Shawnee Outlook December 2022

keep the change

H nutrition 101 LAST MINUTE GIFTING

HEALTHY DURING HOLIDAYS

ere is your yearly reminder that you can be healthy during the holidays. It doesn’t have to all go out the door the moment the calendar turns to fall. According to the American Heart Association (AHA), “Americans are consuming 60 percent of their overall calories in highly-processed foods, and this means an overconsumption of processed sugar. The average American consumes 23 teaspoons of added sugar each day.”

It’s mid-December by the time this is hitting your mailbox, and while some have had their gifts wrapped for months, others are still scrambling. Don’t worry. You have time. Here are some gift ideas for those still looking:

• Try a swap. If you’re shopping for kids, especially younger kids, many won’t know the difference –they’re happy with any thing that is new to THEM. The same could work for an older audi ence – maybe you have a re-gift pile that you don’t want to re-gift to your circle but could swap with a friend who has their own stash. These gifts are tech nically “new,” and hopefully now going to a home where they’ll be happy and won’t cost you a penny.

• Gift food. If you can bake, get in the kitchen. Wrap up some cookies or muf fins in pretty paper and give away as much as you can whip up. Try savory options. Put together a soup mix or even a spice mix. Check Pinterest for ideas. If you’re not handy in the kitchen, find unique op tions in a local shop, such as Savvy Bites or Crow’s Market on Main St. The best thing about consumable gifts, such as food, is that they don’t create clutter.

• Gift a kit. Know a crafty friend or child? Put together a simple kit – a drawing pad, markers, paint, brushes or stencils. It doesn’t have to be fancy. New supplies are often loved by anyone who uses theirs quickly, and there are a lot of fun options even at Dollar Tree.

• Still stuck and aren’t as concerned with saving? Try a gift card to a local shop so they can try something new or visit a place they already love.

Angela Rowland is an OBU graduate and a stay-at-home mother of four. She enjoys finding new ways to stretch the paycheck and share some of her favorite tips and deals.

The AHA recommends no more than 6 teaspoons of sugar for women per day and 9 teaspoons for men. Those statistics are for an average day, not for a day where processed sugar may be even more increased during October through January.

Somehow, we have lost the connection between processed sugar and our health. Research after research shows us the connection between added sugars and condi tions like cancer, diabetes, obesity, heart disease and digestive disorders. Finding that balance of enjoying the holidays without becoming diabetic or sending your already high blood sugar readings through the roof would be a great goal.

Try the 80/20 approach and eat healthy 80 percent of the week and set aside 20 percent of the week to enjoy a holiday get-together. Often the weight that is put on during the holidays is not taken off at the new year, which leads to a gradual climb in weight every year. As obesity and diabetes numbers are in our country, it would be worth the time to make yourself a plan during this season. Think about how to incorporate fruits, vegetables, water, healthy fats and daily activity into your holiday season.

Try the below recipe for a great start to your morning.

Homemade Protein Bars

I love quick bars for either a post-workout grab or quick breakfast. The problem with so many of them is that they are loaded with sugar and other manmade ingredients. This recipe was fun to play around with. They are a bit crumbly, but I really enjoyed them with a cup of coffee in the morning after my workout.

Ingredients: Directions:

2 cups quick cooking oats ½ cup all natural nut but ter of choice (I used al mond butter)

4 scoops of a plant based vanilla protein powder ½ cup unsweetened non dairy milk (I used almond)

Line an 8x8 glass baking dish with wax or parchment paper. Mix all ingredients by hand in a medium size mixing bowl. Press mixture down into a dish using either a spatula or your hand. Freeze for 30 minutes and then transfer to the refrigerator.

Makes: 6 servings Serving size: 1 bar each

Calories: 389 Total Fat: 18g Saturated Fat: 6.6g Cholesterol: 0mg Sodium: 213mg Carbohydrates: 30g

Dietary Fiber: 6g Protein: 22g

Nutrition 101: I find it very helpful to have all my nutrients in one thing on a busy morning. When educating, I am pushing the idea of a meal having a balance of fiber, fat and protein. These bars have that combination. Read the ingredients when shopping for a protein powder. Steer clear of ingredients like: sugar, cane sugar, high fructose corn syrup, soy protein isolates, whey isolates, dextrin/maltodextrin, arti ficial sugars (sucralose, aspartame and saccharin), vegetable oils and gums. Protein powders aren’t cheap, so don’t let them fool you by putting in cheap ingredients and charging you way more for the product.

Andrea Beck, a registered dietitian and personal trainer, received her master’s degree in nutrition and dietetics from the University of Central Oklahoma. She offers personal training through an online class and nutrition services through SSM Health St. Anthony in Shawnee. Contact her at Andrea.beck1@ssmhealth. com or through her Facebook page, Nutrition and Exercise 101 with Andrea.

