2011 November Oak Cliff

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ON THE COVER: Cookies from Inforzato’s Italian Café. Read the story on page 10. Photo by Mark Davis

IS ENOUGH ENOUGH ?

Should we compare our lives, or just live them?

When Apple’s Steve Jobs died last month, the accolades predictably poured in. Jobs was called “visionary,” “brilliant” and a “genius” by those who knew him as well as those who did not. His impact on our lives was debated and discussed, with the general consensus that without Jobs, our lives would be somewhat less than they are today.

Jobs was hailed as someone who truly made a difference in others’ lives, and in his case, he made a difference in so many peoples’ lives that it seemed to validate the idea that his was a life well-lived.

In a way, his life has become a kind of ideal, a measuring stick for the rest of us slogging along life’s pothole-filled highway.

In this same context, our youngest son has been completing college entrance applications, most of which require applicants to answer an essay question or two or three to demonstrate why he should be admitted to the school. What’s unspoken is that our son’s essay, test scores and recommendations will be measured and judged against all comers; some will win the golden key, many more will walk away with something other than what they wanted.

One of the essays our son wrote talked about his interest in “making his mark” in the world, his desire to become wellknown and well-respected for accomplishing something with his life.

As I read his comments, and as I thought about Jobs’ life, I was struck with a deceptively simple thought: How much of a positive impact do we need to have on others so that we are judged to have “made our mark” and lived a worthwhile life?

Clearly, Jobs was a once-in-a-generation talent. His zeal for perfection and his sense of design made him and his products household names throughout the world.

Meanwhile, our son is just getting started in the life-building business. He has desire, tools and personality, but what are the odds that when all is said and done, he or any of the rest of us, for that matter — will be judged equal to or greater than Steve Jobs? More to the point, how close do we have to come to that ideal — assuming Jobs and his life are ideals — to be judged “successful” when the final bell is rung?

At this point in his life, our son isn’t burdened much by comparisons or equivocations. His life is in front of him, and he has no reason to worry about limitations or road blocks or measuring up to anyone else.

In a way, Steve Jobs’ life has become a kind of measuring stick for the rest of us slogging along life’s pothole-filled highway.

The hyper-involved senior citizens we’ve written about in this month’s magazine are at the other end of that life scale — they’ve lived a good portion of their lives, and they’re still active, still involved and still impacting others. Collectively, they’re volunteering at a clip that belies their age and puts many of us to shame.

But there’s still that question nagging at me.

Do they, or do we, need to measure up to Jobs to be deemed “successful” when all is said and done?

It’s an interesting point to consider, when we run out of other things to worry about: In life, how much is enough?

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Q&A: Bill Melton

Oak Cliff native and former Dallas County Treasurer Bill Melton has served as sports announcer for the Dallas Cowboys, University of Texas football games, the Texas Rangers and even the Olympic Games. A former president of the Oak Cliff Lions Club, Melton reflects on watching the evolution of Oak Cliff, getting to know Tom Landry and being a part of Olympic history.

You have an impressive résumé for someone for whom announcing was just a hobby. How did you get started?

I attended the University of Texas and majored in radio and TV. [Melton was head cheerleader at UT and got to fire “Smokey” the cannon at the first-ever UT National Championship football win in 1963.] After graduation in 1964, I really wanted to be on air, so I took a job with a radio station in Austin. I soon realized it wasn’t the profession for me and went into management, but I kept my announcing skills fine-tuned by working UT freshman football games.

What did you enjoy most about announcing for the Dallas Cowboys?

I served as the pregame and halftime announcer for the Dallas Cowboys from 1968 to1977. Watching Coach Tom Landry was really something. He was such a great, Christian man who loved his wife and family and stayed true to who he was. He was tough on

his players, but never asked them to do anything that he wouldn’t do himself. He reeked of professionalism and courtesy. Another great Cowboys memory came in 1971. Roger Staubach was quarterback at the time, and the team was playing the San Francisco 49ers at Texas Stadium. We won that game and qualified for Super Bowl VI in New Orleans, where the Dallas Cowboys would beat the Miami Dolphins and win their first Super Bowl championship.

Do you have a favorite moment from your career in announcing?

There are many, but the moment that stands out most is from the women’s soccer finals at the 1996 Atlanta Centennial Olympic Games. This was the first time women’s soccer had been added to the program of the Summer Olympics, and Team USA had made it to the finals. They were up against China for the gold medal, and there were 76,481 people in the crowd — at the time the largest

Benjamin Hager

crowd in the world to attend a women’s sporting event. At halftime, the teams were tied one to one, and then Team USA beat China. It was an amazing moment. In all the excitement, I suddenly realized that I didn’t have a script for the award ceremony. I stayed calm and announced each woman on the team, and I got chills down my spine when I got to say, “Ladies and gentlemen, the winners of the 1996 Women’s Soccer Olympic gold, the United States of America!”

Tell me about your experience growing up in Oak Cliff.

