Tahlequah Grapevine 2023 Q3

G rapevine

Inside:

WHATEVER FLOATS YOUR BOAT, PAGE 6

Local waterfront operators talk crafts

__F ORT G IBSON M EDICAL C LINIC

104 Lone Oak Circle, Fort Gibson, OK 74434

Phone 918-478-2101, Fax 918-478-6008

Donald Elgin, MD Family Medicine

Susan Miller, APRN-CNP Family Medicine

Lisa Renfrow, APRN-CNP Family Medicine

Ryan Pitts, DO Orthopedics & Sports Medicine

Vanessa Dicus, APRN-CNP Family Medicine-Pain Management

TAHLEQUAH MEDICAL GROUP PRIMARY CARE

1201 E Ross Bypass, Tahlequah, OK 74464

Phone 918-207-0991, Fax 918-456-7570

Edith Lubin, MD Family Medicine

Lana Myers, DO– Family Medicine

Thomas Schneider, DO- Internal Medicine

Stephanie Fossett, APRN-CNP– Family Medicine

_____U RGENT C ARE _____

1201 E. Ross Bypass, Tahlequah, OK 74464

Phone 918-453-1234, Fax 918-453-2703

Madyson Snow, APRN-CNP

___ENT & Allergy Clinic___

1203 E Ross Bypass, Tahlequah, OK 74464

Phone 918--453-9002, Fax 918-453-0328 (Humphrey)

Phone 918-207-0305, Fax 918-453-9068 (McDonald)

Lea Humphrey, DO R. Hilton McDonald, DO

N ORTHEAST O KLAHOMA H EART C ENTER

1373 E. Boone St, Suite 3400, Tahlequah, OK 74464

Phone 918-229-1431, Fax 918-453-2226

Jack Casas, MD- Interventional Cardiologist

Stephen Dobratz, MD- Interventional Cardiologist

Carla Hayes, APRN-CNP Christopher Webber, APRNCNP

_____N EPHROLOGY C LINIC

1373 E. Boone St, Suite 1201, Tahlequah, OK 74464

Phone 918-207-1189, Fax 918-207-1160

Bilal Aziz, MD Imran Tahir, MD

Florame Jamison, DNP, APRN Sean Scearce, PA -C

___R ADIATION O NCOLOGY ___

1400 E Downing, Tahlequah, OK 74464

Phone 918-458-2492, Fax 918-458-2471

Frederick Willison, MD

____P ULMONOLOGY C LINIC

1373 E. Boone St, Suite 2300, Tahlequah, OK 74464

Phone 918-207-0025, Fax 918-207-0226

Creticus Marak, MD

I NTERNAL M EDICINE R ESIDENCY C LINIC

1373 E Boone St, Suite 2300, Tahlequah, OK 74464

Phone 918-207-0025, Fax 918-207-0226

Program Director – Muneeza Afif, MD

Priyanka Deshmukh, MD Noor Mah Khan, MD

Landon Frank, DO Eric Dahlquist, DO

Adrita Ashraf, DO Mark Bannon, DO

Stephen Bastible, DO Blair Brown, DO

Bryan Butel, DO Ali Khan, DO Seth Jones, DO

Matthew Reddick, DO Bryan Hummel-Price, DO

Paige Sanders, DO Hunter White, DO

Connor Polson, DO Sascha Khan, DO Harsh Patel, DO

G ASTROENTEROLOGY C LINIC

205 Harris Circle, Suite 201, Tahlequah, OK 74464

Phone 918-506-6880, Fax 918-506-6881

Jennifer Carter, APRN Leslie Davenport, APRN

Dr.LoriFord &Dr.SarahOberste

_____S URGERY C LINIC

205 Harris Circle, Suite 202, Tahlequah, OK 74464

Phone 918-207-1410, Fax 918-207-0335

D. Brent Rotton, DO– General Surgery

W. Jack Myers, DO– General Surgery

James Smith, MD Surgical Oncology

Gery Hsu, MD– Neurosurgery

Michelle Perry, APRN Neurosurgery

_____N EUROLOGY C LINIC _____

1373 E. Boone St, Suite 2300, Tahlequah, OK 74464

Phone 918-207-0025, Fax 918-207-0226

Saqib Chaudhry, MD Samiya Rashid, DO

Vishal Jani, MD Christopher Glisson, DO

Matthew Smith, MD M. Umar Farooq, MD

___M EDICAL O NCOLOGY ___

228 N Bliss Ave, Tahlequah, OK 74464

Phone 918-506-6920, Fax 918-506-6993

Theodore Pollock, DO

___R HEUMATOLOGY C LINIC

1373 E. Boone St, Suite 2300, Tahlequah, OK 74464

Phone 918-207-0025, Fax 918-207-0226

Prashant Kaushik, MD

W OUND M ANAGEMENT ____

205 Harris Circle, Suite 102, Tahlequah, OK 74464

Phone 918-458-2487, Fax 918-458-2485

D. Brent Rotton, DO Stephanie Paine, APRN

A DDICTION R ESOURCE C ENTER

1323 W. Keetoowah St., Tahlequah, OK 74464

Phone 918-931-3890, Fax 918-506-6800

Jason Ballew, MD Jennifer Mathis, MD

Tahlequah

Joseph Hurst, LPC

...And the Grapevine bears more fruit!

When the first issue of the rebooted Tahlequah Grapevine came out in late March, we expected it to be a hit. After all, everyone seemed to like its predecessor, which fell by the wayside more than a decade ago.

Kim Poindexter has been a member of the TDP news team since 1985 and the top editor since 1987. She is in the Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame and was the 2022 Oklahoma Press Association Beachy Musselman Award winner. She has won more than 200 journalism awards during her career, both individually and as part of the TDP team, which has been named Best Newspaper of the Year the past four years by CNHI. She and her husband, Chris, have an adult son, Cole, and will have a new daughter-inlaw, Dani, in September.

