In the culmination of a three-month environmental effort, the numbers are in, and the hard work of Oklahomans has proven to pay off once again.
For the fifteenth consecutive year, Keep Oklahoma Beautiful (KOB) took part in the nation’s largest cleanup, sponsored by Keep America Beautiful. Volunteers from all over America participate in the Great American Cleanup (GAC), and each year, Oklahomans do their part to keep the state beautiful. Since 2010, Oklahoma has had 100 percent county participation, and this year was no exception. From March 1 to May 31, over 46,000 volunteers and participants fought dirty to keep Oklahoma clean.
Organizations that register for the GAC in Oklahoma receive free trash bags, gloves, vests, water and more. In addition, 36 organizations received cash grants and 11 received equipment grants.
Since 2002, the GAC in Oklahoma has collected over 214 million pounds of litter and debris. Just this year, Oklahoma communities cleared over 3,500 miles of roadways, shorelines and hiking trails. Nearly 192,162 pounds of hazardous waste and electronics and 13,142 tires were collected, helping to protect our environment as well as keep it clean.
The Great American Cleanup is far more than a cleanup effort, however. Communities across the state participate in beautification projects, planting gardens and restoring buildings. This year, communities planted over 7,300 flowers, seedlings, shrubs and trees and painted or renovated 35 buildings.
GAC events have the power to bring communities together, with over 700 groups teaming up this year. 4-H clubs, civic organizations, FFA programs, businesses, chambers and municipalities worked together with the unified goal of keeping Oklahoma clean. The collaboration is 100 percent statewide, and Keep America Beautiful has recognized KOB several years in a row for their complete county participation.
“The KOB GAC is our signature program for which we are recognized nationally for having at least one community in all of our 77 counties participate,” said Jeanette Nance, KOB Executive Director. “It speaks volumes when we can be the facilitators for communities to come together for a beautiful cause.”
The GAC in Oklahoma not only makes municipalities more beautiful, but also unites community members.
“Community cleanups are a really fun way to volunteer,” said Wanda Gray, coordinator for the INCA-RSVP cleanup in Tishomingo. “What’s better than spending a couple hours with family, friends, and neighbors making your home a better place? Our volunteers are uniting through community service, responsibility, and sharing of the natural environment to help drastically improve the quality of their communities.”
This annual program in Oklahoma strives to strengthen communities, all while keeping this state more eco-minded and environmentally friendly. KOB maintains the belief that unity through community improvement has the power to make positive change. “For us, the Great American Cleanup is so much more than a series of litter pickups or community improvement projects,” said Brenda Russell, with the Twin Cities Revitalization Project. “It is our opportunity as a community to come together and truly showcase that we as a whole are greater than the sum of our parts.”
Keep Oklahoma Beautiful is a statewide nonprofit with a mission to empower Oklahoma citizens to preserve and enhance the state’s natural beauty and ensure a healthy, sustainable environment. To learn more about their programs, visit keepoklahomabeautiful.com.

Whether it’s climbing into a combine to harvest the wheat or walking into a congressional meeting to discuss farm policy, Francie Kucera Tolle remains focused on one goal—“It’s the legacy of it.”
Rather than a legacy of how Tolle will be remembered, this is one centered on how others will value and appreciate agriculture as a result of her family’s stewardship.
Having been born on a family farm and now farming with her husband Chuck, Tolle knows the importance of agriculture. She has been a resident in Grant County her entire life and laughed as she reminisced growing up on a farm with her three sisters.
“My dad brought a bottle calf home one time and we thought it was the greatest thing ever and asked for a few more. The next day we had 30 bottle calves and would be mauled when we got to barn,” said Tolle. “A year later we wanted some feeder pigs and my dad brought home a whole truck load. Next, we thought we would like some sheep and our dad said, ‘Really?’ We changed our minds pretty quick.”
Tolle spoke about the daily life lessons that were learned among the cattle and in the wheat fields. The greatest of these was work ethic and faith.
“You have to have faith because there is no telling what the weather will be,’’ said Tolle. “You use your work ethic and do everything you can but in the end you have to have faith.”
