2021 February Lakewaood/East Dallas Advocate

LAKEWOOD/EAST DALLAS

DAT I N G D U R I N G C OV I D

FEBRUARY 2 0 2 1

HIGH SCHOOL SWEETHEARTS

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A D V O C AT E M A G . C O M

A RT YA R D S H E N A N I G A N S

NEW PRICE

1100 BROAD | SOLD 3 Bed | 3.2 Bath | 5 Liv | 7,174 SF Alison O’Halloran - 214-228-9013

3815 BRANCHFIELD | $3,295,000 5 Bed | 5.2 Bath | 3 Liv | 2 Din | 2 Car | 7,588 SF Dybvad, Phelps, Sinnott & Clayton 214-354-2823

6810 MIMOSA | $1,999,000

6104 SHADYCLIFF DR | SOLD 4 Bed 5.1 Bath | 2 Liv | 2 Din | 2 Car | 3,587 SF Selzer Stell Group - 214-355-3113

2027 EUCLID | $839,000

3 Bed | 2.1 Bath | 3,952 SF Mary Poss - 214-738-0777

7002 MERRILEE | SOLD 3 Bed | 2 Bath | 2 Liv | 2 Car | 2,485 SF Dybvad, Phelps, Sinnott & Clayton 214-536-8786

8616 TURTLE CREEK #209

6269 ORAM #16 | $479,000

5 Bed | 6.1 Bath | 7,561 SF Mary Poss - 214-738-0777

NEW PRICE

722 HUNTLEY | $558,000 3 Bed | 3 Bath | 2 Din | 2 Car | 2,107 SF Alison O’Halloran - 214-228-9013

$499,000 3 Bed | 2.1 Bath | 1,655 SF Mary Poss - 214-738-0777

2 Bed | 2.1 Bath | 2 Car | 2,337 SF Dybvad, Phelps, Sinnott & Clayton 214-708-5233

14635 CHERRY HILLS | SOLD

5125 KEATING | SOLD

PENDING

7404 CORONADO WAY | $400,000 2 Bed | 2.1 Bath | 2,115 SF Jessica Wantz - 713-299-1546

LAKEWOOD | LAKE HIGHLANDS | 214-826-0316

4 Bed | 3 Bath | 2,318 SF Jessica Wantz - 713-299-1546

PRESTON CENTER | 214-692-0000

3 Bed | 2 Bath | 1,891 SF Mary Rinne - 214-552-6735

EBBY’S LITTLE WHITE HOUSE | 214-210-1500

PENDING

Now Accepting New Listings 4611 W AMHERST | $1,199,000 4 Bed | 4.1 Bath | 4,473 SF Mary Poss - 214-738-0777

3309 WESTMINSTER | $1,099,000

3 Bed | 2 Bath | 1,802 SF Lacey Ferguson - Alison O’Halloran NEW LISTING

When deciding to sell your home, getting the highest possible return on your initial investment requires strategy, thoughtful timing and diligent preparation on the front end.

If you’re thinking about listing your home in the near future, planning should begin now in order to ride the momentum once Spring Market starts.

Inventory levels and mortgage interest

2449 MARE | SOLD 4 Bed | 3.1 Bath | 3,989 SF Jessica Wantz - 713-299-1546

4539 ASHFORD | $569,000 3 Bed | 2 Bath | 3 Liv | 2 Car | 2,000 SF Brown-Qualls & Schrickel Group 214-801-1795

PENDING

rates are still low and are expected to remain so for the next few months at least. So it’s truly a seller’s dream scenario if you’re positioned properly when the busiest selling season of the year starts.

Can we help you get ready?

4226 SOMERVILLE | $450,000

2314 N. CARROLL AVE #104

3 bed | 2 Bath | 1,738 SF Peter Loudis - 214-215-4269

$430,000 3 Bed 3.1 Bath | 2 Car | 1,801 SF Peter Loudis - 214-215-4269

6318 RICHMOND #1303 | SOLD

SHADYCLIFF | SOLD 4748 Old Bent Tree Lane #2307 2 Bed | 2 Bath | 1,070 SF Carol Morales - 972-946-6444

1 Bed | 1.1 Bath | 574 SF Perry Flowers III - 469-233-9099 6104

ebby.com

Equal Housing Opportunity

LOVE

L I S T I N G A N D SE LLI N G LAKEWOOD + EAST DALLAS

7155 W. Circle Listed for $2,500,000 — Buyer Representation

5307 Ridgedale Avenue Listed for $849,900

4331 Woodcrest Lane Listed for $865,000

5605 Richard Avenue Listed for $825,000

“

Taking the big picture approach is what yields the best results. Every home needs it’s own plan.

There are so many factors to consider before you go over the top getting it ready. I put an individual, strategic “Plan to Sell” together and consider every dollar spent as my own. 100% I will not ask you to spend what we cannot get back. We work as a team and get it done.

”

214.354.8866 | susie.thompson@alliebeth.com | www.alliebeth.com

CONTENTS FEBRUARY 2021 VOL.28 NO.2

UP FRONT

14 Shipped A dating app for the COVID era

22 Jose Vargas The heart of Dallas 26 Goldrush Cafe The best breakfast

FEATURES 30 Sweethearts Finding love in an adolescent place 38 Doing good Stories from our neighborhood

Pancakes smothered in warm syrup are a must-try breakfast item at Goldrush Cafe. Read the story on page 26. Photography by Kathy Tran

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DISTRIBUTION PH/214.560.4203 ADVERTISING PH/214.560.4203 office administrator: Judy Liles

214.560.4203 / judyliles@advocatemag.com ADVERTISING CONSULTANTS Frank McClendon

214.560.4215 / fmcclendon@advocatemag.com Greg Kinney

214.292.0485 / gkinney@advocatemag.com Michele Paulda

214.724.5633 / mpaulda@advocatemag.com Catherine Pate

214.560.4201 / cpate@advocatemag.com Vanessa Santillan

214.717.8160 / vsantillan@advocatemag.com Madison Murray

214-629-0915 / mmurray@advocatemag.com classified manager: Prio Berger

214.292.0493 / pberger@advocatemag.com marketing director: Sally Wamre

214.686.3593 / swamre@advocatemag.com EDITORIAL Publisher: Jehadu Abshiro

jabshiro@advocatemag.com SENIOR EDITORS: Rachel Stone

214.207.8309 / rstone@advocatemag.com Jaime Dunaway-Seale

214.560.4208 / jdunaway@advocatemag.com EDITOR: Elizabeth Uclés

5218 1234Homer Street St. Address $879,500 $000,000 David 214.458.7663 NameGriffin Here 000.000.0000

2739 Dr. 1234Ripplewood Street Address $450,000 $000,000 David 214.536.8517 NameCollier Here 000.000.0000

6912 1234Clemson Street Address $389,000 $000,000 Bart Thrasher 469.583.4819 Name Here 000.000.0000

5200 Ave. 1234Monticello Street Address PENDING $000,000 Robert 214.356.5802 NameKucharski Here 000.000.0000

9806 Ridge Dr. 1234Winding Street Address SOLD $000,000 David Collier 214.536.8517 Name Here 000.000.0000

2319 Francis Dr. 1234Saint Street Address SOLD $000,000 Bart Thrasher 469.583.4819 Name Here 000.000.0000

713-560-7036 / eucles@advocatemag.com Renee Umsted

rumsted@advocatemag.com digital manager: Autumn Grisby

agrisby@advocatemag.com senior art director: Jynnette Neal

214.560.4206 / jneal@advocatemag.com designers: Jessica Turner and Christine Smith contributors: George Mason, Patti Vinson, Mita Havlick, Carol Toler, Scott Shirley, Sam Gillespie, Matthew Ruffner, Sam Maude contributing photographers: Kathy Tran, Gabriel Cano, Haley Hill, Owen Jones, Mellissa Cunningham, Marissa Alvarado, Yuvie Styles intern: Connor Henry president: Rick Wamre

214.560.4212 / rwamre@advocatemag.com Advocate, © 2021, is published monthly by East Dallas – Lakewood People Inc. Contents of this magazine may not be reproduced.

Advertisers and advertising agencies assume liability for the content of all advertisements printed, and therefore assume responsibility for any and all claims against the Advocate. The publisher reserves the right to accept or reject any editorial or advertising material.

