By Nick Thomas

‘Tis the season when television channels bombard us with round-the-clock Christmas movies while radio stations across the country add festive tunes to their daily playlists. In the latter case, one divisive ditty has been traditionally considered naughty or nice.
Elmo Shropshire didn’t write “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer,” but he’s been singing the jolly jingle with the not-so-jolly lyrics since first hearing it in Lake Tahoe in the late 70s. The song was released in 1979 and credited to duo Elmo & Patsy, with Elmo’s then-wife Patsy Trigg.
Turning 88 this year, Shropshire (known also as “Dr. Elmo”) is a competitive distance runner, too, gathering several national and world titles in his 80s. He still performs music and for several years has traveled to the East Coast in November/December with a group of musicians called The Holiday Express presenting shows at soup kitchens, hospitals, and schools for kids with special needs, where they also distribute food and gifts.
While he readily acknowledges that not everyone is a fan of his now-classic Christmas song, audiences would probably riot if he didn’t include the novelty ballad – a catchy tune wrapped around witty and admittedly macabre lyrics, featuring Shropshire’s distinctive raspy voice.
“I had no musical background or sang before moving out to California in the 60s,” said Shropshire, a Kentucky native and graduate of Auburn University’s veterinary college, and now lives in Novato, north of San Francisco.
After graduating from Auburn, he worked with horses at racetracks around New York, then moved to the West Coast after a trip to San Francisco and later opened an animal clinic in the Bay Area. He soon became interested in bluegrass music, learning to play the banjo and began performing with Patsy, although the couple later divorced in the 80s. Shropshire even hosted a bluegrass radio show recorded from his boarding house.
When songwriter Randy Brooks played his reindeer song for the couple when they were all stranded in a Lake Tahoe hotel due to bad weather in 1978, Shropshire knew he wanted to record his own version.

“I just made this funny Christmas recording as a gag and a friend took it to a radio station and they started playing it,” he recalled. “People began calling in to say they loved it, but so did others who hated it. After that first Christmas, I thought that would be the end of it. But every Christmas the stations would play it again. Unbeknownst to me, they were copying the song on cassettes, and radio stations began playing it all over the country in the early 80s.”
Shropshire knew he had a hit. In 1983, he sold his vet clinic and used $30,000 to produce a video of the song with one modification: “Grandma survives in the video!” he said. “And I played grandma and grandpa.” Patsy played Cousin Mel.
The original video currently has over 15 million YouTube views (see
www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgIwLeASnkw), while the song has sold millions of units over the years in various formats – vinyl, cassette, CD, digital, and ringtones.
“It’s impossible to tell the exact number because it’s been used so much and on so many different albums and online recordings,” said Pam Wendell, Shropshire’s wife since 2000. But the royalties keep coming anytime his version is used – in movies, TV shows, and even a plush toy reindeer that plays the song.
While Shropshire has recorded many other songs including various versions of his ‘grandma’ theme – “The Ballot of Grandma” and “Grandma’s Killer Fruitcake” – he takes the controversy of the original in his stride.
“It’s just wonderful to have a hit song, even if you only have one,” he says. “I never thought I could still be making a living from it. It’s just one of those things you could never predict.”
And for those of you grinches who still can’t warm up to a Christmas novelty song about a granny taken out by a hit-and-run reindeer, just be grateful her encounter wasn’t with a John Deere.
That really could have been gruesome.
Nick Thomas teaches at Auburn University at Montgomery, Ala., and has written features, columns, and interviews for many newspapers and magazines. See https://www.getnickt.org.

Story and photos by Darl Devault, Feature Writer

Seniors athletes have reached a point in their lives where they are resilient and persistent. Because of early morning fog those were certainly the watchwords for the recent Oklahoma Senior Games cycling events October 10 held at Lake Stanley Draper October.
Athletes train to peak for big events. A resilient athlete is tested when they need to train through a date they have set on their calendar to again attempt a peak performance a month later. The whole series of statewide events that make up the Oklahoma Senior Games were pushed back a full month because of concerns over COVID-19.
The 60 senior cyclists who gathered the morning of the event displayed even more persistence and resilience as they waited through a two-hour fog delay before starting their events. (Story continues below)

