November/December 2011

Surrey

Taking You Places Today!

Leading

by Example RSU’s Dr. Larry Rice A Different Kind of Artist A Family Tradition Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art

The Jukebox Doc

Winter Winter 2011 2011 Vol. Vol. 44 No. No. 22 •• AA Claremore Claremore Daily Daily Progress Progress Publication Publication

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A Different Kind of Artist - 6

Surrey Taking You Places Today!

Vol. 4 No.2 n WINTER 2011

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A Different Kind of Artist Clayton Coss only needs a tree trunk and a chainsaw to create art.

TRAVELOGUE: Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art A new museum in Bentonville, Arkansas is bringing world-class art to the region. The collection from Alice Walton is a museum that rivals other musems in Kansas City, Dallas, even New York.

Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art -10

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A Family Tradition Finding just the right Christmas tree is no easy task. Families in the Rogers County region are discovering excellent holiday trees at the Owasso Tree and Berry Farm

Leadership by Example: Dr. Larry Rice Dr. Larry Rice is a quiet and resolute man. As president of Rogers State University he has overseen many achievements in the growth of the institution, making it one of the best in Oklahoma.

The Jukebox Doc Dave Kauffman has turned his hobby of repairing and revitalizing old jukeboxes into a labor of love. He is breathing life into the giant boxes to fill the air with golden oldies.

The Jukebox Doc - 28

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Of art and holiday preparations Holidays are centered around family.

Relatives gather to play with grandchildren. Aromas of home cooking fill the air. There is a coolness blowing over the plain, Christmas cannot be far off.

From Thanksgiving to New Years Day, it’s all about being with family and friends.

As we begin to decorate our homes, one of the most important tasks is finding the right Christmas tree. Whether you choose a fresh Douglas fir or an artificial tree with pre-installed lights, the tree will be the centerpiece of your home.

In this issue of Surrey, we take you to the Owasso Tree and Berry Farm where Bill Jacobs helps create family traditions.

For more than 24 years Jacobs’ family have been growing Christmas trees and giving families the opportunity to select and cut their own. With more than 1,400 trees to choose from, families can find a tree to fit any space.

RANDY COWLING Surrey readers will find profiles of two different artists and a look a the new world-class Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. Put a chainsaw in Clayton Coss’ hands and he will transform a tree trunk into a work of art. Dorothy Willman Cummins shares the unique story of how Coss began as a chainsaw artist.

She also reveals how Inola’s Dave Kauffman began repairing old music jukeboxes as a hobby and now is turning old parts into beautiful music producing machines.

Dr. Larry Rice, president of Rogers State University, is approaching his fourth anniversary with the institution. His leadership has expanded RSU’s role in the community, expanded resources for students and enlarged the university’s role in the community.

Rice has provided a guiding hand that is making RSU a shining jewel in Oklahoma and across the nation.

Enjoy this season and take time to give thanks Randy Cowling

4 Winter 2011 Surrey

Surrey Taking you places today!

Surrey©2011 All rights reserved.

Published Bi-monthly by The Daily Progress PUBLISHER Bailey Dabney EDITOR/DESIGNER Randy Cowling CONTRIBUTORS Dorothy Willman Cummins Randy Cowling ADVERTISING Misti Grannemann Kim McCool Melissa Ring Cinda Vaughan CREATIVE DEPARTmENT Brenda Hall Amy Walsh

SEND COMMENTS TO: The SURREY @ The Daily Progress 315 W. Will Rogers Boulevard Claremore, OK 74017 P.O. Box 248 Claremore, OK 74018 E-mail — rcowling@claremoreprogress.com ADVERTISING INFORMATION: (918) 341-1101 addir@claremoreprogress.com All copy and advertising in the Surrey are copyrighted and cannot be reproduced. Some photos used by permission of source.

A Different Kind of Artist Clayton Coss finds beauty from within the trunk

6 Winter 2011 Surrey

Give Clayton Coss a chainsaw and a work of art will appear

By Dorothy Willman Cummins Artists usually create their masterpieces using brushes and applying paint to canvas.

Clayton Coss is a different kind of artist.

