2013 March Oak Cliff

PARK WARS

Playgrounds’ toughest critics rate o ak c liff

Be LocaL IN oak cliff

Photo by Danny

Photo of Aubrey Cate at Moss Park by Danny Fulgencio

I can see clearly now

Looking back on my life in glasses

I was in fourth grade when fate joined me with prescription glasses.

I was sitting in the last row of the classroom, as far from the blackboard and teacher as possible. This wasn’t necessarily my choice; although I tend to be a backbencher by nature, the fact that my last name begins with “W” generally resulted in a spot in the back of every classroom with my bottom-of-the-alphabet compadres.

(I would imagine, what with all of the political correctness these days, the “Ws” are no longer exclusively relegated to the back of the class. But I digress …)

Something new was in the works that day: A class project was on the pull-down screen in front of the blackboard, and the teacher took turns ensuring we were engaged/awake by randomly calling on us to read portions of the assignment.

Reading wasn’t a problem for me, as you can probably imagine from my line of work, and soon it was my turn. Immediately, I began stumbling over one word after another.

First, I was frustrated. Then I was embarrassed. Then I was silent.

Maybe the teacher saw me squinting. Maybe she had a hunch. But in what presumably was an attempt to help, she methodically moved me up one seat in the row, and then another, and then another, as I continued to stumble over the words.

Now, I have to admit that by the time I was temporarily seated in the front row having displaced four or five chuckling classmates along the way — my reading difficulty was more a function of water in my eyes than my inability to see the screen.

Regardless, the teacher sent home a note suggesting my parents have my eyesight checked out.

Soon thereafter, I was selecting my first set of prescription glasses from among the five or so “youth” options available at Duling Optical in Detroit Lakes, Minn. Those black horn-rimmed beauties went through a lot with me — touch football games, Little League baseball, my first (and last) junior high dance, lots of good and some less-than-good grades, and the usual other collection of school-age fun.

I’ve worn glasses every day since, with 12 or so months off for contacts my first year in college — I wanted to make a good impression, I suppose, as if wearing glasses was really a life-changing negative.

It turned out the original “hard” contacts, combined with the wind and cold of Chicago mornings, just weren’t for me.

Every five or so years since, I’ve wound up with either a new set of frames, lenses or — pocketbook willing — both.

And that’s a long-winded way of explaining why my column picture looks different today. Maybe you noticed; maybe you didn’t.

The photo needed to be changed anyway. A few months ago, someone recognized me in a restaurant and suggested I didn’t look like myself.

“Your hair looks a lot whiter in person than it is in the magazine,” she told me, simply stating the obvious.

So now I will gaze out at you with whiter hair, a lighter beard and a new set of glasses.

I can see a lot better with these glasses, too, so it should be easier for me to connect with you now that I’ll be able to see more clearly if you’re wearing glasses or not.

To see The progression of rick Wamre’s frame fashion since elementary, visit oakcliff.advocatemag.com and search: glasses.

Rick Wamre is president of Advocate Media. Let him know how we are doing by writing to 6301 Gaston, Suite 820, Dallas 75214; or email rwamre@advocatemag.com.

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assume liability for the content of all advertisements printed, and therefore assume responsibility for any and all claims against the Advocate. The publisher reserves the right to accept or reject any editorial or advertising material. Opinions set forth in the Advocate are those of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the publisher’s viewpoint. More than 200,000 people read Advocate publications each month. Advertising rates and guidelines are available upon request. Advocate publications are available free of charge throughout our neighborhoods, one copy per reader. Advocate was founded in 1991 by Jeff Siegel, Tom Zielinski and Rick Wamre.

Where is the love?

Apparently the only long-term committed couples Rachel Stone could find or sees worthy of a Valentine’s feature in Oak Cliff [“Love, honor, cherish,” February Advocate] are white, heterosexual, Protestants. —Joe

Tirk

Joe, we put out a number of calls for volunteers to participate in the story, or for readers such as you to nominate people to be included in this story — both in print and online — and we came up with some good love stories. However, we didn’t exclude anyone by race or gender, and we don’t publish information based on arbitrary quotas, either. If you know of someone you believe should have been included, pass that information to Rachel. I’m sure it’s not the last story about neighborhood love that we’ll write.

—Rick Wamre, Advocate president

It took a village

One of the first things that happened in Bishop Arts was that it was made a conservation district, and most all the structures were placed on the National Registry of Historic Places [“Boarded up on Bishop,” February Advocate]. Structures on this list that are used for commercial uses qualify for significant tax breaks at the federal level. Most all of the buildings in Bishop Arts took advantage of these tax breaks in their rehabilitation to become what you see today. Old buildings need these kind of financial incentives or often get torn down. I hope that Jefferson gets the same treatment because it deserves it, and the buildings need it.

