2013 December Oak Cliff

brilliant minds operate.

Complex conditions of the brain and spine receive the brightest care at Methodist Dallas Medical Center. Sophisticated treatments — including stealth-guided imaging, endovascular surgery, and minimally invasive procedures for neck and back pain, aneurysms, and tumors — help patients recover more fully, faster, and with less pain. It’s a shining example of the exceptional care you can expect at Methodist.

Advanced Brain and Spine Care

Methodist Dallas is a certified Advanced Primary Stroke Center by The Joint Commission.

DIGITAL DIGEST

TOP 3 MOST-READ STORIES

Photos: A look inside the Local Oak restaurant, opening soon

Around the ’hood: Bad air, H-E-B, best chefs, trees, RIP People

Blues, Bandits and BBQ announces winners

READER COMMENTS

Our November 2013 cover story chronicled the day President John F. Kennedy was assassinated — from the perspectives of Adamson High School’s Class of 1964. For those students, history unfolded less than two blocks away.

Readers shared their “Where were you?” stories via our Oak Cliff Advocate Facebook page.

“Chemistry class at Sunset HS in the ‘new’ science bldg. The speakers were not yet connected, so the Ass’t. Principal Mr. Stokes came in and told us.” —Pam Newnam Williams

“Just left my sophomore history class. I also remember the school holiday and watching the funeral.” —Pamela Wright

“I was home sick and in the care of our black maid, Mary Gatlin. I was truly too young to understand, but I remember Mary crying inconsolably.” —Linda Thurston

“Daddy took my sister, brother and I out of school. We went to the airport, to welcome the President and Mrs. Kennedy to Dallas. We watched them come off the plane and get into the limousine. On the way back to school we heard sirens, but without a radio in the car didn’t know what was going on. By the time we got back to the office at Clara Oliver Elementary, the President was dead.” —Vivian Yates Skinner

WANT MORE?

HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS

Forget peace and goodwill to all; let’s start with family

If it wasn’t for family, the holidays probably would be a lot of fun.

You know what I mean: There are a lot of family hot-buttons certain to turn into flashpoints during the holidays.

There’s the “whose turn is it to visit whom” discussion that often requires intense mathematical equations and adroit calendar work through which to maneuver. This one can consume months of precious time prior to the holidays, ensuring that on the actual get-together date, the temperature is going to be hot no matter where you’re meeting.

Then there’s the “what do we do when we get there” conundrum, which involves various combinations of family members tackling varied aspects of the holiday experience and determining how much “me” time should be balanced against how much “family” time, with “family” time only counting if every single family member is locked arm-in-arm together in the same room, even knowing that much togetherness leads to all kinds of other issues as the day wears on.

And there’s the ever-present present quandary. Many holidays devolve into mutually assured destruction scenarios where we’re now obligated to exchange gifts with certain people simply because they’re going to exchange them with us, and a failure on the part of any one party could have disastrous consequences for the relationship between both parties.

“How much is enough” also can be a deadly game when it comes to family presents, particularly when you’re going to be part of a mass present-unveiling, giving you nowhere to hide if you’re the only one to cheap out because that’s what

sis did to you last year.

Some of the present-giving decisions are obvious, some change from year to year (or maybe from email to email), but all are perilous — a present deemed “inappropriate” by others in the clan can stir ill will and quickly ruin a Rockwell-esque holiday scene in seconds, followed by years of acrimony and accusations.

Holidays always seem to boil down to a simple “suicide pact” mentality held by one key family member: If everyone in the family doesn’t show up to be included in the festivities, then it’s incumbent upon everyone else not to have a good time, no matter what.

And then there’s the corollary to that one: If everyone in the family does show up, how much of a good time will that really be once the first hour of the reunion has passed and people have moved beyond their best behavior and reverted to childhood personalities?

After all, if you get enough related people together in one room, particularly an undersized room with really nice furniture that won’t look good with soda or wine stains, there are bound to be conflicts, and if you can’t roll with whatever happens, there’s no chance you’re going to have a good time.

But in the end, this is all just typical family stuff, nothing to be ashamed of or worried about. In fact, it can be downright entertaining if you keep the right frame of mind.

Look at the alternative: You’re in a room by yourself, drinking spiked eggnog and watching one of those fake fireplaces on your computer.

True, there’s no one in the room, other than you, enthusiastically questioning your life choices out loud. But when you get down to it, that’s really what families and holidays are all about — we need people who know us well to keep us honest and humble and entertained, and that’s why we keep getting together year after year after year.

If we’re not all together, we’re all apart, and that’s no way to spend the holidays.

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contributors: GAYLA BROOKS, SEAN CHAFFIN, GEORGE MASON, BLAIR MONIE, ELLEN RAFF, PAM HARRIS

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LEESON, DAVID LEESON

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of charge throughout our neighborhoods, one copy per reader.

Advocate was founded in 1991 by Jeff Siegel, Tom Zielinski and Rick Wamre.

People. Energy. Community.

A few reasons we live, work and play in Oak Cliff.

Thinking, breathing, living Oak Cliff everyday.

Nine ‘Cliff Dwellers’ collectively represent over 125 years of residency in The Cliff. We are proud to be a part of a thriving community with energy, soul and passion unique to our area. We collectively live in six of the many distinctive Oak Cliff neighborhoods, and would love for you to choose an OC neighbor to help with your next real estate purchase or sale.

Rob Puckett, Brian Davis, Brian Bleeker, Steve Habgood, Kathy Hewitt, Becky Connatser, Mike Bates, Melissa O’Brien, Ged Dipprey. Not pictured: Paul Womack.

The best thing about Oak Cliff is the people. I love living in a neighborhood where community contributions are so greatly encouraged, celebrated and appreciated.”

Brian Bleeker

DAVE PERRY-MILLER AGENT STEVENS PARK ESTATES RESIDENT

No sweat

Mizzen + Main produces dress shirts made of technical fabrics

Kevin Lavelle knew his idea would work the day he came home wearing his prototype, a white dress shirt made of technical fabric.

Lavelle first had the idea for sweatwicking dress shirts while working as a summer intern on Capitol Hill when he was a freshman at SMU in 2005. He saw a staffer rushing into a meeting, his shirt drenched with sweat. >

Kevin Lavelle: Danny Fulgencio

On that day last year, when Lavelle left for work in a regular white dress shirt and returned home to Oak Cliff in the prototype, his wife, Jen, didn’t notice the difference.

“When I saw it on the hanger, I wasn’t sure,” he recalls. “Until that moment, I wasn’t sure it was going to work.”

Now the company he started with partners Web Smith and Steven DeWitt, Mizzen + Main, offers 12 dress shirts in sweat-wicking fabrics as well as two Henley shirts.

