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contents features
departments
26
QUEEN OF THE DIAMOND The OU softball team has reached the Women’s College World Series eight times under Patty Gasso who has won more Big 12 games than any coach in league history.
48
AMMOTH ROD & REEL M EYE CATCHER Designed to land attention or really big fish, this Norman artist’s sculpture is outstanding in its field.
59
HOLMBERG HOUSE After 100 years, the dwelling built in the arts and crafts style is a testimony to the latest architecture of the time.
64
HOCKMAN FILES A time capsule spanning more than a half century of Professor Ned Hockman’s works.
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42
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from the Publisher
11
from the Editor
14
Norman Events
36
Norman FYI
42
Norman Style
48
Norman People Hunter Roth
52
Norman History Barbour Drug Store
72
Making a Difference Norman Senior Center
76
Norman Politics
78 Taste of Norman Mamaveca 81
Wine Time
SNAPSHOTS 83 Daddy Daughter Dance 84 Norman Regional Gala 86 Norman Big Band 88 Chocolate Festival 89 Firehouse Art Show 90 Firefighter Chili Supper 92 Norman Chamber Lunch 93 Parting Shot
26
On the Cover: Softball coach Patty Gasso has made Oklahoma’s name known in the softball world. Photo by Jackson Laizure.
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NORMAN magazine | MARCH/APRIL 2014
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magazine
it’s all about you MAR/APR 2014 | VOLUME 3 | ISSUE 5
PUBLISHER Terry Connor EXECUTIVE EDITOR & GENERAL MANAGER Andy Rieger ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Debbi Knoll ADVERTISING ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Rebekah Collins Robin Escarcega Kimberly Lehenbauer Nick Sheats Angela Williams Erik Winters CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Hannah Cruz Jerri Culpepper Amy David Doug Hill Corbin Hosler Mick Hinton Chris Jones Gary King CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Jay Chilton Benita Cloward Lindsey Davies Doug Hill Kyle Phillips NORMAN STYLE COORDINATOR Rebekah Collins DESIGNER Daren Courtney DIGITAL COORDINATOR Jason Clarke Norman magazine is a bi-monthly publication of The Norman Transcript. 215 E. Comanche, Norman, OK 73070. (Phone: 405.321.1800). Letters or editorial contributions should be sent to: Norman magazine, P.O. Drawer 1058, Norman, OK, 73070 or emailed to editor@normantranscript.com. Norman magazine is not responsible for unsolicited submissions. Reproduction or use of editorial or graphic content in any manner, without permission is prohibited. Address advertising inquiries to Debbi Knoll – (405) 366-3554 or dknoll@normantranscript.com Norman magazine can be found online at www.normanmagazine.com
from the Publisher
Doctor’s comments truly life-changing advice
M
y doctor’s voice was stern and direct. The question was simple, while at the same time thought-provoking. Today, I am confident her words were one of those life-changing moments – no doubt it was a matter of life or death. “Do you want to die?” she asked in response to me just telling her I was still smoking. Her words caught me by surprise, and I sat silently for what seemed like several minutes before I responded. I had heard those by terry connor warning words before, but for some reason, they finally hit home. Maybe it was because three months earlier in 2008, my wife had passed away as a result of complications from breast cancer. This time I knew the doctor was right, and all those flimsy excuses for still lighting up more than a pack a day had to be tossed away. Like many of you, I can still remember my first cigarette. I can also remember my last. My first was behind our garage after a friend and I had slipped a couple of my mom’s Camel non-filters from her pack sitting on the kitchen table. I was 10 the first time I put a match to tobacco, and it was still cool to smoke in the 1960s. At that time, I am sure my only worry was getting caught smoking and having to explain why I stole cigarettes from mom. After all, my parents smoked (even with the station wagon windows rolled up on cold days). Many of my friends’ parents smoked. And, it was impossible to watch our three-channel, black and white TV without hearing the advertising jingle that proclaimed “Winston tastes good like a cigarette should” one minute only to be followed a few minutes later by the Marlboro man taking a relaxing break as he puffed away. If I only knew then, when few ‘no smoking signs’ could be found and it was politically correct to light one up in a restaurant after a meal, what I know today, I may have never heisted those Camels from my mom. It was those first cigarettes, along with those first few packs that my best friend John Newton and I bought at the neighborhood grocery store that was the start of us both getting hooked. Although only an occasional smoker until the 10th grade, I tried several times to quit and thought I was successful two different times, including almost a 10-year break between 1983 and 1993. But, my willpower lapsed and for whatever reason I went back to the Winstons. Then, again in 2007 after I found myself with a cardiologist standing over me explaining that he was going to put three stents in my heart, I quit for the second time. But, within a few months, I started smoking again on the basis that I was under a lot of stress. Today, almost 2,000 days since throwing my last pack of cigarettes in the trash, I believe (and hope) I kicked the nasty habit for good. I’m not one to use this space to give advice, and not sure why I did in this edition because the Annual Great American Smokeout is months away. Maybe I typed these thoughts to remind those, like me, who have kicked the habit to stay the course. Or, maybe, these words might encourage someone who still finds comfort in smoking to quit. I recommend that you don’t wait for the doctor’s wake-up call – it’s a sobering experience.
NORMAN magazine | MARCH/APRIL 2014
9
50 years strong and still growing
Brookhaven Office - 1968
Brookhaven Office - 2014
Here at Don Cies Real Estate, we take pride in our ability to serve the needs of every individual, and with our team of over 35 licensed Realtors serving the Norman area, we are confident that one of our associates will be a perfect fit for you. Founded as Don Cies Company in 1963, we are the oldest locally owned Real Estate business in Norman. We are able to use our history and experience to provide customers with the service and attention to detail that is only available from a business that has proven its commitment to the Norman Community. We would like to thank all of Norman’s citizens for once again voting us Norman’s Best Real Estate Agency! Here is to another 50 years together.
Exclusively Representing - Brookhaven - Brookhaven Square - Summit Valley - Summit Lakes - Summit Lakes Villas
Don Cies Real Estate 405.329.0256 1203 Brookhaven Blvd 424 W Main Norman Oklahoma
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from the Editor
It’s those moments that matter P by a ndy rieger
ete Winemiller knows a few again. I feel like we’re a town now.” That feeling lasted until we things about moments in printed some controversial stories and the cookies were retime. He’s a 19-year veteran placed with a brick through the window. We learned to bring staff member of NBA teams and curthe doorstop in at night. rently serves as senior vice presiMoments like learning of a young handicapped boy falling dent of guest relations for the through the ice and drowning and approaching the grieving Oklahoma City Thunder. family to learn more about their child. Standing outside their Pete and his staff can’t conrural Noble trailer home with my notebook in hand, I questrol the pace or outcome of tioned my career path. How much lower would I stoop? They the game but they can make didn’t have a telephone and I prayed they wouldn’t answer the a difference in how guests feel while there. He told a Norman door. The family couldn’t have been more accommodating. civic club that we don’t usually remember days, details and They wanted their son to be remembered for more than just dates of events and encounters but what we remember is how the little boy who fell through the ice on a farm pond. Or the we felt at the time. time some fishermen found a newt salamander on the banks Think about it. Those moments that stand out in your caof the Canadian. It swam and could also walk on land. It was reer and the way you felt. Looking back, for me, it was moa catch that would make them millions, they told me while ments like interviewing a nun who was in the last days of guarding it as it waddled on the dirt floor inside the Friendly cancer. My early-career, note-taking skills were lacking so a Tavern in Noble. Community journalism at it best. small tape recorder was utilized. When the tape was replayed, Moments like learning Colorado’s governor was trying to beautiful music was playing in the background but all I relure Oklahoma City’s National Cowboy Hall of Fame to his called was the total silence in her state and waiting on the sidewalk to living room. intercept the governor on his way Moments like reading the note Moments like being assigned to to make a pitch to the Hall’s direcon a sack of homemade oatmeal cover an Oklahoma gangster’s futor. I couldn’t find a pay phone fast cookies and a signed, (with a blank neral. The man had died in federal enough to call in the story. amount), subscription check left at our prison. His old running buddies Moments like riding with the were sure I was a policeman. Who sheriff surveying the damage a day fledgling weekly newspaper’s door in else would be sitting in the back after May’s tornadoes in Moore and Noble nearly 30 years ago. “Thanks row taking notes at a funeral? They having to stop our vehicle for the for giving us a newspaper again. I feel surrounded me as I left the church literally hundreds of teenagers with like we’re a town now.” and moved on when they mistook gloves, rakes and brooms walkmy police scanner coat bulge for a ing over the Fourth Street sidearm. overpass on their way Moments like reading the note to help clear the on a sack of homemade oatmeal town’s cemetery cookies and a signed, (with a blank of storm debris. amount), subscription check left at It gave me hope our fledgling weekly newspaper’s for our future. door in Noble nearly 30 years ago. “Thanks for giving us a newspaper
NORMAN magazine | MARCH/APRIL 2014
11
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Norman events
Information supplied by Norman Convention and Visitors Bureau Photos by Kyle Phillips, Doug Hill and Jay Chilton
MARCH - APRIL 2014 ONGOING EVENTS Art Exhibit – Helen Frankenthaler’s “Head of the Meadow” Tuesday – Thursday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Friday 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art 500 Elm Avenue, Norman Museum visitors have the chance to view Helen Frankenthaler’s Head of the Meadow for a limited time, on loan from a private collector. www.ou.edu/fjjma
Saturdays It’s Feeding Time! (at the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History)
Guests view artwork on the University of Oklahoma campus this past fall.
11:30 a.m.-Noon Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History 2401 S. Chautauqua Observe local reptiles, amphibians and fish, during their feeding time and learn more about these Oklahoma animals. http://www.snomnh.com
Live music: Mike Hosty
Saturdays and Sundays
First Monday of the month
Discovery Days
Free Admission the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History
2-4 p.m. Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History 2401 S. Chautauqua Discovery Days includes interactive, hands-on activities with stories, crafts and touchable specimens. Free with paid museum admission. http://www.snomnh.com
Sundays Family Days at the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art 1-4 p.m. Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art 500 Elm Avenue, Norman Explore art in the museum’s permanent collection and temporary exhibitions, and enjoy a variety of hands-on art activities for the entire family. www.ou.edu/fjjma
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11 p.m. The Deli 309 White Street Mike Hosty performs live each Sunday night. thedeli.us
Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m.- 5 p.m.; Sunday, 1-5 p.m. Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History 2401 S. Chautauqua The first Monday of each month, the museum features free admission. http://www.snomnh.com
Tuesdays Art Adventures 10:30 a.m. Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art 500 Elm Avenue, Norman Young artists are invited to experience art through books and related art projects for children ages 3 to 5 accompanied by an adult. https://www. ou.edu/content/fjjma/experience/ education/families/art-adventures. html.#sthash.x6nbcEiz.dpuf
NORMAN magazine | MARCH/APRIL 2014
There is no charge for admission to the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History on the first Monday of each month. Noon concerts
Comedy Night
Noon Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art 500 Elm Avenue, Norman The Tuesday Noon Concerts series is a cooperative effort between the OU School of Music and the FJJMA. Set aside part of your lunch hour for these 30-minute concerts performed by OU music students and faculty. Selected Tuesday Noon Concerts are followed by gallery talks or Art After Noon programs at 12:30 p.m. https://www.ou.edu/ content/fjjma/experience/education/ adults/tuesday-noon-concerts.html
9 p.m. Othello’s 434 Buchanan Street Sign up begins at 9 p.m. and the show begins at 10 p.m. http://othellos.us/
Wednesdays Local Trivia Night 8 p.m. Local 2662 W. Main St. Join Local Restaurant for free team trivia every Wednesday at 8 p.m., presented by TheLostOgle.com. It is free to play, but the winning teams will win cash prizes. http://www.thelostogle.com/ thelostogle-trivia-night-oklahoma-city/.
First Tuesday of the month
Now Open
NSAA Art Critique
Art Exhibit – The Self: An Exploration of Identity
6:45 p.m. Mainsite Art Gallery 120 E. Main St. Held the First Tuesday of each month at Mainsite Gallery, the NSAA Critique Sessions enable artists of all levelsto present their in-process work and receive constructive feedback for the betterment of the piece and the artist. www.normanarts.org
Tuesday-Saturday 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Mainsite Art Gallery 120 E. Main St. Mainsite will be featuring the work that highlights an exploration of identity. www.normanarts.org
AUDITIONS SummerStage presents Annie Entering 3rd-7th grade
Young Producers presents Shrek The Musical
Entering 8th grade through 2014 Senior class
The Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art participates in Second Friday Circuit of Art.
Audition Dates: April 4-7
Second Friday of the month
Now Open
Second Friday Circuit of Art
Art Exhibits – Buddah Tuesdays & Art as Therapy
6-9 p.m. Mainsite Art Gallery 120 E. Main St. 2nd Friday Circuit of Art – a monthly, citywide celebration of art – is a collaboration between artists, art organizations, and businesses, brought to you by the Norman Arts Council. http://2ndfridaynorman.com/
Tuesday-Saturday 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Mainsite Art Gallery 120 E. Main St. On Tuesdays, Mainsite will feature an opportunity to use art as therapy. www.normanarts.org
Art “a la Carte”
Opens March 8
6-9 p.m. Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art 500 Elm Avenue The Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art participates each month with the Norman Art’s Council’s 2nd Friday Circuit of Art. From 6-9 p.m. on the second Friday of each month the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art provides live music and independent films by the deadCENTER Film Festival Admission to Art “à la Carte” is free and open to all ages. Live music and films run 6:30-8:30 p.m. Films should be considered for mature audiences only. www.ou.edu/fjjma
Art Exhibit – Allan Houser Drawings: The Centennial Exhibition Tuesday – Thursday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Friday 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art 500 Elm Avenue In spring 2014, the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art at the University of Oklahoma will celebrate the centennial of Allan Houser, the distinguished Chiricahua Apache artist, with a special exhibition featuring one hundred of his inimitable drawings. Ninety-nine percent of the drawings are being lent to the museum by the estate of the artist in Santa Fe and the vast majority of them
Camp Tuition: $400 + $10 enrollment fee Additional details about the audition are posted on the AUDITION page of the Sooner Theatre web site. Participants are asked to read all online details prior to auditioning.
Please call 405.321.9600 to reserve your audition time.