—Michael Amonett

rstone@advocatemag.com

It’s a Tex-Mex tradition

This has been quite a year for the Cuellar family. For starters, their 85-year-old restaurant tradition is represented in an exhibit about Tex-Mex food, which opened in November at the Smithsonian. Now the family has reinvented its Tejano Restaurant, virtually unchanged since 1981, with its relaunch as El Corazón de Tejas last month. The new restaurant features a more modern menu that includes items culled from lives devoted to the TexMex business. Two Cuellar brothers, Frank and Amos, opened Cuellar’s Café in Kaufman in 1928. The Cuellars opened the first El Chico restaurant on Oak Lawn in 1940. And members of the family ran Tex-Mex restaurants all over Texas and Oklahoma before El Chico became a chain with more than 70 restaurants by 1996. The Cuellars also started El Ranchito and La Calle Doce, which they later sold to their partners, the Sanchez family. The Cuellars have owned the building at 110 W. Davis since 1955, when it opened as El Chico No. 8. In 1981, El Chico corporation for some reason decided No. 8 had to go. So John Cuellar and

his brother, Bob, rebranded it as Tejano Restaurant. The bright paint colors, the plantation shutters, the worn green carpet, the velvet painting at the bar, the vintage Budweiser sign, the neon-green frozen margaritas — all that seemed like a source of pride for Oak Cliff, despite its kitsch, a place to bring out-oftowners and North Dallasites for a taste of the ’hood. With plans for a streetcar stop a block away, all that is changing. Interior designer Ann Spicer chose a seacoast blue and a coral pink to replace Tejano’s old red, green and white color scheme. Dallasbased artist Peggy Jones was hired to paint a 12-foot-by-8-foot mural of a Mexican woman wearing a silk blouse like the one belonging to Adelaida Cuellar that is now in the Smithsonian. An octagonal painted-glass mural that told the story of the Cuellar family was removed and likely will be donated to the Latino Cultural Center, where John Cuellar is a board member. Artist Frank Boerder, the grandfather of Dallas-based architect Larry Boerder, installed that mural in 1955. Frank Boerder also painted

Left: Mariana Cuellar Baldridge is general manager of El Corazón de Tejas. Her parents met at Tejano Restaurant. Below: John Cuellar’s first job was as a teenager working for his uncle at the El Chico at Six Flags Over Texas. He is managing partner of El Corazón de Tejas. Bottom: The old El Chico chandelier is one item interior designer Ann Spicer reused in the restaurant’s new look. Photos by Danny Fulgencio

two three-dimensional murals that are in the restaurant’s party room, and those are staying put. El Corazón de Tejas will include some Tejano favorites, including sour-cream chicken enchiladas, fajitas and brisket tacos. The new menu includes mushroom fajitas and “vegiladas,” plus Norteño-influenced dishes, big salads and fish, chicken and steak entrees. “Be ready,” says kitchen manager William Vasquez. “It’s all good.” El Corazón is still a family business. Brothers John and Gilberto Cuellar as well as Jamie Cuellar of Lakewood are partners. Other partners include Jamie’s sisters Alecyn Cuellar and Adrian Cuellar-McGuire, who are planning a new restaurant, the Local Oak, about two blocks away (see page 24). Mariana Cuellar Baldridge is general manager. “This is like home to me,” she says. Her parents met at Tejano, and she remembers celebrating quinceañeras and baptisms there from the time she was little. “We want people to think of this as an extension of the living room in their own home,” John Cuellar says.

—Rachel

Stone

Landscape art

Jimmy Turner says everyone thinks his job as senior director of gardens at the Dallas Arboretum is pastoral, peaceful and fun all the time. And it is fun. Gardening is his work and his hobby, but it’s not all flowers and sunshine, he says. The weather in North Texas in March is unpredictable. “Wind, tornadoes, hailstorms, freezing rain, snow, flooding, heat,” he says. “These are things that keep me up at night.” Turner, who lives in Wynnewood North, has been directing the arboretum’s gardens for 10 years. He designs Dallas Blooms, which opens March 4. He also masterminded the fall pumpkin village, which drew more visitors to the arboretum last year than the spring flowers. The arboretum used to focus on chrysanthemums in the fall, but that didn’t draw big crowds, Turner says. So about five years ago, he decided to focus on West Texas-grown pumpkins. The first year, they ordered about 1,500 pumpkins and built one house, impaling the gourds with stakes to form the house. It lasted barely two weeks because the pumpkins rotted. But since then, Turner and his staff have refined the building process, using fabricated metal bases to support the pumpkins. “We build a whole village now,” Turner says. Last year they ordered 55,000 gourds, semi trucks full. Dallas Blooms still is what the arboretum is famous for worldwide, Turner says. Even tulip growers in Holland know about it, he says. Last November, the arboretum’s horticulturists planted 500,000 tulip bulbs. The spring celebration also includes about 100,000 bedding plants, plus cherry trees, azaleas and flowering shrubs. Turner says he thinks of designing Dallas Blooms as designing a set. Everything has to look wonderful from every angle. “It’s a production,” he says. “It changes on a daily basis.” He plans the color schemes meticulously, even though the results won’t be seen for months afterward. “It’s like painting with invisible paint and then waiting to see what it’s going to look like once its visible,” he says. That is something he frets about too, but really, there are no bad color combinations, he says. One year, Southern Living featured Dallas Blooms, and the writer’s favorite color combination was found in a patch of garden planted with extra bulbs, “we mixed them up in a bucket and put them in the ground, and that was their favorite color combination,” Turner says. Turner is a home gardener who first started digging in the dirt as a kid at his parents’ side in East Texas. He says he plants tulips at home, but when asked for tips on planting tulips, he says, “Don’t plant tulips. They’re ethereal. They only last a couple of weeks at most, and they don’t come back. If you want to plant a bulb in the fall, plant daffodils. They’re very hearty and they will keep coming back long after you’re gone.” Tulips are a lot of work. They don’t do well in our climate, but at Dallas Blooms, they last into May thanks to the rich soil and daily babying they receive from professional horticulturists. “The best thing to do is come here and enjoy them at Dallas Blooms or buy a cut bouquet,” he says.

