2016 November Oak Cliff

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Meet three formerly undocumented immigrants who make our neighborhood great.

(Photo by Danny Fulgencio)

4 0 Y EARS 40 YEARS

CIRCLE UP

FACING EACH OTHER MAKES IT MORE DIFFICULT TO RUN AWAY

By the time you read this article, we will either be just days from, or days following, one of the greatest migrations in human history.

All of the millions of people on social media who have promised to move to Canada if their presidential candidate loses should be getting ready to cross the border right about now.

What will this mean for the rest of us?

I guess things will be more peaceful here, and we’ll have more room to stretch out. I suppose our traffic problems will diminish, since so many cars will no longer be on our roads.

Who knows: Maybe the Trinity Toll Road will finally be deemed unnecessary since there will be no need for a Downtown bypass route anymore.

Surely, social media will become the place of bonding and peace we thought it would be when we started spilling our secrets to each other so many years ago. And the government will begin operating efficiently, too, and we’ll all be proud of it again ...

Yeah, right.

Let’s try this again.

In church the other day, the pastor spun his sermon around this phrase: “We need to live in circles rather than rows.”

His contention is that when people attend church, they’re typically sitting in rows, and they’re listening but not personally interacting with the pastor or each other.

There’s nothing wrong with living in rows: It’s efficient, and it tends to maximize space utilization since straight lines are easier to pack in as opposed to circles.

But when we’re sitting in rows, it’s harder to interact with each other.

Rick Wamre

We can speak with one or two people at a time, but everyone must twist uncomfortably to engage in lengthy conversation. So typically we don’t. We just sit there, facing forward, fairly oblivious of what’s happening to our left and right.

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Compare that with a circular setting: We sit facing each other, and whether we like it or not, interaction is more immediate and almost inevitable. When you’re staring right at someone, it’s hard not to get a better understanding of what she or he is thinking, and it’s hard for that person not to see our perspective more easily, too.

In rows, we can speak past each other. In circles, that’s just about impossible.

In rows, our individual perspective can become isolating, and sometimes it can seem a lot more reasoned and reasonable than it really is. In circles, it’s easier for others to speak directly to our concerns, and it’s easier for us to understand their concerns, too.

In this country, thanks to social media and its unending gulping of our time, we tend to live in rows. That’s why so many people think it’s OK to talk about leaving the country if things don’t go their way.

Somehow, we need to figure out a way to circle-up and take another shot at this thing.

is president of Advocate Media. Let him know how we are doing by emailing rwamre@advocatemag.com.

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contributing photographers: Rasy Ran, Kathy Tran

Advocate, © 2016, 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.

When you’re staring right at someone, it’s hard not to get a better understanding of what she or he is thinking.

Readers react to ‘Dallas needs $75 million for Oak Cliff deck park’

“I HAVE A PARK NEAR ME, YOU WON’T CATCH ME THERE AFTER DARK.” JOE

“DALLAS DOESN’T NEED MORE DECK PARKS. ALL THAT LAND BETWEEN THE LEVEES WILL WORK. AND NO SLOW DOWNS TO ALREADY CONGESTED TRAFFIC!”

“THIS IS AWESOME!”

“PUT THIS MONEY TO STREETS, POLICE AND FIREFIGHTERS SALARIES. I THINK THE CITY IS GOOD WITH PARKS, FOR NOW.” JAY

“WE DON’T NEED ANOTHER PARK!”

FOLLOW US:

WON’T BACK DOWN

DESPITE RAMPANT POVERTY, REAGAN ELEMENTARY IS THRIVING

More than a third of the teachers and staff members at Reagan Elementary School graduated from Dallas ISD schools. Many of those attended Reagan themselves (DISD Superintendent Michael Hinojosa attended Reagan as well).

Don’t try to tell them DISD schools aren’t great.

“I didn’t have private tutors or help at home,” says Reagan principal Ruby Ramirez, a firstgeneration American, who graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School in East Dallas. “Our great teachers

in this district put me where I wanted to be.”

The majority of Reagan’s students are poor; 94 percent receive free or reduced lunch, the poverty indicator used by schools. About 98 percent of the school’s 400 students are Hispanic.

Staff at John H. Reagan Elementary School gear up for their Real School Garden, slated for a Nov. 3 groundbreaking. Many of the school’s teachers are homegrown, having graduated from Dallas ISD schools. (Photo by Rasy Ran)

Many start school knowing little or no English.

Fourth-grade teacher Alma Garcia, who attended Rosemont, Greiner and Sunset, knows what that’s like. She is the oldest of five children, a daughter of immigrants from Mexico. She was the first to go to an American school and the first in her family to learn English.

She says she was the “pioneer” who helped guide her younger siblings through school. By second

estate. This is a school where at least 376 of 400 children are living in poverty while $500,000 townhomes are being built a block away.

West Dallas-based Hunger Busters brings free lunch to Reagan all through the summer. And every student receives a Christmas gift from local churches.

Amid the constant battle against poverty, Reagan students are achievers.

WE’RE IN OAK CLIFF BECAUSE OAK CLIFF IS IN US.

For decades now, Dave PerryMiller Real Estate agents have not only represented buyers and sellers seeking to deepen their family’s Oak Cliff roots, but have put down roots here as well.

grade, she knew she wanted to become a teacher.

The biggest challenge, she says, is persuading students that they can go to college.

“All it takes is your education to move forward, so it’s convincing them and making them believers that anything can happen if you try and you do your best,” Garcia says.

Reagan students perform well on the STAAR test, receiving the highest rank, “met standard,” in 2015. And the school scores “exemplary” across all other accountability ratings. Principal Ramirez is especially proud of the school’s “exemplary” rating for parental involvement, a tricky feat considering the school’s demographics. Many Reagan parents are overworked and undereducated, but they are dedicated to children’s education, she says.

Besides that, Reagan receives a ton of community support in the way of donations and volunteers, particularly from those in real

The school has a blossoming robotics program that went to state for Destination Imagination last year.

This month, Reagan receives a Real School Garden thanks to a $30,000 grant from the grocer Sprouts Farmers Market and AT&T. The school district will remove a portable to make room for the learning garden, which breaks ground Nov. 3. It will have raised vegetable beds, shaded seating areas, a whiteboard, a weather station and a rain harvester, among other features. The garden will serve as an outdoor classroom for lessons in nutrition, earth science and art.

As with everything they’re given, the teachers and students of Reagan will take full advantage of it, Ramirez says.

