Friday, December 4, 2020
A bleak winter Stillwater businesses struggle during extended break Marcus Trevino
Claire Boomer Coney Island in Stillwater is having to adjust around having very few students in town over break.
Hungry college students used to pack Coney Island’s socially-distanced rooftop seating. Now the seats are empty and the door hardly swings open after many Oklahoma State students went home for winter break. The winters have always been harsh for Coney Island and other small businesses in Stillwater. “It’s very slow,” assistant manager Anthea Bates said.
“And it’s been 1000% worse than normal years because of COVID.” Businesses always prepare for a four-week period in which one-third of the town’s population is gone. But this year’s lull is extra challenging as it’s been doubled to eight weeks because of COVID-19. Jay Rice, owner of Thai Loco, said everyone is struggling to make a profit. “It’s all about breaking even right now,” Rice said. “It’s not just the students who left, but it’s also faculty and staff. People are also taking vacations during the winter so there’s even less residents
coming in.” J. Cole, a women’s clothing store, began preparing for the break months earlier than normal. It hasn’t yet seen as big a loss as some other businesses. “Profits have definitely decreased but luckily we have Christmas shoppers coming in,” manager Allison Savage said. “I’m nervous for after Christmas though. We’re hoping for the best but bracing for the worst.” For many of these businesses, the best won’t return until the students do.
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School and speedways OSU student Rachel Harper doubles as a race car driver
Ben Hutchens Rachel Harper got her start racing cars by fighting an age-old battle. Kids have been bothering their parents about things for millenniums, and Harper’s lifelong yearning to drive a race car was satisfied last year when her father, Rodney, asked her a couple of questions. “I kind of was bothering him about it,” Harper said, “because it started out as a joke. Then we were going on a trip somewhere and he asked (me) ‘Do you really want a race car? Do you really want to do it?’” Rodney wasn’t surprised that his daughter wanted to get behind the wheel because she had been attending races with her father since she was 5 years old, and by the time she was 10 she knew more about his cars than half the people who helped him. Harper answered with an affirmative ‘Yes’ and her father bought a car the next week. Harper is a proud owner of her race car, a white Chevy Nova frame with a red number 288 emblazoned on the side and a Chevy LS motor under the hood. Harper is also a senior at Oklahoma State University, double majoring in agriculture business and accounting at the Spears School of Business. Harper aims to be a CPA after she graduates, which is a pretty rare goal among young people racing cars. “It’s not the norm for a Spears student to be a race car driver. I guess I’ve never met anyone that was a race
car driver and also a spears student,” said Ryan Sparks, a junior at OSU majoring in management and marketing. Norms regarding racing don’t really apply to the Harper family, which has racing in its blood. “It’s a family thing,” Harper said. “I grew up at the racetrack, and my dad raced my entire life.” A long history of family racing success didn’t help Harper driving her car for the first time in a trial run at Enid Speedway this past August. Harper was rushed getting onto the track because her trial run took place in the intermission of a larger event at the track. She didn’t have time to ask her dad all the questions she would have liked. “He just told me not to Courtesy of Rachel Harper crash, and I didn’t do that,” OSU student Rachel Harper dons the number 288 as part of her fast side gig: a race Harper said. All of Harper’s questions car driver. and concerns vanished the took her out and she ran it one after the drivers meeting and instant she hit the gas pedal. time, Rodney said. “It scared told her it was ok to pull into Harper took her first lap slowly me to death, and I said, ‘we’re the infield if the race was too and was quickly passed by her done’ and sold the car.” much for her to handle. dad who was driving a car of The Lone Star 600 is a But, as Rodney proudly his own. two-night race held this past said, “That didn’t happen.” “My dad was full speed first weekend of October at Harper raced moderately ahead, but it did kind of light Devil’s Bowl Speedway in well in her debut, finishing a fire under me ‘Oh, he passed Mesquite, Texas. The first 58th the first night. She said me’ so then I kind of got to person to complete 300 laps that the craziness of the race going a little more. I wanted on either night is that night’s started when she had to use to follow him so I could kind winner. five straps to secure herself in of see the lines he ran but that The Lone Star 600 is a her seat and continued when didn’t last long,” Harper said. two-night race held this past her transmission broke halfway The anxiety Harper felt first weekend of October at through the race. before her trial run paled in Devil’s Bowl Speedway in “I was supposed to be able comparison to the anxiety Mesquite, Texas. The first to take off in second gear and Harper felt in the week leading person to complete 300 laps go to third gear and just ignore up to her first race—The Lone on either night is that night’s first gear,” Harper said. “But Star 600. winner. There are 192 cars on it broke, and so half the time “You could tell I was nerthe track at one time, and the it wouldn’t go from second to vous,” Harper said. “I wasn’t only time the race is stopped third.” saying a lot or anything like is if a wreck blocks half of the Strapped into her seat, that and everyone was like ‘Are track. It i Harper tried her best to use her you ok.’” reasonable to see why peripheral vision to figure out Rachel was not alone in Harper was nervous, not to her position relative to other her nervousness. Her father has mention the $10,000 prize for drivers. a history of getting nervous the winner of each night. watching his daughter race. Right before the race, “I bought her a car when See Speedway on pg. 2 Rodney sat his daughter down she was 5, a kid sprint, and I