Angela Rowland

art of the matter

CHRISTMAS CARDS

Holiday Tradition

Owes Its Roots To Artists Tracing Back To 19th Century England

SUBMITTED BY DELAYNNA TRIM, CURATOR OF COLLECTIONS AT MABEE-GERRER MUSEUM OF ART

Oklahoma artist Derald Swineford created pieces reimagining the Nativity scene in different settings, particularly in Old West. Mabee-Gerrer Museum of Art features his work and other pieces in “Messiah: Christ in Art” on exhibit from Dec. 17, 2022-Jan. 22, 2023 at the museum at 1900 W. MacArthur.

Do

send out Christmas cards? Do you receive many Christmas cards?

Artists have enjoyed creating their own Christ mas cards for many years. It is a chance for them to create something special for their friends and family.

The first Christmas cards were created in England in 1843 by Sir Henry Cole. He was overwhelmed by having to handwrite respons es to all the letters he was receiving leading up to Christmas, so he asked an artist friend, J.C. Horsley, to design the card that he had print ed and sent out to his friends, family and ac quaintances.

The first Christmas cards printed in the U.S. were created in 1875 by Louis Prang in Boston. The modern Christmas card industry started in 1915 with the Hall brothers’ com pany (later renamed Hallmark) in Kansas City.

turing famous art works. In 1958, Salvador Dali created a custom line of Christmas cards for Hallmark. Norman Rock well designed a popular Christmas card set for Hallmark, which is still occasionally reprinted.

Artists have created unique holiday cards, such as Michael Bidlo’s card created out of a flattened Brillo box. Josef Albers, Alexander Calder and Robert Motherwell all created unique Christmas cards to send to their family and friends.

Scan this code to visit the Mabee-Gerrer Museum of Art’s at-home project page.

By 1948, Hallmark released a line of Christmas cards fea

In the MGMoA exhibit, “Messiah: Christ in Art,” you may notice two prints by Derald Swineford. Swineford was an Oklahoma artist known for his paintings, sculpture and lino leum prints all with an Oklahoma or South west influence. From 1940-1983, he created a series of prints for Christmas that he sent to his friends and family. While these had a Western theme, many also connected to the Christmas holiday.

you

Both pieces are reimaginings of the Nativity scene in new and different settings. In “Teepee Manger,” Swineford reimag ines the Nativity with Native Americans. In “Wagon Train Na tivity,” he reimagines the Nativity featuring people who are on a wagon train moving West. Both use the idea of the Nativity, but instead of the traditional Mary and Joseph in a barn, he uses figures from other cultures and time periods.

“Messiah: Christ in Art” is on exhibit from Dec. 17, 2022Jan. 22, 2023 at the Mabee-Gerrer Museum of Art at 1900 W. MacArthur. For more information, visit www.mgmoa.org.

Make your own artist Christmas card

• All you need is paper and something to draw with – pen cil, markers, colored pencils, paint, etc. Use what you have and be creative.

• Fold the paper in half

• Decide the image you want for the front of the Christmas card. Do you want a Christmas tree? Your family? Angels? Nativity? Your pet?

• What colors do you want to use? Do you want to use glit ter?

• Now decide what you want the card to say inside. Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays or Seasons Greetings or something else.

• Don’t forget to sign the card.

• Now give it to a friend or family member. When you are done take a photo or your artwork and share it on social media with the hashtag #MGMOAArts. S

2700 N Kickapoo Shawnee, OK74804 (405) 585-2907 store6963@theupsstore.com theupsstorelocal.com/6963

community WE CARE CHRISTMAS

SRC Students, Helpers Pack 145 Care Packages For OK Veterans FROM STAFF REPORTS

The We Care Christmas Baskets for Veterans is back for its fifth year and will serve all VA centers in Oklahoma.

The project has garnered support from businesses and organizations around the state in helping provide gifts to thousands of Oklahoma veterans during the high point of the holiday season.

Participants in the project gather materials to place in bags and baskets that are given to veterans in a variety of living situations. Items included in the bags and baskets range from the practical to fun, such as a puzzle books, decks of cards, dominoes, calendars, fleece blanket, pa jama pants, socks, white t-shirts, deodorant, shampoo,

body wash, shaving cream, razors, toothbrush, tooth paste, mouth wash, lotion, lip balm and denture cleaner.

The South Rock Creek Student Council – with the help of all our teachers, students and parents – were able to complete about 145 bags.

Care packages will travel to facilities around the state like those in Norman, Sulphur and Talihina. The repre sentatives from the student council delivered some of the packages on Pearl Harbor Day on Dec. 7.

For more information about the We Care Christmas Baskets for Veterans project, visit facebook.com/abou toklahomaveterans or call Jessie Newell at (405) 2148633.