“We all know that we work with what we’ve got, and it goes back to the upbringing of our staff,” she says. “You’re not born into privilege; you make do with what you’ve got.”

—RACHEL STONE

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This is a school where at least 376 of 400 children are living in poverty while $500,000 townhomes are being built a block away.

Get the It Tree this Holiday Burton Blue Noble Fir

WHAT GIVES?

Small ways that you can make a big difference for nonprofits

A NIGHT UNDER THE STARS

Shine a light on youth homelessness at Promise House’s second-annual sleep out. Participants pledge to raise $5,000 and sleep outside for one night as a way to raise awareness for the struggles of homelessness.

“Sleepers” meet in the Promise House parking lot on Page Avenue at 6 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 17. They’ll learn about the issues that homeless youth face and what the community can do to help youth in crisis.

Promise House provides sleeping bags, cardboard and knit hats, but unlike those experiencing real homelessness, sleepers will have access to restrooms, on-site security, food and beverages. A breakfast starts at 6 a.m. Friday.

All proceeds go to Oak Cliff-based Promise House, which supports homeless, runaway and at-risk youth throughout Dallas. Anyone can participate by donating at promisehouse.org/ events/sleepout.

A TRAVELING BAND

The purple marching machine could use a little green.

The Sunset High School marching band, one of the best in Dallas, travels to showcases and competitions around the state. And that can get expensive.

Go Oak Cliff is helping the band raise about $4,000 for traveling. Donate at go-oak-cliff. kimbia.com/go-oak-cliff.

KNOW OF WAYS that neighbors can spend time, attend an event, or purchase or donate something to benefit a neighborhood nonprofit? Email your suggestion to launch@advocatemag.com.

Photo courtesy of Go Oak Cliff

Detail of Garden Peek, oil on canvas by Julie England

OUT & ABOUT

Nov. 5

CHICKEN COOP TOUR

Purchase a map at Trinity Haymarket to tour North Oak Cliff’s best chicken coops starting at 11 a.m. Proceeds will go to Farmers Assisting Returning Military.

Trinity Haymarket, 1715 Market Center Blvd., 214.202.2136, trinityhaymarket.com, $10

Nov. 7

JONI MITCHELL BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION

Celebrate one of America’s most beloved singer-songwriter’s birthdays with performances by Texas-based musicians. Elizabeth Wills, Betty Soo and many more will take the stage at 8 p.m. The Kessler, 1230 W. Davis St., 214.272.8436, thekessler.org, $15-$25

Nov. 11-12

BLUES, BANDITS & BBQ

Watch 30 teams compete to see which makes the best barbecue at this two-day festival benefitting KNON Community Radio and the Movember Foundation. Tickets to sample the barbecue cost $20, and local musicians will show their skills throughout the festival. Kidd Springs Park, 711 W. Canty St., bluesbanditsandbbq.org, free

5 11 727 12 22

Nov. 17

LIVE COMEDY

See New York-based comedian Todd Barry at his most self-deprecating during this stand-up performance. The “Flight of the Conchords” and “The Wrestler” star is known for his punchlines and critical social commentary.

The Texas Theatre, 231 W. Jefferson Blvd., 214.948.1546, thetexastheatre.com, $18

NOVEMBER

Nov. 12

GET JAZZY

Get to know world-class jazz musicians and enjoy complimentary cocktails at these intimate concerts, held at 7 p.m. and 9:45 p.m. Canadian jazz musician Warren Hill and American jazz and contemporary violinist Karen Briggs will serenade audience members at this performance.

Bishop Arts Theatre Center, 215 S. Tyler St., 214.948.0716, bishopartstheatre.org, $65

Nov. 16

TRIUMPH OF THE SPIRIT AWARDS

Carol Brady Houston, director of the Plano-based nonprofit Friday Nite Friends, and Georges Bwelle, a physician who provides free medical care in Cameroon, will be honored. Sponsored by SMU’s Embrey Human Rights Program, the biannual event at 6 p.m. recognizes an international and local humanitarian.

The Kessler, 1230 W. Davis St., 214.768.8347, smu.edu/triumph, $50-$5,000

Nov. 22

PEROT TECH TRUCK VISITS

This mobile discovery truck brings hands-on science activities to the library. Learn about science, math, technology and art all in one place. North Oak Cliff Library, 302 W. Tenth St., 214.670.7555, dallaslibrary.org, free

Nov. 27

BOOK TOUR

As the front man of hard rock bands Tool, A Perfect Circle and Puscifier, Maynard James Keenan is known for often being contradictory and secretive about his personal life. Now, he will set the record straight during a discussion about his autobiography, “A Perfect Union of Contrary Things” at 8 p.m.

The Texas Theatre, 231 W. Jefferson Blvd., 214.948.1546, thetexastheatre.com, $65-$214

Delicious

Tostas with prosciutto and smoked salmon.

(Photos by Kathy Tran)

THE WILD DETECTIVES

The Wild Detectives hosted the first ever Bar Politics, which is like a live, local version of “The Daily Show.” Shakespeare at the Bar packs the house every time it’s scheduled. There are cumbia dance parties, jazz quartets, feminist poetry readings, movie screenings and kids’ story time.

Since opening in 2014, the place has become a de facto cultural center of Oak Cliff.

“We’re proud of the work we’re doing to promote local culture,” says Andrés de la Casa Huertas-San Martín, an employee who handles publicity and events. “I think that’s how we became a space that everyone is talking about.”

The Wild Detectives is a bookstore, a coffee shop, a bar and an event space.

Plus, there’s food.

The shop doesn’t have a kitchen, but the bar turns out snacks from a toaster oven — tostas with prosciutto, avocado, turkey, salmon or honey with cream cheese.

It also offers a cheese board and pastries from Rush Patisserie. In the mornings they serve breakfast tacos from El Padrino.

During the week there are college students and people working on laptops. But on the weekends, the Wild Detectives turns off its wifi. “Weekends are about disconnecting,” a message on the chalkboard instructs.

“People can enjoy each other’s company, talk, meet strangers,” Andrés says. “Interesting things can happen.”

—RACHEL STONE

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THE

NEXT DOOR

THEIR WORK STATUS WAS HARD WON, BUT THEIR PURSUITS MAKE OAK CLIFF SHINE

MORE THAN 11 MILLION undocumented immigrants live in the United States. And some of them are our neighbors. They work and go to school here, and they contribute to our economy and culture. Immigrants, undocumented and otherwise, are responsible for keeping Oak Cliff commercial districts in business during the 1980s and ’90s [see page 22].