Since the company launched in July 2012, the market has responded well, Lavelle says.

“A lot of people buy them all,” he says. “The overwhelming response is, ‘Why hasn’t anyone done this before?’ ”

The shirts are available for $58-$125 each online as well as in Pebble + Pine golf boutique in the Bishop Arts District and Warehaus in the West Village.

Lavelle worked as an international management consultant for two years before working in emerging energy technology for the Hunt family of companies.

He quit his job in 2011 to develop the Mizzen + Main shirts.

“It was an incredibly difficult journey to find all the manufacturing components I needed,” he says.

For starters, he tested about 5,000 fabrics.

Fashion and garment manufacturing are difficult industries to navigate, he says. Besides that, he was asking for something that had never been done before. There are plenty of cut-and-sew houses that will produce dress shirts. And there are plenty that will produce garments made of stretchy fabrics. But there are very few that will do both, Lavelle says.

He couldn’t find a manufacturer in Texas, so he went with one on the East Coast.

Mizzen + Main now is working on producing a sport coat made of technical fabric, and plans are in the works for a flagship store in Columbus, Ohio, the home of partner and SMU alumnus Web Smith.

Recently, the company provided shirts for the announcers of the CrossFit Games on ESPN, and they’ve recruited a few professional athletes to wear their shirts.

The Mizzen + Main website, mizzenandmain.com, sells the company’s own products as well as others they like, such as Hook + Albert dress socks, sunglasses from Canby and leather goods from Noah Marion Quality Goods. —Rachel Stone

We get it.

Welcome to the sumptuous neighborhoods of North Oak Cliff. There are no cookie-cutter houses here. (But you will find some of the city’s finest restaurants here. Conincidence?) And no one serves this area quite like we do. Tour our listings at www.davidgriffin.com, or call 214.526.5626.

“I’m looking for a gourmet kind of neighborhood. I’ve had my fill of fast food.”

Melton 214.883.6854

Crystal Gonzalez 214.642.9630 Courtney Dunn 214.384.9338

Diane Sherman 469.767.1823

What gives?

Small ways that you can make a big difference for nonprofits

Learn about the Dallas Opera … and contribute to upkeep at Turner House. The final installment of the Turner House Fall Salon Series starts at 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 12. Dallas Opera general director and CEO Keith Cerny reviews “By Love Transformed,” the opera’s current season. Cerny’s presentation includes performances by Dallas Opera vocalists. Tickets cost $15 for Oak Cliff Society of Fine Arts members and $20 otherwise. The money goes toward maintenance on the 100-year-old Turner House, 401 N. Rosemont, turnerhouse.org.

Let kids choose a gift at the Cozy Cottage … and provide four meals through the North Texas Food Bank. Children often ask the boutique’s owner, Cynthia Herndon, what’s upstairs. So a few years ago, she decided to let them see. Every year, she clears out the stuff she stores up there and decorates it like a winter wonderland, where children can buy a trinket for $1 to give to a loved one. All of the dollars go to the food bank. The Cozy Cottage, 336 W. Eighth, 214.941.1110.

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.

PAWS & CLAWS

A cup of coffee,

the New York Times and this

Cheeto enjoys a lazy Sunday afternoon in Kessler Plaza. His “roommate/human/loyal servant” is Sarah Blacketer

Sunday

December 15th 4:00 PM

at East Dallas Christian Church

Sing We Now of Christmas

East Dallas Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

629 N. Peak Street, Dallas, TX 75246 www.edcc.org

Free Admission and open seating. Donations accepted for Concert Series Fund.

EDCC Chancel Choir, Bell Choir, and Children’s Choir

EDCC Chancel Bell and Children’s Choir

“TrebleMakers” from Plano East High School

“TrebleMakers” from Plano East School Ja zz

Daniel Pardo’s World Jazz Instrumentalists

Musicians of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra

Musicians of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra

Out & About

December 2013

Dec. 4

Sixpence for The Well

Sixpence None the Richer performs a concert at the Kessler Theater benefiting The Well Community. Among other tunes, the band will play a medley of traditional Christmas music. The Well, which is based at Cliff Temple Baptist Church, is a faith-based organization that serves Dallas residents struggling with mental illness. Smoke is catering the event.

The Kessler Theater, 1230 W. Davis, 214.272.8346, thekessler.org, $25-$35

DEC. 6

‘Pretty in Pink’

Ugh. Stupid Andie! She should’ve picked Duckie. But anyway, “Pretty in Pink” remains one of John Hughes’ best and most celebrated films. Celebrate teen angst with an ’80s dance party after the flick, as Blaine would probably call it. The Texas Theatre, 231 W. Jefferson, 214.948.1546, thetexastheatre.com, call for times and ticket prices

DEC. 6-7

Jingle Bells on Bishop

The Bishop Arts District Merchants Association and Grand Bank of Texas make it easy to shop local this year. Jingle Bells on Bishop is from 6-10 p.m. Shops stay open late, and this year, local artisans offer their wares in an outdoor craft market, Jingle Bells Bazaar, from 11 a.m.8 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 7.

Bishop Arts District, Bishop at Davis, bishopartsdistrict.com, free

DEC. 8

Tweed ride

The Dallas Tweed Ride returns after a one-year absence. Don your tweed knickers, or something very British, and meet up at the Grassy Knoll at 3:30 p.m. The ride ends at Turner House, 401 N. Rosemont, with lawn games, libations and whatever a Mary Poppins kissing booth is.

bikefriendlyoc.org, free

DEC. 12

Sip and shop

Make and Made’s official holiday sale, Sip & Shop, is from 6-9 p.m. Have a cocktail and browse through the work of makers who have studios there. Make and Made, 409 N. Zang, 214.941.0075, themakesite.com, free

Dec. 8

Family concert

State Rep. Rafael Anchía, who represents Oak Cliff in Austin, produces a family holiday concert every year. This year’s show features Oak Cliff-based Floramay Holiday and Circus Chickendog.

The Kessler Theater, 1230 W. Davis, 214.272.8346, thekessler.org, free

THROUGH JAN. 2

La Virgen

This annual art exhibit, La Virgen de Guadalupe, honors the patron saint of Mexico. Twenty-four local artists present their interpretations of the Virgin of Guadalupe. An artists’ reception is from 7-9 p.m. Friday, Dec. 13.