Growing up, Tolle did everything the hired hands did on the farm, saying it was expected of her and her sisters. She started driving the combine when she was 12 and basically lived in the barn with the stocker cattle during the winter. She went on to college with no plans on returning home. But as fate would have it she started dating a local farm boy and married him in 1990.
“I didn’t really have plans on marrying a farmer,” laughed Tolle. “I was a business major and liked marketing. But then I started dating Chuck and I came back to agriculture pretty quick.”
They moved and started their own operation in 1992 in Grant County with a quarter of land, mainly growing wheat and running a cow-calf and stocker cattle operation. Their little operation began to grow as Tolle had two boys, Clint and Cole.
Tolle laughed and said her boys never wanted to drive the combine growing up because that was her thing. Now her boys are growing up and making their own legacy. Clint is married and will graduate college soon, with plans on returning to the farm. Cole just graduated high school and is beginning embark on his college journey studying construction management.
In addition to raising two boys and operating a farm, Tolle also works tirelessly to carry on the legacy of her dad, who taught her the importance of agriculture through policy.
“I got my love for policy from him,” said Tolle. “He never went to college but he was the smartest man I ever knew.”
It was not uncommon for Tolle and her father to be talking about world trade, farm policy and commodity markets. This sparked her interest and she began her work in farm policy in 2003 as Director of the Oklahoma Wheat Growers Association.
From here, many doors began to open for Tolle as she served as Agricultural Liaison to Congressman Brad Carson, Director of Agritoursim, Legislative Policy Analyst for the Oklahoma Farmers Union/American Farmers and Ranchers, State Director of Farm Service Agency and is now currently the Regional Director of the Risk Management Agency serving Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Texas.
When asked about her most rewarding experience, there was no hesitation as she recalled the implementation of the Livestock Forage Program, which resulted in paying over a billion dollars to farmers and ranchers in Oklahoma affected by the three year drought.
“I saw people literally cry because they were saved… I will never forget. That was pretty impactful,” said Tolle.
Although she stays busy with policy and farming, she never forgets why she does it. Tolle is proud to say that she is only the second generation born in the United States.
“It’s the legacy of it. My grandparents came here for this reason. Here I am fulfilling the dream they had. I don’t want it to die,” said Tolle.
Again, even though Tolle has left a legacy in what she does, this was not her goal in an individual sense. Instead, she hopes that through her work, people will know and understand the complexity of farming and in agriculture in general.
“It’s not easy,” said Tolle. “Yes it is rewarding but it is the hardest job you will ever do. If you don’t love it, you won’t do it. There is not another job where you work as hard as you do with farming.”
Tolle is also quick to give credit to her husband for all of her success saying he is extremely supportive of everything she has done. Even with all of her accomplishments, her greatest one is building a legacy with her husband to make sure that others will value and appreciate agriculture as a result of their stewardship.
“My goal is to leave a legacy,” she said.

Photography and Text by Terry “Travels with Terry” Zinn t4z@aol.com

Having recently returned from a trip of a lifetime, in 1980 touring of ancient Egypt icons, I found exotic culture back home in Colony, Oklahoma at the annual Cheyenne and Arapaho Labor Day Powwow.
As I reported in 1981, “Faces of men painted red and yellow, and brown bodies clad in numerous combinations of colors, feathers, and animal skins rhythmically dance out of the dark and into a dimly lit clearing beneath a giant canopy of cottonwoods.”
“Ladies in pure white buckskin proudly keeping in step as their shawls and fringe swing hypnotically in the moon light. Very young braves of 7 or 8 years, dressed in colorful fancy dance dress feathers join in the ways of their elders.”
As a result, I humbly photographically documented the weekend, and returned two more Labor Day weekends to try and capture the thrill and unique authentic Cheyenne Arapaho offering. While most of the dances are held at night, and with the movement of the dancers I could not use dim available light but had to use flash for my black and white negative exposures. The challenge was not to invade or disturbed the reverential dance with the bright flash in the darkness of night, but it was the only way to get an acceptable photograph. I guess I accomplished my goal as I was not admonished for my flash.
