Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority Deputy Director Dr. Kelly Williams has been named Interim Director. Williams took the lead position after the promotion of Director Travis Kirkpatrick.
Dr. Williams is a life-long Oklahoman who earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from Oklahoma City University, followed by a Masters and PhD from the University of Oklahoma, both in Quantitative Psychology. Before joining OMMA, Williams served as Oklahoma City University’s Institutional Research Director for seven years. She has been in two Leadership Oklahoma City classes and serves on the Board of Directors for Family Builders as well as the United Way of Central Oklahoma’s Research and Community Initiatives Committee.
Dr. Williams plans to continue and expand on outreach programs to the patients and commercial licensees that are involved in the Medical Marijuana Industry, stating “this is a young agency and we have seen massive growth over the past two years. I look forward to the challenges and the rewards of growing the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority into an agency that will make Oklahomans proud and that happens by ensuring this agency is devoted to our patients, businesses owners, and the citizens of Oklahoma. I look forward to working with these groups as we continue to build the agency and make progress toward our goals.”
Former Director Travis Kirkpatrick was promoted to Deputy Commissioner of Prevention and Preparedness at the Oklahoma State Department of Health. His new role includes oversight of several regulatory areas, including OMMA.

Insurance Commissioner Glen Mulready announced today the 2021 preliminary rate filings for health insurance plans under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Insurers that currently offer coverage through the Oklahoma Marketplace filed plans requesting average statewide increases of 2.7 percent.
The same three insurers that offered individual health plans on the 2020 Exchange will return for 2021 — Blue Cross Shield of Oklahoma (BCBSOK) , Bright Health and Medica Insurance Company. In addition, Oscar Health, UnitedHealthCare (UHC) and CommunityCare Oklahoma (CCOK) will join the marketplace in Oklahoma for 2021 allowing consumers to have more choices. BCBSOK and Medica offer statewide plans while Bright Health, CCOK, Oscar and UHC serve limited areas of the state.
Moderate rate increase requests and new insurers looking to offer plans in Oklahoma revealed that the Oklahoma insurance market is stable and able to offer multiple health insurance options for all Oklahomans.
“Creating more choices for consumers has been a top priority of mine and it is encouraging to see more insurers enter the Oklahoma market and another year of modest rate change requests. It demonstrates our efforts to stabilize and improve affordability in this market have been working,” Insurance Commissioner Glen Mulready said. “Oklahoma continues to have a healthy, competitive individual health insurance market, and insurers are committed to providing more options for Oklahomans who seek health insurance on the Marketplace.”
Rate filings for 2021 health insurance plans were approved by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and are posted at https://ratereview.healthcare.gov/. Final approved rates will be made public in September.
If you have questions about other insurance issues, contact the Oklahoma Insurance Department at 1-800-522-0071 or visit our website at www.oid.ok.gov.

story and photos by Darl Devault

America’s oldest sport, Major League Baseball, was a big question this year until it began playing a 60-game season on TV last month. There is no question Johnny Bench, the only living Oklahoma-born National Baseball Hall of Famer, exudes class by returning to the state as a volunteer to help promote youth baseball.
Seniors often step up to help projects they care about. Overall, the elderly make up a large part of the volunteer population.
In early July last year, the 14-time All-Star catcher returned to the Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark in Oklahoma City where fans saw him honored by a bronze statue in 2001.
Bench made several volunteer appearances before an Oklahoma City Dodgers Triple-A home game with Round Rock. He was direct while speaking to a youth clinic. “Catch every ball — if you’re going to play, learn how to play properly,” Bench said. “Learn the mechanics. Watch the major leaguers. Watch how the guys here in Triple-A do it.”
The best 20th century catcher was there to help the co-founders of Grassroots Baseball, noted sports photographer Jean Fruth and National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum President Jeff Idelson. Their new nonprofit promotes the amateur game around the globe, focusing on growing participation at the youngest levels.
The Grassroots Baseball Route 66 Tour recruited Bench with other Hall of Famers and MLB stars from the Route 66 area. They helped deliver baseball instruction, inspiration, and equipment to children in 10 communities along The Mother Road from Chicago to Santa Monica.
Hailing from Binger, Okla., Bench, 72, the former Cincinnati Reds superstar, made that day special for a group of young players. He helped Grassroots Baseball give Rawlings’ donated gloves and balls to each youth. He then joined them on the field for a short afternoon clinic. He walked among the young athletes, coaching proper throwing motions, and encouraging them to play hard to catch every ball.