Oak Cliff Cultural Center, 223 W. Jefferson, 214.670.3777, dallasculture.org/ oakcliffculturalcenter, free

LAKEHILL PREPARATORY SCHOOL

Leading to Success. 2720 Hillside Dr., Dallas 75214 / 214.826.2931 / lakehillprep. org Kindergarten through Grade 12 - Lakehill Preparatory School takes the word preparatory in its name very seriously. Throughout a student’s 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, college-preparatory curriculum with opportunities for personal growth, individual enrichment, and community involvement. From kindergarten through high school, every Lakehill student is encouraged to strive, challenged to succeed, and inspired to excel.

ST. JOHN’S EPISCOPAL SCHOOL

848 Harter Rd., Dallas 75218 / 214.328.9131 / 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

Dec. 19

Bad Santa

In the dark winters of Finland, the legend of Santa Claus is a little different from the jolly fat guy we know. The Texas Theatre started showing “Rare Exports” around Christmastime a few years ago, and it’s a fun way to shake off the ooey-gooey of the Christmas season. If ooey-gooey is more your thing, though, the theater also screens “It’s A Wonderful Life,” Dec. 20.

The Texas Theatre, 231 W. Jefferson, 214.948.1546, thetexastheatre.com, call for times and ticket prices

69%

of our 200,000+ readers with average income of $146,750 want more info about private schools.

Delicious

Coffee

WhenOak Cliff Coffee Roasters owner Shannon Neffendorf decided to open a shop to showcase his coffee, he left no detail untouched. The interior of Davis Street Espresso, the roaster’s new coffee shop and showroom, features unique wood paneling, booths, tables and chairs created from reclaimed pallet wood by Oak Cliff-based carpenter Gary Buckner. Handmade lamps hang from the ceilings of the space that started out as a pecan-shelling plant in the 1930s and more recently was an auto-repair shop. At the back of the space is a children’s area with low chairs and tables and toys to keep the little ones occupied. The star of the show, of course, is the coffee. Between the café and the roasting area is a lab where roasters and baristas “cup,” that is, taste, brew from new roasts and beans. “We’re constantly cupping for quality control,” says manager Will Riggs. One of the shop’s most popular offerings is the Van Buren ($4), named for the cross street at West Davis. It comes with two ounces of espresso and two ounces of steamed milk, plus a four-ounce shot of mineral water in a separate glass and a mini biscotto. Barista Cameron Carter carved the small wooden trays on which the Van Buren is served. Along with the perfect cup of coffee, Davis Street Espresso also serves churros and donuts from Vera’s Bakery and plain and chocolate croissants from Oak Cliff-based Rush Patisserie. But Neffendorf isn’t just trying to appeal to your palate. He’s also creating a sense of place, our neighborhood. At Davis Street Espresso, for example, there is no Wi-Fi. “We want people to engage with each other,” Riggs says —Rachel Stone

DAVIS STREET ESPRESSO

819 W. Davis

214.929.6752

AMBIANCE: COFFEE BAR

PRICE RANGE: $2-$4

HOURS: TUESDAY-FRIDAY, 6-11 A.M. SATURDAY, 7 A.M.-2 P.M.

KNOW BEFORE YOU GO: DAVIS STREET ESPRESSO DOES NOT HAVE PAPER PRODUCTS. FOR A COFFEE TO GO, BRING YOUR OWN CUP.

The Van Buren:Elliott Muñoz

| THREE MORE PLACES TO WET YOUR WHISTLE |

1 Bolsa Mercado

Bolsa Mercado does have Wi-Fi, along with good lighting, big tables and comfortable seating areas. It’s one of the best public places to work in our neighborhood.

634 W. Davis

214.942.0451

bolsadallas.com/bolsa-mercado

2 Oddfellows

Every coffee freak in Dallas lost it when Oddfellows introduced its $15,000 La Marzocco Strada espresso machine. The Bishop Arts hot spot produces a consistently good cup of mud out of that thing. Plus, gingerbread pancakes.

316 W. Seventh

214.944.5958

oddfellowsdallas.com

3 Espumoso Caffe

Espumoso serves Illy coffee, along with delicious homemade empanadas and desserts.

408 N. Bishop 214.948.2055

espumosocaffe.com

The Steampunk espresso machine from Alpha Dominche allows baristas to manipulate temperature, quantities and other factors for a perfect cup every time:Elliott Muñoz

Shine with these sparkling wines

J Brut Rosé ($38)

Those of us who appreciate sparkling wine have never had it so good. Prices, for the most part, are wonderfully low, and quality has never been better. There are many reasons for both, but one is that more of us appreciate sparkling than ever before. It’s one of the big changes in the wine business, that bubbly is not just for holidays and special occasions.

Still, this time of year is sparkling’s busiest season. You can splurge with Champagne, from the Champagne region of France, but there is also well-priced wine from California, Spain (called cava), Italy, and even other parts of France.

Consider these wines for the holiday:

• Sarao Cava Brut ($11): This Spanish bubbly demonstrates how much well made cava is available. Look for a little apple fruit, though this is a softer wine, without the citrusy tang of some other cavas. But it’s well made and worth at least what it costs.

• Borgo Sanleo Prosecco ($13): Not as sweet as some Proseccos, the sparkling wine of Italy, but fruity (practically tropical) and very refreshing. Not as bubbly as its Spanish, French and California counterparts, but it’s not supposed to be.

• J Brut Rosé ($38): Top-flight California sparkling with wine cranberry and raspberry fruit that is still young and will get better the longer it ages. It’s hard to go wrong with any of J’s wine, even at this price.

Finally, a personal note: This is the final wine column I’ll be writing for the Advocate. It has been a joy and a pleasure to do it, and to see how much you appreciated it. But I have other writing that needs to be done, including a couple of books; you can keep up with my wine writing at winecurmudgeon. com.

—Jeff Siegel

WANT TO READ JEFF SIEGEL’S NEW BOOK, “The Wine Curmudgeon’s Guide to Cheap Wine”? Visit oakcliff.advocatemag.com/giveaway and enter the code “WINEBOOKOC” to win a copy.

with your wine

Gougere

(Adapted from Patricia Wells, “Bistro Cooking”)

Gougere are French-style cheesepuffs, and it seems as if they were invented for sparkling wine. Wonderful as a first course or as something to pass around for holiday guests.

GROCERY LIST

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 stick butter

1 cup water

1/2 cup flour

2 eggs

1/2 cup grated Swiss-style cheese

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Combine salt, butter and water in saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring to mix.

2. Remove the pan from the heat and mix in the flour, stirring vigorously. It will make a smooth, soft dough. Put the pan back on the heat, stirring the dough all the time. The goal is to dry it a little; when it starts to stick to the pan, it’s dry enough.

3. Transfer the warm dough to a food processor with a metal blade. Add the eggs and half the cheese, and mix until everything is incorporated. The dough should still be warm.

