inside the OKPOP archives as staff inventories a growing collection of artifacts.

STORY AND PHOTOS

BY TIM LANDES

A

massive new building has been constructed across the street from Cain’s Ballroom that will someday be full of visitors learning about the many contributions to popular culture by numerous Oklahomans.

Passersby can peek in the floor-to-ceiling windows and see lots of empty space at 422 N. Main St., but beyond the visible staircase and tall white walls inside the archives there is a lot of work being done to inventory, preserve, digitize and prepare thousands of artifacts for future use at OKPOP Museum.

“It’s starting to smell like history in there,” says OKPOP Deputy Director Meg Charron.

“You can smell the oldness of some of the objects and it’s really cool.”

Inside the museum’s archives are boxes of audio recordings, VHS tapes, costumes, props, posters, documents, musical instruments and everything else imaginable that will highlight the work of Oklahomans in fi lm, television, music, theater, literature and even politics.

Overseeing the work is Collections Manager Emily McKenzie, Collections Coordinator Abigail Young and Curator Mark Dempsey.

“It is a massive, massive job they are doing.

We’ve got an incredible team working on the archives right now, and it is like a small percent40

TulsaPeople DECEMBER 2022

age of what we have,” Charron says. “There’s a whole bunch of stuff in Oklahoma City at the (Oklahoma) History Center that is ours. Our collection is huge. We continue to collect stuff every single day. New things come in all the time ... It’s like Christmas every day.”

Museum staff and volunteers will spend countless hours working to preserve and document the collection. The process also is a treasure hunt because the staff has no clue what all is stored on the recordings or written on pages.

There are over 5,000 hours of audio recordings from the Leon Russell collection to listen to, plus he videotaped sound checks and concerts throughout his career.

“He recorded everything,” McKenzie says as she turns a lever on the archive shelves that opens them to reveal rows and rows of boxes of Russell recordings. “We’re very excited about what we will discover as we go through everything. Do you want to see his hat?”

A few rows over inside a white box is Russell’s iconic top hat, which is stored on a shelf above the drum set Jim Keltner used on Bob Dylan’s 1980 Shot of Love Tour. Nearby is Jamie Oldaker’s drums. There’s also Jimmy Markham’s trumpet and many more iconic pieces that will tell the story of the Tulsa Sound.

When it comes to fi lm production artifacts, there is movie producer Doug Claybourne’s megaphone he used on the set of “Apocalypse Now” and his production binder from his work on “The Fast and the Furious,” which has since gone on to become one of the biggest movie franchises in modern cinema.

With the exterior fi nished, there is now fundraising the $35-$40 million needed to fi nish the interior buildout, as well as the work to determine what artifacts will help share the story. Museum staff is working with New York City and Australia-based museum design fi rm Art Processors to create a unique immersive experience for museum goers. Charron says they are looking at a 2024 opening, and that the wait will be worth it.

“Th is is going to be a really cool mixture of traditional museum in the sense we do have artifacts and collections, and we’re sharing those with the public and we’re educating people, but kind of a new spin on a museum in that people’s attention spans have changed a little bit over the years, and people are really into things that they can see and touch and feel and experience on another level,” she says. “So we’re really trying to make the experience of OKPOP come to life.” TP

A poster promoting the concert where J.J. Cale met Eric Clapton. Clapton would go on to record many Cale songs and the two would play together over the years.

The poster belonged to Jimmy Markham, who played with Cale.

A look at the shelves holding Leon Russell recordings as well as some of Dwight Adair’s Bob Wills collection that he donated to the museum.

Collections Manager Emily McKenzie holds Leon Russell’s iconic top hat.

Listen to Charron further discuss the creation of OKPOP, including the envisioned layout, what it will mean for Tulsa and Oklahoma, and what it will take financially to finish the job and get it open on the Nov. 16 episode of Tulsa Talks: A TulsaPeople podcast.

TulsaPeople.com

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TulsaPeople DECEMBER 2022

FOR A CITY THE SIZE OF TULSA, THE COFFEE CULTURE IS STRONG. STORY BY NATALIE MIKLES | PHOTOS BY MICHELLE POLLARD

DAILY GRIND Tulsa has become a coffee city where, yes, the quality is certainly important, but the vibe and mission of the coffee shop are just as vital. Tulsans care about the beans and the roasting process, but we also have premier people who own the shops and help to cultivate a unique experience around coffee.

We talked to coffee shop owners and coffee lovers in town to find out the best places for not only getting your daily dose of caffeine, but for working remotely, meeting a friend, chatting with the barista or simply changing your scenery.

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A brief history of coffee in Tulsa Long before Starbucks was ubiquitous, Tulsans knew where to find a good cup of coffee. Before coffeehouses were a thing, coffee was a quick caffeine delivery service. Sitting on diner barstools or in cafe booths, drinking coffee was as much about ritual as anything. We wanted our coffee piping hot and maybe with cream or sugar.

The first shop to break from the diner model was Neighbors Quality House Coffee, later known as Java Dave’s — a place where you could linger over a cup of coffee. Ten years later, in 1998, Tor Nordstrom opened Nordaggios Coffee, creating a European-style coffeehouse with artisan coffee, espresso and desserts. It quickly became a place for gathering, working and experiencing the coffee life.

Starbucks ushered in a second wave of coffee, turning coffee into a more varied and nuanced experience for the masses. Starbucks may be the place coffee purists love to hate, but they will admit it completely transformed coffee culture. This was also the time coffee became more expensive, and when our vocabulary expanded. Lattes entered the zeitgeist, and we collectively learned the difference between tall, grande and venti. Tulsa was slow in getting its first stand-alone Starbucks. The Utica Square location, the first Starbucks in Tulsa, didn’t open until 2002.

Having an understanding of where the beans are grown and who grows them has long been important to local coffee geniuses like Brian Franklin at DoubleShot and John Gaberino at Topeca.

So, what’s next? Some say coffee connoisseurs took a baby step into innovative techniques when nitro cold brews were introduced. Jake Self of Triangle Coffee Roasters says that may have been the first clue of what the future holds. But is Tulsa there? Self says not yet — but we’ll likely sip even more micro lots and single origin coffees, brewed by the cup. He notes Cirque as one such place that’s experimenting with newwave ideas.

Whether you’re steeped in coffee culture, or are just looking for a place that feels familiar from the first step inside, or a new spot for a fun, seasonal specialty drink, we’ve put together a list to help you find your next favorite coffee destination.

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TulsaPeople DECEMBER 2022

T OPECA COFFEE ROAST ERS

CLASS OF THEIR OWN DoubleShot Coffee Co. To categorize DoubleShot almost feels absurd. Since it opened in 2004, DoubleShot has been one of Tulsa’s premier coffeehouses. Loyalists — and there are many DoubleShot super fans — would argue there’s no place like it. In its early days, DoubleShot had an art-house vibe — a place where intellectuals, students and dreamers could debate and discuss while drinking owner Brian Franklin’s meticulously prepared coffee. Franklin began roasting coffee in his home kitchen before opening DoubleShot, and to this day he doesn’t take any shortcuts, roasting beans from around the world twice a week in two 1950s European coffee roasters. Regulars are fiercely protective of the space, but there’s room for newcomers, especially since Franklin moved to a spacious building a few years ago. 1633 S. BOULDER AVE.

Topeca Coffee Roasters John and Margarita Gaberino got into the coffee business to save their family’s business in El Salvador. What started as a simple idea of importing the beans from the family farm to then roast in Tulsa took on a life of its own when Topeca became one of the first farm-to-cafe coffee companies. Tulsans were immediately drawn to the idea, loving the idea of knowing where the beans came from, and appreciating the high-quality roasting process.

Topeca has three downtown locations, popular with downtown workers. 507 S. BOSTON AVE., PHILCADE BUILDING | 100 E. SECOND ST., HYATT REGENCY HOTEL | 110 N. ELGIN AVE., SUITE 500; VAST BANK BUILDING

Cirque Coffee Roasters Some coffee connoisseurs sit and sip, while others need their morning fuel fast and fresh. Cirque offers the best of both worlds for consumers on each end of the spectrum with a sleek and cozy brick-and-mortar location in the Pearl District since 2016 and an efficient to-go operation near Cherry Street. At the cafe, Cirque combines comfort and style; open a tab to keep the specialty coffee concoctions coming. At the drive-thru location, customers order via app and input their make and model of car, so baristas have your cup ready to go for a quick handoff seven days a week.

1317 E. SIXTH ST. (PEARL DISTRICT) | 1404 S. UTICA AVE. (DRIVE-THRU)

FIRST-GENERATION Gypsy Coffee House It’s a good thing Bradley Garcia didn’t listen to those who doubted his vision. When he bought a 1906 dilapidated building downtown (in what is now the Arts District), some questioned his sanity. This was more than 20 years ago, when there was little need to go downtown after dark. But in 1999, Garcia opened the Gypsy, with the idea of creating a gathering place much like those he had experienced in travels to Europe. It took a good five years for the idea to catch on, but the Gypsy was ahead of its time. And it’s still a Tulsa coffeehouse favorite with its regular open-mic nights and performance lineups. 303 MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. BLVD.

Shades of Brown For many Tulsa millennials, Shades of Brown was their first coffeehouse experience.

It was — and still is — a welcoming place, an unintimidating refuge from the daily grind. At Shades of Brown, art is as important as the coffee. The coffee may just be a conduit for the art experience, which is rather immersive in that there is art on the walls, gorgeous hand-crafted pottery mugs and soaps and other handmade goods for sale. Shades of Brown has changed and pivoted in small ways since opening, while keeping its familiarity. We have one request — stay that way. We love you just as you are, Shades of Brown. 3302 S. PEORIA AVE.

Cafe Cubana

S H A D ES O F B R O W N

One of Tulsa’s oldest coffee shops is still a favorite. Many will remember its location on Cherry Street as the “it” morning meeting spot and beloved hangout. With Cafe Cubana’s move south, it now boasts a drive-thru, and the quality is still intact, with its espresso drinks being some of the best in town. Cafe Cubana also caters events with a full-service espresso bar. For years the shop has been known for its smoothies like the Coco Peanut Butter, which features chocolate, peanut butter, protein powder, banana, cinnamon and low-fat milk. 4201 S. SHERIDAN ROAD

ROUTE 66 918 Coffee What happens when you turn an old car shop on Route 66 into a coffee shop? You get a quirky coffee house with loads of charm and personality. 918 Coffee has a neighborhood feel while also being a destination stop for travelers of old Route 66. Blended frappes, cappuccinos and lattes are popular, as are breakfast items like oatmeal and sandwiches. 2446 E. 11TH ST.

Foolish Things Coffee Co.

918 C O FFEE

A pared-down aesthetic, low light and overall zen feeling greets customers at Foolish Things. Its mission statement/treatise states: “It is our hope that this simple cafe will be a means through which you engage humanity personally and corporately. It is conversation and relationship that distinguish civilized humanity from animals and barbarians.” While having those very human moments, sip one of Foolish Things’ pourovers, hand-brewed coffee or an oak-aged cold brew. All syrups are made in-house and have a pure, natural flavor. A menu of curated breakfast favorites sports dishes with locally sourced ingredients. 1001 S. MAIN ST. TulsaPeople.com

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SOUTH TULSA FAVES Lulu’s Coffee This quaint coffee shop is the place to get Turkish coffee in Tulsa. Brewed in a cezve, a small metal cup with a long handle, the unfiltered coffee has a strong flavor and aroma that is truly an experience. The shop also has a full menu of espresso drinks, including affrogato, Americano and latte. A small food menu sports breakfast and lunch options, with vegetarian selections, and a collection of pastries and snacks also are available.

10139 S. DELAWARE AVE.

The Collaborative

TH E C O LLAB O R ATI VE

Open since September 2020, the Collaborative sports a hip vibe for those wanting an authentic Tulsa space.

Plenty of seating areas and tables welcome those meeting over coffee or sitting down to do some work. The drink menu rotates with the seasons — like the recent Sunny Spro and Oklahoma rose latte — but classics like iced coffees and cortados are mainstays. A few nibbles and pastries are available, too, along with a wine and beer list. A Jenks drive-thru location serves up the same crafted coffee drinks for those on the go.

