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.
family.
Blessings to you and yours, and we wish you Peace and Joy in 2023.
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
Where to go for a dose of holiday nostalgia. Quilt fi t for a queen.
This year’s Tulsa ornament. Bringing services to the unsheltered.
Recipes for Christmas morning. Warm up with a bowl of curry. A cinnamon roll big enough for a family. Calaveras reopens.
BY NATALIE MIKLES
BY GAIL BANZET-ELLIS
Popcorn for the masses.
Tulsa-themed painting kits. Destinations for an Okie Christmas.
Connie Cronley is focused on flies.
ON THE COVER: The Cozy Cabin at Welltown Brewing’s Iglootown. Read more on p. 54. Photo by Michelle Pollard.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
For many, holiday traditions have gone on for countless years. ere are some who can’t have a Christmas season pass without watching “It’s A Wonderful Life,” the endearing story of George Bailey as he re ects on what could have been while realizing his life is pretty … wonderful. One of the stars of this classic is Donna Reed, a woman who would earn an Oscar for 1953’s “From Here to Eternity” and accolades for her eponymous television show. She also happened to be a Tulsa resident brie y. Learn more about this on p. 36.
For others, traditions have been formed more recently. In a few short years, Welltown Brewing has become synonymous with the winter season through its Iglootown. Owner Jeremy Diamond had seen the concept in other big cities, “but COVID prodded us to explore the option. It also allowed us to ignite and re-energize our rooftop during the winter,” he says.
Now in its third season, the winter wonderland has been the site of rst dates, engagements and even weddings. Friend groups have booked gatherings 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. is year Welltown debuts the Cozy Cabin, which happens to grace this month’s cover. It ups the game with a
6 TulsaPeople DECEMBER 2022Volume 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.
VIP experience complete with champagne, a private rooftop seating area and serious hygge vibes.
e eight igloos and cabin remain up through March 26, so there is plenty of time to explore this entertainment option even after the New Year has passed.
A reservation at Iglootown is just one of many suggestions we have to celebrate the season. e complete list begins on p. 54.
Leaning away from the holidays — yet ever so timely during T-Town’s colder temps — we explore the city’s co ee houses. A round-up starts on p. 42. Natalie Mikles pro les many of our favorite spots for meeting up with friends or getting some work done away from the o ce. Plus, they all serve up some fantastic drinks.
It’s been a busy year for everyone. And I know if your calendar is anything like mine, we tend to go out with a bang. e datebooks get lled with parties among co-workers, friends, family and neighbors. I hope you have the chance to unwind a bit after the buzz of the season. And I hope TulsaPeople helps you do that.
See you next year. TP
Anne Brockman
TulsaPeople Magazine is published monthly by 1603 South Boulder Avenue Tulsa, Oklahoma 74119-4407
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EDITOR
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
‘T
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).
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.
“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.
SCHUSTERMANS: FILIP WOLAK; RANDY: COURTESY TULSA DAY CENTER; VOICES: COURTESY SAINT FRANCIS
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.
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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
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
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
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
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
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
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. 30
It’s a Friday morning in late October when Bryan Crowe stops by neighborhood co ee shop Sona Co ee, 306 E. First St., on his way to his o ce at the BOK Center. e 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.
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 di erent. e 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 rst year with a lot of successes getting live events back, meetings back, banquets back, all that type of stu . 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. at’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
excited about and really enjoyed seeing Dua Lipa (on March 17). She put on a great sold-out show with Megan ee 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. e sta 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. e team comes up with something very unique and special for each artist that comes in here. at’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
Vista Pools proudly serves the greater Tulsa area as a builder of inground gunite and low maintenance, premium fiberglass pools.
By taking an educational approach without sales pressure, Vista Pools makes a place for relaxation and memories.
If something isn’t just perfect, the Vista team will make it right — guaranteed.
BY JAMIE RICHERT JONES
For 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, Boo e, whose original recipe now lives on in the shop’s signature sugar cookie.
ough OK Cookie Momster o ers 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 de nitely 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.
