2014 June Oak Cliff

7 TAKE A BIRD’S-EYE VIEW MOVE CLOSER TO THE HOMELESS

PLAY SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION 10 30

YOUR CURE FOR STRESS STARTS HERE

HIKE AND BIKE TRAILS | AN URBAN NATURE CENTER A BOOK-FILLED HIDEAWAY | A HIDDEN CREEK

WHAT YOU’RE MISSING

New restaurant, Bocce, to open in old Inforzato’s space

Jonathon’s owners to open new restaurant on Beckley

Six events that will bring you closer to Oak Cliff Advocate photos: Sylvan Thirty sneak peek

Should the Kings Highway plaza be permanent?

THE DIALOGUE

Dallas doesn’t need a bicycle helmet law

“I think it should be like auto insurance. If you can prove you are financially responsible for the scrambling, you can skip the helmet. If Parkland is your health insurance, wear your helmet.”

—Bob Dobbins

“Ridership in most urban cities goes down by 60 percent when a bike helmet law is enacted in that city. I agree that wearing a helmet is a smart thing to do but it should not be a law.” —Phillip

Morales

“I get that not everyone wants to wear a helmet — who wants to haul it around everywhere or have helmet hair? Not everyone wants to wear a seatbelt, yet we require it for our safety and well being. Helmet laws weren’t put into place to turn 6-year-old kids into ‘criminals;’ they were put into place to help prevent serious injury. And if this law is under scrutiny because it’s a challenge to start bike-sharing programs, then that’s sorry as hell.” —Guest

This is where we treat breast cancer differently.

Radiation oncologist Dr. Asal Rahimi was the first physician in Texas to use advanced video monitoring (Vision RT™) to safely treat left-sided breast cancer patients by protecting the heart from excess radiation. Dr. Rahimi and her colleagues also are pioneering the use of CyberKnife for breast cancer. This state-of-the-art robotic radiosurgical tool pinpoints and treats cancerous lesions with extreme precision. This is UT Southwestern—where scientific research, advanced technology, and leading-edge treatments come together to bring new hope to cancer patients.

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

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only in oak cliff

The Dallas Cinco de Mayo parade and festival stretched all the way down Jefferson from Zang to Polk. The event, which is one of the biggest of its kind in Texas, drew thousands of people to the neighborhood.

Photo by Danny Fulgencio

SOUND OF SILENCE

The quest for a little peace and quiet

Light filled the dark night deep in the northern Minnesota countryside, the moon brightening the landscape and the stars as twinkly as they could be.

Lying on my back, a feeble breeze grazing my forehead just enough to keep the bugs and sweat at bay, my mind wandered here and there and nowhere at all. It was a night in the early stages of summer back at a time when I had more energy than direction, and I was consumed with worry about where I was going and how I would get there.

So there I was, lying on my back outside in a quiet place I found to help sort through the random thoughts that skittered across my mind.

I dreaded summer back then because school work was far easier than farm work. My greatest dream was to turn 16 and emancipate myself from my parents’ pseudo-indentured servitude to earn minimum wage sacking groceries and lining shelves. That would be the life, or so I fantasized.

On this summer night after a stifling, dirty day baling hay, I had just enough energy to lie outside and wonder how I would engineer my great escape. Would I be beckoned by an Ivy League school unable to continue without my noble presence? Would my baseball skills catch the eye of a professional scout and whisk me to faraway Paducah or Toledo or Cape Cod to launch a minor league career? Or would I simply tire of farm work one day and leave on a dusty gravel road in my trusty red Javelin with floorboards somehow rusted clear through, providing natural ventilation for my feet?

There has always been something energizing about mindless thought in those qui-

et places that helps generate brainpower inaccessible in helter-skelter, everyday situations. Places like those highlighted in this month’s cover story help stoke our ability to seem greater than we are, even if only to ourselves and only for a little while, making the empty solitude of a perfect quiet place something to cherish and protect.

There are plenty of places near all of us that are quiet, and yet not all of them are truly quiet places, with the defining difference mostly a matter of opinion. A place can be quiet and yet unfulfilling for me, uncomfortable or unwelcoming through no fault of its own, while offering you a perfect space for quiet reflection. In a city with growing density and dwindling green space, that is an especially good thing, because if all of us found only the same few quiet places acceptable for reflection, those

places soon would be overrun and not special for anyone anymore.

I’m fortunate that my quiet place is portable, existing primarily in some part of my brain that seems resistant to erasure or reformatting, offering a throwback to the days when dreams were my pilot instead of my taskmaster, when moonlight alone was enough to light the way through the dark, and when I had plenty of time to simply wonder away the night.

There has always been something energizing about mindless thought in those quiet places that helps generate brainpower inaccessible in helter-skelter, everyday situations.

DISTRIBUTION PH/214.560.4203

ADVERTISING PH/214.560.4203

office administrator: JUDY LILES

214.560.4203 / jliles@advocatemag.com

display sales manager: BRIAN BEAVERS

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senior advertising consultant: AMY DURANT

214.560.4205 / adurant@advocatemag.com

senior advertising consultant: KRISTY GACONNIER

214.264.5887 / kgaconnier@advocatemag.com

advertising consultants

SALLY ACKERMAN

214.560.4202 / sackerman@advocatemag.com

CATHERINE PATE

214.292.0494 / cpate@advocatemag.com

NORA JONES

214.292.0962 / njones@advocatemag.com

FRANK McCLENDON

214.560.4215 / fmcclendon@advocatemag.com

GREG KINNEY

214.292.0485 / gkinney@advocatemag.com

EMILY WILLIAMS

469.916.7864 / ewilliams@advocatemag.com

MICHELE PAULDA

214.292.2053 / mpaulda@advocatemag.com

classified manager: PRIO BERGER

214.560.4211 / pberger@advocatemag.com

director of digital marketing: MICHELLE MEALS

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EDITORIAL PH/ 214.292.2053

publisher: CHRISTINA HUGHES BABB

214.560.4204 / chughes@advocatemag.com

senior editor: EMILY TOMAN

214.560.4200 / etoman@advocatemag.com

editors:

