2013 September Oak Cliff

PETS!

Be LocaL IN oak Cliff

Making life in Oak Cliff dOggOne gOOd

to enjoy the softer side of mammography.

Monday Night Mammos at the Breast Center at Methodist Dallas

Finally, your annual mammogram is worth looking forward to. Join us for Monday Night Mammos*, where you will get a mammogram while we treat you to some well-deserved pampering. Relish in relaxation with a gentle hand rub and calming chair massage. Indulge your senses with aromatherapy and delight your palate with light spa cuisine. We’ll even valet park your car. And when it’s time for your mammo, you’ll receive fivestar treatment. Best of all, you’ll know results in 24 hours. Register today for peace of body, mind, and breast health.

MethodistHealthSystem.org

The Breast Center at Methodist Dallas is one of just three breast centers of excellence in Dallas (11 in Texas) nationally accredited by the American College of Surgeons.

On the cOver: Alice the blue Merle: Photo by Danny Fulgencio

Timbergrove Circle SALE PENDING

2207 Kessler Woods Court SOLD

709 Haines Avenue SALE PENDING

N. Canterbury Court SOLD

Starr

Not-so-easy s treets

Among giants, a compact-car owner risks road rage

As I pulled up to the intersection in my relatively small and low-slung car, stopping just short of the crosswalk, I glanced to my left to see if the coast was clear enough to make a right turn on red.

But when I glanced left, I didn’t see a couple of cars barreling down on me. Nor did I see a completely empty street devoid of cars and pedestrians.

Instead, I was looking into the bottom door panel of a huge, white pickup truck, with my eyes essentially at crotch level of the driver, who as far as I know had absolutely no idea I was even there.

The truck driver had pulled the nose of his vehicle over the crosswalk; there were no pedestrians here, so I didn’t have a big

He also was driving a tall, jacked-up pickup truck, so he could see just fine through and over the truck on my left. Apparently, no one was approaching the intersection, so he thought I needed to get moving.

His leaning on the horn didn’t sit well with me. From his perch high in the sky overlooking the top of my car, he probably had no idea that I couldn’t see a thing and would be risking my insurance premium, not to mention the front of my car, by blindly pulling into the intersection.

For a moment, I thought about putting my car in park, popping out of the driver’s door and walking back to visit with my impatient neighbor as we waited for the light to change.

It was just a brief moment, though, because my thoughts also quickly turned dramatic: Maybe he legally carried a gun and might see my approach as threatening.

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problem with his positioning. It’s just that the size of his vehicle (or, depending on your perspective, the size of mine) kept me from seeing anything except shiny white paint.

I was content to sit and wait for the green light; something interesting was on KERA, and I wasn’t in a big hurry.

The guy behind me had other ideas, though.

He leaned on the horn a couple of times, clearly needing to be somewhere 30 seconds more quickly than he was going to with me blocking his way.

In fact, I could imagine the excitement at 6 and 10 as local newscasters talked about the meaningless shooting, with no one having any idea why a quiet, unassuming dude like me would block an intersection and threateningly approach another driver. Given the chance that I might not be around to explain my actions, I thought better of exiting the car.

So I just endured what I assumed was the angry glare of the driver behind me because I really couldn’t see much above the grill of his pickup.

The light mercifully turned green, and all three of us headed off to our respective destinations. The guy next to me probably was unaware. The guy behind me raced past me after we both turned. I continued on, wondering what else I could have done to make him understand I had no options.

There’s no lesson here that I can discern, nothing else I could have done to make things better, except perhaps to own a taller vehicle.

Maybe it was all just the product of a steaming, hot summer day in Dallas.

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RACHEL STONE

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He leaned on the horn a couple of times, clearly needing to be somewhere 30 seconds more quickly than he was going to with me blocking his way.

Reader comments

“I lived in OC for 30 years before moving to Colorado. Anyone know what the term ‘going across’ means? If you don’t, then you’re just lame. If you do, then high-five me brother!” —Ross Walker on 30 ways you know you live in Oak Cliff (via Advocate Daily Digest)

“I prefer the designs where the bike paths are nearest the curb, and on-street parking is near the traffic lanes, creating a buffer for cyclists — like this one.” —Randall Simpson on Proposed changes to Fort Worth Avenue would accommodate cyclists and pedestrians (via Facebook)

“Could be a good location but absolutely no parking. None, zip!” —Brad on Noble Rey Brewing Co. to lease in Oak Cliff (via Advocate Daily Digest)

“There’s already a 7-Eleven on Hampton and Clarendon right down the street. Why can’t OC get a Chick-fil-A, Kroger or Target!! We have enough gas stations.” —Kelly Garza on 7-Eleven under construction at Hampton and Jefferson (via Facebook)

“Picture having a Skil saw running with no blade guard, on the end of a yo-yo.” —Ric Burney on Put your cat on a leash it’s the law (via Facebook)

Launch

Q&A: Kirby Warnock

Oak Cliff-based filmmaker Kirby Warnock’s first film, the 1996 documentary “return to Giant,” was a look at the 1956 film “Giant” from the perspective of the big bend area of West texas, where it was filmed. the mississippi native spent every Christmas and summer of his childhood in Fort Stockton, his dad’s hometown, and he always heard stories about “Giant,” which would inspire his first feature film. Warner bros. picked up “return to Giant” for distribution, and Warnock says he thought, “Well, this is easy.” mild attention for his second film, “border bandits,” showed him otherwise, but he’s still at it. Warnock graduated from baylor and moved to Dallas in 1976, where he was hired as an editor at buddy magazine. His newest documentary, “When Dallas rocked,” is a throwback to his buddy years. It premieres thursday, Sept. 26, at the texas theatre.