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. “ e rst 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 o ers over 2,000 shapes and designs for custom cookie orders. “Our business would not be as successful without the hardworking sta 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 avors 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.
O ering 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 nd some special stocking stu ers, 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
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
STORIES BY JULIE WENGER WATSON
What started as a hobby 10 years ago has grown into a business for Clean Hands founders Case Morton, Aaron Whisner and Justin Baney. e 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. e 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. at was the rst 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.”
e 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.
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 o the weekend of Jan. 7 at the Gateway Event Center, 851 E. Admiral Blvd. e 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.
e 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 rst started designing in 2012 to now, along with the work of the artists who’ve grown with them along the way. e 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.
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
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.
Graduation 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-
giver, explains Brandie Murphy, board president of Joys to the World.
“ at’s not stimulating to them — it’s depressing,” Murphy says. “ is way, we’re not only serving the students, but also their families. We’re o ering 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.
e 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). ose funds go toward paying teachers and sta , with donations covering the rest of the expenses, Murphy says.
Volunteers are an important part of the organization as well, working in the o ce, donating supplies and serving on various committees, including the fundraising
teers.
“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
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.
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
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
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
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
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 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. JOYS: GREG BOLLINGER; CITY LIGHTS: NOAH MITCHELL committee where Shantana volun-
BY LAURA DENNIS
Local 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 solidied 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 rst pixelated quilt, a Billie Eilish album cover, she rediscovered her love for quilting.
e making of a pixelated quilt starts with choosing a well-contrasted picture and running it through a pixelated lter to make sure it will translate, Bushrod explains. She then uses a computer program to convert the image into speci c 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.
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 nally 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 signi cance. Bushrod’s version di ers from the Queen’s in two major ways: e rst 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.
e 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
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
It’s been a productive couple years for Alexis Onyango as she continues growing as a musician with her band, Lex. e 21-yearold Owasso High School graduate has released 10 songs the past two years and has another EP coming in early 2023 with its rst 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
performing/writing my own songs when I was 15. At rst I played in church, and then started getting co ee shop gigs. I played my rst venue show at the Vanguard when I was 16 years old.
WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST HIGHLIGHT OF 2022? e 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. is past year I have realized this sort of thing just takes time. TP
Science Project band members Brad James, Rick Gomez, Don Morris and Dylan Layton.
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 WENGERWATSON
Editor’s note: Julie Wenger Watson is a board member of the nonprofit Horton Records.
LOCAL MUSICIAN IS FEELING THE TULSA LOVE AS SHE GROWS HER MUSICAL PRESENCE.
Being without a roof overhead isn’t the only hardship for those experiencing homelessness. What about showering? Laundry? Getting a haircut? Privacy? Camaraderie? Safety?
ese are luxuries to the unsheltered. Something Evan Dougoud — ttingly pronounced “do good” — decided to do something about.
e 26-year-old is the founder and president of BeHeard Movement, the rst Black-managed nonpro t in A Way Home for Tulsa’s collective group that aids those experiencing homelessness.
rough 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 ve 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.’ us we got our name, the BeHeard
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 rst showering trailer. Its two private showers and case management o ce 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 digni ed experience,” Dougoud says. His 10-person sta 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 o ers 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. e nonpro t 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 nd 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
NONPROFIT BRINGS SHOWERS AND SERVICES TO UNHOUSED TULSANS. 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.
BY BLAYKLEE FREED
The 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. is 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 a ect the community. “ roughout 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 a ordable 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 is Together” by local artist Tyler ompson (Cherokee) featured his digital illustrations representing LGBTQ+ pride and raising awareness of missing and murdered Indigenous women. Earlier this year, the Equality Center commissioned ompson to memorialize Aubrey Dameron, a transgender Cherokee woman who went missing in 2019 from the Locust Grove area. ompson, who identi es as bisexual, had recently worked on a digital illustration of Dameron, his cousin-in-law, and the
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,” ompson says. “ e piece is on permanent display in the Equality Center on their memorial wall.”