ABOUT HEALTH

NAMAH Owner Honors Brothers’ Memories Through Activities, Products Offered At Shop

BY DAVID DINSMORE

The mural on the western wall of NAMAH’s location at 1819 N. Harrison suite 1 features two bison representing owner Amanda “Cedar” Shirey’s younger brothers, Noah and Mike, the latter of which started the CBD and Kratom shop to help people dealing with addiction, pain, seizures, arthritis, anxiety, stress and more. — Photos by Loren Knight

It started with a phone call from her younger brother, Mike.

Amanda “Cedar” Shirey already had developed a pretty thorough knowl edge of the CBD industry through her work in Arkansas when he reached out to her in 2017 about opening their own shop in Shawnee with a focus on a differ ent plant called Kratom.

It had been about 10 years since their brother, Noah, had passed away, and Mike traversed some dark times in the interim as he wrestled with addiction. The all-natural Kratom had changed things for him, and he began recom mending it to other people in the com munity facing the same struggles. By the time he called Shirey, he had already come up with a name for the business he wanted to open: NAMAH.

“I said, ‘Oh, that’s cool! Like namaste?” Shirey recalled. “He said, ‘It stands for Not. About. Money. About. Health.’ I thought it was a great name that carried a lot of positive meaning.”

They discussed the idea of using a combination of CBD and Kratom to help people dealing with addiction, pain, sei zures, arthritis, anxiety, stress and much more, Shirey said, and from those ideas came the first NAMAH location at 1819 N. Harrison suite 1. Mike used his cre ative skills to craft countertops and shelv ing the shop still uses today and built a place he envisioned as helping people.

“It was humble beginnings, and he just kept at it,” Shirey said. “He was re ally hands-on and was such a great guy, loving guy. He cared about and con nected with people on a genuine, human

and personal level. He wanted to help people.”

Shirey moved to Tahlequah and opened another NAMAH storefront downtown and later sold that business during the height of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, Mike continued to expand in the central Okla homa area with locations in Norman and Midwest City, and a family friend opened a NAMAH location in Ada.

In 2019, the family opened the med ical marijuana dispensary NAMAH Cannabis Co. a Medical Marijuana dispensary a few blocks north on Har rison Shawnee. Shirey led the cannabis dispensary operations with an empha sis on using reusable glass jars, recycled ocean plastic and biodegradable hemp packaging.

“I was trying to set an indus try standard and veer people away from single use plastic pop top packaging,” Shirey said.

The family had seen the advantages of cannabis when their aunt began using it dur ing her battle with breast can cer, Shirey said, and she was glad to be able to offer the same type of relief to others in the community before selling the dispensary in 2020.

NAMAH recently returned/ relocated to its original loca tion at 1819 N. Harrison.

“It feels great,” Shirey said. “It’s ‘full circle.’ The parking situation for our (customers and friends) is much better.”

Even though Mike has now passed away as well, Shirey said people still come in all the time and tell stories of how he helped them, and often it brings them to tears. As an example, Mike started a “credit book” where we let people charge products and pay as they were able.

Shirey recently commis sioned a mural on the western wall of the building facing Harrison as an homage to her little brothers, Noah and Mike, who are represented by the two bison.

“I have always felt Noah, and now Mike, throughout the years when there are sun rays shooting magnificently across the sky,” Shirey said. “The flowers I picked are native Okla homa and medicinal varieties. For the message my Mom and I decided on ‘Believe in yourself and don’t give up.’ I think this is what Noah and Mike are constantly telling us from heaven, and we try to source strength from that.”

In addition to her brother Mike, Shirey said her mom was a driving force of NAMAH all these years, and she is the strongest person Shirey knows.

“We hope anyone who drives by, or who comes into NA MAH will see the mural and be lifted up and inspired by it,” Shirey said.

Shirey keeps her brother’s legacy in mind through the operation of NAMAH by offering the highest quality prod ucts the Kratom and CBD industry has to offer.

“In this day and age when you can buy Kratom and CBD products in gas stations and stores that are popping up ev ery day, I implore people to be informed consumers,” Shirey said.

“We import directly from the people who harvest the kra

tom plant. It is tested overseas, and when we receive it, we have it independently tested right here at a lab in Oklahoma. We want to ensure the product we put out under our brand is or ganic and free of heavy metals, chemicals and pesticides.”

NAMAH also carries Char lotte’s Web CBD, whose repu tation as an industry leader has even garnered a partnership recently as the official CBD product of Major League Base ball produced by a company founded by owners with Shaw nee roots, Shirey said.

Additionally, NAMAH of fers other wellness items like lo cally crafted soy/beeswax can dles, soaps, CBD-infused bath bombs, sage, cedar and sweet grass, high quality incense, essential oils and fragrances, handmade jewelry, quartz crys tal and more along with season al products that Shirey makes, including organic elderberry syrup and fire cider that she was planning to teach how to make in a workshop this month.

For more information, call (405) 585-2911.