The Sooner Theatre’s Sooner Stage Presents season finale
March 28-30, 2014
405.321.9600
www.soonertheatre.com NORMAN magazine | MARCH/APRIL 2014
15
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have never been exhibited or published before. The subjects of the drawings are wide ranging: dancers and musicians; mounted hunters and warriors; Southwestern landscapes; portraits; and genres scenes of Native life. The exhibition, organized by guest curator W. Jackson Rushing III, emphasizes the creative process, connoisseurship, and aesthetic experience. Houser’s work, including paintings, sculptures, and drawings for book illustrations, embodied history and ethnicity, even as it transcended such categories to speak with clarity, subtlety, and power to audiences around the world. Because of the intimacy and accessibility of the drawings, the exhibition will offer a fresh perspective on this renowned American Master. This exhibition is presented as part of Celebrating Allan Houser: An Oklahoma Perspective. In celebration of the 100th anniversary of Allan Houser’s birth, a first-ever,statewide collaborationof Oklahoma museums and cultural institutions, in conjunction with the Oklahoma Museums Association, is honoring his memory, works and legacy. Special exhibitions, events and educational opportunities are available throughout the state August 2013 through December 2014. www.ou.edu/fjjma
Opens April 4 Art Exhibit – Our People, Our Land, Our Images Tuesday – Thursday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Friday 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art 500 Elm Avenue, Norman Our People, Our Land, Our Images represents the work of indigenous photographers from North America, South America, the Middle East and New Zealand. This exhibition offers a rare opportunity to view indigenous peoples through the eyes of indigenous photographers. The images presented in the exhibition explore their creators’ connections to their land, community and traditions. The various photographic approaches of the artists challenge audiences to examine the stereotypes, politics and histories associated with indigenous peoples. Fifty-one works and 26 artists are featured in the exhibition, including Jennie Ross Cobb (Cherokee), the earliest known female Native American photographer. This exhibition is organized by guest curator Veronica Passalacqua of the C. N. Gorman Museum at the University of California, Davis, and is a program of ExhibitsUSA, a national division of Mid-America Arts Alliance, with the Oklahoma Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts. www.ou.edu/fjjma
Mardi Gras was celebrated in Norman on March 1.
March 1
Now Open
Through April 20
20th Annual Mardi Gras Parade
Exhibit – Ramp It Up!
Exhibit – George M. Sutton: Exploring Art and Science
7 p.m. Downtown Norman The 20th Norman Mardi Gras Parade will Dance off your Winter Blues in Downtown Norman where nearly 5,000 enjoy Oklahoma’s only Mardi Gras Parade and Norman’s only night parade. The Zydeco Allstars and Prairie Folk Circus, local businesses, and many, many friends make Downtown Norman the place to be every Saturday before Fat Tuesday in Oklahoma. www.normanmardigrasparade.com
Ongoing through March 14 Art Exhibit – The Self: An Exploration of Identity Tuesday-Saturday 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.; 2nd Friday of each month 6 – 10 p.m. and by appointment. Mainsite Art Gallery 120 E. Main St. www.normanarts.org
Ongoing through March 15 Art Exhibits – Buddah Tuesdays & Art as Therapy Tuesday-Saturday 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.; 2nd Friday of each month6 – 10 p.m. and by appointment. Mainsite Art Gallery 120 E. Main St. www.normanarts.org
Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m.- 5 p.m.; Sunday, 1-5 p.m. Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History 2401 S. Chautauqua One of the most popular sports on Indian reservations, skateboarding has inspired American Indian and Native Hawaiian communities to host skateboard competitions and build skate parks to encourage their youth. Native entrepreneurs own skateboard companies and sponsor communitybased skate teams. Native artists and filmmakers, inspired by their skating experiences, credit the sport with teaching them a successful work ethic. This exhibitfeaturesthe indigenous stories of skateboarding. Join the SNOMNH as theycelebrate the vibrancy, creativity, and controversy of Native skate culture. http://www.snomnh.com
Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m.- 5 p.m.; Sunday, 1-5 p.m. Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History 2401 S. Chautauqua This exhibit features 75 watercolor paintings from the museum’s George Miksch Sutton collection of artwork. Sutton, an acclaimed artist, writer, explorer and teacher, arrived in Norman in the spring of 1952 to begin work at the University of Oklahoma. His passionate interest in ornithology and the natural sciences led him on several expeditions in the continental United States as well as the Arctic north, Mexico and South America. The exhibit highlights artwork from these expeditions, personal items from Sutton’s life and travels, and his treasured watercolor paintbox given to him by his mentor, Louis Agassiz Fuertes, in 1916 when Sutton was 18. By the time of his death in 1982, Sutton had written 13 books and more than 200 scientific journal articles and illustrated at least 18 books. http://www.snomnh.com
George Sutton’s work is on display at the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History.
NORMAN magazine | MARCH/APRIL 2014
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March 1-2
March 7-9
Little Shop of Horrors & Doo Wop Revue
Sooner men’s baseball vs. Rutgers
2 p.m. both days and 7:30 p.m. Saturday The Sooner Theatre 101 E. Main A down-and out skid row floral assistant becomes an overnight sensation when he discovers an exotic plant with a mysterious craving for fresh blood. Soon “Audrey II” grows into an ill-tempered, foul-mouthed, R&B-singing carnivore who offers him fame and fortune in exchange for feeding its growing appetite, finally revealing itself to be an alien creature poised for global domination! Special Add-on performance included as part of the show: Doo Wop Revue. This production features a cast of 7th-12th grade students from the Senior Production class at The Studio of The Sooner Theatre. www.soonertheatre.org
6 p.m., 2 p.m. and noon L. Dale Mitchell Park 401 W. Imhoff www.soonersports.com
March 7 Sooner women’s gymnastics vs. Arizona State 6:45 p.m. Lloyd Noble Center 2900 Jenkins Ave. www.soonersports.com
Sooner men’s tennis vs. Ohio State 5 p.m. Headington Tennis Center 500 W. Imhoff www.soonersports.com
March 1 OU men’s basketball vs. Texas
Sooner softball vs. Western Illinois
3 p.m. Lloyd Noble Center 2900 Jenkins Ave. www.soonersports.com
Sooner softball vs. Nebraska 2 & 4 p.m. Marita Hynes Field 2500 S. Jenkins Ave. www.soonersports.com
OU guard Buddy Hield shoots at Lloyd Noble Center. Sooner softball vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff Noon & 2 p.m. Marita Hynes Field 2500 S. Jenkins Ave. www.soonersports.com
March 2
March 3
Winter Wind Concert Series – Mark Erelli
OU women’s basketball vs. Texas Tech
7 p.m. Performing Arts Studio at the Norman Depot 200 S. Jones Mark Erelli now travels his own road that both embodies and challenges our expectations of a singer/songwriter. Erelli has tackled everything from western swing and protest songs to lullabies and murder ballads, all in a richly expressive voice. It is a journey that has taken him, from church basement coffeehouses to the main stage of the Newport Folk Festival, to venerable listening rooms like Harvard Square’s Club Passim. www.pasnorman.org
March 8 March 5 OU men’s basketball vs. West Virginia 8 p.m. Lloyd Noble Center 2900 Jenkins Ave. www.soonersports.com
Big 12 Wrestling Championships All day McCasland Field House 180 W. Brooks www.soonersports.com
7 p.m. Lloyd Noble Center 2900 Jenkins Ave. www.soonersports.com
March 4 & 5 Sooner men’s baseball vs. Abilene Christian 6 p.m. L. Dale Mitchell Park 401 W. Imhoff www.soonersports.com
March 4
Sooner men’s tennis vs. Louisville
Sooner softball vs. Louisiana Tech
Noon Headington Tennis Center 500 W. Imhoff www.soonersports.com
3 p.m. Marita Hynes Field 2500 S. Jenkins Ave. www.soonersports.com
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4:30 p.m. Marita Hynes Field 2500 S. Jenkins Ave. www.soonersports.com
NORMAN magazine | MARCH/APRIL 2014
The Sooners opened their season with a new head coach Pete Hughes.
Sooner softball vs. Tulsa & Liberty 4 & 6:30 p.m. Marita Hynes Field 2500 S. Jenkins Ave. www.soonersports.com
March 9 & 23 Eagle Watch at Lake Thunderbird 12:45-4 p.m. Lake Thunderbird State Park Join naturalist Ernest Martinlead the eagle watch and walking touratLake Thunderbird State Park. lakethunderbirdnaturecenter@gmail.com
Sooner men’s gymnastics vs. Nebraska 4 p.m. McCasland Field House 180 W. Brooks www.soonersports.com
Sooner softball vs. Western Illinois
Oklahoma’s Preferred Day Spa
12:30 p.m. Marita Hynes Field 2500 S. Jenkins Ave. www.soonersports.com
Visitors to Lake Thunderbird State Park may see eagles in the park. March 9 Second Sunday Poetry – William Bernhardt 2 p.m. Performing Arts Studio at the Norman Depot 200 S. Jones NY Times best selling mystery author William Bernhardt has sold more than 10 million books in several different countries throughout the world, winning numerous awards. In recent years Bernhardt has devoted more time to writing poetry, which he “enjoys enormously.” www.pasnorman.org
Jazz Series – Dennis Borycki 7:30 p.m. Performing Arts Studio at the Norman Depot 200 S. Jones Dennis Borycki teaches piano and keyboards for the University of Central Oklahoma, currently as instructor of Applied Jazz Piano at the UCO Jazz Lab. He brings a wide depth of musical experiences having played with some of the country’s top artists and session players.Borycki will be joined by some of the regions best jazz musicians for this concert, which may include a poetic surprise. www.pasnorman.org
Sooner men’s tennis vs. Wake Forest Noon Headington Tennis Center 500 W. Imhoff www.soonersports.com
March 13-15 Norman All Transportation Swap Meet
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8 a.m.-5 p.m. Cleveland County Fairgrounds 615 E. Robinson www.normanswapmeet.com
March 14-16 Sooner men’s baseball vs. Belmont 6 p.m., 6 p.m. and noon L. Dale Mitchell Park 401 W. Imhoff www.soonersports.com
Shop at Your Convenience. Order gift certificates and book appointments online. Brookhaven Village • 36th & Robinson • Norman
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Thank you for nominating us!
Dr. Sara Spulock Best Dentist Jo Tarver Best Hygentist Dr. Susan Whiteneck Best Dentist
Dental Design Studio Best Dental Group
Call (405) 321-6166 or visit NormanDentist.com
March 14-28 Art Exhibit – Brad & Nathan Price 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Performing Arts Studio at the Norman Depot 200 S. Jones Norman impressionist Brad Price has a style emphasizing contrast and bold complementary color with bold brush strokes directional in nature. The landscape is his central focus.Artist Nathan Price will join his father in a joint exhibition of their work in the Norman Depot through March 28. www.pasnorman.org
March 17-24 OU tennis matches are played indoors and outdoors at the Headington Tennis Center, west of the Lloyd Noble Center.
Spring Break Escape at the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m.- 5 p.m.; Sunday, 1-5 p.m. Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History 2401 S. Chautauqua Enjoy exploration and fun on a budget with crafts, auditorium shows, storytelling, scavenger hunts and more, all free with paid museum admission. http://www.snomnh.com
March 21
March 26
March 29
Sooner women’s tennis vs. Texas Tech
Sooner softball vs. North Texas
Sooner men’s gymnastics at MPSF Championships
5 p.m. Headington Tennis Center 500 W. Imhoff www.soonersports.com
6 p.m. Marita Hynes Field 2500 S. Jenkins Ave. www.soonersports.com
4 p.m. McCasland Field House 180 W. Brooks www.soonersports.com
March 18
March 22 & 23
March 28-April 6
March 30
Sooner men’s baseball vs. Texas Christian
Sooner softball vs. LSU
The Sooner Theatre presents “Jesus Christ Superstar”
Winter Wind Concert Series – Beppe Gambetta
6 p.m. L. Dale Mitchell Park 401 W. Imhoff www.soonersports.com
Sooner softball vs. Bradley 6 p.m. Marita Hynes Field 2500 S. Jenkins Ave. www.soonersports.com
March 19 Sooner men’s baseball vs. Arkansas-Little Rock 6 p.m. L. Dale Mitchell Park 401 W. Imhoff www.soonersports.com
March 21-23 Sooner men’s baseball vs. Kansas State 6 p.m., 1 p.m. and 1 p.m. L. Dale Mitchell Park 401 W. Imhoff www.soonersports.com
2 p.m. and noon Marita Hynes Field 2500 S. Jenkins Ave. www.soonersports.com
March 23 Sooner women’s tennis vs. Texas Christian Noon Headington Tennis Center 500 W. Imhoff www.soonersports.com
March 25 Art After Noon: Thomas Moran’s Entrance to the Grand Canal from 1905 12:30-1 p.m. Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art 500 Elm Avenue, Norman Get acquainted with landscape paintings from the museum’s permanent collection in these 30-minute discussions. You are invited to bring your lunch; dessert and drinks will be provided. Susan Baley, FJJMA Directory of Education, will present the talk. www.ou.edu/fjjma
Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., Sundays at 2 p.m. The Sooner Theatre 101 E. Main It seems especially fitting that the first rock opera, created as a concept album at the end of the turbulent ’60s, should have at its center a social and political rebel. Jesus’ meteor-like rise in renown provides, as the title suggests, a parallel to contemporary celebrity worship. As his radical teachings are evermore embraced, Judas increasingly questions the enlightened motives of this new prophet, resulting in betrayal. Christ’s final days are dramatized with emotional intensity, thought-provoking edge and explosive theatricality. Propelled by a stirring score, by turns driving and majestic, satirical and tender, Jesus Christ Superstar illuminates the transcendent power of the human spirit with a passion that goes straight to the heart. www.soonertheatre.org
7 p.m. Performing Arts Studio at the Norman Depot 200 S. Jones “If you were to sum up in one sentence Beppe Gambetta on stage, it would be ‘That man can downright flat pick!’ Whether it’s through the descriptive stories and tales he shares, or through the power of his guitar playing and melodious vocals, an evening with Beppe is not one soon forgotten.” Daniel Hayes, Center for the Arts, New York www.pasnorman.org
April 1 Sooner men’s baseball vs. Oklahoma State 6 p.m. L. Dale Mitchell Park 401 W. Imhoff www.soonersports.com
NORMAN magazine | MARCH/APRIL 2014
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April 2 Sooner softball vs. Oklahoma State 6:30 p.m. Marita Hynes Field 2500 S. Jenkins Ave. www.soonersports.com
hair garlands, and much more. Watch mastercrafters demonstrating their skills. http://www.medievalfair.org
Sooner men’s baseball vs. Cal State-Bakersfield 6 p.m., 6 p.m. and 2 p.m. L. Dale Mitchell Park 401 W. Imhoff www.soonersports.com
April 4-6 38th Annual Medieval Fair 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Reaves Parks 2501 Jenkins Held annually since 1977, this living history fair features arts, crafts, food, games, educational exhibits, demonstrations and ongoing entertainment at seven stages. Entertainment for the whole family includes minstrels, dancing, theater and reenactments, jugglers, magicians, knights jousting on horseback and human chess games. Brightly costumed characters include King Arthur, mermaids, and the fair’s royal court. Browse through the medieval villageof over 200 art and craft booths offering unique and handcrafted wares. Offerings include pottery, wood crafts, stained glass, armor, costumes, fairy wings, jewelry, leather crafts,
Sooner softball vs. Kansas 6:30 p.m., 2 p.m. and noon Marita Hynes Field 2500 S. Jenkins Ave. www.soonersports.com
April 4 Josh Lee Lecture Series with former Senator Fred Harris 3-5 p.m. Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History 2401 S. Chautauqua The Josh Lee Lecture Series is a biennial event that began in 2000 to honor former U.S. Senator, and OU Department of Communication Chairman, Josh Lee. Known as the “Silver-tongued Orator from Oklahoma”, Lee exemplified
the rhetorical focus he taught and instituted at the University of Oklahoma, with the belief that training in public speaking was an essential part of an educational foundation. For this year’s Josh Lee Lecture Series, The Political Communication Center is proud to present a lecture by former Senator Fred Harris, political science professor and award winning author. www.pcc.ou.edu
April 6 Sooner women’s tennis vs. Iowa State Noon Headington Tennis Center 500 W. Imhoff www.soonersports.com
April 7-8 April 4 Sooner women’s tennis vs. West Virginia 5 p.m. Headington Tennis Center 500 W. Imhoff www.soonersports.com
April 5 Fly-Tying Workshop for Adults Time to be announced Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History, 2401 S. Chautauqua Make fishing lures used in fly-fishing from native North American insects that are both beautiful and functional in a beginner or advanced workshop. http://www.snomnh.com
12th Annual Oklahoma Native American Youth Language Fair Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m.- 5 p.m.; Sunday, 1-5 p.m. Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History 2401 S. Chautauqua Students across Oklahoma honor their Native languages through written, spoken and visual arts. Admission is free. http://www.snomnh.com
April 8 Sooner men’s baseball vs. Oral Roberts 6 p.m. L. Dale Mitchell Park 401 W. Imhoff www.soonersports.com
Hospital. Hotel. Shopping. Hospital. Hotel. Shopping. Hospital. Hotel. Shopping.