What is the story of “When Dallas Rocked”?

People don’t realize that back in the ’70s, Dallas was a bigger music city than Austin. Of course that’s not true today, but a lot of people don’t know this. [Rock ’n’ roll] was just a bunch of hippies playing music, so the media didn’t really cover it. It’s part of our history that just hasn’t been told yet. But there are lots of baby boomers who remember it.

Why was Dallas such a big rock ’n’ roll town then?

Because of the record industry here. We were the distribution hub for the entire Southwest. This was before the internet, before digital music, so if you heard a song on the radio that you liked, you either had to sit by the radio and wait for them to play it again, or you went to the record store and bought it. Dallas had distribution warehouses that covered the whole Southwest.

Kirby Warnock’s new film premieres this month. Dan Whiteman, left, is polishing the film: Danny Fulgencio

Below: Warnock edits photos from the film: Danny Fulgencio. Below right: A Buddy cover from the magazine’s heyday: Courtesy of Kirby Warnock. Right: Eric Clapton checks out copies of Buddy at the Anatole Hotel, 1978: Kirby Warnock.

If you ordered a record in Baton Rouge, La., it came out of Dallas. So anybody who was anybody, they had to come here because they could sell a ton of records. I’m not trying to say that we were bigger than New York or Los Angeles, but we were a close third. Back then, bands would skip Austin entirely and play Dallas.

Most of the photos from the film come from Buddy magazine. Tell us about that.

I was working at Buddy magazine, and I took most of the pictures in the film. There are also pictures by Stoney Burns and Ron McKeown, who were staffers at Buddy. We went to shows in Dallas and took tons of photographs. This was all before digital media, so you had to buy the publication to see the pictures. All these photos have been sitting in boxes for 40 years.

What was Buddy magazine?

Buddy started in ’73. It was named after

Buddy Holly, and it’s still around, although it’s not quite the same. I’d say ’73 to the mid-’80s was its heyday. I was the editor from ’76 to ’83. The daily newspaper didn’t cover the live-music scene, and there was no alternative press. The Dallas Observer didn’t exist yet. So we were the only publication covering all that. We didn’t cover anything else; we just covered music. But we were the dominant publication. Record companies would beg us to come down and interview these artists who were playing in Dallas, because we were really the only outlet.

Who are some of the memorable people you interviewed?

I personally interviewed Eric Clapton, down at the Anatole. Don Henley, the Vaughan brothers, Elvis Costello. Elvis Costello played a club called Spaces and we went to talk to him at lunch … there was no one else around. He told me he wanted to see Delbert McClinton, and I told

him he was playing the Old Warehouse, which was on Mockingbird, that night. So after the [Costello] show, I went over to the Old Warehouse, and sure enough, he got onstage and jammed with him. These British bands idolized Texas bluesmen. All Eric Clapton ever talked about was Freddie King. I don’t think we in Dallas really appreciate that.

How did this film come about?

I made a teaser with the photos for the Oak Cliff Film Festival, and I got a huge response from it. It got a lot of hits on YouTube, and I got tons of calls and emails. So I decided to do a full-length documentary.

How long has it taken you to produce?

I’ve been working on it for the last nine months. I don’t have any money or funding. I have a full-time job [as a proposal writer for a consulting firm], so I work on it at night. —Rachel

Stone

Out & About

September 2013

Sept. 5-6 Ray Wylie Hubbard

Singer-songwriter and Oak Cliff homeboy Ray Wylie Hubbard records a live album over two nights at the Kessler Theater. The shows, which start at 8 p.m., include new songs as well as classics going back to 1975. 1201 W. Davis, thekessler.org, $20-$30

Sept. 5

Blue vs. purple

Start making your giant mum now because the second-annual Adamson vs. Sunset pep rally starts at 6 p.m. in the Bishop Arts District. Marching bands, drill teams and football players will parade Bishop from Neely to Seventh. Sunset will rally on the Eno’s side of Bishop Arts, and Adamson will rally near Oddfellows. This event is sponsored by Go Oak Cliff, Oddfellows, Eno’s, Good Space and Craig Schenkel. The Adamson vs. Sunset football game starts at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 6.

Bishop Arts District, Seventh and Bishop, gooakcliff.org, free

Sept. 6

TacoCon

After the hugely successful North Texas Taco Festival in April, event organizer and Oak Cliff resident Jose Ralat Maldonado of the Taco Trail is doing it again. TacoCon brings together five taco trucks and trailers to Four Corners Brewery from 6-10 p.m. Four Corners is creating a one-off brew. Four Corners Brewery, 423 Singleton, fcbrewing.com, free

Sept. 7

Bachelor auction

The TeCo Performing Arts Center, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this month, hosts its annual bachelor auction and fundraiser. A VIP champagne reception for the Mardi Gras-themed event starts at 6 p.m., and the auction starts at 7 p.m. Bishop Arts Theater Center, 215 S. Tyler, 214.948.0716, tecotheater. org, $35-$50

Sept. 14-Oct. 5

‘Inside and Out’

Oak Cliff-based artist Ray-Mel Cornelius shows “Inside and Out,” new paintings based on his explorations of nature. Norwood Flynn Gallery, 3318 Shorecrest, 214.351.3318, norwoodflynngallery.com, free

Sept. 14-Oct. 27

Naked guns

DesPlas exhibits “Armas Desnudas,” a collection of watercolor paintings and hair drawings that explore “the correlation between violence, the sexy and femininity.” Mighty Fine Arts, 409A N. Tyler, 214.942.5241, mfagallery.com

Sept. 9

OOCCL home tour reveal

The Old Oak Cliff Conservation League reveals the homes on its fall home tour at 7 p.m. Bishop Arts Theater Center, 215 S. Tyler, ooccl.org, free

Sept. 16

Mojito contest

Bartenders from all over town will compete in the Dallas Mojito Pour-Off, where tasters can vote for their favorite by text message. The contest is from 4-8 p.m.