I grew up on North Winnetka and went to Rosemont Elementary. We were four houses off Seventh and the Seventh Street streetcar that went downtown. Gene Autry’s Kessler Theater was just around the corner, and my father rented the front room of our house to the manager of The Kessler, his wife and his son. I also remember that when I was little, there were the most wonderful dances held at Kiest Park. I recently attended my 50th high school reunion at Sunset. It was the greatest high school in Dallas. In 1957, Sunset’s basketball team was No. 1 in the state, and we received the Sanger trophy — created by Sanger Brothers department store and awarded to the top athletic school. My senior year, the trophy disappeared. It was just recently found, restored, and is now on display at The Old Red Courthouse.

After UT, you went on to have a fruitful career. What are some of the highlights?

Holiday Reminders

I had the privilege of serving as Dallas County Treasurer for more than 25 years. During that time, I got approval to improve the highway system in and around Oak Cliff, and I helped lobby Congress for Joe Pool Lake. I’ve actually stood in the Lake before it had any water. It was initially going to be named Lakeview Reservoir, but Joe Pool himself helped get it passed, so it was given the name Joe Pool Lake. In 1980-81, I helped convince the treasury to purchase its first PC and started the first online banking system in Texas. But probably my biggest legacy is instituting the Bloomberg system, making Dallas the second county treasurer’s office in the country to have its own Bloomberg system, which tracks market data.

—Meghan Riney

Out & About

November 2011

Nov. 12

Square Dance: A Community Project

Currators Leila Grothe and Cynthia Mulcahy won a grant from the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, and they’re throwing a good old-fashioned square dance. The outdoor dance, from 6-8 p.m., is at the Trinity River Audubon Center.

6500 S. Loop 12, 214.398.8722, trinityriveraudubon.org, free

THROUGH NOV. 18

Tres Milagros exhibit

The Oak Cliff Cultural Center continues the Tres Milagros exhibit through Nov. 18. The exhibit compiles the work of Apryl Begay, Rebecca Collins and Katrina Doran and displays their artistic studies of miracles.

223 W. Jefferson, 214.670.3777, dallasculture.org, free

NOV. 2

Día de los Muertos: Day of the Dead Celebration

The Tyler Davis District presents a Day of the Dead celebration, an event created to observe the rich Hispanic tradition of reflecting and honoring loved ones who have passed away. From 7-10 p.m., enjoy music, art workshops, storytelling, and face painting, as well as an altar tour and contest. Hot chocolate and traditional food will also be provided.

Tyler Davis District, 214.941.3030, tyler-davis.org, free

NOV. 10

Salon Series

The Oak Cliff Society of Fine Arts continues its fall Salon Series at the

Turner House 7:30-9 p.m. Thursday. This month, author Willis Winters will discuss the architecture of Fair Park, a subject he has been researching for the past 25 years. Refreshments are included with the price of admission.

401 N. Rosemont, 214.946.1670, turnerhouse.org, $10-$15

NOV. 12

Art Conspiracy 7

This event at 7 p.m. brings together artists from all over the city to raise money for Musical Angels, a nonprofit that provides music lessons to hospitalized children. Bids for artwork start at $20, and four bands perform.

511 W. Commerce, artconspiracy.org, $10

NOV. 13

Cliff Fest & Tweed Ride

The third annual Cliff Fest will be combined with the Tweed Ride Nov. 13 from noon-6 p.m. The festival includes vendors and performers with ties to the Oak Cliff area.

Bishop Arts District, gooakcliff.org, free

Nov. 10

Homecoming concert with Jimmie Vaughan and the Tilt-AWhirl Band

For the first time in 45 years, Jimmie Vaughan makes a live appearance in his hometown, including conversations with old Oak Cliff friends and classmates about his time in Oak Cliff with younger brother Stevie Ray Vaughan, plus a concert with his band. The 7:30 p.m. event at the Texas Theatre will run for approximately three hours.

231 W. Jefferson, 214.948.1546, thetexastheatre.com, $45-$95

Sweet shops

Although the concept switched from Hawaiian to Italian, some things are still the same at Inforzato’s Italian Cafe, formerly Hula Hotties Café. Jill Inforzato knew she couldn’t discontinue the restaurant’s most popular desserts, such as the passion fruit cheesecake and the coconut cake. Now there’s even more to choose from, including the decadent butterscotch cannoli. “Because I used to bake for 12 restaurants and two hotels, I have hundreds of recipes,” Inforzato says. “I don’t like doing the same thing over and over.” Her family had an Italian restaurant for about 80 years in Duluth, Minn., and she still uses her grandmother’s marinara recipe.

Inforzato spent 38 years living in Hawaii, the inspiration for Hula Hotties, but says it felt natural to get back to her roots. “I said, it’s in the genes. Let’s do Italian.” Inforzato’s holiday dessert menu features a seemingly endless variety of cakes, pies and cookies: sweet potato pecan pie, red velvet cupcakes with peppermint bark garnish, eggnog cheesecake, pumpkin cannoli and Italian cream cake, just to name a few. Plus, the $6 spaghetti dinner is now offered every night, not just Thursdays. Inforzato also plans to start selling beer and wine this month. So Cliffites are running out of reasons to pass up this neighborhood bakery. —EmilyToman

INFORZATO’S ITALIAN CAFÉ

244 W. Davis 214.943.2233

PRICE RANGE: $6-$14

AMBIANCE: FAMILY RUN RESTAURANT WITH ABOUT 10 TABLES

HOURS: 5:50-9:30P.M.TUES-SAT; 11 A.M.-2 P.M. SUN; CLOSED MONDAY

VIDEO More desserts.