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West Norman Link offers 30-minute service West30-minute Norman Link offers 30-minute service Link offers service from 7:15 a.m. to 8:45 weekdays; from 7:15 a.m. to 8:45 p.m. p.m. weekdays; m. toand 8:45from p.m.10:15 weekdays; a.m. to 6:45 p.m. Saturdays. and from 10:15 a.m. to 6:45 p.m. Saturdays. 5 a.m. to This 6:45 p.m. Saturdays. route serves northwest Norman, This route serves northwest Norman, erves northwest Norman, including Norman Regional HealthPlex, including Norman Regional HealthPlex, Northpark Embassy orman University Regional HealthPlex, University Northpark andand Embassy Suites. Suites. rthpark and Embassy Suites. 325-CART (405)(405) 325-CART (2278) (2278) rideCART.com (405) 325-CART (2278) rideCART.com CARTgps.com CARTgps.com rideCART.com @CARTNorman @CARTNorman CARTgps.com CARTCART on Facebook on Facebook
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NORMAN magazine | MARCH/APRIL 2014
Sooner softball vs. Wichita State 4 & 6 p.m. Marita Hynes Field 2500 S. Jenkins Ave. www.soonersports.com
April 11-13 Sooner men’s baseball vs. Texas 6 p.m., 4 p.m. and 1 p.m. L. Dale Mitchell Park 401 W. Imhoff www.soonersports.com
rhythmic and melodic influences coupled with a verse and refrain form familiar in Western culture. To honor this music that gave rise to genres like gospel, blues, jazz, rock & roll, and reflect on its troubled beginnings, Cimarron Opera presents this evening of spirituals featuring choirs, instrumentalists, and vocalists from throughout the state. www.cimarronopera.org
Sooner men’s tennis vs. Texas Tech 1 p.m. Headington Tennis Center 500 W. Imhoff www.soonersports.com
April 11-26 Art Exhibit – University of Oklahoma MFA Thesis Exhibit Tuesday-Saturday 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.; 2nd Friday of each month6 – 10 p.m. and by appointment. Mainsite Art Gallery 120 E. Main St. www.normanarts.org
April 11 Concert – Shawn Mullins 8 p.m. The Sooner Theatre 101 E. Main Since listeners last heard from Shawn Mullins on 2008’s honeydew, the Atlanta-based singer/ songwriter and bandleader has undergone a series of transformative experiences, leading to a second coming for the veteran artist. Evidence of Mullins’ newfound level of musical and lyrical ambition courses comes through with Light You Up (Vanguard Records, Oct. 12). This captivating new song cycle will likely be viewed as a flat-out revelation even by Mullins’ most fervent fans. www.soonertheatre.org
Sooner men’s tennis vs. Baylor 5:30 p.m. Headington Tennis Center 500 W. Imhoff www.soonersports.com
April 15 Art After Noon: Paul Gaugin’s Suburb under Snow (Wintery Day) from 1886 12:30-1 p.m. Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art 500 Elm Avenue, Norman Get acquainted with landscape paintings from the museum’s permanent collection in these 30-minute discussions. You are invited to bring your lunch; dessert and drinks will be provided. Susan Baley, FJJMA Directory of Education, will present the talk. www.ou.edu/fjjma
Sooner women’s tennis vs. Oklahoma State
April 19 Super Fan 5k 9-10 a.m. The Railhouse 102 W. Eufaula St. This 5K race helps benefit the Mary Abbott Children’s House and the Norman Public School Foundation.
Sooner men’s and women’s track and field John Jacobs Invitational 9 a.m. John Jacobs Track and Field Complex 1520 Jenkins Ave. www.soonersports.com
Noon Headington Tennis Center 500 W. Imhoff www.soonersports.com
April 22 Sooner softball vs. Central Arkansas 5 p.m. Marita Hynes Field 2500 S. Jenkins Ave. www.soonersports.com
April 24-26 Norman Music Festival Times vary
The Norman Music Festival in downtown Norman will take place April 24-26.
April 16 Eggstravaganza! 4-7 p.m. Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History 2401 S. Chautauqua Complimentary admission, games, crafts, photos with the bunny and, of course, a great egg hunt. http://www.snomnh.com
Eggstravaganza! offers free admission at the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History April 16.
April 17-19 Sooner men’s baseball vs. West Virginia 6 p.m., 6 p.m. and noon L. Dale Mitchell Park 401 W. Imhoff www.soonersports.com
April 13 45th Annual Festival of Spirituals 6-8 p.m. First Presbyterian Church 555 S. University Cimarron Opera is proud to present the 45th Annual Festival of Spirituals. The Festival of Spirituals was conceived by founders Thomas Carey and Carol Brice in 1970 as a way to preserve and keep this uniquely American art form alive. This music contains distinct and unique
Sooner softball vs. Texas 8 p.m., 6:30 p.m. and 1 p.m. Marita Hynes Field 2500 S. Jenkins Ave. www.soonersports.com
NORMAN magazine | MARCH/APRIL 2014
23
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Cover Story
of the
Queen Diamond by c orbin hosler
P
atty Gasso took one last look around her empty house. The Long Beach City College coach had grown restless after building the community college into a regional softball power, and was looking for the next challenge she could tackle. She amassed 161 wins in five years at the junior college but had always wondered when she would visit Oklahoma City to watch the tournament with friend and athletic director Mickey Davis and what it would be like to coach in the Women’s College World Series. When Oklahoma’s coaching job opened up in 1995, associate athletic director and softball legend Marita Hynes contacted Davis as part of her search for the program’s next coach. It was Davis who directed the Sooners to Gasso, who after some thought and a visit to campus decided it was the right time to accept the challenge. So Gasso, pregnant at the time with her youngest son DJ, decided with her husband Jim to pack up and move to Norman with their seven-year-old son JT. Inside what would soon be the Gassos’ former home, the walls were bare, 26
NORMAN magazine | MARCH/APRIL 2014
the furniture gone. The movers had filled the truck and the power company had cut the lights. It was Gasso’s last chance to see her home before making the biggest move of her life. Sitting there on the living room floor in the dark, the famously intense coach did something she didn’t do often: she cried. “I don’t know if it was being pregnant or the hormones or what, but I just remember crying and wondering if I was doing the right thing,” she said. “Looking back I’m still surprised I accepted the job because I’m a creature of habit. I love the ocean, and I lived four blocks from the beach. I thought Oklahoma was horses and hay stacks and dust. But I was wowed by the campus and I knew I had to do something out of my comfort zone and I could see a future here. It was the biggest decision we ever made as a family. But I believe God led us, and 20 years later, here we are.” Nearly 20 years after that day, “here” is a program with few peers. The program Gasso built has won two national championships and brought together
some of the best players, including a historically-dominant squad last season that went 10-0 and outscored opponents 91-16 in the postseason on its way to the title. They’ve reached the Women’s College World Series eight times under Gasso, who has won more Big 12 games than any other coach in league history. The Sooners have finished first or second 14 times since the Big 12 formed in 1996, and they’ve won more than 75 percent of their conference games in that span. Gasso was inducted in the National Fastpitch Hall of Fame in 2012 — a ceremony she skipped so she could watch her son DJ play in the state championship football game — and has been named Big 12 Coach of the Year six times. The Sooners began the 2014 campaign ranked second in the country and are expected to compete for the title again this year. They have passionate fans, superb facilities and pack the stadium for every home game. It’s a long way from where things stood when Gasso arrived.
Photo by Ty Russell
OU’s Patty Gasso
Patty Gasso is all smiles heading into the 2014 season.
NORMAN magazine | MARCH/APRIL 2014
27
Members of the championship OU softball team celebrate following the win in Oklahoma City.
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W
hen Gasso first visited OU’s campus, it was the football stadium that impressed her the most. She also enjoyed being proven wrong about Oklahoma’s reputation as a rugged prairie and how the Sooner community embraced her family. But one thing she did not enjoy was the softball facilities, or rather the lack thereof. The Sooners played their home games in Reaves Park, provided that they could schedule them around the city’s other activities on the property. When she first toured the campus, Gasso had to double-check that the Sooners were being serious about playing at the park. Once she finally arrived on campus, she had to work to win over a Sooners’ team that wasn’t used to being run as strictly as Gasso managed it. Having a team that had to keep their ball bags in their cars and were forced off their practice field when it was time for the city’s rec slow-pitch league was not an ideal start for a new coach trying to build a program. To make matters worse, DJ - at this point three weeks old - had to undergo surgery weeks before her coaching debut. “I was an emotional wreck,” Gasso said. “I’ve
NORMAN magazine | MARCH/APRIL 2014
Photo by Jackson Laizure
got a seven-year-old, a newborn and we’re trying to settle in here. I just went back to what got me there in the first place. Coaching with discipline, because to me that equates to love for your players. When they saw my passion, they slowly started to buy in.” That was the approach that got Gasso to OU, and it was the one that made her teams successful. In her first year at the helm, the Sooners came within two inches of the World Series on a foul ball in the regional tournament. One of the players on that team was Melyssa Lombardi, a tenacious catcher who stayed on as a graduate assistant after her career ended. That turned into an assistant coaching position in 1998 and being named the associate head coach in 2007. In that time, she’s coached pitchers and catchers to 16 All-America honors. Lombardi’s initial impression of Gasso at her first practice in 1995 is the same impression she gets when she watches the veteran coach step on the field now. “She was very intense, and still is,” Lombardi said. “The years have gone by, but she’s still just as intense and on it as ever. I enjoyed playing for
Photo by Jackson Laizure
her because she expected us to win every single game. I liked how competitive she was.” Coming off a successful playing career that saw her earn NFCA all-region honors as well as an All-Big 12 spot, Lombardi’s transition from playing for Gasso to working for her wasn’t easy. “I went from being a senior captain and batting leadoff to picking up everyone’s trash,” Lombardi said. “But I liked living here and coaching and working for coach Gasso. What I’ve accomplished as a coach is thanks to her. We work hard here, but family has always been the number one priority. That’s what makes this program and working here so great.” As Gasso settled into her job at OU, her family began to settle into Norman. A year in, the family moved out of the house they were renting and into one they bought. Gasso had heard stories of the welcoming attitude of Oklahomans, but one experience less than a month into the move made it real for her. “JT left his bike out in the front yard overnight, and when we got up in the morning it was gone,” Gasso recalled. “We griped and complained that it wasn’t really that way here, and then we see our
Patty Gasso’s intensity is admired by players.
SPRING BREA K
WEDNESDAY, April 16, 4 to 7 P.M.
ESCAPE!
Enjoy crafts, games, face painting, photos with the bunny and, of course, an epic egg hunt on the museum grounds! Complimentary admission!
MARCH 17 – 21, 10 AM – 5 PM, DAILY
Engage your senses as you spring into the natural and cultural history of Oklahoma! Spring Break Escape offers opportunities for exploration and fun on a budget with daily activities including crafts, auditorium shows, storytelling, face painting, scavenger hunts and more, all complimentary with paid museum admission.
us for Join
an egghunt of Jurassic proportions!