Trinity Groves, 340 Singleton, mojitopouroff.com, $25

Sept. 21

Spare Parts fundraiser

Babb Bros. BBQ hosts the annual Fort Worth Avenue Development Group fundraiser from 7-11 p.m. This year’s party has a ’70s theme, and there will be prizes for the best costumes and live music from the Texas Rock Association. Babb Bros. BBQ

330 Bedford, fortworthavenue.org, $35

Grow Salad

Sept. 28

‘You’re the One That I Want’

The Sunset Alumni Association hosts a “Grease” sing-along, a fundraiser for their alma mater, at 2 p.m. Texas Theatre, 231 W. Jefferson, sunsetalumni.com, $10 online or $15 at the door

Delicious

Barbecue

Lockhart Smokehouse opened in the Bishop Arts District about two and a half years ago as an authentic Texas Hill Country-style barbecue place. In true meat-market style, brisket is ordered by the pound. In the beginning, there were no forks and no barbecue sauce. After a one-star review from the Dallas Morning News, which stated “that forks and plates are taboo started to feel like an affront,” and complaints from customers, Lockhart added barbecue sauce and, yes, forks, to their offerings. “We had to pivot on that, and that was a good learning experience on ‘give the customers what they want,’” says Jill Bergus, who owns Lockhart with her husband, Jeff Bergus, and their business partner, Tim McLaughlin. “We don’t know everything about the barbecue business; we don’t know everything about the restaurant business; but we’re certainly willing to learn.” Since the early days, much has changed at Lockhart. The restaurant consistently is mentioned among the best barbecue places in Texas, most notably, in Texas Monthly’s “Top 50 Barbecue Joints,” which comes out every five years. “That’s the Texas barbecue bible,” Jeff Bergus says. “If you make that list you’re in an elite fraternity.” Diners travel from all over the region to sample Lockhart’s smoked meats, and during peak hours on the weekends, the line sometimes snakes from the counter to the front door and around the dining room. Sometimes, the restaurant sells out of meat. But barbecue enthusiasts understand, Jeff Bergus says. “When we run out, we run out,” he says. “The majority of the people who come here are barbecue people. Last Saturday, we sent at least 60 people out of the line, and not one person complained.” Lockhart is opening a second location in old downtown Plano as early as Dec. 1.

—Rachel Stone

Smoked sausage, above, brisket, below, and turkey, opposite page, from Lockhart Smokehouse: Elliott Muñoz

LoCkHart SmokeHouSe

| MORE SMOKED MEAT |

1

Hardeman’s BBQ & Catering

this take-out-only place is an Oak Cliff classic. the Hardeman family once had outposts all over town, but just a few are left, including this one in Oak Cliff. reliable brisket, spicy sausage and yummy sides.

618 S. Westmoreland

214.467.1154

2 Smoke

Wonderful house-made smoked sausages, whole-hog barbecue and coffee-cured brisket are just the basics. there is also foie gras and chicken liver pâté, chicken tamales and a smoked pork chop that will change your life.

901 Fort Worth Ave.

214.393.4141

smokerestaurant.com

3 Babb Bros. BBQ & Blues

this was the first restaurant to open at trinity Groves, serving texas and St. Louis-style barbecue. the cafeteria-style restaurant has a huge menu of smoked meats and sides including cheesy potatoes, creamed corn and onion straws.

330 Bedford

214.745.2224

babbbrothers.com

food and wine online

Visit oakcliff.advocatemag.com/dining

Cheap is the new pricey Joel Gott sauvignon blanc ($10) California

This month marks a milestone for the Advocate and cheap wine. In fact, the milestone probably wouldn’t have been possible without the Advocate wine column, which helped demonstrate that consumers are interested in wine that doesn’t cost a lot of money.

Because that interest was one of the first steps in getting to my new book, “The Wine Curmudgeon’s Guide to Cheap Wine,” which will be published later this month. It will be available as an e-book ($9.95) and in paperback ($12.95), and you’ll be able to buy it at the regular online retailers as well as winecurmudgeon.com.

When Advocate founder Rick Wamre asked me to write a wine column years ago, I wasn’t sure there would be any interest and didn’t expect to be doing it for long. But there was interest; Advocate readers were looking for simple, clearly written advice about wine they could afford to buy. That’s a market that the wine business traditionally has taken for granted, and hence the column’s longevity and the book.

The book focuses on the process of cheap wine. In this, there aren’t any recommendations, which is probably a first for a wine book. That’s what this column and my wine blog are for. The point of the book is to help consumers figure out for themselves what they want, offering common-sense advice about how to make that decision.

This month, then, three of my favorite cheap wines:

• Any number of $10 white wines from the French region of Gascony. They are cheap, wellmade and offer refreshing grapey and citrus flavors. Look for Domaine du Tariquet and Mont Gravet among many others.

• Sicilian reds and whites, which are practically subversive — $10 wine is not supposed to be this interesting. They include Notorius, a white, and the Cusumano red.

• California sauvignon blanc, including Dry Creek, Joel Gott and Benziger, all of which are around $10 and are clean, crisp and tasty.

—Jeff Siegel Get local dininG news

Sign up for our dining newsletter at advocatemag.com/newsletter

with your wine

Roasted chicken breasts

Serves four, takes about 30 minutes

Want something you can slice for a sandwich for lunch, but also makes an easy weeknight dinner? Then try boneless and skinless chicken breasts, roasted in the oven and seasoned with herbs and olive oil. Serve with the California sauvignon blancs.