Opinions set forth in the Advocate are those of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the publisher’s viewpoint. More than 200,000 people read Advocate publications each month. Advertising rates and guidelines are available upon request. Advocate publications are available free of charge throughout our neighborhoods, one copy per reader. Advocate was founded in 1991 by Jeff Siegel, Tom Zielinski and Rick Wamre.

ABOUT THE COVER A mural outside Bells and Barbells, a fitness club for brides and grooms, in Knox-Henderson.

Photography by Marissa Alvarado FOLLOW US: Talk to us: editor@advocatemag.com Newsletter: advocatemag.com/newsletter

february 2021

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CLICK WORTHY SEE NEW STORIES EVERY DAY ONLINE AT LAKEWOOD.ADVOCATEMAG.COM

COMING AND GOING [+] Christies Sports Bar & Grill, the Uptown bar that closed last year because of the pandemic, will reopen in the former Slater’s 50/50 space at 2817 Greenville Ave.

We can’t stop talking about…

A

MISSILE. This Cold War-era relic is just one of the treasures you’ll find among the beat-up cars and piles of metal at a Garland scrapyard that’s worth a day trip from the neighborhood. The Jupiter

[+] BarNone serves allAmerican fare at 718 N. Buckner Blvd. in the White Rock Center. [+] Son of a Butcher opened in the former Melios Bros Char Bar space on Greenville Avenue.

missile is located at DFW Industrial Metals & Recycling at 1340

Commerce St. It was once displayed at the Frontiers of Flight Museum at Love Field. In 2014, the missile was damaged when it toppled from its perch and almost fell into the road during a windstorm. Museum staff decided it was a liability that needed to go. It was transported to the scrapyard, where it’s been ever since.

Search “missile” at lakewood.advocatemag.com to read more.

Tell me you’re from Lakewood...

We asked Advocate readers to tell us they’re from Lakewood without telling us they’re from Lakewood.

The power is out again. —Vicki Hill Were those shots or fireworks??!?? —Aman Bains Scott Watch out for the coyote that was just spotted. —Jennifer Ladewig

I virtue signal with trendy yard signs. —Thomas Kennedy Running against versus with traffic at the lake...the battle is real.

—Zach Farrell I miss Good 2 Go Taco.

—Jordan Michel

Another bent wheel rim.

—Kristin Bachura Nelson The triple G. —Mike Przywara

Summers at Tietze Park.

—Maria Montes

[+] After a series of fine dining pop-ups, Carte Blanche will open a permanent location at 2114 Greenville Ave. in the space formerly occupied by Mudsmith. [+] Well Grounded Coffee, a shop that provides formerly incarcerated women with jobs, is open at 9219 Garland Road.

Top Stories n Farewell to John Ashley Bellamy and Fezziwig, the best Christmas party ever n Rezoning proposed for The Lot and Local Traveler sites n Police searching for murder suspect wanted in connection with East Dallas shooting n Moon Mansion founder John Ashley Bellamy has died n Neighbors reminisce on good times at Barbec’s

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february 2021

NEW HOME,

New Year

5313 Regier Avenue | $699,900

TYLER JOHNSON

806 Newell Avenue | $639,000

JOE KACYNSKI

214.544.5987 | tyler.johnson@alliebeth.com

214.850.7195 | joe.kacynski@alliebeth.com

5719 Tremont Street | $629,000 SOLD

718 Parkmont Street SOLD

MARSUE WILLIAMS

GIA MARSHELLO

214.762.2108 | marsue.williams@alliebeth.com

214.616.2568 | gia.marshello@alliebeth.com

506 Valencia Avenue $575,000

706 S Glasgow Drive | $475,000 SOLD

SUSIE THOMPSON 214.354.8866 | susie.thompson@alliebeth.com

alliebethallman | 214.521.7355 | alliebeth.com

TIM SCHUTZE

214.507.6699 | tim.schutze@alliebeth.com

R.I.P. JOHN ASHLEY BELLAMY, Moon Mansion founder, died from complications with Alzheimer’s. Bellamy created a de facto artist commune in a renovated Methodist church on Haskell Avenue. Dallasites flocked to the mansion on Christmas Eve for Bellamy’s famous holiday party.

WAYNE PIERCE, a former Woodrow Wilson High School principal, died at age 95. Pierce served as Woodrow’s principal from 1971 to 1987. Before that, he was an assistant principal at Woodrow. He was one of the school’s most popular principals and sometimes went by the name “Mr. Wildcat.” Even after he retired, he remained “principal emeritus” and stayed involved

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY Neighbors teamed up to rescue a stray dog that evaded capture for a month. The little blackand-white dog, aptly named Houdini, was seen roaming throughout Lakewood, but he bolted from teams of would-be rescuers. Neighbor Lucas Babbitt called street dog rescue Duck Team 6 for help, and the organization captured the stray. Babbitt adopted the dog and renamed him Topo Chico. Topo Chico loves heaters, play-

at the school.

Search “John Ashley Bellamy” and “Wayne Pierce” at lakewood.advocatemag.com to read more.

Police beat The City of Dallas chose Eddie Garcia of San Jose, California, as chief of police. Garcia started his career with San Jose police in 1992 and has been that department’s chief since 2016. He will be the first Latino to serve as chief of the Dallas Police Department. His tenure begins Feb. 3.

ing with Babbitt’s cat and chewing on shoes.

Search “Houdini” at lakewood.advocatemag.com to read more.

Hop on over The Tango Frogs that lived for years on the roof of Greenville Avenue’s Taco Cabana are hopping over to their new home at the Truck Yard.

Read more at lakewood.advocatemag.com.

Search: “Tango Frogs”

“

I loved walking the halls, holding his hand and stealing smooches behind the lockers.

— LISA LOPEZ, WOODROW WILSON, CLASS OF 1991 Read more love stories from high school sweethearts in “Saved by the Wedding Bell” on page 30.

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FACE

OF THE

NEIGHBORHOOD

LIZ MELLO Liz Mello is a thirdgeneration Dallasite who knows her way around local real estate. “My teaching background translates well into real estate, helping me navigate first-time buyers/ sellers through the process,” says the former public education teacher.

As an agent and head of Mello Residential Group — her team within Meyer Group Real Estate — Liz has another ace up her sleeve: husband Kevin, a neighborhood mortgage lender, with whom she shares a six-year-old daughter.

“I have an in-house consultant on matters of finance, any time day or night,” she says. “If a question comes to me at an odd hour, I can just look over and ask him.”

Learn more about real estate options: Contact Liz today, 214-850-8787 or liz@ meyergrouprealestate.com.

Sponsored Content

Smoke from the fire at Barbec’s blows into the neighborhood.

THE WORD Last year was tough for the restaurant industry. In March, eateries were forced to stop dine-in service. Many transitioned to takeout and delivery, but for some, it wasn’t enough. Neighbors shared on social media which restaurants they missed most.

#PICTUREPERFECT

Check out this 1980s photo of Barbec’s from co-founder Becky Brown on our @Eastdallasadvocate Instagram. Be sure to like and follow!

BLACK HISTORY MONTH There were no Black food vendors for the first 78 years of the State Fair of Texas until Huey Nash opened Little Bob’s there in 1964. It took Nash five years and pressure from the Black Chamber of Commerce to get his license.

Read more at lakewood.advocatemag.com. Search: “Huey Nash”

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I’m weirdly sad about Penne Pomodoro but not surprised. It had zero atmosphere, but when other places were packed, it was always a good option to go in and grab some food at a very reasonable price.

—BellyUpDallas Barbec’s & HP Cafeteria hurt my heart.

— Amanda Grace Hughes A tear for the good places we lost and a big stiff middle finger for the rest.

—Blake Wilson Visit lakewood.advocatemag.com to see a master list of all restaurants that closed in 2020.

Search: “restaurant closings”

ENJOY A

SWEET ASSORTMENT OF INDEPENDENT LIVING OPTIONS Deciding where and how to live during retirement to make the most of these years is a big decision and choices are important. With a unique assortment of three Independent Living residences, and a fourth – The Terraces – on the horizon, the CC Young community has a place to satisfy everyone’s sweet tooth. The 20-acre lushly landscaped campus located across from White Rock Lake offers an unparalleled environment, lock-and-go lifestyle, amenities and services for all our residents. To experience a taste of CC Young living, visit us at ccyoung.org.