Shirey also is looking to the future of NAMAH by adding an Indigenous/Bohemian inspired boutique with clothing, home goods, high quality raw crystals/gemstones and silver jewelry. She also aims to feature local artists’ artwork each month, a monthly women’s circle and a monthly drumming circle in the spring.

Shirey also wants to offer opportunities for community educational meetings focusing on a range of important topics like fentanyl awareness, what Kratom is, and MMIW. S

Amanda “Cedar” Shirey operates NAMAH in honor of her brother Mike (pictured in the frame on the counter), who started the shop to help those he knew in the community struggling with a variety of issues.

During your appointment, highlights will include:

• An overview of how hearing and the brain work together

• Have your hearing questions answered

• Learn about all of your options for hearing care treatment

We

can’t wait to meet you and learn more about your hearing needs!

Dr. Kurt Kalies , Au.D.

Dr. Calyn Russ , Au.D. Doctors of Audiology

STAR BRIGHT

Gold Star Families Memorial Monument Unveiled At Veterans Day Ceremony

FROM STAFF REPORTS

Earlier this year, the Oklahoma Veterans Memorial Park committee began increasing efforts to raise funds to complete a Gold Star Families Memorial Monument, and they saw the fruits of that work unveiled at a Veterans Day ceremony at the Oklahoma Veterans Me morial Park last month.

Members of the veteran community locally, at the state and national levels and representatives of the Woody Wil liams Foundation gathered on a chilly Friday morning to honor the families of those who paid the ultimate price in defense of liberty.

The term Gold Star family applies to any immediate family members of a fallen service member who died while serving in a time of conflict. This modern term traces its

roots to flags and banners first flown by families during World War I. The flags included a blue star for every imme diate family member serving in the armed forces, according to information available from the United States Army. If a loved one died during a time of conflict, the blue star was replaced by a gold star and signified to the community the price that the family had paid in the cause of freedom.

In the spirit of that tradition, the Woody Williams Foun dation has been working to establish permanent Gold Star Families Memorial Monuments in communities across the nation to recognize and pay respect to the sacrifices made by families in that area.

Shawnee’s monument stands in Oklahoma Veterans Me morial Park alongside the wall displaying the 7,568 names

Photos by David Dinsmore

of veterans with associ ated Oklahoma addresses when killed in wars from the Spanish-American War through the present.

Gold Star Families Me morial Monuments are a two-sided tribute made of black granite with the front side featuring the inscrip tion, “Gold Star Families Memorial Monument, a tribute to Gold Star Fami lies and Relatives who sacrificed a Loved One for our Freedom.” The other side uses the four granite panels that communities can customize to tell the unique story of their Gold Star Families through the concepts of homeland, family, patriotism and sacrifice.

At the center of this tribute is an empty silhouette formed between two of the granite panels of a saluting ser vice member, which represents the legacy of the loved ones who have paid the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom, ac

cording to information from the Woody Williams Foundation.

From left to right on the backside of the Shaw nee monument, the first panel signifying home land has the flag of Okla homa with a rising sun in the background. The sun represents the begin ning of the day, life and being. The family panel has loved ones watching their sons and daughters serve in the nation's mili tary branches. The patriot panel features the service these families provide for the protection and free dom of the nation. The sacrifice panel depicts the ultimate sacrifice families endure from losing their loved ones for our freedom. On the top is the following inscription:

“We pay tribute to all Oklahomans who have paid the ultimate sacrifice.” S

mental health

R.A.W. LUNCHEONS

The Opposite Of Addiction Is Connection

BY ALICJA CARTER

When was the last time you felt connected to someone?

Maybe when sharing cof fee with a friend, cooking a meal with your family, or petting your dog after work. Con gratulations! Having strong social ties can add years to your life.

Unfortunately, 2022 research from Cig na and Morning Consult finds that about 58 percent of U.S. adults consider themselves to be lonely. Loneliness can be physically, mentally and emotionally dangerous for anyone, especially those suffering from an addiction or other mental health conditions.

“Many people with mental and/or substance use disorders are not fully engaged in their communities, either through personal relationships, social events or civic activities.” wrote Cesar Gamboa, a staff reporter and editor with Addiction Now referencing information from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration in a 2016 article. “Un fortunately, many individuals often remain socially isolated and excluded.”

“Professor Peter Cohen argues that human beings have a deep need to bond and form connections,” Johann Hari wrote in an article titled “Can Connection Cure Addiction?” pub lished by the University of California, Berkeley's Greater Good Magazine. “It’s how we get our satisfaction. If we can’t connect with each other, we will connect with any thing we can find – the whir of a roulette wheel or the prick of a syringe. He says we should stop talking about ‘addiction’ altogether, and instead call it ‘bond ing.’ A heroin addict has bonded with heroin because they couldn’t bond as fully with anything else.”