This Labor Day Colony’s Native American powwow homecoming continues as it has each year since the end of World War II with added interests. This year the Colony Gallery of the Plains Indian will host two photographic exhibitions of Native Americans proud of their heritage. The Gallery has always encouraged Native American art and artists. The Gallery is reborn with the showing of The Last Powwow ~ the result of my three-year visits ~ and Red Earth Spirit, ~ formal double exposure color photographs made during the Oklahoma City Red Earth Festival. While many of these images have been in exhibitions during the 1980s this is the first time since then that some are on public view. Some have never been seen before as the complete portfolios are too large to mount in one exhibition.
After seeing The Last Powwow exhibition at the Center of the American Indian back in 1983, the then Director of Photography, L.L. Smith, at the National Cowboy Hall of Fame and Western Heritage Center, endorsed the exhibit when he wrote, “I was most impressed with the quality of your work and the dignity of your subjects. Your devotion over the years to this event is quite evident in your work. As a cultural document, I believe certain prints will stand the test of time.”
The renovated petite Gallery of the Plains Indian and the historic town of Colony is a treat to those travelers willing to turn off Interstate 40 at Weatherford and head south.
Justice Yvonne Kauger, a native of Colony, had long wanted a small gallery in Colony to exhibit Indian art and in particular Cheyenne Arapaho artists which would coincide with the annual powwow. The gallery building on the main street was built by her Grandfather, Fred Kauger in 1923 and served as post office until 1960 when it was used for storage..
Through the efforts of Yvonne’s parents, John and Alice Kauger, and family and friends, the old stucco structure was remodeled into a functional art gallery. The gallery had its first showing in 1981. Both exhibits this year are dedicated to Yvonne, John and Alice Kauger and all who help preserve and promote Indian heritage.
“I grew up to the sound of the powwows as a little girl,” Yvonne Kauger explains, “My father was raised by Cheyenne nannies and had a very deep respect for the Cheyenne which he passed on. In fact, until the sixth grade I thought I was Indian.”
In 1984, the Cheyenne-Arapaho adopted Yvonne Kauger as a member of the Standing Bird Clan.
Since the late 1880’s this area has been the tribal land of the Cheyenne-Arapaho Indians. Just west of Cobb Creek, teepees were first erected in a hardy grove and became home and gathering place for the Cheyenne-Arapaho powwow.
Colony’s Mayor Lonnie Yearwood is an active member of the community and an integral part in the rebirth of Colony with restoration projects. One project is the corner building in Colony which is destined to become a museum, and another is the Church Parsonage, a two-story stone structure from 1897.
Mayor Yearwood’s great grandfather John Seger, brought the Cheyenne-Arapahos to Colony to establish an Indian school.
“My great grandfather wanted a post office in Colony in 1896,” says the Mayor, “But there already was a post office west of here, and it was called Seger. If that was not already established the town might have been called Seger instead of Colony, as it was known as John Seger’s Colony.”
The Mayor continues, “Colony has more history than any other town in the county, as Colony started before there was an official county.”
Colony is in a renaissance with not only the Mayors projects but some homes are also being restored, upgraded and preserved. Someday the restoration projects may be on a town tour. The Mayor may be reached by email for more information on the town and the gallery accessibly during the Labor Day Weekend powwow.
Mayor Lonnie Yearwood: yrwd19@gmail.com
Since the authentic powwow activities, dance and singing, continues deep into the night, a planned overnight stay in Weatherford, Oklahoma is recommended.
I plan to be in attendance, not only at the gallery but at the powwow grounds. For a gallery appointment time email me before August 29. I continue my enthusiasm as I reported in my 1981 article, “Had I secretly crept upon this trial meeting on the great western plains of Oklahoma some hundred years ago, I could not have been more excited!”

Mr. Terry Zinn – Travel Editor
Past President: International Food Wine and Travel Writers Association
http://realtraveladventures.com/author/zinn/
http://www.examiner.com/travel-in-oklahoma-city/terry-zinn
www.new.okveterannews.com – www.martinitravels.com

Dawn Anita Plumlee Named 2017 Winner

story and photos by Traci Chapman

The Ms. Oklahoma Senior America Pageant isn’t just about beauty or talent, but a celebration of women who have lived a live full of love and meaning, who exemplify all that seniors can be and all they can offer – and the women who this year competed for the crown showed there are no limits for those who are willing to step beyond their daily confines.