He uses chain saws instead of brushes and his masterpieces are carved from dead trees.

Inola resident Glen Crane recently commissioned the noted artist to turn the remains of an old tree into a wooden statue.

Coss pulled his pickup and trailer into Crane’s drive about 8:30 a.m.

Artist and client conferred briefly before Coss unloaded his equipment. First he assembled scaffolding and started a chain saw, one of the six or seven that he carries to every work site.

He stripped all the bark from the dead oak tree and smoothed the surfaces.

By noon, the saws in his skilled hands had sculpted a proudly perched eagle atop the tall tree stump. Every movement highlighted the bird ‘s

appearance – from sharp beak and talons to neatly groomed feathers.

With the eagle near completion, Coss turned his attention lower on the plained stump. Circling the remains of the tree, he lifted his chain saw, then shook his head and moved slightly.

Viewing the tree from a slightly different angle, the artist smiled, nodded and lifted the saw again.

This time he began carving, first creating a circle. That circle soon developed into a realistic hollow in the tree.

Next, Coss carved the face of a curious little raccoon peering from his hideaway.

Before dark, the artist’s work was done, including treating the carving to protect it against insects and weather.

Crane hopes to have the artist back next spring to turn another dead tree into a wooden statue.

He will have to schedule the work weeks, perhaps months in advance. Coss has been getting more calls than usual because so many area trees died during the severe heat this past summer.

Winter 2011

Surrey

7

Coss began his work after competing in a chainsaw carving contest at the Will Rogers Memorial Museum.

Coss has carved literally thousands of dead trees into wildlife and human likenesses.

His artistic career began when his father, Buford Coss, talked him into entering a chain saw carving contest during Will Rogers Days.

That was in 1985. A year later, Clayton Coss was a full time chain saw artist.

He said he first focused on just carving an object. Then he started to learn more about form and composition and then started to study anatomy of birds and animals.

He also got some pointers from other chain saw artists, but had no lessons.

Clayton Coss said his carving skills are God’s gift, and he acknowledges that gift every time he completes a carving. He “signs” each piece with a cross, his last name and the date.

Now an Inola resident, the artist has sculptures in wood as close as the Inola library grounds and as far away as neighboring states. He created a likeness of Pistol Pete on the OSU campus, and has numerous likenesses of Will Rogers at the Will Rogers Memorial Museum.

His work is featured in Bartlesville and in sculptures in the park and on the courthouse lawn in Pratt, Kansas. A delightful little book, “In the Trees of Tulsa,” highlights many of his earlier pieces.

Now out of print, a copy of the book is in the reference area of the Claremore Library.

Later works are featured in a video titled “Tulsa Treasures.” Some of his creations are in front of businesses. He carved a chef in front of Williams Sonoma at Tulsa’s Utica Square.

He stayed on site at the Salvation Army sponsored Heart O Hills Camp near Tahlequah for al8 Winter 2011 Surrey

This raccoon emerges from the side of tree after Coss is finished. most two weeks to complete the carvings of an Indian brave and a small boy.

That pair of figures has served as a welcome to ever so many campers.

The artist said he usually picks one or two pieces per year as “favorites”. Some of his all time favorites are carvings at Veterans Park and 21st and Boulder in Tulsa and in the Veterans Park in Moore. The Moore carvings depict four combat soldiers in different wars.

Clayton Coss’ phone keeps ringing with requests to come see remains of dead trees.

They are his next canvasses, just awaiting the touch of his saw.

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TRAVELOGUE

Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art has a distinct and organic look on the outside with classic pieces of artwork on the inside.

World class museum offers region great works of art

By Randy Cowling Nestled in the hills of Northwest Arkansas in the shadow of Wal-Mart's international headquarters is a new diamond in the rough.

Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art., a new world-class museum has just opened to great fanfare in Bentonville, Ark. The museum sits on 120 acres where more than 500 dogwood trees can be found.

It's the gift of Wal-Mart heiress Alice L. Walton, daughter of Sam Walton.

8 Winter 2011 Surrey

The Walton Family Foundation has endowed the museum with $800 million. A gift by Wal-Mart has made admission to the new museum free.