Interested in players at the Triple-A level, Bench also toured both clubhouses after the clinic. He spoke with many of the players. Many asked for autographs and photos with Oklahoma’s baseball legend who pioneered the now common one-handed catching style.
Bench continued his day as the focus of a news conference about supporting the nonprofit’s effort to encourage youth baseball. “I drilled those youngsters to play properly, to try to catch every ball,” Bench told the reporters. “Baseball offers them so many ways to watch the proper mechanics, they just need learn how to make it work for them.”
Before the game, Bench reversed the tradition of throwing out the first pitch by catching the first pitch, as he is commonly known as the best catcher of his era. Playing baseball’s most physically demanding position, The Sporting News named him the game’s greatest catcher in 1998. He batted cleanup on the Big Red Machine, propelling him to the MLB All-Century Team with more than a million fan votes in 1999.
Once the game began, Bench and Fruth autographed the nonprofit’s first hardcover book for Oklahoma City Dodgers fans. Grassroots Baseball: Where Legends Begin, is authored by co-founder Fruth (Sports Publishing, $60, 224 pages). The book is available and more info is found at www.grassrootsbaseball.com/
“I’m overwhelmed by the wonderful feedback I have received on the book,” Fruth said last month. “Tying baseball heroes back to their roots and the kids who are following in their footsteps has been rewarding and delivers the message of, ‘If I did this, so can you.’”
The book features first-person essays revealing how and where the following baseball careers began: New York–Whitey Ford, Mexico–Fernando Valenzuela, Mobile, Ala.–Hank Aaron, Japan–Ichiro Suzuki, Cape Cod–Craig Biggio, Oakland–Rickey Henderson, Cuba–Tony Perez, Williamsport, Pa.–Randy Johnson, Puerto Rico–Ivan Rodriguez, Tampa, Fla.–Wade, Boggs, Caribbean Series–Juan Marichal, Aberdeen, Md.–Cal Ripken, Jr. , Curacao–Hensley Meulens and Texas–Nolan Ryan.
Bench wrote the book’s afterword. Available in the team store on the concourse, Oklahomans fully embraced their legend’s return, as the book sold out quickly. A recent MLB Now TV Interview with Fruth and Bench about the book is available on YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEe1dkl4dZI
Idelson was in OKC right before he was to retire from his role as president following last July’s Induction Weekend. He served baseball in Cooperstown for 25 years, the last 11 as the Hall of Fame’s president.
“The Oklahoma City Dodgers were an incredible partner who identified the kids and allowed them to learn about the game and life lessons from Johnny Bench, not only a Hall of Famer, but a local hero,” Idelson said last month.
After the book signing, Bench finally slowed down when he joined family members and friends from Binger in a suite to watch the game.
The special day revolved around promoting Grassroots Baseball. New author Fruth photographed youth players for possible inclusion in a second book to be titled, Grassroots Baseball: Route 66.
The second book is coming together nicely,” Fruth said last month. “I spent five months on the Mother Road last summer. I am shooting what I can as the country safely opens this summer. The relationship between baseball and Americana is so strong, and documenting the grassroots game, along this historic route, has been rewarding.”
This was not Bench’s first full day at the ballpark. In 2001, he and his longtime manager, fellow Hall of Famer Sparky Anderson, spent a full day there. An appreciative group of Oklahomans celebrated the unveiling of his bronze statue.
A larger-than-life statue honors Bench at the home plate entrance to Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark near the corner of South Mickey Mantle Drive and Johnny Bench Drive. The ballpark also features bronze statues of Mickey Mantle and Warren Spahn.
You can relive the 2001 dedication of the Paul Moore sculpted statue by reading a verbatim transcript of the news conference preceding and the speeches made at the unveiling at: www.baseball-almanac.com/blog/johnny-bench-statue-dedication-day
During the news conference in 2001, Bench and Anderson talked extensively about those things that set the Red’s greatest home run hitter’s career apart from most Hall of Famer’s. Anderson explained his first exposure to Bench’s talent on the way to his famed 17-year career with the Reds.
Now living in Jupiter, Fla., and raising two young sons, Bench was the Reds catcher from 1967 to 1983. His powerful throwing arm shutting down base stealers led the Reds to back-to-back World Series Championships. He earned the 1976 World Series MVP vote.
