2020 February Oak Cliff

PHOTO BY DANNY FULGENCIO

FEB. 22 DASH FOR THE BEADS

Have fun, take a run and support neighborhood schools. Dash for the Beads offers challenging 5K and 10K courses, or a 1-mile walk, through Kessler Park. Proceeds from the race go to neighborhood schools and nonprofits for physical fitness, nutrition and arts education. The after party with live music starts at 11 a.m.

$25-$70

Kidd Springs Park, 711 W. Canty St. dashforthebeads.org

5 things to do in Oak Cliff this February

FEB. 5-23

‘Loving and Loving’

This play about the U.S. Supreme Court Case Loving v. Virginia starts in the present day and flashes back to the 1950s when Richard and Mildred Loving were arrested for being an interracial couple.

$18-$30

Where: Bishop Arts Theatre Center, 215 S. Tyler St. More info: bishopartstheatre.org

FEB. 9

Yola

“Walk Through Fire,” if you must, to see Yola, the queen of country soul.

$22

Where: The Kessler, 1230 W. Davis St.

More info: thekessler.org

FEB. 11

My Bloody Valentine

Who says romance is dead? Catch this 1981 slasher flick, hosted by Joe Bob Briggs, with the one you want to hug on. $15-$18

Where: The Texas Theatre, 231 W. Jefferson Blvd. More info: thetexastheatre.com

FEB. 23

Mardi Gras parade

This year’s parade starts at 4 p.m. and follows the same route as previous years, down West Davis and through the Bishop Arts District.

Where: West Davis, from Windomere to Madison

More info: gooakcliff.org

LOST OAK CLIFF

SEE NEW STORIES EVERY DAY ONLINE AT OAKCLIFF.ADVOCATEMAG.COM

A new mural at the southwest corner of Hampton and Jefferson is a tribute to bygone Oak Cliff businesses, including Austin’s Bar-B-Q, Aunt Stelle’s, Rocket Skating Palace and Ravens Pharmacy. It’s the work of Oak Cliff-based artist Chris Bingham. The Kessler Plaza and Rivinia Heights neighborhood associations paid for the mural with grants from Heritage Oak Cliff and the City of Dallas Office of Planning and Urban Design.

on stepping down from KTCK, The Ticket, the radio station he helped coneive. Rhyner was born and raised in Oak Cliff and graduated from Kimball High School.

BLUES BROTHERS

The Vaughan brothers tribute planned for Kiest Park is finally expected to take shape this year. The City of Dallas commissioned artwork honoring Oak Cliff natives Stevie Ray and Jimmie Vaughan from Spanish sculptor Casto Solano in 2016. The piece consists of 10-foot-high screens printed with images of the musicians. It could be installed as early as March.

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ABOUT THE COVER

Peeling paint creates an appealing color palette in an alley behind the Local Oak.

Photography by Danny Fulgencio.

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Abitamim Bharmal spent his summer working as a welder, and he used $1,600 of the money he earned to give Dallas ISD students something he wishes he’d had. The 17-year-old senior at Yvonne A. Ewell Townview Center bought 3D printers for eight DISD elementary schools, including seven in Oak Cliff: Felix G. Botello, James Bowie, Cedar Crest, William Brown Miller and John F. Peeler. Bharmal also volunteered to train teachers and students at each school how to use the printers. He says he picked up using 3D printers as a hobby after his mom started taking him to a maker space (that’s also how he learned to weld), and he wants to become a mechanical engineer. “When I saw my money, I realized that I didn’t need anything,” Bharmal told DISD’s The Hub. “So I decided, ‘Why not give other kids this opportunity that I wish I had?’”

TOP STORIES

n DISD board member’s daughter charged with capital murder

n Bonnie and Clyde shootout house to be demolished or moved

n Police cameras, arrests, cars towed since Hampton/Davis spinout spectacle

n Oak Cliff’s own Chris Sapphire stars in Netflix reality show ‘The Circle’

n Who made this new mural on Hampton at Jefferson?