4532 E. 51ST ST. | 1577 W. 121ST ST., JENKS

DESTINATION DRINKS Black Wall Street Liquid Lounge As more people come to Tulsa to visit the Greenwood area and learn more about the Tulsa Race Massacre, they often walk around the area, visiting the shops nearby the Greenwood Rising History Center. And that often leads them to the Black Wall Street Liquid Lounge. Many drinks are named after historic Black Wall Street business owners, like the Simon Berry — a charcoal mocha drink. Another customer favorite is the Greenwood Latte with matcha, vanilla and mint. Owners Guy and Yvette Troupe say the Black Wall Street Liquid Lounge has become the hub of the area, with traffic spikes coming from tourists and Greenwood Rising visitors. 10 N. GREENWOOD AVE., SUITE 101

She Brews Coffee House

B L A C K WA L L S T R E E T L I Q U I D LO U N G E 46

TulsaPeople DECEMBER 2022

Some customers wander into She Brews because they’re in the neighborhood or because they heard it’s a good place for a great cup of coffee. But those who know the back story come out of curiosity or to support the mission of founder Rhonda Bear. After losing custody of her children and serving prison time, Bear dreamed of a better future, and after making changes for herself wanted to help other formerly incarcerated women.

She Brews provides housing, support and employment at the coffee shop to these women with locations in Tulsa and Claremore. There’s no doubt the coffee is fabulous, but the mission is even better. 1 N. LEWIS AVE.

GREG AND CHRISTA BACA

NOTION C O F F E E H O U S E O N C H ER RY STR EET

FOR THE FOODIES Coffee House on Cherry Street The Coffee House on Cherry Street, aka CHOCS, takes its coffee seriously. But over the 16 years since it opened, the dessert and food options have continued to grow. It’s still a great place to go for an Americano or a cappuccino, but it’s also hard to resist the bakery case — one of the most robust in local coffee shops — with lots of gluten-free and vegan options. Chocolate espresso creme pie, tres leches cake and turtle cookies are just the beginning. CHOCS also has a great breakfast and lunch menu, including breakfast tacos and an ooey gooey grilled cheese sandwich. 1502 E. 15TH ST.

Laurannae This Instagram-worthy coffee shop is more than a pretty face. In addition to the minimal, soft aesthetic, the creative coffee concoctions span the gamut. We recommend trying a coffee flight, including rotating latte flavors like Brides Cake and chocolate coconut. But don’t stop there. Just as many people are flocking to Laurannae for the desserts as the coffee. The cakes have a modern design and often pleasingly muted color palette. If you don’t need a whole cake, try the lavender-lemon cupcake, cinnamon roll or chocolate chip cookie. Laurannae also has a huge back patio. 112 W. COMMERCIAL ST., BROKEN ARROW | 1205 E. KENOSHA ST., BROKEN ARROW (INSIDE CHURCH ON THE MOVE)

Chimera This Arts District staple is equal parts coffee house and cafe, as many consider it a leader in vegetarian fare since it opened in January 2013. “(It was) no less than a week into it where we really found that the food was what’s going to make us tick,” owner Rob Stuart says. He worked on recipe development with Zach Curren to create a menu with omnivore, vegetarian and vegan staples like the breakfast taco, bowls, salads — try the popular Lily’s Special — as well as daily specials. The shop features an event space and often hosts acts that provide a community event experience, such as a comedy night one evening followed by a breakdancing performance later in the week. 212 N. MAIN ST.

Unless you’re looking for it, you would never find Notion. And that’s OK with owners Greg and Christa Baca and Dylan LeFevre. In fact, they intentionally created an underground (literally) coffee shop. In speakeasy style, the only thing signaling you’re in the right place is an N above the door. That “if you know, you know” feeling is part of what makes Notion feel both special and personal.

The experience of walking into Notion, 321 S. Frankfort Ave., is immersive.

Customers walk down a ramp and down the stairs behind NEFF Brewing Co. to find it. Once inside, it’s an experiential style of coffee mixed with art and blended with community.

The Bacas have a background in nonprofit work and ran an international humanitarian organization before opening Notion. One of the things Greg often taught when running a social entrepreneurship program was to live with intention and purpose. Helping people recognize their vision and then working to chase after that dream became Greg’s and Christa’s reality when they turned a dingy underground basement into a coffee shop.

“We’ve logged unending hours in coffee shops around the world. Unity and creativity go hand in hand with coffee,” Greg says.

To Greg, Tulsa and coffee belong together, so it’s no surprise Tulsa is steeped in coffee houses. “There’s something to be said for the community nature of this city. There’s something that is part of Tulsa’s DNA that coffee goes well with,” Greg says.

Greg has established relationships with several Tulsa Remote participants and says Notion has become a place where seeds are being planted.

“We have our ear to the ground to the new life in our city. With Tulsa Remote, artists and creators, this is a space for them,” he says. “We want to rally the dreamers of this city.”

Instead of using art as decor, Notion is a true gallery space, partnering with an artist for a yearlong exhibit. In 2022, Miles Rogoish’s “Reality is a Point of View” exhibition hung in the space.

Notion also became a popular event space, including its 200-seat in-the-round venue, where everything from rehearsal dinners to hip-hop concerts to comedy shows have occurred. Grants are available to help subsidize events for local talent.

Baca recently looked at the words used most frequently in Notion’s online reviews. Interestingly, coffee wasn’t one of them. Atmosphere, space and art were — and that’s OK with him.

With more than 20 coffee shops within 3 miles of Notion, he knew he would have to set himself apart. “Our message can’t be, ‘Hey, we have great coffee, too,’” he says.

Baca wants customers to leave with an exceptional vanilla latte or mocha, but he also wants them to leave inspired.

In early 2023, Notion will open a second location at 1207 S. Lewis Ave. at the Root’s new coworking space.

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J A K E A N D F R A N KI E SELF

SONA

MEET UP WITH A FRIEND

TRIANGLE COFFEE ROASTERS Jake Self became a coffee drinker by necessity. Like many, Self turned to coffee to get him through late nights studying for college finals.

Self has now far exceeded those college coffee drinking days and has a vast appreciation and understanding of what goes into making a perfect cup. His love of coffee grew even more after he and his wife, Frankie, began running Triangle Coffee, 314 S. Cincinnati Ave. Frankie was baking out of the Triangle kitchen when an opportunity came for her to buy Triangle from its previous owner.

Centrally located downtown, many Triangle customers are downtown workers and students, and many are regulars.

“When people think of the apex of coffee, it always comes back to the ’90s in Seattle. The idea of ‘This is my neighborhood spot. This is my table.’ We wanted to build that,” he says.

Self’s thought was that coffee was becoming too cool, and there should be a place for people to come, without intimidation or pretentiousness.

“I don’t think there’s any shop in Tulsa that’s intentionally doing that. But even I, who knows a lot of coffee shop owners in town, can walk into a place and feel like ‘This is not really a spot for me,’” he says.

So the Selfs are attacking that mindset.

“If you order a Starbucks drink, we’re not going to correct you. The drink is always secondary,” he says.

For instance, if a customer orders a venti caramel macchiato, Self will find a close replacement. Or, he might suggest, “How about this single origin Rwandan coffee we just imported from a farm run by women?”

And most of the time, customers are willing to try Self’s suggestions. Ultimately his goal is to create a coffee experience personalized for the individual.

“For a city Tulsa’s size, our coffee culture is pretty advanced,” he says.

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Hodges Bend When it’s time to catch up with a friend, you want a place that’s fun but also quiet enough to talk. You won’t have to yell over loud music at Hodges Bend, but you will get to enjoy the gorgeous bar space that is coffee shop by day and lounge by night. Try something different, like the Japanese cold brew, or a familiar but elevated drink like the macchiato. Also, coffee-infused libations are available at the bar. If you want good service from knowledgeable baristas, this is the place. 823 E. THIRD ST.

Sona This woman-owned coffee shop gets five stars in its attention to detail. Shelby Swanson opened the Blue Dome District shop in spring 2020. This unique space is a perfect spot for lingering over coffee with friends. The downstairs is a nice, open space with plenty of light for working on a laptop, and a spiral staircase leads you upstairs to cozy loft seating. Sona hits it out of the park with its seasonal specialties, including Frosted Christmas Cookie, Caramel Brulee and Peppermint mocha. 306 E. FIRST ST.

Fulton Street Books and Coffee We can’t think of a better place to sip and shop while catching up with a friend. Fulton Street is the creation of Onikah Asamoa-Caesar, owner and founder, who says Fulton Street is a love letter to her younger self and “a safe space for Black and Brown folks.”

With a curated selection of fiction and nonfiction titles — many of which are written by or about BIPOC individuals — it’s also a wonderful place to shop for books and gifts for the holidays. As for the coffee, even if you’re not one to usually add a syrup to your drinks, you don’t want to miss out on the Ph Delight, a blend of honey, vanilla and cinnamon. Try it in a latte or any of your favorite drinks. 210 W. LATIMER ST.

SUBURBAN SPOTS Mojo’s Coffee lovers in Jenks were thrilled when Mojo’s opened. With little nooks for curling up with a hot drink in a peaceful setting, this cute little house-turned-coffee-shop is the definition of cozy. If you don’t believe us, just check out the names of a few of the most popular drinks, including Grampa’s Strong Brew — a cold brew with sweet cream and vanilla and, as the menu says, “a touch of sweater vest charm.” Mojo’s is even a good spot for people who don’t love coffee, featuring plenty of non-coffee items on the menu, like Grammy’s Favorite, an apple cider with caramel and whipped cream. In other words, a hug in a cup. 407 W. A ST., JENKS

Origin Coffee Co.

M OJO’S

Nordaggios Coffee In the back room of south Tulsa’s Nordaggios stands master roaster Bobby Ellis calmly checking and rechecking the trier on the shop’s 1950s German roaster. Inside, the machine, which reaches 445-450 degrees before the beans enter, is heating an espresso blend of five different varietals — originating from Indonesia, South America and Africa. As the water inside the bean heats up, small pops and cracks can be heard. After about 14 minutes, Ellis releases the beans, which have now doubled in size, to a cooling tray and shortly after they’ll be bagged and ready for delivery to the many local shops and wholesale customers.

“Orders come in over a three-day period and go out as early as the same day,” says Ellis, who roasts 2,0003,000 pounds weekly.

Ellis does all of this without the assistance of computers. He’s looking for color, sound, temperature while sampling for acidity — a careful balance with caramelization.

On a corner of Main Street in downtown Broken Arrow sits this neighborhood shop where owner and roaster Tyler Gibbons roasts beans from around the world. “We’re trying to change the coffee game in the Tulsa area by bringing the community together and being more approachable,” he says. With indoor and outdoor seating aplenty for this ideal work-from-coffeehouse space, Origin serves up a menu of house blends and carefully crafted espresso drinks with a limited food menu. A customer favorite is the Pooh Bear, an espresso-based drink served hot or cold with honey, cinnamon and caramel.

224 S. MAIN ST., BROKEN ARROW TP

For nearly 20 years, the New Jersey native has been roasting beans for Nordaggios, one of the original Tulsa coffeehouses, and a place where many had their first specialty coffee drink.

Since the late 1990s, Nordaggios has been the place to go for real espresso drinks and cold caffeine creations.

“What separates us is that we are constantly rotating the varietals and origins,” Ellis says of Nordaggios roasted blends.

Many come to the shop, 8156 S. Lewis Ave., for its pour-overs, a precise method of brewing that delivers specific, pronounced flavor notes. “This brewing method highlights more of the taste attributes the coffee is meant to show you,” he says. It’s the way Ellis prefers his cup — that, or a traditional macchiato.

Behind the Nordaggios counter is a group of highly trained, talented baristas who are constantly learning and perfecting the craft. Jeramy Williams, who has worked at the shop for about a year, was recently crowned Tulsa’s

latte art champion.

Beyond the shop’s four walls, Nordaggios services local coffee devotees with a robust espresso catering business that brings the shop to you. There’s also an extensive coffee consulting and education business led by owner Tor Nordstrom that services clients nationwide.

Ellis sources beans from around the world to create a product that winds up both across the country and in many favorite local shops, including Shades of Brown, The Collaborative and Gypsy Coffee House.

No matter the product — whether it be fair trade, organic, Rainforest Alliance certified, “We are set on chasing a great cup of coffee,” Ellis says. “In the end, the only thing that matters is the taste.” — ANNE BROCKMAN Hear Nordaggios Coffee owner Tor Nordstrom and master roaster Bobby Ellis discuss the business of coffee on the Dec. 7 episode of Tulsa Talks: A TulsaPeople podcast.

TulsaPeople.com

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Christmas brunch enchiladas

W H AT’S COOK ING

MAKE AHEAD:

Christmas morning

A

fter all the bows are tied, parties attended and cards delivered, Christmas morning awaits.

It’s the day many families have long waited for. But with the high anticipation and joy of the day can also come exhaustion from a month of preparations.

It’s possible to have a memorable Christmas morning meal without a ton of stress. Depending on your family traditions, Christmas breakfast might be elaborate, with everyone pitching in to make a family favorite strata or homemade cinnamon rolls. Or maybe you’ve made a breakfast casserole the night before, and all you have to do is pop it in the oven while everyone digs through their stockings.

