St. Anthony Hospital and Weatherford Regional Hospital are pleased to announce a new management agreement for Weatherford Regional Hospital. The agreement will offer Weatherford Regional Hospital a wide range of management support services that will aid the facility as they continue to provide the highest quality of health care to the community.
“This management agreement continues to strengthen our commitment to providing local access and exceptional care to the community that we serve,” said Debbie Howe, President, Weatherford Regional Hospital. “Weatherford Regional Hospital and St. Anthony Hospital working together will move us forward so that we can seek innovations in care, improve quality and provide greater access to health care and specialty services.”
The Board selected St. Anthony Hospital because of its commitment to patient satisfaction and exceptional health care. Weatherford Regional Hospital has been a tier one affiliate of the St. Anthony Affiliate Health Network since May 2013, and for five years prior to being a tier one, they were an affiliate in the network.
“Weatherford Regional Hospital and St. Anthony Hospital in Oklahoma City have been closely affiliated for more than ten years,” says Joe Hodges, Regional President, SSM Health Oklahoma. “We are pleased to join Weatherford Regional Hospital to further enhance specialty services for the residents in the area.”

Last November, INTEGRIS held a ground-breaking event to ceremonially kick-off construction of four different metro area INTEGRIS micro-hospital facilities. Work will occur at all four locations simultaneously, and our chain of micro-hospitals will be known as INTEGRIS Community Hospitals going forward because each location will include ER services as well as rooms for inpatient care. Upper floors within the four buildings will include physician and specialty clinics.
The photos below illustrate early phases of construction for INTEGRIS Community Hospital – Council Crossing located in northwest Oklahoma City. Construction crews tell us – if weather and wind cooperate – all concrete walls for the NW Expressway & Council Rd. location should be in place by the end of this week. Obviously, much work lies ahead, however we are on schedule to open the facility in February 2019.
In Moore, work crews will begin placing walls at our I-35 & South 34th Street location before the end of April. Structural steel is also visible from Interstate 40 at our Del City location near Sooner Road. Construction will begin in May at the OKC West location.
INTEGRIS Community Hospitals are being welcomed by leaders and families in each area. Excitement is growing as people begin to see the facilities take shape. We look forward to offering these easily accessible, high-quality health care service centers to our care continuum in the next 12 to 15 months.

Kevin Elledge has been named chief administrative officer for OU Physicians, the physician practice of the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine.
In his new role, Elledge will work closely with OU Physician leadership to advance the mission of patient care across the OU Health Sciences Center enterprise. He will be responsible for the collective business and operational performance of the OU Physicians clinical practice, including the provision of core practice management services, revenue cycle functions, financial management, clinical operations, strategy development, information technology and analytics. Elledge will support the delivery of high-quality patient care across OU Physicians practice divisions and clinical units and will ensure coordination with the University’s missions of education and research.
Elledge has more than 14 years of experience with OU Physicians, most recently serving as the executive director of operations.
“As interim chief administrative officer, Kevin has worked tirelessly and very effectively to advance a number of important initiatives for our group,” said OU Physicians President Jesus Medina, M.D. “He has earned my respect as a trustworthy administrator, manager and leader. I am excited to continue working with him for the benefit of our organization.”
Elledge holds a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from the University of Central Oklahoma. Prior to joining OU Physicians, he resided in Atlanta where he founded and operated a successful healthcare technology company.
With more than 1,000 doctors and advanced practice providers, OU Physicians is the state’s largest physician group. The practice encompasses almost every adult and child specialty. Many OU Physicians have expertise in the management of complex conditions that is unavailable anywhere else in the state, region or sometimes even the nation. Some have pioneered surgical procedures or innovations in patient care that are world firsts.

Independent studies place Mercy in the lead for quality of care and patient safety