RACHEL STONE

214.292.0490 / rstone@advocatemag.com

BRITTANY NUNN

214.635.2122 / bnunn@advocatemag.com

senior art director: JYNNETTE NEAL

214.560.4206 / jneal@advocatemag.com

designer: KATHRYN ROCHA

214.292.0493 / krocha@advocatemag.com

designers: LARRY OLIVER, LISA DUDLEY

contributing editors: KERI MITCHELL,

SALLY WAMRE

contributors: GAYLA BROOKS, SEAN CHAFFIN, ANGELA HUNT

GEORGE MASON, BLAIR MONIE, ELLEN RAFF, PAM HARRIS, KRISTEN MASSAD, WHITNEY THOMPSON

photo editor: DANNY FULGENCIO

214.635.2121 / danny@advocatemag.com

photographers: MARK DAVIS, ELLIOTT MUÑOZ, KIM LEESON, DAVID LEESON, JENNIFER SHERTZER

copy editor: LARRA KEEL

intern: JAMES COREAS

Q&A: Willie Baronet

Oak Cliff-based artist Willie Baronet started buying signs from panhandlers more than 20 years ago. He says homeless people asking for money on street corners made him feel uncomfortable, and he had the idea that buying signs was a unique way to engage them. The former advertising agency art director went to graduate school in 2008, and he used the signs as part of an interventionist art project, wherein friends and classmates staged flash mobs holding homeless signs at busy intersections in Dallas. Later, he installed them on art gallery walls and from the ceiling at an exhibit at Richland College. Now Baronet is a professor at SMU, and his sign project, “We Are All Homeless,” just keeps growing. Baronet is raising money for a cross-country

trip next month — 24 cities in 31 days — to collect homeless signs. The trip also involves a documentary film and book project. Baronet spoke to us about the project in his Oak Cliff studio.

So let’s talk about how this project started in 1993.

When I first started doing this, it came out of my discomfort out of seeing people who are homeless. I didn’t have any idea that I would be doing this 20 years later, and I had no idea the connections I would make. It shed a light on the fact that I made up stories about the homeless in my head, without knowing one thing about them You know, you will see a lady who is emaciated, and you assume that she is on drugs and that is not always the case. Once I started talking to them, I realized, “Hey dude, your stories are all screwed up. That’s not a truth

about that person; that’s some truth about yourself.” I really try to let people tell me their story before I make it up. I don’t know if that’s hard for you, man, but I’m judgmental.

Can you think of a specific moment when that happened?

Yes, I met this couple in Austin. The lady only had one leg, and her sign said “on my last leg,” which I thought was funny. We talked for quite a long time, and she was smart and engaging and funny, and she wanted to share her story. I was just struck by her. There was another guy in Austin whose sign I bought, and he said, “Hey, do you want me to sign that for you?” so he signed it, and he told me his dad owned an art gallery. And he was like, “Please don’t tell my dad that I’m on the street ” as if I was going to run into his dad. But he was interested in art, and he engaged me in this conversation about art, which again,

Photo by Danny Fulgencio

is not the story that was in my head.

How much do you pay for the signs?

I let them set the price, and the range is $4 to $40, but I’d say the average is probably $10.50. I’ve paid $25 a few times. I paid $40 to a woman in Austin because she said, “I can’t leave this street until I have $40 because I need a room for me and my kids.” She was persuasive, and I said, “OK.”

Are most of your signs from Dallas, or where do you buy them?

Most of them are from Dallas and Texas. The difference between Dallas and Austin is that panhandle ordinance. Austin signs are bigger and better because in Dallas, they have to be small and easily hidden. In Austin, there are some huge signs. But I’ve got them from California, Florida, D.C., New York. I’ve also got four foreign countries: Italy, France, Germany and Canada.

Do other people buy signs for you?

Yes, I’ve had people buy them and send them to me. Up to $25, if you buy a sign, I will pay you back plus shipping. I have a friend in Houston who sends me a package every month with about four signs in them, so he’s buying about one a week. This friend of mine who I met 10 or 12 years ago has bought seven or eight signs now, and he’s not the type of person I would’ve thought would be interested in it. But he will sit and talk to homeless people for a long time. He takes pictures with them, and he’s almost giddy to tell me about the experience. I had a student last semester from Paris. I wasn’t sure how engaged this guy was, but he, without telling me, told his parents about this project, and his parents came to visit and brought me this sign in French.

Has anything bad ever happened to

you buying a sign?

I’ve yet to have a single problem. I have bought hundreds of signs, and I’ve never had a homeless person be mean to me. I’ve never felt threatened. There are people who won’t sell. Some people have refused to sell me their signs at any price.

What are the transactions like?

Ninety percent of them are, “Hey, can I buy your sign?” they set a price, and that’s pretty

much it. Sometimes they want to keep talking. Sometimes they want to know why you are doing this. Some of them really want to tell me their stories.

Why are you doing this?

I started buying signs in 1993, around the same time that I also wrote the most significant letter of my life about my not-great childhood. It wasn’t until last year that I made that connection. So it was like, “Maybe there’s some piece of me that didn’t feel safe growing up.” My parents provided for me, I had food I knew at a deep level that they loved me. So I’ve always had a roof over my head, but I am fascinated by the nature of home. What homeless really means. I have friends who have multimillion-dollar homes, and sometimes I wonder if they feel at home. At one level it’s having a place to sleep, but there are other levels.

What are the messages that strike you the most?

When I started in 1993, the meme was “Will work for food.” They almost always said that or something like it. Over time, I started to see other messages. And then there was a time, from the mid- to late ’90s, when I first started to see “Why lie? I need a beer,” and then I started to see that everywhere. And then funny signs, over the last decade, have just gotten better and better. I have one from Las Vegas that says, “Why lie? I need a whore.” One I don’t have that I want is in New York. “Why lie? I need weed” is really popular there. I haven’t seen that one in Dallas. [Baronet pulls out a piece of cardboard from a Schlitz box] This is the only sign I’ve ever bought that has no human writing on it. I’m really intrigued that this guy just held up a piece of cardboard, as if words don’t matter. But yet he was showing me this Schlitz Malt Liquor sign. Being in the advertising business, I’m also aware that people are aware of what they write, the type they use, how readable it’s going to be.

So your plan is to tour 24 cities in 31 days in July to buy signs. Why?

Why do I want to do any of this? I mean, honestly, I don’t know. It would be an adventure. I like adventures. I guess I want to see if there is any sort of a theme to different signs in different parts of the country.