Left: apple pie. Photo by MarkDavis

FOOD AND WINE ONLINE

Visit oakcliff.advocatemag.com/dining

1 Rush Patisserie

In addition to the classic bakery items, this neighborhood shop rolls out popular holiday treats such as the sweet potato cheesecake. New this year is the red velvet tiramisu with eggnog coffee syrup.

1201El Dorado

214.749.4040 rushpatisserie.com

2 Del Norte Bakery

For sweet breads, tres leches and chocolate tamales, you can’t go wrong with this panaderia. 3210 Falls 214.339.8644

3 Dude, Sweet Chocolate

Katherine Clapner’s handmade creations come in experimental flavors such as blueberry jasmine marshmallow and sake bomb truffle. 408 W. Eighth 214.943.5943 dudesweetchocolate.com

Meringue tarts from Rush Patisserie. Photo by Molly Dickson

$3.00 frozen $3.50 rocks 11am-7pm/7 days

Don’t sweat the holidays

Bonny Doon Ca’ Del Solo albariño (2008) California >

The holiday wine season causes tremendous panic in people — even those who are familiar with wine — about what to serve. The rest of the year, it’s buy a bottle wine at the grocery store and don’t worry about it. During November and December, everyone is afraid that if the wine isn’t right, Thanksgiving or Christmas or whatever will be ruined.

This is silly. Wine is there to complement the holiday, not to star in it. Choose wines that you’re comfortable with, and don’t worry especially about food pairings or impressing others with your selections. Do you like the wine? Will it make dinner more enjoyable? Then that’s the wine to buy.

This month’s suggestions follow that approach, and are more guidelines than specific recommendations:

The 2010 vintage is probably the best in the history of the state, and there are quality wines at every price. The McPherson roussanne ($12), a white from west Texas, is fresh and clean with lemon and lime flavors. Messina Hof’s cabernet franc ($22) is a red wine that is deep and rich, perfect for red meat.

Next month’s column will go into more detail about bubbly; it’s enough to know now that there has been tremendous growth in the quality and quantity of cheap sparkling over the last couple of years. It comes from places as odd as Australia (Emeri, $12) or as well-known as Italy (the various proseccos and astis, like Lamberti, $14). And sparkling wine is not just for celebrations. Much of it pairs with food — use it at brunch or to spiff up a midweek dinner.

That is, anything but cabernet sauvignon or chardonnay. The world wine glut has lowered prices everywhere, making it easier than ever to try something different. La Clotiere ($9) is a red wine from the Loire region of France that is light and easy to drink; it practically shouts turkey. Bonny Doon’s Ca’ Del Solo albariño ($18) is a California white made with a Spanish grape that is perfect for seafood.

—Jeff Siegel

JEFF SIEGEL’S WEEKLY WINE REVIEWS appear every Wednesday on oakcliff.advocatemag.com

Ask the wine guy

Are there rules for pairing with turkey?

More or l ess, an d t h e y usua lly revo l ve aroun d pinot noir — a li g hter red that complements the l ighter f lavor o f turkey and doesn’t get in the way of the rest of Thanks g ivin g dinner. But any li g hter re d wine wi ll d o t h e same t h ing, as wi ll most w hites that aren’t too creamy or too citrusy.

Jeff Siegel

with your wine Thanksgiving leftovers

The world does not need yet another recipe for the holidays, some other way to reinvent something we like the way it is. What we need to do is to figure out a way to use what we didn’t eat at Thanksgiving. So consider these leftover suggestions:

• Turkey pizza. Why not? Buy a prepared pizza crust and top it with leftover turkey, onions, bell peppers, mushrooms and any cheese in the house. You don’t even need to add sauce.

• Turkey poT pie. The simple way is to buy two frozen pie shells, add a can of cream of mushroom soup, leftover turkey and whatever other vegetables are in the refrigerator, and bake for 40 minutes in a 400-degree oven. Less simple, but not difficult, is Jacques Pepin’s chicken pot pie (substituting turkey, of course) in “Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home.”

• Turkey Cobb Salad. You can do a home version of what restaurants charge $10 (or more) for with nothing more than bottled salad dressing, lettuce, cucumbers, bell peppers, carrots and leftover turkey. The adventurous can add a hard-boiled egg. Get a serving platter and arrange the lettuce to cover. Add the turkey and vegetables and arrange in any design you want. Pass the salad dressing.

Burguesa Burger

34 words

• Turkey CouSCouS jambalaya.

(from the September 2011 Advocate) The whole thing can be done in minutes.

Visit oakcliff.advocatemag.com and search couscous to find this recipe.

A life worthwhile

70- to 90-somethings share the secrets to eternal (or at least very long lasting) youth

Story

by Rachel Stone

Photos by Can Türkyilmaz and Benjamin Hager

American Industrialist Henry Ford once said, “Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at 20 or 80. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young.”