SAM NOBLE MUSEUM | UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA 2401 CHAUTAUQUA AVE., NORMAN, OK 73072
Sponsored by:
WWW.SNOMNH.OU.EDU Sponsored by: 2401 Chautauqua Ave., Norman, OK 73072 (405) 325-4712 | www.snomnh.ou.edu The University of Oklahoma is an equal opportunity institution. www.ou.edu/eoo. For accommodations on the basis of disability, please call (405) 325-4712.an equal opportunity institution. www.ou.edu/eoo. For accommodations on the basis of disability, please call (405) 325-4712.an equal opportunity institution. www.ou.edu/eoo. For accommodations on the basis of disability, please call (405) 325-4712.an equal opportunity institution. www.ou.edu/eoo. For accommodations on the basis of disability, please call (405) 325-4712.an equal opportunity institution. www.ou.edu/eoo. For accommodations on the basis of disability, please call (405) 325-4712.an equal opportunity institution. www.ou.edu/eoo. For accommodations on the basis of disability, please call (405) 325-4712.an equal opportunity institution. www.ou.edu/eoo. 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For accommodations on the basis of disability, please call (405) 325-4712. an equal opportunity institution. www.ou.edu/eoo. For accommodations on the basis of disability, please call (405) 325-4712. an equal opportunity institution. www.ou.edu/eoo. For accommodations on the basis of disability, please call (405) 325-4712.an equal opportunity institution. www.ou.edu/eoo. For accommodations on the basis of disability, please call (405) 325-4712.an equal opportunity institution. www.ou.edu/eoo. For accommodations on the basis of disability, please call (405) 325-4712.an equal opportunity institution. www.ou.edu/eoo. For accommodations on the basis of disability, please call (405) 325-4712. an equal opportunity institution. www.ou.edu/eoo. For accommodations on the basis of disability, please call (405) 325-4712. an equal opportunity institution. www.ou.edu/eoo. For accommodations on the basis of disability, please call (405) 325-4712. an equal opportunity institution. www.ou.edu/eoo. For accommodations on the basis of disability, please call (405) 325-4712.an equal opportunity institution. www.ou.edu/eoo. For accommodations on the basis of disability, please call (405) 325-4712. an equal opportunity institution. www.ou.edu/eoo. For accommodations on the basis of disability, please call (405) 325-4712. an equal opportunity institution. www.ou.edu/eoo. For accommodations on the basis of disability, please call (405) 325-4712. an equal opportunity institution. www.ou.edu/eoo. For accommodations on the basis of disability, please call (405) 325-4712. an equal opportunity institution. www.ou.edu/eoo. For accommodations on the basis of disability, please call (405) 325-4712. an equal opportunity institution. www.ou.edu/eoo. For accommodations on the basis of disability, please call (405) 325-4712. an equal opportunity institution. www.ou.edu/eoo. For accommodations on the basis of disability, please call (405) 325-4712. an equal opportunity institution. www.ou.edu/eoo. For accommodations on the basis of disability, please call (405) 325-4712.
NORMAN magazine | MARCH/APRIL 2014
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neighbor come out, cookies in hand, with the bike to tell us that they saw it left out and had put it in their garage to make sure nothing happened. That’s when we learned this lifestyle fit our family.” Over the next five years OU built its own softball stadium and reached the postseason every season, but failed to advance to the World Series. Gasso still loved her job, but eventually the toll on her family meant that she had to make a change. “I just knew that 2000 was going to be my last year here,” Gasso said. “After that season ended, I was going back. Jim was living and coaching
OU SOFTBALL COACHING HISTORY
back in California, and the pressures of living apart and raising two kids here was too much.” Gasso coached the season expecting it to be her last. The Sooners had one of their best teams since Gasso arrived and earned their third Big 12 title in five years and earned the right to host a regional, which they won to advance to Gasso’s first Women’s College World Series. Now coaching where years earlier she had watched from the stands, Gasso watched her team catch fire. They advanced to the title round and defeated tradi-
1975-76: Amy Dahl 1977-84: Marita Hynes 1985-93: Michelle Thomas-Grost 1994: Jim Beitia 1995-present: Patty Gasso
BIO: Patty Gasso is a native of Torrance, California, and attended Bishop Montgomery High School before playing softball at Long Beach State, where she graduated in 1984. After graduation, Gasso went on to coach successfully at Long Beach City College for five years. She was hired by Oklahoma in 1995 and has won two national championships and more than 900 games since. She is the six-time Big 12 Coach of the Year and was inducted into the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2012.
The softball team returned 10 starters this year.
SEASON OUTLOOK: Oklahoma won the title in 2013, but the Sooners have a new goal in mind this year: to become the first team since Arizona in 2006-07 to win back-to-back national championships. The Sooners return 10 players who started games last season, and have 14 letterwinners in all coming back. That includes Lauren Chamberlain, who as a junior has already bested the Sooners’ career home run record, and junior shortstop Shelby Pendley, the Big 12 Player of the Year a season ago. The biggest challenge Gasso’s squad faces is filling the void left by four departing seniors, including USA Softball’s Player of the Year Keilani Ricketts, who along with classmate Michelle Gascoigne formed the pitching duo that helped to carry the Sooners to the championship.
Photo by Kyle Phillips
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tional softball power UCLA three games to one to win the program’s first national championship. With that historic win, everything changed. “It changed our whole gameplan,” Gasso said. “Facilities changed, salaries changed, and we were able to stay here. I’ll never forget that.” With that momentous night, Gasso’s future at OU was secured, and so was the Sooners’ ascension to college softball’s elite tier. The Sooners reached the World Series seven times in the next 13 years, and behind a dominant team that included two-time USA Softball Player of the Year Keilani Ricketts OU won its second national title a year ago in front of a record crowd in Oklahoma City. Despite the pressure on that team leading up to the World Series, those Sooners found time for what was most important. They had to, when a devastating tornado ripped through the state just before the Sooners hosted the Super Regional. Driven by the family-first attitude that Gasso instills in her program, the Sooners dropped their bats and picked up their boots, giving as much of their time and efforts to the relief cause as possible. They donated their
Anything but
clothes and their time, but it was more personal than that for the group. Sydney Angle was a youth softball player and an avid Sooners fan. When the young girl was killed in the storm, the Sooners stepped in the only way they could: by bringing whatever joy they could to her family. Older sister Casey Angle served as both bat girl and inspiration to the team for the rest of the season. “I know a lot of people would think it adds more pressure, but it was really freeing for us,” Gasso said. “To feel like you had a factor in bringing some small amount of happiness to people who enjoy watching you, it really changes your perspective on sport. What we were doing may seem like the most important thing in the world, but it’s not. We were going to fight and do it freely, and that’s what you saw.”
G
asso’s own place in college softball’s pantheon is assured. She credits coaches like Tennessee’s Pat Summit for popularizing women’s sports over the last 40 years, and she’s left her own mark on that legacy. Her continued success at OU has shown that softball
ordinary
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NORMAN magazine | MARCH/APRIL 2014
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It all changed for Gasso after the 2000 season.
can succeed in regions where it’s not a balmy 70 degrees year-round. The Women’s College World Series is one of the fastest-growing collegiate events in the country and pro softball leagues have gained traction despite the sport being absent from the Olympics. Softball programs across the country are following the lead of those who came before them and receiving more support than ever before from their universities and communities. But the passionate coach that crowds see in between the lines is only part of the story. “Lots of people see her at games and she’s serious, but when she’s not doing that she knows how to have fun,” Lombardi said. “I’ve seen her break out some dance moves in the locker room before. She truly cares about our athletes and everyone who works for her. Young girls come in here and leave as independent women ready for the next chapter in their life.” The union between a self-professed “beach person” and a state with notoriously wild weather, in a sport that isn’t supposed to succeed outside of the West Coast, isn’t something Gasso ever expected when she visited to watch the World Series all those years ago. But - while she still says she’ll never get used to the snow and cold - it works. “If Oklahoma can bring me out, I know I can bring more people out,” she said. “When you put a good product out on the field, it doesn’t matter what it is; everyone will appreciate it.”
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Norman FYI
Joie Sherman Johnson Talent Director at Switzer Talent, voice teacher at Sooner Theatre and lead singer of “North Meets South.”
What is your favorite type of music and why? Americana-it’s a broad genre, and pulls from the best of folk, country, rock ‘n roll and blues. How did you get involved in music? My family is extremely musical, so it started at family “talent shows” at Christmas, but it was musical theatre that got me performing in front of an audience. What is your go to stress reliever? A hot bath and a good book. What is your pet peeve? Poor “audience etiquette.” If a performer is onstage, whether it’s a dive bar or a theatre, those who are watching should show their appreciation (even if it isn’t their cup of tea)-artists put their heart and souls up on that stage. Do you like to plan things out in detail or be spontaneous? Oh, I’m a big planner. Although, “live in the moment” is one of my New Year’s Resolutions… Besides music, what else do you consider your talents to be? I love acting, and I love doing voiceover work. I’m a bit of an impersonator… Do you sing in the shower? It depends-I’m usually singing all the time, so the shower is more of my quiet time. What is your most prized possession? Home videos from my childhood-being able to see and hear my Grandfather is priceless. What makes you happy? My husband and spending time with my family.
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What makes you nervous? Storm season. What do you do to enjoy a perfect Spring day? Enjoying good food and a glass of wine on an outdoor patio. What is one thing besides work you do everyday? I read, and currently I’ve been practicing French everyday on my IPhone. Do you talk to other shoppers at the grocery store? To folks that I know-I’m originally from Fargo, North Dakotawe Scandinavians can be a little shy… List five of your goals for this year. 1. Finish North Meets South’s first, full length, studio album (due in April) 2. Go on tour with our new band members 3. Continue writing original songs...and finish original ideas in the pipeline. 4. T o play Patsy Cline and bring back “Always, Patsy Cline” to the Sooner Theatre. 5. Practice Yoga regularly
Farrel Droke
Engineer and former restaurant owner, singer and songwriter
What is your favorite type of music and why? I love all music - even atonal crazy hard-to-access jazz - because every form of music is a personal expression of emotion. What do I listen to most? I love what’s called “new folk” music most right now because it allows composers a free range of musical constructs, key changes, complex tempos, and arrangements. New folk music isn’t just constrained to “three chords and a prayer” anymore. Folk music allows you to express ideas on any subject. Do you like entertaining others and why? I’m a natural extrovert and a bit of a nerd. I tell a lot of jokes. This has caused me some social awkwardness. Sit down next to someone on a park bench and say, “Let me tell you a story about my life.” and they will look at you funny and say, “Interesting, but I’ve got to go!” If you compose a song from the same story, people love it. When everything comes together - a good song with a great story – that’s what it’s all about! How did you get involved in music? My parents could not afford to send me to music lessons but music was in the air continuously at the Droke house. My brother and I sang harmonies and we all sang together at home and at church. We had KOMA on the radio nearly 24 hours a day! In 2000, I began to learn to read music and really got into music theory. I discovered songwriting involves every part of your life - your memories and, most of all, your imagination.
Do you sing in the shower? Hell, I sing in my sleep! What is your most prized possession? My life. After that, my health and the love of my wife, Julie. What makes you happy? I’m happy nearly all of the time. I don’t let small stuff and the inevitable get me down. I refuse to grow up - there’s no future in it. What do you do to enjoy a perfect Spring day? I like to walk around the back yard and play my guitar and sing. The neighbors don’t seem to mind. Dog walkers occasionally applaud. I’m starting to read more. What is your go to stress reliever? I love to walk for exercise and work on my cars. I whistle a lot. What is your pet peeve? I have a lot to say about many things.:-) I am fearful that people with lots of money are stealing our democracy. My engineering background causes me to reject flawed logic. Do you like to plan things out in detail or be spontaneous? I do both but I don’t let the concept of each interfere with the fun you can have doing either. Besides music, what else do you consider your talents to be? I feel I’m a pretty good lyric writer. Critical thinking, design, mechanics, and mathematics are in my toolbox. My friends gave me the nickname “Tech Support.”
Do you talk to other shoppers at the grocery store? Yes. I talk to everybody everywhere I go. People love to talk when you treat them with respect. New Year’s resolution(s)? 1. My new year resolution is giving me problems because I’ve been so busy lately - I want to write one song per week. 2. I need to shed some weight (don’t we all!). Actually I think that might be my next song! 3. I want to complete my next CD and release it by Fall 2014. I have nearly 20 songs ready to record right now. 4. I need to boost my credibility in the songwriting world. I’ve been awarded a few “honorable mentions” (American Songwriting Magazine and the Woody Guthrie Festival Songwriting Competition). I would like to win a major songwriting completion this year. NORMAN magazine | MARCH/APRIL 2014
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Norman FYI Where do you perform and why do you like performing? I perform mostly in church and with the Ambassadors Concert Choir. I really regret that job and family takes too much time from my love for performance because I really enjoy bringing entertainment and spirituality to audiences in performing. I don’t think I’m that good of a performer, but I think I can contribute to musical groups that are GREAT. How did you get involved in music? I come from a long family line of musicians and music teachers. Music has always been a big part of my life. What is your go-to stress reliever? Listening to music and watching sports (both of which can ADD stress, of course, but they’re my main stressbusters).
Anthony Francisco Finance Director (Chief Financial Officer) for the City of Norman.
What is the most enjoyable part of your job? A big part of my job is providing financing options for City employees and City of Norman capital projects. I get a lot of satisfaction when I see a project that I coordinated the financing for actually come to completion. The Robinson Street Railroad Underpass project was recently completed for example, but I had a hand in financing it 7-8 years ago. It is very satisfying to see the results of my work having a positive impact on people.
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What is your favorite type of music and why? What instrument do you play? I enjoy many music styles, but my favorite is contemporary jazz. I am a huge fan of Grover Washington Jr., “Boney James” Oppenheim, Rick Braun, Bob James, Najee, David Sanborn and many others. The music just takes away all of the problems of the day and relaxes me. I play clarinets and saxophones and sing in choirs.
Do you like to plan things out in detail or be spontaneous? I like to plan things out in great detail. My problem is sticking to the great plans that I’ve made! Besides music, what else do you consider your talents to be? I’m a pretty good writer. I’d like to write a novel someday. What is your most prized possession? I’d have to say the DVD of my late parents performing classical, jazz and spiritual music. I am very thankful that some of their music was captured for posterity.
What makes you happy? Seeing my family happy. Hearing my wife and kids laughing when I’m not in the room or seeing my granddaughter smile when I come in the room. What makes you nervous? Wasps. I’m not scared of many things, but I have a weird fear of wasps. How do you spend weekends? My ideal Saturday would involve an OU football game in person or on TV (preferably beating Texas), some catfish and beer. My ideal Sunday would involve sleeping past 7 a.m., and an OKC Thunder game after church (preferably beating the Lakers). What do you do to enjoy a perfect spring day? Cook outside (my wife and I have a raging competition about who is the best griller!), go swimming, sit out in the park and listen to music. What is one thing besides work you do everyday? I start and finish every day with Sudoku puzzles. I’m totally addicted to them. List five of your goals for this year. Finish what I start. Stay healthy. Help my family help themselves. Be a good husband and parent. Be a good employee and public servant.