—Rachel Stone LEARN MORE at weareallhomeless.blogspot.com

515 S. MANUS | SOLD

Oak Cliff is a place where I can relax. I’m comfortable here. It’s fun, and there are a lot of amazing people and shops. And the topography is the best Dallas has to offer.”

Mike Bates DAVE PERRY-MILLER AGENT OAK CLIFF RESIDENT - 10+ YEARS

Side eye

Olivia the adorable little dog is the namesake

of Oak Cliffbased jewelry company Olivia K, which is owned by Olivia’s dog mom, Ariel Saldivar.

What gives?

Small ways that you can make a big difference for nonprofits

Get involved …

with preservation by attending the Old Oak Cliff Conservation League’s annual meeting at 7 p.m. Monday, June 9, at Turner House, 401 N. Rosemont. The league will unveil its “architecture at risk” list for 2014 and award grants to Oak Cliff neighborhood associations. Find more information at ooccl.org.

Volunteer …

at the third-annual Oak Cliff Film Festival June 19-22. If you love Oak Cliff and you like movies, this could be your thing. Volunteers are needed at venues and box offices and to help with hospitality, travel and logistics. Every volunteer shift worked earns two screening passes. To volunteer, contact Doug Silver at volunteer@filmoakcliff.com.

Increase literacy …

by volunteering with the Trinity River Mission, a nonprofit that works with West Dallas children to improve academic success and develop life skills. The mission needs reading buddies, mentors and tutors. Call 214.744.6774 or visit trinityrivermission.org for more information.

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.

ARE YOU A MOONLIGHTER?

Advocate is looking for neighbors whose alter egos take over on nights and weekends for more artistic pursuits. From comedy routines to poetry slams to live music, tell us where you channel your heart and soul beyond the 9-to-5. Please send your name, zip code and brief explanation to editor@advocatemag.com.

Out & About

June 2014

June 5

CONFAB: A Dallas Parks Foundation Conversation

City insiders and advocates discuss the strides being made to grow the public green space and hike-and-bike trails at 7 p.m. during an event hosted by the Dallas Parks Foundation. Topics include the Trinity corridor, historic park pavilions, upcoming trail connections and the case for tearing down I-345.

Dallas City Performance Hall, 2502 Flora, dallasCONFAB.org, $13

OAKCLIFF.ADVOCATEMAG.COM/EVENTS

JUNE 11

Concert in the park

The Dallas Symphony Orchestra performs an 8 p.m. concert at Kidd Springs Park. Neighborhood group Kidd Springs Central hosts a festival and market starting at 6 p.m. Kidd Springs Park, 711 W. Canty, dallassymphony.com, free

JUNE 11

La Santa Cecilia

This Los Angeles-based band brings its unique jazz/rock/norteña sound to the Kessler. La Santa Cecilia, named for the patron saint of music, won the Grammy award for best Latin rock, urban or alternative album in 2013. Their new album is “Someday New.”

The Kessler Theater, 1230 W. Davis, 214.272.8346, thekessler.org, $16-$22

THROUGH JUNE 13

‘Multiple Exposures’

This photo exhibit features the work of Kathy Tran and Steve and Erin Reeves, which incorporates the use of modern and vintage photographic techniques. Oak Cliff Cultural Center, 223 W. Jefferson, 214.670.3777, dallasculture.org/ oakcliffculturalcenter, free

JUNE 15

Trinity River Revel

The grand opening of the Continental Bridge Park is an all-day party, starting with a 5k at 7 a.m. and ending with a 1930s-style dance-a-thon from 8-10 p.m. In between are a gospel brunch, beer garden, photo booth, driving range, car show and campfires, plus lots of activities for kids all day.

Continental Bridge Park, Singleton at Beckley, trinityriverrevel.com, free

June 20

The Roomsounds

Bluesy garage rock band the Roomsounds perform in one of the Foundry’s weekly free shows. The Foundry, 2303 Pittman, 214.749.1112, cs-tf.com, free

Photo by Danny Fulgencio

JUNE 19-22

Oak Cliff Film Festival

The third annual Oak Cliff Film Festival takes place at the Texas Theatre, Bishop Arts Theatre, Kessler Theater, and Oil and Cotton. The films include “Mood Indigo” starring Audrey Tautou, a documentary about George Takei, and a repertory film about this year’s inspirational cinematic figure, Eadweard Muybridge. Plus there are parties, short films, music videos and concerts.

oakclifffilmfestival.com, $175 for a VIP badge or $10 for individual screenings

June 26

Barefoot at the Belmont

Tickets for this show, featuring Bootstraps and Oil Boom, go on sale at 10 a.m. June 11.

The Belmont Hotel, 901 Fort Worth Ave., kxt.org/barefoot, $25

Sponsored by

Cool things down this summer with the Safari Nights concert series at the Dallas Zoo. Free with regular admission. Featuring The Killdares, Brave Combo, and more!

For more information, visit DallasZoo.com or text “SAFARI” to 47464.

Robert W. Decherd, Robbie Good Brandon Hancock, Michael Hellmann

Daniel Huerta, Max Kalhammer

Dr. Gail Thomas, Willis Winters

Delicious

Asian

CHINO CHINATOWN

3011 Gulden Lane, Suite 110 469.513.7457 chinochinatown.com

AMBIANCE: CASUAL BUT POSH

PRICE RANGE: $5-$39

HOURS: MONDAY-THURSDAY 11 A.M.-11 P.M.

FRIDAY-SATURDAY 11 A.M.-1 A.M. SUNDAY 11 A.M-9 P.M.

—Rachel Stone

The No. 1 seller at Chino Chinatown is the duck fat fried rice. Like most items on the menu, it was inspired by chef Uno Immanivong’s upbringing. “Fried rice was my mom’s version of goulash; she just threw everything in there with a little pork fat,” Immanivong says. “But I love duck fat, so this is my version.” Her version has shrimp, Chinese sausage, barbecue pork and a fried egg on top. When Immanivong was growing up, her mom had a side business as a caterer, and she used to help make food for Lao and Thai weddings with as many as 300 guests. The chef also was inspired by Anthony Bourdain, with whom she worked on the TV show “The Taste.” Bourdain told her, “Stick with what you know.” And she has, she says, along with business partner Adrian Verdin, who added Latin flavors to the menu. “We really pull our recipes from our families,” Immanivong says. Other favorites include the drunken noodles, a flat-noodle dish named for its reviving powers as a late-night meal. These come with Coke-braised short ribs and candied peanuts. Chino Chinatown also serves house-made desserts, including the piña colada upside down cake, which comes with salted-rum caramel and pistachio brittle.