Playing a demanding position as much as he did took its toll. Yet, he hit well, right up to the end of his career. He led the National League twice (1970 and 1972) in home runs. He also earned the MVP trophy both of those seasons.
He finished with 389 home runs and 1,376 RBIs, both of which still stand as franchise records in Cincinnati. He led the NL in RBIs three times. When he retired his home run total was the most for any catcher ever.
Bench’s playing career ended in 1983 when he was honored with “Johnny Bench Night.” He showed the packed-house crowd at Riverfront Stadium what they would be missing by hitting a two-run homer in the third inning.
Bench was elected to the Hall of Fame on the first ballot in 1989. The other Oklahoma-born Hall of Famers are Paul and Lloyd Waner, Joe Rogan, Mickey Mantle, and Willie Stargell.
“Johnny (Bench) is special. He cares about the game, he cares about the kids, and he cares about the Hall of Fame,” Idelson said last month. “One of the important roles he plays is spending time with the new inductees each July. He sits with the new members to remind them who they are, where they are, and just how special of a fraternity they have just joined. He encourages them to wear the Hall of Famer mantle well. And to enjoy the experience because there’s nothing like it.”
The Los Angeles Dodgers bought the OKC RedHawks franchise and moved their Triple-A affiliate to OKC in 2014. They have now played five seasons as the OKC Dodgers. The ballpark was selected last month as the 2020 Triple-A Best of the Ballparks in annual fan voting held by Ballpark Digest.

The Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation has received a $1.75 million federal grant to study the impact of the coronavirus on Oklahomans.
Funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the two-year project will seek to understand the immune system’s response to the virus and how that immune response varies in different ethnic groups. Additionally, the study aims to understand if the immune response is protective against future infections — or if it might worsen them.
“OMRF has a strong history and wonderful partnerships throughout the state,” said Linda Thompson, Ph.D., who will help lead the project. “That should enable us to quickly obtain blood samples from those who have been exposed to or infected by the coronavirus.”
The researchers will analyze blood donated by volunteers to understand individuals’ differing immune responses to the virus. The OMRF scientists will be looking for biological clues that might identify those individuals most likely to experience a severe response to coronavirus infection.
As a group, Oklahomans are at a somewhat higher risk for life-threatening complications from Covid-19, as they tend to have higher rates of other conditions associated with greater mortality from coronavirus infection: obesity, diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure.
OMRF is actively recruiting individuals for Covid-19 antibody testing, especially people with these high-risk conditions, those with Native American heritage, and those who know or suspect they have recovered from the virus. If you’re interested in participating, please call 405-271-7221 or email [email protected].
OMRF researchers will also be studying the roles and reactions of antibodies that form in the immune response to infection to the virus known technically as SARS-CoV-2.
“Specifically, we need to know if antibodies help fight the virus,” said Mark Coggeshall, Ph.D., who will also help lead the research. Work will focus on a phenomenon called antibody-dependent enhancement, where instead of protecting people from future infections, antibodies could actually make future infections worse.
“We have to understand all aspects of the body’s immune response and which ones correlate to good health outcomes, and we also need to understand how these vary in different ethnicities,” said Thompson. “This knowledge gap needs to be filled quickly to inform vaccine trials, some of which are already underway.”
The new funding comes as a supplement to a grant awarded to OMRF to study the immune system’s response to anthrax bacteria as part of the NIAID’s Cooperative Centers for Human Immunology.
“Our existing research on anthrax has a developed infrastructure to study immune response to a serious viral infection,” Thompson said. “So, we are set up to start this project without having to develop new methodology. The work can, and will, begin immediately.”
Coggeshall, for one, is eager to start the new project. “Our anthrax work is promising and important, but all research efforts right now should be on SARS-CoV-2 and Covid-19,” he said. “There is no more urgent issue to study in the world, and we will do everything we can to help.”
Funding for the research is provided by grant No. 2U19AI062629-16 from the NIAID, a part of the National Institutes of Health.

Wearing face masks, combined with other preventive measures such as frequent handwashing and social distancing, can help slow the spread of the coronavirus. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that everyone over the age of two wear a mask while in public settings. However, there has been much debate about wearing masks and misinformation has spread online. Let’s clear the air about the most common misconceptions regarding masks.
Myth: I’m not sick so I don’t need to wear a mask.