Ford touched on a secret that many Oak Cliff people have unearthed and embraced. Learning and doing create a motive for living well. These folks, some two decades past retirement age, are not ready to kick back and let the golden years quietly pass.

Emma Rodgers

Africa tour guide

Emma Rodgers drove all over Dallas looking for books to give as party favors for her 5-year-old son’s birthday party.

It took her all day to find 10 books she liked for the children.

That was 1977. Later that year, she and a colleague started up a mail-order business, selling books. A few years later, they opened Black Images Book Store in Wynnewood Shopping Center.

“We felt that if we had a need for books for ourselves and our children, then other people would have the same need,” Rodgers says.

The business flourished for 30 years, serving the neighborhood as well as Dallas ISD, for which they ordered books, and major corporate clients.

They closed Black Images in January 2007. But Rodgers, 67, keeps herself busy in retirement.

Next year, she will begin her third term on the City Plan Commission. She is a board member for the TeCo Theater, and during the summer, she teaches a class at the day camp there. She facilitates a monthly book club at Charlton Methodist hospital. She volunteers as a publicist for the annual Irma P. Hall Theater Arts Festival. And she is the founder of Romance Slam Jam, an annual literary conference that brings readers and romance writers together, now in its 17th year.

Emma Rodgers owned Black Images Book Store for 30 years. She still serves on the City Plan Commission.

The cause that’s closest to her heart, however, is ROPP Inc., a six-year enrichment program for teenage girls. Every other year, she organizes and guides a trip for the girls to Ghana, West Africa.

Through the program, girls learn life skills such as community service and how to manage money, as well as practical skills such as cooking and sewing.

At the end of the program, they graduate with a rite of passage that is based on African traditions. It was Rodgers’s idea to bring the girls of ROPP to Ghana for the ritual.

The girls raise money themselves for the trip.

“I went to London one time, and this lady said to me, ‘I’ve never seen any black people on ‘Dallas’ ” Rodgers recalls. “There were no black people on that show, and that’s all she knew about Dallas.”

Americans have similarly misguided conceptions about Africa, she says.

“I want Americans to become familiar with the continent of Africa because on the news, all we see are the negative things about Africa — famine, mismanagement, war,” she says. “And there’s so much more to it than that.”

Jean Barrar

Cancer survivor devotes her life to volunteering

Jean Barrar remembers riding home from the hospital Dec. 24, 1956, thinking it would be the last Christmas she would spend with her children.

She’d had cancer surgery, a colostomy, and her odds of surviving were one in four. She thought she was going home to die.

For the next five years, she lived in constant fear of death. But on the five-year anniversary of her surgery, in 1961, she realized she was going to live.

“They said if you could survive five years, then you were cured,” she says. “I tell people I’m like a butterfly. I had a chrysalis.”

She spread her wings volunteering for the American Cancer Society, and serving cancer patients became her lifelong passion. At first she drove cancer patients to Parkland for X-ray ra-

diotherapy. When Baylor Hospital acquired a cobalt radiation machine, she and other volunteers brought carloads of patients for treatment.

She soon realized she had a gift for working with patients. She would drive to sick people’s homes and convince them to go back to treatment.

She served on the American Cancer Society’s Texas board. And in 1982, she helped conduct a cancer prevention study. She served as a spokeswoman for the American Cancer Society and visited people in hospitals. And she has put in hundreds of volunteer hours with other charities and service organizations, including First Methodist Church, where she has been a member since 1934. She also had a career as an executive assistant at a scale company.

She remembers visiting a woman who had just received a colostomy, and she was threatening suicide.

“When she saw I lived with this hole in my side all these years, that made her see it was OK,” Barrar says.

Barrar, who is 91, lived most of her life in Oak Cliff, but she has lived in Vickery Towers retirement center in East Dallas for the past nine years. Her vision has started to fail, so she can’t drive, which prevents her from volunteering as much. But she still does as much as she can. She’s a “Caring Caller” through the Senior Source, so she calls someone who’s homebound once a week to chat. She’s a new-resident ambassador at Vickery Towers. And she still volunteers at church.

“My mother told me she wanted to wear out, not rust out,” Barrar says. “I’m minding my mother.”

Jean Barrar grew up in Oak Cliff and raised her family here. She devoted her life to helping cancer patients.

Marietta Janak

In 35 years at the zoo

When Marietta Janak started volunteering at the Dallas Zoo in 1976, she worked with a possum, a chicken and a snake.

Janak, 75, and other volunteers would bring these “teaching animals” to schools, nursing homes, clubs and anywhere else they were invited, and give presentations about wildlife.

She was even allowed to take animals home with her, and her family took a particular shine to the boa constrictor. She tells a story about putting the snake in bed between her husband and herself one cold winter night.

“My daughter always says she never knew what she was going to find in the bathtub when she got home from school,” Janak says.

Janak later handled a screech owl and a ferret in her years as a volunteer teacher for the zoo. Later, she worked in the nowdefunct nursery, feeding and playing with baby gorillas and orangutans, among other baby animals. And for years, she helped gather scientific research at the zoo.