DID YOU KNOW? CHINO CHINATOWN IS OPEN FOR LUNCH.

THREE MORE PLACES FOR AN ASIAN FOOD FIX

1. Pho 88

For the best Vietnamese food in Dallas, drive to Garland or Carrollton. If you’d rather stay in Oak Cliff, try the pad thai or bahn mi at Pho 88, from the owners of Chan Thai.

312 W. Seventh

214.948.0098 pho88dallas.com

2. Somphou Market

This Asian market has a kitchen in the back that turns out some of the best Thai food to be had in Dallas south of the Trinity. It’s takeout only, and they go heavy on the Styrofoam, but everything on the menu is good, including excellent spring rolls. Because of its location near a rowdy pool hall, Somphou closes at dusk.

4444 W. Illinois 214.330.9616

3. Valentino

Do you know what we mean by “goodbad Chinese food”? Try the sesame chicken with fried rice or something equally good-bad.

526 E. Jefferson 214.942.4003

We’re here to help faith-based communities FIND ways to weave inclusion of individuals with special needs into our North Texas congregations.

The Faith Inclusion Network of Dallas (FIND) is a collaborative network of community leaders, organizations and service providers committed to impacting change within faith-based communities and congregations in the ways individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families find opportunities to fully engage socially, emotionally, academically, spiritually and in service to others.

WEAVING INCLUSION INTO OUR FAITH COMMUNITIES

Free Symposium | June 19th & 20th | Highland Park United Methodist Church For more information, visit www.JFSdallas.org

Opposite page/ Ahi tuna nacho, with avocado, cucumber, spicy cilantro creme and wonton chips: Photo by Elliott Muñoz

With only four ingredients, popovers have an airy, puffy and custard-like interior that complements any breakfast, lunch or dinner. Popovers can be sprinkled with cinnamon sugar for a touch of sweet or flavored with black pepper and Gruyere for a savory addition. Being so versatile, they will replace a standard muffin, biscuit, bread or doughnut. A popover pan is necessary to create a sky-high puff and a crisp shell that will come out perfect every time.

Kristen Massad writes a

about sweets and baked goods. The professional pastry chef graduated from the French Culinary Institute in

She

Popovers:

Photo by Kristen Massad

Sweet or savory popover

GROCERY LIST

2 eggs

2 egg yolks

1 teaspoon salt

1 ¼ cup milk

1 ½ cup all-purpose flour

DIRECTIONS

Mix the eggs, egg yolks, salt and one quarter cup of the milk. Whisk the flour into the egg mixture, making sure to whisk out all the lumps. Whisk in the remaining milk.

Pour batter into popover pan, filling halfway. Sprinkle with topping of your choice.

Place pans in cold oven and turn oven on to 425 degrees F. Bake popovers for about 30 minutes or until puffed and well browned.

Unmold popovers and serve immediately.

FLAVOR OPTIONS:

CINNAMON SUGAR:

Mix 2 tablespoons cinnamon and 4 tablespoons sugar, and sprinkle some on top of popovers before baking.

Once popovers are baked and removed from the oven, brush with butter and sprinkle with more cinnamon sugar.

BLACK PEPPER AND GRUYERE:

Shred ¼ cup Gruyere cheese and mix with ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper. Sprinkle on top of the popovers before baking.

LEMON-ROSEMARY:

Zest 1 lemon, and chop 1 tablespoon of fresh rosemary.

Sprinkle on top of the popovers before baking.

Makes 12 popovers

THE CREEK AT BECKLEY CLUB

SEEKING SOLACE IN AN URBAN ENVIRONMENT

BY RACHEL STONE PHOTOS BY DANNY FULGENCIO

While it might not rival New York or Chicago’s urban pandemonium, Dallas is a bustling city with its share of highstress professions, crowded scenes, road rage and those intermittent heartaches to which no human is immune. If you know where to look, you’ll find our neighborhood offers respite from the daily grind or occasional trauma in the form of peaceful nooks, comforting crannies and uplifting activities. Here, find a guide to our readers’ and our own favorite escapes.

When Alicia Quintans opens her window shades in the early morning, she can see sunlight casting through the trees and mist off Cedar Creek.

The creek is home to waterfowl and other wildlife, and neighbors think the creek’s ecosystem could be part of what keeps the Beckley Club Estates peacock population around.

Beckley Club Estates, near the Dallas Zoo, was built in the 1920s. Its developer originally dammed the creek to create three lakes, but when the artificial lakes started causing flooding and unsafe conditions, the city blasted a hole through the dam. So now, the creek runs except in the driest conditions.

A greenbelt runs alongside the creek, and neighbors often walk their dogs there.

A spillway under Beckley on South Shore draws graffiti, says Quintans, an architect and preservationist. Some neighbors complain about it as a nuisance, but “I appreciate nice work,” she says.

If your grandparents are from Oak Cliff, they probably hung out at Kiest Park. The park, just north of Kiest Boulevard between Hampton and Rugged, has been a Mecca of teenage activity from the time kids could get the keys to a jalopy and go cruisin’.

The park was built in 1931 after Dallas Times Herald publisher Edwin J. Kiest donated 231 acres to the city.

Soon after, the Works Progress Administration built a brown fieldstone pavilion, stone entryways and a pergola with a manmade brook.

Later, a 2-mile walking path was added, and that, along with baseball fields, tennis courts and playgrounds, keeps

the park busy all the time.

“I do some of my best thinking and jogging around that track,” says Teresa Coleman Wash of TeCo Theatrical Productions.

In the 2006 bond election, voters approved spending about $2 million to improve Kiest Park.

The pergola, which had fallen into disrepair and was taken down in the 1960s, recently was rebuilt.

Those improvements, which also included repaving the track, took about eight years to materialize but were just completed this past spring, thanks to a continued push from Friends of Oak Cliff Parks.

LUCKY DOG BOOKS

The number of bookshops in our neighborhood recently increased by 50 percent when boutique/cafe The Wild Detectives opened in Bishop Arts. That, along with Imported Books on Clarendon and Lucky Dog Books, gave us three choices in the neighborhood. Not bad in an era that has seen the death of many booksellers including retail giant Borders.