It is not a regional attraction, but one whose collection rivals any art museum found in Kansas City, Missouri, Dallas, Texas, even New York.

That's just what Mrs. Walton's goal has been.

"From its beginning Crystal Bridges has been guided by certain key precepts. the Museum should offer the finest examples of American art possible, and hold education at the very core of its mission," the museum's brochure states.

TRAVELOGUE

Crystal Bridges celebrates American art The collection is comprised of artwork collected by Mrs. Walton over many years and features some iconic images included Norman Rockwell's “Rosie the Riveter” and an Andy Warhol portrait of “Dolly Parton.”

Visitors will not be disappointed by the wide range of pieces.

Two portraits of founding father George Washington are in one wing of the museum that gives the feel of a National Portrait Gallery.

Charles Willson Peale and Winter 2011 Surrey 11

In one of the great halls at Crystal Bridges pine beams give the sense of being under a bridge.

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Several key pieces in the collection feature George Washington and other Colonial-era leaders Gilbert Stuart's portraits of Washington leave visitors with a sense of being in a Washington D. C. gallery. In that section are also six Colonial Era portraits of the Levy-Franks family.

Curators are committed to following those precepts to education. The collection spans five centuries of American masterpieces. Some of the artists whose work is prominently displayed are Georgia O'Keefee, John Baldessari, Jenny Holzer, Jackson Pollock, Maxfield Parrish, Asher Durand. John Singleton Copley and Martin Johnson Heade.

The collection will continue to grow as more pieces are purchased and added.

The museum was designed by world renowned architect Moshe Safie. The museum sits within a heavily wooded area that is a 10minute walk from downtown Bentonville, where Sam Walton began his retail empire.

Two ponds were created with a series of waterways flowing around the center. Inside are polished concrete walls and pine beams curving overhead.

For more information go to www.CrystalBridges.org

Winter 2011 Surrey 13

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree

Family Tradition

The Brandon Parker family looks for the right Christmas tree at the Owasso Tree and Berry Farm.

Finding what will be center stage during the holiday season Surrey Winter 2011

15

Owasso Tree and Berry Farm The place to be for holiday preprations

By Randy Cowling As far as you can see there is greenery.

Over 40 acres one can see rows and rows of blackberry plants line the landscape. Now a small section is being filled with forage that will soon emerge with blueberry plant.

What is seen with abundance are evergreen trees dotting the space.

Some small, just lifting out of the soil, while others are in their adolescent years. The large fully grown firs and pines stand proud at the Owasso Tree and Berry Farm.

For 24 years Paula and Bill Jacobs have turned this fertile soil where families make pilgrimage each summer and winter to pick their own berries and select a Christmas tree that will be cut and take center stage in their homes.

What once began on a plot of land near Collinsville some 30 years ago, but had to be moved because of flooding, now is a place where more

16 Winter 2011 Surrey

than 1,400 Christmas trees can be found each November and December.

Bill Jacobs is hands on when it comes to making sure the Christmas trees are ready. Many are grown right on site and a small number are shipped in the meet the ever growing demand during the holiday season. Fresh cut trees are the mainstay, but Jacobs does offer a variety of wreaths, garland and greenery for decoration.

Each year families trek to the farm to make their special selection.

"Some have come for years and years," Bill Jacobs said. "It's is a family tradition.�

Brandon and Shannon Parker began bringing their family to the tree farm three years ago.

"We used to have a fake tree until we started coming here," Brandon said. "I've always wanted a real tree. Growing up we never had the money to get one.

My kids have never had a real trees. Whenever we had the ability to come out and get a real tree we do."

The Broken Arrow family of six gets anxious about going to select their Christmas tree.

"The kids count down the days until we come here," Shannon Park said. "They really love the family tradition. We each take a turn.

Daddy starts it and everybody takes a turn cutting it and we stop and take a picture of each person."

The Parkers find it is best to get to the tree farm as early as they can. This year they arrived on the second day the farm opened.

Families searching for trees can come early and look over the rows and rows of trees, select which one they want and tag it with a bright pink ribbon. Once they pay for it, an orange tag goes on the tree until they return to have it cut

Bill Jacobs and his family have been growing Christmas trees for more than 24 years.