Undocumented immigrants live in near-constant fear of deportation, not to mention the stigma of being considered criminals because of their work status. This month, we introduce you to a few of our neighbors who formerly were undocumented workers. They now have work permits and exemption from deportation because of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, the executive order from president Barack Obama, or amnesty granted in 1986 from the Reagan administration. But some of them worry that everything they’ve worked for somehow could be taken away.

EVERARDO AMAYA A COMMUNITY BUILDER, PAGE 19

CHOCOLATE AND PERSEVERANCE

ANDREA PEDRAZA came to the United States as a young undocumented worker in the early ’70s.

She became a union seamstress, sewing dresses for Neiman Marcus and Oscar de la Renta, when clothes were still manufactured in the U.S.

When the Reagan administration granted amnesty to about 3.2 million undocumented workers in 1986, Pedraza and her husband were among them.

Now she is a small-business owner operating CocoAndré chocolate shop in a building she and her family own on West Seventh at Adams.

Recently, she and her daughter, Cindy Pedraza Puente, were guests at the White House as part of a conference on Latinas and education.

Pedraza learned the chocolate trade in 25 years as production manager at Morgen Chocolates, the first

European-style chocolatier in Dallas.

After the economic crash of 2009, she was 52, out of work and under-skilled. Her daughter, Cindy, had just been laid off from a bank. So they decided to start their own business.

“We weren’t foodies,” Puente says. “We didn’t know anything about the culinary world.”

They found a small space on West Davis at Tyler, where the rent was cheap in 2009, and their landlord didn’t start charging them until they’d opened their doors. Pedraza’s husband, Rey, and her brother Martin fixed the place up in seven weeks, and they opened with one small table of perfect chocolates a few weeks before Christmas.

“Every year, the business kept building, but we knew the rent was going to increase,” Pedraza says.

So two years ago, they bought their building on Seventh. It took a year to renovate that building and obtain city permits to open.

Pedraza spent 12-hour days working with city code enforcement, making chocolates and overseeing construction.

“I didn’t stop and feel sorry for myself,” she says. “I just said, ‘What is the next step?’ ”

Once the building was ready to go, however, the Pedrazas lacked operating capital. So they applied for and received a low-interest loan from the Tori Burch Foundation.

“This isn’t just about us. I represent so many other women who work so hard to achieve their dreams,” Pedraza says.

A NURSE WITH NO COUNTRY

AFTER BLANCA CASTILLO graduated with a nursing degree from Texas Woman’s University, she had to go back to her high school job, working the drive-through at a fast-food restaurant.

Without a social security number, she couldn’t sit for the NCLEX, the test for certification as a registered nurse.

She’d graduated salutatorian from Townview High School. She attended TWU on the presidential scholarship. She completed her clinical work and walked across the stage to accept her degree.

And she worked at Wendy’s. Castillo’s mom brought her across

the border from Mexico right after the girl’s father died. She was 6 years old.

to go to college. “I didn’t even know what college was,” she says. Her mother had attended school only until about age 10.

But teachers told her she was smart and that she had to work hard to get out of her situation.

They were right.

After being accepted into Townview’s certified nursing assistant program, she had to give up her spot because it required a social security number.

At Hogg Elementary School in Oak Cliff, teachers told her she needed

Around the time of high school graduation, it was suggested she should “let someone else be salutatorian” since she was undocumented.

A couple of TWU professors treated

“I FEEL VERY EMPOWERED BY WHERE I COME FROM BECAUSE IT’S MADE ME WORK HARDER FOR WHAT I DO HAVE, AND IT’S MADE ME APPRECIATE IT MORE.”

THE IMMIGRANTS NEXT DOOR

her coldly after learning her work status, she says.

And then, after all that, she had to go back to Wendy’s.

But six months after graduation came Obama’s executive action, which allows certain undocumented immigrants who were brought here as children to receive renewable twoyear work permits.

“It was such a happy day,” she says.

Once she got a work permit, she landed a job as a volunteer coordinator at Methodist Dallas Medical

Center. An uncle in Chicago paid for her NCLEX study course — by then it had been two years since graduation — and she passed it on the first try.

Methodist hired her, now as a registered nurse, to work on its sixth floor in cardiology. That was three years ago.

“I still get excited to tell people I’m a nurse,” Castillo says. “I feel very empowered by where I come from because it’s made me work harder for what I do have, and it’s made me appreciate it more.”

She constantly worries, however, that one day her work permit won’t be renewed. Family members tell her she should buy a house, and she wants that too. But she’s afraid to spend money. What if her permit isn’t renewed and she can’t continue working here?

“I was 6 years old. I’ve done the

that I can,” she says. “If it did get taken away, I would lose my identity. I don’t know who I would be.”

“I STILL GET EXCITED TO TELL PEOPLE I’M A NURSE.”

A COMMUNITY BUILDER

A GUY WALKED UP TO EVERARDO AMAYA when he was visiting his old school, Eastfield College Pleasant Grove campus, and asked a question. He said, “Hey, how do you go here?”

Amaya took 20 minutes to explain the concept of community college and brought him to speak with a counselor.

“What you say to someone can eventually turn into something great, or it can break their spirit,” he says.

Words matter.

Amaya graduated from the University of North Texas at Dallas in 2014 with a degree in nonprofit management. He was brought to the United States from Durango, Mexico when he was 13.

Now 25, Amaya works as a program coordinator at Habitat for Humanity. He has that privilege because of Obama’s executive action.

“My parents would always tell me that the only way out of the struggle of being an immigrant is education, so I took that to heart,” he says.

Success Starts Here.

demic career, Lakehill builds an educational program that achieves its goal of enabling graduates to attend the finest, most rigorous universities of choice. Lakehill combines a robust, college-preparatory curriculum with opportunities for personal growth, individual enrichment, and community involvement. From kindergarten through high school, every Lakehill student is encouraged to strive, challenged to succeed, and inspired to excel.

HOLY TRINITY CATHOLIC SCHOOL

3815 Oak Lawn Ave., Dallas 214-526-5113, htcsdallas.org For more than 100 years, Holy Trinity Catholic School, has been committed to the religious, intellectual, emotional, social and physical growth of each student. This commitment is carried out in a nurturing atmosphere with an emphasis on social awareness, service to others, and religious faith in the Catholic tradition.