CALL FOR A VIRTUAL TOUR 214 - 304 - 2995 • CCYOUNG.ORG

PROFILE THESE ARE THE PEOPLE IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD

GE T SHIPP E D This neighborhood app developer makes dating from home a whole lot easier ď ˝

Interview by JAIME DUNAWAY-SEALE | Photography by OWEN JONES

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THE PEOPLE OF THE PRESTON: Featuring Chuck Anderson “We moved our mother to The Preston just over three years ago, and it has been all we hoped it would be and more. The community and the superior location are second to none, and most importantly, the caring people who work there are the best.”

Chuck Anderson, whose mother resides at The Preston of the Park Cities

Chuck rests easy knowing his mom is safe, well-cared for and enjoying all that she loves in an intimate senior living community. Like Chuck’s mother, all our residents enjoy: • Luxury, boutique Assisted Living and Memory Care in the heart of Preston Hollow and the Park Cities neighborhoods • Unparalleled personalized care 24/7 and on-site nurse • Family visits via the Essential Caregiver program • Regular preemptive COVID-19 testing and weekly updates to keep family members and loved ones informed • Fine dining featuring our classically trained culinary team The Preston’s associates take pride in caring for their residents, so that Chuck and his family, and others just like them, can enjoy peace of mind today, tomorrow and beyond.

Call 469-904-1394 to learn more and schedule your private one-on-one virtual video consultation and tour today. We are accepting new residents and welcoming you safely.

THE PRESTON OF THE PARK CITIES

5917 Sherry Lane • Dallas, TX 75225 469-904-1394 • watermarkcommunities.com A SILVERSTONE/WATERMARK RETIREMENT COMMUNITY

ASSISTED LIVING • MEMORY CARE ID #149863

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t’s never been a more lonely time to be single. With millions staying home, there are fewer opportunities to socialize and find a romantic partner. Dating apps are now the best way to meet people safely, and singles are showing them some love. For years, Lakewood Heights neighbor Andy Chen has helped spark human connections as senior vice president of +1 Labs for Match Group, which created Tinder and owns Hinge, Plenty of Fish and several other dating apps. +1 Labs is Match Group’s internal innovation team, which uses data and technology to develop future products. In 2019, Chen’s team launched Ship, a dating app that allows singles to meet while sharing the experience with family and friends. During coronavirus lockdowns, Ship released new features — including virtual backgrounds, group video chat and a Date From Home badge — to help singles date safely from home. Nearly 1 million people have downloaded the app. Chen talks about innovation, the future of dating apps and dating during the pandemic.

How did you start developing dating apps?

I joined an online dating startup called True in Las Colinas.

That’s where I cut my teeth in online dating and startups.

It didn’t work out, like many startups do. We then started Traxco. The original vision was to take travel and marry it with social media. It was like Tripadvisor meets Facebook.

The CEO of Match knew about me when I was at True. She said, “Hey, I’ve heard a lot about you, and you’re doing a lot of cool things with Facebook technology. I want to pick your brain.”

Tell me about your job.

Given the success of Tinder, we need to continue to invest in big ideas. That’s the purpose of my team. We bend light to look around corners and guess what users want in the future. We’re not just competing against Bumble. We’re competing against Netflix and Apple TV. We’re competing for entertainment time. It’s the ultimate form of people watching.

What made Ship so popular during the pandemic?

We knew users were seeking the ability to connect with humans, even if it was online. With young women, if you

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february 2021

How do you see Ship growing?

There’s a lot of opportunity in emerging dating markets.

Dating has usually been localized. We’ve figured out how that happens in Western culture. How does it work in India?

How does it work in Southeast Asia? How does it work in a Muslim-dominant society? The adoption of online dating in the rest of the world has really just begun.

Do you tweak for international use?

You want the system to be as consistent as possible. Facebook is the same everywhere, but dating isn’t the same everywhere.

We are very deliberate when we do tweaks. In Southeast Asia, they have no idea how tall 6 feet is. They’re in metric. In Thailand, they go by the Buddhist calendar instead of the Roman calendar. We were like, “Why are all these really old people joining the site?” Their calendar is like 80 years in the future.

Did you date online?

No. Match started in 1995. I started dating my wife in 1997.

In ’95, it was still pretty fringe. Now it’s the No. 1 way people meet. Even five years ago, there was a little bit of stigma. Now if you don’t use it, you’re in a small minority.

“COVID accelerated the adoption of online dating, and dating apps have never been more popular.”

How did lockdowns affect engagement on dating apps?

We’re fortunate that COVID has been just a speed bump for us. COVID accelerated the adoption of online dating, and dating apps have never been more popular. People that weren’t using it started because they couldn’t do anything else. We’ve seen record levels of engagement in female users. With everyone in lockdown, females can have more courtship online before they meet. We saw all these amazing trends: the amount of time on an app, the messages being sent. We need to figure out how to maintain this.

16

pick up their phone, they’re already sharing screenshots and having conversations around it. So on Ship, you can match for yourself and your friends, whether you are in a relationship or not. There’s a group chat feature, and there’s a fun activity feed where you can see what friends are doing on the app.

What experience did you gain from startups?

Doing my own startup was like getting a Ph.D. The intensity and pace of learning you put yourself through is unlike anything else. When I raised capital and hired a team, it gave me so much confidence. I never felt uncomfortable sitting across the table from anybody. I never had more stress in my life, but I never had more fun.

Do you miss it?

I still get a rush from developing new products from scratch but doing it in the relative safety of a $30 billion company. I’m still a huge supporter of the startup community. When I hire people who have taken a chance, it’s a big sign of credibility in my book.

Why did you move to Lakewood?

I’m a cyclist, so I wanted to move east to White Rock Lake.

My wife found this house on Llano and said we should go look at it. One of my best friends — he was a roommate and was in my wedding — I sent it to him, and he said it was four houses down. He thinks we only bought the house because he lives here.

This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.

THE RHODES GROUP

When you’ve been in real estate a few decades, you start to get the hang of it. And when you’re mentored by one of Dallas’ real estate icons, it tends to rub off. We’ve been immersed in the ebbs and flows of these markets and these neighborhoods for years, driving over $2.6 billion in sales, representing families like yours.

If you’re thinking of selling, or just can’t decide, give us a call.

We provide honest assessment and key insights based on experience you just can’t get elsewhere.

It’s not just a slogan: We Know Your Neighborhood.

FACE OF REAL

ESTATE

The Rhodes Group at Compass 214-520-4422 therhodesgroup.com

Sponsored Content

There were four Blue Top locations in Dallas, including one at the former The Lot site in East Dallas.

PIZZA, POOLS AND PLAYGROUNDS A HISTORY OF THE LOT SITE PROPOSED FOR REZONING RAISE YOUR HAND if you knew that the earliest commercial use of the former The Lot restaurant site was a hotel.

Not just any hotel, the Blue Top Courts and Lodges.

There is more unique neighborhood history associated with the land formerly occupied by The Lot and Local Traveler.

The sites are slated for rezoning to 320 apartments and an additional 10,00020,000 square feet of commercial space.

T he land is located at the 3G intersection of Gaston, Garland and Grand. So was the Blue Top Courts and Lodges. A vintage advertising piece notes four Blue Top locations in Dallas at the time. The postcard depicts a Route 66-style motor court with Art Deco motif and the four Dallas addresses where a traveler could stay.

Neighborhood lifer Kyle Rains recalls that Garland Road/Grand Avenue was known as U.S. Highway 67 and Texas State Highway 78. It was a way to travel through Dallas before the construction of Interstate 30.

18

“There were at least three of these motels along East Grand,” Rains says.

After I-30 became a new thoroughfare through Dallas, fewer guests needed a Blue Top. But families in the growing neighborhoods around the busy intersection did need a place to eat.

Two Tulsa businessmen created Shotgun Sam’s Pizza in 1967. In the early ’70s, the first Dallas location of Shotgun Sam’s was built on the former Blue Top site. Shotgun Sam’s restaurants were family oriented, known for banjo and piano players and what the founders claimed was the country’s first pizza lunch buffet.

Across the street from Shotgun Sam’s, where Raising Cane’s sells chicken, was The Painted Duck, a striptease club, which catered to a different crowd.