Fact: Simply put, wearing a cloth mask helps decrease the spread of COVID-19. Research now has shown that a significant number of people with COVID-19 lack symptoms. These people do not know they are transmitting the virus to others when they talk, sneeze, cough or raise their voice (e.g. singing or shouting). Wearing a mask helps to lower the transmission of respiratory droplets to other people around you. You should wear a mask to protect others and they should wear masks to protect you.
Myth: Wearing a cloth mask does not protect me from getting COVID-19.
Fact: A cloth mask is worn to help protect others in case you have the virus. Countries that required face masks, testing, isolation and social distancing early in the pandemic have had success slowing the disease’s spread. Common sense also suggests that some protection is better than none. Cloth masks reduce the number of respiratory droplets a person releases into the air when talking, sneezing or coughing. The overall number of droplets in the air is reduced when more people wear masks and this reduces your risk of being exposed to COVID-19.
Myth: A face mask can actually make me more likely to catch COVID-19.
Fact: While some people may touch their face more often when wearing a mask, it’s possible to reduce infection risk with good hygiene. Be sure to wash hands frequently, wash your cloth mask after wearing and know how to properly put on and remove your mask. You can learn more by reviewing guidance on how to wear and care for cloth face coverings.
Myth: Wearing a mask will increase the amount of carbon dioxide I breathe and will make me sick.
Fact: Some people have heard that breathing in CO2 from wearing a mask can cause symptoms like dizziness, lightheadedness, headache and shortness of breath. However, the amount of CO2 created by wearing a mask is miniscule. For many years, health care providers have worn masks for extended periods of time with no adverse health reactions. The CDC recommends wearing cloth masks while in public and this option is very breathable. There is no risk of hypoxia, which is lower oxygen levels, in healthy adults. Carbon dioxide will freely diffuse through your mask as you breathe. If you feel uncomfortable in your mask, try to limit your talking and breathe through your nose. That will reduce the humidity level in your mask. Be aware that once a mask gets wet (perhaps from exhalation), it begins to lose its effectiveness and will need to be washed or replaced.
Myth: If I’m wearing a mask, I don’t need to practice social distancing.
Fact: The CDC recommends widespread use of simple cloth face coverings to help prevent transmission of COVID-19 by people who have the virus but don’t know it. But it’s not a substitute for physical distancing. Everyone should continue to practice recommended behaviors such as:
* Keep your physical distance: Six feet or about two arms’ lengths apart from other people.
* Limit in-person meetings.
* Wash your hands with soap often.
* Stay home if you do not feel well.
* Get a test if you have COVID -19 symptoms. Call your local health care provider to schedule a test.
* Self-isolate if you have been around someone who is sick or tested positive.
As the number of coronavirus cases continues to grow in Oklahoma, using a mask is still among the best methods to prevent community spread.
This item was prepared and sent by INTEGRIS.

by Nick Thomas

What could convince a 90-year-old actress – once a model for Disney animators creating the Tinker Bell character of 1953’s “Peter Pan” – to abandon her West Coast home of nine decades and fly off to a new life in Florida some 2,500 miles away?
Perhaps a sprinkle of Disney magical fairy dust was involved when World War II veteran Robert Boeke, now 94, was visiting Amsterdam last summer with friends and stumbled on a store sign for “Tinker Bell Toys.”
“He told the people in the group he had actually dated Tinker Bell – me! – 70 years ago,” explained former model Margaret Kerry by phone from her new home in Sarasota. “One of the people with him decided to find me.”
An internet search led to Kerry’s website, Tinker Bell Talks (see www.tinkerbelltalks.com). Emails were sent and Kerry remembered dating him. The two eventually reconnected last September in North Carolina, followed by marriage in February and the move to Florida soon after.
“We just celebrated our four-month anniversary,” said Kerry when we spoke in mid-June. “And we haven’t yelled at or kicked each other.”
“Well, it’s early in the marriage,” I told her wryly.
“Thank you very much, I’m hanging up right now!” she said, laughing.
Kerry’s film career began at the age of four in an uncredited role in Warners’ “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” (1935) playing – as if to foretell her future – one of the fairies.
I remember it clearly because one of the big studio lights caught fire and Mickey Rooney, who played Puck, dragged me into this little 2” deep stream on the set so I’d be safe from any flames.”