Missing Indigenous women is a recent focus for ompson, who grew up in Locust Grove. “I realized how important it is to hear that voice in a di erent 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,” ompson says.
When he’s not working as a pharmacy tech at Reasor’s, ompson is working remotely on his art and his associate’s degree in ne arts from Tohono O’odham Community College in Arizona. is 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. ompson’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, ompson fell ill with COVID.
“Since then, I feel that my hand shakes a lot, and I talked to my doctor and he was like, ‘ at’s
just something (COVID) has done,’” ompson 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 ompson’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 bene ted o these tribal people for so long, and we need to make steps to reconcile that.”
Find more of ompson’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.
Mentorship and community are a big part of Nicole Finley’s story as an artist, and the Tulsa native opened her rst 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 nonpro ts related to arts and creativity.
e 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. “ ey need a space where they feel accepted, rst 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 rst show’s opening night in September. Local artist Anne Pollard James’ rst 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 nalize details for January and February shows. Visit positivespacetulsa.org for updates and information on upcoming events. TP
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.
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.
Harmoniously 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 o ers 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 rst 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).
is 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 ne 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. ese 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 nd 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.
Since 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 o 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,
I’m failing. is 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 o er 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
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 WATSONYou provide the photos. We create your story. Historical Art Creations takes your personal, vintage photographs and brings them to life. We scan original black and white photos then add color, text, design elements and personality. Your creation can live on canvas, Plexiglas, metal or even cover your entire wall, floor-to-ceiling with our unique one-of-a-kind adhesive wall covering. Enhance your company or school history with custom artwork that is personal and creative. Contact us today for a quote. 918-747-0019 | brent@sensusmarketing.com | hacsensus.com
BY JULIANNE TRAN
Nothing feels more festive than dressing up in your winter best to see a performance or a show. You take your coat o 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.
that will t into the nal set of the future. is o ers 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.
Slack, executive director of Clark Youth eatre.
“Because it’s our 35th year, we are putting together a fundraising event called e 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 nd showtimes and to book e Best Christmas Party Ever, visit clarkyouththeatre.com.
Running Dec. 9-23 at Tulsa Performing Arts Center, AMERICAN THEATRE CO. presents its 45th annual production of the family favorite, “A Christmas Carol.”
roughout these 45 years, this December show has become a holiday tradition for many Tulsa families. “ ere 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. “ is year each scene will be a vignette of a few set pieces
To see both seasoned and fresh faces take the stage, attend CLARK YOUTH THEATRE’s 35th annual production of “ e Best Christmas Pageant Ever,” happening Dec. 4-7.
Its cast of children ages 8-14 tells the unlikely story of mis ts 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.
ese weekend Sing-A-Long screenings are a big hit with Tulsa crowds. “ e tickets will sell out in the lead-up to the weekend show,” says Ryan omas, communications manager for Circle Cinema.
e theater provides props for audiences to participate along with the movie. ey 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.
“( e Sing-A-Long showing) brings everyone together for a few hours, united as the audience,” omas says.
Select weekend showtimes occur throughout December. Visit circlecinema.org for exact dates. TP
As told by Tulsa’s up-and-comersTulsa actor Karl Krause has played the role of Scrooge for decades in American Theatre Co.’s “A Christmas Carol.” This year marks Clark Youth Theatre’s 35th annual production of “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.” Prop cups are given to audience members attending Circle Cinema’s “White Christmas” Sing-A-Long to participate along with the film.
In 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 nonpro t that o ers 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, a xing 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. en, 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.
e book, titled “One Pink Balloon,” came out in April. With a portion of the proceeds bene ting 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 BELLERFind “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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
COMPILED BY AMANDA HALL
Benefits Tulsa City-County Library.
TULSALIBRARY ORG
Benefits Darnaby Elementary PTA. DARNABYARTSANDCRAFTSSHOW COM
Benefits Arts Alliance Tulsa.