—Rachel Stone

Can Türkyilmaz

What gives?

Small ways that you can make a big difference for nonprofits

Love your park … on “It’s My Park Day,” Saturday, March 2. The Friends of Oak Cliff Parks will be working at Lake Cliff and Kiest parks from 8 a.m.-noon. Volunteers will plant replacement roses at Lake Cliff Park in preparation for Oak Cliff Earth Day. And at Kiest, they will mulch the third phase of reconstruction of the historic rose garden.

Have lunch … at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center as part of the North Texas Food Bank’s 14th-annual Empty Bowls event on Friday, March 1. Pay $35 in advance or $40 at the door and eat a lunch of soup, bread and dessert provided by local restaurants. At the end of your lunch, take home a bowl hand-crafted by a local artisan. “No bowl” tickets are available for $25, and VIP tickets, which offer early entry at 10:30 a.m., cost $100. All proceeds go to the food bank’s mission of eliminating hunger in North Texas. Tickets are available at ntfb.org.

Watch a baseball game … and support our neighborhood high schools. Sunset High School’s home games this month include a 4 p.m. start against Richardson High School on Wednesday, March 13 and a 4:30 p.m. start against Skyline on Friday, March 22. Adamson plays Molina at home starting at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 19. And the Leopards face the Bulldogs of North Dallas High School at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 26.

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.

&

Lil’ kahuna

Jill Inforzato and Roger Simpson brought their dog, Pula, to Dallas when they moved from Ocean View, Hawaii, in 2008. Pula is the word for “blessing” and “rain” in Botswana, where “pula” also is the name of the currency. Inforzato served in the Peace Corps in Botswana in 1976.

Out & About

March 2013

March 1-3

Comedy documentary

“The Bitter Buddha” is a documentary about Eddie Pepitone, your favorite comedian’s favorite comedian. The movie chronicles Pepitone’s decadeslong career and includes interviews with Patton Oswalt, Sarah Silverman, Marc Maron and Zach Galifianakis. The Texas Theatre, 231 W. Jefferson, thetexastheatre.com, 214.948.1546, call for showtimes and admission prices

MARCH 2

Trinity River Levee Run

This ninth-annual event includes 5k and 10k routes, both of which begin and end on Singleton at Gulden and travel over the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge. dallasrunningclub.com, $30 through Feb. 26 and $40 on race day

MARCH 4

The Fabulous Hancock Brothers

Mighty Fine Arts gallery presents artwork from Central Texas-based John and Charles Hancock. The show is open through April 4, and the gallery is open noon-5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

Mighty Fine Arts, 409A N. Tyler, 214.942.5241, mfagallery.com, free

MARCH 6

Art with a View

This month’s Art with a View features Pleasant Grove-based street artist Hatziel Flores. His show opens with a reception from 6-9 p.m. at Bar Belmont. 901 Fort Worth Ave., 214.393.2300, belmontdallas.com, free

MARCH 14

Savor West Dallas

Savor Dallas comes south of the river this year for and “evening of food and festivities” at Trinity Groves. Sample bites from the fledgling restaurants that Trinity Groves’ investors already have approved, before they open.