Here are a few ideas to keep the morning smooth and cheerful. — NATALIE MIKLES

Here’s one you can make the night before so that it’s ready to go into the oven the next morning.

CHRISTMAS BRUNCH ENCHILADAS Serves 10 1 pound pork breakfast sausage 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 1 (20-ounce) bag frozen shredded hashbrown potatoes, thawed Salt and pepper 1/2 teaspoon chili powder 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper 1 (4-ounce) can chopped green chiles 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided 10 (6-inch) flour tortillas 1 (10-ounce) can green enchilada sauce 1 (10-ounce) can red enchilada sauce In a saute pan, cook and crumble the sausage over medium heat, about 5-8 minutes. Drain grease from sausage. Set sausage aside.

In same pan, add oil, bringing to medium-high heat.

Saute potatoes until lightly browned, about 10 minutes.

Season with salt and pepper, to taste, while cooking. Stir every few minutes to let brown on all sides. Remove from heat, and stir in chili powder, cayenne pepper, chiles, sausage and 3/4 cup cheese.

In a greased baking dish, place 1/2 cup filling on each tortilla, roll and place, seam side down. Top half with red sauce and half with green sauce. Cover dish and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Remove enchiladas from refrigerator while oven heats. Bake, covered, for 30 minutes. Sprinkle with the remaining 1 1/4 cups cheese.

Bake, uncovered, until lightly browned and heated through, about 15 minutes. Can be served with toppings of red onion, red bell pepper and chopped cilantro.

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TulsaPeople DECEMBER 2022

Calaveras Mexican Grill reopened in September.

Maybe you’ve seen a version of this easy recipe.

You don’t need any baking skills to make a breakfast everyone will love. Be sure to prepare it the night before serving to allow the rolls time to rise.

STICKY BUNS 1/4 cup chopped pecans 1 (18-24) package frozen yeast dinner rolls 1 cup packed brown sugar 1/4 cup granulated sugar 1 package (3.4-ounce) butterscotch pudding (not instant) 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1 stick butter Spray a 12-cup Bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray. Place the pecans on the bottom of the pan.

Place frozen rolls on top of the pecans. In a small bowl, mix the sugars, pudding mix and cinnamon. Cut in the butter, and mix to make coarse crumbs. Sprinkle the mixture over the rolls.

Place the Bundt pan in a cold oven or on a countertop overnight. Do not cover. Rolls should rise overnight.

In the morning, preheat oven to 350 degrees.

If dough has risen over the top of the pan, use kitchen shears to cut dough, snipping each dough ball to deflate. Bake rolls 25-30 minutes.

Let sit 5 minutes before inverting the pan onto a plate. Serve warm.

MICHELLE POLLARD; ROCKNIG R: COURTESY

Old world Christmas Get a glimpse of a real German Christmas market at Christkindlmarkt, the German-American Society of Tulsa’s annual event held Dec. 2-4 at 2301 E. 15th St. It’s a fun time walking through the Gothic-style building filled with Christmas trees, twinkle lights and booths of interesting items made by local artists. You’ll also find nutcrackers, beer steins and imported German food.

And as good as all of that is, the major draw is the food. Schnitzel sandwiches, authentic goulash and potato pancakes are excellent. For dessert, try the apple strudel (it’s so good you’ll likely want to buy a whole one to take home), black forest trifle or cheesecake. The smells of mulled wine and roasted nuts fill the air.

Christkindlmarkt is one of Tulsa’s top foodie events of the year.

Birria tacos

CALAVERAS REOPENS Rocking “R” Ranch House

Along with a fresh new look, Calaveras Mexican Grill has added new dishes to its menu since reopening its storefront in September.

One already popular addition are the birria tacos ($14.99), a plate of three corn tortillas grilled in beef broth and stuffed with shredded beef, cheese, onion and cilantro.

On its weekend breakfast menu, served from 8-11 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday, diners can try the new Mexican spiced French toast served with two eggs and chorizo ($11.75). With notes of Mexican vanilla and cinnamon, the griddled bread is topped with a La Lechera-based (Mexican condensed milk) syrup, whipped cream and homemade cinnamon butter.

Since reopening, the family-run business has welcomed returning customers and many new faces. “My family’s passion lies in serving and sharing the authentic dishes of their beloved Mexico and we would love the opportunity to serve them,” says owner David Molina, who has called Oklahoma home since 1997.

Calaveras is located at 2326 E. Admiral Blvd. Visit calaverasmexicangrill.com for more details. — ANNE BROCKMAN

FARE NEAR THE FAIRWAY If you want a meal in a country club setting without the membership costs, there’s Rocking “R” Ranch House at Forest Ridge, 7501 E. Kenosha St. in Broken Arrow. It is one of few clubs with a restaurant open to the public.

The breakfast is hot and country-style with big portions of eggs, hashbrowns, biscuits and gravy, and pancakes. Lunch is classic with a club sandwich, fried chicken salad, patty melt and pimento cheeseburger, among other things.

Dinner at the Rocking “R” is a mix of country favorites and elevated country club food. Saturday is prime rib night and Sunday is fried chicken night. Down-home food like fried catfish and chicken and dumplings are customer favorites, but you’ll also find grilled salmon with a beurre blanc sauce, blackened chicken alfredo and pork chop with roasted garlic sage butter on the menu. Learn more at ranchhouseba.com.

TulsaPeople.com

51

A LA CARTE

Polo Grill

My Thai Kitchen

3 FAVORITE SPOTS FOR CURRY

Green curry fans will like kao pad green curry from MY THAI KITCHEN. Snow peas, green beans, peas and basil enhance the gorgeous green of this dish. The green curry sauce is mellow with just the right amount of spice. My Thai also has a yellow curry fried rice, combining two favorite dishes — fried rice and curry — into one with chili pepper, onion, carrot, cilantro, tomato and garlic.

3023 S. HARVARD AVE. | 918-794-7093

INDIA PALACE

THE TROPICAL 52

TulsaPeople DECEMBER 2022

For many Tulsans, the curry at INDIA PALACE is a favorite comfort food. The longest-operating Indian restaurant in town, India Palace has been around nearly 30 years. It’s the place to go for consistently great chicken, seafood and beef or vegetable curry. The velvety thickness of these curries is what has us coming back for more. It’s also a great place to find biryani and hard-to-find lamb Punjabi.

And the naan is a must — cooked fresh in the kitchen’s tandoori oven. 6963 S. LEWIS AVE. | 918-492-8040 | THEINDIAPALACETULSA.COM We are big fans of THE TROPICAL’s red curry, with its bright flavor, and mix of sweet, sour, salt and umami.

The red gang curry is a saucy mixture of bamboo shoots, snap peas, bell peppers and chicken, beef, pork or tofu over jasmine rice. Choose how spicy you want it to be. If you like it hot, the Tropical will bring the heat. The yellow curry, with a hearty mix of potatoes and onions, is also a nice choice for winter. 8125 E. 49TH ST. | 918-895-6433 | TROPICALTULSA.COM — NATALIE MIKLES

Polo Grill 2038 Utica Square 918-744-4280 pologrill.com Vintage Wine Bar 324 E. First St. 918-764-9255 winebartulsa.com Mahogany Prime Steakhouse 4840 E. 61st St. 918-494-4043 mahoganyprimesteakhouse.com Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar 1976 Utica Square 918-712-7500 flemingssteakhouse.com Doc’s Wine and Food 3509 S. Peoria Ave. 918-949-3663 docswineandfood.com

MICHELLE POLLARD

Winter warmup

WINE LIST

Expertly curated to match the restaurant’s fine fare, these are where the locals go — the winners of TulsaPeople’s annual A-LIST Readers’ Choice Awards.

TRY THIS!

Cinnamon roll

SOUND BITE

FROM TALLY’S GOOD FOOD CAFE 6100 S. SHERIDAN ROAD, #4051; 1102 S. YALE AVE. | 918-835-8039 | TALLYSCAFE.COM

MEAL IN ITSELF This is no dainty roll.

Measuring 9 inches across, there’s plenty to share among your tablemates and maybe some to take home.

ALL DAY FARE Like any true diner, Tally’s serves breakfast all day with favorites like the Smart Bomb, three-egg omelets and pancakes. It also claims to have the best chicken fried steak on Route 66.

KADY DOVER Bartender/server at Red Light Chicken, 332 E. First St. HOW DO YOU DESCRIBE RED LIGHT CHICKEN? We serve delicious fried chicken and comfort food in a fast, friendly and comfortable setting.

WHAT’S THE MOST POPULAR DISH YOU SERVE? Our chicken tender sandwiches. Of those our spicy chicken sandwich is No. 1.

WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE DISH? I love our spicy chicken tenders with a side of mac and cheese.

HOW SPICY IS THE SPICY? If you can handle the heat, you won’t be disappointed.

TALLY:S MICHELLE POLLARD; SOUND BITE: TIM LANDES

WHICH APPETIZER IS A MUST-TRY AND WHY? The Loaded Crinkle Fries. It’s guaranteed to get you off to a good start here.

HOMEMADE Made by hand and served warm, the pastry is a swirl of cinnamon, sugar and drizzled with a light frosting that is finger-licking good. $5.95.

THE SEASONAL COBBLER OR THE BANANA PUDDING FOR DESSERT? Cobbler. The melting ice cream makes this dish so creamy and delicious.

ANY TIPS FOR DINERS? Everyone order something different so you can share. There will be plenty to go around.

WHERE ARE YOU EATING WHEN YOU’RE NOT AT WORK? Howdy Burger. The burgers are so delicious.

— TIM LANDES TulsaPeople.com

53

COUNTDOWN TO

Christmas

As the days draw closer to Dec. 25, there are countless activities, events, gifts to buy and chores to wrap up.

As we count down the days, here are some ideas for how to revel in all that is the holiday season in Tulsa.

BY ANNE BROCKMAN AND TIFFANY HOWARD

TULSA CHRISTMAS PARADE

Santa Claus makes stops at many destinations and attractions throughout the city this time of year, but none compare to the entrance he makes at the SANTA FLY-IN, scheduled for 11 a.m., Dec. 17 at the Tulsa Air and Space Museum. While there, catch a screening of “The Polar Express” at the planetarium. Santa arrives via helicopter just in time to hear Christmas wish lists from girls and boys.

2.

In today’s hectic world, there’s no shame in turning to Tulsa’s trusted chefs to complete your holiday table. Turn to the THE HONEY BAKED HAM CO. for a sweet and savory protein on the big day. Sides are plentiful at LAMBRUSCO’Z and CHERRY STREET KITCHEN. Full meals can be pre-ordered through trusted favorites like PALACE CAFE and JUSTIN THOMPSON RESTAURANT GROUP.

3.

Give back this holiday season. It’s the season of giving and LOCAL CHARITIES AND NONPROFITS are needing assistance now more than ever.

No matter your passion — children’s needs, food security, arts, social services, education — ‘tis the season of gratitude and generosity.

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TulsaPeople DECEMBER 2022

4.

Near Tulsa there are two options for Christmas tree farms. PLEASANT VALLEY FARMS in Sand Springs grows Virginia Pines with a selection of imported, pre-cut Fir trees. At the OWASSO CHRISTMAS TREE AND BERRY FARM, walk through rows of Virginia Pines, Leyland Cypress and Carolina Sapphire for the perfect you-cut tree, as well as pre-cut Firs.

5.

‘Tis the gift-giving season. Do so with a present from one of your favorite local retailers.

Die-hard Tulsan? There are gifts galore, including Tulsa snow globes, at IDA RED. Tees, books, T-town-based food items and more are at the SHOPS AT MOTHER ROAD MARKET. KIDDLESTIX is a must for the kid on your list.

Your local music lover would love a new vinyl from STUDIO RECORDS.

6.

UTICA SQUARE transforms for the season with its twinkling white lights, Santa house and “The Nutcracker” suite dioramas. Can you find all 10 of the Square’s larger-than-life Nutcrackers positioned throughout the shopping center? None of them are the same, painted green, red and blue with different hats and embellishments.

7.

“THE NUTCRACKER” returns to the Tulsa Performing Arts Center for its annual run of performances Dec. 9-23. Last year, Tulsa Ballet debuted all new sets and costumes for this dancing spectacle, with live accompaniment from Tulsa Symphony.

8.

Stumped on what to get for a family member or friend? Rather than a gift card, get creative and make something instead. Choose to knit a chunky blanket at AR WORKSHOP or purchase a bifold wallet or crossbody bag unicorn (complete with fringy hair!) kit from TANDY LEATHER. No time to make something yourself?

Give the gift of creativity with a colorful themed mosaic kit from TULSA STAINED GLASS.

9.

Don those mittens and get ready to “Art Deco the Halls” at the TULSA CHRISTMAS PARADE on Dec. 10. Sip on hot chocolate and cheer with the family as festive floats with balloons, bands and even Santa, all travel along the historic downtown route.