Gateway’s Wellness Program recognizes that cre ating and supporting opportunities for all people to experience authentic social connection is absolutely necessary for people to begin to “Expect Hope.” These rela tionships, which create a sense of belonging, become a foun dation for accessing resources, sustaining recovery and ex ploring greater well-being in other areas of life, including one’s higher purpose.

R.A.W. Luncheons hosted by Gateway to Prevention and Recovery – such as this event attended by 130 people at Life. Church in Shawnee – have grown from the first meeting June 24, 2015 with six people in attendance.

gap to community. R.A.W Luncheons – originally called Well ness Lunches – got their start on June 24, 2015 with six people in attendance. The Shawnee Public Library, Shawnee Senior Center and Mission Shawnee were all gracious hosts through out the years, reaching an average attendance of 55 people by the end of 2019. These lunches have always been less of a meeting and more of an experience with the primary focus being sharing local resources and making con nections, eating a delicious and affordable lunch, and listening to a personal story of recovery.

Scan to view a highlight from a recent R.A.W. Luncheon

When the COVID-19 pandemic made its way onto the scene in 2020, Gateway pivoted from in-per son gatherings to virtual Connection Calls and con tinued to do so throughout early 2022. An average of 25 people joined each call, and people continued to cultivate healthy bonds and spread the message of hope in recovery.

Gateway’s R.A.W. (Recovery Action Wellness) Luncheons have been one dynamic example of many people working to gether to break down the stigma of addiction and bridge the

In 2022, the planning team decided that it was time to gath er together again in person. All five of the R.A.W Luncheons were held at Life.Church, Shawnee, between 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. The luncheons – typically hosting between 100 and 150 individuals with projected growth for 2023 – were open to the entire community, which included Gateway staff, patients, graduates, family members, volunteers, community organiza

Carter

tions, individuals and sponsor representatives.

Gateway and community volunteers were essential to planning and carrying out the vision. Businesses and organizations such as First United Bank, Shawnee Mill ing Company, SSM Health St. Anthony Hospital – Shawnee, Gateway’s Community Ser vice Team and Citizen Po tawatomi Nation sponsored the cost of the food so that money was never a hindrance for someone coming to participate. Those that attended expressed feeling seen, hopeful and a necessary part of something deeply important. Additional reflections include some of the follow ing sentiments:

“The R.A.W. Luncheons allow me to be present with people in the community that I would not be able to connect with otherwise.” -Treatment Staff

“These are a great resource for staying informed about

“It feels good to celebrate and encourage others. We are all working towards wellness in our own specific way, but still together.” -Gateway Vol unteer

Gateway looks forward to its continued partnership with Life.Church to host four R.A.W. Luncheons in 2023. The 2023 dates are still to be announced. If you or your or ganization would like to team up with us this year, we would be honored to work alongside you. You are welcome to participate as an attendee, volunteer, resource table or sponsor. Please email Alicja Carter at acart er@gatewaytoprevention.org or text (405) 432-2750 to share how you’d like to be involved. Partnership makes it possible to create a moment in time where everyone present can feel a sense of belonging, purpose and hope. The good that flows from that can never be measured.

Alicja Carter, MHR, BHWC, has been working in the behavioral health and S

www.edwardjones.com

MICHAEL

JACOB RUSSELL,

DAVID SPIRES,

BRENT MORRIS,

TREY THEE III,

CHRIS JONES,

More than 50 R.A.W. Luncheon attendees gathered at Mission Shawnee to support and provide personal connections in the community for those in recovery.

shawnee history

MARCHING ON

City Has Rich History Of Parades, Especially In Early Days

BY ANN MCDONALD, COURTESY POTT CO HISTORICAL SOCIETY MEMBER

Shawnee loves a parade. Almost as soon as the town was founded, citizens held parades. Early events celebrated and showed off the many businesses and manufacturers hardly more than 10 years after the “run” when the same area was little more than undeveloped, tree-covered land.

In September 1904, the newspapers lauded the Labor Day pa rade that was “two miles long” with “thousands thronging the streets to witness the Monster Procession.” It took 45 minutes for all entries to proceed behind six mounted policemen. The fire men and the Labor Day Queen followed. Local unions – such as plasterers, machinists, butchers, plumbers, blacksmiths, clerks, railroad employees, cannery workers, millers and even bartend ers – were represented. Some of the “very pretty floats” were “those representing the millinery establishments with a bevy of handsomely dressed young ladies riding in a beautiful float.”

There seemed to be a parade for every special event, such as for Prohibition in 1907. The school board voted to not close the schools so the children could participate, saying that it was a po litical question “to which children should not be mixed.”

There were parades when circuses and rodeos came to town, and typically they were held for usual holidays of Fourth of July and Christmas but also Labor Day parades continued to be pop ular in the early days. After World War I, the veterans paraded through the city streets to the cemeteries and laid wreaths for their fallen comrades. Stores and businesses closed in honor and joined the procession even though it was on a Saturday.