Phil Moss Higher Education Administrator
The most enjoyable part of your job is? Being semi-retired. What is your favorite type of music and why? I like lots of different music, but probably folk-rock is closest to being a favorite. I grew up listening to folk (like Peter, Paul & Mary), and early rock & roll (Everly Brothers, Elvis). What instrument do you play? Guitar Where do you perform and why do you like performing? Mostly in Edmond, and most often at the UCO Jazz Lab. I enjoy playing music from the 60’s with old friends from those days.
What is your most prized possession? 1949 Gibson ES 175
How did you get involved in music? Our mom knew some chords on guitar, I had an older brother who listened to a lot of music. I started singing and playing when I was around 10.
What makes you nervous? Being unprepared.
What is your go to stress reliever? Hot tub. What is your pet peeve? Bad grammar Do you like to plan things out in detail or be spontaneous? Plan.
What makes you happy? Being with friends & family.
How do you spend weekends? Different things – playing music, working in the yard, going to games, singing in my choir at church. What do you do to enjoy a perfect Spring day? Again, different things – maybe catch an OU Softball game, spending time in the back yard. List five of your goals for this year. Play more, listen better, serve better, pick up a tennis racquet, finish raking leaves from last fall.
NORMAN magazine | MARCH/APRIL 2014
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Norman Style
Get Your (THUNDER) Game On Photography by Becky Rice, Champagne & Blush
Set Director, Dane Heins, McMahon Marketing Hair & Makeup Amy Meek, Mystique Hair Salon in Norman
Wardrobe, accessories and jewelry, Official Thunder Shop, Chesapeake Arena Shoes, private collection of Melissa Scaramucci and Dillard’s
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Upper left, models Lynn Palmerton and Kathy Schemmer Lower right (sisters) Melissa Scaramucci, Heather Steele and Abby Clark Opposite page and above, official Thunder pumps with Swarvoski crystals from the private collection of Melissa Scaramucci
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Opposite page: Top, Melissa Scaramucci, Heather Steele and Abby Clark Below right, Lynn Palmerton and Kathy Schemmer,
Left, Lynn Palmerton with Thunder basketball Below, sisters Heather, Melissa and Abby in official Thunder gear
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NORMAN magazine | MARCH/APRIL 2014
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Norman People
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NORMAN magazine | MARCH/APRIL 2014
Mammoth rod & reel an eye catcher
story & photos by doug hill
Designed to land attention or really big fish, this Norman artist’s sculpture is outstanding in its field.
W
hen heading west from Norman on Highway 9 don’t let Hunter Roth’s installation art work distract you from driving safely. As if a herd of buffalo in Roy Oliver’s pasture weren’t attention-grabbing enough, there’s also an enormous fishing pole out there by his pond. Designed to look like an actual bait casting combo, Roth’s sculpture is gigantic. The biggest component is the rod that was constructed from a 40-foot flagpole. The reel is a genuine moving part and strung with cable, it’s easily capable of angling for the biggest fish in Oklahoma. The genesis of this incredible artistic addition to an otherwise bucolic meadow came from Norman’s Open Studio Tour during a Second Friday Art Walk Night over a year ago. “My studio was just one of the stops on the tour and Roy Oliver was my first visitor that night,” Roth said. “He’d seen one of my sculptures on the cover of N Town and was interested in buying it.” That particular piece of art was from his student days and Roth didn’t want to part with it for sentimental reasons. Oliver related that he had a ranch with ponds and envisioned a giant fish-
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The Oliver’s buffalo herd stood watch while Roth completed his sculpture nearby.
ing pole made from a telephone pole and wooden spool. Roth judged the concept cool and it sparked his imagination. What he had in mind though would incorporate materials capable of enduring Oklahoma weather for generations and that’s not wood. Roth is the kind of artist who naturally thinks in grand terms and this project was the Louisiana native’s meat and drink. Oversized, surreal and hilarious are his beat. “I made an eight foot tall robot once called ‘The Intimidator,’ whose red eyes would light up when you walked past,” he said. “Big sculpture is often difficult to sell but a Chinese-American couple bought that one because the guy was a fan of 1950s robot movies. They put it right by their front door.” Roth’s background as a fabricated steel sculptor and furniture maker with successful shows in Houston and New Orleans made him the perfect man for Oliver’s vision. “I knew all I’d need was a mig welder, cutting torch and grinder to make a big fishing pole,” he said. Besides his private artistic career Roth also has a full-time day job as the model shop manager for OU’s College of Architecture. He began devoting weekends to fabricating the fishing pole sculpture at a pole barn on Oliver’s ranch during the brutally hot summer. “I didn’t have a chain hoist and was usually working by myself,” Roth said. “Sometimes Don the ranch manager would help me out with a tractor getting a large piece of steel pipe that was used for the handle.” Tapering the Schedule 80 oil line pipe that weighs hundreds of pounds was a physical challenge but Roth was on a mission. Oliver collaborated on his art as it took shape and encouraged Roth’s creativity. The reel was made to wind cable and took on actual functionality. 50
NORMAN magazine | MARCH/APRIL 2014
d n a l m a e r d drift off to
“There’s no clutch or cam but you could pull one in if you wanted to,” he said. Local resident Roy Oliver On the same land where Roth commissioned was working and location of the Hunter Roth pond for the sculpture’s installato create the oversized fishing tion there’s a herd of American rod and reel on bison. “The buffalo were inspirhis ranch west of ing and entertaining during my Norman. time working on the ranch,” he said. “I truly enjoyed watching them. Sometimes I’d take a break to fish the pond and they’d be there.” Roth wondered if buffalo can swim and learned that indeed they can. He found the big hairy beasts to be acutely curious but not aggressive. “They’d give me a lot of dumb blank stares and inspired me on a new series of work,” Roth said. Roth’s completed fishing pole sculpture undoubtedly exceeded his patron’s expectations. The reel was powdercoated, the mechanics work and the eyelets on the rod are copper wire wrapped steel. “I found a bronze disc in his scrap yard that just happens to fit perfectly on the side of the reel,” Roth said. It’s a serendipitous touch that looks great as a decorative detail. “Most commission work like this one is a collaboration,” Roth said. “The customer gets what they want and I got to fulfill my artistic vision. And we’re not through, I’ve told Roy we’re going fishing with this thing.” Monster catfish beware, they’ve got the tackle to bring you in.
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Norman History
John Barbour’s Drug Store by g ary king
O
ne hundred years ago John Barbour had a drug store in Norman. It was located at 104 E. Main Street in the old IOOF building just across the street from where the Sooner Theater is today. Barbour’s Drug was the quintessential apothecary shop of the early 20th Century. A large sign in front announced… DRUGS - BOOKS - BARBOUR’S Several ceiling fans cooled the interior. It was a popular meeting spot for college students even though it was over a mile from the campus. Coeds in high necked blouses and ankle length skirts and young men in coats and ties gathered there to be served ice cream and Coca-Colas. Perhaps it was the popular songs of the day such as The Black Cat Rag, When Love is Young, and Sugar Moon that Barbour played on his Edison phonograph that attracted the young crowd.
to have play-by-play accounts of Oklahoma road games sent by telegraph to his store. Huge crowds would gather on Main St. to listen as these “accounts” were broadcast by megaphone from an open window of Dr. Hirshfield’s upstairs office above Barbour Drug. Barbour was a great friend of the legendary Sooner coach Bennie Owen and a loyal booster of the university’s football team. In 1903 when the athletic department needed to borrow $300 for train fare to Fayetteville, Arkansas, John Barbour loaned them the money. Tom Tribbey, the football manager, promised to repay Barbour with the money Arkansas University had guaranteed them, but somehow this “guarantee” fell through and Barbour had to wait two years to get his money back. He never complained. When Owen needed to borrow money to buy
DRUGS - BOOKS - BARBOUR’S The OU faculty also liked the beverages and snacks at Barbour’s. J. F. “Uncle Joe” Paxton (Latin and Greek) and Guy Y. Williams (Chemistry), two of the university’s most colorful and longest serving professors, were frequent customers. Williams always ordered his favorite sundae concoction, “The Guy Y Special.” The store was especially popular on Saturdays when the OU football team was playing at some remote prairie outpost such as Lawrence, Kansas or Lincoln, Nebraska. This is because Barbour had made arrangements with Western Union
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equipment early in his career at OU, he got it from John Barbour. On the morning of October 16, 1907 John and Bennie went out to hunt Quail on the South Canadian River. Their favorite area was near Adkins Ford where the first bridge was later built. This was not the Mississippi that Bennie had known as a boy. The South Canadian was more sand than water and that was what made it dangerous. The natives said, “It’s just a little too thick to drink and a little too thin to plow.” Quicksand had trapped many a man and mule in the old
days before there were any bridges, and several people had drowned when their wagons were tipped over and washed away by flash floods in the capricious old river. About 2 p.m. they loaded the quail, dogs, and shotguns into Barbour’s phaeton (a fourwheeled open carriage) and headed home. Both dogs jumped into the front of the carriage. They were covered in burrs and thrashing about recklessly on the floorboard. Bennie saw that his bird dog Buster was about to fall out of the phaeton which had no doors. As he reached over to pull him back in, his shotgun suddenly fired. Apparently the hammer had caught on the frame of the carriage discharging the shell that was in the barrel. The number eight shot tore into Owen’s right arm just below his shoulder. Barbour was startled by the noise but he didn’t realize what had happened until heard Bennie say, in a soft voice, “Got me that time John.” When Bennie saw the blood gushing out he reached into his hip pocket for his dog chain which he intended to use as a tourniquet. As soon as John got his frightened mare under con-
trol he ran around to the other side of the carriage to help his stricken friend. At first he had the same idea as Bennie, to use his dog chain as a tourniquet but he quickly decided to try his handkerchief and he was able to stop the flow of blood. It was almost five miles back to the doctor’s office but Barbour whipped his horse into a gallop and they made pretty good time. Barbour and Owen walked up the stairs to Hirshfield’s office but he was not in. They later learned he was out hunting quail. Barbour ran downstairs to his store and called Dr. Bobo whose office was one block farther east. Bennie had to walk that block and up yet another flight of stairs before he could get any medical attention. Dr. Bobo saw that Bennie had suffered extensive damage to an artery and thought that he had better call in Dr. Rolater, a specialist from Oklahoma City. Rolater and two nurses made it down to Norman at midnight on the Interurban. Rolater examined the arm and determined that gangrene had set in and decided to amputate immediately.
John Barbour, left, and his wife, Frona, had 10 children. Five of them worked in the store.
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In a matter of weeks Owen resumed his coaching duties and his hunting trips. He switched to a lighter Browning automatic twenty-guage shotgun that he could wield left-handed and John Barbour affirmed “He could hit ‘em as good as ever.” John Waldwynn Barbour was born January 17, 1874 in Cooper County, Missouri. In 1889 John Buchanan Barbour, John’s father, moved to Oklahoma Territory with his wife Jane and ten children. The elder Barbour purchased some land in Liberty Township just a little north and west on Norman, built a house on it, and opened a general store at 104 E. Main. John attended grammar school at the Liberty Township School and he was one of two students who graduated from the University of Oklahoma Territory’s School of Pharmacy’s second class in 1897. This total represented a 100% increase over the previous year when the school’s first class consisted of only one student. After John’s graduation he went to work for his father and the Barbour General Store gradually morphed into Barbour and Sons Drug. The store was very much a family affair. Half of the ten Barbour children worked there, in ad-
dition to John there were his brothers Robert and Ben, and although it was officially known as Barbour and Sons their sisters Kate and Jennie were also valuable employees. Long after it became known as a drug store instead of a general store the Barbours continued to sell a wide variety of items such as musical instruments and college textbooks.
The Barbour family gathered for a photo about 1895. They include, from left, top row, Wylie H., Jennie, John W. and Elzaida and James L.; Bottom row, left to right, John B. Ben. H., Kate, Myrtle, Jane, Edwin J. and Robert S.
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As the photographs of him attest, John Barbour had the good looks of a matinee idol. He was an avid hunter and fisherman and apparently a bit of a practical joker. The fact that Bennie Owen considered him a close personal friend is testament enough to the character of John Barbour. His life was one of service: Service to his alma mater and service to his community. He was a member of the Mason’s, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and he served as mayor of Norman from 19191923. He also made an unsuccessful run to become Oklahoma’s Lieutenant Governor in 1914. On April 25, 1947 OU’s School of Pharmacy celebrated “John Barbour Day” to commemorate the 50th anniversary of his graduation. John, his wife Frona, and daughter Jeanette were the guests of
honor at a luncheon that day. Among the speakers at this affair were D.B.R. Johnson, Dean of the School of Pharmacy, Dr. Edwin C. DeBarr, Professor Emeritus and one of John’s teachers, Marvin Miller the other graduate of the class of 1897, and Louise Pope a current student, who said, “Here’s to Pharmacist John Barbour - prescriptionist, counselor, friend on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of his graduation from the University of Oklahoma School of Pharmacy We do him no honor. With his presence he honors us…” John Barbour died on October 5, 1950 and Barbour Drug closed its doors in 1952 but it is certainly not forgotten and it’s actually not entirely gone. Tiles spelling our “Barbour’s” are still there at 104 E. Main on the floor just in front of what is today a lawyer’s office. No doubt there are still a few old timers around Norman who can recall walking across these tiles and entering Barbour and Sons Drug Store to enjoy a CocaCola or a sundae.
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Norman Design
Holmberg House features four bedrooms for guest lodging.
Holmberg House Historic Landmark turned B&B
F
redrik Holmberg, the first music professor at the University of Oklahoma, and his wife Signey moved into a new two-story bungalow just north of campus in 1914. Exactly 100 years later, the dwelling built in the arts and crafts style is a testimony to the latest architecture of the time. For the past several years, the Holmberg House at 766 DeBarr Ave. has been operating as a bed and breakfast north of Boyd Street between Jenkins and Asp avenues.
The home features four bedrooms for lodging guests in the main house and another bedroom in what the owners call the cottage in the back. The cottage originally was part of the livery stable needed for horses and also a carriage to provide the family transportation. The home is convenient for visitors coming to the University of Oklahoma for seminars on campus during the week, others coming to Norman on the weekends to attend a Sooner football game at the stadium or to visit their children attending OU.