More roles came her way, including a half-dozen “Our Gang” (aka “The Little Rascals”) shorts, although as a member of the Meglin Kiddies troupe of child performers, she received no individual screen credit on some.
Her claim to fairy fame came in her early 20s as the model for Disney’s Tinker Bell. She also modeled for the red-headed mermaid in “Peter Pan” and did her voice.
“June Foray was the brunette mermaid,” recalled Kerry. “One day after a recording session we stepped out on the Disney lot. ‘Why are we trying to get in front of the camera to be actors?’ we asked each other. We realized voice-over work was heavenly because we didn’t have to put on make-up, fix our hair, or get dressed up. And we could read from scripts – no lines to memorize. We both decided right there to go into voice-over acting. June became one of the most famous (eg Rocky of ‘Rocky and Bullwinkle’) and I went on to do about 600 cartoon voice-overs.”
Although it’s been nearly 70 years since Kerry’s famous fairy job, her tiny winged alter ego has never been far away especially during the numerous fan conventions she’s attended for decades. She plans to continue giving talks and lectures.
“Tinker Bell and I share some characteristics – we’re perky and adventurous,” says Kerry, who turned 91 in May. “I think getting married and moving to Florida after living 90 years in California counts as an adventure!”
Nick Thomas teaches at Auburn University at Montgomery and has written features, columns, and interviews for over 800 newspapers and magazines.

For most people, sunshine and warming temperatures serve as welcome heralds of summer. But for Renita Lewis, they can trigger life-threatening disease flares.
“People say, ‘You look too good to be sick,’” said Lewis, 51, of Midwest City. But Lewis, a nurse, suffers from lupus, an autoimmune illness that strikes African Americans like her at disproportionate rates.
Lupus occurs when the immune system becomes unbalanced, leading to the development of antibodies and chronic inflammation that damage the body’s organs and tissues. Sufferers experience periodic disease flares, affecting organs that can include the kidneys, lungs, skin and joints, as well as the cardiovascular system.
According to the Lupus Foundation of America, more than 1.5 million Americans suffer from the disease. Studies have found that it strikes African Americans at roughly five times the rate it affects European Americans.
“We still have a great deal to learn about why African-American women are at greater risk of lupus and at greater risk for major organ damage and early death from lupus than other races,” said Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation Vice President of Research Judith James, M.D., Ph.D.
“We have investigators who are working on genetic and genomic factors, as well as our work which has focused on differences in the body’s major defense system—the immune system. In all likelihood, it’s probably a complicated combination of these factors, and we will keep working until we figure this out.”
Lewis’ first symptoms appeared when she was in her 20s: aching muscles, swollen fingers, skin rashes. But she wasn’t diagnosed until a decade later, by which time she also suffered from shortness of breath, fatigue, asthma, stomach issues and inflammation around her heart. “I don’t have kidney problems, but pretty much every other one of my organs is affected,” she said.
She began daily doses of prednisone, hydroxychloroquine, aspirin and anti-inflammatory medications to control her symptom. Still, over time, lupus has exacted an increasing toll on her body. In March, after a bout of pericarditis—swelling of the membrane surrounding her heart—hospitalized her, she was forced to take short-term disability until she’s well enough to return to work.
For more than a decade, physicians and clinical staff at OMRF, which has been named 1 of only 10 of the nation’s Autoimmunity Centers of Excellence by the National Institutes of Health, have helped Lewis manage her condition. “They’re on the cutting edge of research, especially on autoimmune disease, and they really care about me and want me to have as normal a life as possible,” Lewis said.
As a lupus patient and a healthcare professional, Lewis is happy to participate in research studies on the disease at OMRF. “By donating blood and taking part in studies, I hope I can help researchers develop new treatments,” she said. If scientists are able to understand why it exacts such a heavy toll on African Americans, she said, “That would be a total game-changer.”
In a study published in May in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, an OMRF research team led by James moved closer to answering this question.
The scientists found that African Americans with certain risk factors for lupus had elevated activation levels in T cells, which are known to be important in lupus. Meanwhile, European Americans with similar risk factors did not. That may be a reason at-risk African Americans are more likely to develop the disease, said OMRF’s Samantha Slight-Webb, Ph.D., lead author on the study. And the findings could prove key to helping allay the suffering of patients like Lewis.