10.

Stuff the stockings of your favorite pet with items from SOUTHERN AGRICULTURE, KNOT YOURS, DOG DISH and FETCH.

TIM LANDES

1.

11.

As the houseguests arrive, don’t fret spending every moment of your precious time cleaning.

Leave the work to a professional from NOOK AND CRANNY HOMEKEEPING or A NEW VIEW HOMEKEEPING.

District, shop several ground-floor retail spaces filled with local business and entrepreneur pop-up shops. More details will be announced as the shopping season nears at downtowndaysofwonder.com.

12.

19.

There are two types of people during the holidays: those that partake in eggnog, and those that do not. But the homemade eggnog at HODGES BEND — made with Jamaican rum and cognac — is so jolly and delicious it may just convert all the nogsayers at the table. But if they really can’t be convinced, Hodges’ warmed mulled wine or Sherry Flip also will do the trick.

13.

Head to Guthrie Green for live entertainment, visual and performing art displays, hands-on art activities, lights and more during Arts Alliance Tulsa’s new ART IN THE PARK HOLIDAY FESTIVAL on Dec. 3.

14.

Enjoy music, food and shopping as part of LAS POSADAS in Kendall Whittier from 3-7 p.m., Dec. 17; businesses will stay open late to offer snacks and hot drinks! Celebrated in Mexico and some parts of the U.S., Las Posadas is a religious festival that commemorates the holy family’s journey for shelter before Jesus’ birth.

15.

Looking for a way to enjoy the glittering Tulsa skyline without also freezing? Get the group together to enjoy some serious blanket-and-brew coziness in one of WELLTOWN’S eight rooftop igloos. Dubbed “Iglootown,” the translucent domes are heated and can be reserved ahead of time for up to eight people. New this year is the Cozy Cabin, which boasts a fireplace, seating for 10, a free bottle of Champagne and more VIP experience perks. Warm up even more with a “nugcuterie” platter — a heaping portion of chicken nuggets and curly fries from Nuggies downstairs.

FELINI’S, OWASSO: MICHELLE POLLARD; WELLTOWN, SANTA FLY-IN: COURTESY

16.

Philbrook Museum of Art gardens are aglow.

Santa is ready for girls and boys. Art projects for kids. It can only mean one thing: PHILBROOK FESTIVAL. This indoor and outdoor event returns for select nights this month, with advance timed-entry tickets required for all attendees.

17.

The holiday season isn’t the same without a plate of cookies. FELINI’S COOKIES AND DELI has the market cornered on almond-glazed cutouts. Those craving darling designs atop sugar cookies can’t go wrong with options from COOKIE MAMA, BARBEE COOKIES or MERRITT’S BAKERY. Learn more about gingerbread and sugar cookie kits from OK COOKIE MOMSTER on p. 14.

18.

New this year, check out the augmented reality, 5-story tall Christmas tree at East Fifth and South Main streets. The new display is part of Downtown Tulsa Partnership’s DOWNTOWN DAYS OF WONDER holiday campaign. Along with other light displays at Chapman Green and throughout the Deco

A holiday dinner table isn’t complete without holiday pies and cakes. COMMON TART and ANTOINETTE BAKING CO. have upped the pie game in Tulsa. A buche de noel from LA LOUVRE is sure to turn heads and anything from the case at SAINT AMON BAKING CO. will please your many houseguests this season.

FELINI’S COOKIES

20.

The holiday decor starts going up at ROOSEVELT’S before Halloween but extends throughout the holiday season so many can revel in the explosion of festive flair that fills the Cherry Street dining destination. Holiday libations, including punch bowls, fill the specialty menu. And remember, first-come, first-served.

21.

As your calendar books up with gatherings of friends, co-workers, family and neighbors, don’t forget a little something for the host. Many turn to AMBER MARIE AND CO. for the perfect find.

22.

It’s not the holiday season without a tour of the city’s best light displays. Destinations like RHEMA BIBLE CHURCH and TULSA BOTANIC GARDEN have become a holiday tradition for many, along with GATHERING PLACE, GUTHRIE GREEN and the countless near-perfect displays dotting neighborhoods.

In Jenks, KRINGLE’S CHRISTMAS LAND is a can’t-miss.

CASTLE OF MUSKOGEE’s one-of-a-kind light display delights the senses and is just a short drive away.

WELLTOWN’S IGLOOTOWN

23.

There’s nothing quite like skating under the stars at BOK Center’s WINTERFEST. Now in its 15th year, the celebration shuts down West Third Street with a massive tree, skating rink and activities throughout the season.

24.

Out on the hunt for stocking stuffers? Stop by any PANCHO ANAYA location to pick up a bag of mini molasses “puerquitos” — or “little pigs” — which are a type of traditional Mexican cookie. Delightfully crunchy and not overly sweet, these piggie-shaped treats are the perfect Christmas morning coffee companion.

OWASSO CHRISTMAS TREE AND BERRY FARM

25.

Perhaps you’ve seen those videos of thick chocolate orbs melting decadently beneath a stream of steamed milk and wondered where you might procure such a sumptuous spectacle for yourself. Well wonder no more: NOUVEAU CHOCOLATES, nestled into the heart of Broken Arrow’s Rose District, offers Belgian cocoa bombs this time of year in milk, dark and white chocolate — each one filled with marshmallows just waiting to be set free. And if that isn’t enough to satisfy your sweet tooth, pick up some sea salt caramel and Bailey’s Irish Cream truffles, which are both year-round customer favorites. TP

SANTA FLY-IN TulsaPeople.com

55

Holiday Hints

56

TulsaPeople DECEMBER 2022

Giannis Antetokounmpo

Consultation

Complimentary consultations available for skincare, Fibroblast Lift, and PDO Threading

Corrective Facials

Our Biologique Recherche and DMK Enzyme therapy facials utilize several different noninvasive technologies mixed with advanced corrective skincare to give immediate and long lasting results!

Fibroblast Lift

Fibroblast is a great alternative to botox and lasers to reduce wrinkles and sagging skin while also erasing hyperpigmentation

PDO Threading

PDO Threading can help you achieve the lift you want while stimulating long term collagen production

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Our enzymes, microcurrent, and Radio Frequency technology are highly effective for age management

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Body enzyme therapy, microcurrent sessions, gut health boosting supplements, and our private infrared sauna will help you get healthy, lose inches, tighten skin, and feel and look amazing!

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This revolutionary injectable treatment utilizes your own blood to regain facial volume, boost microneedling results, and regrow hair when infused into the scalp!

This is an updated version of PRP that boosts results for 10 days longer than PRP.

1717 E. 15TH ST. TULSA, OK 918-856-6318 | THESKINBARTULSA.COM

Gift Certificates Available Treat your loved ones to fabulous skin this holiday!

The Skin Bar isn’t your everyday med-spa.

Our team of first-class medical professionals treat the skin from the inside out for true correction.

With a curated regimen from our award-winning skin care lines and our corrective facials you will see and feel cellular regeneration results that last for weeks!

NOW OPEN

for play!

Safe, open-play daycare Exercise & education

Fun-filled days with their BFFFs

®

(Best Furry Friends Forever)

Live playroom webcams

locally-owned!

DOGTOPIA OF SOUTH TULSA 8170 S. Lewis Ave • 918-891-3110 dogtopia.com/south-tulsa

GIVE THE GIFT OF EXPERIENCE THIS HOLIDAY SEASON Why choose when you can have both? Dual memberships provide a year of benefits to both centers at a discount.

SCAN ME TulsaPeople.com

59

BY OK MULGEE NATIV E SERENA REED ARE AVAILABLE TO PURCH ASE ON A M AZON AND ON EBOOKS.COM.

Amy Two is a continued story f rom the f irst book, Amy’s Story. It was birthed out of the readers who read the f irst book and wanted to read more of Amy’s Story.

THE FIRST BOOK, AMY’S STORY, WAS MAINLY MEANT AS A TESTIMONY. IT WAS BASED OFF TRUE EVENTS TO SHOW THAT IF ONE GOES THROUGH TOUGH TIMES OR DIFFICULT SITUATIONS, YOU CAN OVERCOME IT WITH GOD.

It is my desire that the readers will not only enjoy my book but get something of value out of them.

Amy Three, the love story, will be released in late 2023.

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TulsaPeople DECEMBER 2022

*Now through December 31, 2022.

Only valid for annual memberships.

GIVE THE GIFT OF

HO LIDAY ME MBE RSHIP SPE C IAL USE CODE “GIFT” FOR $10 OFF*

TU LSA ZO O.O RG/M E M B E R S H I P

A unique shopping destination offering a great selection of home decor, clothing, furniture, jewelry and gifts.

Enhance your shopping experience by taking a break and having lunch at Evie's Cafe!

8281 S. Harvard Ave., Tulsa, OK 74137

TulsaPeople.com

61

Holiday Savings

5

$

Off

Puchase of $40 or more (Before Tax)

Code 250153 Expires 12/24/22

Not valid on Vet Service.

Limit one per purchase.

No Cash Value.

Good at all Southern Agriculture Stores and Online. Can NOT be combined with other coupons, discounts.

LOCALLY OWNED SINCE 1981

TULSA w OWASSO w BROKEN ARROW WWW.SOUTHERNAGRICULTURE.COM

Tulsa Glassblowing School offers experiences in creating glass art as well as one of a kind hand-crafted gifts.

Gift certificates are available on-line or on-site.

Tues.-Sat. 9am - 4 pm. www.tulsaglassblowing.org 7440 E 7th St., Tulsa 918.582.4527

Introducing

SEASONS BY

SPAIN RANCH a bespoke candle collection celebrating every season spainranch.com/shop

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TulsaPeople DECEMBER 2022

Local goods + art curated for Tulsa.

Christmas IN

Broken Arrow

The Shops at Mother Road Market Gilcrease.org/store

1102 S. Lewis Ave. Suite A & B

VisitBrokenArrowOK.com/Christmas

1335 E. 11th St. Suite E. • Tulsa, OK 74120 located on historic Route 66

11 We s t D aw e s Av e Bi xb y , OK 7 4 0 0 8

C a s h me r e Ho me

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Standard package details at www.anewviewhomekeeping.com Personalized packages welcomed.

918-282-2860 TulsaPeople.com

63

Home of Dolphin design client.

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Select Nights, Dec. 1-30, 5-9 p.m.

St. Nick · Train Rides · Jazz Sundays Advance, timed-entry tickets: TulsaBotanic.org Tulsa Botanic Garden | 3900 Tulsa Botanic Dr. | 918-289-0330

DE SIGN • CUS TOM FURNISHINGS • GIF TS

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302 S. Frankfort Ave. C • 918-932-8181 • Tulsapoppi.com

Give the gift of relaxation this holiday season!

Massage • Body Treatment • Facial • Couple 64

TulsaPeople DECEMBER 2022

NEW LOCATION! hawleydesigntulsa.com @hawleyco

Season’s greenings P MICHELLE POLLARD

oinsettias have been a holiday decorating staple for generations. At Southwood Landscape and Garden Center, shoppers can find dozens of hues — from Christmas Spirit Red and Robyn Pink to Jack Frost White and Enduring Marble — and some bearing glitter or artificial color for an extra dose of festivity.

When picking out a poinsettia, General Manager JOE WARD suggests looking for a bushy display and firm, sturdy stems.

Other seasonal plants in stock include amaryllis, holiday cactus, Christmas kalanchoe and winter blooming cyclamen. Noble and Nordman fir trees are available, too. TP 9025 S. LEWIS AVE. | 918-299-9409 | SOUTHWOODGARDENCENTER.COM

TulsaPeople.com

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STOREFRONT

What’s poppin’?

PREMIER POPCORN OFFERS TULSA CRUNCHY TREATS.

BY J. D. MYER

I

n early 2019, Troy and Michelle Caudle popped at the chance to buy Tom Phillips’ shop, Premier Popcorn. Fast forward to today and the two entrepreneurs, along with their daughter, Barbie Smith, the current store manager, have made the business wholly their own.

“We didn’t come from a culinary background, but we did learn quickly as Tom showed us the ropes,” Troy says. “The shop has grown so much that it has become a whole family business.”

Every morning they make fresh batches of regular and specialty popcorns, pretzels, roasted nuts and original fudge recipes. In addition to Barbie running the shop, the Caudles’ nieces assist in the store to keep up with demand, especially during the holiday season.

Since the beginning, Troy says they have been committed to customer service, quality and pride of the product. The store also services those outside the Tulsa area, such as Edmond’s Gourmet Galleries, which uses Premier Popcorn in its gift baskets. Business has grown over the years. Now the Caudles sell over 60,000 bags of popcorn each year. With returning customers, often weekly, the people at Premier have been told they are Tulsa’s hidden gem.

