2010 October Oak Cliff

Dallas’ drinking problem

WILL THE UPCOMING WET-DRY ELECTION MAKE A SPLASH IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD, OR DO WE EVEN CARE?

ONLY IN OAK CLIFF

Abraham Torres squares off at Vivero Boxing Gym in Oak Cliff. The 22-year-old college student is a five-time Dallas Golden Gloves champ. View a slideshow of Candice

Chase’s boxing photos at advocatemag.com.

PHOTO BY CANDICE CHASE

P: 214.823.5885

JUST TAKE OUT THE GARBAGE

We have a slide-out garbage bin under our kitchen sink. The bin’s 13-gallon plastic liners don’t take long to fill even with recycling bags scattered throughout the house.

The garbage bin is located in the busiest room in the house, so it collects the most garbage. And without fail, it seems as if every time I slide it out to load something in, it’s overflowing. Sometimes, it’s even overflowing in a way that makes me laugh out loud; there’s no way the person before me could have walked away in good conscience while leaving behind a propped-open garbage lid overflowing with banana peels or empty milk cartons.

The logical thing, when faced with an overflowing garbage bin, is to address the issue: Pull the bag out of the bin, walk about 50 feet (granted, more than half of it outdoors) to the city-provided super-jumbo garbage bin in the backyard, and then load an empty liner in the kitchen bin so the next person isn’t inconvenienced.

The whole process takes less than five minutes. Maybe even less than four minutes. It’s important, it’s the responsible thing to do, and it’s really not that difficult.

Everyone in our house knows it’s important, and everyone knows it needs to be done. But everyone seems to hope that someone else will step up because that’s just the way most of us are. I understand that thought process, because that’s exactly what goes through my mind, too.

I bring this up not because my garbage situation is all that fascinating, but because as we enter another political season, there are some parallels here.

Democracy and voting in this country are no longer the shiny new pennies they must have been 200-plus years ago. With every passing election, fewer of us as a percentage of the voting population take the time to vote. Less than half of us decide most of the elections these days. Often, 10 or 20 percent of us make the call. It takes too much time to do the right thing, so too many of us do nothing at all.

Something that should have changed this

trend and sparked interest in elections and candidates is the internet — in a matter of minutes, anyone anywhere can find out everything about any candidate, any ballot issue, any controversy. We can watch words spill out of the candidates’ own mouths on YouTube, on their own sites, on news sites, on our phones. We can assess their positions, evaluate their intellect, even spar with them online if we (and they) so choose.

But like hauling out the garbage, we generally choose to let someone else do the work. And many of us seem to think we’re getting away with something when we’re too busy to spend a few minutes doing what needs to be done.

I keep telling myself that one day when I find the garbage bin overflowing, I’m going to set my refuse pile on top of the cover or next to the bin just so that someone else will have to complete the task. But as I stand there contemplating my prospective crime, I just can’t do it. After all, if garbage heaps up and I dodge responsibility, I’m trashing my own home, too.

So I dispose of the garbage, and my four or five minutes right along with it. Leaving the chore for someone else just isn’t the right thing to do.

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publisher: RICK WAMRE

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editors

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contributing editors: JEFFSIEGEL, SALLY WAMRE

contributors: SEAN CHAFFIN, SANDY GREYSON, BILLKEFFER, GAYLAKOKEL,ERIN MOYER, GEORGE MASON, BLAIR MONIE, ELLEN RAFF

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Rick Wamre is publisher of Advocate Publishing. Let him know how we are doing by writing to 6301 Gaston, Suite 820, Dallas 75214; FAX to 214.823.8866; or e-mail to rwamre@advocatemag.com.

2010 oakcliff.advocatemag.com

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Advocate, © 2010, is published monthly by East Dallas – Lakewood PeopleInc. 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 than200,000peoplereadAdvocatepublicationseachmonth. Advertisingratesandguidelinesareavailableuponrequest. Advocate Publications are available free of charge throughout our neighborhoods, one copy per reader.

It doesn’t take much time to empty the trash, or to vote in an election. So why don’t we?

The only NCI-designated Cancer Center in North Texas.

Why go anywhere else for cancer care?

UT Southwestern Harold C. Simmons Cancer Center is the region’s only National Cancer Institute designated Cancer Center. NCI designation means UT Southwestern Simmons Cancer Center stands at the forefront of the very latest advances in cancer research, prevention, and patient care. It means that our patients gain access to the most promising therapies and innovative treatments in the country. It means that our team of specialists combines the expertise to treat the cancer with the compassion to treat the patient. So why go anywhere else for cancer care?

The future of cancer care, today.

To learn more, visit simmonscancercenter.org or call 214-645-8300.

by wolfgang amadeus mozart

facebook fan profile //Kessler Park neighbor Cynthia Paine-Drennan, 38, is a residential real estate specialist. She and her husband, Mark, have three dogs, Stubbie, Hurshie and Happie Drennan.

what’s a little known fact about you? I play a lot of poker.

what’s your most embarrassing moment? I went on a listing appointment at one of the most beautiful homes and the owner asked me if he needed to do anything as far as getting the house ready. I said the only thing I see is your floors are a little dirty and you need to clean them. He said, “I didn’t know how to tell you, but you have been tracking something.” I looked at my shoes and I had dog poop all over them.

what would your career be if you could do it all over again without consequences? I love, absolutely LOVE, what I do. But if I could, I would love to be a personal shopper.

what’s the one thing you wish you could do but are reasonably sure you never will? Be a contestant on “The Price is Right”.

what makes you laugh out loud? Ben Stiller in “Meet The Parents”.

what’s your most treasured possession? I have a crystal pitcher that survived a grand piano falling on it during the 1900 Galveston hurricane that my father gave me for my birthday.

You said it

gaetano donizetti

what did you want to be when you grew up?

An anesthesiologist.

what brings a smile to your face every time?

Watching my dogs interact.

what do you miss about the you from 10 or 20 years ago? I had more time back then to have children.

what do you love about the age you’re at now? I can still attend happy hours for the 20s and 30s crowd.

what are some jobs you’ve held in the past? I was the greeter at Thom McAn Shoes at Valley View Mall, and I set up appointments for Kirby Vacuum salespeople.

who is your hero and why? Jesus Christ! He saved my life. for the full profile visit oakcliff

On “Oak Cliff has a different kind Of bad reputatiOn in 2010” “Nonsense! I’m 70 years old and my husband is 75. When we moved here four years ago, it was the 20th time we’d moved in our marriage. We chose to live here because Oak Cliff is totally cool. And fun. And downright friendly. Even to a couple of geezers who don’t ride bikes anymore because their eyesight is very bad.” –Granny

“The way I see it, people are feeling left out because Oak Cliff is a hot area to live in. They are jealous because they probably would not have set foot in the area before, because it was ‘Ohhh, Oak Cliff’. … I haven’t met a snob in the area yet. I have lived here for 16 years and came from North Dallas. I meet people every day from all over the city and all over the world that now call Oak Cliff their home. We love it because people are not snobs; they are how Dallas used to be in the past: friendly and welcoming to all. Come on over and enjoy!” –MiCh

You’ve seen our bylines, our blog posts, our tweets and our Facebook posts. But who are we, really?

Keri Mit C hell

Job// Editor; coordinator of interns, freelancers and neighborhood bloggers aDvoC ate servituDe// I discovered the Advocate in 2005 at my neighborhood library, and soon afterward joined the editorial staff.

Favorite quote// “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” —Ghandi

Most PrizeD DesK obJeCt or ornaMent// Notes from readers about stories I’ve written

Favorite Part oF your Job// I meet interesting people all the time, and learn something new every day. anything else?// I’m always looking for new voices on our blog. If you’re interested in contributing, contact me at kmitchell@advocatemag.com.

events online Does your organization, house of worship or school have a fall event you’d like to promote? Submit it to our online calendar at bizfinder.advocatemag.com/event It’s free, or you can purchase an enhanced listing.

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QUESTION

OF THE MONTH

WHAT LOCAL FALL EVENT ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO ATTENDING?

State Fair and the Arboretum. Also Urban Street Bazaar at Bishop Arts on Oct. 2-3 and Etsy Dallas Jingle Bash at the Palladium on Nov. 20.

–PATRICIA IVANISEVIC

Corn dogs and beer!! I can’t wait for the State Fair of Texas! –KENDALL BUTLER

The Dallas Arboretum’s [Great Pumpkin Festival]! One of my favorite pictures is of me and my two grandsons there.

–VERA LAND STENCEL SHELBY

Walk Wag and Run on Oct. 23rd!!