WE CAN’T STOP TALKING ABOUT

DING-DONG DRIVERS made a spectacle of their ostentatious cars late last year by blocking one of the city’s busiest intersections to skid around and set off fireworks. Their shennanigans, on West Davis at Hampton, were caught on video and uploaded to social media. Neighbors said this was at least the second time the “Fast and Furious” wannabes had done it. The Dallas Police Department erected a sky tower in the CVS parking lot, with a live feed that allows officers to observe the intersection in real time. They also intercepted another takeover that was planned on social media at the Sylvan Avenue bridge and at Hampton/ Davis, making arrests and impounding cars.

n Oak Cliff native CHRIS SAPPHIRE stars in the new Netflix reality series “The Circle.” Contestants on the show live in the same building but never meet in real life. They get to know each other through a social media network that’s also called “The Circle.” Then they’re picked off one-byone based on their network popularity. Sapphire was a pop culture correspondent on the bygone CW show “Eye Opener,” and he had his own show on YouTube, “The Chris Sapphire Show.” He’s also on “The Gag” podcast.

n The Dallas Peace and Justice Center gave AKWETE TYEHIMBA its lifetime achievement award in December. The award reads, “Her ability to bring people together for the common good and identify how their cultural heritage can be used to make the world a better place, has inspired and motivated Akwete. For decades, she has hosted cultural and local events that encourage connection and cooperation, helping to create a more peaceful community.”

Tyehimba is the owner of Pan African Connection and was one of The Oak Cliff Advocate’s “Fierce Females” in 2019.

Restaurateurs A.J. Gilbert and Martha Madison expect to open their new restaurant at the Mayor’s House on Zang soon. Madison also is a soap star who played Belle Black on “Days of Our Lives.” But it was their daughter, Charley, who was the star of our photo shoot with the family. Find this photo by Danny Fulgencio on Instagram, @OakCliffAdvocate

A PIECE OF THE PAST

Tillman’s Bishop Arts closed its doors at the end of last year. The restaurant had new owners starting in 2016, but it was founded by chef Ricky Tillman. Tillman started the restaurant with his wife, Sara, who is an Oak Cliff native, in 1992. Ricky Tillman was from Houston, and his younger brother was the musician Bill Tillman, who started playing for the Coasters, Chuck Berry, Roy Orbison and Gladys Knight in the 1960s. He joined Blood, Sweat and Tears as its lead singer, recording with the band and touring worldwide from 1973-1977. Later, Tillman moved to Dallas and started the 10-piece Bill Tillman Band. Here they are in a publicity photo on the Houston Street Viaduct sometime in the 1980s. “We watched Billy perform hundreds of times,” Sara Tillman says. “They were all over Dallas in the ’80’s.” Ricky Tillman died of cancer in 1997, and Bill Tillman died at age 65, after a fall in 2012. Watch a video of the Bill Tillman Band performing at oakcliff.advocatemag.com

WELCOME TO THE NEW SOC

THE $52-MILLION SOUTH OAK CLIFF HIGH SCHOOL

Story by RACHEL STONE | Photos courtesy of DALLAS ISD

SOUTH OAK CLIFF HIGH SCHOOL was built in 1949, but 70 years later, it’s not the same school.

A $52-million renovation took about two years to complete, and students returned to the campus in January.

The grand re-opening on a cold Saturday morning included a parade march from the school’s temporary digs at Village Fair up to the new school on Marsalis at Overton.

Improvements include a 2,000-seat competition gym, which doubles as a storm shelter, remodeled weight and locker rooms, new offices, an expanded cafeteria and a new roof as well as overall interior and exterior renovations.

Paint – Windows – Siding Gutters – Framing

AIRLINE CAREERS

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approved maintenance training at campuses coast to coast. Job placement assistance. Aid for qualifying students. Military friendly.

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Call Aviation Institute of Maintenance 800-481-7894

Get FAA approved maintenance training at campuses coast to coast. Job placement assistance. Financial Aid for qualifying students. Military friendly. Call Aviation Institute of Maintenance 800-481-7894

Get FAA approved maintenance training at campuses coast to coast. Job placement assistance. Financial Aid for qualifying students. Military friendly. Call Aviation Institute of Maintenance 800-481-7894

DENTAL Insurance

UP FRONT

When Kelsey Shaw threw a party for the release of her book last year, she ordered dozens of boob balloons and mammaryshaped cookies to serve her friends and family. Shaw, who lives in Kessler Square with her husband, Tucker, wrote and illustrated the 24-page “Boobies are for Babies,” which looks like a children’s book but is meant for new moms. It was inspired by the boredom and loneliness she felt after the birth of their daughter, Emma, in 2018. Their second baby, a son, is due this month.