Times have changed.

The zoo now has professional animal

researchers on staff. There is no more nursery. Animals born in the zoo stay with their mothers. And animals only leave the zoo under the watchful eye of a professional nowadays.

Janak’s job has changed too.

Most days, she can be found in the Jake L. Hamon Gorilla Conservation Research Center, where volunteers man an information desk and answer questions about the zoo’s gorillas, Juba and B’Wenzi. When she’s not there, she’s at the Giants of the Savanna, talking about elephants and giraffes.

“The size of the zoo has doubled,” she says. “But I’m glad they’ve kept a lot of the historical features. The building in Zoo North, which is Bug U now, used to be the entry to the zoo, and it was made by the WPA.”

Nowadays, people are better informed about wildlife because of all the nature shows on TV, she says. Many times, kids want to tell the zoo volunteers everything they know. There are humorous moments. About one in every thousand visitors to Giants of the Savanna sees the ostrich egg on display and gasps, “Oh! Is

that an elephant egg?”

It takes a sensitive person to answer that question with a straight face: “No. Elephants are mammals …”

The zoo staff members’ attitude toward Janak and the other volunteers has changed as well.

She says they once were treated like “bored housewives,” but now zoo employees are always supportive and grateful of volunteers.

“The people I’ve met, and the friends I’ve made,” she says. “We all had one common love, and that’s for the zoo and the animals.”

Marietta Janak is the longest-serving Dallas Zoo volunteer. Here she is at the Giants of the Savannah exhibit with Jenny the elephant in the background.

A li fe wort hwh i le

PAINTING WITH A TWIST

Express your inner artist! Instructors lead attendees in creating featured art. Bring nothing more than your imagination, wine or beverage. Perfect for Private Parties as well. 5202 Lovers Lane 214.350.9911 paintingwithatwist.com

Old mechanics never retire

Airplanes are Jim Walston’s life.

His dad was an airplane mechanic in World War I, and Walston always knew he wanted to work with planes.

He started working on airplanes in the early ’40s, and now at 88 years old, he’s still working on them.

Walston is a member of the Vaught Retiree Club, having worked in the Vaught Aircraft Industries structures test lab for 37 years. The club currently is restoring a 1942 V-173, “The Flying Pancake.”

It was an experimental plane. The U.S. Navy wanted to build a plane that could take off and land in very short distances. And only one was made.

Walston works on the plane at the former Vaught Aircraft Industries plant, which is now owned by Triumph, twice a week.

He and other volunteers started rebuilding the plane in 2003, and they expect it to be finished by the end of this year. Once it is restored, it will go in the Frontiers of Flight Museum at Love Field.

The surface of the Flying Pancake looks like shiny metal. But the aircraft actually was built with a wooden frame, covered in canvas that is painted and sanded. The club had to rig stands for the plane as they worked on it because they can’t walk on its surface.

This plane is the most unusual the club has worked on, but they already have restored three other Vaught planes. They’re working on a reproduction of the first plane Vaught ever built, the 1917 V-E7 “Bluebird.” And they’re restoring two other vintage planes.

Walston went to airplane tech school in Fort Worth just after he graduated from

High School in Italy, Texas. He went to work as a mechanic, working on Fairchild PT 19s, in Vernon. And then he joined the U.S. Army Air Forces in 1942. He served in England and France during World War II, from March ’44 until June ’45.

After the war, he attended Texas A&M University. Upon graduation, he received a job offer from Vaught. The last plane he worked on, in 1988, was Northrop Grumman’s B2 Spirit, the “Stealth Bomber.”

It was a fun career because he received a new project every five years or so, he says.

After retirement, he played more golf at Stevens Park. He also volunteers at Methodist hospitals. And he and wife Glenna have been members of Cliff Temple Baptist Church since the ’40s. But volunteering with the plane restorers has kept his mind on a life-long passion.

In Walston’s home office, there is no computer. But there is a poster of the Stealth, amid pictures of airplanes and grandkids. He pulls out an old book showing World War I airplanes.

“I always loved airplanes,” he says. “I was always looking at airplane magazines.”

BEADS OF SPLENDOR

You choose ... chain, drop, charm & we’ll assemble – the perfect gift from $25.

1900 Abrams Pkwy @ LaVista (LW Shopping Center) 214.824.2777 beadsofsplendor.com

WACKYM’S KITCHEN

Wackym’s Kitchen bakes delicious cookies and treats from original recipes using fresh, natural ingredients like real butter and cane sugar. Perfect for holiday gifting. To order or find a retail location, visit wackymskitchen.com

Jim Walston retired from Vaught Aircraft Industries in 1988. Now he restores old planes.

Apartments wanted

The apartment market in Oak Cliff is tight, but 260 new units are coming online

Story by Rachel Stone

The new Zang Triangle apartments at Zang and Colorado start leasing this month, and they’re the first new rentals in Oak Cliff since the Grand Estates at Kessler Park opened 11 years ago.

The new complex adds 260 apartments to the Oak Cliff market, and another developer, Wood Partners, has proposed building 209 units at Davis and Rosemont, across the street from St. Cecilia church.