Eventually, pizza and spaghetti gave way to burgers and fried shrimp when restaurant operator and entrepreneur Rand Popp moved White Rock Yacht Club to the Shotgun Sam’s building.

White Rock Yacht Club was an ’80s Story by SAM GILLESPIE

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february 2021

version of The Lot, with a big menu and a big play area for kids. Popp added a swimming pool that initially looked inviting, but eventually looked like a science experiment.

Closed by a fire in summer 2005, Popp rebuilt the restaurant but rebranded it as the Backyard Beach Bar, opening in 2006. New to the mix were several sand volleyball courts, where leagues and pick-up beach volleyball were also on the menu. Somewhere along the line, Popp built an apartment onsite for his personal residence. It was on the second floor, so Popp lived above the store. Literally.

Backyard Beach Bar closed in 2010, but hand it to Popp: He ran a restaurant on the same site in a very tough restaurant town for nearly 30 years.

After selling the real estate, Popp moved to Central America to focus full time on operating and expanding Banana Beach Resort in Trujillo Bay, Honduras.

Country Club Estates 6333 Country Club Circle | $1,750,000

In 2013, a group of seven East Dallas neighbors with restaurant and real estate experience bought the site from Popp. The investment strategy was straightforward — run a successful restaurant operation with the backstop of a great location that could eventually be sold for a higherdensity real estate development.

John McBride, from the family that operated El Fenix for 90 years, inspired the vision for The Lot. The concept attracted neighborhood families and added a new customer segment of walkers, runners and cyclists from the Santa Fe Trail.

To protect and enhance their investment in The Lot, the group purchased the site of Jimmy’s WheelIn in 2017. The group did not intend to open a restaurant in the longtime convenience store and bait shop, but they doubled down. In 2018, the group invested $1.1 million in what became Local Traveler, converting the existing structure into a restaurant with a different vibe than The Lot. “We felt there was a market for East Dallas couples and professionals who were tired of going north or west for an interesting dining experience and a good wine list,” says Jeff Burrow, one of the seven original investors.

The Lot had a nice run from 20142018. Burrow noted the seasonality of a concept that leaned heavily on families with kids and outdoor seating became tougher to overcome. Local Traveler had a genuine following, just not one large enough.

Then came the pandemic.

After a spirited try at to-go only concepts at each place, the owners closed The Lot and Local Traveler in 2020.

National real estate developer Mill Creek Residential has the high-profile sites under contract and is proposing a mixed-use development, subject to a change in zoning.

What will be next at Garland and Grand and Gaston?

Incredible 1923 English Tudor built by Lakewood’s original builder developer, Dines & Kraft, has all of the architectural features one looks for in Dallas most sought-after urban areas.

From the sweeping Gables, Ludowici tile roof, arched entryway, & into the delightful & historic interior design. Sitting on an oversized lot with spectacular views of Texas oldest golf course, Lakewood Country Club, & beyond to the iconic Lakewood Theater & sunset views of downtown Dallas! With 3,070sqft of living space & 669sqft in guest quarters, this home offers exceptional opportunity. Walking through the entry, the sweeping stairway overlooks the Living Area with wood burning fireplace, crown moldings, high ceilings, & banks of light-filled windows! Kitchen with built-in GE Monogram fridge, double ovens, & breakfast bar. Master opens to office-sunroom & onto a front balcony with panoramic views.

SOLD

SOLD

SOLD

7130 Alexander Dr. $1,995,000

9408 Peninsula Dr. $1,450,000

7118 Lakewood Blvd. $995,000

CONTRACT PENDING

CONTRACT PENDING

6949 Lakewood Blvd. $972,500

6922 Cornelia Ln. $849,000

CONTRACT PENDING

823 Valencia St. $585,000 CONTRACT PENDING

Welcome Your New East Dallas Real Estate Firm.

1023 Sarasota Circle $525,000

5111 Pershing St. $409,900

Welcome Your New East Dallas Real Estate Firm.

3208 Cole Ave. Unit #120 $275,000

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PAWS & CLAWS

WINERY DOG Norman has a sophisticated palate. The English cream golden retriever has been to at least 15 wineries and a couple of breweries with his owner Victoria Vanderwoude. Sometimes he’s allowed a sip, but he’s much more interested in the ice. His go-to “drink” is the puppuccino from Starbucks. The cup filled with whipped cream is so irresistible, Norman escaped the backyard and meandered to the Starbucks at Hillside Village. “He’s a spoiled only child,” Vanderwoude says.

Vanderwoude adopted Norman from the Paws of Love Animal Rescue, which saved him from a high-kill shelter in Greenville. When Vanderwoude took him home, he was malnourished and had urine burns on his hind legs from sitting in his cage. “He had no name, no age, no background — nothing,” Vanderwoude says. A healthy diet and some antibiotics returned Norman to his playful self. One time, in pursuit of a bird, Norman leaped over the barrier at the dog park and laid chase into White Rock Lake. “My fiancé ran down the shoreline trying to get him back,” Vanderwoude says. “He thought he was going to have to get a kayak.”

After a long day of play, Norman likes to sleep belly up with his legs splayed in the air. —JAIME DUNAWAY-SEALE

WAT C H OU R ON L I N E V I DE O S e e Nor m a n’s r oa d t o r e c over y.

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NE V E R RE F U SE A MU SE How Jose Vargas inspired hundreds of artists ď ˝

Interview by RACHEL STONE | Image courtesy of KAREN JACOBI

february 2021

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J

ose Vargas walks into my office about once a year to hand deliver flyers for art shows he organizes for the City of Dallas, sometimes bearing small gifts and always looking like a wizard or a lama with his long hair, beard and calm demeanor.

He always has some astounding story about his life to share.

Vargas, 71, started “El Corazón” art show annually in 1993, giving hundreds of local artists the chance to showcase their work over the past 25 years. The city’s cultural centers have been closed since the start of the pandemic, and this year’s “El Corazón” show is planned as the first in-person event at the Bath House Cultural Center this year. The show will feature about 50 artists whose work has appeared in past shows, sort of like a greatest hits.

The artist also organizes the annual Virgin of Guadalupe exhibit at the Oak Cliff Cultural Center, among other group shows.

On 25 years of “El Corazón” I’m not sure we can call it “annual” anymore because I told them I don’t want to do it every year anymore. I want to do it every other year. I have a lot of interests that I want to pursue. I’ve been [saying] that I’m going to die soon, and I just don’t know when. I made a list of things I want to accomplish, and one of them is that I want to explore other themes.

Hundreds of artists Usually we have about 50 people in the show every year, so I deal with hundreds of artists.

I came across this individual, Kelly B. Morris, who had a piece in “Corazón,” and I was really moved by it. He lives in a small town about an hour and a half from here, and he’s a teacher. I looked at his work, and I was just blown away.

I said, “I’m going to do my best to get you an exhibition.” This guy is really passionate about his art, and he’s really working from his heart.

I said, “What if I started focusing on one or two individuals, and that will be the ‘Corazón’ show?” I wanted to do something different, and there it is.

fire or stomped on, because that’s really emotional.”

What “El Corazón” means to him It’s the heart, and it’s the human heart. All the pieces have to have a heart in them, and I don’t want them to be sweet. People associate it with Valentine’s Day because it happens to be in February, and lakewood.advocatemag.com

february 2021

Breaking hearts We have about 50 artists every year, which means I have to reject hundreds of entries. People get really upset with me, and they stop talking to me, and this can go on for eight, 10, 12 years. Enrique Cervantes has been in charge of the gallery at the Bath House for 18 years or so. When the work comes in, and you’re dealing with 50 or 60 artists, and people start asking a lot of questions, you get a little frazzled. I have a strange sense of humor. I say, “Enrique is the nice one.” I’m the other one.

Live music When I was working at Tolbert’s Texas Chili Parlor, one of the managers was from Austin, and he said, “Why don’t I bring these musicians up from Austin, and we won’t have to pay them, we can just give them the door.”

So he brought these guys up, and I ran the door. We charged $2.50 per person, and the first show was Jimmie Vaughan and the Fabulous Thunderbirds, before they were famous.

“Give me a broken heart, We had Stevie Ray Vaughan. The first time I saw him, I just stood there, like, “This kid is a heart that’s been set on really good.”