What inspired this book?

I had multiple doctors tell me, starting when I was 16 years old, that I’d never be able to have children. My husband and I had been together for eight years when I got pregnant, and we didn’t even know it was within the realm of possibility. When we found out we were pregnant, my world shifted, and I freaked out. But my husband was great. He was like, “You know this is a really good thing, right?” I was in labor for 24 hours and had to have an emergency C-section. Then I was on maternity leave, and I was home alone with a baby all day. I felt really overwhelmed, but culturally, we have these archetypes where you can either be a badass career woman, and you hate kids. Or you are this really saccharine mother who has always wanted a baby. And I didn’t think I was either of those.

You mentioned that it started with a poem about nursing bras.

Yes, one day when Emma was asleep, I was online looking for a nursing bra that didn’t look like my grandmother designed it. I couldn’t find one, so I thought, “OK, Victoria’s Secret.” Normally I don’t even shop there, but like, bras are kind of their thing, so I thought surely they would have something. And they have nothing. I thought, “These are literally here to feed you, and there’s nothing I can buy that makes that easy to do that and makes me feel pretty.” So I wrote a stupid poem in 30 minutes about not being able to find a nursing bra.

Did you ever find one you liked?

No. Luckily Nordstrom will alter any bra to make it a nursing bra, and it’s $16.

How did the poem become a book?

When I was breastfeeding my daughter, I needed an outlet. So I got an iPad and Illustrator. My friends kept encouraging me to illustrate the poem, and when I did, they encouraged me to do a book.

There’s one page that’s about nurses bothering you. I was in the hospital for five days, and this nurse [points to illustration] was OK because she was just there to give me medication and check on me. This person [points again] was not cool because she would wake me up in the middle of

the night, like to sign off on insurance papers, even though my husband, who wasn’t recovering from major surgery, was right there sleeping in the same room.

What is your career background?

I always thought I wanted to be a lawyer, so I went to law school for a year, but I didn’t enjoy it. My mom says I should stop telling people that because it makes me sound like a dropout. But I don’t mind because I tried it, and I was brave enough to say, “This is not what I want to do.” I worked for tech startups that deal with e-commerce. That turned me into an entrepreneur, and I had a modeling agency in Arkansas, of all things. But that wasn’t it either.

What do you do now?

I work for Cristo Rey Dallas College Preparatory School, and I teach an arts entrepreneur class to ninth-graders. This is my fifth year, and they are the most inspiring, hard working kids ever.

How did you decide to focus more on your art?

Being creative is scary, and you run away from it. Maternity leave shocked me out of being able to control every situation. I was just sitting around for three months, and yes, I was caring for my daughter, but I felt so unproductive. But my daughter introduced this beautiful chaos to my life. Now she paints with me. When she’s done with her paintings, I draw women with their children into them. My style is so tight and controlled, and she’s way more chaotic and colorful. It’s been learning how to live and opening up this part of me that I didn’t know was there.

Who did you write this book for?

We did a pop-up in Oak Cliff, and this woman came up, and she was by herself, and she had a newborn baby with her. She stood there and read the book, and she just started crying, and she said, “That’s me.” Being a mom is really lonely, and no one talks about that. It’s not culturally acceptable to be like, “This feels very isolating, and I have no idea what I’m doing.” I want this to be something you can give to a mom who’s in a hospital bed that will make her feel not alone.

Find the book at boobiesareforbabies.com.

“Maternity leave shocked me out of being able to control every situation.”

TACOS SO OAK CLIFF

TROMPO BRINGS IT HOME TO BISHOP ARTS

THE RESTAURANT ON SINGLETON BOULEVARD was barebones, but the food hit it out of the park. The small, simple and inexpensive menu attracted people from all over Dallas, and Trompo made Bon Appetit magazine’s list of the 50 best new restaurants in America in 2016.

Many Oak Cliffers already knew about Luis Olvera’s prowess with pork. He began hosting pop-up dinners in his backyard about 10 years ago. Olvera learned how to make trompo, spitgrilled pork, during summers spent working in his uncle’s restaurant in Monterrey, Nuevo León, as a kid. And many of the recipes come from family; the chicken tinga is his mom’s recipe, and the rajas con queso is from his uncle.