4. Place the dough in 2-inch rounds on a non-stick baking sheet (or use parchment paper) using a spoon, pastry bag or even a melon baller. Sprinkle the tops with the remaining cheese. Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, 15 to 25 minutes. About 45 minutes, Serves four

Ask the wine guy

What does “brut” mean for sparkling wines?

Brut means the wine is dry, although dry in sparkling isn’t quite as dry as it is in wine without bubbles. Also, Italian brut sparklers are less dry than French, American or Spanish bubblies. —Jeff Siegel ASK THE WINE GUY taste@advocatemag.com

A WARM THANK YOU

Lakewood Early Childhood PTA would like to thank these wonderful companies and individuals for making the 37 th Annual Lakewood Home Festival a huge success!

Almcoe Refrigeration

Baby Bliss / Mini Me

BeardSKI

Bella Vista Company

Bulleit Whiskey Chicago Title Insurance Company Ciroc

Coldwell Banker Lakewood

Cornerstone Mortgage

Cupcake Vineyards

D Home Magazine

Dave Perry-Miller & Associates

David Bush Realtors Don Julio

Ebby Lakewood Forest Lane Pediatrics

Incarnation Academy

Jacksonsells.com

Juliette Fowler Communities

Kovar Homes, LLC

Lakehouse Bar & Grill

Lakewood Brewing Company

Lakewood Veterinary Center

Maestri, LLC Architecture-Design

Mast Sturgeon Group

Minnette Murray Properties

Nancy Johnson Real Estate Group

Nothing Bundt Cakes

One Fine Day

Potbelly Republic Title StudiOrange

Susan Melnick

Team Whiteside

The Dallas Morning News

The Wine Therapist

Times Ten Cellars

Walnut Hill Obstetrics & Gynecology

White Rock Lake Weekly Whole Foods

And the gracious homeowners, home captains, market vendors, cafe vendors, auction donors, florists, volunteer coordinators, and the hundreds of volunteers who make this event possible.

(214.987.6500)

BRIGHT {GIFT} IDEAS

A selection of holiday gifts created right here in our neighborhood

BY RACHEL STONE | PHOTOS BY DANNY FULGENCIO

Some of the magic is lost when you’re flipping through racks to find the perfect Halloween costume and Elvis’ “Blue Christmas” starts playing on the store’s speakers. Christmas is bigger and earlier every year, and the pressure to spend can be overwhelming. But there is a remedy. Avoid the Thanksgiving “door-buster” sales this year and put money directly into our community by shopping local with neighborhood retailers. We take that idea a step further and offer these ideas for gifts that are so Oak Cliff that they’re handmade by our own neighbors, right here in our neighborhood.

Wooden ornaments and jewelry boxes PRICE RANGE $15-$200 WHERE

KC Madeley started producing romantic and whimsical jewelry boxes in her mom’s garage about 10 years ago. Since then, she has moved to Oak Cliff, and her workspace dwindled.

So Madeley recently leased a space at Make and Made. Her specialty is turning found items into beautiful things. Sometimes she reuses old wooden jewelry boxes that she finds in thrift stores or garage sales. But any wooden box will do, including some she’s found in the trash. She sands them, dresses them up with acrylic paints and then decoupages

images of flowers or Degas ballerinas, for example. She seals the whole thing before affixing wooden feet, beads, crystals and other notions for detail.

“I make it however you want,” she says.

Sometimes clients bring her trinkets, such as a grandmother’s costume jewelry, that have sentimental meaning but are not useful or valuable. Madeley can use them to adorn the boxes so that the keepsakes are on display in a stylish way.

“No two are ever alike,” she says. “They’re all unique.”

Madeley also creates tree ornaments from sanded wooden blocks. She hangs the blocks with twisted wire and dangles beads and crystals from the bottom. Those, too, can be customized with fam-

ily photos, greeting cards, wrapping paper and other paper keepsakes, which she glues to the blocks.

Madeley started making jewelry over 20 years ago, and she sold her creations in a couple of boutiques in Dallas. But now she is all about found objects.

Recently she rescued a pair of old wooden twin beds on the side of the road. Now that she has space at Make and Made, she is planning to give them new life.

“I’m a trash collector,” she says. “I just love it when I find something that inspires me.”

Find the Fluffy Diamond at the Make and Made “sip and shop” Dec. 12, or contact Madeley directly to visit her studio.

KC Madeley THE FLUFFY DIAMOND

LUNA AND THE COWBOY

The work studio in Lesa Morris’ 1927 cottage off South Hampton holds more than just leather tools and cowhides.

It’s a former back bedroom of this old house; it has terrific southern light, and it once was her dad’s bedroom. The adjacent room, where she now sleeps, was her mamaw and papaw’s.

After decades following her career as a hairstylist to Austin, New York City and northern California, where she had lived for 17 years until this past June, Morris has returned to her roots. She grew up in Houston with her mom and stepdad, but she spent every summer and Christmas break here in Oak Cliff, in this house.

“Oak Cliff is in my cellular memory,” she says. “When I’m driving around, I know where I’m going instinctively.”

Morris’ business selling handmade leather items was inspired by her dad, who struggled with addiction his whole life and died four years ago at 68.

Her dad, Donnie Morris, was born and raised in Oak Cliff, and he was a cobbler by trade. In the 1970s, he and his wife used to buy secondhand jeans, rip them apart and remake them into dresses and jackets.

“They upcycled before that was a thing,” Morris says. “That always inspired me.”

So on the one-year anniversary of her dad’s death, Morris lit a candle and pulled out her leather-working tools. Inspired by her dad, who rode motorcycles, she crafted a feminine version of a biker’s wallet.

“I thought, ‘Dang, that’s pretty cool. I could sell that,’ ” she recalls.

Over the next few years, she created more — clutches, totes, laptop cases, cuffs. She uses cowhides that she buys new, but she also “upcycles” thrifted leather skirts and belts, which she uses as mix-and-match purse straps. A friend hosted Morris’ first trunk show at a pilates studio in Carmel, Calif., on Dec. 5, 2012. Coincidentally, it was also the anniversary of Donnie Morris’ death.

Luna and the Cowboy are Leza and her dad. Luna is an old nickname of hers, and her dad was known as “Cowboy” while living on the streets of Austin because of his western hat and duster.

“I always wanted to go into business with my dad, and now he’s my silent partner,” she says.

Find Luna and the Cowboy at Jingle Bells on Bishop Dec. 7 and at the “sip and shop” event at Make and Made, 409 N. Zang, Dec. 12.

Lesa Morris

Photo

Jesse Stout Bartlett combines her two passions at Oil and Cotton. The professional seamstress was a public-school teacher for seven years. And at the studio, she teaches teenagers how to sew.