There are more than 55 different varieties of popcorn, including a classic butter style, but the shining star of the shop is the Tuxedo popcorn. It gets a seasonal twist in December as Peppermint Tuxedo, which is only sold that month.

Further snack combinations, like the butter pecan roasted nuts, are a delightfully crunchy treat. Pretzels are amped with flavors of spicy heat and even dill pickle. Flavors of fudge change throughout the busy holiday seasons, too.

Troy stresses Premier Popcorn’s customers have been amazing over the past few years and is extremely appreciative of their support. TP

Ashley Isaac works her family’s store, Premier Popcorn.

Premier Popcorn 3215 S. HARVARD AVE. | 918-779-4333 | PREMIER-POPCORN.COM 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Tuesday-Friday; 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Saturday

The shop’s bestseller is Tuxedo popcorn, which starts with a caramel-encrusted base that’s coated in thick layers of both dark and white chocolate. Starts at $4.95 a bag.

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Tins come in a range of sizes and styles, with ones especially for the holidays.

Several types of nuts, including almonds, pecans and cashews are roasted and feature a sweet texture for snacking. Starts at $4.95.

Fudge flavors rotate with the season, including a pumpkin cheesecake fudge.

Starts at $2.99 per quarter-pound.

MICHELLE POLLARD

SHOP FAVORITES

LIVING PROOF | MANAGING STRESS PREVENTATIVE HEART SCREENINGS | HEALTHY INGREDIENT SWAPS STRETCH IT OUT | FRESH RECIPES

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After discovering she had renal issues, Dorothy Haynes, left, became a candidate for a kidney transplant but first needed to lose weight. She became the first patient to successfully complete both components of Ascension St. John’s Bridge Program, receiving help from sisters and colleagues Hannah Scace and Haley Lewis.

Living proof PATIENT’S WEIGHT LOSS PROVIDES OPPORTUNITY FOR LIFE-SAVING TRANSPLANT AS PART OF BRIDGE PROGRAM.

E

very event has a fi rst. For the Bridge Program at Ascension St. John, which combines weight loss and kidney transplant, Dorothy Haynes was the inaugural patient to successfully complete both components.

In February 2018, after three weeks in the hospital following a fall, Haynes — with no history of renal problems — had 15% kidney function. By May, she was on dialysis.

At 5-feet, 8-inches tall and 210 pounds, she was an ideal candidate for kidney transplant, but had to quit smoking. She did that in four months, but in the process, she added 40 pounds that needed to come off before transplant.

She tried on her own but had picked up bad snacking habits. When she read an article about weight loss surgeon Dr. Ty Kirkpatrick, she knew he could help. “That’s what started my journey,” she says.

Haynes’ gastric sleeve surgery happened in June 2020. “I was a slow loser,” she says of losing just 20 pounds three months post-surgery. Six months later, however, she lost 50 pounds. By May, she was down to 130 with a BMI of 19.

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TulsaPeople DECEMBER 2022

“Too thin,” she says. “My face looked sunken in.”

Haynes notes she did everything right regarding her pre-transplant protocols: months of nutrition education, dieting, physical and psychological assessments, and group meetings.

Her call for a transplant came in February 2022, exactly one day shy of four years from her original kidney failure, and after being on the transplant list for only nine days. Th ree days later, she received a kidney from a young boy who had died.

After being 253 pounds before gastric sleeve surgery, Haynes has maintained her size 10 frame. She is involved in animal rescue with two border collies, one golden retriever and two cats.

“Today, I can get up and clean for hours now.

I clean baseboards. When you’re 250 pounds, you can’t clean baseboards. You can’t put socks on,” says the mother of five and grandmother of 14.

Haley Lewis is the director of the transplant program at Ascension St. John. Hannah Scace coordinates the hospital’s bariatric weight loss program. The two are more than colleagues.

They’re sisters. “I recruited her,” Lewis says.

Although the siblings work in separate areas of the hospital, they talk every day. “She is my best friend. It’s been extra fun to work together,” Lewis adds.

The Bridge Program began in 2016 and two years later a bariatric component was added because, “one of the biggest barriers to transplant was BMI cutoff,” Lewis explains. Oklahoma has one of the nation’s highest obesity rates.

Lewis claims the hospital’s kidney transplant program has the best outcomes in the state and is among the top 30 transplant centers in the country.

“Bariatric surgery is a tool, not a fi x-all,” Scace says. “You have to be ready to make the changes.”

She estimates 40 to 50 patients have entered the Bridge Program.

“Dorothy is such a symbol and inspiration for all of us. She’s overcome all the difficulties,” Scace says. “Now I’m the lucky one who gets to work with her.”

“Patients don’t have to be doomed to a life of dialysis. If they’re ready to change their lives, they can do it. Dorothy is proof,” she adds. TP

MICHELLE POLLARD

BY JANE ZEMEL

Stroke care can’t wait Get advanced care at Ascension St. John ERs and stroke center When you experience signs of a stroke, it’s important to call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room. Ascension St. John emergency rooms provide early stroke intervention, and all of our ERs are connected to specialists at our Comprehensive Stroke Center, recognized for excellence in the care of stroke patients. Through the latest technology, our team of stroke specialists collaborate on diagnosing your stroke in as little as seconds and deliver the care that’s right for you. We’re beside you from the ER through recovery and rehabilitation.

Learn your risk for stroke at ascension.org/StJohnNeuro

If you are experiencing a life-threatening emergency or difficulty breathing, go directly to the ER or dial 911.

© Ascension 2022. All rights reserved.

Dr. Stephen Dixon

Heart of the matter

I

t’s easy to think of the practice of cardiology as responding to the most serious of medical emergencies: heart attacks and strokes. “We do deal with that, but a lot of our time is spent trying to prevent those things,” says Dr. Stephen Dixon, an interventional cardiologist with Saint Francis.

The Saint Francis Heart and Vascular Institute has spent the past five to six years fine-tuning preventative screenings that identify areas of risk for heart disease. The screenings can help patients develop plans for risk modification — such as not smoking, exercise and eating mostly whole, plant-based foods — before things get out of hand.

Tests like a Coronary Calcium Score can identify calcium or plaque build-up that could indicate the potential for blocked arteries. In 10-20 minutes, the test gives patients information that will either prompt further tests to diagnose a condition or provide insight for a plan of care to mitigate risk factors.

Dixon notes these tests can apply to any adult at least 35-40 years old, but recommends screenings for people with a family history of heart disease and other risk factors, such as diabetes, smoking and high blood pressure.

Most of the results Dixon sees from screenings do not require immediate intervention, however they have been known to be lifesaving. Dixon recalls when a CCS score provided insight for a patient who had otherwise passed a stress test. In this case, the patient was not exerting himself enough to mimic chest pain, but he had a significant blockage. Using the CCS data, doctors were able to fast-track the patient to bypass surgery.

Preventative screenings, which cost only $99, are available to the general public and the rates are designed for self-pay. Patients can get results as early as the same day if they participate in the Saint Francis online MyChart platform.

According to Dixon, the personalized data these screenings bring can prompt a lifestyle change, be the driver for starting a necessary medication, or inspire a patient to become proactive with blood pressure or blood sugar management. And that has the potential to save a life. — JORDAN COX Learn more at saintfrancis.com/services/heart-and-vascular-care/prevention-and-screenings or schedule an appointment by calling 918-494-6900.

FREE

COVID-19 SHOTS 918-382-2264 Most appointments take only 30 minutes from check-in to check-out. ANYONE ages 6 months and older is eligible.

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Managing stress M

LOW-COST STRESS RELIEVERS: • Get organized • Get in touch with your inner child — play with bubbles during breaks, or color • Aromatherapy • Stress balls/bendees/fidgets • Water therapy — desktop fountain • Music • Video games • De-stress your environment — choose pleasing colors, textures, patterns INTERPERSONAL STRATEGIES FOR STRESS MANAGEMENT: • Go easy on yourself and turn off self-criticism • Stay connected with family and friends • Spend time with people who make you laugh • Spend time doing things you enjoy each week • Use your vacation time for adventure and fun TP

ASHLEY GUERRERO

ental health and stress management are key elements to maintaining overall wellness. In fact, stress can impact other parts of our health, especially our physical health, says Lucinda Morte, mental health assistance center clinical coordinator for Mental Health Association Oklahoma.

“If we go to the doctor for physical health concerns, it is critical to let them know how we are feeling emotionally, if we are experiencing stress, or how the day-to-day is going for us,” she says. People experiencing stress may feel constantly overwhelmed, have trouble making decisions or frequently respond to others in an irritable manner. Stress also may present with physical symptoms such as exhaustion, stomach aches, headaches or other chronic health issues.

To best manage stress Morte advises having a self-care plan. Take a lunch break instead of working through. Put it on your calendar if necessary. Take a walk, listen to music and decorate your workspace with items you enjoy. “It is important to have a routine of taking breaks to regroup, so you can focus on the next task even if working in a remote environment,” she says. You may consider having an accountability partner to support you on your journey of self-care — it can be someone you work with or another trusted person in your life.

Overall, she says, the greater our work-life balance, the more we are able to be fully present at work, support colleagues and perform duties effectively. — KENDALL BARROW

PHYSICAL STRATEGIES FOR STRESS MANAGEMENT: • Breathe! Take deep breaths to relax yourself • Good nutrition — eat a healthy diet • Avoid excessive caffeine and alcohol consumption • Get enough sleep each night • Exercise three to four times a week • Consider yoga, meditation, visualization or other mind-body balancing strategies • Positive self-talk • Humor

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FIRST THINGS FIRST

Cat and Cow stretch

4 DAILY MOVEMENTS TO INCREASE MOBILITY.

BY JORDAN COX

W

Warrior 1

Hip stretch with yoga strap

•

You can start before you get out of bed by drawing your knees to your chest for a hug, then extending both legs toward the ceiling and straightening them as best you can.

Then flex the ankles while spreading all 10 toes apart, then pointing and flexing your toes 5-10 times. Make ankle circles clockwise and counter-clockwise 10 times both ways. Spreading your toes to make space between each toe is very beneficial, too.

•

A great stretch for your back is the Cat and Cow stretch. Come to a table-top position with your knees and palms on the floor, with wrists and shoulders and hips and knees in alignment. Inhale, then arch your lower spine as you lengthen it (the tailbone feels like it’s pointing up) and raise your head up, but being careful not to raise it too high.

Bring shoulders into the body away from the ears. While exhaling, pull the belly in toward the spine, rounding the spine and lifting it toward the ceiling while tucking your tailbone between the legs and bringing head down (like a Halloween cat). Repeat this 10 times.

•

For hips, Warrior 1 is a great stretch. Standing with both feet in alignment, take a large step forward with the left foot. Pivot the right foot about 45 degrees. Those with good balance can keep the ball of the right foot and toes straight ahead on the floor. With arms at the side, raise them to the ceiling, keeping them shoulder-width apart and palms facing each other. While exhaling, bend the left knee to the degree that you can while keeping the knee and heel in alignment. Repeat with your other leg.

•

Lie on your back on the floor, bring your right knee to your chest. Place a yoga strap or belt around the bottom of your right foot, and extend your right leg toward the ceiling to stretch the gluts, hamstrings, calf and Achilles. Take your leg as far to the right as you can, keeping your left hip grounded to the floor. Pause, hold the stretch.

Inhale and bring the right leg up toward the ceiling. Put the strap in your left hand and take the right leg as far to the left as possible. The right hip will rise while doing this, giving a nice twist to the lower spine. On the next inhale, raise the right leg back to the ceiling and down to the floor next to your left extended leg. Repeat with your other leg.

In all stretching, it’s essential to breathe deeply. Thomas recommends staying present, observing and feeling what your body is telling you. Avoid bouncing into a stretch, over-stretching or holding a stretch too long. “A good stretch will feel good once it is released,” she says. TP 74

TulsaPeople DECEMBER 2022

ASHLEY GUERRERO

ho knew that one of the best health practices can start before you even step out of bed? Stretching post wake-up is a favorite message of Karen Thomas, a yoga instructor with Saint Francis Health Zone since 2000. Not only can stretching increase flexibility, improve your attitude, enhance blood flow and encourage spinal health, but proper stretching can decrease injury.

“Stretching keeps muscles flexible, strong and provides healthy range of motion in joints. When we don’t have that, muscles shorten and when we call on that muscle for activity and haven’t been working them, they end up being weak and unable to extend to their appropriate length,” Thomas says.

For all its benefits, stretching doesn’t have to be daunting. Stretching 15 minutes a day, holding each stretch 15-30 seconds at first, and then increasing over time to 60 seconds is enough to feel benefits.