3015 Gulden, savordallas.com, $40 tickets include beer and wine

MARCH 6-10

New-play competition

Bishop Arts Theater Center’s 11th-annual new-play competition runs for five nights, plus March 5 preview. Audience members vote for their favorite of six one-act plays, and a $1,000 first-place winner is announced on closing night. Bishop Arts Theatre Center, 215 S. Tyler, 214.948.0716, $15 in advance and $20 at the door

MARCH 21

Turner House salon

The Oak Cliff Society of Fine Arts continues its spring salon series with a performance from Oak Cliff-based singer/ songwriter Floramay Holliday. Turner House, 401 N. Rosemont, turnerhouse.org, $20/$15 for members

March 13

The Zombies

The undead are really hot right now. So it makes sense that 1960s British psychedelic pop band The Zombies would be touring. They perform in Oak Cliff in a Wednesday show. The Kessler Theater, 1230 W. Davis, 214.272.8346, thekessler.org, $20-$50

OutpOst AmericAn tAvern

1115 N. Beckley 214.946.1308 outpostdallas.com

AMbiAncE: AMERicAn Pub

PRicE RAngE: $6-$14

HouRS: 11 A.M.-10 P.M. TuESDAy-THuRSDAy, 11 A.M.-MiDnigHT FRiDAy, 10:30 A.M.-MiDnigHT SATuRDAy AnD 10:30 A.M.-10 P.M. SunDAy.

DiD you know?

ouTPoST oFFERS HAlF oFF SPEciAlTy cockTAilS AnD $5 20-ouncE DRAFT bEERS DuRing HAPPy HouR, All DAy SunDAy AnD FRoM 4-6 P.M. TuESDAy-SATuRDAy.

Corn in a cup is one of the many fine examples of street food found in our neighborhood. And maybe it’s hard to believe, but the best elotes in Oak Cliff might not come from an elotero’s cart but from this trendy new tavern. Six dollars buys two grilled ears of corn, rolled in chile, sour cream and cojita cheese, served on a stick. It’s not as messy as it sounds, and with a little squeeze of lime, the flavors work perfectly. Outpost also serves several local beers on draft and a menu full of creative bar food. “The idea behind changing from Campo to Outpost is to make the concept more approachable,” says co-owner John Paul Valverde, who lives in Oak Cliff and was raised here. “Hopefully this is what the market was looking for: Really good food, really good beer and just a good hangout environment.” Campo, the restaurant’s earlier incarnation, received great reviews from critics, and it was a destination for gastronomists. But it never became a neighborhood hangout. Other tasty appetizers include blistered shisito peppers served with sea salt and lemon ($6), and candied bacon with goat cheese on flat bread ($9). We also liked Outpost’s take on croque madame ($11) and the PBR fish tacos ($12). While Outpost is a different concept from Campo, some ideas are the same, Valverde says: “Fresh food, fresh ingredients. It’s the same quality at a lower price point and with more approachable food.” —Rachel

Stone

Elotes rolled in chile, sour cream and cojita. Photo by Mark Davis

| MORE DINING SPOTS |

Whitehall Exchange

This is a great spot to people watch in Bishop Arts while snacking on really good bar food, such as mussels in coconut-curry broth, Korean barbecue sliders and flatbread with spicy sausage and sweetened mascarpone. 500N. Bishop whitehallexchange.com

Nova

It’s our neighborhood’s version of Cheers. Nova is great for celebratory dinners as well as pizza and beer with neighbors.

1417 W. Davis

214.484.7123 novadallas.com

The Foundry

This bar and live-music venue doesn’t serve food, but it shares a space with Chicken Scratch, which is open ’til 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, serving delicious rotisserie and pan-fried chicken.

2303 Pittman

214.749.1112 cs-tf.com

The Outpost ham and cheese is the tavern’s take on croque madame. Photo by Mark Davis

Move over, bubba

McPherson Cellars Tre Colore 2010

($12)

I received a phone call last month: “I’m writing a book and need to know if people still call Texas wine Chateau Bubba?”

“Hardly,” I was happy to say.

The quality of Texas wine has never been better, and more wine drinkers than ever know this. A Texas wine Twitter event in January was such a success that TxWine was the Twitter’s most popular hashtag that evening — not an easy feat on a social media network where the Kardashians are the top attraction. And how about a Texas wine stunning the food types at a barbecue cookoff in the Pacific Northwest earlier this year, besting wines from California, Washington, and France?

But that’s far from the only good news. The 2012 grape crop was the second outstanding harvest in three years, perhaps the first time that has happened in Texas wine history. Yes, the state still doesn’t produce enough grapes, and the Legislature still regards Texas wine as something akin to the bearded lady in a carnival sideshow, but the industry has overcome those handicaps with style. Today, Texas wine not only tastes good, but tastes like it’s supposed to taste.

All of which means it’s time to try the state’s wine. The following are available from their respective wineries if you can’t find them at your local retailer:

($26). Yes, it’s pricey, but worth the expense. Kiepersol, somehow, can turn out top wines from its vineyards in East Texas — not an easy thing to do.

($12). Skeptics always complain that Texas wine is too expensive. That’s where this red blend comes in, which is often for sale in grocery stores for as little as $10.