–LISA-KAY PIEROTTI

State Fair of Texas: Fried Frito-chili pie. Feel the burn. –MARKHOLLAND

Pumpkins and fall flowers at the Farmer’s Market. –MARY FISKS. FARR

Fall calls for the State Fair!! Can’t wait.

–SUSAN KUSTELSKILONGLEY

That’s an easy one! It’s a series of events called “Friday night lights”. Nothing better in the fall than high school football! –DARLENE ELLISON

Friends of the Dallas Public Library’s Literary Lions Dinner with author Alexander McCall Smith on Oct. 22!

–DEBORAH BROWN

INYOURFACE(BOOK)!

We love to feature our Facebook fans here and on the website. Want to join the fan fun? Visit facebook.com/ AdvocateMagazines and “like” us, then email crobinson@advocatemag.com to request the Facebook fan questionnaire. We’ll schedule your profile to run in a future issue. You can also search “Facebook fan” on the website to check out past profiles.

LAUNCH

Urban Acres farm store is a 1,200-square-foot neighborhood grocery at Davis and Clinton. While organic markets like Whole Foods and the even more elusive Trader Joe’s have no plans to build in Oak Cliff, locally owned Urban Acres is here, quietly growing every month. It started as a food cooperative two years ago, and now it’s a market that’s open four days a week, Friday through Monday. Owner STEVEN BAILEY plans to have the store open seven days a week soon, and he wants to open a second store in the Dallas area.

How did Urban Acres get started?

We started running a food co-op about two years ago. Tommy Dyer, who is now the store manager, and I would get in the Volkswagen Rabbit and go find the best eggs or strawberries or milk we could find at local farms. It was many weekends of getting up before dawn and driving all over Texas. At first, we were bringing back five-dozen eggs, a couple of pints of berries, maybe some honey. We’ve tracked thousands and thousands of miles to find the best food.

Why did you do that?

You can find local, and you can find organic, but it’s really hard to find food that is both local and organic. We were just tired of it being hard to find. We were tired of not knowing where our food comes from, so this is our answer to that problem.

BenjAmIn HAgeR

So it wa S juSt among friendS at firSt?

Yes. it was just friends, and it was like, “Hey, where’d you get those eggs?” and then five friends becomes 15 families, and then people started asking us for specific stuff. So we would be out at these farms, and we’d ask, “do you know anyone who has organic sweet potatoes?” they’d tell us to ask this farmer down the road, and we’d wind up bringing back three big boxes of sweet potatoes.

How did it grow be Yond juSt Your friendS?

it happened organically. after about six months, it had grown so much that we were like, “uh, we might be onto something.” So many people wanted in on it, and that’s when i decided to hit the gas. we organized a little bit more, and we started bringing in produce. People can get a share [which is a bushel basket] of produce every two weeks, and you can add on stuff to your share like milk and eggs.

wHere do You oPerate grocerY co-oPS beSideS oak cliff?

we have them in irving, addison, Park cities, uptown, white rock. they get a share of produce every two weeks, and if they want to add anything, they have to come here to the store.

You oPened tHe Store Here about a Year ago. do You Have to be a co-oP member to SHoP Here? no. that’s one of the misconceptions. the market is for everyone in the community. because we started as a food co-op, people think that’s all we are. but if you just want to shop here in our market, you don’t have to be a part of the co-op. the co-op is the only way that we can do local organic produce. You only have to do that if you want a produce share. we carry produce that’s left over from the shares, so there’s always something you can buy. Plus, we carry organic meat, wild salmon, organic eggs, milk and most things you would expect to find in an organic market.

wHat’S next for urban acreS?

the texas Honeybee guild is putting a beehive on our roof, so we will have 75208 honey. everyone’s real excited about that. we would like to open another store maybe in the mckinney/allen area. there’s a real need for it there. this winter, if the wet initiative passes, we’d like to start selling organic beer and wine, microbrews and beer and wine from local makers. there’s so much good stuff out there.

—RaCheL Stone

More inforMation is avaiLabLe at urbanacresmarket.com.

What gives?

Small ways that you can make a big difference for neighborhood nonprofits

THIS MONTH, MAKE A DONATION

to Homeward Bound Inc. The nonprofit substance abuse and mental health treatment center in Oak Cliff serves more than 6,000 people a year. All of the center’s clients have substance abuse problems, and almost all of them require public assistance and scholarships to get help. Almost half of them are homeless, and most have mental health disorders. The center’s clients always need clothing, shoes and toiletries. The center also needs cleaning supplies, paper towels, toilet paper, bath towels, washcloths and bed linens. The center also takes credit card donations through its website, homewardboundinc.org.

OR PARTY IT UP ...

... during Art Conspiracy 6, at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 23 in a warehouse at 511 W. Commerce. The event this year benefits Today Marks the Beginning, a nonprofit that uses art to teach children about non-violence. The event will feature performances from Ishi, Seryn and Dem Southernfolkz, plus work from 150 local artists. Tickets are $10, and opening bids for artwork are $20. More information is available at artconspiracy.org.

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.

out&about

10.13.10-10.17.10

CYCLESOMATIC FREE Oak Cliff will be crawling with cyclists during Cyclesomatic, a five-day event raising awareness for a more bike-friendly environment. There’s something for everyone, including a ride to City Hall, a bike-to-work day, a Kiddical Mass, a bike-themed movie at the Belmont, art bikes, an Alley Cat Race and a Bike Block Party — just to name a few. A full schedule is available on the Bike Friendly Oak Cliff website. Group co-founder Holly Jefferson says events like these keep a dialogue going about promoting an active, tight-knit community in Oak Cliff. “We like to have a good time and share that with other people,” she says. bikefriendlyoc.wordpress.com/ cyclesomatic. —EMILY TOMAN

10.02-10.03 URBAN STREET BAZAAR

FREE More than 65 vendors will sell all kinds of handmade goods from noon-8 p.m. in the Bishop Arts District. Davis and Bishop. themakebazaar.com.

10.03 STEVIE RAY VAUGHAN MEMORIAL RIDE $20-$25 The 15th annual motorcycle parade for legendary musician and Oak Cliffborn Stevie Ray Vaughan starts at 11:15 a.m. at Hooters in the West End and travels to Cowboys Stadium in Arlington for a memorial concert. All proceeds go toward the SRV scholarship fund. The after-party will be at the Sons of Hermann Hall. srvrideandconcert.org.

10.08 DAVID CASTELL’S

BIRTHDAY $10 Several musicians will gather at 8 p.m. at The Kessler to honor local record producer David Castell, who has worked with artists like the Toadies, Smile Smile and the Butthole Surfers. Performers include Descender, Sunward and the live debut of Doug Neil’s solo project. 1230 W. Davis. thekessler.org.

10.09-10.10 FALL HOME TOUR $15-$20

The Old Oak Cliff Conservation League will hold its Fall Home Tour, noon to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. For details about tickets, visit ooccl.com.

The Oak Cliff Society for Fine Arts continues its series at the Turner House with “The Folk Art of Mexico and Central America”, 7:30-9 p.m. Curated by John Lunsford, the exhibit includes antique Mayan and Guatemalan textiles along with baskets, ceramics and sculptures. 401 N. Rosemont. 214.946.1670 or turnerhouse.org.

10.14 FALL SALON SERIES

Tex-Mex

IT ’s a fac T — Cliffites love their Tex-Mex, and El Ranchito on West Jefferson has been a part of that tradition for nearly 30 years. The history shows through the countless photographs of famous customers lining the walls of the entryway. Patrick Duffy stopped by back when “Dallas” was still on the air, and most recently, Disney Channel star Selena Gomez paid a visit. Today El Ranchito remains an Oak Cliff establishment. It was opened by the late Oscar Sanchez, whose family still owns the restaurant along with La Calle Doce. El Ranchito’s biggest seller is the parrillada Mexican — chicken, beef, sausage and ribs served on a fire grill. “It’s sort of a family-style dish,” says manager Juan Antonio Sanchez, brother-in-law of Oscar Sanchez. “They order a lot of that because it’s a buffet style.” Then there’s an item you won’t see on other Tex-Mex menus (vegans, cover your ears): cabrito a la parrilla or grilled baby goat. They used to order it straight from Monterrey, Mexico, because it was so hard to find. “Any way we could get it here, sometimes by Greyhound,” Sanchez says. Now, he orders it from a farm in Weatherford that delivers the goats freshly slaughtered. If you’re feeling less adventurous, there are plenty of Tex-Mex staples on the menu like tacos, enchiladas and burritos. Stop in any day for lunch, and receive a free order of El Ranchito’s famous rice pudding.