Is there a market in Oak Cliff for these 469 new apartments? By most accounts, upscale apartments are scarce in Oak Cliff. It’s a trendy neighborhood that draws young professionals. And the apartment rental market in Dallas as a whole is robust, due to a down

economy coupled with low supply, according to real estate firm Marcus & Millichap, which tracks the local market.

“There’s plenty of demand,” says David Spence of Good Space, who owns several small apartment buildings in Oak Cliff.

His are renovated 1920s and ’30s buildings along the old streetcar line, close to the Bishop Arts District. They’re fully leased, and he says he doesn’t know of any similar units that are available.

Mark Martinek of MOD Construction Services recently completed renovation on a 1910 Prairie-style apartment building in Winnetka Heights. It had been vacant for eight years, and Martinek spent about eight

The Zang Triangle apartments begin leasing this month. They are the first new apartments built in Oak Cliff since 2000.

Photo by Nikki Cotten.

months renovating it.

All four one-bedroom units leased within two weeks of being listed in September, at about $1.20 per square foot.

“They weren’t even entirely finished yet, and people had already lined up for them,” Martinek says.

He says he’s looking for another apartment project in Oak Cliff now.

Brooks Dyer and Kenny Moore have been renovating houses in Winnetka Heights and surrounding neighborhoods as a side business since about 1997. Now they’re working on a four-unit 1926 apartment building on Rosemont at Jefferson. It’s their first multifamily project, and it’s a doozy. So far, they’ve gutted the building, replaced the roof, installed heating and air conditioning, and replaced most of the floors.

When they’re finished, they’ll have four, two-bedroom/one-bath apartments with fireplaces, washer/dryer, wood floors, and covered parking, plus one smaller garage apartment. They expect to lease the 1,000-square-foot units for somewhere in the range of $1,200.

“We like this neighborhood,” Moore says. “And we believe the more of these you do, the better the neighborhood becomes.”

While high demand for these old renovated units has been proven, the question is whether there will be a market for new construction. Zang Triangle developer Lang Partners is banking on it.

There are plenty of people who would want to live in Oak Cliff if they could have an energy efficient apartment with an onsite gym and resort-style pool, says Lang Partners president Dirik Oudt.

“The housing stock for multifamily is so old,” Oudt says. “We think there are a lot of people who will want to live here now that they have options.”

Units at Zang Triangle are expected to lease for about $1.25 per square foot, which is about the typical rate for upscale apartments in North Oak Cliff, says Spence of Good Space.

“So that’s going to be easy to lease,” Spence says. “The apartment market in Dallas is pretty strong right now.”

And this newest apartment complex in Dallas is along the planned Oak Cliff streetcar line.

Zang Triangle starts leasing in November, and the entire project is expected to be completed in February.

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BUSINESS BUZZ

The lowdown on what’s up with neighborhood businesses

Send business news tips to LIVELOCAL@ADVOCATEMAG.COM

Antique shop for men, DFW M’Antiques, opens on West Davis Antiques dealer Compton Creel has spent many weekends on buying trips with his wife. “It was pretty much all geared toward her,” he says. “And few and far between were things that interested me.” He told her he wished they could find more “man-tiques.” That’s how he figured there was a niche for an antique store geared toward men. Creel and business partner Robert Owen of Lakewood opened their 2,500-square-foot mall, DFW M’Antiques, on West Davis in October. It’s in the warehouse building that used to be a cheap furniture store, near Haines. Creel, who lives in Little Elm, specializes in toy soldiers. He paints and prototypes them, and he has clients for whom he creates customized toys. He first got into the business selling antique toy soldiers at Trader’s Village when he was 12. “We decided we would pick Oak Cliff because it was an opportunity to add to the Oak Cliff environment and find a space that was reasonably affordable,” he says. Creel and Owen think they will find much of their clientele living right here in the neighborhood. And with several antique malls and vintage shops in our neighborhood already, it’s a place for men to shop while their women peruse. The shop isn’t full yet. They are seeking more dealers. Space in M’Antiques rents for $3 per square foot, and there are a few display cases that rent for $100 per month each. Dealers also pay 10 percent commission to cover credit card fees, but no workdays are required. The shop is open Tuesday-Sunday, 11 a.m.-7 p.m.

Revamped Stevens Park Golf Course now open

After an $8 million renovation that took a little less than a year to complete, the historic

More business bits

Stevens Park Golf Course is again open for golfers. An opening day charity tournament Oct. 10 benefitted north Oak Cliff beautificationprojects. The course was redesigned for better views of the Dallas skyline and to slow erosion of Coombs Creek. While it is technically against a city ordinance to be on the golf course without paying a green fee, walkers and runners often exercise along the golf course paths early in the morning and at night, when the course is closed.

Doña Tota Gorditas

opens

The first Dallas-area store in the prolific Mexican fast-food chain Doña Tota opened on Jefferson last month. Doña Tota was started in 1952 by Carlotta Murillo and has grown to an empire of about 200 restaurants in 40 cities. The gorditas at Doña Tota are grilled, not fried, with a choice of 12 fillings, including pork, chicken and beef stew. Doña Tota entered the U.S. market in 2007 with a store in San Antonio. Now there are four other Doña Tota stores in South Texas, and it appears the store on Jefferson will be the first in the Dallas market.