($12). A simple red blend that is greater than the sum of its parts. My pal Dave McIntyre, the wine columnist at the Washington Post, drinks this at home and pays for it. —Jeff Siegel

JEFF SIEGEL WRITES ABOUTWINE AND neighborhood dining news

every Friday on oakcliff.advocatemag.com.

with your wine

Roasted peppers

This is one of those things that is expensive to buy and seemingly too difficult to make at home — the province of big name chefs. In fact, it’s amazingly easy, and the peppers can be used in pasta, sandwiches or pizza. Serve with the Texas wine of your choice.

GROCERY LIST

4 large red bell peppers, seeded and cut in 1/2 lengthwise

2 Tbsp olive oil

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.

2. Pour 2 tablespoons of olive oil on a baking sheet and place the peppers, cut side up, on the oil. Turn the peppers over, season them with salt and pepper, and roast in the oven for 20 minutes. Place the warm peppers in a bowl, and cover with plastic wrap. Set aside to cool for at least 30 minutes, and then peel the skin off.

Takes 50 minutes

Ask the wine guy

How many wineries does Texas have?

Almost 2 5 0 — about four times as many as 10 years ago.

—Jeff Siegel

ASK THE WINE GUY taste@advocatemag.com

A dAy in the pA rks

See how our neighborhood playgrounds rate for this expert panel of 6- to 9-year-olds

story by rachel Stone | photos by Danny Fulgencio

When people have babies in North Oak Cliff, and those babies grow to be toddlers, their parents take them to play in the “toddler park,” as moms and dads call Annie Stevens Park, at Plymouth and Oak Cliff Boulevard. It is what an elementary-age kid might call a “baby park,” safe and fun for the little ones, a total snore by second grade. Once children grow older, there are many more choices in our neighborhoods.

Public playgrounds mostly are designed by city governments with cost and safety high on the list of priorities. When City Councilwoman Delia Jasso was on the park board, she says, she attended park and recreation conferences every year to see the latest and greatest in playground equipment. That is how she procured the two famous (if you’re under 10 and live in Oak Cliff) playground apparatuses at Kidd Springs Park — the big climbing rock and the pyramid of climbing ropes. She negotiated a good price because they were unwieldy displays that the vendor didn’t want to have to haul back to his home base.

Having good playgrounds is important because they’re one of the few affordable sources of recreation for young families. “We’ve got families with four or five kids who can’t afford to take their kids to the movies,” Jasso says. “Parks really are the main recreation, especially for a large family.”

But which Oak Cliff playgrounds are the BeS t? t he most fun? t he most entertaining?

What makes a gOOd playground?

In an effort to answer this question, we compiled a panel of neighborhood kids to play in our neighborhood playgrounds and give us their ratings.

page: Our critic Will hangs out at Moss Park.

THE CRITICS:

Name: Aubrey Cate

Age: 6

School: Harry Stone

Montessori

Likes: Going outside and playing

Name: D’Arcy

Age: 9

School: Rosemont

Elementary School

Likes: Recess and math

Name: John

Age: 9

School: Rosemont

Likes: Going outside

Name: Ian

Age: 9

School: Rosemont

Likes: Math

Name: Colin

Age: 6

School: Rosemont

Likes: Math

Name: Will

Age: 6

School: Harry Stone

Name: Luis

Age: 6

School: Rosemont

Likes: Recess

LAKE CLIFF PARK

1200 N. Zang

Playground features: Three spaceship-themed play structures include a small one for little kids and a big rocket ship about two stories high.

Bonus: It’s a good place to walk or run. One trip around the park is about a mile.

Drawback: Profane graffiti on some of the equipment

What the critics say:

Luis: Bumped his head on the tall rocket ship, which nearly ruined his day.

D’Arcy: Also bumped her head. She says the slides on the tall rocket ship are fun.

Aubrey Cate: A pole and rope for climbing make the medium-size equipment fun, as well as a small rock-climbing wall.

Ian: He likes playing on “the giant rocket” but he and John noted the profanity. “I’ve seen some pretty bad words,” Ian says.

Colin takes a moment to ponder his criticism of Oak Cliff playgrounds.

MOSS PARK

Plymouth and Sunset

Playground features: Swings and a small climbing structure with slides

Bonus: A large grassy area and a small path make this park ideal for playing catch, kicking around a soccer ball or walking laps.

Drawback: No bathrooms

What the critics say:

The younger boys played most of the time in the dirt instead of on the playground equipment. After the two bigger parks, the kids were less impressed with this one, but they still played on the swings and slides. Luis had a bee stuck in his curly hair and even though he wasn’t stung, he didn’t want to play after that.

Ian takes a turn on the slide at Moss Park. The playground equipment there is a little boring for older kids, but there is plenty of room to play catch or soccer.

THE goods

BRUMLEY GARDENS

Perfect for every patio! Wide variety of designs and colors available. While supplies last!