The 2023 version was more popular than we imagined – so much so that nearly a dozen people sent us examples of their writing, and asked if they could contribute to a future edition. One claimed to be from Taiwan; we’re not quite sure how she heard about it. Perhaps she was told about the online version on our website from a stateside pen pal.

In any event, we’re pleased readers enjoyed this magazine. But not just anyone can write for it. Although the works of other folks may eventually be accepted, the original concept was to invite people who had, at one time, been part of the Daily Press news team, either as an employee or a correspondent.

Besides me, those who wrote for the inaugural maga-

zine were Eddie Glenn, Betty Ridge, Stacy Pratt, Nancy Garber, Ben Johnson and Renee Fite. We offered all of them the opportunity to contribute to the second issue, and three did: Eddie, Nancy and Renee. They were joined this time around by two other former staffers: Dana Eversole, a past news editor who has been a professor of Media Studies at NSU for many years; and Sarah Hart, who left TDP to work for the Tulsa World, and has now been employed with ESPN for a long time. We trust readers will enjoy their pieces, along with the others.

Again, for those just now joining us in progress, a reminder that today’s Grapevine has veered off course from its original target audience, which was women over 40. The modern version is a product for and about our community, but we have also invited personal stories from our writers, because some of their experiences are so intriguing. We already have several stories planned for the fall, winter and even spring 2024, and although I’m

very tempted to tell you the topics now, as well as some of the well-respected folks who will write them, I’ll contain myself and wait for the proper moment.

By the way, a few advertisers have already inquired about participating in future editions. Although some premium spots are on contract for the year, we’re happy to have new supporters, who will help us expand the magazine and add more content. Email Advertising Director Heather Ruotolo at hruotolo@tahlequahdailypress. com for details.

One side note: We had a special two-page spread on Fab Couples in the spring issue, and we planned something similar this time, but it didn’t pan out. Looking ahead to the fall, we’re thinking about “Great Grands” – a couple of pages with local residents and their beloved grandkids. If you’re a local resident who would like to show off those grandkids, drop me a line at kpoindexter@ tahlequahdailypress.com.

Kim Poindexter Executive Editor

WHATEVER FLOATS YOUR

How to find the best vessel for your summer adventures

By Jake Sermershiem

Whether they prefer the Illinois River, Lake Tenkiller or Fort Gibson, or even the Arkansas River, most people in Cherokee County have found themselves enjoying the sun and water during the hot summer months.

Most of the time, a recreationalist headed to a lake or river will bring some sort of vessel to help explore the Oklahoma waterways. Either that, or they’ll rent one – unless they prefer to simply lounge in shallows.

Water sports have been a tried and true pastime for Tahlequah residents.

“The reason boat owners own a boat is a way to get up close to nature with the people you love,” said Tahlequah outdoorsman Luke Green. “Unless you are hiking, you don’t normally go out in nature with your family. Whenever you get out there, your shoulders drop and you relax.”

If you are trying to decide what vessel best suits your needs, you have plenty of options. In addition to the five here, there are also ski boats and personal watercraft.

RAFTING

If you ask any of the float operators on the Illinois River to name their most popular item among customers, there’s a consensus: rafting.

Outfitters say that rafting is by far the most popular way to enjoy the river, supplanting the canoe of earlier days. A large group of people can fit into one, there is plenty of space for storage, and it usually requires little to no effort or experience to get down the river. With a raft, a group of people can work their way up the river, make stops as they please, and swim whenever they wish.

“You can put more people together as a group,” said All-American Floats’ Cody Bartmess. “Canoes used to be the most popular, but with the addition of rafts, you can have more people. So instead of having three or four canoes, you can have everyone in the same rafts.”

A large group can easily navigate the river and enjoy conversation with the leisurely pace.

“A majority of the people who come want to be together,” said Arrowhead Resort’s David Spears. “You have families and groups that want four or five in each boat. You can converse, hang out talk, fish, and have picnics. It is like that family road trip, but you aren’t stuck in a van; you can do things together or float by yourself in a life jacket.”

It’s also a much safer option than a canoe, which requires some measure of experience and can easily tip over or become completely compromised due to a hole.

“It is probably the safest thing on the river; it is like a little tank,” said Bartmess of the rafts. “We don’t want them bouncing into anything, but if they do it is very stable, very wide, versus a canoe, which is wobbly and loses your stuff.”

Jake Sermershiem is Sports Editor for the Tahlequah Daily Press. He holds a degree in journalism from Illinois State University and was previously Sports Editor at The Vidette.

All-American Floats’ Robert Gibson hoists a raft above his head.

BOAT

PONTOONS FISHING BOATS

Whether it be speed boats, pontoons, houseboats, jet skis, or bass boats, there will be vessels zipping across the water, disrupting the calm glass reflection at Lake Tenkiller. While enthusiasts can find plenty of boats out there, the most popular are pontoon boats, according to Pine Cove Marina’s Jeff Simon.

Simon owns Pine Cove, Tenkiller’s biggest marina, and pontoon and tri-toon boats take up most of his 440 slips.

“They are very family oriented,” said Simon. “They can put up to 14 people on each vessel. They are very safe and very efficient.”

Ranging from 15 to 30 feet, these boots are easy to operate, even by someone with little experience. Basically just a platform with seats and a rail, pontoons are versatile. They average 45 mph, with top speeds of 50 mph.

“You can get plenty of speed on them, and you can tube if your kids want to tube,” said Simon. “There is room to get up and walk around and visit. It is just a really good family boat. We don’t house a lot of bass boats at the Marina; pontoons dominate.”

The wide surface offers plenty of space for multiple activities, whether it be tanning, swimming, or fishing.

Many recreationalists and sportspeople say best vessel for the lake or river look is a fishing boat. Coming in all shapes and sizes, fishing boats are seen scattered around the lake and even the Illinois River, with anglers seeking their favorite fishing holes, families hanging out, or just taking their kids for a dip.

Fishing boats are among the most versatile, crafted from numerous materials, in different sizes, with different features, and a range of motors.