Photos by Kyle Phillips
by m ick hinton
In 2011, Gene and Lou Christian became aware that the home was up for sale and they took possession of the house on July 15 and started operating the bed and breakfast. The Christians continued to work at their jobs for about a year. Gene served for several years as the district attorney for Grady, Caddo, Stephens and Jefferson counties. The Christians lived in Blanchard at the time. After leaving elected office, Gene became state executive director of the
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state Office of Juvenile Affairs. At first, Lou Christian continued working parttime for a nonprofit organization. “We always wanted to have an old house,” Lou said. Gene said,” Lou does the cooking and I keep up the house. I love gardening.” The home contains about 3,800 square feet of space, and was valued at $475,000 a few years ago. Houses along the rest of the street including several large structures have been converted into student apartments. In 1994, the DeBarr historic neighborhood was added to the National Register for Historic Places. The Christians are planning a centennial celebration with an open house on Sunday, April 27, from 1-4 p.m. It is appropriate that the party will feature a musical quartet – either strings or instrumental – from the OU College of Fine Arts.
A centennial open house is planned April 27.
Holmberg History… When Swedish- born Fredrik Holmberg first arrived in Norman, he was not so sure that he wanted to stay.
campus of the state mental hospital. He was redirected to the OU campus about a mile and a half away.
Holmberg had been teaching at Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kansas, when he arrived at the Norman train depot in 1903.
Holmberg later conceded that the real OU campus “was not nearly as impressive as the first” place he had visited upon arrival. One new building was being constructed at OU, but it was only partially finished.
On Sept. 1, his first morning there, Holmberg looked around for the tallest buildings that he could find and headed toward them, according to David W. Levy, author of the University of Oklahoma History book , 1890-1917. “He carried his violin under his arm” as he headed east. When he got closer to the buildings, Holmberg asked someone if this was indeed the University of Oklahoma. Holmberg learned that he was on the
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However, then OU president David Ross Boyd convinced Holmberg to stay. “Within six weeks, Holmberg had organized a glee club for men, another one for women, a mixed oratorio chorus, a band and an orchestra,” Levy wrote. Holmberg was also credited with forming and conducting the first Oklahoma symphony orchestra. It has been said that it was Holmberg who brought his love of music to Oklahoma. He was named the first dean of fine arts at OU.
In 1918, the university built its first performing arts center, featuring a grand hall, opulent seating and a dramatic domed ceiling. OU students wanted to name the new building Holmberg Hall, but Holmberg insisted that it was inappropriate to name a building after a living person. Holmberg died in 1936, and two years later the regents named the fine arts building Holmberg Hall. In 2005, the present arts complex including Holmberg Hall was named the Donald W. Reynolds Performing Arts Center at OU. This included the 20,000- square-foot OU School of Dance and a 5,000-square-foot stage house. The original concert hall on the North Oval is still called Holmberg Hall.
The DeBarr neighborhood was added to the National Register for Historic Places in 1994.
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Architect Ron Franz, an associate professor at OU, said he finds the Holmberg House fascinating. “The arts and crafts style was a new thing in the teens and 1920s,” he said. The style succeeded the Victorian style popular in the late 1800s until about 1910. While the Victorian style featured heavily decorated rooms with bold floral wallpapers and elaborately carved furnishings, the Holmberg home represents the less adorned arts and crafts style. The home features lots of mission oak that emphasizes the elaborate natural grain of the wood. In the dining room, a plate rail spans the four walls of the room, and the living room has a picture rail where the family placed photos of loved ones. It was Gustav Stickley who introduced the arts and crafts style in furnishings that often emphasized simple, clean lines in the sometimes handcrafted oaken items. During OU President David Boren’s tenure, Stickley furniture has been purchased for several buildings on campus. Franz noted that the bungalow style featured “gigantic porches” running across the entire front of a house where people could sit in the shade, particularly in the evening. Originally, the Holmberg House featured columns along the front of the porch and also double-wide French
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Gene and Lou Christian always wanted an old house.
FOOTNOTE TO HISTORY:
doors opening from the living room onto the porch, Gene Christian said. Some years ago, the wooden columns were replaced with columns of black wroughtiron to bolster the porch. The front of the house was laden with hand-carved quarried stone running the full length of the porch. The front double doors were replaced with a large window providing a view of the lawn and gardens in the front of the house. What’s interesting about these houses, Franz said, is that the downstairs or public rooms for dining and living often featured the mission oak while the bedrooms typically were painted white to give the rooms a clean, germ-free look.” The Christians have kept the solid oak wooden floors throughout the house and painted bedroom walls with a variety of earth tones. The Holmberg house still has several original builtins. The dining room has a built-in china cabinet that features lead panel windows. The living room has built-in book shelves with lead-glass windows on both sides of the fireplace. Holmberg’s house also features Fredrik’s built-in desk with a drop-leaf front, lined with library shelves and leaded glass windows on each side. This desk is located in the portion of the house where the Christians live. Holmberg died in 1936, and his family remained in the home until the early 1940s. It was purchased by Sam and Leota Hale who lived in the house until 1993 when the home was converted into a bed and breakfast.
~ Notorious Professor DeBarr DeBarr Avenue is the only Norman landmark that still honors Edwin DeBarr, an early day professor at the University of Oklahoma. DeBarr and professor Fredrik Holmberg were contemporaries at the University of Oklahoma, and Holmberg had a new house built along DeBarr Avenue, located north of Boyd Street between Jenkins and Asp avenues. DeBarr first headed up the school of pharmacy and later the chemistry department. Holmberg was the first music director on campus. In 1917, DeBarr’s colleagues decided to name the chemistry building DeBarr Hall in his honor. But in 1922, University of Oklahoma regents censured DeBarr for his Ku Klux Klan activities and he was dismissed from the university in 1923. DeBarr was an Oklahoma grand dragon
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and in 1924 was named national chaplain of the Klan. It was a time when Norman was still considered a town where Negroes were not welcome. In 1982 amid civil rights protests, students wanted the name of DeBarr stricken from the chemistry department building. Regents acquiesced and ordered that the DeBarr name be removed from the building. However, DeBarr Avenue where several other professors lived in an early day remains as the only testimony to the man whom some people affectionately called “Daddy DeBarr.” Apparently, the professor himself never lived along Norman’s DeBarr Avenue.
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OU History
Hockman Files the
A Time Capsule Spanning More Than a Half Century
Diverse Ned Hockman Collection… by jerri culpepper Photos provided
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T
he late Norman photojournalist and filmmaker Ned Hockman was a man of many talents. Friends and former colleagues recall him as a man before his time; a passionate chronicler (via photos, video and film) of athletics, politics, the entertainment industry and numerous points in-between; a dedicated teacher; a decorated veteran; and even a polo player. Above all, say his many friends and admirers, he was a master storyteller. Thankfully, though Hockman passed away on Dec. 20, 2009, at the age of 88, many of those stories still exist in the form of photos, video and film – a lot of it. These priceless media, however, continued to languish away in various locations, primarily on the University of Oklahoma’s north base and his home, where they were in serious danger of being lost, destroyed or their quality diminished due to neglect and inadequate care. In fact, for some of Hockman’s materials, it was already too late. Because they couldn’t open it, he said, some of Hockman’s old 8mm film kept at the north base location was simply tossed out. In fall of 2013, former Hockman student John Maher and Hockman’s daughters, Shiree Hockman Charles and Kyle Hockman Wiltse – assisted by longtime friend and film and video professional Dave Smeal and OU Film and Video
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Studies Program faculty members Andy Horton and Vicki Sturtevant – began the long and arduous process of cataloging and preserving this invaluable collection. It took them six 10-hour days – 240 hours – to achieve their initial goal. Interviewed shortly after the conclusion of this initial, mammoth undertaking, Maher, who today is creative director of JEM Films, a boutique agency that specializes in documentary films, said he has known for years about the collections, but past efforts to get others to undertake the massive project failed. “People lack vision; most people are about a half century behind Ned on his understanding of the importance of visual history,” said Maher. Although he was in the midst of another project (a documentary titled “All Things Bakelite,” which he describes as a “montage history of the first plastic, Bakelite, and its inventor, Leo Baekeland), Maher decided there was no time to waste to begin the process of saving the Hockman Collection, which spans decades and covers local, state, national and international affairs. “The power of this archive is its professionalism and range – it covers some 60 years, from 1942 or so through 2008 – that’s over half a century – on many topics, including sports, fashion, students, war (World War II, Korea, Vietnam), NASA, issues pertaining to our Western heri-
tage, and much more,” Maher noted. Included in the collection are still photos of Western Heritage Award honorees Jimmy Stewart, John Wayne and Glen Campbell. He said another factor that makes the Hockman Collection so valuable is its uncompromising quality. Even though he knew from personal experience that Hockman was a professional in the best sense, Maher said he was surprised in going through the collection to find that every photo, every video, every film – was expertly taken. “How in the heck did this guy do all this work himself?” he exclaimed. “The sheer volume alone is remarkable. Add to that the fact that almost all – film, pictures – all of it– are professionally shot.” Because of the sheer volume of work (50 large boxes of it) and its diversity (both in terms of media and content), the team developed a computer program, which categorized the materials into six areas, including subject, date shot and media type (e.g., document, slide, negative, video.) Then, each item or box was given a unique identifier number. The collection is so big – there are tens of thousands of slides alone, for example – that during this initial sorting effort, Maher said they had to generalize to a certain extent. The job of identifying every single item in the collection will be undertaken by the staff of the Oklahoma History Center, which will become the permanent home of the collection. Maher said they have already contacted and received assistance from Jeff Briley, deputy director, and Corey Ayres, director of film archives, at the center. In addition to the slides, there are “also hundreds of video and audiotapes – and every other form of media, which will make it one of the richest archives in Oklahoma,” Maher said, adding that Hockman’s stature will grow as more people learn about him through the collection. He said his dream is for OETA to eventually produce a series on Hockman and his collection – perhaps one produced by him, if a budget for such a project could be identified. Maher believes the collection will be of interest to a diverse audience. “If you’re interested
in history, it’s an amazing glimpse into 60 or so years,” he said, noting that the collection also should be of interest to Sooner fans, photojournalists and those interested in the history and art of filmmaking. “Sports, action, politics; this collection has it all,” Maher said. “In the future, it will be exciting to discover all the treasures that are there to be discovered.” Maher is especially fascinated with the video and film materials in the collection – a million feet of film alone. “Film is so powerful – the best medium – you see the styles, language, colors, writing, music – all reflect the time in which it was made – very dense, so much information in each frame in any piece of film,” he said. “It’s one thing to have paper documents, but film is living history,” Maher added, “It’s such a dense medium. For example, it captures the way people talk. In film, even the ‘incidentals,’ like the cars seen in the background and the type of clothes the people are wearing, offer clues to that time period,” Maher said. “All this builds into its mystique.” “Saving these archives is like saving a house,” Maher said. “We are stabilizing it, organizing it, breaking it up, and consolidating it into subject areas so it can be better tackled down the line.” He concluded with a plea: “I encourage people to not throw out found video, film, photos, etc., to at least consider giving it to your local historical society.”
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more Hockman Files
Dave Smeal reminisces at Professor Hockman’s memorial service.
Student Recalls Early Association Ned Hockman had a profound influence on countless students at the University of Oklahoma, as well as on colleagues and others with whom he came into contact, whichever side of the camera they were on. Maher’s association with Ned Hockman began while Maher was an OU student from 1967 to 1971, where he earned a BFA in filmmaking and design from the OU School of Art under director Joe Hobbs. But he learned about Hockman at an even earlier age. “When I was 14, my father, a football coach, let me film his football games. He gave me a pamphlet, How to Make Good Coaching Movies, written by Ned Hockman and published by Kodak in Rochester,” he recalled. That pamphlet sparked in him a desire to pursue filmmaking. At OU, Maher took several filmmaking classes with Hockman. In that first class, Maher produced a documentary on Native Americans. They continued to collaborate on other projects during his student days, and long afterward. In the 1980s, Maher featured his master teacher in a documentary, titled “Ned Hockman Immortalized.”
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Since then, Maher said he has produced about 15 documentaries, and Hockman was an adviser or consultant for most of them.
DAVE SMEAL OU professional staff, retired Ned was a colleague, a mentor, a friend who I remember as a great storyteller, a brilliant man who was never at a loss for words or ideas that had meaning and substance, the “just do it” kind that led to professional results. Think “surround sound,” because when you worked with Ned you were “Hockmanized” – absolutely surrounded by his guidance and knowledge till the production you were focused on was finished – and, you felt at ease, you knew it was going to be the best. It’s so very hard to summarize. ... While I worked at OU, I knew Ned as a lieutenant colonel in the Air Force, a war veteran who served as a combat cameraman in WWII and Korea, who had a whole group of peers just like him, all talented vets who loved their country and knew what WAR was all about. He was also “the guy” who filmed Bud Wilkinson football and the first national college coaches’ show, along with most OU sports up to and including the Barry Switzer years. He knew and remembered everyone he worked with through the years in the military, sports, film, and news and media industry. I knew Ned’s film production sequence in journalism [at OU] led to the Film and Video Studies program being established. I knew his reputation as a teacher and was fortunate to teach some of his classes during the years I worked at OU. I also benefited greatly from the students he sent to me to fill positions we had in our office over the years. His film programs were all built on a solid foundation during the ’50s, ’60s, etc., because he produced more than 200 non-theatrical films through the OCCE Motion Picture Production unit, which offered his students the “hands on” experience many programs couldn’t match. I worked with him on “The Laubin Films” in the early ’80s, a special time for all. He also filmed “Stark
Fear,” the first independent theatrical motion picture in Oklahoma starring Beverly Garland in the early ’60s. He was a charter member and past president of the University Film and Video Association of America; was active on the Governor’s Film Industry Task Force; was a charter media member of the Western Heritage “Wrangler” Awards at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum; and was known as an incredible still photographer, a media and motion picture film expert and was recognized for all of it when he received a slew of Hall of Fame and Industry Awards. Many graduates (the Hockman alumni) talk about how after football practice and teaching he was known to host his students in his home at all hours for “film” discussions, while still managing to get in a little polo and tennis for his own pleasure as well. Ned was named a David Ross Boyd Professor of Journalism and Mass Communication in recognition of his teaching skills and professional career while he continued to guide the professional TV News Workshop at OCCE over the years ... and perhaps most importantly, as a filmmaker and a teacher he inspired students to do their best and then more. H
Visiting with Loretta Hockman, center, are from left, Joanna Rapf, Dick Pryor and Andy Horton.