“Identifying this protective T-cell response could be pivotal in identifying therapeutic targets and potential drugs that may prevent people from transitioning into the disease,” said Slight-Webb. “It would also help us look at drugs—and dosages—differently based on ethnicity to improve outcomes for African-American patients, who are at highest risk for severe disease.”
Lewis would welcome any findings that could help improve her quality of life. Still, she’s more interested in developments that could benefit her daughter, Taraya, 19.
Lewis’ only child, Taraya previously tested positive for antinuclear antibodies, or ANA, an indicator of lupus activity. Taraya also has several relatives on her father’s side with the disease. “So, when she says she doesn’t feel good, I worry,” said Lewis.
Like all mothers, Lewis wants more than anything to protect her child. “If researchers could find a way to prevent lupus from starting, that would be a dream,” she said. “I never want my daughter to go through this.”

For information on treatment or participating in one of OMRF’s studies or trials, please call (405) 271-7745 or email [email protected].

The Oklahoma Historical Society (OHS) and the Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center (CSRHC) are pleased to present This Land is Herland, a series of three programs on women’s activism in Oklahoma. The programs, sponsored by Oklahoma Humanities, will take place on August 13, September 22 and November 5, all at 7 p.m. The August and September programs will be conducted virtually, with the option to move the November program online as well.
“This Land is Herland brings together nine notable women scholars to explore the activism of Oklahoma women in a series of three public programs,” said Jacob Krumwiede, director of the CSRHC, an OHS museum. “These programs are offered free of charge, but you must register to receive the program link. You can register at www.okhistory.org/herland. Following the presentations the scholars will be available to answer questions from the online audience.”
“The focus is different for each program, but each takes a close look at Oklahoma women who have tried to affect change in the circumstances and environment in which they found themselves,” said Dr. Sarah Eppler Janda, one of the project scholars and co-editor with Dr. Patricia Loughlin of the forthcoming book “This Land is Herland: Gendered Activism in Oklahoma, 1870s–2010s.”
The first program, “The Fluidity of Power,” will take place on Thursday, August 13, at 7 p.m. Though planned to take place at the Museum of the Western Prairie in Altus, the program will be presented virtually for the safety of the participants and the scholars during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The program will consider how women in early Oklahoma found ways to wield power. Topics and speakers for the evening are: “An ‘Intrepid Pioneer Leader’: The A-Suffrage Gendered Activism of Kate Barnard,” by Dr. Sunu Kodumthara, Southwestern Oklahoma State University; “‘My Heart Had Been Burdened for the Orphaned and Homeless Children’: Religious Imperative and Maternalism in the Work of Mattie Mallory,” by Dr. Heather Clemmer, Southern Nazarene University; and “A ‘Loyal Countrywoman’: Rachel Caroline Eaton, Alumna of the Cherokee National Female Seminary,” by Dr. Farina King, Northeastern State University. To register for this free program, please visit www.okhistory.org/herland. Registration closes at 5 p.m. on August 12. The second program, “The Gendered Politics of Civil Rights,” will take place online on Tuesday, September 22, at 7 p.m. This program looks at how Oklahoma women impacted the struggle for civil rights on several fronts. Topics and speakers for the evening are: “‘To Speak so Forthrightly as to Offend’: The Civil Rights Activism and Confinement of Rosalyn ‘Rosie’ Coleman Gilchrist,” by Dr. Sarah Eppler Janda, Cameron University; “Making History: Being an NAACP Plaintiff—Ada Lois Sipuel Fisher,” by Cheryl Wattley, University of North Texas Dallas College of Law; and “Barbara ‘Wahru’ Cleveland and Herland Sister Resources,” by Dr. Lindsey Churchill, University of Central Oklahoma.
“The CSRHC in Enid planned to host the program on September 22, but we have also decided to move this program online,” said Krumwiede. “Details about online registration for this program will be available in the coming weeks.”
The final program, “Contested Notions of Equality,” will be held Thursday, November 5 at 7 p.m. This program will bring the discussion of gendered activism to the present era, with presentations covering American Indian women’s activism, the Equal Rights Amendment and the resurgence of conservative politics.
The topics and speakers for the evening are: “‘My Children Are More Important to Me Than Any Office I Might Hold’: Mary Fallin’s Use of Motherhood as a Conservative Political Strategy,” by Dr. Patricia Loughlin, University of Central Oklahoma; “‘Until We Organized’: Wanda Jo Peltier Stapleton and the Equal Rights Amendment Debate in Oklahoma, 1972–1982,” by Chelsea Ball, University of Oklahoma; and “LaDonna Harris: Comanche Leader, Activist, Matriarch,” by Dr. Amanda Cobb-Greetham, University of Oklahoma.