The students in her class are making one-of-a-kind aprons from reused vintage clothing. At the end of the class, the students offer the aprons for sale at Oil and Cotton; the student receives a profit, and a percentage goes toward Oil and Cotton scholarships.

Bartlett gave up her job about four years ago to pursue sewing full time. Now she spends her days at the machine, crafting pillows, window treatments and bedding

for interior-design clients.

This month, she is offering a line of black-and-white throw pillows that are inspired by modern architecture, at Oil and Cotton.

“I just love the lines,” she says.

As SewJesse, she offers home goods as well as private sewing lessons.

But she also finds time to produce children’s clothing for a second business, Little Jesse.

All the children’s clothing is made from vintage textiles — quilts, tablecloths, old clothes and anything else she can find that’s appealing.

“I love making children’s clothing,” she says.

Bartlett is a highly skilled seamstress, but she is not a clothing designer. Most patterns that can be purchased stipulate

that the clothes produced from them should not be used for profit. So Bartlett uses open-source patterns, which she finds on the Internet. She mostly makes tops, skirts and pants for boys and girls, sizes 2T-5T.

Bartlett’s mom taught her how to sew when she was about 14, when she made a satin cape for her nephew’s Halloween costume.

“I was hooked,” she says.

She never stopped sewing, often creating things as gifts for friends and family.

Bartlett grew up on a farm in Midlothian, and she and her husband, Bo, moved to Wynnewood North, where they have two dogs and some “really spoiled hens,” about four years ago.

Find SewJesse and Little Jesse at Oil and Cotton, 837 W. Seventh.

Jesse Stout Bartlett

F. IS FOR FRANK

fisforfrank.com,

This jewelry maker, whose coowner Shoshannah Frank lives in Oak Cliff, also offers cast pewter ornaments shaped like dinosaurs, robots and birds, among other designs. Texasshaped ornaments can be customized.

Oak Cliff T-shirts

EPIPHANY BOUTIQUE

412 N. Bishop, 214.946.4411, epiphanyboutique.com, $30

Lisa Walter of Freelisa Designs created a line of T-shirts for Epiphany that depict iconic Oak Cliff landmarks, including Aunt Stelle’s sno-cone stand and the bygone Alamo Plaza Hotel Courts.

730 Singleton, 214.747.7916, rayssportinggoods.com, $19

Ray’s started as a hardware store in 1949. The store still sells hardware, along with firearms, ammo and hunting supplies. Inside the windowless building, find the stuffed head of a buffalo and outdoorsy guys hanging out by the rifles. Don’t forget to pick up a “Follow me across the bridge to Ray’s” bumper sticker as a stocking stuffer.

Beer-can plant from Mulcahy Farms BOLSA MERCADO AND URBAN ACRES

$12-$25 Cynthia Mulcahy, who also runs a farm in Paluxy, Texas, grows organic cacti, succulents, sedums and herbs in her Oak Cliff backyard. She plants them in cut beer cans, coffee cans and any other reusable container she can find. They make unique secret-Santa or hostess gifts.

Custom bowtie

HOUSE OF MACGREGOR

614 W. Davis, 214.942.1966, thehouseofmacgregor.com, $65

Hat designer Cassie MacGregor of Oak Cliff also makes one-of-a-kind bowties. Clients can choose the fabrics, and the ties can be made reversible, so it’s like two accessories in one.

Grandma slice

ZOLI’S NY PIZZA

202 W. Davis, 214.942.9654, zolispizza.com, $5

Buy a buddy a slice, and they will chalk it up on the board for your buddy to eat when he or she wants (within 30 days).

Tamales

EL PADRINO

408 W. Jefferson, 214.943.3993, elpadrinomexicangrill.com, $10/dozen

There are so many places to buy tamales in Oak Cliff, including, perhaps, a neighbor lady who comes to your door around this time every year. Most people have their favorites. We like El Padrino, which offers chicken with green tomatillo sauce, cheese with roasted chile, bean and cheese and pork in red chile.

BUSINESS BUZZ

The lowdown on what’s up with neighborhood businesses

Send business news tips to livelocal@advocatemag.com

The Local Oak and Outpost

The Local Oak, a new restaurant adjacent to the future streetcar stop at Zang and Seventh, was expected to open in November. Owners Alycen Cuellar, Felix Garcia and Paul Delgado renovated the 1920s building, which has a midcentury modern facade. The partners hired Ryan Chaney and 44 Build, the company that designed the interiors of Good 2 Go Taco, Goodfriend and 20 Foot Seafood Joint, among others. They salvaged as much as they could, including the original, weathered hardwood floors, as well as pinewood paneling, which they repurposed for ceilings. “We really tried to keep the integrity of the building,” Cuellar says. Cuellar has a long history in Oak Cliff. Her dad, Frank Cuellar Jr., is a son of the family that started El Chico. Cuellar himself started La Calle Doce and El Ranchito. The Local Oak will have 12 beers on tap, including five that are local, and a list of eight wines. The menu, designed by chef Aaron Courtney, is a mix of Cajun and Mexican flavors, as well as a burger, sandwiches, salads and bar bites.

The owners of Bolsa and Smoke bought Out-

More business bits

post American Tavern and took over the restaurant Nov. 1. Tim Byres of Smoke is developing a new menu with existing Outpost chef Lance Smith, and the new owners, which also include Chris Zielke and Chris Jeffers, are keeping the restaurant’s same staff.

Vintage clothes, vintage pop

GET IN CONTACT

The Local Oak 409 N. ZANG 214.946.4625

Outpost American Tavern 1115 N. BECKLEY 215.946.1308

OUTPOSTDALLAS.COM

Zola’s Everyday Vintage 414 N. BISHOP 214.943.6643 ZOLASVINTAGE.COM

7-Eleven 408 N. HAMPTON 214.944.1499

7-ELEVEN.COM

Big Lots 2128 FORT WORTH AVE. BIGLOTS.COM

BB&T BBT.COM

—Rachel Stone

The Soda Gallery satisfied the sweet tooth, offering hundreds of bottles of pop in the Bishop Arts District until it closed in the spring of 2012. Since then, shoppers searching for a bottle of Cheerwine or Japanese marble soda have popped into Bishop Arts boutiques asking after the bygone business. “We saw a market and went for it,” says Mike Ricketts of Zola’s Everyday Vintage. A few months ago, the vintage clothing boutique started carrying a few varieties of hard-to-find soft drinks. Now the store sells about 60 kinds of soda in bottles, including Bubble Up, orange and strawberry Crush, Big Red, Dad’s, Boylan, Dublin, Ale 8 and Fitz’s. The store, which still sells vintage clothing and accessories, is working to acquire a few other brands, and they’d like to have about 85 all together.

nd they’d Rachel OAKCLIFF.ADVOCATEMAG.COM/BIZ

1 A new 7-Eleven store opened on Jefferson at Hampton last month. The high-traffic corner had been the site of a boarded-up gas station for several years. The store won a zoning case to sell beer and wine despite being a block away from Sunset High School. 2 Big Lots, which has a store under construction on Fort Worth Avenue at Hampton, is moving out of the business-to-business wholesale trade. The Ohio-based company will focus on new initiatives in its retail stores, including adding more freezers and coolers, starting a furniture-financing program and improving its social media presence. 3 North Carolina-based BB&T bank has a branch under construction on Zang at Beckley. BB&T has six Dallas branches, but this will be the first on our side of the river.