The Detectives is a good place to have a pour-over while getting some work done or to meet a friend for a beer. And Uncle Robert’s Imported Books is best for the opportunity to chat with nonagenarian owner Robert N. Jones.

But Lucky Dog Books is a place to get lost.

KIEST PARK | 3080 S. HAMPTON

633 W. DAVIS 214.941.2665

Nine-foot shelves hold used paperback and hardcover books by the thousands. A loft offers tables for studying, working, having a quiet meeting or just reading.

The shop is an offshoot of the former Paperbacks Plus. When that store lost its lease in Lakewood several years ago, the owners reopened three shops, including the one in Oak Cliff. The others are on Garland Road and in Mesquite.

Lucky Dog Books also is a meeting place for writing groups and clubs, and the shop hosts occasional events, including musical performances and writing workshops. Find more information at luckydogbooks.com.

Native Texas grasses and wildflowers sway in the late-afternoon spring breeze at Oak Cliff Nature Preserve.

The birds are chirping. A plane flies overhead. The occasional whine of sirens or zipzip of a motorcycle from nearby Hampton and Illinois remind you that you’re in the middle of the city, even though all around is nature.

This 111-acre sanctuary is not immune to the pollution of urban life. But it is kept clean and safe thanks to a coalition of mountain bikers.

The Dallas Off Road Bicycle Association is more than just a bicycling club.

Its members received permission from the Texas Land Conservancy to build 8 miles of mountain bike trails at OCNP in 2006. Since then, DORBA has maintained the Oak Cliff Nature Preserve mountain bike and hiking trails through its stewardship program.

The trail stewards are “the unseen heroes” of Dallas mountain biking, says Cash Anglin of DORBA.

The association raises money through membership dues, races and grants to maintain 16 mountain bike trails in the Dallas area.

The Texas Land Conservancy, which owns the park, also is working on plans to improve the trailhead at OCNP to make it more inviting for picnics and hanging out.

DORBA gave the preserve a new life, but it fell into public use in 2002 thanks to the efforts of Oak Cliff preservationists.

When a developer announced plans to build homes on the former scouting campground in 1999, neighbors including David Marquis fought to keep more than 100 acres natural in perpetuity. Find more information at dorba.org.

OAK CLIFF NATURE PRESERVE | 2875 PIERCE

ANGLICAN

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

BAPTIST

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

DISCIPLES OF CHRIST

EAST DALLAS CHRISTIAN CHURCH / 629 N. Peak Street / 214.824.8185

Sunday School 9:30 am / THE TABLE Worship 9:30 am

Worship 8:30 & 10:50 am / Rev. Deborah Morgan-Stokes / edcc.org

EPISCOPAL

CHRIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH / 534 W. Tenth St. / 214.941.0339

Sunday: 8 & 10 am Holy Eucharist, 12:30pm Santa Misa en Español Sunday School for all ages / Children’s Chapel / christchurchdallas.org

METHODIST

KESSLER PARK UMC / 1215 Turner Ave. / 214.942.0098 / kpumc.org

9:30 am Sunday School / 11:00 Worship / All welcome regardless of creed, color, culture, gender or sexual identity.

TYLER STREET UMC / 927 W. 10th Street / 214.946.8106

Sunday Worship at 8:30 am and 10:50 am www.tsumc.org

NON-DENOMINATIONAL

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

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

10:30 am Contemporary Service / kesslercommunitychurch.com

PRESBYTERIAN

OAK CLIFF PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH / 6000 S. Hampton Road

Sunday Worship at 9:30 am & 11:05 am 214-339-2211 / www.ocpres.com

NO HARM DONE

The first story involved the abduction of 276 young women in northern Nigeria. Members of the terror group Boko Haram overpowered security guards at an all-girls school in Chibok, yanked the girls out of bed, forced them into trucks and disappeared. Some escaped, but as international outrage swelled, leaders of Boko Haram were emboldened to kidnap more young women. Reports indicated that some had been sold for $12 each as sex slaves.

The second story revealed that over the last ten years, the Vatican has defrocked 848 priests who sexually abused children and young adults and sanctioned another 2,572 with lesser penalties. As a clergyman, this clandestine tragedy deeply grieves me, especially in light of thousands of other instances of sexual abuse that have never been exposed, among Catholics, Baptists, Episcopalians, Assemblies of God and every other group who claims the name “Christian.”

No matter your religion or lack of religion, we can agree every child deserves a safe environment in which to live, learn and play. Every child should be safe in his or her schools, neighborhoods and places of worship. These places should be sanctuaries — places of safety and support. But we have not cared enough, or been vigilant enough, to make this a reality.

So I feel compelled, at least on behalf of the Christian community, to say that we are sorry. We’re sorry that children have not been protected as they should be, and that some who claim the name of Christ have acted nothing like him. We’re sorry that we have been guilty of singing hallelujahs while not working for safer neighborhoods.

Apologies are not enough. Action matters more than words. Better practices and

safeguards, more engagement in schools through mentoring, tutoring and simply presence, as well as taking responsibility for the safety of our children in our neighborhoods, can all create a safer Oak Cliff for the sake of our children.

A reporter of the Bosnian genocide, trapped in crossfire, discovered a panicked man holding a little girl hit by a sniper bul-

let. He immediately threw down his pad and pencil and rushed to help both of them into his car.

As the reporter raced to the hospital, the man cradling the bleeding child said, “Hurry, my friend, my child is still alive.” A few moments later he said, “Hurry, my friend, my child is still breathing.” Then he said, “Hurry, my friend, my child is still warm.’‘ Finally he whispered, “Hurry. Oh my God, my child is getting cold.”

When they reached the hospital, the little girl had died. Later in the bathroom, while washing blood from their hands and clothes, the man turned to the reporter and said, “Now I must go tell her father that his child is dead. He will be heartbroken.”

The reporter was amazed. “I thought she was your child,” he said.

“No,” the man responded. “But aren’t they all our children?”

When we see each child as our own, we are on our way to a safer world

No matter your religion or lack of religion, we can agree every child deserves a safe environment in which to live, learn and play.