“They are made for going up the river and creeks,” said boat builder Luke Green. “The fiberglass ones can get hurt a lot easier; you use aluminum for hard-to-get places for fishing, gigging, bow fishing, and hunting. Most of those hard-to-get places are the most beautiful that people don’t get to touch.”

Longer fiberglass boats are better for tooling around Lake Tenkiller than their aluminum counterparts. Their larger size and usually larger horse-powered engines make them ideal for the lake. Fishing boats can range from 12 to 21 feet and go anywhere from 15 to 55 mph.

While not as big as a pontoon, a fishing boat can still fit a family of around four to six people.

“It can also be used to chill with the family,” said Green.

A pontoon boat floats on a lake.

Luke Green and Jake Green look into the water while bow fishing.

CANOES KAYAKS

Thirty-five years ago, a canoe was the most popular vessel to take on the river, but these days, that’s not the case.

Canoe rentals along the Illinois have been declining since the 1990s. Even before that, rafts were starting to supplant them in the 1980s.

“The canoes are just like a 17-foot-long dinosaur now,” said Spears. “Rafts are more social. You can put 8-10 people in a raft. You can’t control them as well, but they are safer. They are honestly just better for `and everything goes into the river. Rafts don’t flip over like that.”

Even though they’ve lost popularity, Spears keeps them around for those who enjoy the original river vessel.

Canoes are still preferred by fishers or groups of anglers. They are easily maneuverable throughout any favorite cove or honey hole.

“You can put a big ice chest in it unlike kayaks, where you can only bring a small one,” said Spears. “A lot of fishermen and old-school outdoorsmen like them. We used to flip them backward with our feet over the edge and they handled great.”

The decline in canoes’ popularity was hastened by one particular event, in Spears’ eyes. In 1990, the area experienced an above-average amount of rainfall. The influx caused a dam near Watts to break, changing the face of the Illinois River for the better. More water flowing in helped river outfitters thrive, but the change in landscape also dethroned the canoe as the top vessel choice.

“Little by little, rafts started to become more popular and by the ‘90s, they had taken over,” said Spears.

Those looking for a solo adventure, even with a friend or two, will find a kayak is the way to go.

“If they are wanting to make a quicker trip, it is faster, less time on the water,” said Amy Peyton of Peyton’s Place. “They are also good for going out by yourself. Rafts fit a lot of people, whereas a kayak can fit two at most.”

Kayaks are lightweight and easy to maneuver, designed to glide quickly across the water.

“The kayaks sit more level in the water; they don’t tip over as easily,” said Peyton. “You are limited on space in the kayaks. They are easier to get down in the water than the canoes.”

Kayaks are also among the most versatile vessels. They can float down the river in leisurely fashion, or they could be used as a form of exercise.

Peyton has seen anglers switch from canoes to kayaks.

“In the last couple of years, the fishermen have switched to the kayaks,” said Peyton. “I believe they are easier to maneuver and to get to some spots they like to fish. They can get closer to weed beds or logjams or wherever the fish may be at.”

While rafts still rank as the most rented item at Peyton’s Place, kayaks are surprisingly close. According to Peyton, kayak rentals make up almost half of their total rentals.

Arrowhead Resort’s David Spears sets up a bus with a rack of canoes. Amy Peyton straps a kayak to a trailer at Peyton’s Place.

The W.W. Keeler Complex south of Tahlequah, the tribal headquarters, is named for the man who served as principal chief for over a quarter-century.

Groundhog versus Keeler

The fight that influenced five nations

By R.E. Glenn

In summer 1969, W.W. Keeler was facing one of the biggest challenges of his then-20-year stint as principal chief of the Cherokee Nation. A group called the Original Cherokee Community Organization had filed a lawsuit in federal court, calling for the removal of Keeler as chief, and for the election of tribal leaders by Cherokees themselves.

the United States and the State of Oklahoma. With the beginning of statehood in 1907, chiefs of the five tribes were appointed by the U.S. president. This chief-naming responsibility the federal government reserved for its executive branch facilitated the transfer of any tribal lands that had been overlooked during the land allotment process.

R.E. “Eddie” Glenn lives in Tahlequah, and is the author of “The Sovereign, The Tribe: An Essay on a Relationship,” available on Amazon and at Too Fond of Books in downtown Tahlequah. Glenn is also a musician who frequently plays at the Tahlequah Farmers’ Market.

The tribe had not held elections since the Curtis Act of 1898, and a subsequent series of similar federal laws had ended Cherokee governance. That same series of laws had implemented the Dawes Rolls census of tribal members and the land allotment system. Thus, Cherokees and members of the other Five Civilized Tribes – the Muscogee (Creek), the Choctaw, the Chickasaw, and the Seminole – became land-owning citizens of

Keeler had distinguished himself at Phillips Petroleum during World War II by overseeing construction of a refinery in Mexico that helped Allied forces keep their planes, tanks, trucks, and other military vehicles fueled and moving forward against the Italian, German, and Japanese forces. He developed relationships with government officials during that time, and in 1949 was named by President Harry Truman as principal chief of

the Cherokee Nation. That sort of federal involvement in tribal affairs, however, did not sit well with George Washington Groundhog, founder of the OCCO. Like Keeler, Groundhog had played a critical role in the success of Allied troops in World War II. According to his granddaughter, Lisa Christiansen, he had served in the U.S. Army as a code talker, using his native Cherokee language to befuddle any German troops who might be listening in on American radio transmissions. Many Germans could translate English, but finding a German soldier who could understand Cherokee, or any of the other Native languages used by code talkers, was virtually impossible.

In the decades following the war, Cherokee language and traditions remained a

strong part of Groundhog’s identity, and by the late 1960s, he had become frustrated with the Keeler-led collection of businesses that identified themselves as “Cherokee.” Using some of the $14.7 million he had helped acquire in a lawsuit against the federal government for lands wrongfully opened to white settlement in 1893, Keeler set up several Cherokee businesses, including the Cherokee Cultural Center and a tribal newspaper, Cherokee Nation News. To Keeler, those businesses facilitated Cherokees’ participation in the larger American economy. Groundhog, however, saw them as an extension of the federal government and Euro-American values, Cherokee in name only.