BISHOP DUNNE CATHOLIC SCHOOL

Contact: Charleen Doan at 214.339.6561 ext. 4020 or admission@bdcs.org

A co-educational, college preparatory school serving students in grades 6-12. We provide a strong faith and valuebased education with high academic standards, encouraging all students to achieve their full potential. Our curriculum emphasizes individualized attention, and is constantly at the forefront of technology integration through the use of laptops, ebooks, and our Online Education Program. Additionally, we provide a full range of extracurricular activities ranging from athletics, to the arts, to clubs and service organizations.

LAKEHILL PREPARATORY SCHOOL

Leading to Success. 2720 Hillside Dr., Dallas 75214 / 214.826.2931 / lakehillprep.org Kindergarten through Grade 12 - Lakehill Preparatory School takes the word preparatory in its name very seriously. Throughout a student’s aca-

The Immaculate Heart Program at Holy Trinity School was initiated to fully realize our school’s mission of developing the whole child by meeting the needs of one of the most underserved and underperforming groups in catholic schools, children with dyslexia.

Join us for Open House Nov. 15th 8:30-11 a.m.

ST. ELIZABETH OF HUNGARY CATHOLIC SCHOOL

4019 S. Hampton Rd. Dallas 75224/ 214.331.5139 / www.saintspride.com

At St. Elizabeth of Hungary, our fundamental task is the education of the whole child -- combining learning with faith, Catholic doctrines and moral teachings. We introduce all PK3-8th Grade students to the integrated ways of STEM. This approach to education is designed to revolutionize the teaching of subject areas such as mathematics and science by incorporating technology and engineering into regular curriculum. Over the past 10 years, 95% of St. Elizabeth 8th graders were accepted to their first choice high school. Join us for an informational school tour and see for yourself how easy it is to become a Saint! Call 214.331.5139 for information.

A STEM campus, in conjunction with Notre Dame University

Before the deferred action, Amaya had to turn down job offers and scholarships.

Once he received a work permit, however, his life changed.

He received an academic scholarship to UNT Dallas. He did an internship and took a fulltime job right after graduation, none of which would’ve been possible otherwise. He now lives comfortably in Oak Cliff, but it’s never far from mind that all this could be temporary.

Amaya has an 18-year-old sister who could sponsor him for citizenship when she’s 21. And he could eventually marry his boyfriend, who is a U.S. citizen.

In the meantime, he helps build communities with Habitat for Humanity. He volunteers to read to elementary school children through Reading Partners. He can’t vote, but he volunteers with LULAC campaigns to register voters. Amaya says his dream in life is to be a part of breaking the cycles of poverty.

“I’m a product of all this opportunity that we’ve brought to southern Dallas,” he says. “I try to pay it forward.”

“MY PARENTS WOULD ALWAYS TELL ME THAT THE ONLY WAY OUT OF THE STRUGGLE OF BEING AN IMMIGRANT IS EDUCATION, SO I TOOK THAT TO HEART.”

JEFFERSON SURVIVAL

IMMIGRANTS MADE JEFFERSON BOULEVARD WHAT IT IS TODAY

The wide sidewalks of Jefferson Boulevard filled with shoppers, most of them white and middle class, everyday for decades.

It was the commercial center of Oak Cliff with department stores, banks, jewelers and specialty shops, but commerce began to fade after the 1960s.

“In the 1970s and ’80s, Oak Cliff was a dying community,” says Domingo Garcia, an Oak Cliff lawyer, activist and former

politician. “You had white flight, businesses closing down.”

Around the same time, development began pushing out residents of Little Mexico, the former Dallas neighborhood that occupied areas now identified as Uptown, the Dallas Arts District and the West End. Families from Little Mexico started moving to West Dallas and Oak Cliff.

Here they found affordable housing and cut-rate prices on commercial real estate, ripe for

enterprise.

Latinos kept Jefferson Boulevard, as well as other areas of Oak Cliff, afloat through the leaner decades, Garcia says.

Businesses that moved from the Little Mexico area to Jefferson include Lizcano Bridal Shop, one of the first quinceañera boutiques in Dallas. The boulevard’s once-empty storefront soon bloomed with tulle and lace, eventually becoming a regional destination for the wedding and quinceañera industry.

Friends and customers chat inside Mayra Orozco’s quinceañera shop on Jefferson. Orozco is one of many Mexican immigrants who have found the American dream of business ownership on the boulevard.

Story by Rachel Stone | Photos by Danny Fulgencio

Businesses that stayed on Jefferson through the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s, including Charco Broiler Steak House and Top Ten Records, made it because of their loyal Mexican customers.

“We wouldn’t be here without that support,” says Nick Cordova, whose family has owned Charco Broiler since 1964.

A few immigrants, from Mexico and El Salvador, launched restaurant empires in the neighborhood. Laura and Oscar Sanchez opened La Calle Doce in 1981 and then its sibling, El Ranchito on Jefferson, a few years later. Meanwhile Gloria and Jose Fuentes had opened the immediately successful Gloria’s on West Davis at Llewellyn.

“I’d bet you 75 percent of the businesses on Jefferson are owned by immigrants,” Garcia says. “Whether it’s a tire shop or a barber shop, you’re going to see many immigrant-owned businesses all over Oak Cliff.”

The Reyes family, which owns Mesa restaurant, arrived in Dallas from Mexico in the late ’90s. Olga and Raul Reyes were hairstylists who opened a beauty shop in the 100 block of West Jefferson, across the street from where Mesa is now, around 1997. Olga was a great cook; they were both extremely hard workers, so they decided to open a restaurant together.

They opened La Palapa Veracruzana at 118 W. Jefferson around 2008. The restaurant, which offered the authentic seafood dishes from their hometown, was steered toward the Latino community and did well.

But then Dallas repealed laws that kept Oak Cliff dry and the Reyeses noticed the success of high-end dining spots such as Bolsa and Boulevardier. They knew they

could offer a posh dining experience as well.

Just as Anglo business owners began catering to Latino customers on Jefferson in the ’80s, the Reyeses decided to try and cater to a resurging market of Anglo customers when they closed La Palapa and reopened as Mesa in 2011.

“We considered it a mistake in the beginning because the area wasn’t really calling for a restaurant like that in this part of Oak Cliff,” says Raul Reyes Jr.

Mesa went through some lean times in the beginning, but business has picked up over the past few years, Reyes says.

Crime in the 100 block has decreased, he says. The Dallas

Police Department patrols more frequently and responds more quickly to calls.

Revitalization of the nearby Texas Theatre buoyed Mesa from the beginning. And since Jim Lake Cos. bought Jefferson Tower, bringing fresh businesses and residents to the boulevard, Mesa’s business remains steady.