Brumley Gardens - Lake Highlands: 10540 Church Rd. 214.343.4900 & Bishop Arts: 700 W. Davis 214.942.0794 brumleygardens.com.

HOME ON BISHOP

The comfortable and fun store for unique and affordable luxury home decor, jewelry, and clothing that consumers want and love. 502 N. Bishop 214.434.1421 homeonbishop.com

KIDD SPRINGS PARK

Cedar Hill Avenue and Fifth

ADVOCATE ORNAMENT

The Advocate Foundation’s limited-edition, numbered, gift for the new home owner or Dallas transplant. Sales benefit neighborhood organizations. 214.292.0486 foundation.advocatemag.com

Playground features: A pyramid of climbing ropes, a huge climbing boulder and a maze of monkey bars and slides

Bonus: Plenty of benches and a working water fountain with a dog fountain

Drawback: No shade

What the critics say: The three 6-year-old boys played in the drinking fountains for the first 10 minutes, and the big climbing rock is the main attraction; the ability to climb it is a rite of passage for older kids.

D’Arcy: “It’s fun because you can be creative. Kidd Springs Park is the best because there are more things to do.”

Aubrey Cate: “I like the wobbly bridge. It can bounce you.”

Colin: He liked the big slide and the pyramid of climbing ropes, which some kids described as “the Eiffel Tower” or “the Christmas tree.” Hiding from the girls and “spying” on them was a main activity for the younger boys, and Colin says this park allows fewer spots for espionage.

John: Regarding climbing the rock, “you can just relax up there.”

D’Arcy, John and Ian hang out on top of the big climbing rock at Kidd Springs Park. Getting up there is easy enough, says D’Arcy, but climbing down is a little scary.

Art Scavenger Hunt 10 am – 2 pm

Children’s Art Activity

10 am – 12 noon

Art in Action Sculpture Demo

10 am – 12:30 pm

Family Tours

Hourly from 10:15 am – 12:15 pm

Yoga in the Garden 11:30 am

Presented by YogaSport (weather permitting)

Creative Writing with

The Writer’s Garret 12 pm

Storytime with Dallas Public Library 12:30 pm

NasherKids Live! 1 pm

Science for Kids, Presented by the Perot Museum of Nature and Science

NasherKids Meal at Nasher Cafe

11 am – 2 pm

NasherSculptureCenter.org

KIEST PARK

3080 S. Hampton

Playground features: A big play structure with slides, climbing ropes, monkey bars and more, plus tactile, hand-eye coordination toys built in. Swings, see-saws and smaller play structures for little ones.

Bonus: Kiest Park has a lot to offer, including a running path, tennis courts and bathrooms.

Drawback: Can be crowded

Luis monkeys around on the big rocket ship at Lake Cliff Park.

What the critics say: By the time we made it to Kiest Park, most of our critics had fallen out. But this was the busiest playground we visited. It held the interest of toddlers who had just started walking, up to sixth-graders. It was the only playground we visited that had a shade structure. One parent noted she doesn’t visit the playground at Kidd Springs Park in the heat of summer because it’s too hot, but at least half of this playground was in the shade. It also features a soft ground surface. Sammy Armstrong of Oak Cliff says he brings his granddaughters, 11-yearold Maya and 5-year-old Christian, to play here every weekend. “This is the best one in the area,” he says. “It’s the biggest. They don’t get bored.”

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Martial arts studio opens new location

Paragon Jiu Jitsu moved into a 7,000-square-foot space at 710 W. Davis after two years on Madison. Owner and coach John Brink hired Rick Garza and RPGA Design Group Inc. to transform a warehouse, near Brumley Gardens, into a martial arts studio. The new facility features three times the “mat space” as the old studio, plus a dedicated kickboxing area and an 800-square-foot personal fitness studio. There are also locker rooms with showers and bleachers that can accommodate 100 spectators for classes or tournaments. Brink says Paragon is now the largest martial arts studio in Dallas.

Cuellar sisters lease restaurant space

Alycen Cuellar and Adrien Cuellar-McGuire, descendants of the Oak Cliff restaurateur family that brought us Tejano Restaurant (see page 6), El Ranchito and La Calle Doce, are planning a new restaurant with their mom, Oak Cliff native Marcia Cuellar. They have leased the building adjacent to IndieGenius, at 409 N. Zang, with plans for the Local Oak The new restaurant will serve Texas cuisine. They hope to open in late spring.

3 Hearts Bakery offers homemade bread

Stephanie Cole moved to Winnetka Heights

More business bits

last May from a community farm in Waco. That’s where she learned to bake many types of homemade bread. Now Cole is offering that home-baked goodness to her Oak Cliff neighbors. Her 3 Hearts Bakery offers six varieties: gluten-free corn bread, herb wheat loaf, cranberry walnut, yeast rolls, French bread and an oatmeal-wheat sandwich loaf. All of the 3 Hearts breads can be ordered about three days in advance. Most cost $7 except for the sandwich loaf and the French bread, which cost $6. Cole works out of her home kitchen, so she is following cottageindustry rules, which prohibit selling to restaurants or at farmers markets. So the only way to eat her bread is by ordering directly from her, 3heartsdallas@gmail.com.