While Olvera had no intention of closing the Singleton location, it was the Oak Cliff native’s dream to open a restaurant in the Bishop Arts area. That vision became reality in September when he opened Trompo Bishop Arts in a renovated former office complex on West Tenth Street at Bishop Avenue.

Trompo still has the same menu as the Singleton location, which closed because of a dispute with the landlord, but Olvera added a few new items.

The trompo slider comes with a burger patty, trompo meat, mozzarella and salami. The restaurant also offers daily specials, such as crispy-shell tacos dorados, and brunch on Sundays. Don’t expect eggs at this brunch,

Story by RACHEL STONE | Photography by KATHY TRAN

Above: An assortment of tacos at Trompo Bishop Arts. Opposite page: The trompo slider, which has a burger patty, mozzarella cheese, salami, trompo meat and avocado.

though. Anyone can make eggs at home, Olvera says. Here, you will find three or four varieties of all-you-caneat guisado. Recently it was chicharón en salsa verde, albondigas soup and carne en su jugo. Brunch also features picadillo tacos and chorizo con papa, plus three other specialty tacos.

Unlike the Singleton location, this version of Trompo will serve beer and wine once it obtains a license from the state. Olvera spent six months creating a wine list with Ben Reynolds of Knife and Jeff Gregory of FT33. They wanted wines that paired well with anything on the menu and could be offered at the same price.

The new version of Trompo also has house-made corn tortillas and a vegan taco.

Black Swan Yoga opened at about the same time in the same building as Trompo and has driven a lot of business to the taquería, Olvera says. Many of the practitioners that wander over wanted a vegan option.

It’s a griddled sweet potato slice with tinga spice, cabbage and avocado.

Opening a restaurant in Bishop

DID YOU KNOW?

Luis Olvera commissioned the mural on the exterior wall, which is by Mariell Guzman.

Arts has its own challenges, including losing some of his lunch regulars who are Downtown workers, but Olvera says the support from Oak Cliff has always been there.

“I’ve been blessed beyond what most business owners can imagine,” he says. “From the moment I started my pop-ups, I’ve just gotten so much support. There aren’t words to express the love I’ve felt.”

RESTAURANT GUIDE

Shayna’s Place

Now open daily from 7am - 9pm

Come enjoy delicious sandwiches, salads, smoothies and pastries, as well as a local selection of coffees and sodas. BYOB. Mentionthisadandreceive afreedripcoffee.

1868 Sylvan Ave., Suite D150 469.575.3663 shaynasplace.com

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Romance on a budget

SIX

GREAT DATES THAT WON’T BREAK THE BANK

Story by RACHEL STONE | Photography by DANNY FULGENCIO

Dating is expensive. It’s easy to drop $100 on just the car-share ride and dinner. But there are plenty of ways to keep romance alive without dropping a lot of cash.

Take a staycation

It’s OK to date yourself. If you can manage to leave your kids for a night, and you have $50 to blow, sneak a little me time in a tiny house in someone’s Oak Cliff backyard. Our neighborhood’s AIRBNB offerings include a Shasta trailer in the Bishop Arts District for about $69 a night or a guesthouse with pool access for about $90 a night. You can also live your best Euro-trash life and stay in a Gucci-themed “penthouse” for about $70 a night. If Oak Cliff is too close to home, venture across the bridge to the Lower Greenville area, where there’s a 1980s-themed AIRBNB that features a Ninja Turtles arcade, Nintendo and all the junky cereal you could want for a little over $100 a night.

MORE INFO: airbnb.com

ALSO TRY: Downtown hotels

This will cost you more, like $100-$300 a night, but there’s cable TV, room service and a pool.

Top: A tiny AIRBNB in Bishop Arts. Right: The Gucci suite.

Bottom: An AIRBNB shotgun house overlooking the Trinity River.

Photos via AIRBNB

Wednesday night jazz at Revelers Hall

This is tricky because if your partner is a big drinker, it will not be a cheap date. Otherwise, it’s a $5 per person suggested donation for the band, and y’all can practice your swing-dance moves and people-watch while nursing fancy cocktails.