If you want to begin your stretching practice, Thomas shares a few favorite stretches to kick things off:

Wellness Profile

Amy Oden, MSN, APRN, FNP-C, FAAMM, ABAAHP

Emerge Integrative Medicine Functional medicine 9122 S. Sheridan Road 918-922-9122 emergeintegrativemedicine.com

Everyone deserves to feel their best, and that starts from within. At Emerge Integrative Medicine, highly trained experts lead patients on a journey to better health.

During a wellness consultation, the practitioner meets with you to discuss symptoms and design a treatment plan tailored to your specific needs. The Emerge staff can help patients with therapies related to weight loss, body composition, sexual health, hair loss and many others. “Often times these issues are met with over-the-counter supplements or synthetic medications that can lead to bigger issues,” says Amy Oden, an owner of Emerge Integrative Medicine who is a board-certified Nurse Practitioner and board-certified in functional medicine.

Hormone replacement therapy can often address many of the most common concerns a patient has. Emerge has found great success with patients by using bio-identical hormone replacement therapy using Biote pellets. Amy Oden, MSN, APRN, FNP-C, FAAMM, ABAAHP, is an elite certified platinum partner with Biote.

Semaglutide is an injectable prescription medication for adults with significant weight loss needs. Each strategy Emerge experts use is different and designed to result in the most optimal weight loss for their patient. Emerge Integrative Medicine won TulsaPeople’s A-List for Wellness Center in 2020-2021 and recently won Tulsa World’s Best Weight Loss Center in 2022!

Emerge Integrative Medicine is proud to be the first Emsuite in Tulsa offering three BTL advanced solutions: Emsculpt NEO, Emtone and Emsella. The Emsuite is the most revolutionary approach to body contouring. Just launching, Emface is a non-invasive, needle-free treatment that tightens and tones skin by reversing the signs of facial aging. This device is the first and only technology on the market that simultaneously uses synchronized radiofrequency and HIFESTM energies to treat both the skin and muscles of the face.

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T

he holidays are here and that means a plethora of social gatherings centered around — you guessed it — food. So how does one avoid overindulging this time of year? “I am a big fan of (the mantra) ‘there are no foods that are off limits,’” says Natalie Mallory, registered dietitian and diabetes educator with Hillcrest Medical Center. “Remembering this can help take away the guilt and restriction people may feel with some foods that lead to binging.”

Nevertheless, Mallory says it is important to be aware of how much we are eating and what we are eating altogether. “Consider portions by making a plate half healthy foods and half indulgent,” she notes, adding if you are cooking, be sure to consider more nutritious alternatives. Here, she and Hope Hetrick, a registered dietitian with Hillcrest Medical Center, share a few of their favorite swaps to stay healthy this holiday season.

TRY: Mashed cauliflower RATHER THAN: Mashed potatoes Substitute all or half of your mashed potato recipe with riced cauliflower. This will give you all the flavor with fewer calories.

TRY: Nonfat Greek yogurt RATHER THAN: Sour cream and mayonnaise Substitute all or half of the regular sour cream and regular mayonnaise in recipes with nonfat Greek yogurt for more nutrition and less saturated fat (the one that’s not good for your heart). Or swap traditional mayos for ones made with olive oil or avocado oil.

OPT FOR: Ground flaxseed OVER: Flour Thickening sauces and gravies with ground flaxseed adds heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids and a nuttier flavor.

OPT FOR: Less sugar OVER: Sugar Using up to half as much sugar that’s called for in recipes likely will not be noticed. Or, try granulated nonnutritive sweeteners like Truvia, Splenda and Swerve that sweeten without calories.

Simple swaps EASY TIPS TO KEEP YOU ON TRACK DURING THE HOLIDAYS.

BY KENDALL BARROW 76

TulsaPeople DECEMBER 2022

OPT FOR: Soda water and kombucha mixers RATHER THAN: Cocktail mixers These are lower in sugar and calories compared to traditional cocktail mixers. (A traditional margarita is 250 calories; lime juice, tequila and soda water is about 100 calories.) Likewise, when possible opt for water or zero calorie drinks with meals and snacks to help cut down on overall calorie consumption. TP

GEORGIA BROOKS

TRY: Dark chocolate RATHER THAN: Milk chocolate Dark chocolate is full of antioxidants and flavor, and has less sugar than milk chocolate. There are numerous choices if you are just starting out with dark chocolate such as 60%, 72% and 80% or higher. Good rule of thumb: the higher the percent, the less sugar; more chocolate (bitter) flavor; and higher antioxidant content.

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PAM Health accepts most insurance plans including Medicare and Workers’ Compensation.

PAM Health Specialty Hospital: · Joint Commission Accredited ICU · Advanced wound closure and grafting program · Specialized vent weaning program · Multi-specialty approach to medically complex critical care patients with long-term acute care needs For an in-home or in-hospital evaluation, please call 918-660-5323.

PAM Health Inpatient and Outpatient Rehabilitation Hospital: · EksoNR and BURT arm robotic-assisted rehabilitation program · Focused neurorehabilitation for stroke and spinal cord injuries · Admit from home program · Advanced pulmonary rehab · Multi-specialty approach for complex rehabilitation For an in-home or in-hospital evaluation, please call 918-940-8808.

RACQUET AND HEALTH The team at The Dental Studio of South Tulsa can give you a smile you're happy to show off.

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TulsaPeople DECEMBER 2022

Locally owned CommunityCare has the plans you can trust.

Now offering in-network access to Hillcrest HealthCare System.

Hurry! Medicare’s annual election deadline is December 7.

To learn more about Senior Health Plan, call us today at 918-594-5272, Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. – 6 p.m.

(TTY 1-800-722-0353)

With the recent addition of Hillcrest HealthCare System to our network, today’s CommunityCare offers more choices for outstanding health care and providers than ever. As you weigh your Medicare Advantage plan options, remember that CommunityCare’s Senior Health Plan gives you all the benefits you need from the area’s three premier health systems.

CommunityCare Choice, Inc. is an HMO plan with a Medicare contract. Enrollment in CommunityCare Choice, Inc. depends on contract renewal. The Senior Health Plan service area includes Tulsa, Creek, Craig, Hughes, Mayes, Muskogee, McIntosh, Nowata, Okmulgee, Osage, Pawnee, Pittsburg, Rogers, Wagoner, and Washington Counties. Please call Customer Service for assistance at 918-594-5323 (TTY: 1-800-722-0353), Monday – Sunday and some holidays from 8 a.m. – 8 p.m. October 1 – March 31 and Monday – Friday from 8 a.m. – 8 p.m. April 1 – September 30.

ccokadvantage.com

Y0131_2023 TW Ad 3 Hillcrest_REV_C

Dedicated to the mental health of Tulsa’s youth.

We are pleased to announce Cynthia Bruns, D.O. has joined the OSU Behavioral Medicine clinic. Dr. Bruns has been providing psychiatric care in the Tulsa community for more than 20 years.

“Today’s youth are more aware of mental health concerns.

Together, with parents and caregivers, they are choosing to get professional help before the challenges become overwhelming.”

Dr. Bruns diagnoses and treats ADHD, anxiety, depression, autism spectrum disorders, bipolar and disruptive mood disorders, developmental disorders and more.

OSU Behavioral Medicine 5310 E 31st St., Ste LL, Tulsa | 918-236-4000

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PACK A PUNCH

C

ranberries and the winter holidays — is there a more quintessential combination? There are countless ways to prepare this little berry, including as a salsa, a preferred method of Tulsa Health Department’s WIC Supervisor Leslie Pelton, a registered dietitian.

“I normally eat it as a salsa/side on the turkey in a traditional Thanksgiving meal,” Pelton says. “Obviously the less sugar you add, the more tart it will be, but even at three-quarters cup sugar it’s not super sweet.” She suggests trying it with turkey, tamales or with tortilla chips, like a traditional salsa. For an appetizer, try it atop cream cheese and serve with dipping crackers.

CRANBERRY SALSA 1 package fresh cranberries 1/2-3/4 cup sugar 1 medium jalapeño (2 if you want hotter) 1 green onion 1 tsp dried cilantro (or handful of fresh cilantro) 1/4 teaspoon cumin Chop ingredients together in food processor. Refrigerate overnight.

FACTS ABOUT CRANBERRIES

VISIT TULSAPEOPLE.COM FOR AN EASY MAKE-AHEAD RECIPE FOR SHEPHERD’S PIE. 80

TulsaPeople DECEMBER 2022

MICHELLE POLLARD

Cranberries contain proanthocyanidins, bioactive compounds that benefit both the heart and urinary tract, support digestive health, decrease inflammation associated with chronic disease and aging, and reduce the incidence of certain infections.

Cranberries are native to North America and have been used as food, medicine and dye over the centuries.

Pilgrims first called the fruit “craneberry” because when the vine blossoms in the spring, the small, pink blooms resemble the bill of a Sandhill Crane. TP Sources: cranberries.org, U.S. News

­ ­ ­

(918) 582-6800 toctulsa.com

The Orthopaedic Center Sports Medicine HERE TO HELP YOU MAINTAIN PEAK PERFORMANCE ALL SEASON LONG Dr. Greg Holt, MD

Dr. Victor Palomino, DO

Dr. Chad Hanson, DO

Urologic Specialists Welcomes Chanc Walters, MD Dr. Walters joins Urologic Specialists after serving 21 years as a Navy physician and officer. He completed a fellowship in male reproductive medicine at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston and his urology residency at Naval Medical Center San Diego. He attended medical school at St. Louis University and received his undergraduate degree from the University of Tulsa.

Dr. Walters’ practice centers on men’s health. He is trained in both male infertility treatment and vasectomy reversal. He also treats low testosterone, erectile dysfunction, benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH), urinary incontinence, Peyronie’s disease and more. Dr. Walters is now accepting new patients.

To schedule an appointment call 918-749-8765 or go to urologicspecialists.com

Urologic Specialists is a group of 22 physicians offering urologic services for men, women, and children.

10901 E. 48th St. | Tulsa, OK 74145 | 918-745-9868 | urologicspecialists.com

71st & Hwy 75 • tulsaer.com • 918-517-6300

HOW EMERGENCY & HOSPITAL

CARE SHOULD BE

Tulsa ER & Hospital was created to bring around the clock, concierge-level, quality adult & pediatric care for our community.

We strive to provide our patients with the best experience with short wait times in a comfortable & efficient environment.

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HOME

Rosemary Daugherty is a fine art painter who has taught art classes to students of all ages for years. Two years ago, she launched a paint-by-number series, which now includes a holiday Tulsa skyline kit for this gift-giving season. il list to our ema

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TulsaPeople DECEMBER 2022

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hen Rosemary Daugherty leads a painting class, she is always striving to make art more accessible and less intimidating to her students.

For years she had wanted to create a paint-by-number series, and come fall 2020 she knew it was time to launch her fi rst kit: a depiction of Catoosa’s Blue Whale.

Daugherty, who defines her art as a whimsical mix of influences, has taught art to students of all ages for years. She has always been keen on Americana and knew the landmark would make a good launching point. “I knew that would make people at home smile,” she says.

She says the Route 66 community has welcomed her, especially as a participating artist at this summer’s Route 66 Road Fest.

Since the fi rst launch, Daugherty has refined her paint-by-number hand drawn line art. Her kits come with everything someone needs: a stretched canvas with the paint-by-number pattern on a wooden frame, numbered paint pods, brushes, instructions and a QR code for instructional videos.

Daugherty’s kits have featured Cain’s Ballroom, the Golden Driller, Metro Diner, Route 66’s Oasis Motel and, most recently, Bell’s Phantasmagoria ride. Th is season she debuts a snowy Tulsa skyline just in time for the holidays, followed up by a map of Oklahoma’s Route 66.

“These are being useful in people’s lives (in ways) I didn’t anticipate,” she says, mentioning a nurse who bought a kit at the height of the pandemic.

“She said it was the only thing to get her to not think about COVID.” Kits vary in canvas size and range in price from $19.95-$39.95. Select local retailers carry the kits, which also can be purchased online at moonlightartfactory.com for nationwide shipping. — ANNE BROCKMAN

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Holiday Hint:

• CUSTOM PICTURE FRAMING • FINE ART • HOME ACCESSORIES

A subscription to TulsaPeople Magazine makes a great gift! Subscribe for only $15 per year at TulsaPeople.com or call 918-585-9924, ext. 200.

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BEYOND CITY LIMITS

The Sapulpa Christmas Chute continues through Jan. 1.

Hometown holidays OKLAHOMA SITES HAVE PLENTY TO SEE AND DO THIS FESTIVE SEASON. STORY AND PHOTO BY RHYS MARTIN

D

ecember is a month full of ways to celebrate the holidays. Tulsa has plenty of activities, but if you want a Christmas experience with a bit of small-town Oklahoma charm, you don’t have to drive very far.