Grocery List

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, about 1 pound each salt and pepper to taste olive oil

assorted dry herbs, such as tarragon, thyme, basil and oregano

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

2. Mix the herbs, salt and pepper, and olive oil and baste the breasts all over. Cook for 10 to 15 minutes on one side, and then turn over, baste again and cook for another 10 or 15 minutes until done.

Ask the wine guy

What’s a grocery store wine?

Cheap wine with a clever name and cute label that is sold mostly in grocery stores and is well made, if a little boring. It’s impor- tant to note that not all wine sold in grocery stores is “grocery store wine,” given how grocery stores have upgraded their wine depart- ments and that not all wine sold there is boring.

—Jeff Siegel

ASK The Wine Guy taste@advocatemag.com

FOR LIFE Best Friends

A tribute to joyful, loyal, beautiful creatures

It is just an animal ...

an inferior species prone to flea infestation, shoe destruction and squirrel abuse, right? Like other cases of true love, man’s connection to domesticated beast defies logic. Pet behavior — slap-happy romping, guttural purrs of pleasure and exuberant expressions of gratitude in the form of unbridled kisses can inspire profound joy. Conclusively, their companionship can boost the quality of a human life. But no use trying to define how or why humans grow so attached to their fleabags. We would rather show you.

Good luck not falling in love.

Story by Rachel Stone // Photos by Danny Fulgencio and Chris Arrant

Salt

Best Friends

FOR LIFE

One day this summer, Kathi Kibbel’s craftsman cottage on Clinton Avenue was home to six dogs, a few porch cats and some inside cats, the exact number of which she avoids mentioning.

“The cats rule the roost over the dogs,” she says.

The pet population of the home Kibbel also shares with her husband, Ish Caraballo, changes as fosters come and go. She’s always looking for friends, acquaintances, friends-of-friends and strangers — any responsible person, really — to take one of her brood. When one finds a permanent home, there is space for another foster.

She opens her bathroom door and retrieves a kitten, a pretty little gal with a damaged eye.

“I found her in the street, and she was near death,” Kibbel says, clutching the kitten to her chest. “She was covered in fleas and malnourished.”

Pets just seem to come to Kathi Kibbel, or maybe it’s that she just can’t look away when she sees an animal in need.

That’s how she found Salt the Dalmatian, who was the pet of two young homeless guys Kibbel met downtown.

She noticed the dog had an injured leg, and after talking to the men for a while, she convinced them to let her take the dog.

“I think she must’ve been run over by a car,” Kibbel says of Salt.

Salt, the three-legged Dalmatian People’s choice winner

Her vet tried to save the leg, and they went so far as to put Salt through hydrotherapy to strengthen it (as a result, the dog now dreads water). Eventually, the vet told Kibbel the leg needed to be amputated.

“She lost her leg the same day we put to sleep our old girl dog that had the very same leg amputated years ago,” Kibbel says. “Her name was Zelda, and she is the reason we did the Pooch Prom [fundraiser] at Lee Harvey’s for two years in a row.”

Kibbel and Caraballo moved to Oak Cliff 13 years ago, and they immediately noticed an abundance of stray cats and dogs. So they started working with animal rescue organizations to capture, vet, spay or neuter, and adopt out as many of them as possible.

Kibbel has become a feral-cat-colony manager for the city of Dallas, so she humanely traps feral cats, hands them off to Dallas Animal Services to be fixed, and releases them back into the neighborhood.

She encourages her neighbors to fix their pets. She once took her neighbor’s “mom and dad dogs” to the vet herself to be spayed and neutered, with permission of their owners, because “I was tired of finding homes for their puppies,” she says.

Kibbel has been in the bar business for many years, and Caraballo is a welder by trade and a DJ for fun.

“This is how we give back,” she says.

A pAck of dogs wAs running down Lausanne one hot day a couple of years ago, and Jessica Johnson noticed that one of them dropped in the median near Colorado.

The other dogs took off and left him.

“He was so exhausted and winded,” Jessica’s husband, Christian, says. “He couldn’t go on.”

So she stopped, got out with the homeless kit she keeps in her car and approached the dog with crackers and water.

She took the dog home and cleaned him up a bit.

“The first night, he had this howl that was like out of a novel or something,” Christian says. “It was the eeriest, timber-wolf, like, you-think-you’re-in-Alaska howl.”

The Johnsons tried putting pictures of him on neighborhood boards, but no one claimed him. At the vet’s office, they found that the dog had fleas and ticks under all his matted fur, and worse, he tested positive for heartworm. The dog was 10 pounds underweight and, they were surprised to learn, less than a year old.

“Two thousand dollars later, we got him all cleaned up and clear of heartworm,” Christian says.

But Pepper has turned out to be a big, beautiful dog that is an important part of the family. The Johnsons’ 9-year-old daughter, Chloe, is an equestrian, and she’s taught Pepper to jump obstacles.

“He comes when you call. He loves to be obedient,” Christian says. “The dog is the sweetest dog I’ve ever owned, and he wants nothing but to be next to you.”

It’s a magical thing to live in a neighborhood that is not only singularly beautiful and rich in character, but has a community that truly encourages and supports its own. Oak Cliff is not just a place to live – it becomes a part of who you are.”

Best Friends

FOR LIFE

CandiCe White is a portrait photographer who says she is asked increasingly to shoot people’s pets. The snapshot she captured of her own pet, Clarence, late one night, portrays a proud cat with a rough-and-tumble lifestyle.

“He’s been in so many fights, his ears are battered, and most of his teeth are gone,” White says.