Christiansen, Groundhog’s granddaughter, said she has vivid memories of her grandfather’s views on the importance of Cherokee language and culture.

“He definitely believed there was a defining line between the Indian world and the white world,” she said. “When I was little, he would take me fishing. We might not catch anything, but we would talk in Cherokee while we fished, and if I asked him a question in English, he wouldn’t answer until I asked it in Cherokee.”

Many Tahlequah residents will be familiar with the oft-heard Cherokee greeting, “Osiyo,” and may recognize the initials of the Original Cherokee Community Organization, OCCO, when spoken quickly, as very nearly an interlinguistic pun on that greeting. Intended as an acronym or not, the initialism OCCO does represent everything Groundhog saw as the antithesis to the Cherokee identity espoused by Keeler, whose conception of Cherokee identity was corporate-based and future-oriented. In a speech he gave in October 1969 to the Texas Manufacturers As-

sociation, Keeler described Cherokees as “building a new and vigorous nation with the goals of bringing the economic benefits of modern America to our people.”

Groundhog, on the other hand, saw Cherokee identity as community-based, espousing traditional tribal values, and most importantly, the Cherokee language. Quoted in the Aug. 19, 1969, edition of the Cherokee Nation News, Groundhog said Keeler was unqualified to lead Cherokee people “because he doesn’t speak Cherokee.” The paper – which, keep in mind, was founded by Keeler – proceeded to suggest Groundhog and the OCCO held anti-American views.

“Some mixed-bloods and newspapers in Northeastern Oklahoma have hinted that the OCCO has held secret meetings resembling Communist cell meetings of the 1930s,” the author of the story about OCCO’s lawsuit wrote. “One government official, who asked to remain unidentified, termed the OCCO movement ‘part of a big plan on a multi-front level attempting to take over the Negroes, Cherokees and Indians and peoples to gain control of the governing powers of the United States.’”

Those were some pretty serious allegations to make against Groundhog, who, according to his granddaughter, Christiansen, was awarded three Bronze Stars and a Purple Heart for his service in World War II. Such insinuations do, however, indicate the vitriolic nature of the Groundhog/Keeler dispute. In the Oct. 21, 1969, edition of the Cherokee Nation News, Keeler said, “I’ve been trying to get an election of the chief since 1954. But the act of Congress ties us into the other four tribes. Some of the tribes want election; others don’t. So you have a very

George Groundhog shown in his Army dress uniform. The former Cherokee code talker was the founder of the Original Cherokee Community Organization.

SAFE HOMES

slow procedure, trying to convince Congress that maybe elections would be good for the Cherokees.”

Keeler may indeed have been advocating tribal elections for years, but a bill allowing such elections wasn’t considered by Congress until after the OCCO’s lawsuit was filed. Introduced by Oklahoma Congressman Ed Edmondson on Nov. 5, 1969, H.R. 14676, also known as the Principal Chiefs Act, called for a change in federal policy to allow members of all Five Civilized Tribes to choose their own leadership. Archived correspondence of both Edmondson and Keeler indicate the two were close friends, and that Keeler contributed significantly to the wording of the bill. For example, Keeler proposed that the bill be worded to allow the Five Civilized Tribes to “select” rather than “elect” their leadership because, he claimed, “some of the tribal groups said they did not want to hold elections, as they could be costly and could dissipate tribal funds at the expense of important programs.”

Edmondson corresponded with OCCO members about the bill, writing to OCCO secretary Louella Pritchett in December 1969 about the progression of the bill through Congress: “I am enclosing a copy of my bill on this subject, H.R. 14676, in hopes that it will be of interest to you. Needless to say, I am hopeful the House Interior Committee will be able to begin hearings on the bill as soon as possible. If there is anything

else that I can do to be of service, please don’t hesitate to let me know.”

Passed by Congress in 1970 and signed into law by President Richard Nixon, the Principal Chiefs Act ultimately brought about modern democratic Cherokee governance. Despite his lack of popularity with some more traditional Cherokees like Groundhog, Keeler was elected as the tribe’s first popularly chosen leader since 1903. Under his leadership and that of his successor, Ross Swimmer, a tribal constitution was ratified by Cherokee voters in 1976.

The OCCO’s lawsuit against Keeler was eventually dismissed, but to say Keeler won and Groundhog lost would be ignoring what appears to have been a critical impetus for congressional consideration of the Principal Chiefs Act – the public dissent exhibited by the OCCO. If there’s a lesson to be learned from the OCCO, it’s that sometimes, being a thorn in the side of authority just might yield remarkable results.

“He was very committed, and if he was fighting you, he was going to fight you to the bitter end,” Christiansen said of her grandfather, Groundhog. “When he believed in something, he was with it all the way.”

Groundhog passed away in 1979, Keeler eight years later. Though the legal, cultural, and linguistic disputes between the two may be relegated to rarely revisited recesses of history, they likely had a significant impact on the life of every Native tribal member in Eastern Oklahoma.

A wood carved portrait of W.W. Keeler hangs in the foyer of the building that bears his name.

CASA volunteer advocates stand in the gap to give a child a voice and promote his

interests in court.

“When he believed in something, he was with it all the way.“

Lisa Christansen

Groundhog’s granddaughter

Past TDP news editor reflects on ESPN job, Emmy wins

By Sarah Hart

The following is an abbreviated list of words that, after I say them, receive looks and/or outright ridicule from folks in New England:

• Roof: Up here, it does not rhyme with “hoof,” but “school.”

• Oil: They say it almost two syllables, not one as God intended. This also applies to “foil,” “toil,” and “spoil.”

• Tennis shoes: I once asked a New Yorker colleague, “Why do you call them sneakers? You don’t sneak up on anyone.” Without missing a beat, he looked at me and said, “Do you play tennis?”