Winter 2011 Surrey 17

The Jacobs family helps make holiday family traditions down.

Brandon said "I can handle carrying the tree, but if I can't there is always someone here to help us carry it to the car."

We've had people that still shop with us since we started and now their kids and their grandkids are

coming. It's a real family tradition and people like to come."

The role of the Christmas tree is one of warmth and security.

"Some old timers from Oregon one told us that in hard times more people purchase a Christmas tree," he said. In 2011 the Jacobs had

their biggest season, as many people wanted to have a sense of family and comfort during the Christmas season.

In 2011, the downturn in economy might have kept many people away, but Jacobs found quite the opposite as it was his biggest year in sales since 2011.

"We're expecting the same this year. We've been here since 1987."

The Owasso Tree and Berry Farm is the perfect farm to find that special holiday tree.

The varieties of trees include Virginia Pine, Noble Douglas Grand or Fraser Firs.

Their son, Brent Jacobs, has joined the business, expanding operations into offering flowering ornamental and shade trees for sale to the public. The lion share of their business is Christmas trees and blackberries.

When families select their Christmas tree they place a pink ribbon around the tree before they purchase tree.

18 Winter 2011 Surrey

The Brandon Parker family walks through a row of trees looking for that special one to pick.

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Winter 2011 Surrey 19

Leading by Example Dr. Larry Rice brings RSU to prominence

RSU enrollment growing, campus life changing

By Randy Cowling Dr. Larry Rice has a great view of Claremore from the presidential office on the Hill on the Rogers State University campus. Since February 2008 he’s been surveying the landscape of education on the fastest growing campus in Dr Larry Rice, right, welcomes new Athletic Director Ryan Bradley.

Oklahoma while building stronger ties through the region.

Rice, a quiet and unassuming man, leads through example. He has ushered RSU to a new level while always acknowledging those previous presidents who came before him, RSU now is a burgeoning campus with more than 4,700 students. New facilities are emerging almost every day to meet the growing demands of the university.

“The academic and programmatic quality found at RSU continues to attract record numbers of students,” Rice said. “This serves as a testament to the commitment made by our faculty and staff to Rogers State University debuts a new student newspaper, The Hillpost provide students with an exceptional academic experience.” during Dr. Larry Rice’s tenure.

More than 3,000 students are on RSU’s main campus in Claremore with more than 400 students attending classes in Bartlesville and another 300 student at the Pryor campus.

What once was a junior college has now been transformed into a university with more on-campus housing in Claremore.

The atmosphere at RSU has changed as more students live on campus.

RSU has added 250,000 sq. ft of new New facilities are under construction to enhance the Hillcat baseball/softball and soccer programs. space to accommo-

Winter 2011 Surrey 21

RSU has added 250,000 sq. ft of new space for students date the growing student population. In the coming years RSU will be adding a new food service facility that will provide the necessary meals to those students.

That facility is currently in the design stage.

“This could not have happened without private support and the support of students,� Rice said.

RSU received gifts of nearly $400,000 to update windows at its Bartlesville campus. In Pryor, the Mid-America Industrial Park

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3T R EET T 22 Winter 2011 Surrey

is working to build a campus for RSU on 30 acres.

During Rice’s tenure many changes have come his way. As he began the university embarked upon its 100th year with the opening of the Centennial Center.

All the while RSU, like all state funded institutions, funding has become tighter and tighter.

Enrollment has grown since 2003 while state funding is now at its lowest level since then ($13.9 million).

Rice has led his staff to rework the university’s health plan and janitorial contracts. RSU has begun using in-house staff to do inspections of its physical plant — all in an effort to save money.

Students have joined in the effort by paying higher fees to support a variety of improvements. “Students have been very cooperative,� Rice said. And as a result two new facilities are nearing completion that will enhance the baseball/softball and soccer programs.

He’s guided the university through the hiring of new Hillcat men’s Basketball Coach Justin Barkley and new Athletic Director Ryan Bradley.

More sports have been added, including cross country and golf.