ARTSTULSA ORG/HOLIDAY ART IN THE PARK
Benefits the Arthritis Foundation. JBR.ORG/TULSA
Benefits Tulsa Dream Center. TULSADREAMCENTER ORG/EVENT
Benefits Tulsa Area Salvation Army. SALARMYTULSA ORG
Benefits American Parkinson Disease Association OK Chapter. GRADYNICHOLS COM/SHOWS
11
Benefits Toys for Tots.
ABATEOFTULSA COM
17 World Class Winter Charity Gala
Benefits Historic Greenwood Chamber of Commerce.
HISTORICTULSAGREENWOODCHAMBER COM
18
Fa La La Ball
Benefits several local charities.
OKEQ ORG/FALALA BALL
EDITOR’S NOTE:
HIGHLIGHTED EVENTS SPONSORED BY TULSAPEOPLE
In 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. e Hollywood movie star, known for her fragile beauty and her Academy Award-winning role in “From Here to Eternity,” was brie y 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. ey 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
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 ‘ e 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. e 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. is revelation happens on Christmas Eve. An alternative ending with George falling on his knees and reciting “ e 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 rst 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.
e 1946 lm was nominated for ve Academy Awards and won a technical achievement award for the invention of falling snow with a formula including foamite, a re- ghting chemical. e lm had mixed reviews and mediocre sales, but after its rst 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 lm stars of the rst 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
“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.”
“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.
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.”
BY GAIL BANZET-ELLIS
Soft-spoken and sophisticated, 87-year-old Yolanda Charney is a Tulsa transplant who accompanied her new husband to Oklahoma more than 60 years ago. ey 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, ve grandchildren and four greatgranddaughters. e 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.
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 di erent 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.
WHAT WAS ONE OF YOUR
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 de ning moment for me because he was an Okie (from Henryetta). Oklahoma is where he needed to practice and set up his law o ce. We knew we were coming back to Oklahoma. We spent some time looking around di erent places where he might want to set up his own law o ce. He looked at Tulsa and Oklahoma City, but we
MICHELLE POLLARDhad 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 o ce, and we could live in the back of the building. We ended up in a oneroom e ciency in a strip center type building in Owasso where my husband set up his law o ce. 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. e o ce was in the front. We lived in the one-room e ciency until our rst baby came. e 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. e 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? at I was extremely shy. English is my second language. I’m uent 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 awless 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 ngers) and do Spanish dancing.
WHAT CONCERNS YOU TODAY? I was director of community relations for the Jewish Federation of Tulsa for 20 years. ose kinds of issues, although I’m retired, are still with me all the time. e political climate is horrible. (People running for) public o ce are spouting antisemitism. Other people running for elected o ce 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? 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. ose organizations have all had anniversaries and are going strong and still existing and thriving. at’s it, baby. At this age, it’s been wonderful. at’s pretty good stu .
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 sta who could help us get all the administrative stu done. en in the 1980’s, Citgo went to Houston, and we were left with no clerical help. ey decided we needed an executive director, and I got the job as the rst executive director. I was with the foundation for ve years, and then we started the Coalition of Hispanic Organizations. e foundation had wonderful corporate support, but the board felt we couldn’t get too political. We needed that advocacy. at was when an in ux 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. ey 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. at was the 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. at’s why my marriage was such a de ning 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. 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. eir only fear was that I would not be accepted when I came to Oklahoma, but
that never materialized. at 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. at 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 o ce and said the Rev. John Hagee from San Antonio was here and wanted to have a night to honor Israel. ere 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 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. ere 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. en 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 nd 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. e law was so stringent and wouldn’t allow you to help immigrants in any way. e 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. ere’s a committee that helps facilitate the move to Tulsa for immigrants, and he has a Hispanic individual on his sta . ings 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
Amassive 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 oor-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 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 percent-
age of what we have,” Charron says. “ ere’s a whole bunch of stu in Oklahoma City at the (Oklahoma) History Center that is ours. Our collection is huge. We continue to collect stu every single day. New things come in all the time ... It’s like Christmas every day.”