SAPULPA

For the past two years, the city has worked to turn its downtown district into a twinkling canopy of festivity that will knock your stockings off. The Christmas Chute features tens of thousands of feet of lights, garland and other decor strung above Dewey Avenue, also known as Route 66. The community also is planning activities every weekend for the whole family.

Visit route66christmaschute.com for more.

While you’re in town, drive out to the Heart of Route 66 Auto Museum and then check out the progress at the TeePee Drive-In Theatre, scheduled to reopen in spring 2023. Another nearby holiday sight is at Paragon Industries where an impressive light display awaits visitors.

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TulsaPeople DECEMBER 2022

OOLOGAH

Th is community in northeast Oklahoma has its own holiday celebration that is rooted in tradition. Will’s Country Christmas takes place Dec. 3-4 at Will Rogers Birthplace Ranch. Th is festival is inspired by Oklahoma’s Favorite Son, offering stagecoach and hayrides along with craft activities, frontier games, Wild West shootouts, vendors, food trucks and, of course, pictures with Santa himself. Admission is free.

PAWHUSKA

If you’ve never visited Osage County during Christmastime, you’re missing out. Along with the nearby Woolaroc Wonderland of Lights experience, Pawhuska’s annual Parade of Lights in early December brings holiday cheer to the revitalized downtown. The buzzing neon of the Pioneer Woman’s Mercantile sign is joined by twinkling lights, garland and a giant Christmas tree at the tip of the Triangle Building in the middle of Kihekah Avenue.

Additionally, you can still see some evidence from the recent fi lming that turned Pawhuska into 1920s-era Fairfax for the upcoming fi lm “Killers of the Flower Moon.” Make a day of it and visit the Tallgrass Prairie and the Ben Johnson Cowboy Museum — the latter of which tells the story of another famous son from the Sooner State. My favorite artifact there is the gigantic “Mighty Joe Young” movie poster.

CLAREMORE

Not far from Oologah is Shepherd’s Cross in Claremore. It’s a working sheep farm and museum that will take you on a trip back in time. Every December, it puts on a living nativity with over 100 participants in period dress.

Since it’s an active farm, the livestock makes for an immersive experience. Amish goods and fresh pecans are on offer along with several handmade goods at the shop. Live drama performances are scheduled for the event weekend, too; check out shepherdscross.com to plan your trip before you head out. TP

MUSINGS

FLIES

BY CONNIE CRONLEY

ASHLEY GUERRERO

M

other Nature is a generous old dame.

She splashes us with abundance.

Flies, for example. We have horse fl ies, fruit fl ies, mayfl ies, tsetse fl ies, fi refl ies and the variety I’m most familiar with, damn fl ies.

As in, “Where did all of these damn fl ies come from?”

In late September, just as the plague of mosquitoes (also classified as fl ies) waned, here came the fl ies. Didn’t seem fair — spectacular fall skies of Oklahoma blue with whipped cream clouds — and fl ies.

Perhaps I might get over my extreme annoyance with housefl ies if I learned more about them. There’s a lot to know about this little bug.

The common housefly, Musca domestica, has been around since the Cenozoic Era, maybe 65.5 million years. They probably evolved in the Middle East and spread around the globe because they are commensal of humans.

I had to look up “commensal.” It means “living with,” but the common definition is “eating together at the same table.” Which is exactly why I find fl ies so annoying.

As we know from political campaigns and news-making skirmishes with library and school boards, the human species is very interested in — obsessed, actually — the subject of mating.

Unlike humans, the female housefly mates only once and stores the sperm for later use. Some righteous humans would approve of that.

She lays eggs in decaying food, carrion or feces

(validating my dislike for fl ies) which hatch into larva and on through a brief lifespan of pupa and adult. Their entire life is over in 30 or 40 days.

They live longer in warm houses, too long it seems to me. It’s a short but busy lifespan, multiplying quickly and carrying 100 diseases or so, including tuberculosis and cholera.

The witty poet Ogden Nash was baffled by the fly’s purpose. Here’s his poem “The Fly” in its entirety: “God in his wisdom made the fly And then forgot to tell us why.”

By late autumn the fl ies were mostly gone.

I sat in my little backyard where the October sun was blade-sharp, the shadows as black as an Edward Hopper painting, and admired butterfl ies fluttering like a Disney cartoon. Pairs of little yellow butterfl ies wildly circled one another, all part of courtship as males either defended territory or romanced females by slinging pheromones into the air. They were in a hurry. A butterfly’s lifespan is short, too, usually two to four weeks.

The housefl ies, fi refl ies and butterfl ies are all gone now.

While the fl ies and butterfl ies were frantically living, living frantically, my friend Elizabeth Jones up the street was busy dying.

She was a gardener and a fierce protector of the neighborhood parks. She cared about the neighborhood and the earth.

When I moved into this house about 30 years

ago, she and another neighbor welcomed me with a red wagon like the ones they used for their gardening work. The other woman was named Elizabeth Smith. In one block, two Elizabeths, Smith and Jones — I wondered if I’d stumbled into a witness protection neighborhood. No, just two friendly, gardening neighbors saying, in essence, “Oh we’ve been waiting for someone like you.”

Elizabeth Smith died several years ago and the remaining Elizabeth bravely planned her own departure after a courageous fight for life.

She sent her husband down with a gift of pearls, boxes and bags of her pearl necklaces. “Just passing on visible love,” she said. Pearls symbolize many things: wisdom, prosperity, serenity, faith.

One legend is that white pearls are the tears shed by gods.

Guilt and grief piled on me like a fouling football team. Did I do enough for her? All I gave her was flowers and gratitude for her friendship as a good neighbor. Do we ever do enough for anyone? Life is so short; do we make the most of it?

William Blake, visionary and spiritual, also wrote a poem titled “The Fly.” He addresses a little fly in summer’s play and wonders about mortality and the mystery of existence. It includes these lines, “Am not I A fly like thee?

Or art not thou A man like me?” TP TulsaPeople.com

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TULSAPEOPLE’S 10TH ANNUAL NONPROFIT GIVING GUIDE

• Peanut butter/jelly • Juice/canned fruit • Hygiene products (Toilet paper, shampoo, deodorant, diapers) • Dog/cat food • Ramen noodles

• • • • •

To donate: Megan Quickle • 918-251-7781 help@baneighbors.org | BANeighbors.org 315 W. College St., Broken Arrow, OK 74012

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Coats-children and adults Toys, books and games for kids of all ages HUGS - hats, underwear, gloves, socks/scarves Small household appliances and toiletries Grocery and gas cards

To donate: Christian McClain • 918-893-6150 Cmclain@clarehouse.org | clarehouse.org 7617 S. Mingo Rd., Tulsa, OK 74133

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To donate: Brena Meadows Thrash • 918-746-6602 meadobr@tulsaschools.org foundationfortulsaschools.org 3027 S. New Haven, Suite 116, Tulsa, OK 74114

• Baby wipes • Paper goods: paper towels, toilet paper, copy paper, resume paper • Trash bags (All sizes) • Cleaning supplies: Lysol wipes, hand soap/hand sanitizer • Batteries (AA, AAA, 9V) To donate: Sara Emery • 918-664-6746 semery@littlelighthouse.org | littlelighthouse.org 5120 E. 36th St., Tulsa, OK 74135 88

TulsaPeople DECEMBER 2022

Diapers and baby wipes Toothbrushes and toothpaste Feminine hygiene products and underwear Shaving cream and razors Body wash and body lotion

To donate: Sarah Curry • 918-948-6300 Sarah.curry@cooksonhills.org | cooksonhills.org 60416 OK-10 Kansas, OK 74347

• • • • •

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Canned chicken or tuna Peanut butter Canned vegetables or fruits Rice or pasta Boxed cereal To donate: Carissa Gutierrez • 918-879-1709 cutierrez@irongatetulsa.org | irongatetulsa.org 501 W. Archer, Tulsa, OK 74103

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Men & women’s winter clothing Feminine hygiene products Travel size hygiene products Men & women’s undergarments Tents & blankets To donate: Jessica Manion • 918-382-2426 jmanion@mhaok.org | mhaok.org 5330 E. 31st St., suite 1000, Tulsa, OK 74135

Thank you for giving!

Car seats Boys pants (sizes 5T-16) Children’s shoes (5C-4Y) New children’s underwear (still in package) New children’s socks (still in package) To donate: Amy Jensen • 918-720-4449 ajenson@fosteringconnectionsok.org fosteringconnections.org 3326 E. 51st St., Suite B, Tulsa, OK 74135

To donate: Janine Collier • 918-742-7480 Jcollier@fsctulsa.org | fsctulsa.org Tulsa Police Municipal Court Building 600 Civic Center, Suite 103, Tulsa, OK 74103

To donate: Jessica Hayes • 918-600-3815 holidayassistance@fcsok.org | www.fcsok.org 650 S. Peoria Ave., Tulsa OK 74120

• Teacher supplies (Flip charts, expo markers, sharpies, post its, etc.)

• Gift cards for teacher appreciation and student incentives • Hygiene products (toothbrushes, deodorant, feminine products, etc.)

• Uniform bottoms and underwear particularly for elementary • Laundry detergent (most schools have a washer and dryer)

Copy paper Paper towels Powder free disposable gloves (M/L/XL) Liquid laundry soap 13 Gallon trash bags

• Paper products (toilet paper, paper towels, paper plates, tissues) • Toiletries (full size shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, body wash • Batteries (AA & AAA) • Bermuda Hay Bales • BF Goodrich Tires (LT245/75R16)

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Name brand lotion Shampoo/conditioner Gamebooks/crossword puzzle books Eyeglass cleaner Household cleaning items To donate: Carrie Clevenger • 918-664-9000, ext. 1255 cclevenger@lifeseniorservices.org LIFEseniorservices.org 5330 E. 31st St., Suite 800, Tulsa, OK 74135

• Gasoline cards to offset fuel expenses • Van cleaning supplies: Clorox wipes, paper towels, Windex, Febreeze/Lysol • Bandaids (character themed for children) • Stickers/small give-away items for children • Visa gift cards for copy and phone/data expenses To donate: Kelly Crowder • 918-688-2679 Kcrowder@bcbsok.com oklahomacaringfoundation.org 1400 S. Boston Ave., Tulsa, OK 74119

TO PROVIDE NEEDED ITEMS FOR TULSA NONPROFITS

• • • • •

Hygiene items - toilet paper, toothbrushes, soap, etc.

Feminine hygiene products Diapers New backpacks and school supplies Peanut butter, cereal, pineapple

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To donate: Sharon Catalano • 918-582-5766 Scatalano@restorehope.org | Restorehope.org 2960 Charles Page Blvd., Tulsa, OK 74127

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Assorted hygiene items Socks/undergarments Band aids Gloves/scarves/hats (new) Reusable plastic water bottles

Men’s and women’s shoes Men’s and women’s coats with hoods Men’s jeans Men’s underwear Bath towels

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To donate: Holly Yeagle • 918-307-1500 development@voaok.org/voaok.org/wishlist www.voaok.org/wishlist 9605 E. 61st St., Tulsa, OK 74133

White t-shirts (men’s sizes S-XL) Pillows, sheets, and comforters (twin size) Black belts (men’s sizes 30-42) Socks Hygiene products (shampoo, deodorant and toothpaste)

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Purina One dog or cat food (dry or canned) Pill pockets or other soft treats Paper towels Cardboard cat scratchers 13-gallon trash bags and Dawn dish soap

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Socks and underwear (adult sizes) Haircare products for People of Color Two-person popup tents Adult cold weather-rated sleeping bags Travel-size hygiene products To donate: Brian Young • 918-582-0061 Youthservices@yst.org | www.yst.org 311 S. Madison Ave., Tulsa, OK 74120

Visit TulsaPeople.com for more information.

Post-it super sticky easel pads, 25” X 30” /30 sheet pads Plastic storage bins with cover, approx. 18” X 11” X 14” 1/2 inch binders with front sleeve Pens Markers To donate: Hannah Jarman • 918-477-7079 hannah@leadershiptulsa.org | tulsachangemakers.org 1151 S. Elgin Ave., Tulsa, OK 74120

• Professional-level synthesizer for student performances • Tickets to local events/family-friendly activities for student outings • Gift cards for student contests and giveaways (Amazon, Visa, etc.)