• Cokes/pop: I asked where the pop machine was my first day at ESPN. Blank stares.

• Y’all: This one hurt, as I thought everyone said it.

I left Oklahoma at 38, having never lived anywhere longer than an eightmonth stint in the Dallas suburbs after I graduated from college, but got home-

sick for Oklahoma and came back. I’ve been away for almost 12 years now. I never thought I could do it.

It helps to have a good job.

I took a job at ESPN in 2011. I am a coordinating editor who makes a lot of big news decisions – and I still sound like I’m from Oklahoma. That will not be changing anytime soon.

I am in charge of ESPN’s morning shows as an embedded news editor, helping them shape the shows and make sure the right stories are included, and we’re telling them correctly. I write scripts, handle breaking news, make sure our graphics are correct, and we are not going to get sued. It’s a big ol’ job that changes by the hour.

My first day at ESPN, I wore my sweater inside-out. About halfway through “rookie camp,” as we call our orientation, a girl stopped me to tell me about my sweater. I thought immediately, “I am not go-

ing to make it.” I’m glad to say I have, but it’s been a labor of love and passion and major breaking news, the scope of which I sometimes look back on with wonder.

A few: Lance Armstrong’s downfall, the Penn State scandal, a lockout in the NBA and NFL, all in my first year. I had covered primarily local and Big 12 sports before – I had a lot to learn. Fortunately, sports always provides news, and always dovetails with “real” news. It makes for a busy editor.

I’ve met a lot of famous people. You get used to it. The only one I’ll brag about now is Snoop Dogg, whom I met in 2012 after I had been in a dentist’s chair for a few hours. My face was numb, but I made Snoop laugh, and that is among my great accomplishments. Snoop is the consummate gentleman. He is basically 7 feet tall, and smells like what I expect wealth to smell like.

I still miss home, though. Recently, while prepping

Sarah Hart shows off her “very Okie office.” At right, Sarah Hart takes a photo with Snoop Dogg in 2012.

Sarah Hart is a coordinating editor at ESPN in Bristol, Connecticut. She has a journalism degree from Northeastern State University and was a member of the Tahlequah Daily Press news team from 1997-2002.

for SportsCenter, I told a story about Reasor’s in Tahlequah, which used to have a Star Wars pinball machine in the back that I frequented when I needed to get away from my college roommates.

“I wish I was from Oklahoma so I could talk about it all the time,” said Mike Epstein, one of my favorite colleagues, who’s always got jokes.

One thing that has not changed, from the Tahlequah Daily Press to now, is my camaraderie with my teammates. Journalists and broadcasters are some of the most jaded, but hilarious and caring, people in the world.

When SportsCenter won an Emmy in 2020 and I was flabbergasted, Eppy looked at me and said, “Ah, how cute – I remember my first Emmy.”

It’s old hat to him. He proceeded to tell me of his Emmy shelf, where he keeps his five Emmys from various shows he’s worked on at ESPN throughout his

nearly 30 years here. This year, SportsCenter won another Emmy. I am now a two-time winner. Guess who’s getting his sixth?

I have to admit, I was afraid of getting to know folks up here. I had never been up here – I just assumed people were rude. That was really shortsighted of me.

Now I know, it’s not rudeness or meanness. No, they don’t wave at each other on the road. If you open a door for someone, they may push through and not tell you “thank you” four times.

It’s not meanness. It’s more of a lack of phoniness. It’s real – and you just learn to take it as it comes, not read into everything. Because the same people will also help you when your car gets stuck in the snow, and they won’t need those four thank-yous. They just do it.

I may never know how to speak like they expect me to speak. I cringe when someone says I say some-

thing the “wrong way.” Who’s to say they know what they’re talking about? They call liquor stores “package stores.”

What?

I get my second Emmy

statuette in a few months. Maybe I will have enough for a shelf some day. I can guarantee you, I will still be saying “oil” the way I always have – the correct way.

Stacy (Patrick) Pratt and Sarah Hart pose for a photo after a visit in 2011. At right Sarah Hart poses for a photo with an Emmy won by SportsCenter.

The ‘grand dame’ of Tahlequah

By Renee Fite

Beth Herrington turned 93 on June 6. The weekend before, she traveled to Oklahoma City with two of her best friends and retired educators –Sherry Whisler, of Claremore, and Donna Talley, of Pryor – to the International Women Educators Delta Kappa Gamma conference.

“They are very talented educators who haven’t quit being interested in education,” Herrington said of her friends, and the others at the convention.

14th birthday.

“It was D-Day, 1944 and all the armed forces landed on the coast of Normandy. It was a long drive. It took a year of bloody fighting that resulted in getting the Nazis out,” Herrington said. “We couldn’t wait to read our newspapers about what was going on.”

She has an indelible memory of those days.

“That’s my name – Beth Eleanor, not Elizabeth. Not many people know Eleanor is my middle name,” she said with a laugh. “I always had books and dolls.”

It seems her parents always made her birthdays special.

Renee Fite has been writing for the Tahlequah Daily Press and its sister newspapers for more than 30 years. She is managing editor of the Stilwell Democrat Journal and Westville Reporter and regular contributor to TDP. She is founding president of the Arts Council of Tahlequah. She has five children and six grandchildren, and is the wife of renowned local musician John Fite.

Herrington, a retired educator, was president of DKG from 1989-1991. The group had 3,000 members in Oklahoma.

“We provide fellowships to women educators who are members and scholarships to schools, people and chapters not affiliated with DKG. We had a big banquet at the Cowboy Hall of Fame,” Herrington said. “In Tahlequah, we give a $500 grant and aid women going into their senior year to be a teacher.”

The DKG convention is like a big reunion.

With her birthday near, Herrington recalled her

“I’d walk to school and see flags in the windows with a blue star on a flag that told there was a son or someone serving in the military in that home, or more than one. Sometimes there was a gold star, and that meant the person had been killed,” said Herrington.

When guys got out of high school, they joined the military.