Museum sta and volunteers will spend countless hours working to preserve and document the collection. e process also is a treasure hunt because the sta has no clue what all is stored on the recordings or written on pages.
ere 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. ere’s also Jimmy Markham’s trumpet and many more iconic pieces that will tell the story of the Tulsa Sound.
When it comes to 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 “ e Fast and the Furious,” which has since gone on to become one of the biggest movie franchises in modern cinema.
With the exterior nished, there is now fundraising the $35-$40 million needed to nish the interior buildout, as well as the work to determine what artifacts will help share the story. Museum sta is working with New York City and Australia-based museum design 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.
“ 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
Inside the OKPOP archives as staff inventories a growing collection of artifacts.OKPOP has 1,200 boxes holding over 5,000 hours of recordings from the Leon Russell collection.
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 fi nancially to fi nish the job and get it open on the Nov. 16 episode of
Tulsa Talks: A TulsaPeople podcast.
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.
STORY BY NATALIE MIKLES | PHOTOS BY MICHELLE POLLARD
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.
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.
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 fi ercely 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.
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
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 effi cient 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)
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 fi ve 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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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
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
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.
BLACK WALL STREET LIQUID LOUNGEThe 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.
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 nonprofi t 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.”
CHURCH ON THE MOVE)
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 fl ocking 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
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.
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.
COFFEE HOUSE ON CHERRY STREET
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.
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.
This woman-owned coffee shop gets fi ve 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.
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 fi ction and nonfi ction 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.
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
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
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.
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 BROCKMAN7 episode of Tulsa Talks: A TulsaPeople podcast.
MOJO’SAfter 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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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
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
Expertly curated to match the restaurant’s fi ne fare, these are where the locals go — the winners of TulsaPeople’s annual A-LIST Readers’ Choice Awards.
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 fl emingssteakhouse.com
Doc’s Wine and Food 3509 S. Peoria Ave. 918-949-3663 docswineandfood.com
FROM TALLY’S GOOD FOOD CAFE
6100 S. SHERIDAN ROAD, #4051; 1102 S. YALE AVE. | 918-835-8039 | TALLYSCAFE.COM
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.
This is no dainty roll. Measuring 9 inches across, there’s plenty to share among your tablemates and maybe some to take home.
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.
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.
WHICH APPETIZER IS A MUST-TRY AND WHY? The Loaded Crinkle Fries. It’s guaranteed to get you off to a good start here.
THE SEASONAL COBBLER OR THE BANANA PUDDING FOR DESSERT?
Cobbler. The melting ice cream makes this dish so creamy and delicious.
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
As the days draw closer to Dec. 25, there are countless activities, events, gifts to buy and chores to wrap up.
BY ANNE BROCKMAN AND TIFFANY HOWARDSanta 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.
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.
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.
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.
‘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
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.
“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.
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.
Stuff the stockings of your favorite pet with items from SOUTHERN AGRICULTURE , KNOT YOURS , DOG DISH and FETCH
As we count down the days, here are some ideas for how to revel in all that is the holiday season in Tulsa.
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Amy Two is a continued story from the first book, Amy’s Story. It was birthed out of the readers who read the first book and wanted to read more of Amy’s Story.
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.
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.
When
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BY J. D. MYER
In 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. “ e 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. e 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. ere are more than 55 di erent 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 avors 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
Every event has a 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 o 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. “ at’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.
“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. 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 ve 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. e two are more than colleagues.
ey’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.
e Bridge Program began in 2016 and two years later a bariatric component was added because, “one of the biggest barriers to transplant was BMI cuto ,” 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 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 di culties,” 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
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.
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 di culty breathing, go directly to the ER or dial 911.
It’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.
At Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oklahoma (BCBSOK), we take pride in being member-focused. Our commitment is to ensure you have access to quality care while protecting your health care dollars. We are here to help.