Shorter hospital stays, fewer complications and better patient results are just a few metrics used to rank Mercy as a leading health care organization. For the third year in a row, Mercy is one of the top five large U.S. health systems in the 2018 Watson Health 15 Top Health System study. In addition, Mercy Hospital Oklahoma City received an “A” safety grade from The Leapfrog Group, an independent hospital watchdog group, in ratings released today.
“This level of national recognition reflects the hard work of countless co-workers who care for our patients every single day,” said Jim Gebhart, president of Mercy Hospital Oklahoma City and regional strategy officer. “We have made these efforts across many communities and many states because, like the Sisters of Mercy before us, we are dedicated to providing exceptional care for all.”
The Watson Health study, formerly the Truven Health Analytics study, analyzes 338 health systems and 2,422 hospitals across the U.S. Leapfrog Hospital Safety Scores assign A, B, C, D and F letter grades to 2,500 hospitals nationwide, providing the most complete picture of patient safety in the U.S. health care system.
Both Watson and Leapfrog combine rigorous analysis of individual hospital performance and metrics by using objective, independent research and public data sources. Hospitals and health systems do not apply for consideration.
Mercy outperformed peers in the following ways:
*Saved more lives and caused fewer patient complications
*Lower cost of care
*Readmitted patients less frequently
*Shorter wait times in emergency departments
*Shorter hospital stays
*Better patient safety
*Higher patient satisfaction
Some of the keys to improving the quality of patient care have included efforts made possible because of Mercy’s dedicated team, leading technology and best practices:
* Hand hygiene, while seemingly simple, is difficult to enforce, especially across an organization with 40,000 co-workers. By establishing Mercy-wide goals and putting rigorous plans in place, Mercy has reduced one of the most common health-care associated infections, Clostridium difficile (C-diff), by 67 percent from 2016 to the present.
* With more than 2,000 integrated physicians – one of the largest medical groups in the nation – Mercy brings primary care and specialty doctors together to implement proven, clinical-based best practices to improve patient care.
* Mercy was among the first health care organizations in the U.S. to have an integrated electronic health record (EHR) connecting all points of care. With a finely-tuned EHR, clinical best practices can be hard-wired into the system, resulting in triggers that warn of possible complications at very early stages, as well as data that can help reduce variation and improve compliance.
* Specialty councils, made up of physicians, nurses and clinicians, represent more than 40 areas of medicine, providing best practices for everything from heart surgery to the delivery of babies.
“This award speaks to the engagement of our staff and physicians in the journey toward high quality, reliable care,” said Terri-Anne Bone, vice president of performance improvement for Mercy Hospital Oklahoma City. “While the award recognizes our efforts to date, we know that there is work to be done. The kind of diligence our co-workers demonstrate will enable Mercy to continue to improve care in the future.”
Mercy Hospital Oklahoma City was also recently named one of the nation’s 100 Top Hospitals® by IBM Watson Health. In addition, Mercy Hospital Oklahoma City was one of only 13 hospitals in the nation to receive the Everest Award, achieving the highest national benchmarks along with the greatest improvement over five consecutive years.

The seventh annual Cross Family Benefit for the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation will be held on May 7 in Kingfisher. Cowboys from across the country will saddle up to raise money for cancer research and also to honor the life of Floyd Cross.
Cross battled – and defeated – recurring bouts of colon and liver cancer for 12 years before passing away in 2016. The Cross family continues to fight the disease in his honor by raising funds to support cancer research at OMRF.
“The Cross family is a great example of how Oklahomans can do something meaningful to help combat diseases like cancer,” said OMRF Vice President of Development Penny Voss. “Grassroots efforts like this one make a big difference in giving momentum to the world-class research happening right here in Oklahoma City.”
In addition to the steer wrestling competition and t-shirt sales, raffle tickets will be sold for $1 or six for $5 for a wide variety of prizes. A weekend getaway to Red River, New Mexico, will be up for auction.
The event will be held at 1 p.m. at the Kingfisher Rodeo Roundup Club Arena. To enter or for more information, call Sherrie Cross at (405) 375-4872 or (405) 313-1776. The books are open from 10 a.m. until noon on May 7. Admission is free.