“Our junior-senior banquet had a patriotic theme. The juniors raised money to honor the seniors and sophomores were the waiters and waitresses,” she said. “I did the music.”

A favorite memory was a package that arrived for Beth Eleanor from cousins in Wichita, Kansas.

“I had a nice growing-up. I got everything I wanted but a bicycle, and my parents said I was too klutzy,” she said with a chuckle.

Her mom always made the summers special by planning a trip.

“We usually went to historic spots in Virginia, and one summer we went to New Orleans. I did a lot of traveling with my parents,” she said.

Herrington always knew she was going to be a music teacher.

“My mom was my first music teacher and she was a good one. So was my high school English teacher in Locust Grove,” she said. “Then mom went to Pryor, which was the county seat, and interviewed the teachers there. The one who was supposedly the best was cranky. Mom asked where her training was from.”

Beth Herrington, left, talks with retired school administrator Denver Spears after the recent unveiling of her statue. At right, Beth Herrington plays music with TPS students. From left are: David Murray, Herrington, and Kierrah Warren.

Herrington recalls saying, “Oh mother, she’s so sour.”

“So I got Marie Haught. I studied with her until we moved to Tahlequah,” Herrington said. “She was so sweet and we remained friends until she died. I loved her.”

In Tahlequah, she started college in 1947 and studied music at Northeastern.

“There were wonderful piano teachers there,” she said.

A favorite memory of that time was accompanying another student – a veteran who was finishing the degree he started before the military – to his violin recital.

When Herrington started teaching in 1950, the teacher had to be working on a master’s degree.

“My board of education let me leave the last week of the semester and miss the first week of the semester to go to George Peabody College in Nashville in the summer for

three years,” she said. “It’s now one of the colleges of Vanderbilt. That was a long three years.”

Today, Herrington is known for rescuing several historic buildings, including one that has become the jewel of Tahlequah: the Thompson House. She also gives history tours and is chair of the City of Tahlequah History Preservation Board.

“I’’m finally finishing my history book this summer, ‘Tahlequah Fact and Folklore,’” she said. “Chapter 1 is ‘In the Beginning’; 2 is ‘Around the Town’; and

other chapters are about education, doctors and medicine, businesses, and how the city grew, with some short biographies of some influential people from the early days. It has about 15 early homes and families who contributed to Tahlequah.”

For the folklore section, it’s, “here and there, stories like the thumb on the wall.”

Earnings from sales of the book will go to complete the endowment to the Thompson House and make the grant and aid larger for DKG, she said.

“I’m a good typist; I’m doing the typing myself,” she said. “My fingers are a

little crooked with arthritis, and I can’t reach octaves anymore, but they’re still agile.”

She started playing the organ at First Baptist as a girl and still plays today for the traditional service at 8:30 a.m.

“But I come at 8:15 and I play before the service starts,” Herrington said. After she retired, she discovered she liked to stay in bed until 8:30 a.m.

“I’m a night owl. I like to read and work on my book, talk to my night owl friends sometimes. And I like to watch documentaries in the evening,” she said. “I just watched one about the history of museums and one about Benjamin Franklin in Philadelphia that was fascinating.”

Her philosophy of life is positive.

“You can’t live on the mountaintop all the time, but it’s been more hills than valleys,” she said.

“My fingers are a little crooked with arthritis, and I can’t reach octaves anymore, but they’re still agile.“

Beth Herrington Author and historian

A new life for Wilson Hall

Professor recalls building’s days as a dormitory

By Dana Eversole

Before the COVID-19 outbreak, Northeastern State University had announced plans to renovate Wilson Hall.

As I sat in my then-office in Leoser, my thoughts went back to one of the best times in my life – the semester I spent living in Wilson Hall.

It was the fall of my senior year, and I was moving to Broken Arrow in January so I could complete my final internship at Broken Arrow High School. The year before, I rented a house off campus and was supposed to have three roommates but ended up with only one. She moved in with someone else and I was left by myself.

I made it through the year, but returned home to Muskogee for the summer to work and commute to NSU for nine hours of courses. I made the decision to live in Wilson Hall because I had a lot of friends living there.

This was 1981, and the dorm was coed, which meant residents had to be 21 and older, and men and women lived on the same floor. Flo’s served breakfast, lunch and dinner.

I had joined a little sisters’ organization linked to Sigma Tau Gamma fraternity, and many of my sisters and one brother all lived on the second-floor north side of the building – and that’s where I ended up.

The first three or four rooms on either side of the hall were single rooms, and not air-conditioned. The remaining three or four rooms on each side were double rooms with air conditioning.

I had one of the air-conditioned rooms that was so large you could have held a dance in it. I roomed by myself, and I cannot remember if I paid extra for the double room and the air.

One of the strangest things I recall was one of my Sig Tau sisters bringing her king-size waterbed and setting it up in her dorm room. She placed a hose connected to the

Dr. Dana Eversole is a professor of Media Studies and chair of the Department of Communication and Media Studies at Northeastern State University, where she begins her 35th year this fall. Eversole worked as news editor for the Daily Press for two years before taking the job at NSU. She has been a stringer throughout the years for the Press. During her tenure at the Press, she won many awards, including a Sweepstakes award for investigative reporting from the Oklahoma Associated Press. She was recently named Oklahoma Outstanding Journalism Educator by the Oklahoma Society of Professional Journalists. Eversole is serving her second term on the Tahlequah School Board.

sink in her room and pumped the water in it until it was full. I didn’t remember if the double rooms had sinks, but Daily Press Executive Editor Kim Poindexter, another Sig Tau sister who lived there the following year with a roommate, assured me they did. Mine may have had two.

That bed took up Terri’s whole room. There was barely enough room to walk in. The best part of this bedtime story is when she was leaving at the end of the semester, she took her bed with her. That meant draining all the water. She put the hose in it and drained it out of the window in her room, right onto a ledge down from her window.

When I was teaching a class this past spring in Wilson Hall on the second floor, I was talking away when I glanced out the window, and there was the ledge. I started smiling, and I stopped and told my class the story.