WHERE: Revelers Hall, 412 N. Bishop Ave.

MORE INFO: revelershall.com

ALSO TRY: The Wild Detectives, 314 W. Eighth St.

Watch for live-music events at The Wild Detectives, which often have a local or multicultural bent and typically cost less than $20 for entry.

Watch a bad movie on VHS

Such classic titles as “Geteven,” “Empire of the Dark” and other films that rate below three stars on Rotten Tomatoes show up on the big screen during Tuesday Night Trash at the Texas Theatre. The theater reserves every first and third Tuesday to showing terrible movies on VHS. They’re fun; they’re funny; and best of all, they’re free.

WHERE: The Texas Theatre, 231 W. Jefferson Blvd.

MORE INFO: thetexastheatre.com

ALSO TRY: Top Ten Records, 338 W. Jefferson Blvd. Be on the lookout for live music events at Top Ten, which often feature avant-garde and experimental acts, usually for $5-$10.

Find a happy hour

Did you know that happy hour is not even common in many other cities? You are so lucky to live in Dallas, where discount-drink time sometimes goes until 7 p.m. Sip handcrafted cocktails at Tiny Victories, when they’re half price from 4-7 p.m. Tuesday-Friday. Bolsa similar deal. Most cocktails cost $5 from 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Friday. And those are just a couple of examples. If you really want to get down, try El Ranchito enormous margaritas cost $4 during happy hour (3-6 p.m. Monday-Thursday). They also offer a $5 plate of plain chicken nachos during happy hour, plus the free chips and salsa, a jukebox playing ’90s R&B and very entertaining regulars.

ALSO TRY: Monday-night sushi at Zen, 380 W. Seventh St. They say you shouldn’t eat sushi on Mondays, but honey, you should if it’s half price. A limited number of rolls and nigiri costs $3-$5 each all night on Mondays.

Tiny Victories

Photography by Kathy Tran

El Ranchito

Local Oak

Parker Barrows

Roller disco

Southern Skates Roller Rink is cheap because your tax dollars subsidize it. The City of Dallas owns it, and the park and recreation department runs it. The rink has limited hours. Open skate only happens on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, and otherwise it’s available to rent for private parties. But on Thursday nights, it’s adults only skate from 9:30 p.m.-1 a.m. It costs just $5 for entry and $3 for skate rental.

WHERE: Southern Skates Roller Rink, 2939 E. Ledbetter Dr.

MORE INFO: southernskates.com

ALSO TRY: Red Bird Skateland, 1206 N. Duncanville Road

Adults only skate is from 8:30-9:30 p.m. Thursdays. Admission costs $3 and includes skate rental.

Go hiking

Twelve Hills Nature Center is the small-but-mighty preserve on the edge of the Kings Highway neighborhood. With a half-mile unpaved path, it’s perfect for a sunset walk with someone you’re getting to know. It also features semi-private nature nooks where you can have a picnic on a blanket and maybe even a bit of a make-out sesh. Look for more events here this spring. The nonprofit that runs the park is planning free events such as educational nature walks.

MORE INFO: twelvehills.org

ALSO TRY: Cedar Ridge Preserve 7171 Mountain Creek Pkwy. This hiking trail on the edge of Duncanville features several miles of trail, including one quarter-mile trail that is wheelchair accessible.

GROCERY SHOP SMALL

The trend of boutique groceries hits Oak Cliff

STORY BY RACHEL STONE | PHOTOGRAPHY BY DANNY FULGENCIO

MEGA SUPER STORES TOOK HOLD of America in the 1980s and ’90s, but more recently, retailers are moving toward smaller footprint stores, especially in urban areas. Shoppers are more likely to have their groceries delivered, and they’re less likely to stockpile food. About 10% of American shoppers only buy groceries they’re likely to use that day, according to a 2018 Nielson report. That diminishes the demand for supermarkets, and Dallas is catching onto the trend. A 2,500-square-foot

Tom Thumb Express store opened on Haskell Avenue in 2018, for example. In our neighborhood, the 3,000-square-foot Cox Farms Market flourishes on Fort Worth Avenue at Sylvan. And our neighborhood’s Aldi stores are packed at 6 p.m. any given weeknight.

Three more small grocery stores are coming online in Oak Cliff in 2020. Here are their stories.