“El Corazón” started because of a cancellation I used to go see a lot of bands at Club Dada, and it was an art gallery back then. I became friends with the bartender, who also ran the gallery. One day she called me, and she said, “Jose, I’m really in a bind. I had someone cancel, and I need something in two weeks. Can you help me?” I said, “Sure,” so I started measuring the walls to see how many pieces we needed. Lucky for me, I had just organized the first Our Lady of Guadalupe show, in 1992, so I contacted a lot of the same artists that were in that show. One of the artists I invited happened to be Terry Aguilar, who was the director of the Bath House Cultural Center at the time. She said, “Would you consider doing that show at the Bath House Cultural Center?” I went to look at it, and of course, I liked it. I said, “Let’s do it,” and it became the most popular show the Office of Cultural Affairs does. Well, actually, the most popular show now is “Día de los Muertos,” but it’s not a competition, even though it kind of is.

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that’s OK, but it’s not a Valentine’s Day show. I want the real human heart, not candy and flowers that get thrown away and forgotten. I want a big, bloody heart that’s in your face. The idea for the show came from lotería, the Mexican game that’s like bingo. Card No. 27, el corazón, is a big, bloody heart with an arrow in it, and it’s floating in the air. It’s very surreal. When I saw that, I said, “Now, this is art.” This is art I can relate to. Everybody’s had a wounded heart sooner or later. Give me a broken heart, a heart that’s been set on fire or stomped on, because that’s really emotional. I don’t mind flowers and things that are considered pleasant as long as it’s not too sweet.

Why he went to college I ran into a nephew of mine, because we have a big family and I have a lot of nieces and nephews around, and he told me he was in college. I said, “Really? You, in college?” He said, “Yeah, it’s full of good-looking women.

I’ve never met so many women in my life.”

So, I said, “Hmm.” Life as a muse Something bad happened to me, and I quit painting for 30 years.

I used to paint with oils, and I had a wooden box with art supplies.

I don’t want to go into it, but some of my best artwork was stolen from me. So I put everything in the closet and closed the door, and I knew it wasn’t going to be opened anymore. I felt traumatized. It was sort of a fight-or-flight mode of protecting yourself. The way I decided to protect myself was to stop painting. I started getting heavily into photography, but in the back of my mind, I kept thinking about it, and that’s one reason I started organizing shows, because I want them to keep painting. Sometimes I ask people to be in a show, and they say they don’t know what to paint. I’ll go to their studio or home and start looking around, and I’ll say, “What about this painting over here. You could do this and this with it,” and I can see their wheels start turning.

This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.

DINING FOOD IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD

Goldrush Cafe started as a doughnut shop before the owners expanded to other breakfast items.

BREAKFAST OUTPOST GOLDRUSH CAFE IS STILL A FAMILY AFFAIR AFTER 40 YEARS Story by JAIME DUNAWAY-SEALE | Photography by KATHY TRAN

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Besides breakfast, Goldrush serves burgers, daily specials and home-cooked entrees.

WHEN COMMUNITY MEMBERS ASK George Sanchez for a job at his restaurant, Goldrush Cafe, he points to his nephews and says, “If you marry one of these guys and become part of the family, you’re in.”

The Lakewood institution at 1913 Skillman St. has been in the Sanchez family for 40 years. There are some employees who aren’t related, but everyone is treated like family.

Sanchez and his brothers worked “Everyone has come at beloved Italian restaurant Pietro’s before opening Swanee doughnut shop in 1980. When they decided to change the name, they set up a ladder in front of the marquee and severed the E’s with a saw.

The restaurant operated as Swan doughnuts for about six months before the family converted it into a breakfast and lunch eatery.

“My dad loved going to Wyoming, Colorado, California,” Sanchez says. “We’d go by old mining towns, and we’d have to pull over. I remember him saying, ‘I’ve got a great name for the place.’ That was his passion — taking us on trips like that.”

Goldrush has remained one of the neighborhood’s favorite greasy spoons with breakfast staples like pancakes and bagel

sandwiches, alongside lasagna, burgers and other home-cooked entrees. The menu incorporates a dash of Mexican flare with enchiladas, tamales and homemade salsa.

The most popular dish is the John Wayne, a layered meal with hash browns, a sunny-side-up egg and a choice of bacon, sausage or chorizo on a flour tortilla topped with salsa.

“Everybody tries it and comes back for it,” Sanchez says. back and helped us.”

Over the years, Goldrush Cafe has built a loyal customer base that has supported them during the pandemic.

When the restaurant struggled to get a Paycheck Protection Program loan, a regular who is a banker offered to take care of it. He processed the application in three days.

“We try to support local, and they’ve responded. Everyone has come back and helped us,” Sanchez says. “We’re still working twice as hard to make not even half of what we were before.

A 40-year run has been pretty good, but we’re not going to let the pandemic kill us.”

Goldrush Cafe, 214.823.6923, 1913 Skillman St.

SE E MOR E G OL DRUSH C A F E PHO T O S A N D R E A D MOR E DI N I NG S T OR I E S ON L I N E LAKEWOOD.ADVOCATEMAG.COM

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Saved by the

Wedding Bell From students to spouses, these three couples married their high school sweetheart Story by JAIME DUNAWAY-SEALE

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Salvador and Lisa Lopez

WOODROW CLASS OF 1989 AND 1991 Salvador Lopez remembers his future wife Lisa giving him her phone number when they met as students at J.L. Long Middle School. When he never called, he told Lisa he lost it.

Whether he actually lost it or was saving face with a convenient excuse, Lisa may have harbored hard feelings.

When they reconnected during Salvador’s senior year at Woodrow, he had to work to get back into her good graces.

“I wasn’t attracted to him at first,” Lisa says. “They put him in two of my classes, and he kept bugging me. He’d want to walk me from class to class. He would tell me I was pretty.

In math, he would give me the answers.”

The students could not have been more different. Salvador was a member of ROTC, the soccer team and multiple clubs.

He was voted Mr. Wildcat his senior year. Lisa just wanted to go to school. But Salvador’s persistence paid off, and Lisa agreed to give him another chance.

“We went for a ride in his car and haven’t been apart since then,” she says.

Just three months before her graduation, Lisa realized she was pregnant and dropped out of school. She delivered their first child, Jessica, in August and enrolled at Woodrow a month later to complete her senior year.

Salvador and Lisa dressed Jessica in a cheerleader’s uniform and took her to all the football games. She got ready with her mom on prom night, and she was in the audience when her mom received her high school diploma in 1991.

“She was the Wildcat baby,” Lisa says. “She got to experience all those things with us.”

The couple married in 1992 and had their second child in 1993. They now have four children ranging in age from 14 to 30. Three have graduated from Woodrow, and the

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The Lopezes at prom in 1991.

Photography courtesy of Lisa Lopez

youngest plans to attend next year when he graduates from J.L. Long.

“The experience made us the family we are today — our values and morals,” Lisa says. “ They wanted to go to Woodrow because they knew what our experience was. We always talked and shared our story about how we met. They wanted to seek those [experiences] out.”

Salvador and Lisa raised their family in Mount Auburn, the same neighborhood where they grew up.

Their house is just a short distance from Woodrow, and they like to walk around the school and talk about their memories. They still remember where Salvador parked his Chevy Chevette and the teacher who called them mom and pop.

“I loved walking the halls, holding his hand and stealing smooches behind the lockers,” Lisa says. “I’m glad they took them out since my kids went there.”

Their advice: Be open and honest. Talk and listen. Don’t judge when you have those conversations.

Be compassionate.

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“We hadn’t met anyone else as wonderful... and no one else wore those shoes like he did.”

Dallas and Linda Neeley

WOODROW CLASS OF 1959 When Linda met Dallas in junior English class at Woodrow Wilson High School, his shoes were the first thing she noticed.

“He had the sexiest shoes I’d ever seen,” Linda says. “They were real pointed toes. My daddy never wore shoes like that.”

From that first look, she started plotting ways to spend more time with him. During summer vacation, all her classmates congregated at Vickery Park pool. One day, she told her girlfriends to leave without her so she could ask Dallas for a ride home.

“I told him, ‘I can’t believe this. My friends went off and left me,’” Linda says. “Years later, he said, ‘What would you have done if I didn’t give you a ride home?’ I wasn’t worried.