• Laptop for office and event use • Copy paper - letter and legal To donate: Amanda Kliner • 918-807-6228 amanda.kliner@tulsayouthsymphony.org tulsayouthsymphony.org 8282 S. Memorial Dr., Ste 201, Tulsa, OK 74133

To donate: Lori Long • 918-428-7722, ext. 1037 giving@tulsaspca.org | tulsaspca.org 3000 Mohawk Blvd., Tulsa, OK 74110

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Hoodies, winter coats Slippers/robes for winter PJ sets Bath towels Throw blankets To donate: Jennifer Holden • 918-341-1424 jenniferh@safenetservices.org | safenetservices.org 1219 W. Dupont St., Claremore, OK 74017

To donate: Mike Murphy • 918-245-0231 mmurphy@tbhinc.org | tulsaboyshome.org 2727 S. 137th West Ave., Sand Springs, OK 74063

To donate: Co Edwards • 918-583-5588 cedwards@tulsadaycenter.org | tulsadaycenter.org 415 W. Archer St., Tulsa, OK 74103

• Non-perishable, nutritional food, (go to www.voaok.org/wishlist) • New household items; kitchen, towels, full-size sheets • Cleaning supplies (including vacuum cleaners) • Monetary donations, gift cards, bus passes

• • • • •

To donate: Kelly Moss • 918-742-6241 kelly@revitalizettown.org | revitalizettown.org 14 E. 7th St., Tulsa, OK 74119

To donate: Jennifer Leck • 918-587-7801 Tulsa.OK@uss.salvationarmy.org | SalArmyTulsa.org 924 S. Hudson, Tulsa, OK 74112

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Gift cards for QuikTrip for fuel Gift cards for Home Depot Gift cards for Lowe’s Gift cards for Amazon for office supplies Cases of printer paper

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Diapers and pullups (all sizes) Baby formula Car seats (all sizes) Swaddles Baby clothes (all kinds and sizes) To donate: Kyle Rutledge • 918-858-2372 krutledge@ywcatulsa.org ywcatulsa.org/get-involved/donate/ 1910 S. Lewis Ave., Tulsa, OK 74104 TulsaPeople.com

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Gas station sushi Drinking expired milk Cheap insurance Tired of bad ideas?

Let’s talk.

DAVE BRYANT INSURANCE AGENCY INC. 918-627-0191

CIVIL RIGHTS BANQUET 6:30 P.M., December 9 Downtown Doubletree Hotel Tickets, Tables and Corporate Sponsorships Available SPONSORED BY

THE EMPOWERMENT CIVIL RIGHTS ORGANIZATION Call Rev. W.R. Casey 918-902-1374

PARIS IN FEBRUARY!

Join us for this

Christmas

Christmas Eve, Friday, December 24 3:00 p.m., Carols & Communion 5:00 p.m., Children’s Live Nativity 7:30 p.m., Lessons and Carols 11:00 p.m., Christmas Watch Night

Christmas, Saturday, December 25 11 a.m., Christmas Day worship

Our annual seven day trip is much loved by Tulsans.

We invite you to join our group when we travel from February 21-28 in 2023. $1,395 per person (land package only) Email or call me for details:

LKobsey@sbcglobal.net • 918-284-5053 First Presbyterian Church of Tulsa 709 South Boston Avenue FirstChurchTulsa.org

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TulsaPeople DECEMBER 2022

9505 S. COLLEGE COURT • TULSA, OK 74137

McGraw Realtors

S. 257th East Avenue | $599,000 20 Acres in Broken Arrow. Great potential for development or investment property. Build your dream home or multiple homes. Endless possibilities. Located less than 2 miles from Forrest Ridge Golf Club, Broken Arrow Schools. Easy access to Highway.

W. 71st Street | $475,000 5-acre tract just 1 mile west of 71st & Highway 75 South near Tulsa Hills. The property is situated near the corner of 33rd West Ave & 71st Street. Excellent developmental potential or a private homesite. Easy access to downtown, I-44, US-75 & Creek Expressway. Convenient to shopping, dining, medical & Oaks Country Club. Additional land is available adjacent to the 5 acres. Access to city sewer and all utilities.

4719 S. Yorktown Place | $275,000 Secluded Midtown lot in Bolewood Glen just off 47th & Lewis. The lot is situated on a corner at the end of the cul-de-sac surrounded by beautiful mature trees. Easy access to Riverside Drive, River Parks, Brookside & I-44. Approximately .27 acres per Court House. Come build your Midtown dream house!

7372 E. 106th Street North | $145,000 1.65-acre parcel in Owasso. Situated on 106th St North between Sheridan and Memorial. Enjoy country living just 2 miles outside of town. Flat lot ready to build your dream home. Per survey 125’ frontage on 106th St. Zoned AG. Excellent location with easy access to Hwy 75 and just minutes to downtown Tulsa.

TulsaPeople.com

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McGraw Realtors

LUXURY

TIM HAYES

PROPERT Y GROUP

918-231-5637

thayes@mcgrawok.com

A T M C G R AW R E A L T O R S

Call any of the Luxury Property Group Realtors about one of these homes, or any property that you have an interest in.

We will provide you with superior personal service with the highest integrity.

SHERRI SANDERS

918-724-5008

ssanders@mcgrawok.com

GORDON SHELTON

DIANA PATTERSON

918-697-2742

918-629-3717

gshelton@mcgrawok.com

dpatterson@mcgrawok.com

OAK COUNTRY ESTATES

TIMBERLAKE DRIVE

Elegant gated estate situated on approx 2.44 acres. Gorgeous setting on corner lot with mature trees.

Grand entry has marble floors,soaring ceiling & sweeping staircase. Formal living & Dining.Great room opens to kitchen with huge island. Master suite with study (or exercise). Upstairs has bedroom with private bath,2 additional bedrooms with pullman bath. Game room. Safe room.

Inground Pool. Located near 71st & Hi-way 75 So. just west of Tulsa Hills

by Oaks Country Club. $895,000

This immaculate house is beautifully situated in Timberlake Addition, offering you extra security in this charming gated neighborhood. Claremore Lake, with its bike paths and walking trails, is only 1 1/2 miles away. This brick home is energy efficient with low utility bills and could not be built currently for the selling price.

New updates include interior paint, light fixtures, and ceiling fans, plus window coverings and appliances. A new patio, with retaining walls gives you extra outdoor living space, and more! This is a must-see property, in a coveted, quiet area, hidden in mature trees. $649,000

GRAND LAKE LOT Enjoy living at the Points on this lakefront lot with 155 feet of shoreline, unbelievable views of Grand Lake, dockable cove, utilities and paved roads, large trees, gated and well-maintained subdivision and surrounded by lovely homes and just over an hour from Tulsa and 5 minutes east of Ketchum!

0.61 Acres $499,000

MIDTOWN A pristine Mid Century Modern home built in 1950! Completely and professionally renovated to today’s standards. 3

PRESTON WOODS Beautiful home on a quiet cul-de-sac in Preston Woods Subdivision in Jenks Southeast School District! True 5 Bedroom home with formal dining, formal living & study. Kitchen opens to den. Master suite with double closets & stunning brand new master spa bath. Large game room + bonus room (could be media or exercise) & 4 spacious bedrooms upstairs with 2 full baths. Extensive hardwoods. Newer paint, carpet & roof. Covered Pergola overlooks a beautiful park-like yard. $572,500

MIDTOWN All brick, well-built, home located on a quiet street in Midtown Tulsa.

Master bedroom downstairs, combo living/dining, den with a wood burning fireplace, screened-in patio, and additional living space looking over backyard. Ready for cosmetic updates. 3,393 sq. ft. $419,000

NG

DI

N PE

G

IN

P

D EN

bedrooms, 2 1/2 bathrooms, spacious living/dining combo wall-to-wall windows overlooking the gunite diving pool. Fabulous kitchen with granite counters, and mahogany cabinets.

Master bedroom with luxury bathroom. $825,000

SOUTHRIDGE ESTATES Large Master suite, a great outdoor deck area, and large rooms. There are several recent updates, new gutters, a new deck. Enjoy your wooded setting in complete privacy! $375,000

E N J OY T H E LU X U RY L I F E ST Y L E YOU D E SI R E 92

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McGraw Realtors TulsaPeople.com

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McGraw Realtors

allison jacobs Mobile: 918.850.2207 4105 S. Rockford Ave. Tulsa, OK 74105

4824 S. YORKTOWN PLACE | $424,000 Incredibly well maintained & spacious patio home in a gated neighborhood in Midtown, Bolewood Place. This home has 2 bedrooms on the first floor, and en suite bathrooms attached to all 3 bedrooms. Large kitchen and vaulted living room with French doors opening up to a courtyard and patio. 3rd bedroom and game room upstairs with full bathroom and storage. Hardwood floors in the main living area and the open concept makes this home attractive for entertainment. Don’t miss this one!

3805 S. GARY PLACE | $665,000

D OL

Ranch-style home with gorgeous updates. This home has 4 bedrooms, 2 full and 2 half bathrooms, a large living space with a vaulted ceiling, and a fireplace. The backyard includes a large covered porch, perfect for entertaining or relaxing. Marble kitchen countertops, completely updated.

Large master bedroom with an en suite bathroom includes a tub and large walk-in shower, attached to the walk-in closet. One-of-a-kind home in Ranch Acres neighborhood!

S

Like Santa and his team in the midnight sky Twenty twenty-two just f lew on by Thank You ALL for a wonderful year May your homes be filled with Joy and Cheer!

Todd & Holly

Scott

John & Mary

Kerry

Rick & Dicksie Carl & Mary

Mike & Michelle

Eric & Becky

Shonda

Tucker & Vickie

Dan & Leslie

Bill & Gayle Art & Lisa

Adam & Rachel

Lucas & Brooke Craig & Cindy

Ken & Cristina Mariel & Isaac

Melissa

Josh & Amy

Lonnie & Phil

Nelson & Gretchen

Mickie Bingham 918.630.4434 mbingham@mcgrawok.com

Pam Case 918.809.3247 pcase@mcgrawok.com

Lori Lassman 918.760.7844 llassman@mcgrawok.com

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TulsaPeople DECEMBER 2022

Will & Andrea

Harry & Irina

Luke & Paige

Braden & Sydney

Tyler & Delaney

Carole

Noah & Jillian

John & Sofia

Anne

Eric & Julie

Jeff

Alex

Jennifer Janet

Reid & Julie

Mitchell & Ashley

Clay & Sarah

Adam & Erin

Josh & Jacqueline

Kennedy

George

Bruce & L.

Rick & Melanie

Jim & Pamela

Happy Holidays!

Mickie, Pam and Lori

Scott & Larissa

David & Priscilla

Betty

Aila & Michael

Michelle & Riley

Terry & Mike

Borger Homes

Robert & Shanshan

Jake & Jessica

Matt & Erin

Brad & Candace

Jean

Nick & Laney

Ryan & Ashia

David & Emily

Todd & Holly

Visit Dog Dish for the best selection of holiday gifts for your pets.

The Bag Everyone Is Talking About The "build your own" bag enables you to choose your Bag and Strap in your fave Design!

Come see us at our new store at 2803 South Harvard.

Bring your dog with you!

2803 South Harvard 918-624-2600 Open Mon.–Sat. 10-6, Sun. 12-5

TULSA TIME WARP

A rare photograph of the Mayo Building located on the northwest corner of West Fifth and South Main streets (420 S. Main St.).

Today the building stands 10 stories tall with both residential and commercial spaces.

BUILT TO LAST I

n 1904, Mayo Furniture Co. was opened by brothers Cass and John Mayo — fresh arrivals to Indian Territory, and the small cow town of Tulsa with a population of just 1,500 citizens.

Their first furniture store was located along the 200 block of South Main Street. The company was an instant success and soon needed more space to store goods. They rented larger and larger spaces until enough capital was raised to finance a building of their own.

In 1909, construction began on the Mayo Building located on the northwest corner of West Fifth and South Main streets. The area was mainly residential and mere blocks away from the main business district. When completed in 1910, the building was only a quarter of its total size seen today.

The original five-story concrete structure was home to Mayo

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TulsaPeople DECEMBER 2022

Furniture on the lower two levels, with oil company offices occupying the upper floors. It remains as one of Tulsa’s earliest surviving commercial and office buildings downtown.

As Tulsa grew, so did the building. In 1915, the building doubled in size with a north side expansion. Three years later in 1918, five more floors were added.

The Mayo Building was the first of many buildings by the businessmen-turned-real-estate entrepreneurs. Despite the success and expansion of Mayo Furniture during this time, the brothers eventually sold the company in 1935 to focus on real estate and other investments.

The Mayo brothers went on to build the Petroleum Building (1921), Mayo Hotel (1925) and the Mayo Motor Inn (1950), all of which still stand today and are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. TP

OKLAHOMA HISTORICAL SOCIETY

STORY AND COMPOSITE IMAGE BY PATRICK MCNICHOLAS

Luxury

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Call Mary today for more information: 918 -794 -1900. Or visit us at SaintSimeons.org

3701 N. Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd.

Saint Simeon’s is a mission of the Episcopal Diocese of Oklahoma

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