The Local Oak

Local Resources

TO ADVERTISE 214.560.4203

WORSHIP

ALL SAINTS DALLAS / 2733 Oak Lawn / 972-755-3505

Radical Inclusivity, Profound Transformation. Come and See! 9:00 & 11:00 am Sunday Services. www.allsaintschurchdallas.org

CLIFF TEMPLE BAPTIST CHURCH / 125 Sunset Ave. / CliffTemple.org

Building everyday people into everyday missionaries for Jesus Christ. Sunday School: 9:30 am / Sunday Worship: 10:45 am / 214-942-8601

CLASSES/TUTORING/ LESSONS

JEWELRY Making Parties at Art Gallery. BYOB & creativity. All else included! jewelrymakingparty.com or 1-855-254-6625

MATH Shouldn’t Get In The Way Of Anyone’s Dreams. I Tutor Algebra To Calculus. Test Anxiety & ADHD Are My Specialties. Jonathan. 972-957-7020 holisiticmathtutoring.com

EMPLOYMENT

CREATE INCOME From The Internet. One On One Coaching & Group Support. www.MonthlyResidual.net

SERVICES FOR YOU

GLORIA’S FLOWERS The Finest Flowers for Any Occasion 214-339-9273 gloriasflowersdallas.com 3101 Davis St.

LOWER THAT CABLE BILL Get satellite TV today. Free system, install/HD/DVR upgrade. Programming starting at $19.99. 800-725-1865

Mine!

Daylon Walton and Lee Jamison

get meat crazy at the fourth-annual Blues, Bandits & BBQ celebration at Kidd Springs Park. Barbecue competitors camped out overnight, and the event drew hundreds of meat lovers to Oak Cliff: Elliott Muñoz

Local BULLETIN BOARD

SERVICES FOR YOU

PET SERVICES

In-Home Professional Care

Customized to maintain your pet’s routine In-Home Pet Visits & Daily Walks

BOUNCE HOUSES • SLIDES • MARGARITA MACHINES POPCORN MACHINES • PIÑATAS

CHAIRS • TABLES (214)941-7440 - www.pinatacity.com 1705 W. CLARENDON, DALLAS TX 75208

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

HOLLOWAY BENEFIT CONCEPTS Benefit strategy for area businesses. www.hollowaybenefitconcepts.com 214-329-0097

TRAVEL

CRUISEONE DALLAS Doug Thompson bigDcruises.com Plan your cruise vacation today! 214-254-4980

“Best of Dallas” D Magazine

Serving the Dallas area since 1994 Bonded & Insured www.societypetsitter.com 214-821-3900

BUY/SELL/TRADE

TEXAS RANGERS AND DALLAS STARS

front row seats. Share prime, front-row Texas Rangers and Dallas Stars tickets (available in sets of 10 games). Prices start at $105 per ticket (sets of 2 or 4 tickets per game available) Seats are behind the plate and next to the dugouts for the Rangers: seats are on the glass and on the Platinum Level for the Stars. Other great seats available starting at $60 per ticket. Entire season available except for opening game; participants randomly draw numbers prior to the season to determine a draft order fair for everyone. Call 214-560-4212 or rwamre@advocatemag.com

TOP CASH FOR CARS Any Car, Truck. Running or Not. Call for Instant Offer. 1-800-454-6951

ESTATE/GARAGE SALES

ESTATE SALES & LIQUIDATION SERVICES

Moving, Retirement, Downsizing. One Piece or a Houseful. David Turner. 214-908-7688. dave2estates@aol.com

AIR CONDITIONING & HEATING Repair, Service, Replacement. Honest & Affordable. JB Maintenance. 214-404-1457 LIC# TACLB 17612E

CABINETRY & FURNITURE

THE CABINET CONCIERGE

The Art of Storage. Call 214-821-5900

Email jin@thecabinetconcierge.com

CARPENTRY & REMODELING

ATLANTIS DESIGN-BUILD, LLC

Complete Remodeling. 40 Yrs Exp. Additions. 1 & 2 Story. Kitchens, Baths. Small Jobs To Entire House. Renovation & Design. Full Time Supervision. Licensed/Insured. Free Estimates. 281-761-4648

BLAKE CONSTRUCTION CONCEPTS, LLC

Complete Remodeling, Kitchens, Baths, Additions. Hardie Siding & Replacement Windows. Radiant Barrier, Insulation. Bonded & Insured. www.blake-construction.com

214-563-5035

BO HANDYMAN Specializing In Historic Home Renovations & Pro Remodels. Custom Carpentry, Doors, Kitchens, Baths & more. 214-437-9730

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

RENOVATE DALLAS

renovatedallas.net 214-403-7247

CARPENTRY & REMODELING

TK REMODELING Complete Full Service Repairs, Remodeling, Restoration. Name It- We do it. Tommy. 972-533-2872. insured. http://dallas.tkremodelingcontractors.com

CLEANING SERVICES

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

WINDOW MAN WINDOW CLEANING.COM Residential Specialists. BBB. 214-718-3134

CONCRETE/ MASONRY/PAVING

BRICK, BLOCK, Stone, Concrete, Stucco. Gonzalez Masonry. 214-395-1319

BRICK, STONEWORK, FLAGSTONE PATIOS Mortar Repair. Call George 214-498-2128

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

FLAGSTONE PATIOS, Retaining Walls, BBQ’s, Veneer, Flower Bed Edging, All Stone work. Chris 214-770-5001

ELECTRICAL SERVICES

4 U ELECTRICAL SERVICE, LLC We will be there 4 U. 972-877-4183

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

ANTHONY’S ELECTRIC Master Electrician. TECL24948 anthonyselectricofdallas.com Family Owned/Operated. Insd. 214-328-1333

LAKEWOOD ELECTRICAL Local. Insured. Lic. #227509 Call Rylan 214-434-8735

MORIN ELECTRIC New/Remodel.Com/Res. Panel Changes/Full Services. All Phases. All Service Work. 469-230-7438. TECL2293

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

FENCING & DECKS

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

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

JANUARY DEADLINE DECEMBER 4 TO ADVERTISE CALL 214.560.4203

EST. 1991 #1

COWBOY FENCE & IRON CO.