Another memory involves the time the sisters were having a fundraiser by raking leaves. This was late October or early November, and we all stopped and hurried to my room, where I had the smallest black-and-white television, to watch Luke and Laura get married on “General Hospital.”

There was never a dull moment in the dorm, and you were never alone.

When it was announced that the College of Liberal Arts would move into Wilson, I was excited. The dean, Dr. Mike Chanslor, allowed the chairs of the departments to look at the plans for where each would be located. I could not believe my office was across the hall from my old dorm room, which was now a conference room and break room.

So, 42 years later, I am in the building that was the last place I lived in Tahlequah before returning nine years later as faculty. It is bittersweet.

Wilson Hall was constructed in 1937 as a women’s dormitory and converted for coed living in the 1970s. The specter of memories left by alumni still echoes throughout the building.

The building was a dormitory, a lounge, and housed the iconic Flo’s Dining Hall for almost 80 years before closing in 2011. Restoration of Wilson Hall to its former glory was a common aspiration of NSU administrators, faculty, and alumni. The vision began with a fundraising campaign and culminated in a three-phase construction project. Phase I included exterior renovations; Phase II made the building safe for further construction. Phase III completed the interior, created usable classrooms and recreation space for students.

The building houses students, faculty, and staff for the College of Liberal Arts. A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held April 12, 2022. Alumni, current students, press, and those who were instrumental in the planning and execution of the project were there.

President Steve Turner spoke at the ceremony, describing the work put into the reconstruction and rededication of Wilson Hall, as well as honoring the history of the building.

The Cherokee Student Seminary Association named the dormitory after Florence Wilson, because of her longtime dedication as principal of the Cherokee National Female Seminary.

Years later, when Wilson Hall was vacant, Turner described conversations he had when he first became president of NSU in 2011 about what would be done with the building. After discovering its importance, Turner ensured he would honor the historical and emotional significance of Wilson Hall.

Chanslor also spoke during the ceremony and claimed

NSU class helps with Wilson Hall branding

By Dana Eversole

Media Studies offers a core class for its majors called “Media Campaigns and Events,” each spring. It is the capstone course for the major, and seniors are usually the only students in the class.

I have taught it since its creation. I always try to look ahead a year and decide what the campaign will be. The event has been Prom on a Penny for the past 10 years. If the enrollment is high, the class may produce several events.

The College of Liberal Arts faculty and staff started moving to new offices in summer last year. When I arrived in the building and started looking around, I saw blank walls and very little signage. So, I came up with an idea. After speaking with the dean, I was cleared to make “Branding Wilson Hall” the campaign for the class.

COLA was previously spread throughout many buildings on campus, but now has a centralized location for students, classes, and administration. The construction of the building wrapped up in April 2022, and the college moved in to start the fall 2022 semester.

While students were excited to move into the new building, the consensus was the building is bare and in need of branding.

“I am excited the class is working on getting donations and coming up with ideas for branding Wilson Hall,” said Piper Smith, co-student director of the campaign. “The students in the class will remember they were the first students to have classes in this building.”

The campaigns and events class raised more than $8,000, as it is being accomplished independent of university funding. Abigail Nunn, campaign co-director, took on a large portion of the responsibilities to brand a building.

“When they finished Wilson Hall last summer, I was

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excited to see how they had decorated it,” said Nunn. “When I came in to see the bare, beige walls and empty classrooms, I was disappointed.”

Nunn and her classmates oversaw the fundraising, creating design propositions and meeting with the administration to get plans finalized.

Students and administrators alike hope to see the building start to mold into a home for COLA students.

Dr. Mike Chanslor, dean of the College of Liberal Arts, said he is happy Wilson Hall has become a center for activity for the student body. The addition of Flo’s, a coffee shop on the first floor, has impacted the movement of students through the building.

“The building belongs to the students and faculty,” said Chanslor. “Having students involved in the process of branding the building will ensure it is inviting and that it feels like home for students and faculty. We hope it will be inviting for COLA students and general students who have classes in the building.”

Chanslor said he would appoint a committee to decide how the money raised will be used.

Contributions can still be made to the campaign through nsugiving.com/donate, selecting the “other” tab and by noting “Wilson Hall branding” in the comments box. For more information or to learn other ways to give, call Eversole at 918-444-2891 or email eversole@nsuok.edu.

Wilson Hall will be the flagship building for COLA.

“We are excited to be a part of a building that has been so important to the history of Northeastern State University as we transition from original purposes as a dormitory to a classroom building,” said Chanslor. “This day, I know for many of us, has a very personal aspect to it because some of us lived in this building when it was a dormitory, so I certainly consider it a privilege to be a part of this ceremony.”

For COLA students, the establishing of a home for their college affirms the department’s importance. The move will also boost morale.

“I am excited,” said Brooklyn Larrison, a senior at NSU. “It means a lot that COLA has a permanent home. Instead of having classes randomly assigned to buildings that are predominantly for other departments and colleges, or constantly surrounded by construction, we have a designated space that is all our own. It was a lot easier to go to classes, visit a professor or have meetings for work because it was all in one place.”

Harold McMillen, assistant vice president for Capital Projects and Facilities Management, and his team worked strenuously to preserve the unique charms of Wilson Hall while remaining up to code. The task of renovating a historic building was daunting, but they managed to preserve the features that embody NSU’s identity.

“Most of the historical restoration was focused on preserving certain original elements like the light fixtures, which were salvaged and have been rewired for LED,” said McMillen. “The fireplace and the intricate molding above it, as well as the wood flooring in the parlor area, are original. We did what we had to do to make a code-compliant, safe space.”

Fundraising for the drastic renovations began with the campaign titled “Preserve

our past. ENSUre Our Future.” This drive highlighted the strengths of the facility and a vision for its future.

Peggy Glenn, director of Development, played an important role in presenting plans to potential donors.