Clarence brings his master mice he kills, and he likes to sleep next to her in her bed at night. He likes being picked up, but he’s not fond of being petted.

White also has two old dogs, a 14-year-old Doberman named Jelly Bean and a 13-year-old lab named Daisy. She has a 15-year-old cat named Harley and a new one, an outside black-and-white cat she calls Catsby.

All of White’s pets have been found or rescued. She found Jelly Bean in Winnetka Heights when the dog was just 3 months old. She had distemper and rope marks around her neck from being tied up in someone’s yard.

“We nursed her back to health, and she’s been the best dog ever,” White says.

White volunteers at the Dallas Zoo and at spay and neuter clinics at Dallas Animal Services.

“I just love animals,” she says. “The unconditional love.”

Clarence, the street cat (and two of his dog siblings, Daisy and Jelly Bean)

Alice, the Catahoula mix

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Ryan Todd’s giRlfRiend wanTed a husky.

One day while he was working from home, his girlfriend, Liz Lampe, emailed him a picture of a husky she’d found in the Irving shelter.

He wasn’t that keen on the idea since huskies shed a lot, but he did want a “big dog” that he could take out in public, a pleasure he doesn’t get from his dachshund, Bear, who Todd says is “kind of a jerk. She only likes me.”

So he went to the Irving shelter to get this husky for his girlfriend, but it already had been taken.

“I started walking around, and every dog was jumping up at the cage, either because they were excited to see me, or they seemed like they wanted to kill me,” he says.

Then he saw this blue merle dog lying in her cage, calm as a monk.

“I was like, ‘Oh, I can’t leave here without a dog,’ ” he says.

So he left with Alice, her “jail name,” and took her home.

oakcliff.advocatemag.com

Todd started skateboarding when he was about 14, and he still skated a couple of times a week for exercise. He read that Catahoula dogs are a working breed that needs an activity every day.

The first time he tried skating alongside her, it took about half a block before she was off and running.

“She just seemed to love it,” he says. “She gets so excited when it’s time to go. She almost screams as she goes down the street when we first get out.”

He started out skating from home in Winnetka Heights to Oddfellows for coffee. But now, Alice demands about two and a half miles a day.

Preserving history, in print

Three new books tell stories about Oak Cliff

Story by rachel Stone

Presumed presidential assassin and one-time Oak Cliff resident Lee Harvey Oswald, photographed at the Dallas police headquarters before an interrogation. This is one of the photos from a new book by John H. Slate and Mark Doty, “John F. Kennedy Sites in Dallas-Fort Worth,” due out Sept. 2: Dallas Municipal Archives.

The history of Dealey Plaza is really the story of early Dallas. It is where Tennessee lawyer John Neely Bryan built a cabin in 1841. Now it is the front door of Dallas, and the subject of a new book from an Oak Cliff-based author.

by

Winters: Dallas Municipal Archives

rendering of Dealey Plaza by the Kansas City firm of Hare and Hare, 1940; the triple underpass was finished in 1936 but the park still needed to be landscaped. The plaza itself was

project and cost $92,298. This image is included in “Dealey Plaza,”

John H. Slate and Willis C.

“I’m glad that we got to write this as opposed to someone who would give way too much attention to the Kennedy assassination,” says Dallas city archivist John Slate, who wrote the book, “Dealey Plaza,” with Dallas Park and Recreation Director Willis Winters. The book is one of three with neighborhood connections out this month from Arcadia Publishing’s Images of America series. Slate, who lives in Beckley Club Estates, also wrote “John F. Kennedy Sites in Dallas-Fort Worth” with co-author Mark Doty, Dallas historic preservation officer. Many of those sites are in our neighborhood because of the Oswald connection. The JFK book includes 200 photos and documents, most of them from the city archives. Another book out this month is “Legendary Locals of Oak Cliff,” by Alan C. Elliott, Patricia K. Summey and Gayla Brooks. Brooks writes the Back Story column in the Advocate every month, and many of her contributions to the book stemmed from that column. Photos and anecdotes in the book tell of Oak Cliff greats incuding the Vaughan brothers, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Jerry Rhome, Belita Moreno, Terry Southern and Stephen Tobolowsky. The same trio of authors published the book “Images of America: Oak Cliff” through Arcadia in 2009.

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The Legendary Locals of Oak Cliff, due Sept. 2 from Arcadia Publishing, includes photos and tales of neighborhood greats. A book signing is planned Sept. 14 at Bishop Street Market.

Interested in an Arts Metal

Business Buzz

The lowdown on what’s up with neighborhood businesses

Send business news tips to livelocal@advocatemag.com

Oak Cliff brew on tap

Oak Cliff could be getting its first craft brewery soon. Noble Rey Brewing Co. announced that it has agreed to lease a space in our neighborhood. The building is at 1400 E. Jefferson, which used to house The Ad Place, a creative firm that has moved to Addison. It can be seen from Interstate 35, near the Colorado exit. Owner/brewer Chris Rigoulot says there are still hurdles, such as a zoning change, before the deal is official. According to the Noble Rey website, Rigoulot is the son of a longtime home brewer, and he has been perfecting his craft beer for the past five years. He is a certified brewer who graduated from the American Brewers Guild last year. Rigoulot and his fiancee live in Grapevine, but they plan to move to Oak Cliff, according to the website.