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more Hockman Files JOANNA RAPF OU Professor of English (Excerpted with permission from a tribute for Ned Hockman in 2001) Ned has made an indelible mark on my life, on all our lives. First of all, I can no longer say the word “FANTASTIC” without adding after it, “as Ned Hockman would say.” I don’t remember the day I met him, but it must have been sometime in 1974 when I first came to OU, and he was one of the few people around teaching film – and back then, as you know, “teaching” film was not the fashionable thing it is today. Like D.W. Griffith, he was a pioneer, and like D.W., he is known, at least here at OU, as “the father of film.”
Journalism dean Joe Foote talks about Hockman’s legacy.
Night and day, the offices and the studios at South Base were a center of production activity; many of you here tonight can testify to that. Memories – he played polo. That seemed so exotic to me, especially in Oklahoma! He always had a camera with him. Memories – a big one, when Ned had me with him as an assistant photographer and a press pass on the sidelines of an OU football game. This was back when Brian Bosworth was playing and I think, you got the first woman into the men’s locker room to do press
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Dr. Stutes
New Edmond Location 3560 S. Boulevard
NORMAN magazine | MARCH/APRIL 2014
Porter Avenue
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Regional Hospital
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Norman Physician’s Building
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950 N. Porter, Suite 102
www.oklahomaallergy.com @okallergyasthma
Welcome toOur World interviews. You took pictures then, too, more of me and my embarrassment around all those naked players. It was fun! I’ll never forget it. … Memories – hours and hours around the conference table in my office, scheming and planning how to get an interdisciplinary film program out of your head, our heads, our dreams and on to the drawing boards. You inspired us, you led us, and today there is a Film & Video Studies Program on campus with close to 200 majors, about 20 of whom are also here tonight to honor you. You are loved, Ned, of course, by your family, but also by your extended family, all your friends, your students, your colleagues, and the people you have taught and inspired over the years. As you would say, “This is FANTASTIC!”” H
Crown Jewelers Brookhaven Village Next to Starbucks & Louie’s 3750 W. Robinson • 573-0786 Mon-Fri 10:30-6:00 Sat 10:30-5:00
Loretta Hockman, left, and family members enjoy the memorial service. NORMAN magazine | MARCH/APRIL 2014
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Charles Nedwin “Ned” Hockman: Just the Facts Born in Carnegie on Oct. 27, 1921 Attended Cameron College in Lawton before serving in the U.S. Air Force in World War II and the Korean War; enrolled at OU after military service Began his motion picture career as a combat cameraman during World War II with the U.S. Army Air Corps Motion Picture Production Unit; housed in the old Hal Roach Studios, he helped to photograph hundreds of training films under the supervision of unit commander Ronald Reagan Was awarded a Bronze Star and other military honors Married Loretta Stewart Feb. 24, 1943 Established OU’s Film and Video Studies Program Began teaching in FVS in 1950, retiring 37 years later as a David Ross Boyd Professor Emeritus In 1962, directed and co-produced the independent film “Stark Fear,” the first major theatrical film produced completely in the state of Oklahoma; the film, shot in Oklahoma and Arkansas, starred Beverly Garland and was released in 1963 Garnered many awards and honors through his lifetime, including induction into the Heartland Chapter of the National Television Academy’s Gold Circle in 2006
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VICTORIA STURTEVANT Director of Film/Video Studies, OU (Excerpted with permission from the July 2010 FVS Takes newsletter) The great Ned Hockman used to say that any storyteller needs to keep just four words in mind to get his or her point across: “Hey! You. See? So...” Hey! means you need to get the audience’s attention. You. means you should personalize the issue, show people how it matters to them. See? your point. So… is the consequence or conclusion? In honor of the master, let me follow his model to try to say why his passing means so much to me. Hey! Ned Hockman was one of the first people I met when I came to Norman to work at OU. Ned used to bring his camera everywhere he went, and his charisma and enthusiasm turned even boring faculty meetings into festive occasions. On [one] particular day, Ned told me a story about meeting Claudette Colbert when he was a soldier in the Korean War. Was it true? I have no idea. It was a great story, though. Ned was a great storyteller. You. All of us who have benefitted from film education at OU owe a debt of gratitude to the incomparable Professor Hockman. Ned taught his students to get out in the world, see things, make
things, learn things. He was absolutely fearless, and his courage was infectious. What a pleasure, what a privilege, to spend one’s days taking photos, making films or writing about something you love. I can think of no greater tribute to a teacher than to say that he gave his students the courage to live lives of creativity and challenge. See? The loss of Professor Ned Hockman has touched the Film and Video Studies Program at its very heart. We in FVS are grateful not only for having shared in the great life that Professor Hockman led, but also for the generosity of his family and friends, who set up the Ned Hockman Filmmaking Award to support student creative work. In the months since Professor Hockman’s death, many of his loved ones have chosen to honor his life by contributing to this prize. So… It has been a spring of joy and sorrow. As you read the rest of this newsletter and learn about the many wonderful things our students, faculty and alumni are accomplishing, I hope you will see the influence of Charles Nedwin “Ned” Hockman — his wit, his creativity, his generosity and most of all his courage — in all the best parts of what we do. We miss you, Ned. We miss you every day. H
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Making a Difference
Senior Citizens Center an oasis of activity Norman’s Parks and Recreation department maintains a place of camaraderie and fun for our mature residents.
A
Sandi Lasseter has been the director of the Senior Citizens Center for more than a decade.
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few hours before noon on a recent weekday the Norman’s Senior Citizen Center (SCC), 329 S. Peters, smelled like a wonderful Italian bistro. The rich aroma of garlic simmered with tomato sauce filled the building because spaghetti was on the menu for lunch. Upstairs in the game room, Marion Kelly was seated at a card table with three other women playing canasta. Kelly is 94 years young and rides Cleveland Area Rapid Transit from her home to the SCC every day it’s open. “Com-
NORMAN magazine | MARCH/APRIL 2014
story & photos by doug hill
ing here is what keeps me young,” Kelly said. “If I didn’t come here I’d be sleeping in my recliner all day.” A card partner gently reminded Kelly it was her turn and to get back to rummy business. In another spacious room was a line dancing class taught by volunteers Janelle Price and Frances Brown. They were leading a half-dozen women scooting boots to the group’s popular theme song “Men Smart Women Smarter” by the Rasta Rebels. If you thought line dancing was strictly a country and western music affair,
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Volunteer Janelle Price teaches a weekly line dancing class at the center.
please understand these energetic gals dig reggae too. “This is my happy hour,” dancer Rosamund Taylor said with a charming UK accent. “I enjoy the music and think it’s just great, filling me with happiness, making me smile and all the tension goes away.” Taylor came to Norman in 2002, she’s originally from Marondera, Zimbabwe. Card games and dancing are just a couple of the activities in progress every weekday at the SCC. Lively conversation, dominoes, Tai Chi, zumba exercise dancing, bridge, ceramics, aerobics, tax workshops and creative writing classes are some of the other diversions. The SCC has been in operation since 1968 and it’s housed in the still-handsome original Norman Public Library. The building is a short stroll to the Cleveland County Court House and Norman’s downtown. The SCC is a city program administered by the Parks and Recreation Department. Sandi Lasseter has been the SCC’s full-time director for a decade. Laura Wolf is her part-time assistant. “We are actually two organizations under one roof owned by the city,” Lasseter said. “Aging Services which is a Federal program leases the dining room and central kitchen from us.” Meals are prepared on-site for the SCC dining room, several other Cleveland County senior facilities and for the meals delivered to approximately 500 home-bound elderly. A menu for the next week is published every Tuesday in the Norman Transcript. Pamela McConahay
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is the Senior Nutrition Program manager. “We serve around 450 hot meals a day in the various dining rooms and deliver another thousand throughout the week,” McConahay said. Also provided are blood pressure and sugar level checks, nutritional counseling and occasional talks by a Norman Police Dept. representative about home safety. There are frequent reminders about the many cultural and educational opportunities that are either low-cost or free through OU’s museums and programs. “I learn so much from the senior citizens and have such a good time with them,” McConahay said. A few times a year Lasseter organizes group road trips for any seniors able to go. She’ll charter a bus or get discounted rates on vans from local car dealerships. “In March we’re going to Branson,” she said. “We’ll go for four days and see some shows. It’s always a fun trip and around ten people are signed up to go.” Lasseter likes everything about her job and mainly the seniors themselves who visit the center.
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A wide variety of people are attracted to the place largely for social interaction. “There’s never a dull moment,” she said. “We have something for everybody and if not we’ll try to get it.”
There’s never a dull moment at the lunch and card tables. [Top] The Norman Senior Citizens Center is housed in the former Norman Public Library on South Peters.
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Family of man who died after altercation hosts press conference, releases cell phone footage were part of a six-minute cell phone video that was released Tuesday by the OKLAHOMA CITY — attorneys for the family of Nair Rodriguez’s voice can Luis Rodriguez, who died be heard loud and clear. Feb. 15 after an altercation With five lawmen on top of with three members of the her husband, Luis, she Moore Police Department screamed over and over, and two off-duty Oklahoma “You kill him. You kill him.” • See VIDEO Page A7 The chilling screams By Michael Kinney Transcript Staff Writer
— Page A7
Michael Kinney / The Transcript
A press conference was hosted at the NW Free Will Baptist Church by attorneys for the family of Luis Rodriguez. From left are Yashira Juntes, Francheska Medina, attorney Michael Brooks-Jime’nez, Nair Rodriguez, Ryan Medina and Luinachi Rodriguez.
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Right: Logan Agee, of Moore, leads his hog into the barn for the Cleveland County Jr. Livestock Show. Below: Yancy Paul shears his nephew Smith Paul’s sheep for the Cleveland County Jr. Livestock Show on Tuesday at the Cleveland County Fairgrounds. Smith Paul will represent Lexington FFA during the event. The show continues at 8 a.m. today with the Swine Show. Events Thursday include the 8:30 a.m. Meat Goat Show, 10:30 a.m. Lamb Lead, 12:30 p.m. Sheep Show and 5 p.m. Beef Show. Events Friday include the 5 p.m. Bonus Auction Dinner; 6 p.m. Master of Ceremonies remarks, presentation of Champion Awards, recognition of Show Honorees; and 7 p.m. bonus auction. View a gallery online or scan this code. Jay Chilton / The Transcript
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Initial hearing begins Judge deems man fit for trial, rules probable cause in murder case By Jessica Bruha Transcript Staff Writer
CHICKASHA — A friend of murder victim Sara Maisano recalled being struck repeatedly by Steven Thompson before he hit Maisano at a home in Amber. Katie Garner was the first of three witnesses to Sara Maisano take the stand during a preliminary hearing in Thompson’s firstdegree murder trial Tuesday in Grady County District Court. Garner retold the events she could remember on June 26 leading up to the murder of her friend, Sara Maisano, 23, of Norman. Thompson, 27, is facing a first-degree murder charge for Maisano’s death. He also is facing an assault and battery with a dangerous weapon charge after allegedly severely beating Garner. At the end of all testimony Tuesday, Grady County Special Judge Timothy Brauer said there was enough evidence to establish probable • See CASE Page A2
C o n n e c t e d
Norman Children’s Chorus to host workshop
Nancy O’Brian Center for the Per- music on site, including two of throughout the United States and forming Arts, 1809 N. Stubbeman Brumfield’s arrangements “Seag- Europe as a clinician, consultant, ull, Seagull” and “Old Dan Tuck- author, composer, arranger and Ave. Norman Children’s Chorus will Dr. Susan Brumfield, Texas er.” conductor of children’s choirs and host Spring Sing, an all-day chil- Tech University professor of Brumfield has a doctorate in is an internationally recognized dren’s music workshop ending in music education, is the day’s guest music education from the Univer• See SING Page A2 a public concert Saturday at the conductor. The chorus will learn sity of Oklahoma. She is known
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Norman Seniors
Button Treasures story & photos by chris jones
T
ake a look at the buttons on your shirt. Plain, boring utilitarian little objects probably not worth a second glance. Buttons once were little works of art. These treasured and admired creations of the past enhanced clothing and made a statement. Ornate and creative buttons made of brass, glass, fur, lace and bone, pearl, Bakelite, wood and sterling silver added beauty to everyday clothing. Beautifully crafted buttons are still thought of with appreciation by button collectors in Oklahoma and throughout the United States. Randy Cannon, a Norman resident, is president of the Oklahoma Button Society and a judge at the National Button Society Convention. She is a serious collector with thousands of buttons. Her buttons are organized, and are all attached to cards according to color, type of material or themes. “I love old glass buttons from Germany, and the U.S. from the 1800s,” she said. “Once you get started collecting buttons it just keeps going. My interest began when my daughter gave me a bag of clear glass buttons to use when I was making kaleidoscopes. I thought they were really pretty so I kept them.” The bag of buttons became the root of her collection. She said she went to the library to read about buttons and began buying jars, boxes and bags of buttons at garage sales and antique stores. As she sorted through them she began to see the vast array. Many are valuable and sought after by collectors. Bakelite buttons can sell for $100, others can bring a much higher price. Cannon is online often with button dealers and collectors. The categories seem endless. Many button enthusiasts narrow their collection to a favorite interest such as dogs, military, flowers, or children’ buttons. And those can be narrowed to Army or Navy, Scottish Terriers, roses or toys. There is a scriptural category, another for agricultural, and a button to commemorate the 1953 crowning of Queen Elizabeth. “I love the glass buttons, but my favorite is an 18th century ivory button rimmed in metal and covered with a glass dome
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Randy Cannon
A button birthday card
covering seed pearls in the shape of a butterfly,” Cannon said. Now, that’s a button worth a second glance. The National Button Society convention this year is “Aug. 1116, in Springfield, Missouri. New members are always welcome and they can join with just one button or none. La Claire Powell, a Bartlesville resident, is recognized as a charter member with 75 years as a dedicated button collector. She found some buttons on the ground when she was eight years old and decided she would collect them. Her father got her a membership to the National Button Society and she is known for the vests and jackets she decorates with buttons.