In 1934, the city was celebrating its birthday with a “gala round of activities” including the Pawnee Bill rodeo at Athletic Park (now Memorial Park), which began with a “record break ing” pioneer parade. During World War II, there were several parades – some to see citizens marching off to military duty and some for patriotism for those who stayed behind to work and encourage. In May 1943, the city asked for the use of “at least 25 cars” to bring pre-aviation cadets stationed at Oklahoma Baptist University into town for special Memorial Day activities, which featured veterans organizations including those from the Span ish-American War.

At the war’s end, Shawnee citizens were ready to celebrate with normal activities, such as the Redbud parade, high school home coming and Christmas parades. There was even an ‘89ers parade despite Shawnee not being a part of that more well-known land run. Local folks loved a parade. As many as 20 floats participated in the Christmas parade in 1948. In 1955, there was a Shriners Parade, and two years later a Bicycle Safety parade made up of youngsters on their bikes.

By the ‘60s, the homecoming and Christmas parades were

staples in downtown Shawnee, both primarily made up of young people from local high school bands, school classes, Scouts and Camp Fire Girls and other clubs. And from the beginning, hors es were always a big part of parades whether pulling floats, circus acts or the Round-up Club. Most parades featured contests and prizes, and Santa Claus usually made his appearance at Christ mas riding on a fire truck as his “elves” tossed candy to the chil dren.

The one parade most Shawnee people are likely to remember is the second one that featured astronaut Gordon Cooper. The hometown boy was in Shawnee soon after he was named one of the seven original astronauts, but that event was actually for his father, Leroy G. Cooper Sr., who was being honored a few months after his death by having the military reserve center named for him. The elder Cooper had been a lawyer and judge in the coun ty for many years and then served in the army’s judge advocate’s office. It was only a few months after NASA’s announcement, so Cooper’s hometown celebrated both events with a parade.

The second parade – a huge one for Gordon Cooper after his flight into space – was in June 1963, and officials agreed that thousands lined Shawnee’s streets to wave at the local hero. Area bands, businesses, youth groups, floats, service clubs, dignitaries and round-up clubs participated in the parade featuring Cooper along with his wife and daughters.

Parades in Shawnee have continued over the years – although not as much – featuring citizen groups as participants. Locals still find ways to celebrate and honor various events and holidays … with parades.

Shawnee has marked holidays and special events throughout its history with parades since nearly the founding of the city. — Photo submitted

christmas

NEAR TO US

Cooper Funeral Home

Hosts 31st Annual Program Remembering Those Lost

BY DAVID DINSMORE

The Cooper family had experi ence with grief.

They had operated a funeral home in Tecumseh for generations. They had witnessed it. They had consoled peo ple in the midst of it. They had helped other families plan for it.

Sitting at the holiday table one year, however, an empty seat led some of them to realize at a deeper level the impact it can have. The chair had belonged to Thel ma Cooper, the matriarch through whom all things with the family flowed. Din ners. Gatherings. Holidays.

J Cooper – the fourth generation to own and operate Cooper Funeral Home – remembers the mood that evening as they all felt the absence of his grand mother.

“It was a horrible time,” Cooper said. “Usually we cut up. There’s a lot of laugh ter. There’s a lot of visiting. There was nothing. Nothing felt right.”

Cooper’s father wondered how other families were faring who did not have as if an experienced family like theirs was having that much trouble.

“We’re around the grieving process,” Cooper said. “We were aware of how it worked, but we’re a mess.

“He wanted to find some way to let people know that they’re not alone in their grief.”

From that dinner arose a holiday pro gram at Cooper Funeral Home now in its 31st year. The Coopers began putting up

Cooper Funeral Home at 210 W. Walnut St. in Tecumseh honors those who have passed and whose families they have served during the previous year with a special program that includes A Christmas Keepsake ceremony, the Christmas Tree of Remembrance featuring engraved snowflake ornaments, the Candle of Love and the Scroll of Honor in its foyer over the course of the month of December. — Photos submitted

the Christmas Tree of Remembrance ev ery year with an ornament featuring the name of someone who passed that year. The funeral home also offers a special memorial program called A Christmas Keepsake in its chapel early in Decem ber and invites the families to gather to remember the loved ones lost in the past year.

Throughout the month, the funeral home displays the Christmas Tree of Re membrance in its foyer of Cooper Funer al Home’s 210 W. Walnut St. location. The tree allows loved ones and the commu nity to visit the memorial and stands with the Candle of Love and a special Scroll

of Honor listing the names of those lost from Dec. 1 the previous year through Nov. 30 of the current year. At the con clusion of the program, the engraved snowflake ornaments are presented to the families the funeral home has served dur ing the past year.