The restaurant scene

Two new restaurants opened in Oak Cliff in August. Zoli’s NY Pizza Tavern, from Il Cane Rosso owner Jay Jerrier, opened after much online hype; after a rocky first night, it’s been cranking out delicious pies every night since. The Fish, a new restaurant from Oak Cliff resident Christopher Stanford, opened in the former Café Maya space on Jefferson at Polk. Stanford worked at the Dream Café for 15 years and at a seafood restaurant after that. The Fish’s menu highlights include addicting fish tacos and crispy crabmeat hush puppies. “”Just being the 12th Mexican-food place on the block just wasn’t going to cut it,” Stanford told the Advocate prior to the restaurant’s opening. “But I thought we were primed for a casu-

al, economic seafood place that is familyfriendly.” Another new restaurant, the Local Oak, is opening as soon as this month at Zang and Seventh. Alycen Cuellar, Felix Garcia, and Paul Delgado plan an eclectic menu of American and Tex-Mex food.

The old Gloria’s

The old Gloria’s at West Davis and Llewellyn was torn down a few months ago. Gloria’s owner Jose Fuentes had trouble leasing the 1940s building, so he is building a retail center there. “The 2,542-square-foot structure will be just a little larger than the old building and will have an outdoor patio space,” reports the Dallas Morning News.

The new 7-Eleven

A new 7-Eleven store is under construction at Hampton and Jefferson. It was the site of a Texaco filling station, which closed in 2011 and had been boarded up for months before it was torn down to make way for this construction.

an artist’s rendering of how the Noble Rey Brewing co. could look: courtesy of Noble Rey

Bill J. Priest Institute for

Get in ContaCt

Noble Rey

noblereybrewing.com

Zoli’s NY Pizza Tavern 202 w. Davis 214.942.9654

zolispizza.com

The Fish 1001 w Jefferson

The Local Oak 409 n. zang 214.946.4625

Metro Paws Animal Hospital 1021 fort worth ave. 214.939.1600

Dallasmetropaws.com

Eno’s Pizza Tavern 407 n bishop 214.943.9200

enospizza.com

more business buzz every week on

oak C liff.advo C atema G C om/biz

The Dallas Arboretum will make history on September 21 with the grand opening of the Rory Meyers Children’s Adventure Garden. This 8 acre one-of-a-kind garden is the world’s most elaborate and interactive garden for children. Designed to enable both the young and the young-at-heart to experience nature as they enjoy playing in a museum without walls. Tickets must be pre-purchased online.

Opening September 21, 2013 with the nationally acclaimed Autumn at the Arboretum festival.

www.dallasarboretum.org

Media Sponsor Dallas Morning News

The Dallas Arboretum is a non-profit organization that is supported, in part, by funds from the Dallas Park & Recreation Department.

Haberdashery fit for a fairy

Paige Hounsel of Oak Cliff won the Dallas Children’s Theater’s hat-design contest this summer. Hounsel designed a sugarplum-fairy hat for “’Twas the Night Before Christmas.” The 8-year-old is a student at the Kessler School.

Longtime Lions

The Lions Club honored World War II veterans from the Dallas area July 20. Back row, left to right, Bill Lawhorn, Elmer Davidson, Hugh Childress, Bill Hooten , Lions Club district governor Darla Wisdom , Leroy Paramore, John Goff and Bill Lewis. Front, left to right, new member Joshua Bell and Steve Smith The Oak Cliff Lions Club meets at noon every Wednesday in Weiss Auditorium at Methodist hospital.

Classes/TuToring/ lessons

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

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

employmenT

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

serviCes for you

$18/MONTH AUTO INSURANCE Instant Quote. Any Credit Type. Get The Best Rates In Your Area. 877-958-7003

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

professional serviCes

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

Metro Paws Animal Hospital is NOW OPEN! 1021 Ft. Worth Ave. (next door to the Belmont Hotel) 214.939.1600 Visit our website for a coupon dallasmetropaws.com

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

FRONT-ROW DALLAS STARS SEATS Join neighborhood group in sharing two Dallas Stars season tickets. We’ll randomly draft seats prior to the season, and everyone has a chance to draft all seats except Opening Night. Seats are in the front row of the Platinum Section, front row of the Upper Level, and second row on the glass next to the Stars goal in the 1st and 3rd periods. Tickets are priced at what I pay the Stars. For info, call 214-560-4212 or rwamre@advocatemag.com

OLD GUITARS WANTED Gibson, Fender, Gretsch, Martin. 1920s-1980s. Top dollar paid. Toll Free 1-866-433-8277

TEXAS RANGERS FRONT-ROW BASEBALL TICKETS

Share prime, front-row Texas Rangers baseball tickets (available in sets of 10 games) during the 2013 & 2014 season.

Buy/sell/Trade

Prices start at $105 per ticket (sets of 2 or 4 tickets per game available). Seats are behind the plate and next to both the firstand third-base dugouts. Other great seats available starting at $60 per ticket. Entire season available except for opening day; participants randomly draw numbers to determine draft order so the selection process is fair for everyone.

E-mail rwamre@advocatemag.com or call 214-560-4212 for more information.

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

AC & HeAt

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

NORTHAVEN AIR & HEAT

Affordable Quality, Jim. 972-365-1570

Service Call/Tune up $39,TACLA46391E

most used logo black and white

214.526.8533

Installation & Repair QuigleyAC.com

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CArpentry & remodeling

ATLANTIS DESIGN-BUILD, LLC

Complete Remodeling. 40 Yrs Exp. Additions. 1 & 2 Story. Kitchens, Baths.

Small Jobs To Entire House.