by Bobby Anderson, Staff Writer

Pull up a chair and feel like you’re at home.
That’s the philosophy Marty Hall has brought with him to work every day for nearly five decades in the restaurant business.
And it’s how you’ll feel when you take a seat at Sid’s Diner in El Reno and Hall spins around and asks ‘How ya doin?’”
“I love the people I meet,” said Hall, who has turned the tiny onion burger joint into a destination.
Hundreds of people daily flow into Sid’s, which is just 880-square-feet of real estate (including the walk-in cooler).
“I didn’t have any money left,” Hall said of why it’s not bigger. “When I opened the door I had $300 to my name.”
Hall built the diner in 1990 after owning the old-style walkup Dairy Hut just around the corner along Route 66 which his mother and father helped him purchase when he was 21.
Hall started working in the restaurant business at age 13, peeling onions and washing dishes at 50 cents an hour.
He also got to eat anything he wanted.
“I had to work. I was just trying to help my folks out,” Hall said.
The restaurant’s namesake – Hall’s father Sid – was a highway foreman who supervised I-40.
“Dad never saw this place. He died before I could get it done,” he said. “A year from retiring he passed away from a heart attack.”
A NATIONAL SUCCESS
The walls of Sid’s Diner are covered with magazine and newspaper articles from food critics who have made the trek to El Reno – population 18,000 – to see what all the fuss is about.
“I’ve got magazines I haven’t even put up yet,” Hall giggled.
Adam Richman brought the The Food Channel’s Man Vs. Food show to El Reno a few years back.
What he found at the corner of Wade and South Choctaw blew him away before meat even touched flattop.
“We make our own spatulas. We don’t buy them,” Hall told Richman. “We use brick trowels.”
Hall used one to flatten a freshly-formed third-pound of ground beef on the seasoned grill and topped it with a heaping handful of thinly-shaved Spanish white onions.
Hall says there’s nothing fancy about any of it. The 200 or so burgers he smashes out every day for lunch trace their roots back to the Great Depression, which, as legend has it, was when Ardmore restaurant owner Ross Davis paired five cents worth of beef with half a onion.
Oklahomans and travelers along Route 66 have been enjoying the meaty marriage ever since.
Hall’s diner has been featured in Best Roadside Eats, Delicious Destinations with Andrew Zimmern, Favorite Places on Route 66 in Oklahoma, Top 5 Burgers in America by the Food Network, Is this a Great State or What with Galen Culver and Discover Oklahoma to name a few.
Visitors have come in from as far away as Africa and Korea.
LEAVING A LEGACY
Hall was born at Tinker Field while his dad was fighting in Korea. His mother used to tell the story of how she went into labor around 10 p.m. one May 7.
His grandparents put his mother into dad’s 1948 Chevrolet and sped down Route 66 until the wind and hail forced them to pull over.
“They got caught in a storm and mom said it was a bad one,” he said. “She was pretty sure there was a tornado but they made it.”
Eight months later his father came home to meet him for the first time.
“I wouldn’t change a thing. I love what I do,” Hall said.
Working six days a week, Hall swaps off with son Adam on long and short weeks, with one working 32 hours and the other working 42.
Sid’s will one day become Adam’s, who at 35 is the same age Hall was when he built the diner.
This December, Hall’s book detailing it all showed up on Amazon.
A Burger Boy on Route 66 contains decades of stories and photos of those who traversed Route 66 and stopped by for a bite.
The flip was switched a few years back for Hall to write a book. “I’m a Christian and my wife is the one who really encouraged me,” he said.
The gravity of it all struck him a few years back.
A friend and her mother stopped by for lunch. She asked how he was getting along.
“I always say I’m doing fine, I’ve got a really good shepherd,” Hall said. “She said ‘I know. He likes to watch you cook those hamburgers.’ I had never thought about it that way.”
Hall paused.
“There’s a whole lot more going on here than cooking hamburgers.”