—EMILY TOMAN

Jeffe R son & llewellyn

214.946.4238

el R anchITo-dallas.coM

Pictured: Parrillada Mexican

YOUR GUIDE TO DINING OUT

CHUBBY’S $ When looking for a restaurant to have breakfast, lunch or dinner, we all want a place that serves up variety, hearty helpings and even bigger portions of friendliness. The Touris family has developed a recipe that delivers all of the above at a good price. With four locations in the Metroplex, Chubby’s Family Restaurant provides a rustic setting with down home cooking. Catering available.

Locations: 11331 E. NW Hwy. 214-348-6065 and 7474 S. Cockrell Hill Rd. 972-298-1270.

EL TIZONCITO $ Located at Illinois & Westmoreland, this Mexico City taqueria is a Dallas must-visit. The décor offers a casual experience that corrects the misconception of an original Taqueria. The Tacos al Pastor shaved down from the vertical oven and the unique Tamarind Margarita are a musttry. “What a pleasant surprise.” George Bush. “Excellent service complement exceptional food.” Gary Fisher. “Best Tacos in Dallas.” Mico Rodriguez. Sun-Thurs 10am-11pm Fri-Sat 10am-1am. Catering available. 3404 W Illinois Ave. 214.330.0839.

TILLMAN’S ROADHOUSE $$ODWB

Tillman’s is a place for really good food, drinks, and music in a fun, casual, come-as-you-are environment. An update on the classic Texas roadhouse with regional menu favorites, familiar tunes and no-one is a stranger hospitality — all energized with a modern take. A combination of both rustic and lush in everything from the menu to the décor make Tillman’s a good-time anytime destination. Bishop Arts District 324 West 7th St. 214.942.0988. www.tillmansroadhouse.com.

$ MOST ENTREES UNDER $10 / $$ BETWEEN $10-$20 / $$$ ABOVE $20 /

Mingle with cheese makers who share secrets on stuffing, topping, dipping and melting. From sampling stations to pairing advice, Central Market’s Hail to the Cheese will earn your vote in every department.

SPANN RECOVERY RED ($15) CALFORNIA >

Red blends — red wines made with more than one grape — are often misunderstood in the United States. We tend to think of them as somehow inferior to varietal wines — those made with just one grape — because they need more than one grape because the quality of the first grape isn’t very good.

In fact, nothing is further from the truth. Some of the world’s greatest wines are red blends, like French Bordeauxs and Rhones and some of the best Napa Valley cabernet sauvignons. And many California wines that say they are varietals may well have more than one grape in them. That’s because federal law allows producers to include up to 25 percent of another grape or grapes without changing the name of the wine or saying so on the label. Which means that your $12 bottle of pinot noir may be only 75 percent pinot, and one-quarter something else (often syrah).

So, as the weather turns cooler, give red blends another look. You’ll be surprised at what you find, as these wines demonstrate. All of these wines are available at Central Market:

This California wine is made with four grapes, including one that is white. Look for lots of fresh red fruit, low alcohol, and the quality and value that Peirano is known for. Serve this with hamburgers or any other endof-the-season backyard cookout.

best red Bordeaux can cost thousands of dollars a bottle, which means value is often in short supply. Fortunately, the Goudichaud (made of merlot and cabernet) offers a good look at how dark and complex red Bordeaux can be. This is a wine for those who like to pair wine with cheese.

Betsy and Peter Spann are former Casa Linda residents who moved to Sonoma to make wine, where they focus on blends. The Recovery Red has six grapes, and tastes of red berries. It’s a beef wine, but not especially heavy.

—JEFF SIEGEL

DALLAS

5750 E. LOVERS LANE | 214-234-7000

PLANO 320 COIT ROAD | 469-241-8300

JEFF SIEGEL’SWEEKLYWINE REVIEWS

appear every Wednesday on the Advocate Back Talk blog, oakcliff.advocatemag.com/blog

Our Hail to the Cheese festival is your chance to sample and save on over five hundred cheeses.

WITH YOUR WINE

New Orleansstyle red beans

What better way to enjoy fall’s cooler weather than with this Crescent City favorite? Serve it with plenty of white rice, some coleslaw or potato salad, and the red blend of your choice. Red beans are, of course, kidney beans, but New Orleans brands like Camellia that say “red beans” seem to provide the best results.

Serves six to eight, takes 3 to 4 hours

1 lb dry red beans

8 c water

1 ham bone or 2-3 pork neck bones or 1 lb smoked sausage, cut in 3/4-inch pieces

2 onions, chopped

1 bell pepper chopped

1/2 rib celery, chopped

2 Tbsp garlic, chopped

2 bay leaves

Red pepper, black pepper and salt to taste

1. Put everything but the salt into a heavy pot, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer, partially cover, and cook until the beans start to get tender, 1 to 2 hours depending on the beans.Check the beans periodically; add more water if necessary.

2. When the beans start to get tender, add salt. Carefully remove the ham bone or neck bones, carefully remove the meat, and put the meat back in the pot.

3. When the beans are done, in another hour or so, mash some of the beans against the side of the pot to make the mixture creamier and thicker.

ask the WINE GUY?

WHY ARE THERE WHITE GRAPES IN RED WINE BLENDS?

This is a common practice in France, where the white juice makes the red wines lighter in taste and mouth feel.

—JEFF SIEGEL

What does it take to get a drink in this neighborhood?

Navigating through 100 years of complicated laws is the current answer. After November, however, that may change.

Story by Jeff Siegel, Keri Mitchell & Rachel Stone

Timeline of liquor laws in Texas

1843 Republic of Texas passes what may have been the first local-option measure in North America. This means each community in the state can decide its own liquor laws, setting the scene for 167 years of confusion.

1845 TEXAS LAW BANS SALOONS, BUT IS RARELY ENFORCEDAND IS REPEALED IN 1856.

1903

Local option voting takes most of North Texas dry, except for Dallas and Fort Worth.

1887 Prohibition amendment

to Texas Constitution fails, and state remains “local option”: A county, city or justice of the peace precinct can vote wet or dry. This means that parts of the same county can have entirely different liquor laws.

1917

DALLAS VOTES DRY.

Illustration by Jynnette Neal

1919

TEXASADDS PROHIBITION AMENDMENTTO STATE CONSTITUTION. 1920

1911 The only proper attitude for “any Christian man and thoughtful citizen,” said Texas Baptists, was “one of ceaseless and truceless hostility against the entire liquor oligarchy, local, county, state, and national, root and branch.”

1929 Colliers magazine reports that Dallas, despite Prohibition, is wide open — reporter Owen P. White bought liquor in six places in a twoblock stretch of downtown, and there were more than a hundred others in the city. city

almost

to

how important next month’s wet-dry election is in Dallas’ social and cultural history. It’s not only the biggest wet-dry election in U.S. history since the end of Prohibition, but it’s also a landmark moment in Dallas. Since before Prohibition — for almost 100 years — most of Dallas has been dry in one form or another. It has been as much a part of Dallas as 100-degree days and the Cowboys.

In this, our wet-dry boundaries affected everyone. In dry areas, of course, residents have had to drive across town to buy a bottle of wine or a six-pack and couldn’t even order a drink in a restaurant until 1971. Even today, the private club limitations in dry areas that went into affect in 1971 make it more difficult to order liquor in Oak Cliff and North Dallas than in Lakewood. And even residents in wet areas feel the difference. If you live in a wet part of town that borders a dry area, you witness the Friday night flight to the liquor stores that guard the border.

All of this could change next month. If voters approve the two issues on the ballot, every restaurant in the city, regardless of wet-dry status, will be able to sell beer, wine and spirits without the private club paperwork, and retailers with the appropriate state licenses will be able to sell beer and wine.

In this month’s magazine, we look at the history of Dallas’ wet-dry status, our unique (and often frustrating) liquor laws, the role religion has played in keeping Dallas dry, and what it will mean to our neighborhood if voters approve both issues.

1944

1940

The town of Preston Hollow (not yet annexed by Dallas) votes dry, 97 to 49.

1935 Two years after federal Prohibition is repealed, Texas voters repeal state prohibition. Local option returns; areas that were wet before Prohibition are wet again. In Dallas, only Oak Cliff, with beer sales, is wet.

DALLAS COUNTY VOTES WET, 47,343 TO 23,540.

2010

DALLAS’ WET-DRY ELECTION GOES TO THETEXAS SUPREMECOURT, WHICH WILL DECIDEWHETHER THERE ARE VALIDENOUGH SIGNATURES TO HOLD THE REFERENDUM. IF THERE ARE, IT WILL GO TO VOTERS IN NOVEMBER.