“In the long run it turned into a great thing to do, so now with the changes in the neighborhood, it’s going to fit perfectly,” Reyes says.

This month, the Reyes family, which owns its building on Jefferson, opens a second Mesa in Grapevine.

The demographics and real estate values on Jefferson Boulevard are changing and some businesses will thrive because of that. There will be less crime and fewer absentee landlords. But inevitably, it will cause some loss as well.

“All the changes that are coming, it’s definitely going to change Jefferson,” Reyes says. “And a lot of the businesses who can’t afford to pay the rent are going to have to go elsewhere.”

Mesa is an immigrant-owned business on Jefferson that answers the American middle class craving for upscale dining.

“We considered it a mistake in the beginning because the area wasn’t really calling for a restaurant like that in this part of Oak Cliff.”

THAN

ARCHITECTURE

Preservation Dallas named the old POLAR BEAR building on Zang among the most-endangered historic places in Dallas. The hamburger-stand-turned-icecream-shop was constructed in the 1930s and home of Polar Bear ice cream for more than four decades. Now vacant, the building was damaged by a wind storm last year.

EDUCATION

Three neighborhood schools were named the “most distinct” in the Texas Education Agency’s 2016 accountability report, which uses the results of state-mandated exams, also known as STAAR, to rate schools. For the fourth consecutive year, middle school and magnet arts academy GRENIER earned the highest number of possible distinctions. Grenier is joined by TRINIDAD GARZA EARLY COLLEGE and MOLINA high schools. While Garza has consistently performed well, this is the first time Molina has made the list. Only 17 DISD schools earned all eligible distinctions.

REAGAN ELEMENTARY students can learn about earth science, art and nutrition in a hands-on way, thanks to a $500,000 grant from SPROUTS FARMERS MARKET’S nonprofit, the Sprouts Healthy Communities Foundation. The grant will be used to plant a Real School Garden with raised vegetable beds, shaded seating areas, whiteboards, weather stations and more.

CHOCOLATIER KATHERINE CLAPNER can now add that she beat Bobby Flay to her resume, which also includes pastry chef and head chef of Dude, Sweet Chocolate. Clapner appeared on the Food Network show “Beat Bobby Flay” and did just that in the “Howdy Halloween” episode.

To accommodate complaints, the street car hours changed recently. From now on, the cars run from 5:30 a.m.-midnight, Monday-Sunday.

BUSINESS BUZZ

WHAT’S UP WITH NEIGHBORHOOD BUSINESSES

COMING SOON

A Bishop Arts developer requested a zoning change last month that would allow for uses besides residential, office and retail. EXXIR CAPITAL is seeking to construct a hotel, event center, neighborhood market and art-production facility south of the BISHOP ARTS DISTRICT . A year ago, Exxir Capital demolished apartments and homes at the 4.5-acre property to construct four- and five-story buildings, as well as an underground parking garage.

At SYLVAN THIRTY , former fashion designer LUCY ZANG is planning to open an eco-friendly nail salon. PINK PEDI will offer services ranging from manicures and pedicures to eyebrow waxing and custom nail art, but without hazardous fumes and toxins. “Our goal is to go beyond the typical nail salon and offer a unique,

memorable experience by providing quality services that are safe for both our customers and our employees,” Dang says.

OF DIRT , the building at 408 W. Seventh St. is available for weddings, parties and corporate events.

The paleta shop ENCANTO POPS and boutique DLM SUPPLY have found homes near SPINSTER RECORDS at the shopping center on West Davis at Tyler.

After five years, Oak Cliff-based fashion business WINTER LENNON finally has its own boutique. Located at 606 N. Edgefield in front of the company’s warehouse, Winter Lennon offers dresses, boot socks, T-shirts and more.

FOOD NEWS

NEW TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD

The former WALDRON LODGE building is taking on a new identity as a rental space after the owners of DIRT FLOWERS renovated its interior. Renamed HOUSE

HOUNDSTOOTH , a new coffee shop at Sylvan Thirty, opened a bar, JETTISON, in an adjacent space last month. The Bishop Arts District’s ODDFELLOWS updated its menu after hiring chef Anastacia Quiñones.

(Photo courtesy of House of DIRT)

A RIVER RUNS THROUGH US

DEEP WATERS ARE MORE CHALLENGING THAN SHALLOWS, BUT JUST LIKE DEEP FAITH IT HAS MORE TO OFFER

My growing-up family used to vacation with the Edwards family, whose children, Devron and Denise, were the same age as my brother and me. One summer in the Smoky Mountains we rented inner tubes and enjoyed a lazy river ride, with the exception of a brief rapid or two. Even in July, the frigid water

WORSHIP

BAPTIST

CLIFF TEMPLE BAPTIST CHURCH / 125 Sunset Ave. / 214.942.8601

Serving Oak Cliff since 1899 / CliffTemple.org / English and Spanish

9 am Contemporary Worship / 10 am Sunday School / 11 am Traditional

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

METHODIST

GRACE UMC / Diverse, Inclusive, Missional

Sunday School for all ages, 9:30 am / Worship, 10:50 am

4105 Junius St. / 214.824.2533 / graceumcdallas.org

TYLER STREET CHURCH / Traditional Worship - 9:30 am / tsumc.org

Tyler Street En Vivo - 9:30 am / tylerstreetenvivo.org / 214.946.8106

Tyler Street Live - 11:30 am / tylerstreetlive.org / 927 W. 10th Street

NON-DENOMINATIONAL

KESSLER COMMUNITY CHURCH / 2100 Leander Dr. at Hampton Rd.

“Your Hometown Church Near the Heart of the City.”

10:30 am Contemporary Service / kesslercommunitychurch.com

UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST

UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST CHURCH OF OAK CLIFF / oakcliffuu.org

Sun. Worship 10am / Wed. Meditation 7pm / 3839 W. Kiest Blvd.

Inclusive – Justice Seeking – Spirited – Eclectic – Liberal – Fun!

UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST

PROMISE UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST/ www.promiseucc.org

Worship: 10:30 am Sundays / 214-623-8400 / 2527 W. Colorado Blvd.

An Open and Affirming Church where everyone is welcome! advocatemag.com/newsletter

could take your breath away. Devron, my brother, and I had moved through a rapid and stood in the shallows to one side of the river, when Denise floated past us. She asked if it was very deep where she was, and we said no, knowing better. She hopped out and was immediately submerged. After a second she popped up, sputtering, shaking, and screaming at us to stop laughing.