Chef Jeff Harris takes the helm at Bolsa

Former Craft Dallas chef Jeff Harris takes over as executive chef of Bolsa this month, replacing Graham Dodds. Harris and the Bolsa crew also will open a new concept, Bolsa Mercado, in a renovated former mechanic garage a few doors down from Bolsa. Bolsa Mercado, which is expected to open this month, will serve breakfast and lunch, with dinners available for takeout. They will also make charcuterie, along with pickles, sauces and condiments. Doughnuts, kolaches and other bakery items also will be available.

Torn, the clothing store that opened on West Davis at Clinton in May, has closed. Urban Hippie, the children’s store and photography boutique across the alley from Eno’s in the Bishop Arts District, has closed. We hear Jim Lake Cos. is close to signing a lease with a new restaurant tenant for the former Decanter space in Bishop Arts. La Paisanita taqueria’s new Bishop Arts location, on West Davis at Adams, is expected to open this month. The taqueria’s other Oak Cliff location is on West Davis at Ravinia.

The Oak Cliff Cultural Center is calling for artists to submit work in any media for “Tiny Spokes: The Oak Cliff Bike Experience,” an exhibit that will feature art inspired by bicycles. The deadline is Nov. 15, and the show will run Dec. 9-Feb. 3. Visit dallasculture.org to download an entry form or call 214.670.3777 for more information.

Texas Business Women of Oak Cliff Inc. meet at 6:30 p.m. Nov. 8 at the Golf Club of Dallas, 2200 Red Bird Lane. Dinner and the program start at 7 p.m. Visitors are welcome, but reservations are required. Call 972.283.3755 or 972.935.9188. For more details about the group, visit oakclifftbw.org.

The Oak Cliff Chamber of Commerce won a Momentum Award last month from the Dallas Regional Chamber for revitalization efforts in North Oak Cliff. The chamber was recognized as a Community Catalyst, citing projects such as the Bishop Arts District, the Better Block Project and the Oak Cliff Cultural Center. For more news about the chamber, visit oakcliffchamber.org.

education

Three of the schools within the Yvonne A. Ewell Townview Center magnet made the 2011 Texas Business and Education Honor Roll, including the School of Health Professions, School of Science and Engineering, and the School for the Talented and Gifted The award represents less than 4 percent of Texas public schools. The schools are recognized based on commended TAKS performance sustained over the past three years. Sixteen other Dallas ISD schools received the honor and will be recognized at a ceremony Dec. 2 at the Fairmont Hotel.

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.

Yahoo! New stuff

Yahoo donated $52,000 in technology to Lida Hooe Elementary School in September. Every teacher received a laptop, flip cam, flash drive and editing software for their classrooms. Pictured here, from left to right, are teachers Easter Gabriel , Tamara Douglas , and Nicole McQueen

On top of the world

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DEC. DEADLINE NOV. 9

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ELECTRICAL SERVICES

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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 214-5604203. 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.

Mini MeMories

Wee St. Andrews was Disneyland for Cliffites

Comment

Visit oakcliff.advocatemag.com/backstory and share your memories of Wee St. Andrews.

The top-40 hit songs resonated throughout the course, while at the same time an aura of quiet permeated the old place. Replica bridges, castles and doghouses were sprinkled about, and colored lights bedazzled the foliage and trees. A modern course one of the then new-fangled Putt-Putt variety — might have been classier, but we all loved the aging old entertainment destination.

Wee St. Andrews Miniature Golf Course rested on the acreage now anchoring the Grand Estates apartment complex, at the intersection of Tilden and North Beckley. In its heyday, it was one of the most enchanting places around. Players challenged each other fiercely, scaling all the ups and downs of the course and pushing hard to get those treasured holes-in-one — or the lowest score, which awarded the winner a “free admission” ticket.

Jerome K. Dealey opened the minicourse in the 1930s, building it on what Dealey’s son, Dallas attorney Sam Dealey, describes as “a gigantic city block that was owned by my grandmother, Vergie Dealey” — where she also lived.

With the exception of Jerome Dealey’s World War II service period, when his sister managed the place in his absence (and

brought in the SMU crowd), he continued running the business until the 1950s. After that, he leased the course to another operator.

There were actually two courses at Wee St. Andrews. One featured green-carpeted fairways. The other offered “dyed sawdust over a clay base, which was the preferred medium,” Sam Dealey says. “Dad used large rollers filled with water to pack it down smooth.”

Like other mini-courses, clubs and balls were furnished free with admission. Small tables and chairs were nestled into the terrain, allowing patrons to enjoy the concession items offered for sale at the snack bar, or to just rest for a while.

The layout of the course wound over the acreage’s hilly terrain, and scaling all of the uneven topography could be considered at least a soft workout. With its heavily treed landscape along with the colored lights and gentle breezes, it was sort of like being in another world. At least, it seemed that way at the time. If sweethearts could manage to show up at night, when most of the kiddies

weren’t there, it was a fairly romantic destination.