“We are hopeful that we will be able to hold this final program of the series in person at the Oklahoma History Center in Oklahoma City, but we will make that decision based on conditions in the state as we near the date,” said Krumwiede.
“Each of the programs will be recorded and made available on the OHS YouTube channel at the conclusion of the project,” continued Krumwiede. “Curriculum materials are being developed as a companion to the programs for classroom or homeschool use.” The scholars represented in the public programs are joined by four others in a forthcoming book, “This Land is Herland: Gendered Activism in Oklahoma, 1870s-2010s,” co-edited by Dr. Sarah Eppler Janda and Dr. Patricia Loughlin. It is part of the new Women and the American West series from the University of Oklahoma Press. The anticipated publication date for the volume October 2021. This project is part of OKWomen100: A Century of Women’s Suffrage, the Oklahoma Historical Society’s initiative to celebrate the 100th anniversaries of the passage of the women’s suffrage amendment to the Oklahoma Constitution in 1918 and the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment to the US Constitution in 1920. You can find out more about events, exhibits and resources related to Oklahoma women’s political activism at www.okhistory.org/suffrage.
The program is made possible by a grant from Oklahoma Humanities and the National Endowment for the Humanities. The mission of Oklahoma Humanities (OH) is to strengthen communities by helping Oklahomans learn about the human experience, understand new perspectives, and participate knowledgeably in civic life. OH is a private, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. As the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, we strive to stimulate discussion, encourage new perspectives, and to actively engage people in the humanities disciplines, such as history, literature, philosophy, and ethics.
The mission of the Oklahoma Historical Society is to collect, preserve and share the history and culture of the state of Oklahoma and its people. Founded in 1893 by members of the Territorial Press Association, the OHS maintains museums, historic sites and affiliates across the state. Through its research archives, exhibits, educational programs and publications the OHS chronicles the rich history of Oklahoma. For more information about the OHS, please visit www.okhistory.org.

Photography and Text by Terry “Travels with Terry” Zinn [email protected]

While going down memory lane last month I mentioned my interaction with the greatness of performances in persons of: Joshua Bell, Carol Channing, the original Mummers theater, Ethel Merman, Ben Vereen, Bernadette Peters, John Lithgow, Audra McDonald, Patti LuPone and Steven Sondheim.
If you missed last months issue you can find it here: https://okveterannews.com/020915/travel-entertainment-entertainment-in-the-presence-of-greatness-part-one
Let me continual sharing my harvesting of good times with more performers , that seeing them in person gives one comfort. With so many live performances in theater and concerts on hold perhaps you too, can recall the rewarding live theater times meaningful to you.
On Broadway I got a glimpse of the iconic King of “King and I” when going back stage to visit with the Oklahoma Actor playing the child, my eyes and Yul Brenner made a connection. His steely glare can not be forgotten, when his dressing room door was slightly ajar.
Worthy of including among notable stage performers is Oklahoma’s own Florence Birdwell. As a professor at Oklahoma City University she created a formal one woman show of pop and theater songs intersperse with humorous readings. Her ten formal concerts at O.C.U. in the 1980s are legendary as the sold out audiences for a two night run can a test. Florence is one of a kind performer and person. Her teaching techniques are known not only for singing techniques but for personal growth where she council-ed her developing college students to a more satisfying and productive life.
One of her students was Kelli O’Hara who went on to be nominated for a Tony for her performance at the Lincoln Center production of “Light in the Piazza” and for “South Pacific.” She did capture the tony for her Anna in the King and I. Besides scripted shows she once gave a witness in song and stories at the O.C.U. Chapel – with a previous Master Class on campus. She also performed with Florence and a number of OCU/Birdwell alumni in one of Florence’s one woman formal show on the OCU campus. Kelli is a rare performer and person who sincerely cares for her followers and gives them the courteous attention they long for. This can not be said for all celebrity performers.
Barbara Fox De Maio also a Birdwell student is a celebrated international opera performer and currently the founder of the Prairie Sky Opera Company here in Oklahoma City. She credits Birdwell with life affirming support and guidance during her under graduate years, as she too passes on her knowledge through teaching.