Controversial pastor Rob Bell maintains that “the historic, orthodox Christian faith [is] a deep, wide, diverse stream that’s been flowing for thousands of years, carrying a staggering variety of voices, perspectives, and experiences.” Faith in the shallows walks gingerly in religious clichés, superficial relationships and stale ritual. Deep stream faith asks hard questions, not shying away from doubt, pain and failure. It’s expansive and celebratory and authentic. Deep stream faith seeks full immersion, which can astonish or jolt on occasion.

I long for a deep stream faith and a deep stream church. For those like me with some experience of immersion (I’m speaking of more than baptism here), but desire to wade into deeper waters, there are two benefits we will especially discover.

First, profound stillness.

“He leads me beside

Brent McDougal

still waters…He restores my soul.” (Psalm 23:2)

Christian activist, poet and farmer Wendell Berry lives enthusiastically with intense reverence for nature, calling people to simple living and good stewardship. He writes about a greater stillness in “The Peace of Wild Things”:

“I come into the peace of wild things/ who do not tax their lives with forethought of grief … And I feel above me the day-blind stars/ waiting with their light. For a time/ I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.”

Second, a bubbling over. Jesus said, “…whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again… [it] will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (John 4:14) Jesus also said, “Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.” (John 7:38) Tributaries drawing from the well of stillness flow out, connecting with others and with the life of God.

Last August the Advocate shared a story about the possibility of an underground stream beneath the Oak Cliff Bank of America building. Our church campus rests two blocks north of the tower, and during my first week as pastor, another staff member took me into the basement.

He said, “there’s a river underneath us. Listen closely.”

I could hear the gurgling. I could imagine the water flowing, as it had for hundreds or perhaps thousands of years.

We’re closer to the deep stream than we think.

is pastor of Cliff Temple Baptist Church. The Worship section is a regular feature underwritten by Advocate Publishing and by the neighborhood business people and churches listed on these pages. For information about helping support the Worship section, call 214.560.4202.

TEE TIME

The Cedar Crest Golf Course reopened recently after a nearly $1-million renovation. The city-owned course, on East Illinois Avenue near South Lancaster Road, originally opened in 1919. Pictured, from left to right, are Cedar Crest golf pros past and present: Leonard Jones, 19832006; Ira McGraw Jr., 2008-present; and J.W. White, 1969-’81.

CLASSES/TUTORING/ LESSONS

CREATIVE ARTS CENTER More than 500 adult art classes/ workshops from metal to mosaic! www.creativeartscenter.org

EMPLOYMENT

AIRLINE MECHANIC TRAINING Get FAA Certification. No HS Diploma or GED. We Can Help. Approved For Military Benefits. Financial Aid If Qualified. Job Placement Assistance. Aviation Institute Of Maintenance. 866-453-6204

LEGAL SERVICES

A WILL? THERE IS A WAY! Estate/Probate matters. maryglennattorney.com 214-802-6768

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

LEGAL ISSUES? The Law Office Of Lauren C Medel, PLLC. LaurenMedel.com. 972-773-9306

Don’t let Holiday treats weigh you down

This time of the year there’s temptation with cookies, cakes and candies at every turn, but here are some helpful tips to eat healthy this festive season.

1. Eat before you go to the party.

2. Be careful with beverages, especially alcohol — they can lower inhibitions and cause mindless eating.

3. Manage portion size and eat slowly, so you know when you’re full.

4. Keep up with exercise. Don’t try and lose weight, try and maintain.

5. Remember, everything in moderation.

Enjoy the holidays!

BUY/SELL/TRADE

CARS/TRUCKS WANTED!!! All Makes/Models. 2000-2016. Any Condition. Running Or Not. Top $$$ Paid. Free Towing. We’re Nationwide. Call Now. 1-888-985-1806

RANGERS, STARS & MAVS

Share front-row Texas Rangers, Stars & Mavs seats. Tickets are available in sets of 10 games (sets of 2 or 4 tickets per game available). Participants randomly draw numbers prior to season to determine a draft order fair to everyone. Call 214-560-4212 or rwamre@advocatemag.com

AC & HEAT

CONCRETE/ MASONRY/PAVING

CONCRETE, Driveway Specialist Repairs, Replacement, Removal, References. Reasonable. Chris 214-770-5001

Family Owned & Operated

Serving the Dallas area for over 30 years

We raise our kids here, too!

972-274-2157

www.CrestAirAndHeat.com

TACLB29169E

APPLIANCE REPAIR

JESSE’S A/C & APPLIANCE SERVICE

TACLB13304C All Makes/Models. 214-660-8898

CABINETRY & FURNITURE

JD’S TREE SERVICE Mantels, Headboards, Kitchen Islands, Dining tables. Made from Local Trees. www.jdtreeservice.com 214-946-7138

CLEANING SERVICES

AFFORDABLE, PROFESSIONAL CLEANING

$100 off 1st clean for new weekly/bi-weekly clients. Staff trained by Nationally Certified Cleaning Tech. Chemical-free, Green, or Traditional Cleaning. WindsorMaidServices.com 214-381-MAID (6243)

CINDY’S HOUSE CLEANING 15 yrs exp. Resd/Com. Refs. Dependable. 214-490-0133

CLEAN FREAKS Fall Special 20% Off! DallasCleanFreaks.com Call Today! 214-821-8888

TWO SISTERS & A MOP Move in/Out. Reliable/Dependable 20 Yrs Exp. 214-283-9732 twosistersamopmaidservice.com

WINDOW MAN WINDOW CLEANING.COM

Residential Specialists. BBB. 214-718-3134

CONCRETE/ MASONRY/PAVING

BRICK, STONEWORK, FLAGSTONE PATIOS Mortar Repair. Straighten Brick Mailboxes & Columns. Call Cirilo 214-298-7174

CONCRETE REPAIRS/REPOURS

Demo existing. Stamping and Staining

Driveways/Patio/Walkways

Pattern/Color available

Free Estimates 972-672-5359 (36 yrs.)