1956 Oak Cliff votes dry, 17,123 to 15,403, and remains dry after elections in 1957 and 1960 fail to reverse its status.

1971

VOTERS APPROVE LIQUOR BY THE DRINK IN A TEXAS-WIDE REFERENDUM. FOR THE FIRST TIME IN TEXAS HISTORY, RESTAURANT PATRONS WILL BE ALLOWED TO BUY COCKTAILS.

t’s

impossible

overstate

1976: Addison votes wet, 242-70 in one of the first successful wet-dry elections in Dallas County since Prohibition. In this, it is the beginning of the end of the dry laws that had dominated Dallas for more than century. Most of the city’s suburbs would follow suit, in some form or another, over the next two decades.

2004: Carrollton votes wet for retail beer and wine sales (6,197

6,759 to 2,595).

How long has liquor been a political debate?

1977: Plano votes wet for retail beer and wine sales, 5,791 to 4,464.

2006: Richardson votes wet for retail beer and wine, 6,817 to 3,224.

2007: Mesquite votes wet for restaurant alcohol sales, 7,235 to 4,866, but votes to remain dry for retail beer and wine sales, 6,482 to 5,680.

Wet-dry has always beencontroversial in Texas. In 1887, a leading anti-Prohibitionist, R.Q. Mills, accused the media of bias in its reporting of the wet side during the fight over adding a Prohibition amendment to the state constitution: “The Prohibitionists had a monopoly with our reporting,” and he said the media who had criticized his position were guilty of fraud.

Andin1920,prominentDallasphysician Dr. CurticeRosserexchangedletterswithhisfriend William Jennings Bryan, the thrice-failed Democratic presidentialcandidate,aboutthemostimportant issues in the upcoming presidential election. They agreed it would be war profiteering, the ratification of the Treaty of Versailles (that ended World War I) and Prohibition.

Did Dallasites make moonshine?

Stillsandcorn liquorarenotjusthillbilly doings. In 1936, reported a Dallas newspaper, police raided a still in the “North Dallas Negro district” near what is todayColeandLemmon. Theyseized950gallonsof mash, but the still’s operators escaped — even though thenewspaper reportedthat thepolicehad stakedoutthe house for most of the night.

Will a “wet” Dallas mean that a beer barn can set up shop on my corner?

Cars wind into a drivethrough convenience store on a Friday night, giving their orders to gloomy girls generally wearing bikini tops, short shorts and too much makeup.

The beer barn girls retrieve six packs of beer, bottles of liquor, cigarettes and whatever else people order from their driver-side windows.

These beer barns line West Jefferson just outside Oak Cliff in the city of Cockrell Hill, where voters elected to allow liquor, beer and wine sales in 2007, when the city was on the brink of bankruptcy.

“We don’t want that in Oak Cliff,” says RenataChavez, who lives in the Tivoli Place neighborhood and worries that such stores could encroach on her neighborhood, bringing with them vagrants, prostitution and a general uptick in crime.

But many believe allowing the sale of beer and wine in grocery and convenience stores in Oak Cliff could help the neighborhood attract business without allowing the seedy, drive-through-beer-stores kind.

“People don’t want that in their backyard, and I don’t blame them,” says Oak Cliff Chamber of Commerce president Bob Stimson.

Zoning regulations in Oak Cliff would require special use permits from the City PlanCommission before a drive-through convenience store could open, he says, and he believes that Oak Cliff residents are vigilant enough to keep them away.

Every day that Oak Cliff is dry, Stimson says, the area is losing revenues to nearby cities that are wet, such as Duncanville.

“It’s not like people in Oak Cliff are not drinking already,” Stimson says.

Don’t most Oak Cliff restaurants already sell beer, wine and cocktails?

Allowing retail beer-and-wine sales is one option voters have in the November election. They also have the option to allow the sale of beer and wine in restaurants in dry areas such as Oak Cliff.

Those sales effectively already are legal through the club membership loophole, but operating as a club requires extra paperwork and expense.

Proponents of the wet initiative say club memberships effectively are a $10,000$20,000 annual tax on business owners whose real estate happens to fall in dry areas.

Under state law, liquor distributors such as BenE. Keith are prohibited from delivering to restaurants in dry areas. So restaurants serving alcohol under the club membership model must purchase and pick up their alcohol from Class B retail warehouses, which charge about 11 percent more than wholesale distributors, says Matt Spillers, owner of Eno’s restaurant in Bishop Arts. That adds labor and transportation costs, including vehicles, insurance and fuel. Plus, the Texas Alcoholic BeverageCommission charges extra fees to restaurants operating as private clubs, and private clubs must keep separate books for food and alcohol sales.

Only so much of that added cost can be passed onto consum-

Is being dry the only factor keeping grocery stores from expanding into Oak Cliff?

ers. So restaurant owners in dry areas are less likely to profit from alcohol sales than their competitors in wet areas a few miles away.

“I would almost say I would never open another restaurant in a dry area,” says Spillers, a vocal proponent of the change (although this fall he is opening a new Bishop Arts District restaurant, Oddfellows, with nine investors).

OakCliff restaurateurs already are taking risks by investing in our neighborhood, says Amy Cowan, a political consultant and neighborhood activist, who is also one of the Oddfellows investors.

OakCliff residents alone can’t sustain the neighborhood’s better restaurants, so to be successful, Oak Cliff restaurants must draw business from across the river. That can be a challenge, and adding the complication and expense of club membership creates an unfair disadvantage for business owners already “pioneering” Oak Cliff, Cowan says.

“It really limits who can afford to do business in OakCliff,” she says.

Yes and no, says neighborhood resident Monte Anderson of Options RealEstate, which focuses on land in Oak Cliff and southern Dallas.

“Most of those people want to sell beer and wine, and that’s been an obstacle on the grocery store front,” Anderson says. It’s “probably not the only thing, no, but it’s a big thing for companies like Whole Foods. What I hear from them is they are not coming without it.”

The only current location in Oak Cliff being considered by a grocery store is the mixed-use Sylvan | Thirty project along Sylvan between I-30 and Fort Worth Avenue. That site is adjacent to Kessler Park and also receives traffic “bleeding in from downtown and all of the traffic going to Grand Prairie and Arlington,” Anderson says.

Brent Jackson, the project’s developer, says a grocer has signed a letter of intent with Sylvan | Thirty, and he hopes to make an announcement sometime before the end of the year. As of press time, Jackson would only say that he looked for a grocer that “can really cater to all walks of life and to a more diverse consumer base … If you have a grocer that is narrowly focused in its consumer base, then they won’t succeed on our site, and quite frankly, that market is fairly saturated over here.”

The grocer that intends to be part of Sylvan | Thirty will

be “organic, mindful and interested in a diverse consumer base, and an extremely creative grocer,” says Jackson, whose site plan carves out 8,000 square feet for a grocery store (traditional stores are around 40,000 square feet). However, he says, “it’s not a done deal by any stretch of the imagination,” and the wet-dry election could make an impact.

Jackson wouldn’t say whether the grocer’s final decision hinges on that plot of real estate becoming wet, but he did say that, in general, “whether or not a grocer would make a decision to come to Oak Cliff, and I’m speculating here, I would imagine it’s going to have some bearing on their decision. Not all grocers require beer and wine sales, but you always want to have as wide of a net as possible to ensure you get the right candidate for the area.

“For our project specifically, it is extremely important to have beer and wine sales within the project; whether or not housed within the grocer is yet to be determined.”

Proponents of the wet initiative say club memberships effectively are a $10,000-$20,000 annual tax on business owners whose real estate happens to fall in dry areas.

“Most [stores] want to sell beer and wine, and that’s been an obstacle on the grocery store front.”

When did Oak Cliff become dry?

1956 Oak Cliff votes dry, 17,123 to 15,403, and remains dry after elections in 1957 and 1960 fail to reverse its status.

OakCliff

was a rocking place in the early 1950s. HowabouttheRedDevilonWest Davis, or Pappy’s Showland on Fort Worth Avenue?

“There were a lot of places to go get a beer back then,” says Bill Strouse, a retired Air Force airman who grew up in Oak Cliff.

In fact, Oak Cliff had a bit of a reputation before a 1956 election turned it dry. More than 500 neighborhood locations had licenses to serve beer, mostly along Beckley, Davis, Singleton and Fort Worth. News accounts before the election said most of the licenses belonged to drive-in markets and cafés, but bars and grocery stores sold beer as well.

A group called the Oak Cliff Civic LoyaltyLeaguepetitionedforthe election,anditspresident,Buel R.Crouch,pastorofGraceTemple BaptistChurch,saidithad12,000 members representing 150 churches.

“The election was pretty passionate on the church side,” Strouse says. “I don’t think it was about crime. I think their objection was mostly moral.”

Turnout, however, wasn’t especially heavy.The drys won with 53 percent ofthevote,butonly33,000people voted — about 10,000 less than had voted in the governor’s race a month earlier. Still, there was some speculation that their victory would give the drys enough momentum to win a wetdry election in what was then Justice Precinct 1, which included most of the city north of the Trinity and was the last wet part of Dallas County.