1 Ginger Fox Gallery opened in a space adjacent to Oak Cliff Bicycle Co. The gallery represents 11 artists, including its namesake. 2 Bishop Arts Winery, Elías Rodriquez’s venture at Tyler and Davis, has received city approval to manufacture wine. 3 Read Between the Lines, a new stationery line from local owners including Tammy Shugart of Oak Cliff and Melinda Jones, launched last month at home-design store Neighborhood. 4 Café Maya, the Mexican restaurant on Jefferson at Tyler, has closed. 5 Husband and wife business partners Joel and Laura Malone are planning a hard cider distillery in Bishop Arts called Bishop Cider Co.

Jon Essary, Agent

volunteers

Kings Highway resident Val Haskell raised money to buy school supplies for Roger Q. Mills Elementary School. She volunteers with the school through the nonprofit Reading Partners and found that the school needed basic school supplies. So she appealed to friends and colleagues for help. They raised enough to give each of the 500 students a box of crayons and a box of pencils, plus tissue, hand sanitizer, dry-erase markers, construction paper, folders, notebooks and other necessities.

Michael Amonett, a pastpresident of the Old Oak Cliff Conservation League, has been appointed to the Dallas County Trail and Preserve Program’s board of directors. The board oversees the county’s 21 nature preserves, which comprise 3,366 acres.

neighborhoods

The Winnetka Heights Neighborhood Association won top honors in the Oak Cliff Mardi Gras parade last month. It is the second consecutive win for Winnetka Heights. They went with a prohibition-era theme this year. Dancers in ’20s costumes surprised parade crowds with a switch from the Charleston to “Gangnam Style.”

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Dashing for beads 2013

The 2013 Dash for the Beads 5k race and 1-mile walk drew some 1,500 people to Kidd Springs Park for race-day festivities. A new course this year featured long uphill stretches, but more neighbors than usual came out to cheer since the race mostly was contained in Kessler Park. The weather was cool and costumed runners, and volunteers at water stops kept the mood festive.

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MAvS/DALLAS STARS TICKETS Neighborhood group needs partners for great Dallas Mavs/Dallas Stars seats — tickets are priced at our cost; 2 seats for each game. Mavs seats are in Platinum Level Section 204, front row; Stars seats are Section 123, Row B (second row from the glass). E-mail rwamre@advocatemag.com or call 214-560-4212. We have great Rangers seats available, too!

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real esTaTe

RRM PROPERTY SOLUTIONS Investor Friendly 214-315-0532 www.rrmpropertysolutions.com

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

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O’BRIEN GROUP INC. Professional Home Remodel. Shannon O’Brien. 214-341-1448 www.obriengroupinc.com

PREVIEW CONSTRUCTION INC. James Hardie Cement Siding. Energy Star Windows. Kitchens-Baths-Additions & More. 214-348-3836. See Photo Gallery at: www.previewconstruction.com

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eleCtriCal ServiCeS

ANTHONY’S ELECTRIC Master Electrician. TECL24948 anthonyselectricofdallas.com

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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.

CREATIVE METAL SOLUTIONS LLC

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EST. 1991 #1

COWBOY

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IQUEUE MEDIA COMPANY 214-478-8644 TV Installation, Computer Repair, Security.

CoNCrete/ maSoNry/paviNg

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4 U ELECTRICAL SERVICE, LLC

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kitCHeN/BatH/ tile/grout

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premium quality custom shower doors & enclosures 214-530-5483 showerdoordallas.com

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ADVANCED TREE SERVICE

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Tree Shaping, Cutting and Removal

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MOVING

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

POOLS

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ROOFING & GUTTERS

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The mysTery of Beckley cluB esTaTes

A secretive ad campaign built this neighborhood in the ’20s Comment. Visit oakcliff.advocatemag.com/backstory to tell us what you think.

Bound by Crestwood and South Shore drives, with Beckley and Ramsey avenues to the west and east, Beckley Club Estates exists as a small but quiet enclave nestled just two miles from downtown. The historic housing development began as a city-wide “mystery” that slowly unfolded through a Dallas Morning News ad campaign.

Real estate developer S. A. Temple needed a hook to nab readers’ attention, and he certainly accomplished his goal. Purchasing newspaper ads in four consecutive Sunday editions, Temple promised to reveal what he touted as a “different home place.”

The first ad, published May 10, 1925, presented a soon-to-be-revealed “secret.” The second spoke of “innovation,” giving the impression that home-

buyers could acquire the house of their dreams if only they would wait to purchase anything until Temple’s “secret” was unveiled. Adding even more mystery and anticipation, the third week’s ad announced a partial reveal in the next Sunday edition.