Royal Blue Grocery

The owners of Royal Blue Grocery didn’t get everything they wanted from the City of Dallas. City Council voted in January to approve a $350,000 low-interest loan for the grocer to expand its operation at 634 W. Davis, the former Bolsa Mercado. But they threw out the company’s request for an additional $350,000 economic development grant. Royal Blue already has three stores in Dallas, two in Downtown and one in Highland Park. The owners wanted the loan and grant to open a store at the West Davis location and for improvements to its “commissary” operation, which already runs out of that space, producing grab-and-go foods for its other three stores.

Zac Porter, who co-owns the company, declined to comment for this story and hasn’t said whether the company will take the deal. Even if they do, it’s unclear whether Royal Blue will open a store on West Davis or just expand its commissary kitchen there.

WHY IT’S TRENDING: Oak Cliffers opposed to the Royal Blue subsidies argued that its price points are too high: “No one wants to pay $6.99 for a carton of eggs.” But market research says otherwise. Consumers are willing to pay a premium for “quality, convenience and healthfulness,” according to Winsight Grocery Business.

When will Central Market open a store in Oak Cliff? Find our answer at oakcliff. advocatemag.com.

Royal Blue Grocery operates a kitchen at 634 W. Davis St. that produces prepared foods for its three Dallas stores. It’s unclear whether the grocer will open a store here.

Opposite page: Ann’s Health Food Center and Market has served Oak Cliff for decades, but the family owned company’s newest store on Red Bird Lane is a smallfootprint concept, described as a healthy convenience store.

Lucky Mouth Grocery

Oak Cliff became a beacon for vegans — vegetarians who also abstain from eggs and dairy — starting with Spiral Diner, which opened on Beckley Avenue over a decade ago. Now we have several all-vegan restaurants, including Recipe Oak Cliff and Vegan Food House.

The city’s first vegan grocery store, Lucky Mouth, opened on West Davis at Zang in January.

Husband-and-wife partners Adriana Martinez Miers and David Miers started the business online in 2018. Customers placed their orders on their website and picked up groceries once a week at Rebel Workshop, the Design District hair salon that Adriana owns.

“About three years ago, I decided that any diet other than vegan was ridiculous,” David says. “Nothing should have to suffer for me to have food on my plate. I don’t need second-hand protein. Cows get their protein from vegetables, and I can do the same.”

When the Mierses visited other cities such as New York,

Portland, Austin and Houston, they found vegan groceries where they could eat anything in the store without reading labels.

It was a revelation, and they wanted that for themselves and for Dallas, so they did it themselves.

Lucky Mouth carries everything from dish soap and drinks to vegan shrimp and pastrami. They’re also applying for a license to sell beer and wine.

The owners are particularly excited about All Vegetarians Inc. bacon.

“It cooks like bacon. It tastes like bacon,” David says. “It’s awesome. It’s a top seller.”

WHY IT’S TRENDING:

The global vegan food market was valued at more than $12 billion in 2018, according to Grand View Research. Frozen foods also are an area of growth as more healthful and specialty foods are becoming available.

Left: Lucky Mouth Grocery, the city’s first all-vegan grocery store, opened on West Davis at Zang in January.

Ann’s Health Food

Ann Munchrath bought the Oak Cliff health food store where she worked in 1984.

Ann’s Health Food Center and Market provided fresh produce, healthy packaged foods and vitamins for decades at a time when many grocers wouldn’t touch Oak Cliff.

Now the company, which also has a store in Waxahachie, is run by a second generation of the Munchrath family, and they’re expanding with a new concept.

They’re opening a new store in the Square 67 shopping center on Red Bird Lane at U.S. 67 soon, and it’s different from the other two Ann’s stores.

This is a smaller concept offering a smoothie bar, prepackaged foods such as salads and wraps, plus some produce and supplements.

General manager Ryan Muchrath says Ann’s is taking a space that’s just 2,500 square feet, and they envision the new shop as a “healthy convenience store.” If this store does well, the company plans to expand the concept to other parts of the Dallas area, Munchrath says.

WHY

IT’S TRENDING:

Convenience foods are one of the top grocery trends for 2020, according to FoodBev magazine. Not only do consumers want grab-and-go items, they’re also looking for meal kits and more variety in prepared foods.