by Traci Chapman

For Mick Cornett, standing still is not an option. Moving forward has always been his style – for 14 years he’s done just that, in the process taking with him Oklahoma’s largest municipality and changing both its landscape and its people.
Now, as he winds down his career as Oklahoma City’s 35th – and longest-serving – mayor, Cornett has set his sights on again moving forward, this time looking to address what some might see as insurmountable obstacles in putting the state back on the right track as he heads toward a Republican primary that could be the first step for the state’s next governor.
But, challenges are what Cornett is all about, those who have worked with him said. They are challenges embraced by a man whose campaign slogan is aptly entitled, “fix the mess.”
“Over and over as Terri (his wife) and I traveled the state, that’s what we heard from people – to ‘fix this mess,” Cornett said. “We listened, we saw the people are emotional; there’s frustration, there’s disappointment, there’s downright anger, and their expectations are not being met.”
Among those perhaps the most vocal about their dissatisfaction are Oklahoma seniors. Not only are seniors vital to the state’s success, they are almost always major constituency in any election. That’s a fact borne out by studies conducted by United States Election Project, which reveal consistently higher voting rates for voters ages 60 years and older across the country.
For those voters, taxes are key, Cornett said. While personal income taxes are important in any arena – federal, state, county or municipal, he said, a heavy hand can backfire, resulting in revenue drops that come about when wealthy residents choose to find a more attractive place to live.
Quality of life is another concern – and, for seniors and those who care for them, health and wellness are crucial to maintaining the kind of life they want to live. That’s where Oklahoma City’s $52 million senior health and wellness project comes in, Cornett said.
“This project is so important because it impacts that basic health and wellness issue,” he said. “It’s proved to be everything we thought, as we look at the 4,000 members we already have – they had to take a leap of faith, and it paid off.”
Part of MAPS 3, a 1-cent sales tax, $777 million capital improvement program approved by voters charged with making debt-free investments in public facilities, the senior health and wellness project encompasses four centers, to be scattered throughout Oklahoma City. The first 40,272-square-foot building, located at 11501 North Rockwell Avenue, offers everything from workout facilities, gymnasium, aerobics and heated indoor saltwater swimming pool to fitness, cooking, art classes and classrooms, a lounge, health screenings and other amenities.
A second facility, located on South Walker Avenue, is set to open this year; two more – one slated for northeast Oklahoma City and a fourth likely situated in the city’s southern sector, but with a location not yet determined – are expected to open in the next three years or so.
The overall project and its four centers are a testament to Cornett’s determination and ability to forge partnerships to get things done, city officials said – and, partnerships are key to the project’s success, with independent entities given responsibility for operating each facility, while Oklahoma City funded construction and major maintenance costs.
Nonprofit Healthy Living and Fitness runs the Rockwell Center, while NorthCare – an established mental health and substance abuse service provider – will operate the second, 39,000-square-foot Capitol Hill facility. Langston University is set to partner with Oklahoma City on the northeast space, anticipated to open sometime in 2019, officials said.
Cornett said an important aspect of the centers was accessibility – while those who can afford to pay a membership fee will be asked to do so, those fees would be assessed on a sliding schedule based on income. Centers are open to anyone aged 50 years or older, whether an Oklahoma City resident or not.
“We won’t turn them away – we’ll find a way to get them there,” he said.
Promoting health and fitness is nothing new to Cornett, who by 2007 had not only celebrated his own weight loss but challenged others to do the same. Putting Oklahoma City on a diet, less than five years later residents across the municipality collectively met the 1-million-pound weight loss goal.
It was an achievement that illustrated one of the most important tenets of his life – to face challenges head-on and to fulfill the promises he’s made in the process.
“That’s one of the things I am most proud of – we’ve done what we said we’re going to do,” Cornett said. “I want to do big things, and I believe it’s easier to accomplish when people know you’re telling the truth, they know you’re going to do what you say you’re going to do.”
“Big things” are what those who worked with Cornett said they’ve come to expect. He first took office in March 2004, after serving as a city council member since 2001. The only four-term mayor in the municipality’s history, officials said Cornett was essential in a variety of accomplishments, from bringing the NBA to the city to increasing investments in infrastructure and schools – which, in turn, led to a spike in job creation and private sector investment.
MAPS for Kids was completed on Cornett’s watch, while MAPS 3 was one of his overriding passions, a myriad of quality of life projects including not only the four-facility senior wellness center package, but also a 70-acre downtown park, streetcar system, whitewater rafting facility, new fairgrounds expo building and convention center and hundreds of miles of sidewalks and bike trails across Oklahoma City.
Beyond MAPS, Cornett focused on what officials called one of the most extensive public school capital improvement projects in the country, a $700 million effort aimed at renovating or building schools throughout Oklahoma City. That program impacted more than 70 schools and resulted in the 2014 opening of the $12 million John Rex Charter Elementary School, located downtown.
Project 180, a 2009 $140 million downtown street and sidewalk redesign effort overseen by Cornett was a glimpse into yet another major effort, the 2017 Better Streets, Safer City initiative, passed by voters in September. Championed and led by Cornett that 13-item, 10-year, $967 million package will fund a range of items, including streets, police and fire department improvements, parks and more, officials said.
“For a time, it seemed we kept waiting for somebody to save us, but I knew that would never happen until we invested in ourselves,” he said.
That investment has led to 10,000 new businesses and 100,000 new jobs across the Oklahoma City metropolitan area since Cornett became mayor, he said.
Cornett’s achievements – and a list of honors from a multitude of sources – transcend Oklahoma City government. In 2015, he teamed up New York Mayor Bill de Blasio to demonstrate mayors’ bipartisan support for a fully funded transportation infrastructure bill – an effort that helped spur a five-year, $300 billion federal transportation programs and infrastructure bill.
A fifth-generation Oklahoman, Cornett was born and raised in Oklahoma City, attending Putnam City Public Schools, where his mother worked for years as a first-grade teacher. His father was a postal worker. They were parents whose lives had been lived under the specter of the Great Depression and who passed on their work ethic to their children – something Cornett said he never left behind.
Graduating with a journalism degree from University of Oklahoma, Cornett worked for about 20 years as a broadcast news reporter anchor and manager. In 2009, realizing his formal education was a “little outdated,” he enrolled in New York University’s Executive MBA program, taking 45 trips back and forth to that school for a degree he completed in 2011.
While Cornett is well-known across Oklahoma City, he said he knows serving as governor is much different. That prompted his statewide travels, speaking – and, more importantly, listening to – people from all 77 counties, he said. Now the countdown is on to the June 26 primary; if necessary, runoff primaries will be held Aug. 28, while the general election is set for Nov. 6.
“I’ve always had Oklahoma City’s best interests in mind, of course, but I’m an Oklahoman – and I care about our state and all its people,” Cornett said. “Now, it’s time to look to the future for all of us.”