“To those of us that can remember,” says Mike Atwood (Kimball ’65), “it was more like a Disneyland, not unlike the real Disneyland is to our grandkids today, of lights and magic and quiet ... peacefulness … and a time to enjoy being with your date.”

Julia Jones Laxson (Sunset ’65) remembers Wee St. Andrews as “the main place to play miniature golf in our neighborhood until Putt-Putt opened on Ft. Worth Avenue.” But Wee St. Andrews was better, she says, “because it was built on hills and was tree-shaded. The other courses were flat. I remember the colored lights and that last two-tiered hole with the windmill with the turning blades. What a rush!”

Julia’s husband, Tom Laxson (Sunset ’59), remembers “the concrete animals they had all over the hills and behind the holes — lots of giraffes and elephants — big enough for teenagers to climb on and sit.”

Jerome’s father, Samuel David Dealey Sr. (born in Liverpool in 1869), opened a local

Gayla Brooks Kokel can date her neighborhood heritage back to 1918, when her father was born in what was 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 America: Oak Cliff”, and writes a monthly history column for the Oak Cliff Advocate Send her feedback and ideas to gkokel@advocatemag.com.

one of the most popular teen hangouts in the 1950s and ’60s was Wee St. Andrews miniature Golf Course.

lumber business in Oak Cliff in 1888 before establishing Dealey Realty Company in 1908. While he served on the Dallas school board, his older brother, George Bannerman Dealey, was the publisher of the Dallas Morning News and functioned as a prominent civic leader. Dealey Plaza on the west edge of downtown Dallas, named for George, opened in 1933, with the bronze statue of the honoree added in 1949.

Samuel David Dealey Jr., third son of Samuel Sr. and Vergie Dealey (and brother of Wee St. Andrews’ owner, Jerome), was born in 1906. He graduated from Oak Cliff High School (now Adamson) and two years later entered the U.S. Naval Academy, graduating in 1930. In 1942 Dealey was the first and only commander of the new submarine USS Harder, leading in six highly successful South Pacific patrols — but with a fatal last mission. His WWII service earned him two presidential unit citations, a Purple Heart, four Navy Crosses and the Medal of Honor.

In 1953 the U.S. Navy named a destroyer escort in Dealey’s honor, and in 1994, a neglected Dealeyhonoring plaque was moved from Galveston to the Science Place in Fair Park. Sam Dealey Drive, in Kessler-Stevens, is also named for the Oak Cliff naval hero.

For the generations of Cliffites that putted away many seasons at Wee St. Andrews, myself included, few of us were aware of the rich heritage surrounding those rolling mounds of carpet and sawdust fairways, crazy obstacle configurations and lighted foliage. It was history in our midst, but we never knew.

The ligh Ts were ou T — and gone.

As a Vietnam veteran who was disabled during his Army service, Oak Cliff’s Sidney Womack takes pride in his country and service, and he likes to show it. He has a flagpole in front of his home to fly Old Glory, and has solar lights surrounding the pole to keep it illuminated at night. A smaller flagpole is attached to the front of his home, which is also lit up by solar lights.

Unfortunately, someone recently stole some of his lights and damaged the flagpole attached to his home.

“They didn’t steal all of them. They stole the lights that lit up the American flag in front of the house,” he says.

The thief made off with five lights val-

the Victim: sidney Womack

the Crime: theft

walking by, but says crimes like this and the recent theft of new computers at a Catholic school in the area have left him frustrated.

“These are just senseless things,” he says. “I just don’t want people tearing things up like they did at my house.”

Despite the crime, Womack will not be deterred. He has replaced the flagpole and lights, and the red, white and blue is once again flying and lit up at night.

Dallas Police Lt. Gil Garza of the Southwest Patrol Division says this type of vandalism is not common.

“To say kids were involved in this is a possibility,” he says. “Theft is likely as the suspect could have taken it for personal use or resale.”

Date: Wednesday, sept. 7 time: Between 9 p.m. (sept. 7) and 5 p.m. (sept. 8) location: 2400 block of 10th

ued at about $40 and then vandalized the flagpole attached to Womack’s home.

“They also broke the flagpole off the house,” he says. “They pulled it straight down.”

Womack believes the crime may be the result of kids in the neighborhood just

He warns residents that the area is experiencing more and more thefts coinciding with the rising price of metals.

“We are seeing offenses in the theft of copper metal. Copper metal is being taken mostly from air conditioning units. There is also a trend of catalytic converters being stolen from vehicles for the various metals encased inside the engine part. Measures are being introduced to curtail this type of theft.”

43 4 2

Number of thefts, forgeries and robberies that occurred at the Walmart on Cockrell Hill in one month

Number of people who were violently robbed at the Davis and Hampton intersection

Source: Dallas Police Department crime statistics for sept. 12-Oct. 12

Number of auto thefts that happened near Methodist hospital

Sean Chaffin is a freelance writer and editor of pokertraditions.com. If you have been a recent crime victim, email crime@advocatemag.com.