For athletes who got up early to eat properly to begin racing at 8 a.m., this two-hour delay made it even tougher to perform at their best.
One new-to-the-Senior-Games racer made all the right adjustments. Terri Stadler went pedal stroke to pedal stroke over the hilly terrain with the men to win the 44K road race women’s division. The Edmond resident showed she is a well-conditioned and experienced racer. She dominated her new 60-64 age range to stay in the lead pack until the final sprint with male racers from many adjoining states.
Many of the cyclists who started in a mass start travelled from out of state to qualify for the November 5-18, 2021 National Senior Games to be presented by Humana in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The 50 and over bicycle racers were hoping to place first through fourth place at this year’s games so they could qualify for those Nationals.
“Oklahoma offers many of these of riders racing today a chance to qualify for nationals because several states have cancelled their events because of the concerns of COVID 19,” said Kathleen Fitzgerald, OSG state director. “It is surprising at first, how far they will travel to qualify for nationals, until you talk to them. Then you realize these are really competitive older folks who want to stay fit year-round as cyclists.”
The 22K and 44K road races drew the most contestants at Draper, while the 5K and 10K time trial events also saw many of the same road racers participate.
For the time trials, many rode expensive specialty time trial bikes. They began their race against the clock in one-minute intervals. Starting order was from youngest to oldest starting with males and ending with females.
The events observed U.S.A Cycling rules. The races went off without any wrecks or mishaps throughout the day.
In the time trial events, riders were not allowed to draft (take pace behind another rider) closer than 25 meters ahead, or two meters to the side. If anyone had broken this rule, they would have received a time penalty.
Both road race distances and the two time trail distances offered dual opportunity for qualifying for nationals. Again, qualifying in any event at the 2020 event earned the athletes the right to compete at Nationals in 2021.
The Games this year provide 27 sports venues, some with variations, which offer athletic training opportunities and social interaction. Along with the competitions, the Games supply healthy lifestyle educational information for seniors.
In a recent article published by the Harvard Medical School’s Harvard Health online, bicycling is described as providing important physical benefits. First, it is an aerobic workout, which for seniors is the heart of any health plan, pun intended. Cycling, therefore, is good for their heart, brain and blood vessels.
Cycling is easy on joints, Dr. Safran Norton says in the article. He says that unlike walking, cycling is good for anyone with joint paint or age-related stiffness.
Bicyclists use their largest muscle group, the legs, which helps them build muscle while toning other muscles needed to keep them balanced and steer the bicycle.
These benefits carry over into everyday activities while helping cyclists build bone density, says Dr. Norton.
Greater Fort Lauderdale, Florida will host the 2021 National Senior Games, the largest multi-sport championship event in the world for adults 50 and over. More than 10,000 qualified athletes, accompanied by an estimated 15,000 visitors, are expected to compete in 20 medal sports in 2021.
The National Senior Games, begun in 1987, has 54 affiliated qualifying member games in North America promoting wellness and active, healthy lifestyles for older adults.
The Oklahoma Senior Games grew to more than 1,000 50+ athletes last year. Two Native American nations joined sponsors to help to conduct the many activities needed to allow the Games to run smoothly September through October. The Chickasaw and Cherokee Nations are underwriting the Games for the first time in 2020.
The Games promote healthy lifestyles for seniors through education, fitness with the spirited competition of sports and recreational games. This goes along with inspiring everyone to embrace health while enjoying the value of sports related exercise.

by Joan Collee

Director, Joan Colee, founded the Oklahoma Seniors Cabaret in 2008. Colee spent 20 Years in Hollywood/Los Angeles in her Brentwood Vocal Studio teaching many of the new and upcoming entertainers, and well-established movie actors, the art of singing. She honed her own singing, dancing and acting skills with well-known actors Jeff Corey, Marian Bell and Broadway choreographer, Danny Daniels. She appeared in many musicals with leading roles and appeared on the national television show America’s Got Talent at the age of 83 singing opera and tap dancing. She holds a Bachelor Degree in Music and a Master’s degree in Performing from Oklahoma City University.
When she returned to Oklahoma City, she discovered a need for seniors to have something to motivate them to stay mobile and healthy. Her experience with The Follies in Palm Springs gave her the idea of founding the Cabaret. Holding auditions in 2008 and attracting seniors to her idea, the Oklahoma Seniors Cabaret was born.
The group takes great pride that the Cabaret is a non-profit charitable organization (501c) with all profits donated to the John W. Keys Hearing Center at the University of Oklahoma. Those profits go to help seniors obtain hearing aids. We are proud to be endorsed by Governor Stitt and Mayor Holt.
None of the members of the Cabaret are paid for their time and talent. Members are 55 and older who sing, dance, act and/or play instruments. Classes are available for seniors who want to learn to tap, sing and act. It’s a wonderful group of people who love performing, learning and staying healthy through helping others.
We are looking for seniors with a need to move, groove and help other seniors. Joining us gives you the opportunity to participate in the performing arts.
Come join our organization!! Call (405) 840-1242 for more information.