Renovation & Design. Full Time Supervision. Licensed/Insured. Free Estimates. 281-761-4648

BLAKE CONSTRUCTION CONCEPTS, LLC

Complete Remodeling, Kitchens, Baths, Additions. Hardie Siding & Replacement Windows. Radiant Barrier, Insulation. Bonded & Insured. www.blake-construction.com 214-563-5035

BO HANDYMAN Specializing In Historic Home

Renovations & Pro Remodels. Custom Carpentry, Doors, Kitchens, Baths & more. 214-437-9730

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

RENOVATE DALLAS

renovatedallas.net 214-403-7247

CleAning ServiCeS

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

CleAning ServiCeS

WINDOW MAN WINDOW CLEANING.COM

Residential Specialists. BBB. 214-718-3134

eleCtriCAl ServiCeS

4 U ELECTRICAL SERVICE, LLC

We will be there 4 U. 972-877-4183

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

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

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

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

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.

kitCHen/BAtH/ tile/grout

BLAKE CONSTRUCTION CONCEPTS LLC

Complete Kitchen And Bath Remodels

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

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

WE REFINISH!

• Tubs, Tiles or Sinks

• Cultured Marble

• Kitchen Countertops

214-631-8719

www.allsurfacerefinishing.com

lAwnS, gArdenS & treeS

rooFing & gutterS

NATIONWIDE ROOFING,FENCING,GUTTERS

BBB member. 214-882-8719

Allstate Homecraft Roofing

• Roofing & Remodel • Additions • Licensed/Insured

Over 1,000 Satisfied Customers in the Lakewood, Lake Highlands, Preston Hollow, Park Cities Areas

–

• Free Estimates 214-824-0767 allstatehomecraft.com

SkyligHtS

Installing Since 1995

Commercial & Residential Replacement, Repair & New Installation

Glass – Acrylic – Tubular Skylights

972-263-6033

www.skylightsolutions.com

IRISH RAIN SPRINKLER SYSTEMS

Installation & Repair. TXL#2738 214-827-7446

COWBOY

FENCE & IRON CO.

214.692.1991

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

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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

Your Home Repair Specialists

Drywall Doors

Senior Safety Carpentry

Small & Odd Jobs And More! 972-308-6035 HandymanMatters.com/dallas

Bonded & Insured. Locally owned & operated.

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

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

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

JD’s Tree Service

RESPONSIBLE TREE CARE FOR THE ENVIRONMENT

Firewood/Cooking Wood

Locally harvested wood!

Full service trimming & planting of native trees. 214.946.7138

moving

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

peSt Control

A BETTER EARTH PEST CONTROL

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

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*

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

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.

Select Openings for Fall 2013

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

reunion

The Sunset High School class of 1953 hosts its 60th class reunion from 1:30-6:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 12, at the DoubleTree Hotel Dallas. Tickets cost $50, and a group room rate is available, using the code S53, for $89 plus tax. Call the DoubleTree at 214.691.8700, Yvonne James Fritz at 972.235.1718, or Joe Books at 903.647.2445 for reservations and tickets, which must be purchased by Oct. 1.

people

Oak Cliff-based attorney Chad West has been invited to join the Higginbotham Inn of Court, a professional group that fosters professionalism, ethics and civility in the legal community. West is a criminal defense and serious injury attorney whose office is on West Davis at Tyler. He also is a founder of Dash for the Beads 5k.

oc: aDS rotateD For

69%

of our readers say they want to know more about private schools.

to advertise call 214.560.4203

Oak Cliff-based Texans Can Academies has elected two new members to its board of trustees. Rudy Oeftering of Oeftering Properties and Regina Thompson, a clinical and operational director for Children’s Medical Center, will serve three-year terms.

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.

Rudy Oeftering

Regina Thompson

Someone pulled and pulled, but had no luck.

For Elaine Birkhead, her Winnetka Heights area home has a deep history and some very memorable events for her family. Now 81, Birkhead’s parents originally bought the home when she was only 4 years old. She and her first husband were later married in the living room of the home before starting their own family. In the 1950s, her father began renting out the Oak Cliff home and eventually rented it to Birkhead and her husband for $60 a month.

After her father passed away, Birkhead inherited the house and took care of her mother there in her later years. Birkhead has been living in the home since 1956, and she and her husband raised three daughters and a son.

Among her many memories of the house on Edgefield is a break-in in 1997, she recalls, in which her husband confronted the burglar and grabbed his gun. The pin in the revolver came out and bullets flew across the room. He wrestled the burglar to the ground before the gun-wielding crook was able to flee the house. After her husband’s death several years ago, she remarried and still lives in the same house.

Gentle The Healing of Arts

Extension deadline this year for corporations & partnerships is Sept 16th!

• Tax Preparation

• IRS Audit Representation

• IRS Notice Resolution

• 25 years in the White Rock Lake Neighborhood

Jack F. Lewis Jr., cpa

The Victim: Jim and elaine Birkhead

The Crime: Criminal mischief

Date: Monday, July 22

Time: Between 6 p.m. and 7 a.m. Location: 900 block of edgefield

After so much history in the home, maybe a bit of luck was going the Birkheads’ way recently. While fixing breakfast one morning, she looked out the window and noticed someone had attempted to break into her shed. An intruder broke some boards on a rear fence and tried to pry open the doors. Signs of prying on the doors were easily visible, but apparently it was too much for this thief — the lock held the doors in place.

“Nothing was taken as far as we could tell,” she says.

Sgt. Kay Hughbanks with the Dallas Police Southwest Patrol Division says securing sheds like this with locks can prevent crimes, as evidenced in this case. Heavy-duty locks and chains certainly can help, but more expensive items should be kept in a garage.

The Birkhead family is happy their shed was spared and continues to enjoy their time in their special Oak Cliff home.

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

2 3 21

Men were arrested Aug. 12 after one of them fired shots at a Dallas police patrol car on the Margaret Hunt Hill bridge

Source: Dallas Police Department

Shots were fired from a black Nissan after a patrol officer noticed it swerving on the bridge and tried to pull over the driver

Age of the driver, who was accused of firing the shots. He also was charged with driving while intoxicated. No one was injured

jlewis@jlewiscpa.com

6301 Gaston Avenue, Suite 800 214-821-0829

The Weiss family legacy

They had no children, but the couple left our neighborhood a rich heritage Comment. Visit oakcliff.advocatemag.com/backstory to tell us what you think.