I figured he would.”

The couple dated steady all through senior year, but they agreed to see other people when they graduated and went to college. Dallas attended the University of Texas, and Linda enrolled at what is now the University of Texas at Arlington.

The pair reconnected when they returned home for the

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summer after their first year.

“We hadn’t met anyone else as wonderful…and no one else wore those shoes like he did,” Linda says.

They married in 1960 and had the first of two children in 1961.

Linda and Dallas moved across the country — first to St. Louis, then to Memphis, Miami and New York City — for Dallas’ job selling shoes.

The business was in his blood. His father worked as a shoe salesman and got Dallas a job selling footwear as a high-schooler.

The first Christmas after the couple started dating, Dallas wanted to use his shoe sale money to buy Linda a silver necklace with a dangling heart charm, complete with a diamond in the center. When Dallas told his father about his plan, his dad said, “You’re not going to spend your hard-earned money on some girl you’re never going to see again.” Dallas bought the necklace anyway, and Linda still wears it to this day.

Their advice: Marriage is forever.

Just stick it out. You may have arguments and disagreements, but it always gets better.

These 1959 photos show Woodrow sweethearts Dallas and Linda Neeley, who’ve been married 60 years. Photography courtesy of Linda Neeley

february 2021

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Steve and Libby Voltmann

The Voltmanns graduated from Bryan Adams in 1970.

Photography courtesy of Libby Voltmann

BRYAN ADAMS CLASS OF 1970

Steve and Libby Voltmann have been married for almost 50 years. What’s their secret to a lasting marriage? Laziness.

“We were too lazy to move out whenever we had trouble,” Steve says. “After a time, we fell back into not being mad at each other.”

The neighborhood has been part of the Voltmanns’ story since they met as juniors at Bryan Adams High School. Libby saw Steve getting on his motorcycle from across the parking lot and was instantly attracted.

“I was like, ‘That’s him. That’s what I want right there,’” Libby says. “It was an innate thing in me. Even today, he’ll walk into the room, and I’m still like, ‘You’re so handsome.’ I think he was excited about the attention, but it took him longer to settle in with me. We’ve always had a really good time together.”

The couple continued to date after they graduated from Bryan Adams, but they broke up briefly before they got married, upsetting them both. The pair arranged for Steve to collect his belongings from Libby’s apartment, but Libby, who was working as a flight attendant, misread her work schedule and missed the rendezvous. She was so frantic during the flight that she spilled a tray of orange juice on the floor. When she landed, she rushed to a payphone to call Steve.

“I didn’t want him to think I had blown him off,” Libby says. “I said, ‘I don’t want to do this. This is terrible. Let’s get married.’ He said, ‘OK, let’s get married.’”

Much like the proposal, the wedding was a spur-of-themoment decision. Steve woke up late for work, and instead of rushing to be on time, Libby suggested he call in sick so they could get married. They took a day trip to the Rockwall courthouse and celebrated their nuptials with horrible pink

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Champagne and dinner with Steve’s mother.

“We were 21, but we thought we were plenty old enough,” Libby says.

“Most of our family was disjointed, and no one was concerned about what we were doing.

“People love differently.

Steve loves me in a quiet, steady way. I love him in an emotional, passionate way.”

“My father didn’t talk to me for 10 years because I married him. He thought I should marry a doctor, lawyer or rich guy. Steve was just a hippie. He has turned out to be the best man ever — all the things my father was not: a stable, loving, good father.”

Advice: People love differently.

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PHILANTHROPY M I S U N D E R S TO O D New book features 100+ stories of neighbors doing good YOU DON’T HAVE TO WRITE A CHECK big enough to get your name on a building to be a great philanthropist. Swiss Avenue neighbor Bob Hopkins assures us that philanthropy isn’t all about the money in his new book “Philanthropy Misunderstood.”

“The purpose of the book is to redefine what people think of as philanthropy,” Hopkins says. “I had the idea that the richer you were, the greater philanthropist you were. I started a magazine and realized [there were people] not being featured because they didn’t have a lot of money to give, but they did thousands of hours volunteering.

They did more than those who wrote the check.”

Story by JAIME DUNAWAY-SEALE | Photography by GABRIEL CANO

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Hopkins grew up in the world of philanthropy. As a 5-year-old, he remembers delivering groceries to a food-insecure family in his hometown of Garden City, Kansas. But volunteering didn’t become his passion until decades later, after recovering from alcoholism.

He went to work for the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence and volunteered to talk about the dangers of alcohol at high schools. He did such a good job, he was named the council’s volunteer of the year and was hired as director of development for the organization. He learned to raise money and became a full-time philanthropist.

“The world of philanthropy, once you get the bug, you know what it feels like to finish a project,” Hopkins says. “You get hugs and kisses and thank yous. They say, ‘Want to do it again?’ and you say, ‘Yeah, I do.’ You get a lot of good feelings.”

Through his work, Hopkins met Don Wilks, founder of The Global Community for Education. After trekking to Everest Base Camp, Wilks partnered with his sherpa to build schools in Nepal. Hopkins started fundraising for the organization and helped build Nepalese schools for more than a decade. His work has also taken him to Mexico, India and Bangladesh, where he served as a visiting professor teaching philanthropy courses.

“A volunteer is a philanthropist — someone who changes the world.”

In 1996, Hopkins started a magazine called Philanthropy in Texas, which evolved into Philanthropy World. The 18-page magazine grew to 120 pages and told stories of volunteers doing good work around the world.

“Philanthropy Misunderstood” is the culmination of Hopkins’ work as a philanthropist and magazine publisher. The 256-page coffee table book highlights 108 tales of people who helped change the world. It includes several East Dallas neighbors, such as the late Dallas preservationist Virginia McAlester, former state Rep. Harryette Ehrhardt and origami artists Isabelle and Katherine Adams.

“It’s an opportunity to pay back all those people who have given to me over the years,” Hopkins says. “It’s to motivate. People tell me all the time that there are so many people doing so much good. You think everyone is volunteering, and that’s not the case.

The reason is because they don’t know what to do.”

There is no shortage of need in a world still recovering physically and economically from the coronavirus. Hopkins has remained active locally, fundraising for arts nonprofits and partnering with Dallas ISD to provide students with hotspots for remote learning. He encourages those who are able to get involved by donating to a food pantry, picking up trash in the neighborhood or doing good in some other way.

“I want everybody to know that volunteering is the same thing as philanthropy,” Hopkins says. “A volunteer is a philanthropist — someone who changes the world.”

FEATURED NEIGHBORS Isabelle and Katherine Adams Paper for Water The sisters have raised $1.6 million by making origami ornaments to build 200 water wells in 20 countries. In 2017, the family traveled the world for eight months to visit their water projects now pumping clean water for the thirsty.

Harryette Ehrhardt Former state representative The four-term state representative also served as a Dallas ISD teacher, principal and school board trustee.

As a trustee, she helped change a DISD policy that would fire all LGBTQ educators. Ehrhardt is still active in political causes, gay rights and public education.

Ruth Altshuler Full-time philanthropist and fundraiser Altshuler grew up on Swiss Avenue and graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School. She helped raise millions for charities, including the Salvation Army, Communities Foundation of Texas and Dallas Summer Musicals. One of her defining public service projects was organizing the city’s ceremony marking the 50th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. She died in 2017 at age 93.

Virginia McAlester Dallas preservationist McAlester led the effort to make Swiss Avenue the city’s first historic district.

She later became a founding member of Preservation Dallas and Friends of Fair Park. Her book, “A Field Guide to American Houses,” sold millions of copies and was a valuable resource for preservation groups.

She died in 2020.

Anja Woodson Swiss Avenue neighbor For years, Woodson helped organize the Mother’s Day Home Tour to raise money for the safety and beauty of the neighborhood.

She volunteers at Nexus, an in-house facility where women can receive treatment and counseling for substance abuse.

Jackson Price Children’s advocate Price was born with an extra digit on his hand that had to be removed at Scottish Rite for Children. When he was 7, he wanted to buy a $3,500 prosthetic hand for a child at the hospital. He sold lemonade outside his Swiss Avenue home during the Mother’s Day Home Tour and raised more than $3,650.