However, Temple’s hand was forced. With reader interest at an almost fever pitch, on May 31, 1925, a full-page Dallas Morning News ad went ahead and let the cat out of the bag and presented Temple’s answer:

Beckley Club, the Beautiful.

Even with ongoing construction and messy improvement projects throughout the development, Temple continued running ads, and within six weeks, one-

third of the available lots were sold. Quite a success, all things considered. The subdivision’s homes number roughly 65, originally offering Tudor, Spanish Eclectic, ranch and Cape Cod styles, with stone entrances off Beckley and a rolling, tree-shaded terrain. The original homeowners enjoyed the highly unusual amenity of three small lakes placed strategically among the lots: Lake Helen, Lake Placid and Lake Junior (thought to be named after Hugh January, Jr., the son of Temple’s head sales agent; also the namesake of Junior Drive in East Kessler, where Temple was instrumental in the development of Kessler Square). The original sales office was located in the center of Lake Helen, accessible only by footbridge or boat, and styled like a Japanese pagoda. Unfortunately, the lakes’ unsafe conditions necessitated dynamiting the dam on Cedar Creek that facilitated the formation of the three lakes. .

Although numerous influential Dallasites purchased homes in the development, undoubtedly Beckley Club Estates’ most famous resident at the time was Lynn Landrum (1891-1961), a veteran Dallas Morning News writer of the front-page column “Thinking Out Loud.” Landrum often shared stories about his beloved home on Seevers Avenue (nicknamed Billy Goat Hill) and

about his wife’s ever-expanding garden. Another prominent resident was a famous dancer from New York who, according to reports, added a studio onto her Beckley Club home, while stories still swirl about a cousin of Clark Gable living in the neighborhood.

And probably Beckley Club Estates’ most famous resident? Try cowboy singer Michael Martin Murphey, who grew up on the corner of Seevers and Crestwood. Not a bad history at all.

Like many areas of Oak Cliff from the mid-1950s through the 1980s, Beckley Club Estates experienced a reduced level of homeowner interest and began a slow and sad decline. In the 1990s, however, urban pioneers began taking notice of the charming and architecturally diverse array of cozy and midsized homes the sub-division offered and the transformation began. Today, Beckley Club residents are once again enjoying the winding streets and one-lane bridges that punctuate

“Because of its proximity to the Dallas Zoo, Beckley Club is one of the few neighborhoods where one is likely to encounter a stray exotic animal.”

Developer S.A. temple built Beckley Club estates in the 1920s.

the first “mystery” ad that S.A. temple ran in the Dallas Morning News on may 10, 1925

the neighborhood, along with a sprinkling of original tile roofs and native stonework (some of the many features from the initial designs that still remain), along with the brick and stone houses that were built later in the development’s history.

Now a member of the Old Oak Cliff Conservation League, Beckley Club Estates is enjoying an upswing in curb appeal and resident involvement, as witnessed by the resurrection of its homeowners association in 2000. And, according to the association website: “Because of its proximity to the Dallas Zoo, Beckley Club is one of the few neighborhoods where one is likely to encounter a stray exotic animal,” which only adds to the area’s charm.

The neighborhood is unlike any other I’ve seen in Big D. To say it’s eclectic wouldn’t quite cover the description. I think S. A. would be pleased with the present-day outcome of his “most distinctive real estate sub-division ever offered in Dallas.”

Why not drive through and make your own decision? But, oh! Perhaps not. I almost forgot. Shhhh! It’s a secret.

OAKCLIFF.ADVOCATEMAG.COM/BACKSTORY

YOUR STORIES

Longtime Cliffites recount memories and reconnect on oakcliff.advocatemag. com/backstory. Last month Brooks sparked conversation with her stories of Cliffites who found love the second time around.

I always thought Bruce and Celia were so cute together in high school and college. So glad they finally ended up together and are just as cute and sweet today!

—Beverly Head Holland

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.

—Danny Smith

When I started the Oak Cliff Boomers about 3 1/2 years ago, I never dreamed we would have nearly 4,000 members and never even considered the possibility that it would kindle any romances. But we’ve had a couple of marriages and several romances develop from it, including myself! Great story, Gayla, and I hope the love stories continue to grow!

I was just thinking the other day that Oak Cliff Boomers has almost become its own Dating Game. So proud to know two of the couples highlighted in the article and I have a big feeling this list will be growing!

—Mary Newton Maxwell

I also met and began dating my South Oak Cliff High School classmate. We first began chatting on Facebook in July 2009, and in October 2009, he asked me to meet him at a OC Boomer event. We had some instant chemistry and ended up getting married in June 2010. Yes, love is just as sweet or sweeter the second time around. —C

Oakley

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

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