Just in case any of you have wondered about the “Weiss Building” imprint signage atop the brick facade over Hattie’s in Bishop Arts District, or about the Martin and Charlotte Weiss Building at Methodist Dallas Medical Center, or about Martin Weiss Park or Martin Weiss Elementary School, well, here’s the story.

Hungarian immigrant Martin Weiss arrived in New York City in early 1889. The 23-year-old was sent there alone by his widowed mother, who had scrimped and saved enough to pay for his passage. Inside her son’s coat, she had sewn $84.

Knowing no one, and neither reading nor speaking English, Weiss managed to secure a full-time job with a harness maker, earning a whopping $5 per week, and a part-time job serving as a guide to a blind violinist at $4 per week. After a year in NYC, Weiss decided to move to Gonzales, Texas, the home of the violinist’s sister and her family, where he lived with the family, worked for the sister’s husband, and learned to speak and write in English from the family’s daughter. Finally saving up a $125 nest egg, Weiss traveled to San Antonio, purchased some dry goods, bought a $2.90 train ticket and headed for what he believed to be greener pastures.

With only 60 cents left in his pocket when he arrived in San Marcos, Weiss used a drum and dinner bell he had purchased to attract customers, and stood on the town square with his wares. By mid-afternoon he had sold everything. Wiring the San Antonio wholesaler for more goods, Weiss repeated the pattern over and over until he acquired $2,000 worth of merchandise and had $1,350 in the bank.

Weiss did well. He married, became involved in civic activities, invested in a Beaumont oil business — and then proceeded to go broke.

In 1911 the Weisses arrived in Dallas, where they settled in a $10-per-month rent house in Oak Cliff. Weiss managed to borrow enough money from a local bank to purchase a bankrupt millenary business in

downtown Dallas. He also began investing in real estate.

Eventually, he made a fortune.

Even though during World War I the United States was fighting Hungary, the country of Weiss’s birth, Weiss mortgaged his home to purchase Liberty Bonds.

His generosity to the struggling seemed to have no boundaries. At Christmastime he donated toys and clothing to orphanages of all denominations. He let people live in his house rent-free until they were able to repay him. He awarded gold watches to the top students at Oak Cliff/Adamson High School and greatly supported the programs and growth of what was then called Methodist Hospital, a facility that sat only a few hundred yards away from his home on Bishop Avenue. He also donated money to the Dallas Park System.

Always striving to benefit his community, Weiss personally paid for the construction of a stage at what was then the Rialto Theater at 410 Bishop (currently the address of Artisans Collective in the Bishop Arts District).

“To accommodate ‘prologues and entertainments,’ a stage was installed in the Rialto in 1921,” wrote Bob Johnston in a July 29, 1926, Dallas Morning News article, stating that a new theater organization was being planned under the sponsorship of the Oak Cliff-Dallas Commercial Association and the Oak Cliff Society of Fine Arts. “Use of the Rialto Theater and of rooms nearby suitable for dressing rooms and rehearsal rooms has been granted by President [Martin] Weiss, who owns them, and an orchestra, headed by S. M.

Shaver, has offered its services for music at the productions.” Using the stage, the Oak Cliff Players — later the Oak Cliff Little Theater — presented its first production, opening on Dec. 6, 1926, for three performances of “Why Not?”

True to Weiss’ civic commitment, when the original cabin of early Oak Cliff settler

top: Painting of martin and Charlotte Weiss by Stephenson-marcoux: Patricia Summey. Above: martin Weiss was an arts patron, and he paid for the Rialto theater at 412 n Bishop out of his own pocket. It later was renamed Astor: Courtesy of Bob Johnston.

make your comments on this column

oakcliff.advocatemag.com/backstorY

William Henry Hord was scheduled for destruction in 1926, Weiss and his wife, Charlotte, were able to halt the plan and later donated the structure to Oak Cliff’s American Legion Post 275. In 1962, the cabin became a designated Texas Historical Landmark. Committed to helping improve Dallas and Oak Cliff until the end, Weiss also penned a 30-page booklet at 89, three years before his 1957 death, titled “Martin Weiss, Dallas Builder: his dreams of a great project, straightening and navigation of the Trinity River.”

Asked later about his philanthropy, Weiss explained his motivation: “I am only handing back to the people of my state what they give me. I can never repay all the United States has done for me, but I can show my gratitude, and in that I use as my guide the thought of what my mother would have me do.”

Interred in Dallas’ Emanu-el Cemetery, major Dallas philanthropists and civic leaders Martin and Charlotte Weiss died childless. But their tombstone tells their story the way they wanted it told: “To Live in Hearts We Leave Behind Is Not to Die.”

And certainly a reflection of his grateful and humble spirit, under Weiss’ name are the simple words: “Devoted and Beloved Husband.”

The world needs more Weisses.

Your stories

Longtime Cliffites recount memories and reconnect on oakcliff.advocatemag. com/backstory. Last month, Brooks sparked conversation with her article on show business people from Oak Cliff.

Thanks again for spotlighting the immense talent that has arisen from Oak Cliff. Hopefully this might change some people’s opinion about our home town.

—Danny Smith

In case you missed it, Stephen Tobolowsky’s brother Paul has just finished his first book, “Stardust Dancing,” a fairly amazing trip through our miraculous world and existence.

—Bob Morison

I just finished Stephen’s book, “The Dangerous Animals Club.” It was hilarious and poignant. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

—Ron Brannon

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.