Bobby Anderson
Staff Writer

The calls to Lisa Sydnor come in waves.
Seniors facing seemingly insurmountable life changes.
Children looking for resources for their parents.
As Programs Manager for the Salvation Army Central Oklahoma Area Command, Sydnor is charged with plugging those in need with those needed resources.
“People are beginning to understand the dynamics of getting older and it’s not always fun,” Sydnor said.
Instead of tackling the challenges one at a time, Sydnor came up with the idea years ago to host an entire event dedicated to educating seniors.
The Salvation Army 7th Annual Senior Living Fair will be Friday, April 27th from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Warr Acres Senior Center, 4301 N. Ann Arbor, Warr Acres.
This year, the Senior Living Fair’s focus is to provide a variety of resources from across the community ranging from affordable housing to getting finances in order for seniors and their families.
“This year’s event promises to offer a wealth of information,” said Sydnor, senior programs manager at The Salvation Army Central Oklahoma. “Many seniors and their families may be facing life-changing decisions and do not know who or where to turn for help. Our goal is for them to leave with their questions answered and to know there is a network of agencies ready to step in and help.”
The Senior Living Fair is free to the public – thanks to sponsors like Senior News and Living and United Health Care – and includes exhibits with information about health and wellness, housing, Medicare, insurance, aging-in-place, and end-of-life decisions.
Exhibitors for this year include Neighborhood Services Organization, Sunbeam Family Services, Around the Clock Home Care, Village at Oakwood Assisted Living, Concordia Life Care Community, Grace Living Centers, and many more.
The Salvation Army Central Oklahoma operates four senior centers throughout the Oklahoma City metro. The centers are open every weekday to seniors ages 55 and older. Seniors have the opportunity to socialize, enjoy lunch and participate in numerous activities that include Bible study, exercise classes, crafts, dancing and much more.
The Salvation Army, an international movement, is an evangelical part of the universal Christian church. Its message is based on the Bible. Its ministry is motivated by the love of God. Its mission is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and to meet human needs in His name without discrimination.
More than 183,000 Oklahomans receive assistance from The Salvation Army Central Oklahoma each year through the broadest array of social services that range from providing food for the hungry, relief for disaster victims, assistance for the disabled, outreach to the elderly and ill, clothing and shelter to the homeless and opportunities for underprivileged children.
About 82 cents of every dollar raised is used to support those services.
As senior programs manager, Sydnor helps families struggling with crucial decisions when loved ones have an unexpected life change.
She was one of those people years ago when her mother faced a world-altering event.
The Senior Living Fair is an annual event that is free to the public thanks to sponsors and includes exhibits for health and wellness, housing, Medicare information, insurance, aging-in-place, and fun ways to stay active.
The Salvation Army Senior Programs offer participants the opportunity to learn, innovate, promote healthy activities, express and fulfill artistic talents, and socialize. The enhanced self-worth, dignity and hope are intrinsic to the well-being of every person.
Sydnor says experts from a number of relevant industries are brought together to provide a resource – not just for seniors but for everyone as they age.
“I want to see the seniors come with their families and with their children or grandchildren who will make decisions and help them,” Sydnor said.
The Senior Living Fair, presented by Senior News & Living, strives to spread hope by providing resources that empower older Americans to be more positive, active and physically fit.
The event has continued to grow because seniors are finding value in it.
“I want to see young people who have aging parents or grandparents,” Sydnor said of who she would like to see at the event. “I can’t get my grandchildren to talk about anything and they’re in their 30s. That’s when they need to be talking about it. “So many times the children don’t know what to do, the grandchildren don’t know what to do and then they start butting heads.
“I want to get the children, the grandchildren along with the parent or grandparent to come and seek out information.”
For more information, go to www.salvationarmyokcac.org. The Salvation Army Central Oklahoma Area Command is a proud partner agency of the United Way of Central Oklahoma.