ONLY IN OAK CLIFF

WHAT DOES ‘FURNDWARE’ MEAN?

NEW PINK NEON appeared on Jefferson Boulevard last year, spelling out some confusion among neighbors. What in the world is “Furndware?” After Oak Cliff resident Patrick Craine bought the old Oak Cliff Paint and Hardware building from its longtime owner, Elijah Day, a few years ago, he wanted the renovations to pay tribute to the building’s former life. The shop’s sign at various times read “furniture,” and “hardware,” but those two words blended together after years of fading. “We just really liked the hybrid nature of the sign when Eli had it,” Craine says. “Hardware store, hoarder’s paradise and fix-it shop.” The building currently is for lease, and Craine says he is looking for just the right retail or restaurant tenant.

Story by RACHEL STONE | Photography by DANNY FULGENCIO

By ESTELLA “BETH” FERREE

How to combat compassion fatigue

Caring about the world can be depressing

We drove the back streets of one of the poorest neighborhoods in Dallas, seeking out those stuck in an endless cycle of poverty, homelessness and hopelessness. In the back of the car, within easy reach, were several bags and purses filled with necessities for daily survival. Our focus was younger women still of child-bearing age, for these bags held not only snacks, soap and toothbrushes, but also the necessities that make a monthly menstrual cycle more bearable. Occasionally we would pause in the street and watch as a woman looked into the bag. The smile of discovery was everything for me. I was homeless at one time, so I know exactly how this kindness feels to a broken soul.

The first principle of Unitarian Universalism: We affirm and promote the inherent worth and dignity of every person. As a group with a long history of social justice and action work, it is not enough to accept that all are worthy. We must work to ensure they have their needs met. We find ourselves called to address injustices, from housing to environmental, from climate change to poverty. Some march in protest; some work with the prison system. Often we struggle to keep the balls in the air while trying to simultaneously live a personal life. Social justice is a noble and an exhausting goal.

Compassion fatigue is a very real problem. We wake up to social media timelines filled; failures in our political system. School shootings have become as commonplace as makeup tips. Many wake up with feelings of dread, wondering what calamity is calling for another battle cry. Some cry themselves to sleep and cry out to the heavens, “when will it be my turn?” Like a soldier dragged into battle, the enervation is palpable. And, just as with the soldier, the warrior for social justice can experience depression and suicidal feelings.

Too often those of us who fight against injustices view ourselves as Don Quixote without a loyal Sancho Panza by our side. Because we are members of the human

race, and social creatures, this feeling of being one against the immoral does not serve us well. It is time we join with those of like mind and create a new paradigm that is less about the battle and more about the small actions that move us toward the goal.

When you are struggling with compassion fatigue there are things you can do to find your way back without losing your mind.

• Engage in self-care. Recognize when you are getting to the point of weariness and take a day off. Read a book, watch a movie or take time to engage in a hobby. Allow yourself a stretch of time when your life is about you.

• Go out and enjoy nature. The Unitarian Universalist Church of Oak Cliff has a labyrinth on the grounds that is a wonderful place to reconnect with the spiritual side and enjoy the beauty of the world around us. The surrounding wooded areas also provide solace and serenity. Anyone is welcome to take advantage of this small slice of heaven within the city limits.

• Find your purpose. It’s not realistic to take on every source of injustice we see in the headlines. You are but one body, and it’s essential you find something that you believe in so strongly that you find yourself filled with determination and direction. For myself it is the issue of homelessness. For one of my friends it is the environment. Ask yourself, what is the one cause you feel you have the best chance of making a difference? Listen to your heart and follow that path.

• Gather your social network. Join a group that best represents the topic that speaks to you. There you will find the people who will be there when things get tough and will celebrate the victories with you.

Estella “Beth” Ferree is the social justice chair at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Oak Cliff. The Worship section is underwritten by Advocate Publishing and the neighborhood businesses and churches listed here. For information about helping support the Worship section, call 214.560.4202.

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By RACHEL STONE

The Barrow Gang and Hattie Rankin Moore

How a criminal enterprise inspired a lasting nonprofit

The shotgun duplex at 3111 N. Winnetka is the site where Clyde Barrow made himself infamous.