That momentum never materialized, and no election was ever held. However, the drys did win wet-dry elections in OakCliff in 1957 and 1960, both instigated by wets, who were defeated by larger margins than in 1956.

Texas’Class B system dates to 1971, as a companion to a law allowing restaurants and bars to sell liquor by the drink. Before that, no restaurant in Texas was allowed to sell liquor even in wet areas (although they could sell beer and wine). Customers brought their booze with them from home, and the restaurant sold them setups — mixers, juices and the like.

The reason for the law? Retailers who thought liquor by the drink would cost them sales successfully lobbied state legislators, who gave them a monopoly on selling liquor to restaurants, bars and private clubs (restaurants that serve liquor in the state’s dry areas). Retailers said they would lose business because consumers would stop buying liquor at their stores to bring to restaurants. So the legislature agreed to give them the monopoly to make up for the lost sales.

Retailers who sell liquor to restaurants and private clubs are called Class B retailers, after the name of the license they obtain. They include some of the state’s best-known retailers, including Sigel’s and Goody Goody in the Dallas area. Texas is one of three states — Kansas and South Carolina are the others — with four tiers of distribution: manufacturer, distributor, retailer and restaurant. The other 47 just have three — manufacturer, distributor and restaurant.

According to this 1971 state law, every restaurant in Texas, whether it’s in a wet or dry area, must purchase liquor from a Class B retailer. The November election would not change this law; it would simply eliminate private clubs in Dallas and make every restaurant a restaurant, in terms of how it can purchase and sell alcohol.

The difference between private clubs and restaurants is that liquor can be delivered to restaurants in wet areas, whereas private club restaurants in dry areas must travel to a Class B retailer’s warehouse to pick up liquor — Sigel’s is near Harry Hines and Preston, and Goody Goody’s is in Addison, for example. Private clubs must also buy their beer and wine from Class B retailers, while restaurants in wet areas can buy beer and wine directly from the distributors. Class B r etailers also buy their beer and wine from distributors, which translates to a markup when the retailers sell it to private clubs.

What does this mean for consumers? Typically, but not always, they’ll pay more for alcohol in a private club. The extra tier adds cost to the product, and restaurants usually pass that onto their customers. >>

What’s all this about “Class B retailers”?

Before 1971 customers brought their booze with them from home, and the restaurant sold them setups — mixers, juices and the like.

Private club restaurants in dry areas must travel to a Class B retailer’s warehouse to pick up liquor.

How do Texans outside of Dallas like their liquor?

Alcohol has never been especially popular with Texans. When Prohibition began in 1919, 199 of the 254 counties were dry; 43 were practically dry, including Dallas County. Even today, according to the Texas AlcoholicBeverageCommission, 29 of the 254 counties are still dry, and only 43 are completely wet.

It could be worse … what if the state owned our liquor stores?

In 18 states (and one county)intheU.S., thestateownsthe liquorstores.These arecalledcontrol states,andthough therearedifferences in how eachstate defines control (some statesallowprivate retailers to sell wine or beer, for example), the result is that what is for sale is controlled by the state.

ThisisalegacyofProhibition;the political compromise that made repeal possible allowed each state to pass its own liquor laws.

Pennsylvaniahastakencontrolone step further. Currently, grocery stores in Pennsylvania can’t sell wine. Instead, the state liquor authorities have installed wine vending machines, from which the customer can buy wine, similar to buying a soft drink or a candy bar from a vendingmachine.Similar,butwitha couple of exceptions.

The consumer puts his or her driver’slicenseintothemachine,where ageinformationonthebarcodeis processed. The photo on the driver’s license is matched with a video image of the buyer at the kiosk, and a state liquor board employee monitors each transaction to confirm that the video of the buyer matches the driver’s license.

How is it that Dallas County is dry yet parts of Dallas are wet?

1944

DALLAS COUNTY VOTES

WET, 47,343 TO 23,540.

The basis forTexas’ wet-dry laws is local option, which does what it says: Local voters can decide whether to sell alcohol in their locality. It’s one of the cornerstones of the Texas liquor system, says Lou Bright, former general counsel for the Texas Alcoholic BeverageCommission.

“The priority is that local voters always have the final say, and can’t be forced to change their local preference by someone from outside their locality,” Bright says. “This doesn’t mean that it’s not confusing or can’t be ambiguous, but that’s always the principle.”

How confusing? Consider what happened in 2006, when a group of North DallasandLakeHighlandsresidents tried to schedule a wet-dry election for theirrespectivesectionsofthecity.

TheTexas Supreme Court ruled that thewet-dryelectioncouldn’tbeheld because the election was designated for the current Justice of the Peace precinct boundaries, when it should have been designatedfortheboundariesestablished in 1877, when the area went dry.

State law defines localities three ways and uses the principle that the larger locality, such as a city, can’t force a smaller locality, such as a JP precinct, to change its behavior:

precincts are not voting precincts, but legal and administrative divisions within a county. One JP precinct can be dry, while the one next to it in the same city or county can be wet. Interestingly, Dallas’ wet-dry boundaries don’t follow the current JP lines, but older, less-welldefined JP boundaries.

REAL ESTATE REPORT

area home values

*Statistics are compiled by Carlos Cavazos Realty,

it sounds. A JP precinct that’s dry can’t beturnedwetinacitywideelection unless all of the precinct is within the city.This was one of the issues in the run-up to the November election, when there was some doubt as to whether the JP precinct in Oak Cliff that went dry in 1956 was contained within the city of Dallas.Turns out it was.

it sounds, and for many of the same reasons. When Lubbock voted wet in 2009, the drys claimed that part of the county was dry from previous elections, and that a city-wide election couldn’t affectthoseareas—whichincluded in court.>>

JP Precinct 3

JP Precinct 2

JP Precinct 1

Wet Beer & Wine only

JP Precinct 4

JP Precinct 5

Interestingly, Dallas’ wet-dry boundaries don’t follow the current Justice of the Peace precinct lines, but older, less-well-defined JP boundaries.

Is most of Dallas still dry for religious reasons?

Religious groups have traditionally taken the lead in fighting wet-dry elections in Texas, and they played a key role 50 years ago when Oak Cliff went dry. But there doesn’t seem to be much organized religious opposition to November’s two wet-dry ballot issues.

Does this mean that neighborhood churches don’t care about the issue any more? Or that Dallas is less religious than it used to be?

No on both counts, several religious leaders say. It’s not so much that alcohol isn’t important; rather, it’s that other issues have become more important, and abstinence isn’t the issue it once was. In addition, Dallas has changed significantly from the smaller, predominantly mainstream Protestant city of the 1960s and 1970s to a million-plus population urban center that includes more Catholics, Jews and non-denominational Protestants — all of whom are less concerned about alcohol.

“We’re just getting to this point later than other cities,” says George Mason, pastor at the moderate Wilshire BaptistChurch. “The city is more diverse, and we have more people who have different attitudes about this subject.”

Also, says Rev. Tim McLemore of SMU, alcohol is no longer the good vs. evil issue that it has traditionally been among the mainline Protestant groups that have been in the forefront of the U.S. temperance movement. Mason says this is even true for some conservative Baptists.

“We have knowledge about the benefits of the limited use of alcohol that we didn’t have 100 years ago,” says McLemore, who notes that the United Methodists have changed their views to allow “judicious use” of alcohol. “So we’re less inclined to take a black and white view.”

Finally,churcheshavelessinfluenceovertheir members than they did two and three decades ago. Times were, Mason says, if the church said not to drink, believers didn’t drink. These days, that veto power is largely gone.

What am I actually voting on?

Dallas voters will decide two issues in November’s wet-dry election:

2. Whether to allow the sale of beer and wine, but not spirits,atretailersthroughout the entire city. Currently, only one-third of Dallas — roughly WhiteRock Lake to Irving and downtown to Walnut Hill — is wet for retail sales.

1. Whether to eliminate the private club regulation for restaurants that sell alcohol in dry areas. The private club rule, in place since 1971, requires restaurants to admit customers into the restaurant’s club so they can buy alcohol. It also requires the restaurant to keep a paper trail of club members.

FOR INFORMATION

VISITDALCOELECTIONS.ORG.

Neitherissueisdependent on the other. Voters can elect to allow retail sales but keep the private club restrictions, or vice versa.

“The city is more diverse, and we have more people who have different attitudes about this subject.”

WOW HOUSES

t his year’s F all home tour is a dazzler

For 36 years, the oldoak CliFF Conservation League has asked Oak Cliff neighbors to open their houses for its annual fall home tour. Since then, the league has raised tens of thousands of dollars for 29 Oak Cliff neighborhood associations, which have used the money to make our neighborhood a more beautiful, safer place to live.