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

BUSINESS BUZZ

The lowdown on what’s up with neighborhood businesses

Send business news tips to livelocal@advocatemag.com

“And this is the perfect area for it.” White is the son of a hairstylist, and he became a barber about three years ago. He has worked at Floyd’s 99 Barber Shop and Sweet 200. Haircuts will cost $25 and a shave $30. White says he’ll invite musicians to perform on the weekends, and he’ll offer a free beer with a haircut and keep a “man cave” feel to the place. “We’re keeping it simple,” he says. “Back to the basics. That’s why it’s called Brass Tacks.” Small Planet E Bikes opened in a larger part of the mercantile building in March. And Hattie’s owner Tony Alvarez is planning a restaurant in the old El Padrino taco stand.

Complete streets

Jonathon’s 1111 N. BECKLEY 214.946.2221 JONATHONSOAKCLIFF.COM

Brass Tacks 330 W. DAVIS 580.380.8013

Kessler Park Eating House

The owners of Jonathon’s cafe are expanding. Jonathon and Christine Erdeljac leased the former Pitt Grill at 1619 N. Beckley for their new concept, Kessler Park Eating House. The Erdeljacs are completely renovating the restaurant’s interior, starting with asbestos abatement, and they plan to add a dining patio. The new place will not be a diner, Jonathon Erdeljac says. He describes it as an “upscale greasy spoon.” And it won’t be the same as Jonathon’s, which is less than a mile away. “I can tell you that chicken and waffles won’t be on the menu,” he says. “We want it to complement Jonathon’s, not compete with it.” So far, he reveals that he’s planning house-made noodles, a brunch menu that highlights johnnycakes, and soft-serve ice cream, including “adult malts,” such as white Russian and buttery nipple. The Erdeljacs hope to have Kessler Park Eating House open by the end of summer.

Il barbiere di Bishop

Now Bishop Arts has it all. A barbershop specializing in traditional men’s haircuts and straightrazor shaves was expected to open in the Oak Cliff Mercantile Building last month. Brass Tacks is the name of the shop, from barber Brandon White. “There’s nothing else like this in Dallas,” he says.

More business bits

The Kessler Theater’s “complete corner,” with wider sidewalks and other pedestrian-oriented amenities, could be completed by January 2015. These things take time — design on the project began over a year ago — but it will start moving this summer. City Council last month approved a construction contract, and work could begin in July.

The $220,000 project, which is funded by grants from the Davis Garden TIF and the North Texas Council of Governments, is expected to include bollards, bike racks, trees, planters and historically accurate streetlights. The Kessler corner is significant because it is expected to set the tone for West Davis sidewalk improvements, for which the city has $979,000 in TIF funds.

Cretia’s 228 W. DAVIS 972.298.9888 CRETIAS.COM

Big Lots 2128 FORT WORTH AVE. BIGLOTS.COM

Papa Johns PAPAJOHNS.COM

1 Cretia’s bakery and café closed its Duncanville location and was expected to open a new Cretia’s location in Bishop Arts in May. 2 Big Lots was expected to open a new store in the old Minyard’s space on Fort Worth Avenue at Hampton May 22.

3 Papa John’s pizza chain is building a new store in the 1000 block of Beckley, between Outpost American Tavern and the Kessler Cookie Co. 4 The Oak Farms Dairy on Lancaster Avenue is expected to close this month. Dean Foods, which owns the dairy, is laying off 180 workers and moving production to another plant near Fair Park.

Small Planet E Bikes

Kessler Park Eating House at 1619 N. Beckley

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

to advertise call 214.560.4203

Business

University General Hospital opened a new wound healing and hyperbaric center last month. The outpatient clinic at 2929 Hampton specializes in treating patients with chronic, slow-healing or non-healing wounds.

Nonprofits

The Dallas Mavericks, Gas Monkey Garage and North Texas Ford raised $109,000 for Oak Cliffbased Texans Can Academies last month. The group acquired a 1955 Ford Customline Street Rod, which Gas Monkey rebuilt and customized. The car was part of a sweepstakes that raised money for the school.

The Oak Cliff Lions Club in April gave its Bill Melton Humanitarian Award to Jody Grant of the Woodall Rogers Park Foundation. Grant, a banker, is known as the “father” of Klyde Warren Park.

People

Sylvia Alonzo, a bilingual teacher at John H. Reagan Elementary School, is the Dallas Independent School District’s teacher of the year for 2014. She won $5,000 and was treated to lunch from Central Market and H.E.B.

HAVE AN ITEM TO BE FEATURED?

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

214.560.4203

Dash for the cash

The fifth-annual Good Space Dash for the Beads 5k raised $22,500 for neighborhood public schools and youth programs. Promise House, a nonprofit that serves homeless and at-risk teenagers, received $2,500. Pictured from left to right are: Jakob Andersen, Chris Moffett, Promise House executive director Harriet Boorhem, Chad West, David Sussano, Ron Horick and Chris Shultz.

Big check, big scholarship

Local Resources

TO ADVERTISE 214.560.4203

EVENTS STAMP COLLECTORS!

We want more members!!!

Give us a call, come to our meetings the 2nd and 4th Wed every month and share the old and create some new memories of stamp collecting. 972-390-2648

CLASSES/TUTORING/

LESSONS

LEARN NEW TESTAMENT GREEK

Beginners intermediates; Rice, TCU, DTS ex; John Cunyus 214-662-5494 www.JohnCunyus.com

PIANO LESSONS All ages & levels. Over 20 years experience. Oak Cliff area. Call Tim at 214-989-7093

EMPLOYMENT

AIRLINE CAREERS Begin Here. Get Trained As FAA Certified Aviation Technician. Financial Aid For Qualified Students. Job Placement Assistance. AIM 866-453-6204

SERVICES FOR YOU

DISH TV RETAILER Starting at $19.99/month (for 12 months) & High Speed Internet starting at $14.95/month (where available) Save. Ask about Same Day Installation 1-800-615-4064

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Local BULLETIN BOARD

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

A WILL? THERE IS A WAY. Estate/Probate Matters-Free Consultation. 214-802-6768 MaryGlennAttorney.com

JAMES H. DOLAN, MA, L.P.C Therapist, Executive Coach 214-629-6315 coach4lawyers.net. Individuals, couples & teens

OSTEOPATHY—CRANIAL OSTEOPATH For structural or internal problems, head & body, newborn, young child, all ages. Liz Chapek, D.O. 214-341-8742. www.chapek.doctorsoffice.net

