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AUTUMN AT THE ARBORETUM MEANS LOTS OF ORANGE
Fall brings pumpkins galore, life-size 3D printed scientists’ statues
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By William Taylor
william.taylor@peoplenewspapers.com
Somehow 100,000-plus pumpkins, gourds, and squash from Floydada, “The Pumpkin Capital of Texas,” isn’t enough orange for the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden this fall.
Add 50 life-size, 3D printed statues of women leaders in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), and you might get closer.
A portion of the #IfThenSheCan - The Exhibit is returning to Dallas and will go on display in the Rory Meyers Children’s Adventure Garden a week before the opening of the 17th annual Autumn at the Arboretum: A Fall Fairy Tale and stick around through year’s end.
Don’t worry. That much plastic won’t be out of place among the 150,000 autumn flowers.
“These statues align well with our Children’s Adventure Garden’s focus on teaching STEM in a practical and meaningful way,” Arboretum president and CEO Mary Brinegar said. “The powerful and successful women represented will only influence the many girls and boys who visit our garden who may be the next astrophysicist, engineer, or mathematician.”
IF/THEN, an initiative of Lyda Hill Philanthropies, aims to open young girls’ eyes to the potential of STEM careers. It does so by introducing them to the stories of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) IF/THEN® Ambassadors – women selected for accomplishments ranging from protecting wildlife, discovering galaxies, and fighting superbugs, to choreographing robots.
The idea: Get middle school girls to think if these women can do this, then they can grow up to do it, too.
Another 40 of the 120 statutes will go on display from early October through Nov. 13 throughout the entrance plaza of the Perot Museum of Nature and Science.
“Having women who represent career paths relevant to both the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden’s work and the numerous exhibits at the Perot Museum of Nature and Science will be an excellent opportunity to show the thousands of children who visit that if they can see it, they too can be it,” said Nicole Small, CEO of Lyda Hill Philanthropies.
Even with all that science, the arboretum will still offer plenty of fall magic and music.
Visit the fall festival presented by Reliant and find Cinderella’s carriage, a Pumpkin Village, and “gourd-eous” displays showcasing such classic tales as Jack and The Beanstalk, The Three Little Pigs, and The Sword in the Stone.
IF YOU GO
What: Autumn at the Arboretum: A Fall Fairy Tale
When: Sept. 17-Oct. 31
Where: Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden, 8525 Garland Road
Online: dallasarboretum.org
More: From Sept. 10-Dec. 31, see 50 statues from the #IfThenSheCan - The Exhibit in the Rory Meyers Children’s Adventure Garden.
Autumn at the Arboretum: A Fall Fairy Tale will feature 100,000 pumpkins, gourds, and squash along with Cinderella’s carriage, a Pumpkin Village, other classic story-themed exhibits, a magic carpet ride selfie experience, a hay bale maze, a pumpkin patch, music, and 150,000 seasonal flowers. (PHOTOS: COURTESY DALLAS ARBORETUM); The life-sized, 3D-printed #IfThenSheCan - The Exhibit statues depict women leading in such fields as engineering, geology, astrophysics, ocean conservation, neuroscience, cancer research, video game
The Mothers Are Coming!
Our mothers, my hubby’s and mine, will soon visit.
We coordinate their stays because, well, it blunts their impact.
We are grateful to have them, but it requires mental training (and therapy) to get up for the big day.
Like a D-Day invasion, the mom’s prep begins early. The month before their offensive, we field a barrage of questions. Sleeping and eating arrangements are chief among MICHELE VALDEZ their concerns, along with appropriate dress, volume of restaurant noise, and spiciness of the fare.
My mother is a gem to host, and I repeatedly remind my husband of that in advance.
She is a pleaser and fervently believes that to be worthy of my sweet man, I must keep an immaculate house. Sure, it’s not 1962, but she helps clean, and who am I to deny my mother that pleasure in the twilight of her life?
My mom’s issue: boundaries. She swears by her humble upbringing in a 4-room house with 11 siblings. Consequently, she has no use for privacy. Translation: my hubby bites his tongue as she wanders unannounced into our bedroom, bathroom, and closet.
By contrast, for my motherin-law, privacy is key, and so too is service.
She rises each morning and anchors at our kitchen table. From there, just like the Wizard, she oversees my version of Oz. At her post, with her “bad eyesight,” she can spot dust at 30 yards.
Despite her “poor hearing,” she can recite conversations that occur in other rooms.
She is smart and knowledgeable of world affairs.
This octogenarian refuses to impose but is clear that mustard, half and half, and English muffins are required for her stay. After 28 years of reminders, these rations are purchased long before her arrival.
The best time of their stay comes each day about 4 p.m. Wine and nibbles in hand, they revive their memories and are again awash in youth.
With awakened passion, they pour out their life stories for us to soak up. And, in those moments, I listen and pray that someday I can hold my children’s attention in the same way.
Michele Valdez, a slightly compulsive, mildly angry feminist, has-been attorney, and volunteer, has four demanding adult children and a patient husband.