This year’s tour includes 12 homes, and all of them are spectacular. These are just a taste.

Double house

thehouseat845N.Oak cliff blvd. really is two houses.

MarkNiermannand enrique MacGregor bought a 1,200-squarefoot 1950s modern house on Stevens Park Golf course about four years ago. When neighbors in the adjacent house moved out, they bought that house, too.

“Itwas a tear-down,”Niermann says of the second house.

SotheyhiredarchitectJeffrey brown of brW to expand their house totheadjacentlot.Hecameup with a design that included adding, essentially, a second house that connects to and mirrors the original.

theresultis a cohesive 4,000-square-foot house that is one of the showstoppers on this year’s fall home tour.

the front door of the house opens to what its owners call “the box”, a foyer connecting the old and new structures. concrete floors stretch throughout the new side of the house and expand to an outdoor deck that wraps around the rectangular building, creating visual continuity with the outdoors.

the owners collect art — ted Kincaid

and Arie Van Selm, for example — and the house was designed to showcase it. With its glass walls and skylights, the home floods with natural light. even on the grayest of days, electric lights aren’t necessary.

the couple has hosted a wine-tasting fundraiser for the twelve Hills Nature center four years running.

“We’ve had parties for 400 people,” MacGregor says. “We just open the doors, and it spills out onto the terrace. It doesn’t feel crowded at all.” but a dinner for six people still feels cozy, he adds.

the original house was reconfigured because “we didn’t want it to seem like ‘the old house’ and ‘the new house’,” MacGregor says.

the original part of the house now includes a master suite with a sitting room and an office overlooking the golf course.

the former kitchen is now a bedroom, and its elegant modern cabinetry was reused in a guesthouse. they also reused as much of the home’soriginalpendantlightfixtures as possible.

“It’s a 21stcenturytakeon a 1950s design,” MacGregor says.

This house on the Old Oak Cliff Conservation League’s Fall Home Tour backs up to Stevens Park Golf Course.

Story by Rachel Stone

Photos by Benjamin Hager

After the fire

t his isn’t Pam and Dan Williams’ firstturnonthefallhometour. t heir1930sgrocerystore-turnedhouse on Montclair was on the tour five years ago.

As much as they liked that house, it had little more than a patch of grass for their longhaired dachshunds.

“We reallymissedhaving a backyard,” Pam Williams says.

they’re in doggie Disneyland since the Williamses moved to a two-story house in Stevens Park estates three years ago.

theNewOrleans-stylehousehad a fire that started in a second-story bedroom, and they almost didn’t buy it. but they’re no strangers to renovation projects. this is the fifth Oak cliff house the couple has renovated, and they took every room down to the studs, save a formal living room.

“there’snothingwedidn’ttouch,” Dan Williams says.

theyknockeddownwalls,closed in patios, extended rooms for added squarefootageupstairsanddown, closed off doorways, and opened others. their friend, Oak cliff blacksmith charles Mustin, who died a few years ago,createdcustommetalworkfor theirstaircase. constructiontook

about seven months.

Nowthe once-burnedupstairs includes a master suitewith an attached den, a guest suite with a sitting room and the “Mexico room”, a guest bedroom that showcases art from the couple’s frequent getaways. e ach bedroom has its own bathroom and balcony.

Although the house has a traditional feel, Pam Williams likes bold colors, and she’s good with them. the home’s entrywayis a shadeofchartreuse that changes with the light of day. She uses complementary purples and greens throughout the house, and the master bedroom is a powder blue that feels traditional yet fresh.

She also designed the massive backyard,wherethethreedachshunds cansinkintothezoysiagrassfor hours of exploring. It took 22 truckloads of earth to fill in an enormous, outdatedswimmingpool.Williams designed the perimeter fence, replacingchain-linkwithhogwireand cedar. And she designed a network of pathways, gardens and sitting areas with pergolas, fountains and fire pits.

“I always say my parents never sent me to camp, so I built my own campground,” she says.

Pam and Dan Williams rebuilt this 1930s New Orleans-style house after fire nearly destroyed it.

From cramped to cool

David Wayne and Alex Ste. Marie moved from a condo in Oak Lawn to a 1950s house on Kessler Park’s Shady Lane six years ago.

they loved the old trees, big lots and easy commute — Wayne to Arlington and Ste. Marie to Oak Lawn. but the house wasn’t quite “them”, so they set out to renovate it.

And wow, did they ever. they did the typical remodeling stuff. the house had cheap updates in the ’80s, and nothing was cohesive. So they updated the kitchen, remodeled the pink-and-green subway-tiled bathroom, and placed a stone veneer on the fireplace and one living room wall. they replaced every doorknob, drawer pull, screw and ceiling.

but none of that compares to their biggest, most expensive project. they converted a 400-square-foot garage at the back of the house into a Sinatra-worthy family room. Sounds simple, but it’s not.

Aside from construction, the project required them to install a new air conditioning unit. And since they lost their parking spaces, they added a steel-andcanvas canopy carport, which doubles as an outdoor living space, complete with an outdoor fireplace and chimney.

All told, they spent about $250,000 on the renovation, “which is almost embarrassing,” Ste. Marie says.

“We never intended to purchase the house and spend that much updating it,” he says.

but the result is an open floor plan that invites visitors from the front door, through the kitchen, into the swanky, modern den and the backyard deck with its hot tub and tropical plants. Where the garage had once stunted the house and blocked the backyard, there is now a grown-folks playroom with a fireplace, golden terrazzo tile floors, built-in bookshelves and sleek modern furniture.

So after a six-year remodel, what’s next?

“We’ve used every square inch, and we’ve kept it a 1950s house with modern conveniences,” Ste. Marie says. “We’re done with the house, and we’re enjoying all the work we put into it.” n

The Old Oak Cliff COnservaTiOn league’s fall hOme TOur is Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 9-10 from noon-6 p.m. Tickets are $20 for adults and $15 for seniors. Find details at ooccl.org.

David Wayne and Alex Ste. Marie moved from Oak Lawn to Kessler Park for the big lots and old trees.

DOwN IN ThE vALLE y

Oak Cliff resident h ollis w akefield took her Advocate to the Black Cat Winery in Napa Valley, Calif.

FINDINg ThEIR ROOTs

The Maggio and Merlino families traveled with their Advocate to the small village of Pfeffelbach, Germany where their ancestors lived.

sUBmIT yOUR phOTO. Email a jpeg to editor@advocatemag.com.

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November deadliNe oct. 13

business

DIRT DesIgn sTuDIo opened in the Bishop Arts District, 417 Bishop, in the former Decorazon gallery. The eco-friendly flower shop creates custom arrangements and reduces waste by recycling aluminum cans and using them as plant containers. To learn more, visit dirtflowers.com.

AvIATIon CInemAs, owned by Dallas filmmaker Barak Epstein, has taken over management of the Texas Theatre, which is undergoing renovations. Weekly screenings will start back up Sept. 30.

mAke shop AnD sTuDIo’s uRbAn sTReeT bAz AAR is evolving from a twice-a-year outdoor weekend event to a six-days-a-week indoor market. Make owner Julie McCullough Kim is leasing a 5,000-squarefoot building at 216 W. 7th, and turning it into IndieGenius, which she calls a “micro-boutique marketplace” showcasing 50-80 Etsy crafters, fashion and furniture designers, and more. IndieGenius should open for business in October. For details visit beinidiegenius.com.

JAmIe LAWs AnD eLIzAbeTh CummIngs have leased the former Oak Cliff Mercantile building at Davis and Van Buren for a gardening store. The store, Repotted, was expected to open at the end of September with a focus on organic and locally grown plants.

The shop, a skateboard shop, is expected to open in the Bishop Arts District in October. Owners P.J. Thebeau and Clay Keys leased the space on Davis at Bishop that once housed street-wear store 10 Footwear. Thebeau is part owner of California-based Hype Skateboards, and he owned Superior Skate Shop in Duncanville for almost six years.

community

The oAk CLIff ChAmbeR of CommeRCe will present an Insider Tips Workshop, “Contracting Tips for Non Attorneys”, noon-1 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 13 in the chamber conference room, 400 S. Zang Suite 110. For details, call 214.943.4567.

education

DAvID peRez, a fifth-grader at Santa Clara Catholic Academy in Oak Cliff, was among eight Hispanic students who received a scholarship from the Jethsuby Scholarship Fund of the Catholic Foundation. The fund supports Hispanic students with financial obstacles.

people

vICkI fITzgeRALD, a volunteer with the Old Oak Cliff Conservation League and Turner House who is battling throat cancer, was honored at a benefit at the Kessler Theater in August. Neighbors raised more than $6,000 to help pay for her medical bills. For details about how to contribute, visit theheartoftheneighborhood.org.

correction: The photo of a boxer on page 21 of the September Advocate is Max DeLeon. See page 2 for a picture of Abraham Torres.

hAve An ITem To be feATuReD?