“Life is a gift – open your heart and your mind to all life has to offer,” Dawn Anita Plumlee said.
Plumlee received another gift during the July 29 pageant, as the Velma, OK country singer and songwriter was named Ms. Oklahoma Senior America for 2017.
“I am so honored, I’m so happy and I look at my fellow contestants and that makes me feel even more special, because they are such wonderful women,” Plumlee said after the event. “They are all queens to me.”
Plumlee was one of nine contestants who competed this year for the honor, someone who is not new to the pageant – she was named first runner up in both 2012 and 2013. Flipping through the photos of past Oklahoma events, it was clear she was not alone.
“This event is something that brings out the best in everyone who takes part in it,” Plumlee said. “It’s an experience none of us ever forget and it really can be a life-changer, not only for the one who walks away with that crown – that’s the reason why so many of us stay active in the organization.”
The contestants
Ms. Oklahoma Senior America 2017 – Dawn Anita Plumlee
Dawn Anita Plumlee said she has “just always been a singer,” someone who not only draws on her country roots but also celebrates them. That was on show during Plumlee’s talent entry, her rendition of “Love Sick Blues.”
Plumlee life has always centered around music – after her family, she said. After turning down an RCA record contract when her children were small, she continued her work in the music industry on a smaller scale until they were grown; she has had three charted country records and has won several songwriting and performance awards, including Oklahoma Opry’s Female Vocalist and Entertainer of the Year. The new queen also wrote “Gift of Life,” a song aimed at promoting organ donation.
Another of Plumlee’s passions is horses, and she has won several shows, as well as embarking on a horseback journey from Oklahoma to Nashville with her husband of 59 years, Jerry.
First Runner-Up – Susannah “Sam” Koebrick
Susannah “Sam” Koebrick was the first female masonry instructor to work in the Oklahoma Career Tech System, instrumental in both designing and promoting the Oklahoma State & Education Employees’ Insurance Program.
A Bethany resident, Koebrick performs in Oklahoma Seniors’ Cabaret and El Reno Community Theater, as well as with her husband, Richard, in a variety of venues across the state.
“Keep an active mind, an active body, smile, have a sense of humor and treat everyone as you wish to be treated,” Koebrick said.
Second Runner-Up – Kathryn Gordon
Kathryn Gordon has had a varied career – as a typesetter, legal secretary, teacher, business owner and more. But, at age 62, Gordon decided to make a change, graduating from cosmetology school and now working as a hairstylist and nail technician.
Gordon, who graduated from University of Central Oklahoma and University of Oklahoma, was also a gymnast in the 1950s and 1960s as a member of the state’s only gymnastics team, Oklahoma Twisters. She won Junior Olympic Tumbling state and national honors, was a member of the 1966 Pan American Gymnastic Team and a 1968 Olympic gymnast. Gordon, who donates time helping children involved in gymnastics, showed her skills during her tap dancing talent entry, which included a cartwheel and handstand.
“Every day is an adventure,” Gordon said. “Every day I get up and put on my medals – humility, forgiveness, joy, faith and trust – and go out into the world, looking for the best in everyone I meet.”
Third Runner-Up – Carla Joy
Carla Joy is also an entertainer, something she started at age three when her parents put her onstage during a movie house intermission to sing. Performing this year at the Oklahoma Senior Follies, Joy also sings for fundraisers and at nursing homes and helped Las Vegas’ Harrah’s Casino begin a trio of karaoke shows.
Joy worked for 38 years in real estate, beauty and fashion and continues her interest in those endeavors, always trying to encourage others, she said.
“Get up, get dressed, show up and never give up,” Joy said.
Marilynn Blackmon
Marilynn Blackmom said that in a sense her life began at 60 – she went back to college, becoming certified in workforce training and development and working as an adjunct instructor at Eastfield College, located in Mesquite, Texas.