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‘An Angel Sent From Heaven To Help Us Out’ Oak Cliff ’s Mary Puckett loves her Park Cities home healthcare patients like family
By Rachel Snyder
rachel.snyder@peoplenewspapers.com
A photo displayed in Mary Puckett’s Oak Cliff home shows World War II veteran Charles Lemon, a Park Cities man she took care of for years before his death in 2021.
“He’s my family,” explained Puckett, now 82.
She has spent more than 50 years as a home healthcare provider, often working in the Park Cities, and has plenty of photographs and letters from the families she served.
“All of them (are my) family because I loved all of them,” Puckett said. “I stay with them so long that they become a part of me.”
Charles’ son, Neel, said when Charles needed additional care, Mary came highly recommended from other Park Cities families.
“She worked during daytime hours for us basically five or six days a week for years taking care of my dad who was in a slow decline,” Neel said. “She was kind of like an angel sent from heaven to help us out.”
The family thanked Puckett for her care in Charles’ obituary.
“She would sometimes have to take him to the doctor or the hospital,” Neel said. “She handled that all just perfectly, interfaced with medical providers and things like that, cooked his meals, and she’s just a very caring person. As far we’re concerned, she was an extension of family.”
Mary Puckett keeps plenty of photos in her Oak Cliff home of family and those she’s cared
for who she considers family. (PHOTO: RACHEL SNYDER)
Puckett began working in healthcare when she was 25.
“You have to love what you do, and it’s just easy – just like a breeze,” she said. “You get some people who are very, very ill, but that’s when you enjoy your work because you’re doing something to help.”
When not at work, Mary also served as caregiver for her family.
Her husband, William, suffered a stroke more than 20 years ago, and she and one of her daughters, Tammy, cared for him at home for years.
“I worked 12 hours a day,” Puckett said. “My daughter (cared for him) during the day; I took care of him at night.”
But Tammy suffered from kidney failure. After she and her father died about a year apart, Mary helped raise Tammy’s daughters, Keeyona King and Angela Leblanc.
“Words can’t explain how beautiful she is as a person,” Angela said of her grandmother. “She just gave me a lot of wisdom through life growing up.
“She picked up where my mom left off and taught me everything. She helped me graduate through school,” Angela said. “She loves her flowers; she loves to plant; she loves to bake; she loves to cook. Every year, we have Thanksgiving and Christmas at her house, and it’ll be me and her in the kitchen cooking.”
Keeyona described Mary’s food as excellent.
“She raised me and my kids,” Keeyona said. “She’s a very good person. I mean she’s reliable, prompt … If you say that you need her at any time, she’ll be there.”
Mary still enjoys her work and keeping busy. Keeyona understands, “Personally, I just feel like she needs this because she doesn’t like sitting in the house and just looking.”
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By Daniel Lalley
Special Contributor
From the east side of Manhattan to the art galleries of Amsterdam, novelist Clay Small has had an incredible journey. This former soccer pro turned PepsiCo counsel has cut a path through multiple continents, curating experiences that would eventually play out between the pages of two novels. Within his adventures, Dallas played an integral part.
In 1972, Clay was drafted by the Dallas Tornado, a North American Soccer League standout owned by the infamous Lamar Hunt. He came down from Wesleyan University, his alma mater in Ohio, to continue his soccer career in Dallas. However, he was quickly curtailed.
“This is a really funny story,” Small said. “Lamar Hunt called me into his office one day and asked, ‘What do you want to do with your life?’ Which translated to, ‘I’m cutting you.’”
Small explained to Hunt that he’d like to attend law school and become a lawyer. Within days, the business titan and Tornado owner had him enrolled at SMU Dedman School of Law.
After graduating, Small eventually assumed a general counsel position at PepsiCo. There, he oversaw an array of divisions from Frito-Lay to Pizza Hut. It was through this work that he discovered a passion for travel and an appreciation of art.
“It started when I held a meeting for the International Attorneys in London,” Small said. “When I got the bill for it, I realized it was half my year’s travel expenses. Then, a friend of mine, who’s Dutch, said, ‘Why don’t we do this in Amsterdam? It’s less than half the cost and everyone speaks English.’”
From there, Small became fascinated with the Netherlands. He explored Holland and Amsterdam, and eventually became introduced to 17th century Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer. He quickly fell in love with the works of this Baroque Period painter and made it his mission to view each of his 34 existing works.
“I’ve seen all but three,” Small said.
One day, Small was reading a Rotterdam newspaper and came across an ad for a gallery of Vermeer forgeries by Han van Meegeren.
“I thought, ‘Why would you have a forger’s showing?’” Small said. “This is just too weird.”
The next day, Small was on a train to Rotterdam. Since then,
I thought, ‘Why
would you have a he’s become fascinated with Van forger’s showing?’ Meegeren and the lore that surrounds his forgeries and following. This is just too Van Meegeren became the single weird. richest artist of his time simply by forging paintings. In contrast, VerClay Small meer died poor. “I became fascinated by the story of a forgery by Van Meegeren which ended up in the hands of Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring,” Small said. “And this set the backdrop to my latest book.” Small’s latest title, The Forger’s Forgery, explores the world of art forgery while pulling form his experiences as a husband, father, professor, executive, and world traveler. And with a life so rich in experiences, this is a read rooted in human engagement.
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The Forger’s Forgery
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