FENCING & DECKS 214.692.1991

SPECIALIZING IN Wood Fences &Auto Gates

cowboyfenceandiron.com

FLOORING & CARPETING

HASTINGS STAINED CONCRETE New/ Remodel. Stain/Wax Int/Ext. Nick. 214-341-5993. www.hastingsfloors.com

HANDYMAN SERVICES

A R&G HANDYMAN Electrical, Plumbing, Painting, Fencing, Roofing, Light Hauling. Ron or Gary 214-861-7569, 469-878-8044

BO HANDYMAN Specializing In Historic Home Renovations & Pro Remodels. Custom Carpentry, Doors, Kitchens, Baths & more. 214-437-9730

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

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

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

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

Your Home Repair Specialists

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

HOUSE PAINTING

BLAKE CONSTRUCTION CONCEPTS, LLC

Complete Painting Interior/Exterior, Stain Etc. Custom Finishes, Custom Texture, Custom Trim www.blake-construction.com Fully Bonded & Insured. 214-563-5035

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

KITCHEN/BATH/ TILE/GROUT

ALL SURFACE REFINISHING 214-631-8719. Tub/Tile/Refinishing. allsurfacerefinishing.com

BLAKE CONSTRUCTION CONCEPTS LLC

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

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

KITCHEN/BATH/ TILE/GROUT

MELROSE TILE James Estrello Sr., Installer 40 Yrs. Exp. MelroseTile.com 214-384-6746

LAWNS, GARDENS & TREES

25% OFF TREE WORK Christmas Lights. Trim. Roberts Tree Svc. Insd. 10 yrs exp. 214-808-8925

A BETTER TREE COMPANY • JUST TREES Complete tree services. Tree & Landscape Lighting! Mark 214-332-3444

HOLMAN IRRIGATION

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

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

JUST

MOVING

MOVING

ALL-TEX MOVERS Free Estimates. 11Yr. BBB Member. www.all-texmovers.com 214-869-6566

ALL-TEX MOVERS Free Estimates. 11Yr. BBB Member. www.all-texmovers.com 214-869-6566

SOMEONE WAS WATCHING.

PEST CONTROL

PEST CONTROL

A BETTER EARTH PEST CONTROL

A BETTER EARTH PEST CONTROL

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

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

PLUMBING

PLUMBING

ANDREWS PLUMBING • 214-354-8521

ANDREWS PLUMBING • 214-354-8521

# M37740 Insured. Any plumbing issues. plumberiffic69@gmail.com

# M37740 Insured. Any plumbing issues. plumberiffic69@gmail.com

Sewers • Drains • Bonded 24 Hours/7 Days

Sewers • Drains • Bonded 24 Hours/7 Days

*Joe Faz 214-794-7566 - Se Habla Español*

*Joe Faz 214-794-7566 - Se Habla Español*

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

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

POOLS

POOLS

LEAFCHASERS POOLS

LEAFCHASERS POOLS

Parts and Service. Chemicals and Repairs. Jonathan. 214-729-3311

Parts and Service. Chemicals and Repairs. Jonathan. 214-729-3311

ROOFING & GUTTERS

ROOFING & GUTTERS

NATIONWIDE ROOFING

NATIONWIDE ROOFING

Fencing, Gutters BBB member. 214-882-8719

Fencing, Gutters BBB member. 214-882-8719

Allstate Homecraft Roofing •

Allstate Homecraft Roofing

•

SKYLIGHTS

SKYLIGHTS

Installing Since 1995

Installing Since 1995

Commercial & Residential Replacement, Repair & New Installation

Commercial & Residential Replacement, Repair & New Installation

Glass – Acrylic – Tubular Skylights 972-263-6033 www.skylightsolutions.com

Glass – Acrylic – Tubular Skylights 972-263-6033

www.skylightsolutions.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.

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.

Melissa Garcia has only lived in her house nine months. Her daughter recently had a baby and had been staying with her in preparation for the delivery and recovery. On Oct. 28, a strange man knocked on the door. Garcia did not know him, so she

The Victim: Melissa Garcia

The Crime: Burglary

Date: Tuesday, Oct. 29

were scoping out her home before burglarizing it.

“I think they were already watching my house,” she says.

The good news is that police later called and said they had a suspect based on fingerprints. While she may not get her stuff back, at least the suspect may be caught.

Time: Between 11:15 a.m. and 4:15 p.m.

Location: 3300 block of Falls

did not answer the door. She also saw a man parked across the street waiting for the man at the door to return to the vehicle. It just seemed a bit strange.

The next day, Garcia took her daughter to the doctor for a checkup. When she returned, her house had been broken into. Police found a cooler next to a bathroom window, which the burglar had used to enter the home.

The burglar made off with jewelry, a laptop, a Sony PlayStation and a cell phone – several hundred dollars in stolen property. Police told Garcia that there had been quite a bit of crime in the area lately.

Garcia feels that the strange visitors

Sgt. Kay Hughbanks with the Dallas Police Southwest Patrol Division says a criminal may indeed knock on a resident’s door to determine that no one is home.

“I know there is the possible danger if one should answer the door, but it is rarer for someone to be attacked in this manner than it is that the suspect is trying to find a home that is vacant,” she says. “If citizens see a person in the neighborhood going door to door, call 911 and report suspicious activity, giving a physical description of the person and the vehicle as best as possible.”

Hughbanks says that if suspects see an officer in the area or get stopped by an investigating officer, they may know they are being watched — hopefully reducing the chances of them hitting that particular neighborhood.

CRIME NUMBERS

years the men had lived together 3:30 900 2

block of Marsalis, the location of the apartment, where 36-year-old

| a.m., the time police were called the an Oak Cliff apartment building, where a man was found stabbed in a common area

Kenneth Davis is accused of stabbing his roommate, 46-year-old Kevin Williams, who later died

SOURCE: Dallas Police Department

Sean Chaffin is a freelance writer and author of “Raising the Stakes”, obtainable at raisingthestakesbook.com. If you have been a recent crime victim, email crime@advocatemag.com.

JUST AROUND THE CORNER

The intersection of Marsalis and Jefferson holds quite a bit of history

COMMENT. Visit lakewood.advocatemag.com to tell us what you think.