ELECTRICAL SERVICES

ANNA’S ELECTRIC Your Oak Cliff Electrician Since 1978. tecl25513. 214-943-4890

ANTHONY’S ELECTRIC Master Electrician. TECL24948 anthonyselectricofdallas.com

50 Yrs. Electrical Exp. Insd. 214-328-1333

BRIGHT LIGHT ELECTRIC • 214-553-5333 TECL 31347 Brightening Homes and Businesses

TH ELECTRIC Reasonable Rates. Licensed & Insured. Ted. E257 214-808-3658

EXTERIOR CLEANING

G&G DEMOLITION Tear downs, Haul. Interior/Exterior. 214-808-8925

FENCING & DECKS

#1 COWBOY FENCE & IRON CO. Est. ‘91. 214-692-1991 www.cowboyfenceandiron.com

4 QUALITY FENCING Call Mike 214-507-9322 Specializing in Wood, New or Repair.

FENCING & WOODWORK oldgatefence.com charliehookerswoodwork.com 214-766-6422

HANNAWOODWORKS.COM

Decks, Pergolas, Patio Covers. 214-435-9574

NORTHLAKE FENCE Locally owned and family operated. Celebrating 36 years of service. 214-349-9132 northlakefence.com

EST. 1991 #1

COWBOY

FENCE & IRON CO.

214.692.1991

SPECIALIZING IN Wood Fences &Auto Gates

cowboyfenceandiron.com

FLOORING & CARPETING

WOOD FLOORING SPECIALISTS

Proudly serving DFW since 1999

Install

Refinish · Repair Wax Clean 214-543-7404 · dfwwoodfloor.com

FLOORING & CARPETING Willeford

hardwood floors

Superior Quality: Installation • Refinishing

Repair • Cleaning & Waxing

Old World Hand Scrape

214-824-1166

GARAGE SERVICES

UNITED GARAGE DOORS AND GATES Res/Com. Locally Owned.214-826-8096

GLASS, WINDOWS & DOORS

EAST DALLAS WINDOW CLEANING Power Wash. Free Est. Dependable. Derek. 214-360-0120

ROCK GLASS CO Replace, repair: windows, mirrors, showers, screens. 214-837-7829

HANDYMAN SERVICES

HANDY DAN The Handyman. ToDo’s Done Right. handy-dan.com 214-252-1628

HANDYMAN SPECIALIST Residential/ Commercial. Large, small jobs, repair list, renovations. Refs. 214-489-0635

HOMETOWN HANDYMAN All phases of construction. No job too small 214-327-4606

HONEST, SKILLED SERVICE With a Smile. General Repairs/ Maintenance. 214-215-2582

Your Home Repair Specialists

Drywall Doors Senior Safety Carpentry Small & Odd Jobs And More! 972-308-6035 HandymanMatters.com/dallas Bonded & Insured. Locally owned & operated.

HOUSE PAINTING

MANNY’S HOME PAINTING & REMODEL Int./Ext. Sheetrock. Manny 214-334-2160

RAMON’S INT/EXT PAINT Sheetrock, Repairs. 214-679-4513

KITCHEN/BATH/ TILE/GROUT

BLAKE CONSTRUCTION CONCEPTS LLC

Complete Kitchen And Bath Remodels. Tile, Granite, Marble, Travertine, Slate. Insured. 214-563-5035 www.blake-construction.com

KITCHEN/BATH/ TILE/GROUT

FENN CONSTRUCTION Full Service Contractor. dallastileman.com 214-343-4645

STONE AGE COUNTER TOPS Granite, Marble, Tile, Kitchen/Bath Remodels. 972-276-9943.stoneage.dennis@verizon.net

TK REMODELING 972-533-2872

Complete Full Service Repairs, Remodeling, Restoration. Name It — We do it. Tommy. Insured. dallas.tkremodelingcontractors.com

WE REFINISH!

• Tubs, Tiles or Sinks

• Cultured Marble

• Kitchen Countertops

214-631-8719

www.allsurfacerefinishing.com

LAWNS, GARDENS & TREES

A BETTER TREE MAN Trims, Removals, Insd. 12 Yrs Exp. Roberts Tree Service. 214-808-8925

HOLMAN IRRIGATION

Sprinkler & Valve Repair/ Rebuild Older Systems. Lic. #1742. 214-398-8061

LSI LAWN SPRINKLERS “Making Water Work” Irrigation system Service & Repair. Specializing In Older Copper Systems. LI #13715. 214-283-4673

YOUR TREES could look like a WORK OF ART, I Guarantee It.

NOVEMBER SPECIAL $200 OFF 4 man crew/4 hours

Just Trees

Call Mark Wittlich 214-332-3444

JD’s Tree Service

RESPONSIBLE TREE CARE FOR THE ENVIRONMENT

Locally harvested wood!

Firewood/Cooking Wood Full service trimming & planting of native trees. 214.946.7138

MOVING

AM MOVING COMPANY Specialty Moving & Delivery.469-278-2304 ammovingcompany.com

PEST CONTROL

A BETTER EARTH PEST CONTROL

Keeping the environment, kids, pets in mind. Organic products avail. 972-564-2495

MCDANIEL PEST CONTROL

Prices Start at $85 + Tax For General Treatment.

Average Home-Interior/Exterior & Attached Garage. Quotes For Other Services. 214-328-2847. Lakewood Resident

PLUMBING

AC PLUMBING Repairs, Fixtures, Senior Discounts. Gary Campbell. 214-321-5943

ANDREWS PLUMBING • 214-354-8521 # M37740 Insured. Any plumbing issues. plumberiffic69@gmail.com

Sewers • Drains • Bonded 24 Hours/7 Days *Joe Faz 469-346-1814 - Se Habla Español*

ARRIAGA PLUMBING: General Plumbing

Since the 80’s. Insured. Lic# M- 20754 214-321-0589, 214-738-7116, CC’s accepted.

M&S PLUMBING Quality Work & Prompt Service. Jerry. 214-235-2172. lic.#M-11523

DEC. DEADLINE NOV. 9

PLUMBING

NTX PLUMBING SPEC. LLLP 214-226-0913 Lic. M-40581 Res/Com. Repairs & Leak Location

THE PLUMBING MANN LLC

All Plumbing! Since 1978.

RMP/Master-14240 Insured. 214-FAST-FIX/ 214-327-8349

POOLS

LEAFCHASERS POOL SERVICE Parts/Service. Chemicals/Repairs. Jonathan. 214-729-3311

REMODELING

BLAKE CONSTRUCTION CONCEPTS, LLC

Complete Remodeling, Kitchens, Baths, Additions. Hardie Siding & Replacement Windows. Build On Your Own Lot. Insured. www.blake-construction.com 214-563-5035

FENN CONSTRUCTION Full Service Contractor. dallastileman.com 214-343-4645

O’BRIEN GROUP INC. Remodeling Dallas For Over 17 Years www.ObrienGroupInc.com 214-341-1448

RENOVATE DALLAS renovatedallas.com 214-403-7247

REMODELING

Bob McDonald Company, Inc. BUILDERS/REMODELERS

30+ Yrs. in Business • Major Additions

Complete Renovations • Kitchens/Baths

214-341-1155

bobmcdonaldco.net

ROOFING & GUTTERS SKYLIGHTS

BERT ROOFING INC.