“We explained to them that although Wilson Hall had started as the female dormitory and for many years hosted the only dining area for campus residents, and then had become a coed residential hall, the cost to retrofit the building for student living would be far too expensive,” said Glenn. “However, the building exterior was very well built, and could be transformed into classrooms, labs and offices at a much more affordable price.”

The beauty of Wilson Hall comes from its original architecture. With the renovations, McMillen hopes to preserve the historical character, while creating usable space. Some of the planned preservations include refinishing sections of wood flooring, keeping the original fireplaces, recreating the intricate ceiling molds, and matching the 1930s roof tiling.

“I’m very excited because Wilson is historically significant to us as one of the oldest buildings on campus,” said McMillen. “Anytime we can continue with the resources that we have, it just adds to the character of NSU. It’s a very large building, so trying to utilize it in the heart of campus is always good for long-term planning.”

COVID-19 proved to be a hurdle for planning and executing the renovation. Fortunately, the contractors, architects, and faculty members have worked proactively to keep the project on track.

“I really want to brag on our architects because we were really in the heart of design and on a tight timeline,” said McMillen. “Nothing slowed them down. It certainly made everyone jump through more hoops with the Zoom calls and independent driving, but they didn’t allow those delays to stall the project itself.”

Students enjoy one of the many areas in Wilson Hall to meet, study, or just relax.

Women water warriors

By Nancy M. Garber

the environment

Back in 1969, images of Ohio’s Cuyahoga River raging with fire made national news.

Rising industrialism and surging population growth had turned rivers across the nation into dumping grounds for commercial pollutants and human wastewater, leading Congress to pass the Clean Water Act of 1972.

Living miles apart, two young girls – Denise Deason-Toyne and Barb Daily – were watching. Decades later, the two would meet and combine forces in a common interest, protecting water in northeastern Oklahoma through Save the Illinois River Inc.

“The idea that people and businesses could create so much pollution that water could actually catch on fire had a huge impact on me,” said Deason-Toyne, Tahlequah attorney and retired Northeastern State University professor. “Unfortunate-

ly, many people have no concern unless something is affecting them directly. But in 30 years, our children and grandchildren will be left to deal with these problems. That is grossly unfair. We have the ability to take action now to reduce our negative impact.”

A recent decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to narrow the definition of the Waters of the United States under the Clean Water Act concerns her.

“Our best course of action is to work with states and the federal government to develop agreements that keep pollutants from reaching our waterways,” said Deason-Toyne.

Her involvement with STIR began more than 20 years ago, soon after she and her family moved to Tahlequah. Friends invited her to join in a meeting to discuss river issues.

“The goals of STIR aligned with my personal

goals regarding environmental issues, so I became a member and eventually was asked to serve as president,” said Deason-Toyne.

Daily, STIR vice president for several years, is a longtime environmental advocate. She recalls early attempts by Oklahomans to protect water resources.

“In the 1970s, we saw how a concerted effort by individual landowners and residents shut down the proposed construction of the Black Fox nuclear power plant outside of Tulsa,” she said. “Those of my age and older have witnessed our local river, streams and creeks deteriorate in quality and clarity over the years.

Though the Illinois River has improved since the ‘80s, it is an ongoing struggle.”

Daily first fell in love with the Illinois River during high school while vacationing at Flint Creek.

“We explored, fished, seined for hellgrammites

Nancy M. Garber is a former member of the TDP news and advertising teams and the retired director of Communications and Marketing at NSU. A longtime supporter of STIR, she has served as a board member for the past decade.

Two who devote their lives to protecting

Denise Deason-Toyne and Barb Daily share information with NSU students about protecting clean water during Earth Day 2013.

and minnows, and walked along that pristine creek to where it meets the Illinois River,” said Daily.

She joined STIR before moving to Tahlequah, and has channeled her activism into volunteering as a naturalist and environmental educator at Oxley Nature in Tulsa, through the Oklahoma Conservation Commission’s Blue Thumb program, and with the Spring Creek Coalition.

“I believe a commitment to protecting our water, air, and soil is a responsibility and obligation for everyone walking this planet,” said Daily.

Deason-Toyne draws a direct connection between her passion for helping children and her lifelong concern about the environment.

“I have worked in the juvenile court system for over 20 years to help children have permanency in safe homes,” she said. “My activities with STIR go hand in hand with protecting children. Ensuring they have a habitable environment with clean drinking water is crucial.”

Daily agrees.

“As the saying goes, ‘water is life.’ It is our most precious natural resource, too often taken for granted,” she said.

Despite fears that damage to water resources is irreparable, she felt some hope during the pandemic.

“[That’s] when we saw how quickly natural environments rebounded with less human activity and how pollution levels across the globe dropped significantly,” Daily said.

Like many organizations, STIR struggles to get younger people involved. At its founding in 1984, the group’s mission was to halt the flow of untreated wastewater from the city of Fayetteville into the Illinois River. Early activists were young college students and concerned community members. Today, all but a few of the founders have passed on or are no longer active. STIR often sponsors and participates in area clean-up events that attract volunteers of all ages.

“We try to reach out to people in their 40s and 50s whose children are grown and whose family obligations may be lessened,” said Deason-Toyne.

Currently, STIR is working with Northeastern State University faculty to encourage student interest in environmental issues and train future “water warriors.” The Freshwater Science Scholarship Endowment

Fund at NSU was recently established by STIR; the first award was presented during the 2023 spring semester.

“We are fortunate to have younger adults who are interested in the environment and the challenges of climate change,” said Daily. “We seem to be moving backward in our environ-

mental protection policies. But I have great faith that generations coming of age will continue to expand the protection of our natural environment.”

To find out more about STIR and the NSU Freshwater Science Scholarship Endowment Fund, visit illinoisriver.org. 14400

www.HearthAndPool.com

Denise Deason-Toyne and Barb Daily present Pam Kingfisher, of the Spring Creek Coalition, a STIR paddle in recognition of her efforts to protect clean water in northeastern Oklahoma. At right, Denise Deason-Toyne addresses a group of concerned environmental activists at a spring 2018 rally in Fayetteville, Arkansas.