TRAVEL

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

JOURNEY WITH JANE for a unique travel experience. Travel dreams become reality. 469-662-5212. journeywithjane.com

PET SERVICES

DUKE CANINE Certified Behaviorist & Trainer. Board/Train. Indoor kennels. www.dukecanine.com or 214-529-2598

In-Home Professional Care

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

“Best of Dallas” D Magazine

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

BUY/SELL/TRADE

GROUND FLOOR BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY Unique Opportunity for Residual Income. A Legacy Company Which Affords You and Your Family Guaranteed Income. 401-741-7596 healthandwealthct@gmail.com

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

REAL ESTATE

MUNGER PLACE Historic house for rent. 3 BR, 2 1/2 BA, 2 living areas, 2550 sq ft, porch, deck, fireplace, 2-car garage. $2100 mo. + sec dep. E-mail Tim at laughingtree@outlook.com

Hewitt & Habgood Realty Group donated $10,000 to the Kessler School as a matching grant for the school’s scholarship fund.

CARPENTRY & REMODELING

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

CONNER FAMILY BUILDERS Since 1901. Home remodeling & painting. Superior quality, free estimates. Satisfaction guaranteed. A+ BBB Terry 469-338-1202 connerfamilybuilders.com

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

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

RENOVATE DALLAS renovatedallas.org 214-403-7247

RONALD L. SIEBLER

Remodeling & Historic Preservation www.Siebler.com 214-546-7579

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

TK Remodeling

Your neighborhood remodeler

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•Complete full service

Name it— We do it

http://dallas.tkremodelingcontractors.com

Tommy 972-533-2872 INSURED

CARPORTS

CONCRETE/ MASONRY/PAVING

CONCRETE REPAIRS/REPOURS

Demo existing. Stamping and Staining Driveways/Patio/Walkways

Pattern/Color available

Free Estimates

972-672-5359 (32 yrs.)

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

GOVER ELECTRIC Back Up Generators. New And Remodel Work. Commercial & Residential. All Service Work. 469-230-7438. TECL2293

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

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

EXTERIOR CLEANING

GARAGE DOORS

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

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.

HOMETOWN construction.

HONEST, SKILLED

General Repairs/

Your Home Repair Specialists

Drywall

Safety

HOME INSPECTION

NEW

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Imported from Japan

Carports, Patio & Pool Covers

JET OF TEXAS

214-288-6242

JetofTexas.com

NO UV, NO HAIL, NO RAIN

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

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

FENCING & DECKS

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

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

HANNAWOODWORKS.COM Decks,Doors, Carpentry, Remodeling 214-435-9574

EST. 1991 #1

COWBOY

FENCE & IRON CO.

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

N-HANCE WOOD RENEWAL. No Dust. No Mess. No Odor. nhance.com. 214-321-3012.

WILLEFORD HARDWOOD FLOORS 214-824-1166 • WillefordHardwoodFloors.com

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

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

KITCHEN/BATH/ TILE/GROUT

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

BATHTUB, COUNTERTOP & TILE

Resurfacing: Walls, Tub Surrounds, Showers. Glaze or Faux Stone finishes. Affordable Alternative to Replacement! 972-323-8375. PermaGlazeNorthDallas.com

D.R. TILE SERVICE Free Estimates•Wood•Marble•Tile•Travertine Kitchens & Baths•Countertops. 214-536-0045

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

KITCHEN/BATH/

TILE/GROUT

STONE AGE COUNTER TOPS

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

LAWNS, GARDENS & TREES

A BETTER TREE COMPANY • JUST TREES

Complete tree services. Tree & Landscape Lighting! Mark 214-332-3444

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

GREENSKEEPER Winter Clean Up & Color. Sodding, Fertilization. Lawn Maintenance & Landscape. Res/Com. 214-546-8846

HOLMAN IRRIGATION

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

LAWNS, GARDENS & TREES

ORTIZ LAWNCARE Complete Yard Care. Service by Felipe. Free Est. 214-215-3599

U R LAWN CARE Maintenance. Landscaping. Oak Cliff resident for over 15 years. uwereisch@yahoo.com 214-886-9202

A Better Tree Company

JUST TREES

Your Trees Could Look Like a Work of Art, I Guarantee It.

Call

214-332-3444

JD’s Tree Service

RESPONSIBLE TREE CARE FOR THE ENVIRONMENT

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

PEST CONTROL

A BETTER EARTH PEST CONTROL Keeping the environment, kids, pets in mind. Organic products avail. 972-564-2495

TO ADVERTISE CALL 214.560.4203

JULY DEADLINE JUNE 4

PLUMBING

ANDREWS PLUMBING • 214-354-8521

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

Sewers • Drains • Bonded 24 Hours/7 Days

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

NTX PLUMBING SPEC. LLLP 214-226-0913

Lic. M-40581 Res/Com. Repairs & Leak Location

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

POOLS

LEAFCHASERS POOLS

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

ROOFING & GUTTERS

ACE ROOFING

Call Tom. 972-268-4047

MEDRANO ROOFING Resd/Comm. Quality Service & Craftsmanship. Free Est. 469-867-2129

NATIONWIDE ROOFING

Fencing, Gutters BBB member. 214-882-8719 Allstate

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.

TRUE Crime

CRASH.

Jack Keene feels like his area gets a bad rap. In recent years, he says, the Kidd Springs area has added new shops and restaurants, and now has a nice vibe. He believes there is some crime, but he hasn’t noticed too much more than when he lived in North Dallas. He also believes the Dallas police have done a pretty nice job in the area.

“I guess North Oak Cliff is the place to be,” he says.

Keene has lived at his Oak Cliff home for 12 years and feels connected to the neighborhood. He finds it cool that his home originally was built in East Dallas and then moved to Oak Cliff in the 1940s.

The Victim: Jack Keene

The Crime: Criminal mischief

Date: Thursday, April 13

Time: 9:05 p.m.

Location: 700 block of Cedar Hill

And while he feels crime may be waning, his own home was an unfortunate target recently.

An object believed to be a BB shattered his window in the middle of the night. While the crime was a bit unnerving and a new window cost at least $300, Keene is trying to stay positive, and he quickly replaced the window.

“In the big city, things happen,” he says.

Sgt. Kay Hughbanks with the Dallas Police Southwest Patrol Division says many times these crimes are merely a “stray shot” or a kid making some mischief.