Purchase the book for $45 at philanthropymisunderstood.org. After production costs, all proceeds will be given to charity. february 2021

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OUR NEIGHBORHOOD

By PATTI VINSON Photography by CARLY MAY

Carving with a heart What happens when a neighborhood sculptor carves blindfolded

“I

shut my eyes in order to see.”

These were the words of French post-Impressionist artist Paul Gaugin, likely referring to his practice of tuning out the world to get in touch with his creativity. But taking this a step further is neighborhood sculptor Kat Warwick, who is engaged in the daunting task of carving a heart out of stone in her front yard while blindfolded. She invites everyone to observe the process — and maybe learn a thing or two about art and themselves.

You may remember Warwick from her previous yard carving sessions in April.

While everyone in her household suffered through COVID in March, she noticed an abundance of neighbors taking walks, riding bikes and pushing strollers in the Watch Kat Warwick neighborhood. “ I w o n d e r e d Carve what I could do When: Mondays, Tuesdays, to add interest, dis trac tion and Wednesdays and education for my Fridays, beginning neighbors,” she says. about 4:30 p.m.

“I decided to set up Where: 6000 block of Vickery one of my stone carving stations in Boulevard the front yard and start carving out there as soon as I was well enough.”

Calling it “Art Yard Shenanigans,” Warwick set up a carving station a safe distance from the sidewalk and went to work, eschewing power and pneumatic tools in favor of hand tools, such as hammers and chisels, like Michelangelo. As she worked, she interacted with folks wandering by, teaching through her art a few lessons in math, logic, logistics, physics, creativity and self-confidence.

“It brought joy to them and to myself,” she says.

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february 2021

During a heated political season, Kat Warwick is carving a heart out of stone while blindfolded to remind neighbors to love each other and be kind.

Her finished piece, a heart carved out of limestone, was auctioned, with a large portion of the proceeds going to a charity that provided an ambient tricycle for a limited-mobility teenager. Warwick titled the carving “Loving Kindness,” which was inspired by her observations of sheltering-in-place neighbors: “the love and kindness being shown friend to friend, neighbor to neighbor and stranger to stranger.”

During the summer, Warwick again

set up in the front yard, this time carving “Zippy,” the running bunny sculpture.

Zippy found a home in Amarillo. Again, a portion of the sale went to charity — a food bank in the Texas panhandle.

“Everything I have created this year has had a charity donation attached to its sale,” Warwick says. “I figured if I’m not paying a gallery commission, I can give a percentage of the sale of each work to charity. I’ve been auctioning my sculptures with a percentage of the winning

bid going to the charity of the winning bidder’s choice.”

Next up: Another heart-shaped carving.

But Warwick will be blindfolded. Why a heart?

Why blindfolded?

Warwick feels called to the heart shape to remind East Dallas of the outpouring of kindness and goodwill at the beginning of the pandemic.

“Now, it seems so many folks are angry and polarized that all the amazing love and kindness is getting lost and forgotten,” she says.

“It seems many folks forgot that the neighbor who voted differently than them in November was also the neighbor who shared a few rolls of toilet paper when they ran out in May. I hope that this heart reminds folks of the kindness shown just a few short months ago and a reminder that most of us are not each other’s enemy just because we have different ideas about how to move forward.”

This heart will be a bit different from her April piece. It will be larger and a bit kinetic.

“I hope that this heart reminds folks of the kindness shown just a few short months ago.”

“If all goes well, it will rock gently,” she says.

“This is both simply a playful and aesthetically pleasing thing to do. The gentle rocking mimics the natural rhythms of life.”

So why the blindfold?

“For a fun challenge. For overcoming fear.

For education. Not only for myself, but for the neighborhood kids as well,” Warwick says.

“Facing your fears and overcoming them is a worthy pursuit. I hope it allows folks to explore their own views about physical and mental limitations.”

Equally meaningful, our neighborhood sculptor wishes to inspire.

“I hope it reminds folks that with love, we can stop fighting and find solutions to our age-old difficulties and differences,” she says.

“I hope it encourages others to try something that they want to do but are afraid to do.”

For more information: theartlifeway.com www.instagram.com/theartlifeway/ www.facebook.com/kathy.warwick.39/ PATTI VINSON is a guest writer who has lived in East Dallas for more than 20 years. She’s written for the Advocate and Real Simple magazine. february 2021

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WORSHIP

WORSHIP

By GEORGE MASON BAPTIST

Love isn’t a formal code Other religions become a mirror that allows us to see the truth in our own faith

PARK CITIES BAPTIST CHURCH / 3933 Northwest Pky / pcbc.org

Bible Study 9:15 / Worship Services 10:45 Traditional, Contemporary, Spanish Speaking / 214.860.1500 ROYAL LANE BAPTIST CHURCH / 6707 Royal Lane / 214.361.2809

Christian Education 9:45 a.m. / Worship Service 10:55 a.m.

Pastor - Rev. Dr. Michael L. Gregg / www.royallane.org WILSHIRE BAPTIST / 4316 Abrams / 214.452.3100

Pastor George A. Mason Ph.D. / Worship 8:30 & 11:00am Bible Study 9:40 am / www.wilshirebc.org

S

he was born on Valentine’s Day, which seems more divine providence than coincidence. Valarie Kaur is an advocate for social justice who has created the Revolutionary Love Project.

Kaur’s Sikh faith is the fifth largest world religion. It began in the 15th century in India and has moved around the globe. In the face of an Indian caste system, the founder of Sikhism, Guru Nanak, asserted the oneness of God and the equality of all human beings.

Dallas is blessed with a vibrant Sikh community that lives peaceably and works for justice alongside neighbors of other religions. There are 500,000 Sikhs in the United States. You can tell the men by their turbans, which conceal uncut hair that is a sign of devotion to God and a promise to neighbors that they can be depended upon to fight for right.

Kaur has published a new book, “See No Stranger: A Memoir and Manifesto of Revolutionary Love.” She writes, “Love is more than a feeling. Love is a form of sweet labor: fierce, bloody, imperfect, and life giving — a choice we make over and over again. … This labor engages all our emotions. Joy is the gift of love. Grief is the price of love. Anger protects that which is loved. And when we think we have reached our limit, wonder is the act that returns us to love. … ‘Revolutionary love’ is the choice to enter into wonder and labor for others, for our opponents and for ourselves in order to transform the world around us.”

In our city, state, nation and world, we need to practice revolutionary love that transforms our collective life. The divisions of religions, conflicts of cultures and differences of politics have become all too well known to us and threaten to defeat our union and our Union. They cannot prevail if we want to live together fruitfully on this planet.

We can find our way toward one another by practicing the highest ideals of

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our own religious traditions and dutifully carrying out our faith convictions. But sometimes the truth that shines through other religions becomes a mirror that allows us to see the truth anew in our own faith.

Sikhs are exotic to most Americans, who forget that most of our religions originated elsewhere. Our country is an experiment in religious pluralism that aspires to welcome the other as if we ourselves are the other too.

DISCIPLES OF CHRIST EAST DALLAS CHRISTIAN CHURCH / 629 N. Peak Street / 214.824.8185

Sunday School 9:30 am / Worship 8:30 am - Chapel 10:50 am - Sanctuary / Rev. Deborah Morgan-Stokes / edcc.org

LUTHERAN EMANUEL LUTHERAN CHURCH /corner of Peak & San Jacinto/English

Worship 10:00 am/Sunday School 11:00am-Noon/Spanish Worship 12:15pm/ church.emanueldallas.org CENTRAL LUTHERAN CHURCH, ELCA / 1000 Easton Road

A Welcoming and Affirming Church / Rev. K.M. Truhan Sunday School 9:00 am / Worship 10:30 am / CentralLutheran.org FIRST UNITED LUTHERAN CHURCH (ELCA) / 6202 E Mockingbird Lane

Sunday Worship Service 10:30 am / Call for class schedule.

214.821.5929 / www.dallaslutheran.org

METHODIST

“Love is a form of sweet labor: fierce, bloody, imperfect and life giving.”