Please submit news items and/or photos concerning neighborhood residents, activities, honors and volunteer opportunities to editor@advocatemag.com. Our deadline is the first of the month prior to the month of publication.

EDUCATION GUIDE

St. John’s Episcopal School

Pre-k through

LAKEHILL PREPARATORY SCHOOL

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

ST. JOHN’S EPISCOPAL SCHOOL

848 Harter Rd. Dallas 75218 / 214.328.9131

www.stjohnsschool. org / Founded in 1953, St. John’s is an independent, co-educational day school for Pre-K through Grade 8. With a tradition for academic excellence, St. John’s programs include a challenging curriculum in a Christian environment along with instruction in the visual and performing arts, Spanish, German, French, and opportunities for athletics and community service. St. John’s goal for its students is to develop a love for learning, service to others, and leadership grounded in love, humility, and wisdom. Accredited by ISAS, SAES, and the Texas Education Agency.

69% of our readers say they want to know more about Private Schools.

SJES admits qualified students of any race, color, religion, gender, and national or ethnic origin.

AC & HEAT

A FAMILY TRADITION FOR 60 YEARS Quigley Heat & Air 214-526-8533

BLUE RIBBON

Heating & Air Conditioning 214-823-8888

CARPENTRY & REMODELING

BO HANDYMAN Kitchens, baths, doors, cabinets, custom carpentry, drywall & painting 214-437-9730

DAVIS Custom Carpentry & Home Repair/Remodel davis.charles94@yahoo.com 214-608-9171

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

HANDY DAN “The Handyman” To Do’s Done Right! www.handy-dan.com 214-252-1628

PREVIEW CONSTRUCTION INC.

HardiPlank 50 Yr. Cement Siding, Energy Star Windows. Kitchens-Baths-Additions & More. 214-348-3836. See Photo Gallery at: www.previewconstruction.com

REMODEL FOR LESS 972-822-7501 www.CuttingEdgeRenovationsLLC.com

COMPUTERS & ELECTRONICS

CONFUSED? FRUSTRATED? Let A Seasoned Pro Be The Interface Between You & That Pesky Computer. Hardware & Software Installation, Troubleshooting, Training, $60/hr. 1 Hr. Min. Dan 214-660-3733 Or stykidan@sbcglobal.net

I CAN FIX IT NOW! 214-926-7144 Computer & Network Support. Operating Systems, Hardware, Security & Game Consoles. OMGFixit.com.

CONCRETE/ MASONRY/PAVING

CAZARES CONCRETE Concrete retaining walls, Patios, Driveways, Removal, Sidewalks. 214-202-8958 Free estimates.

ELECTRICAL SERVICES

ABBA ELECTRIC Fast Courteous Service. Resd/Com. 10% Off for New Clients. 214-886-2202. TECL#20663

ACCURATE ELECTRIC

All Jobs.Panel Upgrades. Free Est. TECL# 27297. Steve. 214-718-9648

ALL ELECTRICAL SERVICES 972-877-4183

Res/Com E19347 McCarter Electrical Service, Inc. $50 Off Service Calls in October

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

ANTHONY’S ELECTRIC Family Owned/Operated. Insd.19 Yrs Exp.TECL24948 214-328-1333

HANDY DAN “The Handyman” To Do’s Done Right. handy-dan.com Fans, etc 214-252-1628

New Creation GROUP

Remodel Design Renovation 214-766-2677

www.newcreationgroup.com

KITCHENAND BATH SPECIALISTS WHOLE HOUSE RENOVATION IN-HOUSE DESIGN & PLANNING LICENSED & INSURED 214.341.1448

WWW.OBRIENGROUPINC.COM

VISA, MASTER CARD, AMERICAN EXPRESS

CLEANING SERVICES

$20 OFF - MAID 4 YOU Bonded & Insured. Park Cities/M Street Refs. Joyce. 214-232-9629

CINDY’S HOUSE CLEANING 15 yrs exp. Resd/Com. Refs. Dependable. 972-213-8614

CLEAN FREAKS Since 2005. Free Estimates. DallasCleanFreaks.com Call Today! 214-821-8888

WINDOW MAN WINDOW CLEANING.COM

Residential Specialists. BBB. 214-718-3134

972-926-7007

www.ArrowElectric.net

FENCING & DECKS

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

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

AUTO GATES $2500

469-878-4450

AUTOMATIC DRIVEWAY GATES Installation, Repair, Maintenance, Residential, Commercial. Lone Star Access Control. 214-532-9608

FENCING & DECKS

INTERIOR DESIGN

KIM ARMSTRONG INTERIOR DESIGN www.interiorsbykim.com

COWBOY

FENCE & IRON CO.

214.692.1991

EST. 1991 #1 SPECIALIZING IN Wood Fences &Auto Gates

cowboyfenceandiron.com

FLOORING & CARPETING

MASTERPIECE HARDWOODS Install, Sand And Finish. Old World Handscrapes. 469-853-2039

WORLEY TILE & FLOORING Custom Marble Install. 214-779-3842

WHITE ROCK FLOORS

Hardwoods Tile Carpet Low VOC Wood Refinishing wrfloors@sbcglobal.net 214-341-1667

Willeford hardwood floors Superior Quality: Installation Refinishing Repair Cleaning&Waxing Old World Hand Scrape 214-824-1166

GARAGE DOORS

ACCESS GARAGE DOOR New Install. Repair/Replace. 24/7 Emgcy. Free Estimates. 214-585-7663 perfectaccessgaragedoors.com

GLASS, WINDOWS & DOORS

CUSTOM STAINED/ LEADED GLASS & Repair. 26 years exp. 214-356-8776

OAK CLIFF MIRROR & GLASS Custom showers, doors, glass, mirrors. 214-747-3717

HANDYMAN SERVICES

BO HANDYMAN Kitchens, baths, doors, cabinets, custom carpentry, drywall & painting 214-437-9730

HANDY DAN “The Handyman” To Do’s Done Right. www.handy-dan.com 214-252-1628

INTERIOR DESIGN

A CLEAN SLATE Bring Life Into Your Home This Summer. Interior & Event Design Services. Tablescapes, Artful Details. Don Moore Interiors and Event Design. For A Free Consultation. dpm0202@mac.com 270-993-0782

A&B INTERIOR DESIGN Res/Com. Interior Design Services. www.abinteriordesigns.com. Licensed./NCIDQ Cert. 214-763-9888

http://www.advocatemag.com/newmedia.html

Licensed/CID/ASID 214-500-0600

LUXE INTERIOR DESIGN Designs You Want To Live In At Prices You Can Live With. James. 214-808-0290 C.Cards Accpted.

KITCHEN/BATH/ TILE/GROUT

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

STONE AGE Granite, Marble, Tile. Kitchens & Baths. Counter Tops. www.stoneagetexas.com. Dennis 972-276-9943

WE REFINISH!

Tubs,

214-631-8719

www.allsurfacefinishing.com

LAWNS, GARDENS & TREES

00 - CERTIFIED ARBORIST Removals, Pruning, Stump Grinding, Free Estimates. 972-697-3956

A BETTER TREE MAN Trims, Removals, Insd. 10 Yrs Exp. Roberts Tree Service. 214-808-8925

ARTHUR’S SPRINKLER REPAIR Serving Dallas for 20 yrs. LI 3449. 214-660-4860

DALLAS TREE SURGEONS Tree Trimming, Removal & Sales. Free Estimates. 972-633-5462 www.dallastreesurgeons.com

HOLISTIC TREE CARE

A Full-Service Tree Care Company Chuck Ranson, Certified Arborist c.ranson@sbcglobal.net 214-537-2008

IRISH RAIN SPRINKLER SYSTEMS Installation & Repair. TXL#2738 214-827-7446

U R LAWN CARE Maintenance. Landscaping. Your Personal Yard Service by Uwe Reisch uwereisch@yahoo.com 214-886-9202

Castro’s Tree Service

Jeff Castro 214-337-7097 214-725-1171

jridefree@aol com

Lawns, Gardens & Trees

Salas Services

PesT ConTroL

A BETTER EARTH PEST CONTROL

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

PLumbinG

JOE FAZ 214-794-7566

Sewers • Drains • Bonded License #1138402 • Available 24 hours / 7 days

REPAIRS, Fixtures,General Plumbing. Senior Discounts. Campbell Plumbing. 214-321-5943