RSU is making plans to move in the NCAA Division II. RSU received regional attention from RSU-TV, who received two emmys for a documentary on Will Rogers – “Will Rogers and American Politics� and its regular program “Woodturning Workshop

RSU is ranked by U. S News and World Report as a best buy for university education

RSU First Lady Peggy Rice.

with Tim Yoder.”

The university’s honors program continues to shine under the leadership of Dr. Carolyn Taylor and Dr. Jim Ford.

Each year students are given the opportunity to study abroad. Immersion study programs have been held in Italy, South Korea, London and China, Rice said.

Several RSU students yearly participate in an ongoing internship program in Washington D. C. RSU is one of only two universities in Oklahoma with students participating in the internship program.

RSU is rated as one of Oklahoma’s best buys for universities by the annual U. S. New and World Report study.

Rice and his staff are working to add new baccalaureate degrees. The Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education are considering RSU’s proposal for its first graduate degree, Rice said.

Soon students will be able to pursue a Masters in Busi-

Winter 2011 Surrey 23

ness Administration.

RSU has 105 full time faculty with 68 of them attaining the highest terminal degree in their field of study, Rice said.

The university under Rice’s leadership has taken steps to be a community partner.

It adopted Claremont Elementary School, providing a mentoring program that includes readers and lunch buddies.

“We want to help the students and faculty at Claremont in anyway we can,” Rice said.

RSU students, faculty and staff are involved in the Rogers County United Way and the annual Relay for Life event.

Rice has intentionally reached out to the Rogers County community and encourages students, faculty and staff to be involved in their community.

It has been nearly four years Rice has led by example and RSU is benefiting for his tireless efforts to make the university a jewel in the academic world.

Dr. Larry Rice enjoys a laugh during a meeting at RSU’s Centennial Center.

RSU’s Centennial Center has become a hub for university and community meetings.

Dr. Larry Rice visit with Oklahoma Commerce Secretary Dave Lopez during the opening of the Google plant at the Mid-America Industrial Park.

24 Winter 2011 Surrey

The Jukebox Doc

Dave Kauffman’s hobby brings music to life from discarded jukeboxes

By Dorothy Willman Cummins Dave Kauffman calls his repairrestoration of electronics a “hobby� but it seems to be his passion.

The Inola resident said working in the electronics business is “all I have ever done.�

He finds old jukeboxes “fascinating� because he gets to work on both the electronic and mechanical parts of the old music machines.

Right now, jukeboxes dating from the 1950’s and ‘60s are “in high demand.�

He buys old ones where ever he finds them, then repairs-refurbishes and sells them almost as fast as the restoration process is complete.

He currently has one on the sale floor at Cherry’s Antique Mall in Chouteau, one in the repair process in his workshop and another waiting in storage.

Kauffman also does repair and restoration work for jukebox owners. He works on Rock-Ola, Seeburg and Wurlitzer boxes and said he prefers the Rock-Ola jukeboxes because they seem to have the least trouble after they are re-

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Winter 2011 Surrey 27

Kauffman brings music to life paired. His very favorite is the first jukebox he restored, a 1959 compact Rock-Ola . “I didn’t know what I was doing, but I learned a lot” he said of his first project.

Jukeboxes aren’t his only passion. A skilled woodworker, Kauffman has quite a collection of self-made toy trains, cars, trucks and even a wooden ferry boat loaded with trucks and cars.

He has a fondness for old radios and television sets too. “You can tell I am into electronics,” he said. His collection includes a “very early” (1949) Motorola TV, Also showcased in his home is a beautiful Scott radio in mint condition. He calls it “the finest radio

28 Winter 2011 Surrey

of its day.”

Since moving to Inola from Garden City, Mo. eight years ago, Kauffman has put his skills to work in his new community.

He and his wife Mary are active members and tireless workers for their church, Eden Mennonite Church in Inola.

Dave installed the church sound system, and his contribution to the recent fall festival, a restored and ready to play jukebox, was a top seller for the day of fundraising.

Dave Kaufmann clearly enjoys his hobby and is happy to report that “all my stuff (the items he repairs) works.”

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