Learn more at bluehelpsyouok.com
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oklahoma, a Division of Health Care Service Corporation, a Mutual Legal Reserve Company, an Independent Licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association
“EVERYTHING THAT WE DO EVERY DAY IS ABOUT OUR MEMBERS.”
— Dr. Todd Hoffman, M.D., BCBSOK Chief Medical Officer
is what we do best.
Mental 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
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
Who 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 benefi ts, 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 benefi ts.
If you want to begin your stretching practice, Thomas shares a few favorite stretches to kick things off:
• 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
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 hor mone 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 revolu tionary 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 radiof requency and HIFES TM energies to treat both the skin and muscles of the face.
Amy Oden, MSN, APRN, FNP-C, FAAMM, ABAAHPThe 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.
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.
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
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.
Hurry! Medicare’s annual election deadline is December 7. ccokadvantage.com
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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.
Cranberries 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.
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.
Cranberries contain proanthocyanidins, bioactive compounds that benefi t 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
VISIT TULSAPEOPLE.COM FOR AN EASY MAKE-AHEAD RECIPE FOR SHEPHERD’S PIE.
MICHELLE POLLARD
When 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 rst kit: a depiction of Catoosa’s Blue Whale.
Daugherty, who de nes her art as a whimsical mix of in uences, 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 rst launch, Daugherty has re ned 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. is season she debuts a snowy Tulsa skyline just in time for the holidays, followed up by a map of Oklahoma’s Route 66.
“ ese 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 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.
December 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.
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 o . e Christmas Chute features tens of thousands of feet of lights, garland and other decor strung above Dewey Avenue, also known as Route 66. e 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 eatre, scheduled to reopen in spring 2023. Another nearby holiday sight is at Paragon Industries where an impressive light display awaits visitors.
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. is festival is inspired by Oklahoma’s Favorite Son, o ering 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.
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. e 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 lming that turned Pawhuska into 1920s-era Fairfax for the upcoming 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.
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 o er 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
OKLAHOMA SITES HAVE PLENTY TO SEE AND DO THIS FESTIVE SEASON.
Mother Nature is a generous old dame. She splashes us with abundance. Flies, for example. We have horse ies, fruit ies, may ies, tsetse ies, re ies and the variety I’m most familiar with, damn ies.
As in, “Where did all of these damn ies come from?”
In late September, just as the plague of mosquitoes (also classi ed as ies) waned, here came the ies. Didn’t seem fair — spectacular fall skies of Oklahoma blue with whipped cream clouds — and ies.
Perhaps I might get over my extreme annoyance with house ies if I learned more about them. ere’s a lot to know about this little bug. e common house y, Musca domestica , has been around since the Cenozoic Era, maybe 65.5 million years. ey 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 de nition is “eating together at the same table.” Which is exactly why I nd 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 house y 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 ies) which hatch into larva and on through a brief lifespan of pupa and adult. eir entire life is over in 30 or 40 days. ey 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.
e witty poet Ogden Nash was ba ed by the y’s purpose. Here’s his poem “ e Fly” in its entirety:
“God in his wisdom made the y And then forgot to tell us why.”
By late autumn the 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 butteries uttering like a Disney cartoon. Pairs of little yellow butter ies wildly circled one another, all part of courtship as males either defended territory or romanced females by slinging pheromones into the air. ey were in a hurry. A butter y’s lifespan is short, too, usually two to four weeks.
e house ies, re ies and butter ies are all gone now.
While the ies and butter ies were frantically living, living frantically, my friend Elizabeth Jones up the street was busy dying.
She was a gardener and a erce 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. e 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 ght 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 owers 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 “ e Fly.” He addresses a little y in summer’s play and wonders about mortality and the mystery of existence. It includes these lines, “Am not I A y like thee? Or art not thou
A man like me?”