SHEFFIELD PLUMBING We do it right the 1st time. Repairs, Rmdls. Insd. 214-941-8600

PooLs

LEAFCHASERS POOLS

Service & Repairs. Insured. APSP Cert. Local Resident Jonathan. 214-729-3311

PLAYMORE POOLS CO. Design, Construction, Consulting & Renovations. 214-823-0169 www.playmorepools.com

roofinG & GuTTers

GREEN SERVICE COMPANY 214-295-5405

Roof replacement-solar vents & skylights

GUARANTY ROOFING 214-760-3666

Re-Roofing/Repairs/Gutters/Green Options. Free Estimates.www.guarantyroof.com

PLATINUM ROOFING Metal & Non-Metal

Roofing, Windows, Painting, Gutters. Fully Insured. NewMETALroof.com 972-310-9721

ROOF LEAKS? LATHAM ROOFING

All Types of Re-Roofing and Repairs. Res.& Com. Since 1973. 214-340-3500

Allstate Homecraft Roofing

• Roofing & Remodel • Additions • Licensed/Insured

Over 1,000 Satisfied Customers in the Lakewood, Lake Highlands, Preston Hollow, Park Cities Areas – M ETAL S PECIALIST –• Free Estimates 214-824-0767 allstatehomecraft.com

November deadliNe oct. 13 • to advertiSe call 214.560.4203

The crook du M ped T he lawn M ower In T he creek.

tom Wesson has lived in Oak cliff for two decades. His roots are in our neighborhood, and he runs a business here — Wesco construction.

“We do a lot of reconstruction on the older homes over here in Oak cliff,” he says. “We’re working on a house right now that was built in 1929.”

Wesson loves his work, and loves the area. Unfortunately, despite tight security, his own home in the beverly Hills neighborhood recently became the target of a crafty crook. Someone pried off a rear gate latch and then broke into his detached shed, making off with ladders, weed trimmers, two lawn mowers and three old air conditioning units, a value of $1,700.

body who’s been looking at the house,” he says.

Luckily, the suspect was caught and arrested shortly after the theft, and Wesson’s two lawnmowers were returned. One had been dumped in a creek bed near his home. the other mower was also found nearby. the other stolen items were not found. the suspect is believed to have been involved in other crimes as well, Wesson says.

“I can’t believe they found them and got them back,” he says of his mowers. “the police officers were really good.”

Despite the crime, Wesson’s opinion of his neighborhood hasn’t changed.

“What are you going to do? You can’t live in fear or move just because someone did something that’s not so nice.”

roofinG & GuTTers

Building a better roof for you.

1105 North Bishop Avenue

214·698·8443 arringtonroofing.com

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 214-560-4203. 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.

9.7

d at E wh En som E on E pri Ed op En th E door to a r E sid E nc E and stol E s EvE ral valuabl E it E ms

n umb Er of bE longings tak En from th E hom E, including two vid Eo gam E consol E s, thrEE t ElE visions and a laptop

The Victim: Tom wesson

The c rime: Burglary

date: Monday, a ug. 9

Time: 6 p.m.

burglars also targeted Wesson’s home in 1996, and soon afterward he added a security system to his home and his detached office. this time, however, the thief hit the old building was not equipped with an alarm, Wesson says.

location: 400 block of cavender

“It was some-

Dallas Police cmdr. Vernon Hale of the Southwest Patrol Division encourages residents to make sure detached sheds have adequate lighting and a motion sensor light, if possible, to help prevent break-ins. As to why criminals might dump their loot?

“I certainly cannot answer for a crook, but it could be that they did not start, too heavy, they were spooked by patrol officers — a variety of issues,” he says.

Hale also recommends residents etch their driver’s license number or other identifier on larger outdoor items to assist with recovery. —sEan chaffin

$5,700 Estimat Ed total valu E of th E it E ms stol En

Source: Dallas Police Department

Ride and paRk

an Oak Cliff parking lot doesn’t sound like a place where anything “historic” would have taken place. Those were my thoughts.

But not any longer.

while attending a recent kimball alumni association brunch, i discovered new information about a certain Oak Cliff parking lot. although i must admit that i participated in some of the more innocent activities there, before i graduated from high school in 1965, most of what i learned at the meeting happened after i was no longer a teenager, which i guess takes me off the hook a bit.

in the early 1960s, the newly developed southwest corner of south hampton road and west illinois avenue became fertile ground for all sorts of teenage goings-on. Oh, the stories!

The main anchor of the corner’s strip center was minyard grocery store, where scores of Oak Cliff teens worked over the years. and other teen employees manned the myriad small businesses like hiegel’s One hour martinizing, red wing shoes and, later, an el fenix Cafeteria.

also located in the center was Pizza inn, only the second location in Oak Cliff. and Jack-in-theBox, reportedly the first in Oak Cliff.

Before these two openings, many Cliffites had never heard of either.

Both eateries became instant Oak Cliff teen hangouts, with the drive through window at Jack’s always backed-up. without the carhops required at the dairy marts and dairy Queens of the day, drive-through service normally proved to be quicker — definitely the “new thang”.

at this corner, teens could munch pizza at Pizza inn, have ice cream at the Polar Bear, go cruising up and down either hampton or westmoreland — or kiest Park — then back to Jack’s for a dr Pepper “nightcap”. Jack-in-the-Box stayed open late, also a new concept at the time.

another reason the area attracted so many teens centered on the hampton-illinois library, close to the intersection. always needing a place for some munchies after those rough nights of library research, austin’s Barbecue catty-cornered Jack’s, and Griff’s hamburgers and naler’s restaurant on the other corner allowed a fairly stellar choice of readily available eating options complete with friends already hanging around. what else could a high schooler want?

margaret kemp (kimball ’74) told me she met her first husband while in the drive-through line

at Jack’s. and sueann wall (also kimball ’74) told me about stevie ray Vaughan (who lived only a few blocks away) playing music in the parking lot when he couldn’t find any other place to perform. who knew?

according to margaret and sueann, merchants didn’t complain about all the teen traffic and loitering. “They loved it,” margaret says. “everyone ate or purchased items at the different stores, so they liked us being there. it was good for business. no one complained.”

margaret also shared her story of going trick-ortreating at the strip center with some girlfriends. according to her, they managed to acquire a few pieces of candy from the minyard manager, along with two Brach’s halloween candy displays, and ice cream cones at Polar Bear. (wow! Those early-’70s teenagers really knew how to have a good time!)

for years, teens congregated in the parking lot and hung out, listening to music on car radios, sitting on car hoods, or wandering around the lot visiting with friends. Because the corner’s location was just west of the point where the adamson, sunset, and kimball high school boundary lines came together, and because of all of its novelties (like Pizza inn, Jack-in-the-Box, and the satellite Polar Bear ice cream store, too), the popular area hosted students from all three schools, and a few others. (most of the south Oak Cliff teens stayed east of Beckley and south of saner, and Carter was a bit further away, although those Carter Cowboys could drive.)

But all the enjoyment came to a halt when the teen activities started resembling those in “rebel

without a Cause” more than those in TV’s “happy days”, and the dallas Police began “discouraging” the congregating.

all these aforementioned teenagers are now, like me, a part of the aging baby boomers generation. There are no longer hordes of Oak Cliff teens hanging out at the once busy lot, although the Pizza inn and the Jack-in-the-Box do remain ... as do the memories.

Oh, to be young again, back in line at Jack’s! But this time around, i wouldn’t be there at midnight. it would be more like 5 p.m. for us boomers, 5 p.m. is the new midnight.

Gayla Brooks Kokel can date her neighborhood heritage back to 1918, when her father was born in what

then called eagle Ford. She was born at Methodist Hospital and graduated from Kimball High School. Kokel is one of three co-authors of the recently published book, “Images of

The satellite Polar Bear ice cream shop [far right] was at the center of teenage life in ‘60s and ‘70s Oak Cliff. PhOTO COurTesY Of The 1964 adamsOn hiGh sChOOl YearBOOk, “The Oak”.

In a game-changing move, Bradie James and his Foundation 56 have teamed up with Methodist Health System in an effort to tackle breast cancer, together. The new Bradie James Breast Cancer Resource Center at Methodist Dallas Medical Center will provide screening, education, and detection, as well as one-on-one consultation services and other resources to help breast cancer patients get back in the game. This new venture is a huge triumph in the fight against breast cancer.

The Bradie James Breast Cancer Resource Center

Schedule your mammogram today by calling 214-947-3441, or for more information visit www.MethodistHealthSystem.org/Pink.

Bradie James Dallas Cowboys Linebacker

Photo by: Amy Columbus amycolumbusphotography.com