A Jar of Buttons
Cecelia Yoder is a Norman jewelry designer who started collecting buttons years ago. She especially admired the beautiful Czech glass buttons and eventually began crafting brooches. She is known for her dragon fly theme. “You just cannot imagine the variety of buttons out there,” Yoder said. “I love Victorian celluloid buttons,” she said. Yoder grew up in Pennsylvania and said she went along with her mother while she shopped for antiques. “We used to go to Mr. Porter’s barn and while my mother looked at antiques Mr. Porter entertained me by showing me antique buttons.” Yoder appreciates new handcrafted buttons too. She said she recently learned of an Israeli artist who makes clay buttons. “These are exquisite,” she said, “like porcelain and she paints them beautifully.” Jennifer Lehner, a club member, said she is more of a dabbler in button collection. She said people who are really into button collecting usually go through e-bay or through reputable dealers to find the rare or hard to find buttons. Members come to Norman from throughout the state three times a year for Oklahoma Button Club meetings. “It’s a way to meet really nice people,” Lehner said. “We share a meal, buy and sell buttons, have an educational segment, and prepare members for competition.” New members will find the help they need to get started.
Cecelia Yoder
For information visit www.oklahomabuttonclub.org.
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Taste of Norman
Co-owners William and Monica Chunga Mamaveca is revamping the menu, co-owner William Chunga said, including old favorites, new options and updated items. The new menu will include several dishes that blend Peruvian and Mexican styles of cooking, more flexible lunch options, several more dessert items and more vegetables included on many of the dishes. A grand re-opening set for 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. March 12, and will include half price menu items, excluding alcohol..
Pescado con Camaron: Shrimp and a fish fillet cooked in special house sauce, served with sauteed onions, tomatoes and poblano peppers as well as avocados.
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The restaurant is open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. and is located at 2551 W. Hemphill Dr. For more information call 405-573-4003.
Cerviche Mixto: Variety of fresh seafood, shrimp, mussels, calamari, fish and Peruvian yellow and red chiles accompanied by sweet potatoes, sliced red onion and corn.
Photos by Jay Chilton
Mamaveca delivers special taste to Mexican menu by h annah cruz
J
ust off the beaten path, Mamaveca Mexican and Peruvian Restaurant is one of Norman’s best kept secrets. Hidden in plain sight in front of Lowe’s Home Improvement at 2551 W. Hemphill Dr., the restaurant has been offering up authentic eats since December 2007. William Chunga, co-owner with his wife Monica Chunga, said the restaurant’s location isn’t preferable but it also hasn’t hurt their success.
“I still find people every day who come here for the first time and they ask me how long have I been here,” William said. “When I say six years they say, ‘Well, I never knew you were here.’ If people just go to Lowe’s they will see us.” Perhaps more surprising than discovering the location is learning that the restaurant, whose front sign only lists Mexican as the cuisine, also has an entire menu of Peruvian favorites. But it’s no accident the Peruvian food
is only advertised as an after thought. William, a native of Peru himself, said he didn’t want to deter diners from entering the restaurant for the popular Mexican dishes simply because they had not tried Peruvian cuisine. Instead of touting the unique-for-Norman culinary delights, William said he prefers if his customers are pleasantly surprised by the diverse menu. “In the beginning it was hard to introduce this to American people be-
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Chaufas de Mainscos: Peruvian Chinese style fried rice with eggs and green onions, cooked with soy sauce and includes shrimp, mussels and calamari.
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Photos by Jay Chilton
Perhaps more surprising than discovering the location is learning that the restaurant, whose front sign only lists Mexican as the cuisine, also has an entire menu of Peruvian favorites. cause they didn’t know anything, they were just used to Mexican,” he said. The first six months of the restaurant’s existence, William said the menu was made entirely of Mexican favorites created from William and Monica’s experience working in many Mexican restaurants. Once they had gained their footing, William said they hired a Peruvian chef from his homeland to create authentic Peruvian dishes for the menu. Little by little, William said more and more customers began ordering from the Peruvian menu. Some customers come to the restaurant only for the Peruvian food, William said, which includes many classic dishes. Now, William estimates 60 percent order from the Mexican menu and 40 percent order from the Peruvian menu. William said the Peruvian menu reflects Peru’s culinary traditions, including traditional dishes inspired by unique Peruvian ingredients and the South American country’s multicultural heritage. The cuisine combines influences from Spanish, Chinese, Japanese and Italian cooking. The Mamaveca menu includes a section of Chineseinspired options, called “chaufas.” William said in Peru the Chinese restaurants are called “chaufas” and include Chinese dishes cooked with Peruvian ingredients. Mamaveca specifically offers Peruvian-Chinese style fried rice with eggs, green onions and choice of chicken, vegetables or shrimp, mussels and calamari. The result is a colorful dish that is at once familiar and foreign. Mamaveca’s lomito saltado, a classic dish, is a sauteed lean beef mixed with red onions and tomatoes, served with sides of fries and steamed rice. The beef has a hearty flavor that is set off by the light crispness of the onions and the juiciness of the tomatoes. The restaurant’s cerviche options – including fish, shrimp, mussels and calamari – are popular among customers, William said. The seafood, marinated in lime juice, is served cold with sweet potatoes, sliced red onions and corn. With complimentary chips, salsa and queso served from the get-go and a menu that touts a plethora of both Peruvian and Mexican dishes, Mamaveca strikes a balance for a crowd with varied tastes.
Norman Vintage
Coastal Pinot Noir’s big news for wine by r ob ham
During my twelve years in Chicago at Sam’s Wines and Spirits and The Wine Discount Center, carrying thousands of boxes of wine, tasting thousands of wine samples, traveling to numerous wine producing regions and selling lots of wine , my only wine writing has been brief shelf talkers. When I ran into Norman Magazine editor Andy Rieger the other day he encouraged me to write a column as I had done for the Transcript from 1999 to 2001. So here it is. One of the biggest stories of the past fifteen years in the wine business is Pinot Noir from the Pacific coast regions of Oregon and California. It seems that the best expressions of this elegant, beautiful wine come from cool sites such as those found on the far Western Sonoma and Mendocino coast or the windswept coastal hills of Northern Santa Barbara, or the rainy Williamate Valley south of Portland, Oregon. As with the wines of Burgundy, France which inspired a whole generation of wine growers (short for grape growers/wine makers) Pinot Noir is identified by the beautiful aromatics of cherries and flowers, , backed up sometimes by black tea and forest floor/mushrooms. It is possible to write whole paragraphs just about the “nose” of a great, complex Pinot Noir, especially if you have an extensive personal “library” of smells and aromas. Pinots which have sufficient bottle age have a velvety smooth texture (mouthfeel) which is balanced by just enough acidity on the finish. Pinot Noir is one of the most complex and pleasant of all wines. There is really no substitute for an excellent Pinot Noir. The bad news is what you pay. Pinot Noir is one of the most complex and pleasant of all wines. It can also be the most expensive; the best can cost thousands per bottle from the best producer in a famous region which is drinking at its peak. It is unreasonable to expect to experience good Pinots for less than twenty dollars retail, with most of the seriously good ones found between thirty and sixty dollars. Do some reading: Hugh Johnson’s Pocket Wine Book, 2014 is my easy access go-to reference book while his Wine Atlas has much info and insights on all significant wine producing regions, along with fantastic maps and pictures. The Wine Spectator and The Wine Enthusiast have good articles and rate lots of wines each month. Find a wine specialist at a local store. They taste a lot of wine and meet a lot of producers. Try some of their recommendations. They may work for you.
great Savings! great Selection! great Service!
’S JOE WINES & SPIRITS ❧
1330 Alameda St. Norman ❧ 364-9292
www.JoesWinesAndSpirits.com JoesPlaceWinesSpirits
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Snap
83 Daddy Daughter Dance 84 Norman Regional Gala | 86 Norman Big Band 88 Chocolate Festival | 89 Firehouse Art Show 90 Firefighter Chili Supper | 92 Norman Chamber Lunch
Alexus Mitchell and Joe Jolly
Daddies and daughters took to the dance floor.
Daddy Daughter Dance
Julia and Mark Fisher
Alexis and Mike Koval
Trinity Boswell and Papa Al
Malcolm and Nevaeh Smith
Haley and Mark Simpson
Hundreds of fathers and daughters took to the dance floor in the Norman Park and Recreation Department’s annual daddy-daughter dances. The annual event was held this year at the Embassy Suites Hotel and Convention Center.
DJ Adrian Buendia plays the tunes for the dancers NORMAN magazine | MARCH/APRIL 2014
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Snap Shots Norman Regional Gala
Dr. Dan and Diane Isbell
Libbi and Dr. Robert Holbrook
Shane and Deedra Vice
Dr. Eric and Krista Thompson
Tim and Cindy Grissom, Joey and Michelle Wishnuck, Mr. and Mrs. Rick Byrd, Mr. and Mrs. Marc Etters
Dr. Lana Nelson and Barry Keith
Andy Paden, Kevin Hopper, Jim McAuley
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NORMAN magazine | MARCH/APRIL 2014
Norman Regional Health Foundation’s 7th annual Ambassador Ball was held on Friday, February 7th. More than 300 guests and supporters enjoyed an amazing evening of modern-romantic elegance, combined with gourmet dining and dancing to the music of the Think Big Party Band. The Norman Regional Health Foundation raises and distributes funds to support the life-saving mission of Norman Regional Health System. The proceeds from this year’s Ball benefited Norman Regional’s Rehabilitation Services program. Every year, hundreds of families are affected by stroke and other debilitating illnesses and injuries. It is Norman Regional Health System’s goal to help patients get back to living a full and productive life. It was last year, at this event, that the Norman Regional Health Foundation’s board kicked off a campaign to fund this $1.4 million project. They are now in the final push to finish the campaign. The project is multi-faceted and includes improvements to every area of Norman Regional’s Rehabilitation Services program. Funds will be used to renovate facilities, update equipment and advance therapies. Photos provided
Mark and Jennifer Austin, Debbie and Randy Laffoon, Amy and Courtney Brackin, Carol and Scott Bauman (back row), Trevor and Diane Nutt (seated).
Dr. Robert and Holly Frantz, Dr. Marcia and Jay Reinke
Margaret Pape, Chuck Thompson, Don Pape
Dr. Robert and Holly Frantz
Courtney Brackin, Jim Wade, Trevor Nutt
NRHF executive director Anne Clouse and husband Matt Tim and Cindy Grissom
Stefanie and Dr. John Chace
Kim Jackson, Stephanie O’Hara, Tammy Cain Dr. Chris and Marci Paskowski
Karen and Andy Rieger
Cheryl and Charles Hollingsworth
Bryan and Zandrea Waldenville Jana and Roy Orr
Lori and Dr. Stephen Lindsey
Foundation chair Randy Laffoon and Ambassador Ball chair Dianne Kittinger
Ann and Marc Nuttle NORMAN magazine | MARCH/APRIL 2014
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Snap Shots
NHS Jazz band performs with guest musicians.
Norman Big Band
Robert and Carol Terry Matt Swan and David McIntosh Photos by Doug Hill
The Norman High Jazz Ensemble played big band sounds while guests dined and danced in February. The event, sponsored by the Norman High Band Association, featured food from Local Restaurant and LaBaguette, with the help of Peach Crest Farm. Local studio, Shall We Dance?, offered lessons the night before the event. Proceeds are used for music, instruments, teaching instruments, clinicians and performers.
Michael Wenger, Valerie Watts, Roger Frech Bruce and Mia Boggs
Annaly and Scott Beck
Michael Yeager and Jim Burns
Margaret and Dr. Tom Thurston
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NORMAN magazine | MARCH/APRIL 2014
e u q i t s y M Hair Salon 2244 W. Main St • Norman 405-364-3520
Walk-Ins Welcome Matthew Ellis, Becca Maeder and Taylor Vanderburg
Specializing In: Trendy Styles, Mani, Pedi, Facial, Waxing, Color, Make-Up, Hair Extensions, Eyelash Extensions
Lauren and Bill Funke, Brook and Jim Meiller
Sean Hopper, Natalie McKenzie, Mary Kyncl and Hannah Lowery
p nands o l a s r ai
a.com
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Greg Albert, Pat Legion, Becky Clinton, Jeanne Tesch
ue mystiq
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Snap Shots
Claire Amspacher
Nate Nuss
Chocolate Festival The Firehouse Art Center’s annual Chocolate Festival draws chocaholics statewide. This year’s festival of all things sweet was held at the National Center for Employee Development.
Tiffany Haendel
Sandi Lasseter and Jennifer Mayer
Brianna Marshall
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Ella Parsons and Sam Hanchett
Firehouse Art Show Firehouse artists and guests gathered for a reception and art show in January at the Firehouse Art Center.
Artists, instructors and guests came together in January to view new works from Firehouse artists.
Debbie Pratt and Beverly Herndon
Cindy and Sue Rollins, Mindy Jones Kathy Kugler
Kiki Hiott, Judith and James Prise
Kiki Hiott
Dez Lamer Jennifer Skinner and Debbie Pratt NORMAN magazine | MARCH/APRIL 2014
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Firefighter Chili Supper Norman police, firefighters and OU officers served buckets of chili to guests at the annual chili supper held in the Norman High School Commons. Proceeds benefit the Norman Christmas Store.
Photos by Jessica Bruha
Snap Shots
Retired firefighter Jerry Loeffelholz, right, helps distribute take-out chili.
Retired OU officer David Donihoo sells tickets to the chili supper.
Firefighter Driver/Engineer Pat Holding serves up chili
Guests wait in line for take-out and dining in bowls of chili.
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Guests got cookies and crackers with their meal.
Retired firefighter Jerry Loeffelholz prepares take-out cups of chili.
Capt. Mike Bussell  gets supplies for the dinner.
An assortment of cookies awaits diners.
More eager guests wait in line for chili dinner. NORMAN magazine | MARCH/APRIL 2014
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Snap Shots Norman Chamber Lunch Oklahoma weather icon Gary England spoke to the Norman Chamber of Commerce’s membership luncheon at Belmar Golf Club. England recently retired from his broadcasting duties at Channel 9 in Oklahoma City.
Stephen Koranda, Shayne Lester Karen Keating, Lisa Allen
Erin Houghtaling, John Woods, Tessa Breder
Cyndi Byars, Lolly Taylor
Ted Blodgett, Lori Fightmaster, Jim McAuley
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Steve Miller, Joe Rosso
Parting Shot(s)
Attention: Knights & Ladies The annual Medieval Fair, held in Norman since 1977, will bring knights and ladies from throughout the land to Reaves Park April 4-6. Photos by Kyle Phillips
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