Broadway Tony nominated Lara Teeter has gone on to teach at several universities, currently in Webster Missouri, where he lives with wife and 3 children, as well as giving freely of his directorial talents with personal Master Classes. Of course when teaching so many students over the decades, the list of successful graduates is long, and Miss American Susan Powell, must be included in in that list. This is an example of greatness producing greatness in others.
Sometimes greatness need not be on a performers stage, as in the case with Oklahoma artist, Harold Stevenson. Recently passing in Idabel Oklahoma his home town, Harold is remembered in a rare retrospective exhibit at the Museum of the Red River in Idabel. The show closes on August 23, so call head to make sure the Museum is open and welcoming visitors. www.museumoftheredriver.org
One can not move on in recognition of the behind the scenes producers of talent and performing arts. One such greatness is personification in the OCU Ann Lacy School of Dance with Jo Rowan and John Bedford in guiding, supporting and creating well known dancers. Their bi yearly shows are always an amazement on creativity, and life as well as dance – affirming exhibitions.
Of course my salutation of greatness is a personal evaluation. I encourage you if unfamiliar with my nominees to look them up on GOOGLE. It would also be a great honor if you recalled the persons you have known throughout the years, and contacted them with your gratitude.

Mr. Terry Zinn – Travel Editor
Past President: International Food Wine and Travel Writers Association
3110 N.W. 15 Street – Oklahoma City, OK 73107
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Join the Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden every Thursday evening through August 13, from 6 to 10 p.m., for Sip & Stroll presented by Will & Wiley Hard Seltzer, 1800 Tequila, Kraken Rum and Bubly Sparkling Water. Guests 21-and-older, limited to 900 guests per night, are invited to explore an outdoor path that spans almost the entire Zoo to discover wondrous wildlife along the way.
While strolling through the Zoo, guests may stop and cool off at one of six water holes to experience featured drinks inspired by animals and habitats from around the world including Belize, Rwanda and India. Guests will also have an opportunity to learn what the Zoo is doing to protect and preserve the natural world through global conservation partnerships with the International Rhino Foundation, Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International, Turtle Survival Alliance and more, and how they can help conserve wildlife and wild places.
The full menu of culinary favorites will be available for purchase at Best of Oklahoma and Big Rock BBQ, as well as selections from a special outdoor grill at the Devon picnic grounds overlooking Zoo Lake.
“We are thrilled to re-open the Zoo’s gates and provide grown-ups with an exclusive opportunity to reconnect with friends and wildlife from around the world,” said Jenna Zeilstra, OKC Zoo’s manager of events. “Spanning over 100 acres, the Zoo provides ample space for social distancing and adventure for Sip & Stroll’s nightly limit of 900 guests.”
Additionally, the Zoo is proud to partner with Fertile Ground who will be on-site for each Sip & Stroll to ensure this is a zero-waste event series.
Sip & Stroll admission is $17 per person and tickets are now available at okczoo.org/sipandstroll. Event entry times are spaced every 15 minutes to allow for maximum social distancing. After scheduled checked in, guests are free to stay through the duration of the event, 10 p.m. Attendees can also pre-purchase a Drink Passport good for one 5-oz featured drink sample at all six water holes for an additional $27 per person. Additional beverages will be available for purchase, including domestic beer, wine, mixed drinks, soda and water. Tickets are non-refundable and non-transferable. Sip & Stroll is a rain or shine event.
Adventure awaits with Sip & Stroll this summer at the OKC Zoo! The Oklahoma City Zoo is open daily at 8 a.m. and advance tickets are required for all guests and ZOOfriends members. Tickets can be purchased at http://www.okczoo.org/tickets and are limited each day to ensure adequate social distancing between guests. Some of the Zoo’s indoor habitat are still closed to minimize potential transmission of COVID-19. The Zoo is open daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. now through Labor Day, Monday, September 7, 2020.
Located at the crossroads of I-44 and I-35, the OKC Zoo is a proud member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, the American Alliance of Museums, Oklahoma City’s Adventure District and an Adventure Road partner. Regular admission is $12 for adults and $9 for children ages 3-11 and seniors ages 65 and over. Children two and under are admitted free. Stay up-to-date with the Zoo on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and by visiting Our Stories. Zoo fans can support the OKC Zoo by becoming Oklahoma Zoological Society members at ZOOfriends.org. To learn more about these and other happenings, call (405) 424-3344 or visit okczoo.org.