It’s where he wound up killing Tarrant County sheriff’s deputy Malcolm Davis in a case of bad timing. After that, Barrow became a well-known fugitive from justice, culminating in the violent deaths of West Dallas outlaws Bonnie and Clyde less than a year and a half later.

The building is still standing, barely, but it’s not long for this world. The privately owned Wesley-Rankin Community Center owns the building, known as the Lillie McBride house because of its place in the history of Bonnie and Clyde.

The nonprofit wants it demolished or moved because it’s been broken into multiple times, says Wesley-Rankin executive director Shellie Ross. The break-ins “raised safety concerns for the community we serve,” she says. “Our board decided to either demolish the house or have it removed from the premises.” Ross says they haven’t come to any agreement about the house, and they’re weighing whether to move or demolish it.

It’s not just a coincidence that a nonprofit meant to serve the impoverished residents of West Dallas happened to own the Lillie McBride House. The Barrow Gang actually played a role in the history of the nonprofit, but more on that later.

First, here’s what happened at the Lillie McBride house, according to Jeff Guinn’s 2009 book, “Go Down Together: The True, Untold Story of Bonnie and Clyde.”

Few places in West Dallas tell the story

of the Barrow Gang as well as this one.

It’s a few blocks from the Barrow Filling Station, Clyde’s family home on Eagle Ford Road, now Singleton Boulevard. He grew up with Lillie McBride, who was the sister of Barrow Gang member Raymond Hamilton.

On Jan. 6, 1933, six lawmen were lying in wait at the McBride house for Otis Chambliss, a West Dallas criminal who was cozy with McBride, because Chambliss had robbed the Home Bank of Grapevine about a week before.

Around the same time, Barrow was scheming to break Hamilton out of jail

by having his sister smuggle hacksaw blades inside a radio she’d brought to him in the Hillsboro jail. That night, Barrow dropped by her house to ask if she’d done it.

When Barrow walked up, armed with a shotgun, McBride’s sister, who knew the cops were there, screamed for no one to shoot because her children were asleep in the house.

Barrow immediately started shooting, and he killed Davis, who was 51.

Barrow managed to escape, and Bonnie drove around and picked him up on the next block. They headed west

on Eagle Ford Road and out of Dallas.

Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker were killed in a law-enforcement ambush on May 23, 1934. By then, they’d fallen out with Raymond Hamilton. But he was a bad guy in his own right.

Here’s how the dastardly legacy of the Barrow Gang led to creation of the Wesley-Rankin Community Center.

In 1935, church worker Hattie Rankin Moore read a newspaper story about Hamilton, who was condemned to die by electric chair. Moore was moved by Hamilton’s mother’s grief, so she went to visit her in West Dallas.

Moore prayed with Hamilton’s mother and family. She sat with them on the night of his execution and arranged his funeral.

Moore, who lived on Swiss Avenue but had spent years serving impoverished

communities in San Antonio, rented a house in West Dallas and offered church services to people in the neighborhood. She went door-to-door in the city’s worst slums recruiting neighbors to church services. Her church, Eagle Ford Mission, grew to about 100 members, and even Clyde Barrow’s mother, Cumie Barrow, attended.

At a time when even police officers avoided West Dallas, Moore taught Sunday school classes in the backyard of the home of Floyd Hamilton, the younger brother of Raymond Hamilton. Floyd Hamilton was also a criminal who did time at Alcatraz.

After four West Dallas boys who Moore knew were charged with murder for beating a man to death, Moore was determined to start a recreation league to give neighborhood kids something to

do other than make trouble.

She wrote in a letter to the editor: “Folks wonder why so many West Dallas boys turn out to be criminals … they haven’t a dog’s chance to be anything else. We have no parks, no playgrounds, no handy schools, no lights, no water, no gas. The dogs in Dallas are housed better than our boys and girls.”

Eagle Ford Mission eventually was renamed Wesley-Rankin Community Center, and it is owned by the Methodist Church. A nearby city of Dallas park was named in her honor.

The Wesley-Rankin Community Center continues to serve West Dallas residents of all ages, offering afterschool care and summer programs for children, GED and ESL classes for adults and activities for seniors. Find more information at wesleyrankin.org.

Opposite page: Raymond Hamilton’s mug shot and a photo of Hattie Rankin Moore. Above: The Lillie McBride House at 3111 N. Winnetka.