LAKE HIGHLANDS UMC / 9015 Plano Rd. / 214.348.6600 / lhumc.com

Sunday Morning: 9:30 am Sunday School / 10:30 am Coffee Worship: 8:30 am & 11:00 am Traditional / 11:00 am Contemporary LAKEWOOD UMC / 2443 Abrams Rd. / 214.823.9623 Sunday Morning Worship 10:30 am / mylakewoodchurch.org Messy Church for Children and Families Sunday 5:00 pm MUNGER PLACE CHURCH / Come & See

Sunday: Morning Worship: 9:30 & 11:00 am Evening Worship 5:00 pm 5200 Bryan Street / mungerplace.org

Every religion has its own version of the Jewish and Christian foundational formula: Love thy neighbor as thyself.

Jews are told: The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as one of your citizens. St. Benedict instructed his monks to welcome all as Christ, by which he meant to receive everyone we meet as if we were welcoming Christ himself. Other religions contain similar commands.

Revolutionary love, Kaur says, “is not a formal code or prescription but an orientation to life that is personal and political and rooted in joy.” More of that this year, please, here and everywhere.

GEORGE MASON is pastor of Wilshire Baptist Church, president of Faith Commons and host of the “Good God” podcast. The Worship section is underwritten by Advocate Publishing and the neighborhood businesses and churches listed here. For information about helping support the Worship section, call 214.560.4202.

N O N - D E N O M I N AT I O N A L LAKE POINTE CHURCH – WHITE ROCK CAMPUS

Classic Service at 9:30 & Contemporary Service at 11:00 am lakepointe.org / 9150 Garland Road LAKEWOOD FELLOWSHIP / Sundays 10:00 am /

White Rock YMCA / 7112 Gaston Ave LakewoodFellowship.org / Lakewood@LakewoodFellowship.org THE CHURCH AT JUNIUS HEIGHTS / 5429 Reiger Ave.

Services Sundays at 10:30 am / Pastor Sam Dennis 214.377.0396 / thechurchatjuniusheights.org

PRESBYTERIAN ST. MARK PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH/ 9999 FERGUSON RD. saintmarkchurch.org / Sunday School 9:15am / Worship I0:30am/ 214.321.6437/ Rev. Rick Brooks NORTHRIDGE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH / 6920 Bob-O-Link Dr. 214.827.5521 / www.northridgepc.org / Sunday Worship 10:00 am Church that feels like church and welcomes like family.

PARK CITIES PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH/ 4124 Oak Lawn Ave Sunday Worship 9:00 & 11:00 A.M. To all this church opens wide her doors - pcpc.org

UNITY UNITY ON GREENVILLE / 3425 Greenville Ave.

214-826-5683/dallasunity.org/Sunday 9am Spirit Rising;Alternative Serv. 11am Celebration Service

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

lakewood.advocatemag.com

february 2021

BIZBUZZ

By JAIME DUNAWAY-SEALE

Premier Martial Arts in Lake Highlands. Photography courtesy of Clint Justice

A mixed martial arts studio is opening in Lakewood, with six more North Texas franchises on the way.

Clint Justice left his job in the finance industry in fall 2019 and started exploring franchise opportunities with Premier Martial Arts, a Tennessee-based company that teaches children and adults techniques from a variety of disciplines, including karate, taekwondo, kickboxing and Krav Maga.

He signed franchise documents for the first location in Lake Highlands in March, “the week before COVID hit the fan,” he says.

“I was like, ‘Have I made the biggest mistake of my life opening in the middle of a pandemic?’”

Justice says. “The cards were stacked against us, but I was blown away by the reception.”

Now, Justice has turned his attention to opening the Lakewood branch late this month or early March. It will be located between Ace Hardware and White Rock Alehouse in Arboretum Village near the Garland-Gaston-Grand intersection.

A membership pre-sale period is open now.

Students who sign up can begin individual lessons.

Group classes will take place in a temporary space in the shopping center once more people have registered. Students must wear masks and stay in 6-foot areas that have been taped out for them on the mats.

“In a short period of time, kids are so fired up about karate,” Justice says. “Kids who were a little shy at first are coming out of their shells. It’s been fun even in the midst of all these challenges. I’m getting to do something in my backyard.”

Find Premier Martial Arts at 7331 Gaston Ave. or premiermartialarts.com/lakewood.

NEW GREATER EAST DALLAS CHAMBER MEMBER: OAK STREET HEALTH, 2360 Gus Thomasson Road. The clinic provides health care for adults on Medicare.

For more information, go to eastdallaschamber.com.

february 2021

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OUR CITY

By MITA HAVLICK

Look up, East Dallas Where to find the best sunsets in our neighborhood

I

’ve always had an affinity for the heavens. In middle school, I was the biggest Carl Sagan fan there ever was, and today, I adore his anointed successor, Neil DeGrasseTyson. Both are to be credited with making astrophysics understandable and interesting.

Knowing this, my husband promised clear skies for star gazing and extraordinary sunsets when he was attempting to lure me from Chicago to Texas in the early aughts — that and the assurance of warm weather in the winter. It worked, and he was right on all counts.

If there is a nearby viewing of something special and celestial, I’m there. I witnessed Comet McNaught brighten the Australian sky Jan. 14, 2007, bought my solar eclipse-watching eyewear on Amazon way before they sold out in 2017 and forced my family to endure a frigid, but clear, winter night in 2018 peering through the massive telescopes at the McDonald Observatory in Fort Davis.

2020 was a painful year, for sure, but it was a cosmic dream. Some events were easily viewable from the comfort of our driveway, such as the International Space Station passover July 16 and the infrequent two full moons in one month in October, with a blue moon on Halloween, no less! There were also two excursions, including a 90-minute, 70-mile drive to Era to catch Comet NEOWISE on July 19 and then on to a dirt road in Lancaster to view the Pleaides meteor shower Aug. 12.

The pre-Christmas conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn was a highlight. I

could see it from the upstairs landing of our backhouse. Unfortunately for my husband, I had earlier in the day suffered a second-degree ankle sprain, and the sweet man was relegated to carrying me up and down the stairs.

“We can forget for a few minutes that we live in a landlocked city, and instead, enjoy the painted clouds in the water’s reflection.”

As captivating as all these interstellar sightings are, nothing makes me more in awe of the vast expanse of our skies than a beautiful sunset. My phone carries a fair number of sunset pictures from our travels — from the mountains of Patagonia to the Pacific Ocean in Costa Rica and farmlands in rural India.

(Air pollution makes for an incredible evening sky.) In its own special category are the amazing non-sunsets during the White Nights of July in St. Petersburg, Russia.

It’s breathtaking to watch the sun dip in the Hill Country outside Austin or over the gulf in Galveston just before dusk. Yet, there is something magical about witnessing the sun go down while on the shores of White Rock Lake.

What makes a sunset at White Rock Lake especially remarkable is

its accessibility and tranquility, not to mention the spectacular colors. We can forget for a few minutes as twilight approaches that we live in a land-locked city, and instead, enjoy the painted clouds in the water’s reflection. It’s a simple solitude of stillness and an orange sky.

When I scroll through Facebook, and occasionally Instagram, I always pause at a friend’s post of a sunset at White Rock. I dissect the different perspectives from which the photos were taken. “Oh, this one is from the Filter Building.”

“Hmm…this looks like it was taken at the Boat Club.” “I bet this one is off a kayak on the water.”

White Rock Lake is a reprieve any time of day. I’m sure a sunrise is equally as beautiful, though I will admit to never having witnessed one at White Rock Lake. During these crazy COVIDaffected times, the lake has been a beacon for many and a place where we can walk, bike and safely socialize at a distance.

For our family, White Rock Lake has been a savior. It has saved us from boredom, rescued us from laziness and provided us with the simple pleasure of witnessing a beautiful sunset — an astronomical complexity as a result of our solar system being created billions and billions of years ago. Once a Carl Sagan fan, always a Carl Sagan fan.

MITA HAVLICK is a neighborhood resident and Dallas Education Foundation director. Find her commentar y regularly in the back pages of our print edition and online at lakewood. advocatemag.com.

GO ONLINE to read updates and comment on this story and more at lakewood.advocatemag.com.

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HOME

ON TIME AND ON BUDGET “We loved working with KDC. They provided amazing design choices for us and took all the stress out of the process. They were always there to answer questions and carry the heavy load! We loved KDC so much, we even returned to their skilled company with several additional jobs.”

— Brooke & Jeff, East Dallas

214.390.8700 kitchendesignconcepts.com

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