The nostalgic nature of the holiday season can make even the happiest mem ories painful for those who are grieving, Cooper said. In remembering loved ones with these traditions, his staff and he not only give the families something to keep but writing all the names on the scroll also gives them another chance to re member those they’ve served.

“We may not know everybody, but when they come in to make arrangements, we get to know their story,” Cooper said. “We may or may not have known them, but we don’t know their whole story until then. There are several people I’ve known growing up in Tecumseh, but I had no idea how they were a younger person. There’s some incredible stories.”

Through these remembrances, the importance and impact of the relationships and community that shaped those come to light, Cooper said, and it was those latter elements that drew him to enter the family business.

In college, Cooper eyed career paths and opportunities that would lead him to larger cities with different opportunities. Yet while at a meeting to sign a contract for a new marketing job, a revelation kept his pen from touching the paper.

“I realized what I need is here in trying to help families who helped raise me,” said Cooper, noting that carrying grief alone can put too big of a burden on one person. “Grief shared dimin ishes that. We’ve seen it.”

For decades, he saw his family treating their neighbors like a member of their own, and he’d heard from them what that meant in such a dark time, Cooper said. Understanding the community and its people is a crucial element in people being able to cre ate the perfect farewell to their loved ones. This has sometimes taken on unexpected forms, such as transporting a casket to the cemetery on a bass boat or bringing motorcycles into the chapel.

Making these kinds of accommodations came out of Coo per’s family tradition of serving as best they could, a lesson ex emplified by his grandfather and grandmother, Lynn and Thelma Cooper, who were the second generation to operate the business.

Thelma’s involvement and understanding of how to help loved ones during a difficult time is one of the things Cooper loves about their 31-year-old holiday traditions at the funeral home, and he knows these remembrances would have received her stamp of approval.

“She’d be honored,” Cooper said. “We take care of families. It’s more than just the service. You follow up. You check on them. Every time you follow up, they’re in a different mindset.

“We hope this special ceremony will offer comfort to the families we’ve served. We want them to know we continue to care about the loved ones they’ve lost this year as well as the grief they’ve encountered.”

For more information about these programs, call Cooper Fu neral Home at (405) 598-2124.

CONSTANT VIGILANCE

Instead Of Searching For Outside Threats, Check Inward First

BY BRANDON DYER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR COMMUNITY RENEWAL OF POTTAWATOMIE COUNTY

y daughter brought something un usual to my attention on a recent Sunday morning during the wor ship service at our church.

We were sitting in our seats singing when she leaned over and whispered, “Dad! I think the can dle is too close to the wreath!”

I looked up and sure enough, a wreath was positioned on the wall near the lectern with a candle burning dan gerously closeby. The wreath itself was not in much dan ger, but one of the ends of the beautiful red ribbon was hanging close enough to the candle that the flames’ heat was causing it to move ever-so-slightly. Everything in me wanted to jump up, run right past the reader and jerk the candle out of the way, but I didn’t want to disrupt the beautiful service and unnecessarily cause a scene either.

What if my eyes were deceiving me? We watched the flame very, very carefully. I was sitting on the end, so I knew it would only take me a few seconds to get there if it actually burst into flames.

All at once it happened – in slow motion. Have you ever thrown a styrofoam cup in a campfire and watched it shrink? That’s what began to happen to the corner of the red ribbon as it curled from the heat. I straightened my back to jump up and run when an acolyte on stage happened to move the candle for the next portion of the service. The ribbon stopped curling and never caught fire. After a deep breath and a moment staring at each other in disbelief, we rejoined the singing. Fortunately, no one else seemed to notice the almost crisis.

Interestingly enough, Father Tom in his homily brilliantly discussed the virtues of watchfulness, courage and vigilance. The irony wasn’t lost on me.

It was vigilance that occupied my thoughts the rest of the day. Vigilance is keeping a watchful eye out for danger. My daughter beautifully demonstrated healthy vigilance when recognizing a potentially dangerous situation and alerting me. She didn’t show up that morning expecting danger. Danger wasn’t even on her mind. But she knew how to use her voice and respond ap propriately when she spotted something potentially dangerous.

There is a healthy form of vigilance or watchfulness as dis played by my daughter, and there is also an unhealthy form. We call this hypervigilance. It is sort of like a state of ongoing panic. It puts our bodies and minds in a chronic state of stress and overactivates our normal awareness of threats to danger

ous levels. This chronic stress state releases destructive stress hormones into our brains. When these levels are elevated over long periods of time, they can lead to serious health problems like heart disease, diabetes and more.

The reason why vigilance occupied my mind the rest of the day is because I began to think about how we have all changed over the past 15-20 years. More acutely, in the past 10. Our society has feasted on the proliferation of perceived threats, both real and often manufactured, which seems to have elevated our collective, healthy vigilance to an uncon trollable, compounding state of hypervigilance. We have been influenced to believe that people who don’t look like us, talk like us, love like us, worship like us or vote like us are our enemies. Social media has given us the avenue to display our worst selves, and our addiction to likes has licensed us to continue with no consequences.