by Vickie Jenkins, Staff Writer

It was the year 1919. The little red-headed girl, Ruby Luegene Cook sat between her brother and sister in the back seat of the Model A, dodging the giant mud holes along the gravel road. This was a new beginning for the Cook family as they made their way from Bloomer, Arkansas to a town close to Maysville, Oklahoma. A very small place called Story, Oklahoma. As a five-year-old, Luegene still remembers helping her mother and siblings hold down the wire fence that stretched across the road while her uncle continued to drive the Model A, slowly puttering forward to their destination.
Luegene’s father had set out a few weeks before with their belongings. The team of horses pulled the covered wagon, as it carried their family’s possessions. The trip took 9 days with a few stops along the way to rest. The Cook family felt honored to move to a land that had become a new state in 1907.
As a young child, Luegene lived a happy life with her parents and brothers and sister. She was known as the little girl with long red hair; perhaps this is why she was given the name ‘Ruby.’ The children walked down the country road to the two-room school house; small in size yet big enough to hold the town’s children and two teachers with comfort. On one side of the small school house was the church. On the other side was a small store. “Every time you would walk by the store, there were always two tables by the front door. That is where the men would gather to play dominoes. That’s all they ever did,” Luegene said with a smile.
The Cook children (Luegene, Juanita, Harold and J.W.) were early risers as they had their chores to do before school; feeding the chickens, gathering eggs, and milking the cows. “Sometimes, the cow’s foot would end up in the bucket and the milk would splash, going everywhere. After that, I knew for a fact that we smelled terrible when we walked to school. Of course, I guess everyone did,” she said with a laugh.
“We had other chores after school. We worked at hoeing the young cotton plants, harvesting acres of cotton in the fall. I sure started hating cotton,” she added. “Sometimes, we would hoe the neighbor’s cotton fields too. Back then, that was just the thing to do.”
“My mother, Estelle made all of our clothes. She would flip through a Sears, Roebuck and Co. catalog to find pictures of dresses. She would look at the picture and without a pattern, begin cutting the material. Our clothes were nicer than the ones in the catalog.”
In 1932, Luegene graduated high school from Maysville, Oklahoma. The next year, she married the boy next door, William Sam Merritt. They had three daughters, Donna, Kay and Phyllis. “One thing we made sure of was to make sure our daughters went to Sunday school, church and would do well in school. I am proud to say that all three did exactly that. They all went to college and became educators. I am so proud of all of them,” she said.
Soon, the married couple had their hands full with three daughters and fields covered with cotton and broomcorn. Both crops took lots of hand labor and they hired about 60 workers that they called Broomcorn Johnnies to harvest the crops.
“During mealtime, the Broomcorn Johnnies would gather around the massive boards that served as tables. With the help of some of my friends, we prepared roasted corn, beans, cornbread and ham, followed with fresh blackberry cobbler. Those Broomcorn Johnnies ate well,” Luegene commented.
Luegene and Sam loved spending time with their three daughters. They attended Story Baptist Church. Later on, when the girls moved away, Luegene was a member of Maysville Baptist Church. At one time, she worked at Storm Plastics gluing lures in the fishing lure plant. With her full schedule, she still managed to find time to play the piano, make beautiful clothes, win state fair ribbons, placing first place as a seamstress. The ribbons didn’t stop there; she also won ribbons for her canned peaches, pickles, along with her first place angel food cake and divinity. In the year 1949, Sam and Luegene Merritt were also declared the Corn Champions of the State of Oklahoma for producing the most corn per acre.
It was a year ago that Luegene decided to move into Heritage Assisted Living; nice and comfortable accommodations where she receives the best of care.
Asking Luegene how she managed to live such a long, happy, successful life, she said, “I just do the best I can, doing what’s right and looking to the future.”
Luegene is looking forward to celebrating her 104th birthday, with family and friends on June 1st, 2018.