Family owned and operated for over 40 years • Residential/Commercial • Over 30,000 roofs completed • Seven NTRCA “Golden Hammer” Awards • Free Estimates www.bertroofing.com 214.321.9341

ADVOCATE PUBLISHING does not pre-screen, recommend or investigate the advertisements and/or Advertisers published in our magazines. As a result, Advocate Publishing is not responsible for your dealings with any Advertiser. Please ask each Advertiser that you contact to show you the necessary licenses and/or permits required to perform the work you are requesting. Advocate Publishing takes comments and/or complaints about Advertisers seriously, and we do not publish advertisements that we know are inaccurate, misleading and/or do not live up to the standards set by our publications. If you have a legitimate complaint or positive comment about an Advertiser, please contact us at

Advocate Publishing recommends that you ask for and check references from each Advertiser that you contact, and we recommend that you obtain a written statement of work to be completed, and the price to be charged, prior to approving any work or providing an Advertiser with any deposit for work to be completed.

NEWS + NOTES

THE market

Area Manager/ Loan Officer

BancorpSouth Mortgage Cell: 972.352.7648

victor.hall@bxs.com

victorlhall.com

NMLS #453089

“As a 15-year mortgage professional, you can count on my expertise and knowledge to help you make the right choice for your new home construction, purchase or refinance needs.” –Victor L. Hall

Language Consultant

211 N. Ervay 9th Floor 972.905.1026

dmlanguageconsulting.com

DMLconsulting16@icloud.com

We specialize in training your employees to communicate in Spanish or English. Call now to set up your specialized workshop!

MADELEINE DUNCAN BROWN:

THE JFK CONSPIRACY THEORIST FROM OAK CLIFF

She was born in 1925 and raised near South Beckley.

Madeleine Duncan Brown graduated from Adamson High School and married her childhood sweetheart, a neighborhood soda jerk, at 19.

Brown would go on to become a media buyer for Glenn Advertising, now TM. And she would become one of the most outspoken JFK conspiracy theorists around.

Brown stood up during a meeting of the Dallas Press Club in 1982 and stated that she wanted to “clear the air.” She announced to the room that she’d had a 20-year affair with former President Lyndon Baines Johnson, who died in 1973.

Brown supposedly met LBJ in 1948 at the Adolphus Hotel in

Dallas, during a celebration for his election to the U.S. Senate. Her 1997 autobiography tells it that Johnson was chatting with Alice Glass, his mistress of many years. But he was so taken with Brown’s beauty that he introduced himself to her and invited her to another party at the Driskill Hotel in Austin three weeks later.

That’s where, according to the autobiography, he slipped her a room key.

“I felt naughty, but I felt good,” Brown said in a 1980s interview.

After that, Brown said, she met with Johnson any time he was in Texas. She said

she was “deeply in love with him.”

In 1987, five years after her initial claim of an affair with the former president, Brown gave an interview to “People” magazine wherein she claimed that Johnson had fathered her son, Steven Mark Brown.

Brown raised her two sons in a prairie foursquare on South Windomere. She claimed that LBJ arranged for her to live in the home through a Dallas attorney, who also paid for maids and charge cards. Even after the alleged affair ended in 1969, Brown claimed in the

Above: Lyndon Baines Johnson takes the oath of office aboard Air Force One at Love Field following the Kennedy Assassination. Top: Madeleine Duncan Brown in the 1980s.

“People” interview, Johnson had sent her money through his attorney.

JFK CONSPIRACY

During the 1980s and ’90s, Brown appeared on television shows, including “Geraldo” and “A Current Affair” claiming she knew LBJ was part of a conspiracy to assassinate Kennedy.

Her version of the story varied, but the gist of it is that she attended a party at oilman Clint Murchison’s home on the eve of the assassination. At this party, she said, was everyone: Oilman H.L. Hunt, Dallas Mayor Earl Cabell, Fort Worth Star-Telegram publisher Amon G. Carter, FBI director J. Edgar Hoover and future President Richard M. Nixon.

others, she says she’d had her hair done at a department store and then walked into the Old Red Courthouse where she heard the news.

She said she called then-County Judge Lew Sterrett to ask him what had happened.

“He said, ‘Well, they just shot that s.o.b.,’ ” Brown said in an interview.

PATERNITY SUIT

In 1987, Brown’s son Steven Mark Brown filed a $10.5-million lawsuit against Lady Bird Johnson claiming she conspired against him to leave him out of President Johnson’s inheritance.

Steven Brown also went to Adamson. He graduated from Texas A&M University and then joined the U.S. Navy. He had served as a Republican Party precinct chairman and election judge. He was part of the movement to make Winnetka Heights a historic district, and he was involved in a project to beautify Jefferson Boulevard.

A judge dismissed his lawsuit in 1989 after Steven Brown failed to appear at a court hearing. He died of lymphatic cancer at age 39 in 1990.

When LBJ arrived to the party around 11 p.m., Brown said, all of those men went into a conference room for a closed-door meeting.

In one account, Brown said that when Johnson emerged from that meeting, he whispered to her, “Those blankety-blank Kennedys will never embarrass me again. That’s not a threat; it’s a promise.”

Another version has Johnson grabbing her by the arms and angrily saying, “Those s.o.b.’s will never embarrass me again. That’s not a threat; it’s a promise.”

Details in Brown’s account of the JFK assassination also varied.

In some interviews, she says she was on her way to Austin and turned around when she heard the news. In

Madeleine Brown said at the time of her son’s death that she intended some kind of legal action against the Johnsons, but nothing ever came of it.

In 1997, she published her autobiography, “Texas in the Morning: The Love Story of Madeleine Brown and President Lyndon Baines Johnson.” It’s now out of print.

She died in 2002.

There are no photos of Johnson and Brown together, except for one where she is seated at a dinner party with her back to the former president. And no one ever has corroborated her story.

“I was the other woman,” Brown once said in an interview. “But I will always love him.” — RACHEL STONE

In one account, Brown said that when Johnson emerged from that meeting, he whispered to her, “Those blankety-blank Kennedys will never embarrass me again. That’s not a threat; it’s a promise.”

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