The thing is, we all know this is destroying us. We have be come addicted to this madness, and – I do not say this lightly – we need a 12 step program to help us see clearly again who we really are. There is a reason these programs have been effective for so many years and are led by volunteers. Vigilance is turned inward in these programs, because they call us to look in the mirror and give an honest account of ourselves. They call us to do things like admit our wrongs, be willing to make amends and to seek forgiveness. The kinds of things we teach our children are the right things to do. Honest personal reflection is perhaps the hardest thing in the world to do, but it’s the thing we must do if we want to build a better world.

Brandon Dyer

Dec. 9-23: Sunshine Shelly’s Spirit of Christmas celebration returns as the pumpkin patch transforms into a winter wonderland. Get a fresh-cut Christ mas tree, enjoy wintery refreshments, a Christmas light hayride through the Tunnel of Light and shop handmade artisan goods while the kids play in the "real" snow playground, then settle in to watch a Christmas movie on the big screen. Information: (405) 401-1994 or sunshineshellys14@yahoo.com

Dec. 10: Bring the kids to take pho tos with Santa and Mrs. Claus from 1-4 p.m. at the Pottawatomie County Museum at 207 N. Minnesota. Admis sion to the museum is free on these two Saturdays. Information: (405) 275-8412

Dec. 11, 17: Ride the rails through a winter wonderland with Locomotive Operators of Central Oklahoma’s Christmas Light Night Run at 5:307:30 p.m. with strands of lights and decorations adorning the club’s scale tracks at 29626 Lake Drive in McLoud. Santa and Mrs. Claus will also be in attendance for photo opportunities. Information: facebook.com/locotrains and (405) 277-0032

Dec. 9-10: Experience a Living Nativ ity from 6-8 p.m. at Redeemer Lutheran Church at 39307 W. MacArthur featur ing live animals, hot chocolate, cookies, crafts for children, Christmas carols with a live choir and a telling of the Christmas story. Information: (405) 273-6286

Dec. 10: Sleigh Bells Market returns from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Heart of Oklahoma Exposition Center at 1700 W. Independence with holiday shopping featuring gifts for anyone and everyone. Information: revolve-productions.com

Dec 9-10: Make plans to browse the Absentee Shawnee Holiday Pop Up Shops featuring Native artists and other crafters. Information: pjackson@astribe. com or (405) 275-4030 x6416

Dec. 9-10, 13-15: Get out of the weather and come see the Indoor Synchronized Christmas Light Show at the Pott County Museum featuring thousands of Christmas lights synchronized to music, including talking trees and a snowman. Browse the numerous local history arti facts that have been donated by county residents over the years and enjoy an hourly light show. The lights shows are included in the normal admission to the museum at 207 N Minnesota Ave. Information: (405) 274-8412

Dec. 11: Shawnee Parks and Recre ation and Oklahoma Baptist University students will partner to host a free youth basketball clinic at 3 p.m. for ages 9-13 with scrimmages, games, and a raffle to win free tickets to an OBU game. Information: facebook.com/ events/618206963369733

Dec. 16: The Arts @317 will host its own Block pARTy from 5:30-8:30 p.m. featuring artist Norma Pettitt, a painter from Meeker. She will have several of her pieces on display and will also be

available to visit with the public. Infor mation: (405) 659-8193

Dec. 17-Jan. 22: Mabee-Gerrer Museum of Art will present the limited exhibit “Messiah: Christ in Art” to explore the different ways that Christ is depicted in art through the ages. The free-to-thepublic gallery talk and reception featur ing curator of collections Delaynna Trim will be at 7 p.m. on Jan. 20th at the muse um at 1900 W. MacArthur. Information: mgmoa.org/messiah-christ-in-art/

Dec. 18: The Return of the Nutcracker will present a holiday night of comedy, music and surprises at 8 p.m. with brand new stand-up material from comedian William Lee Martin plus guest come dians MJ Moody and Barry Laminack and singer-songwriter, JD Monson at the Historic Ritz Theatre at 10 W. Main. Information: ritzshawnee.com

Jan. 6: Songwriter Night @ Music Un limited will feature artist Fred Hill and other Oklahoma songwriters 7-9 p.m. at 1109 W. Kickapoo Spur St. This live mu sic event is free of charge and open to the public. Information: kevinhall8384@ gmail.com

Jan. 7: The "World's Best Young Elvis" Travis Ledoyt will pay homage to the King of Rock ‘N’ Roll starting at 8 p.m. at the Historic Ritz Theater at 10 W Main St. Information: ritzshawnee.com

If you know of any events you would like to see featured, email editor@shawnee outlook.com. S