After battling low self-esteem for many years, Blackmon works to help others, teaching classes and obtaining her certification as a master coach in self-esteem elevation for adults and children. Her journey conquering self-esteem issues also led Blackmon to found her own business, “Fly Without Baggage.”
“Soaring, falling, daring to soar again anyway to soar and soar again,” she said.
Boonie Mason
Boonie Mason’s life changed in 1980 with a Multiple Sclerosis diagnosis – a situation she used to help others as she became peer counselor and Co-Chairman for an Oklahoma City MS support group. In 2004, Mason was awarded MS Society’s chapter President’s Award for Volunteer of the Year. She said those with MS and other similar diseases should never give up, showing her determination by performing a tap dancing routine during the pageant’s talent portion, despite walking with a cane.
Mason attended Oklahoma State University and worked as Yukon Chamber of Commerce manager, First National Bank public relations officer and an Oklahoma City doctor’s office manager.
“Remember how short life is – and for my MS friends, I want to let them know that life is not over,” Mason said.
Barbara McMullin
Barbara McMullin is the mother of five grown children, two of them deaf. That led McMullin to move her family to Oklahoma City so the two – Pam and Jeff – could attend OU Medical Center’s John Key Speech and Hearing Center.
McMullin worked and traveled overseas for many years and enjoys volunteer work and genealogy.
“I challenge myself today and tomorrow is my reward,” she said.
Sharon Moore
Born into a family of 11 children, Sharon Moore said faith and family have remained her focus throughout her life. At 69, she retired from a 31-year career at Legal Shield, and Moore said she decided to enter the pageant to find a new lease on life after the recent death of her husband.
Moore helped raise eight children, and now has 15 grandchildren and seven great grandchildren. She plays piano, sings and dances and enjoys writing poetry and journaling.
“Never stop learning – give your compassion and grace,” Moore said.
Gayle Orf
At 69, Gayle Orf took up the ukulele, a skill she exhibited during her talent performance of her own composition, “Lola La Spud.” That spirit of never slowing down helped land Orf a recent contract to do print modeling with a national agency; she teaches healthy living and entertains patients at a local cancer hospital and at senior venues.
Orf became the guardian and surrogate mother – at 60 – to a nine-year-old girl living in a children’s home after the death of her mother. Today, that daughter is a self-supporting college student.
“Life is to be enjoyed,” Orf said.
The Pageant
Ms. Senior America was founded in 1971 by Al Mott, who first started the contest in a New Jersey nursing home. At the time, a few contestants took part; the non-profit foundation now gathers hundreds of seniors annually to take part in pageants across the country, as well as the national pageant, held each October.
Before the day of the pageant, judges conduct interviews with each contestant. The event features talent and evening gown components, as well as the chance to share a 30-second “Philosophy of Life” with the audience.
“This is simply a celebration of beauty and accomplishment, as with any beauty pageant – but it’s a way to show that life is only beginning at 60,” Ms. Senior Oklahoma Foundation Administrator Ladell Maxwell said. “These ladies really do embody our philosophy of grace.”

A special day long seminar will help persons losing their sight or blind and their families and friends. The Heartland Council of the Blind will present the Coping with Vision Loss Seminar on Saturday, August 19, 2017 in Oklahoma City.
Vice President of the Heartland Council of the Blind is Sandi Webster of Oklahoma City who lost her vision in 2002. Sandi said the seminar will provide essential tools and encouragement for persons losing their vision and their families and friends. “These people go through the stages of grief, but there is help,” Sandi said.
A previous seminar participant says she used the provided helps right away. “It was like attending a one stop shop. We met Vision, Mobility and Technology Specialists and were introduced to Support Systems. Break-out sessions are: Advocacy, Training for Family/Friends, Just for Men, Just for Women, Technology, Deaf/Blind Information and Visual Services Information. Cost of $20 for the seminar includes lunch, a Resources Notebook and a CD. Registration forms are available at www.hcbokc.org. Or register by calling Heartland Council of the Blind President Frances Poindexter at 405-642-1068. Registration must be received by Wednesday, August 16th. The seminar will be at the New Hope United Methodist Church at 11600 N. Council Rd., OKC, from 9 AM to 4 PM. Check-in begins at 8:30 AM.