• 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
• Copy paper
• Paper towels
• Powder free disposable gloves (M/L/XL)
• Liquid laundry soap
• 13 Gallon trash bags
To donate: Christian McClain • 918-893-6150 Cmclain@clarehouse.org | clarehouse.org 7617 S. Mingo Rd., Tulsa, OK 74133
• 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)
To donate: Sarah Curry • 918-948-6300 Sarah.curry@cooksonhills.org | cooksonhills.org 60416 OK-10 Kansas, OK 74347
• 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: Jessica Hayes • 918-600-3815 holidayassistance@fcsok.org | www.fcsok.org 650 S. Peoria Ave., Tulsa OK 74120
• Diapers and baby wipes
• Toothbrushes and toothpaste
• Feminine hygiene products and underwear
• Shaving cream and razors
• Body wash and body lotion
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
• 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
• 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)
To donate: Brena Meadows Thrash • 918-746-6602 meadobr@tulsaschools.org foundationfortulsaschools.org 3027 S. New Haven, Suite 116, Tulsa, OK 74114
• 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
• 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
• 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
• 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
you for giving!
• 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
• Hygiene items - toilet paper, toothbrushes, soap, etc.
• Feminine hygiene products
• Diapers
• New backpacks and school supplies
• Peanut butter, cereal, pineapple
To donate: Sharon Catalano • 918-582-5766 Scatalano@restorehope.org | Restorehope.org 2960 Charles Page Blvd., Tulsa, OK 74127
• 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
To donate: Kelly Moss • 918-742-6241 kelly@revitalizettown.org | revitalizettown.org 14 E. 7th St., Tulsa, OK 74119
• 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
• Assorted hygiene items
• Socks/undergarments
• Band aids
• Gloves/scarves/hats (new)
• Reusable plastic water bottles
To donate: Jennifer Leck • 918-587-7801 Tulsa.OK@uss.salvationarmy.org | SalArmyTulsa.org 924 S. Hudson, Tulsa, OK 74112
• 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)
To donate: Mike Murphy • 918-245-0231 mmurphy@tbhinc.org | tulsaboyshome.org 2727 S. 137th West Ave., Sand Springs, OK 74063
• 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
• Men’s and women’s shoes
• Men’s and women’s coats with hoods
• Men’s jeans
• Men’s underwear
• Bath towels
To donate: Co Edwards • 918-583-5588 cedwards@tulsadaycenter.org | tulsadaycenter.org 415 W. Archer St., Tulsa, OK 74103
• 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
To donate: Lori Long • 918-428-7722, ext. 1037 giving@tulsaspca.org | tulsaspca.org 3000 Mohawk Blvd., Tulsa, OK 74110
• 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
• 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: Holly Yeagle • 918-307-1500 development@voaok.org/voaok.org/wishlist www.voaok.org/wishlist 9605 E. 61st St., Tulsa, OK 74133
• 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.
• 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
20 Acres in Broken Arrow. Great potential for development or invest ment 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.
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.
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!
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.
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
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
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
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
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
A pristine Mid Century Modern home built in 1950! Completely and professionally renovated to today’s standards. 3 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
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
In 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. eir rst furniture store was located along the 200 block of South Main Street. e company was an instant success and soon needed more space to store goods. ey rented larger and larger spaces until enough capital was raised to nance 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. e 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.
e original ve-story concrete structure was home to Mayo
Furniture on the lower two levels, with oil company o ces occupying the upper oors. It remains as one of Tulsa’s earliest surviving commercial and o ce buildings downtown.
As Tulsa grew, so did the building. In 1915, the building doubled in size with a north side expansion. ree years later in 1918, ve more oors were added.
e Mayo Building was the rst 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.
e 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.
Saint Simeon’s Medical Resort is a luxurious haven where you can rest and rehabilitate in tranquil comfort. Private medical suites with private baths offer peaceful courtyard patios or beautiful park views, fine dining and luxury amenities. All with exceptional short-term post-acute rehabilitation so you can successfully transition from a hospital stay back to your active life at home.
Call Mary today for more information: 918-794-1900. Or visit us at SaintSimeons.org
Saint Simeon’s is a mission of the Episcopal Diocese of Oklahoma