“As the weather warms up, these types of calls, BB guns breaking windows, seem to go up as the kids get outside more and as school comes to an end,” she says. “Most of the time it is a BB gone astray, and not directed at a particular home or building. Since there are no other reports, I would say it is probably a stray shot, still just as damaging and worrisome as anything intentional.”

Sean Chaffin is a freelance writer and author of “Raising the Stakes”, obtainable at

A GENERATION CONNECTED

A theory as to why everyone knows everyone in Oak Cliff

In 2009 two of my former high school friends created a Facebook page titled “Oak Cliff Boomers.” The page has reconnected thousands of 1960s and ’70s classmates and built a larger, more homogeneous group. Members often post photos of and write about their bygone days in The Cliff. As you would expect, there’s no shortage of stories and images.

Back in the Boomer days and earlier, it seems a significant number of us Cliffites actually knew another significant number of other Cliffites. Well, at least we knew of each other. Or someone we knew, knew whichever someone else we were talking about. This “circle” included parents, siblings, grandparents, relatives and friends. Although a bit difficult to believe, for the most part it was true. It was always an interesting phenomenon to me, so I’ve thought about it and come up with the following.

Originally, Oak Cliff High School reigned as the only secondary education facility south of the Trinity. Then Sunset High School opened in 1925 and, for the most part, everyone who first walked through the doors of Sunset had either attended Oak Cliff High the year before, was originally scheduled to attend Oak Cliff High, or had parents, older siblings, relatives or neighbors who had attended there. In other words, practically everyone at the new Sunset knew or was kin to most everyone associated with Oak Cliff High. Although they became bitter rivals, the two schools shared weekend dances (alternating between the two campuses), many dating couples attended the different schools, and the local Oak Cliff social fraternities and sororities contained members from both schools.

When South Oak Cliff High School (SOC) opened in 1952, it absorbed students from Oak Cliff High (by then renamed W. H. Adamson) and Sunset. Thus, the SOC Golden Bears knew many of the Adamson Leopards and Sunset Bison and vice versa. Then Justin F. Kimball opened in the fall of 1959, pulling students from SOC and Sunset and possibly a few from Adamson as well. Once more school allegiances were mingled in these mergers, and classmate relationships changed. But, as in earlier days, many students among the dif-

ferent schools continued to date and marry. When David W. Carter opened in 1966, the new school took students from Kimball and SOC, again causing some Oak Cliff families to have older children attending one high school while the younger ones were in a different location.

Another item that added to the massive Oak Cliff interrelationships came when many of the former Adamson and Sunset Depression-era students became parents after World War II. With growing families, many sought newer or roomier homes, which normally required relocating south and southwestward in the city. Some families moved around Oak Cliff for other reasons, but with most of the moves these former Sunset and Adamson students raised their families within school boundaries different than the institutions they had attended. These parents, however, still continued the relationships with their former high school friends. Additionally, as they approached retirement, many of the once young teachers at Adamson and Sunset ended up teaching the children of their former students when these teachers were later transferred to SOC, Kimball and Carter.

Another element was the constant assem-

bling, breaking-up, and possible reassembling of students. Elementary schools were notorious for splitting up sixth- or seventhgrade classes and sending them off to at least two different junior highs. Then, when attending high school, some of these students could be reunited again if parents moved even a few blocks away. With the sometimes changing boundaries and the construction of new schools (due to the overwhelming number of kids entering Dallas ISD at that time), it was possible for neighboring students to attend separate institutions when the new school year arrived, only adding to Oak Cliff’s “familiarity mix.”

Some families around The Cliff were members of the Oak Cliff Country Club, the Wynnewood Swim Club or the old Riverlake Country Club. Adults joined the Lions, Rotary and Kiwanis clubs as well as the Oak Cliff Chamber, the Oak Cliff Jaycees and other similar organizations again keeping Cliffites connected. Another piece of the puzzle is the fact that many boomer junior high students “studied” the yearbooks of their older siblings or others. Looking for dreamy high school guys and 1950s and ’60s versions of hot chicks, many a young Cliffite or preteen spent hours learning

This Easter 1960 confirmation class of Grace Lutheran Church, formerly at 1232 S. Beckley, shows one of the many Oak Cliff church youth groups formed from students who attended numerous elementary and junior high schools. In this case, most of these students went on to attend Kimball, Adamson, and SOC. Photo by Jimmy Hylton

about the older high school kids from those Adamson, Sunset, Kimball, SOC and Carter yearbooks.

But perhaps the main ingredient in this unique situation was that regardless of whichever school or socio-economic level was involved, on Sunday mornings many Cliffites were sitting together in Sunday school or in a church worship service or with a youth group or church choir, alongside others from all over Oak Cliff. Though not the only churches around, most of the large ones in those days were in North Oak Cliff churches where parents and families had attended and known each other for decades and whose ball teams played each other. No matter where you lived, a trip back into the heart of Oak Cliff remained a normal Sunday (and possibly Wednesday-night) routine for many boomer families, certainly adding to the Oak Cliff relationship matrix.

On a personal note: My mother graduated from Adamson, my dad from Sunset. I graduated from Kimball, my siblings from Carter. My children’s godmother attended Adamson, their godfather, SOC; my brother- and sister-in law roamed the halls of Adamson. And my high school boyfriend? Sunset. See what I mean?

So, there you have it. An explanation of why Oak Cliff Boomer folks are so connected. Or at least that’s how I see it.

YOUR STORIES

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

Last month, Books wrote about the beginings of Oak Cilff as Hord’s Ridge.

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.

“My mom would ride the old streetcar from across the river to Kidd Springs by herself when she was 10. She paid a whole nickel for the ride. She said there were no rails on the bridge over the Trinity, and that made the trip more exciting for her because she looked out the window at the river just right there below her and it scared her every time she went to Oak Cliff. But that didn’t stop her from making the trip many times because she loved going to Kidd Springs way back then in 1937.” —Ron

Brannon

“I always love your articles, and I really enjoyed the old pictures. It’s like a step back in time.” —Vicki

Porter

“Great article! Learned a lot. My great-great grandparents were married on Hord’s Ridge and show up on page one of the record kept. It was interesting to learn more about the Hords. Thanks!”

—Tom Robinson

It’s the little things in life.

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