AARP Oklahoma presented House Majority Leader Tammy West (R—District 84) and Senate Appropriations Chairman Roger Thompson (R—District 8) with the 2024 Champion for Family Caregivers Award at the Capitol on Monday. Leader West and Senator Thompson were recognized for their leadership in improving the lives of older Oklahomans and championing the Caring for Caregivers Act, which created a state tax credit for Oklahoma family caregivers up to $3,000.
“The Caring for Caregivers Act helps offset costs and helps keep spouses, aging parents, or other loved ones at home instead of in costly taxpayer-funded nursing homes,” said AARP Oklahoma State Director Sean Voskuhl.
According to AARP’s Valuing the Invaluable report, Oklahoma’s 490,000 family caregivers provide a staggering $6.6 billion in unpaid care.
“While caregiving is decidedly a labor of love, it also has a real financial cost,” Voskuhl said. “Leader West and Senator Thompson understand the sacrifices family caregivers make and fought for the nation’s first comprehensive tax credit for family caregivers.”
Family caregivers spend about 20 percent of their income caring for their loved ones— more than $7,200 annually. Visit aarp.org/OKCaregiverTaxCredit

As COVID-19 continues to spread across the world, the workforce challenges in the U.S. long term care industry, which have been exacerbated by the pandemic, remains at a crisis level. Unless Congress acts, nursing homes and assisted living communities will increasingly have to take drastic measures, furthering limiting access to care for vulnerable seniors.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), nursing homes have lost 238,000 caregivers since the beginning of the pandemic. A report from the American Health Care Association/National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL) summarizing BLS data with new January numbers showed that overall long term care workforce levels are the lowest they have been in 15 years.
While a labor shortage exists across many health care settings, BLS data illustrates the dramatic scope of the challenge facing the long term care industry in particular. For instance, hospitals have lost two percent of their workforce, compared to a 15 percent workforce decline among nursing homes and a seven percent decline among assisted living communities.
As pandemic burnout worsens, skilled caregivers are looking elsewhere for work. While many long term care providers have dedicated extensive resources to honor frontline heroes’ extraordinary efforts, current government reimbursement rates limit their ability to make additional investments and compete against other employers for workers. Without action from policymakers, our nation’s most vulnerable seniors risk reduced access to care as facilities are forced to limit admissions or even close down altogether.
On Thursday morning, the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety will hold a hearing to examine the pandemic-related workforce shortage in health care settings. As this historic crisis continues, the hearing reinforces the need for lawmakers to take new action to ensure long term care providers have the resources and recruitment tools they need to provide the high-quality care our nation’s seniors deserve. This is the time for lawmakers to make a commitment to investing in our health care heroes and building up the next generation of caregivers.
Before any more long term care facilities have to limit admissions or close their doors, lawmakers should provide our frontline caregivers with the resources they need.