Like the Hampton-Illinois corner featured in the October 2010 column, the intersection of Marsalis Avenue and Jefferson Boulevard holds volumes of Oak Cliff history. Last month’s story featured the beloved old Carnegie Library that once stood on the southwest corner. Here now, as promised, are the additional stories.

The now non-functioning triple bubblerhead fountain that remains on the corner was given to citizens of Oak Cliff, in 1915, by the Rev. George W. Owens. Erected at what was then called Library Plaza, the ornamental drinking fountain was a gift of gratitude for many kindnesses shown to Owens during his long and serious illness.

Two of the Oak Cliff Methodist Church’s most prominent members, one being T. L. Marsalis, disagreed about which street the church should face: Marsalis or Jefferson? Obviously a compromise, the building faces … the corner!

Born in 1852 in Alabama, Owens’ father died in the Civil War before his family moved to Texas in 1868, where the fatherless family picked cotton. Owens worked his way through school to become a circuit riding preacher and church founder for the Methodist Episcopal Church, eventually settling in Dallas. He helped organize Oak Cliff Methodist Church (across Jefferson Boulevard from the library) but also had a good head for entrepreneurship, later entering the lumber business. By the time of his 1918 death, George W. Owens & Son owned roughly 35 lumber outlets.

For many years Owens, who lived at 222 Lancaster Rd., was the financial agent for the Texas Christian Advocate, the state’s M.E. Church organization, and also served as president of the Texas Lumbermen’s Association. He became president of the Metropolitan

Street Railway Company (the South Belt line) in Dallas and served on the board of directors of the American Exchange National Bank. He donated the girl’s dormitory and dining room at Polytechnic College in Fort Worth and also developed a plan to assist deserving young men finance their college educations at Southern Methodist University, by lending tuition money. “The only security they need[ed] in getting the money is good character.”

Owens’ 1918 funeral was held at Oak Cliff Methodist Church.

On a negative note: The fountain’s three drinking heads sadly were marked “White Children,” “White Adults” and “Colored.”

Allen Melton (April 2013 column) told the story of meeting his wife at the old library and of her inviting him to church with her right across the street at Oak Cliff Methodist. Founded in 1887, the church’s basement rooms were built in 1912 and the sanctuary completed in 1915, but with a reported difference of opinion between two of the congregation’s most prominent members, one being T. L. Marsalis. It seems the two disagreed about which street the church should face: Marsalis or Jefferson? Obviously a compromise, the building faces the corner!

The October 2011 column mentioned the “Oak Cliff tamale man” who vendored on the same corner, in front of the library. Re-

cently, while reading Rose-Mary Rumbley’s book “Dallas, Too: Stories I’m Telling Again, Because I Want to Hear Them Myself,” I stumbled across the following:

“Juan Rodriquez and his wife made the tasty, cornhusk-covered Mexican staples during the day, and Juan sold them at night. Hanging a lantern on his red tamale cart, Rodriquez enticed customers by opening the cart’s lid, allowing the steaming aroma to attract customers. He charged 15 cents per dozen, a price even Depression-era folks could afford.”

It was this same intersection where, in 1929, Bernard McGee stepped off the corner on his way to work and was hit by a drunk driver. McGee, who at the time worked for North Texas Interurban, never recovered well enough to return to his job but eventually opened a small hamburger stand across the street from the veterans’ hospital on South Lancaster Road. The McGee Family story is shared in the same October 2011 column as Juan Rodriquez, above.

This corner is now renamed Turner Plaza, in honor of Adella Turner (Mrs. E.P., as she was more widely known), who lived in Oak Cliff and served for decades as founder and president of numerous women’s organizations. A mother of four, Turner organized and led the Texas Federation of Women’s Club,

The corner of Jefferson and Marsalis: Danny Fulgencio

the Standard Club, the Women’s Alliance and the Texas Women’s Forum, with most organizations emphasizing education and better living conditions for women and children. She also worked in the fine arts world, supported the WWI effort and campaigned for women’s suffrage.

After her death, Turner’s two living sons donated the four-story Victorian Turner home on Ewing Avenue (pictured on the wall at Norma’s Café) to the Oak Cliff Society of Fine Arts. However, when construction of I-35 E demanded the property, the society relocated to its current location on Rosemont Avenue and named its facility “Turner House.”

Turner (1856-1938) was one of the first two women elected to the Dallas School Board in 1908. Adelle (not Adella, her real name) Turner Elementary School, on South Polk Street, was named in her honor.

I miss the old library, as do many former and current Cliffites. Speaking for all of us, I wish the Old Oak Cliff Conservation League — and Michael Amonett — were around back in 1967. Another classic Oak Cliff building might still be standing. (I’ll bet we could also find someone to peddle tamales there, as well.) A good book, some warm Tex-Mex munchies and church on Sundays. Ah! If only …

YOUR STORIES

Longtime Cliffites recount memories and reconnect on oakcliff.advocatemag.com/ backstory

When I was in elementary school, we went to the Marsalis library every summer Saturday. It was a ritual. In the morning we got on the bus at “Boundary” and rode Downtown. First stop was the DAC where we went swimming and had lunch — hot roast beef sandwiches! Those elderly waiters were so sweet and kind to us; usually we were the only people in the dining room. From there we walked to whatever movie was playing, and rode the bus home afterward. Of course, it was mandatory to get off at the Marsalis library. As little children we were allowed to check out 13 books, and you can bet we got 13 each week, and lugged them home on the bus. How we loved that basement library! Once in a while I would venture to the first floor. Besides the outside stairs, there was a little alcove inside with more stairs. Checked out “Joan Foster, Freshman.” There were many Joan Foster books, dreary in the extreme by today’s standards. —Jane

Little

Gayla Brooks 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. Brooks 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 gbrooks@advocatemag.com.

I remember going to the Oak Cliff library as a small child but also remember going to the library to work on high school projects, including the famous “senior paper.” I was in high school when I-35 opened through Oak Cliff. Mother would let me drive to the library to get the items I needed, but I was not supposed to get on I-35. I was to take the back roads. Well, you know the rest of the story … I would take I-35 but would never tell what I did. I-35 was quicker and I was able to drive faster.

—Raenell Horn Davis

I remember going to the library when my family moved here from New York in the early ’60s. Correct me if I am wrong, but I remember running my fingers over the plaques at the library fountain and wondering why there were separate ones for the different races. Thankfully, times have changed. —Laurie

Duran

In the ’50s, I remember a library that looked like a big house. (Or is that my childhood imagination?) Yes, I believe the children’s books were in the basement. The grounds had a large lawn and a large fountain surrounded by individual drinking fountains. Where was that?

—Penny Newman

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