Story and photos by Darl DeVault, Contributing Editor

Four presidential reenactors celebrated Oklahoma Statehood Day before a mostly senior capacity crowd of 300, where President Theodore Roosevelt gave an enthusiastic historical perspective 117 years to the day after he signed the Oklahoma Statehood Proclamation.
The senior historical reenactors portraying presidents who appear on the Mount Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota gave speeches and answered questions in the free matinee on November 16 at the Oklahoma History Center. The audience listened intently to experienced actor-interpreters playing the “Rushmore Four.” A 7 p.m. ticketed performance saw a more mixed-age crowd attend. The events continue a long-standing initiative by the OHC to share world-class interpreters and their stories with the public.
Professional reenactors portrayed Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Roosevelt dressed in top hats and tails in period attire. The actors have worked together in many previous appearances around the country.
Each president stood as they offered remarks of historical perspective from their eras in the order of their time as president. They invited and answered wide-ranging questions. The men only spoke of modern politics a few times when it applied directly to a significant point in their speeches. The actors stayed in character throughout their session and while posing for photos after the event.
Dan Shippey portrayed President George Washington in a full Revolutionary War uniform and three-cornered hat. The actor founded and directs The Breed’s Hill Institute, an educational nonprofit teaching the history of American liberty. Shippey works as a writer, director and actor in commercial film and theater.
Washington expressed his admiration for the 260-270 brave Maryland soldiers who stood fast during the Battle of Long Island, allowing his main force to withdraw to fight another day. He mentioned several of the dozen survivors of that largest battle of the Revolutionary War by name, calling the men his Marylanders.
The general and commander in chief of the Continental Army spoke the most about how courageous men from all the colonies fought for others’ rights to be free throughout the Revolutionary War. He said he took great pride in how those men grasped the need for unity in fighting for our new democracy.
After answering several questions, the historical interpreter was asked if Washington liked to speak before crowds. He paused for effect, empathically answered “No,” and sat down as the audience reacted with laughter.
President Thomas Jefferson, the author of the Declaration of Independence at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, stressed in his speech the importance of the first words of the preamble to the Constitution, “We the people.” The actor explained that this marked the first time those words were expressed worldwide in a formal government document.
Portraying Jefferson since 1983, professional actor and theater director Bill Barker depicts Jefferson on television, in film and many historical locations. His main reenactment venue as Jefferson is the Thomas Jefferson Foundation at Monticello.
Asked about his devotion to science as president, Jefferson spoke at length about founding a university and the patent office in support of citizens receiving credit for their scientific inventions. Before election to the presidency, he was the first examiner of American patents. An inventor, he said a president’s primary role is to celebrate others’ achievements.
President Abraham Lincoln provided the audience with an overview of America in the years before running for the presidency. Fritz Klein, 74, bears a strikingly uncanny physical resemblance to Lincoln. He spoke at length about the Missouri Compromise of 1820’s failure to stop the spread of slavery.
Klein portrays Lincoln as an actor and speaker since being recruited to do so for a small, local celebration during the bicentennial year. One of the nation’s best-known Lincoln reenactors, he has appeared in 43 states and a variety of films since 1981. He is a member of the National Speakers Association as a full-time actor traveling internationally to portray Lincoln on stage, in feature films, documentaries and speaking engagements.
Klein convinced the actor playing President Theodore Roosevelt to become a professional interpreter in 2003 after watching him perform and noting his physical resemblance to a circa 1915 version of the president.
Roosevelt, retired Huntington, Indiana businessman Gib Young, was the most energetic speaker of the four presidents. He wove many mentions of his associations with Oklahomans and his visit to Comanche peacetime leader Quanah Parker at his Star House in Cache into his speech. He delighted the audience with his “bully” rendition of Roosevelt’s personality, intellect, and zest for life. He said it was proper to speak at length because Roosevelt visited Oklahoma before and after signing the proclamation making Oklahoma a state.
Roosevelt gave a reverent accounting of Oklahomans who had volunteered to charge up San Juan Hill with him in the Spanish-American War.
Not noted in the actors’ speeches is the distinction that Roosevelt is the only president ever awarded the Medal of Honor. In 2001 he was posthumously honored for courage under fire described as “…acts of bravery on 1 July 1898, near Santiago de Cuba, Republic of Cuba, while leading a daring charge up San Juan Hill.”
Roosevelt cited the important dates leading up to Oklahoma’s Statehood Day and engaged members of the audience by asking them questions about American history during his question session.
His zest for the president’s job rose to a zeal of patriotism as he discussed Roosevelt’s role in setting aside large parts of America for its citizens as national parks. In citing his authority as president to protect wildlife and public lands by creating the United States Forest Service, he reeled off a litany of accomplishments for the audience. Starting in 1901, Roosevelt established 150 national forests, 51 federal bird reserves, 4 national game preserves, 5 national parks, and 18 national monuments. Roosevelt’s enabling of the 1906 American Antiquities Act protected approximately 230 million acres of public land.
Although the National Park Service was established 106 years ago with just 35 sites, the actor listed those five parks he had helped include long before the more formal act of Congress created the service. He finished his speech by pointing out how proud Roosevelt would be that America now has more than 400 parks and monuments under what he termed the amazing National Park Service.
The Inasmuch Foundation sponsored the program, coinciding with the OHC’s 17th anniversary and Oklahoma’s 117th Statehood Day in 1907.
The OHC is a division of the Oklahoma Historical Society, seeking public engagement through its affiliation with the Smithsonian Institution and National Archives. It is an accredited member of the American Alliance of Museums. The OHS’s mission is to collect, preserve and share the State’s history and culture of its people. The Territorial Press Association founded the OHS in 1893 to maintain museums, historic sites and affiliates across the state. It chronicles the rich history of Oklahoma through its research archives, exhibits, educational programs, and publications. For more information, visit okhistory.org.