by Bobby Anderson,
Staff Writer

It was like any other day at work for Lisa Marti on May 9, except it would be one that would change her life.
Marti, 39, a medical assistant at Norman Regional’s Endocrinology Associates, was found slumped over in her chair at the nurse’s station by two coworkers.
After finding her unconscious, Kayla Masters, medical assistant, and Sherry Potter, LPN, transported Marti to a treatment room. They quickly realized Marti had no pulse and wasn’t breathing.
Marti had gone into cardiac arrest, with no previously known heart conditions. They immediately began CPR and called 911. Before first responders arrived, other members of the endocrinology team, including Dr. Lubna Mirza, Michelle Jackson, Estelle Cappony and Alicia Glenn stepped in to help any way they could, and brought in cardiologist Dr. Michael Villano and his staff from the clinic next door.
“It was a nightmare—I don’t even know how to describe it,” Masters said. “It was pretty devastating to see her like that. A lot of us didn’t know if she was going to make it. It was the worst thing I’ve ever dealt with in a work setting, but I think we handled it very professionally. We acted promptly and did the best we could.”
Potter, who previously worked on a cardiology floor in a hospital, said trying to revive someone she knew was different from anything she has ever experienced with a patient.
“It was more intense. It’s always in the back of my mind—wondering if (Marti) is okay and thinking about all the ‘what ifs,’” Potter said. “Things happen for a reason. (Marti) asked to go home earlier that day because she didn’t feel well, but we didn’t send her home—I guess that was so we could save her life.”
Judy and Henry Lantz, Marti’s parents, were two of multiple family members to receive a call from the endocrinology staff. They immediately rushed to the hospital, as did Marti’s daughter Kaitlynn and her son Tyler.
“It was the most terrifying day of our lives,” Lantz said.
When Marti’s parents arrived to the Emergency Department, Marti was continuing to slip in and out of consciousness. She was shortly moved to the Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit (CVICU).
“There were some good moments and a lot of bad ones,” Judy said. “It would seem like she was getting better then she would code again. It’s not easy to be holding your daughter’s head when she dies, especially over and over again.”
Marti coded about 10 times in total before cardiologist Dr. Muhammad Salim put in a permanent pacemaker for Marti, which stabilized her and her heart function.
Although Marti doesn’t remember much of what happened, she said it’s “very scary” to hear about it all, but she received a ton of support from family, friends, coworkers, and her care team that helped get her by.
“I didn’t have anybody who disappointed me in my care here. They offered all of the support and answers I needed,” she said.
Marti has two children and two grandchildren to live for. She was able to return to work on Monday, June 18.
“I’m just happy to be alive and to have this second chance at life,” she said.
Nephrologist Dr. David Williams is working with Marti on her follow-up care to determine the cause of her event. She said she is very grateful for his kindness and care.
“Hopefully we’ll have answers soon,” Marti said.

The Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority (OMMA), with assistance from the Office of Management and Enterprise Services (OMES), has selected Complia as the provider for compliance and licensing management software.
Using a statewide contract, the Denver-based company was selected through a review process that determined it was best equipped to meet OMMA’s specifications and time requirements. The passage of SQ788 tasks the Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH) with having an application process in place by August 25 for patients, caregivers and businesses to apply for licenses and for the agency to collect application fees. OSDH created the OMMA to regulate the medical marijuana program.
Complia is a group of compliance officers and technologists with a background in cannabis licensing systems and government software.
“With this agreement in place, we are continuing our commitment to having the structure in place to meet all of the requirements of SQ788,” said OSDH Interim Commissioner Tom Bates. “We are deeply appreciative to OMES for providing their expertise in evaluating the vendor products and for helping select the right fit to implement the online application system. They were able to accelerate the process in order for us to meet the challenging deadlines we face.”

Kevin L. Lewis, MD, has recently been named Regional President of the SSM Health Medical Group.
Dr. Lewis returns to SSM Health Oklahoma to resume the role he held previously from April, 2016 to June, 2017 as Regional President of the SSM Health Medical Group. Dr. Lewis will be responsible for the growth and management of physician practices, as well as post-acute and ambulatory operations across the system.
Lewis comes to SSM Health St. Anthony from the multi-hospital Parkridge Health System based in Chattanooga, Tenn., where he was Chief Medical Officer. He received his medical degree from the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio

The Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation has received a $600,000 grant from The Mary K. Chapman Foundation to support aging research.
The grant will help fund age-related disease research and help OMRF recruit a pair of new scientists to its Aging and Metabolism Research Program, which takes a comprehensive approach to studying diseases of aging, including age-related muscle loss, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and arthritis.
“Aging is the number one risk factor for a number of debilitating diseases that affect our growing elderly population,” said Aging and Metabolism Research Program Chair Holly Van Remmen, Ph.D. “This gift will allow us to expand and extend our work to better understand basic mechanisms of aging and how they impact age-related diseases, such as heart disease, arthritis, age-related muscle loss and neurodegenerative diseases.”
Mary K. Chapman established her foundation upon her death in 2002 as a way to continue supporting causes associated with her personal interests. Chapman, an Oklahoma native and University of Tulsa graduate, made many of her gifts in Oklahoma and Colorado, where her late husband, oilman and philanthropist H. Allen Chapman, was born.
The foundation donates to a wide variety of charitable organizations. But as a former nurse, Chapman had a keen interest in supporting health-related causes.
As a result, said Chapman Foundation trustee Donne Pitman, the foundation is devoted to continuing Chapman’s legacy of giving to health and medical research.
“The hope is that these new investigators can generate new ideas and approaches to diseases of aging, like Alzheimer’s and dementia,” said Pitman. “These are devastating and common diseases that impact not only the individual, but also everyone around them. Aging research is a critical need for public health, and we want to be a part of the solution.”

By Darlene Franklin

I’ve never been to war. Aside from a few skirmishes, neither had anyone in Israel’s army. After being freed from Egypt and spending forty years wandering, the desert-hardened Israelite army prepared to fight for the land promised to them by God. How did they feel? Nervous, anxious for their first battle, wanting to get it over with, so they could get on with their new lives?  I’ve never been to war. Aside from a few skirmishes, neither had anyone in Israel’s army. After being freed from Egypt and spending forty years wandering, the desert-hardened Israelite army prepared to fight for the land promised to them by God. How did they feel? Nervous, anxious for their first battle, wanting to get it over with, so they could get on with their new lives?  They set up camp, all 600,000 of them, spreading out from Jericho’s front gates. Expecting war, imagine how they felt when all they did was to march around the walls one time every day each day for a week with trumpets sounding. You may know the story. At the end of the week, they marched seven times, the instruments blared, the men shouted—and the walls fell down. The battle ended before they threw a spear (Joshua 6).Centuries later, the judge Gideon led a small group of three hundred men to fight the Midianites, Amalekites, and others who’d oppressed the Jewish people. Again, God used the weapon of music—a blaring trumpet—to defeat the opposition (Judges 7).During Jesus’ final week on earth, the crowds sang hosanna when He rode into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey. A few days later, the disciples “sang a hymn and departed” after the Last Supper, beginning the countdown to Jesus’ death. Is it any wonder that Isaiah links strength and music?Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid; for the Lord JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; He also is become my salvation. (Isaiah 12:2 KJV)His words echo Moses’ song after crossing the Red Sea (Exodus 15:2,), as well as the psalmist’s words in Psalm 118:14.  Music composed at the height of war has become national anthems (the United States’ Star Spangled Banner and France’s La Marseillaise). In the mid-twentieth century, songs like “We Shall Overcome” played a vital role in the civil rights movement. It’s easier to imagine the connection between music and patriotism than between music and war. There are narratives (probably not factual) of children marching to the Crusades while singing “Fairest Lord Jesus.” Many translations of Isaiah 12:2 plainly place music in war’s arsenal (the Lord is my strength and my song, see the KJV and many others.)  Some changed the English word from “music” to “defense” instead. None of the commentaries or lexicons I consulted gave me a clue as two such different words have been used. Neither commentaries and Hebrew word meanings helped me understand how the same word means two such different things, or why the translators changed their work. Was it possible that music was defense?It is for me. When I’m tired, discouraged, unable to sleep, I hum “Abide with me.” If rejoicing in God’s good gifts? How about “Joy to the world, the Lord is come?”When I checked a website for hymns based on Isaiah 12:2, I found over over thirty songs. Here are a few of my favorite phrases: “Jesus! ’’Tis music in the sinner’s ears, ‘Tis life, and health, and peace”—Isaac Watts“I am trusting Thee for power, Thine can never fail”—Frances Ridley HarvergalAnyone who’s ever been moved by a song on the radio or at a concert can testify to the power of music. It slips into the heart, curls up next to the spirit and warms it even before we take in the words. Who doesn’t want to stand and shout when they hear “I’m Proud to be an American” on the 4th of July? Not to mention Katherine Lee Bates’ immortal words about “America the Beautiful.” Music has the capacity to bypass logic and doubt and stir our worship to God. If we wonder what to sing about, we can look at everything we learn about God in Isaiah 12:2. Our Creator’s creation calls for songs of praise. Yahweh, the great I AM, is the beginning of everything and the source of songs of praise. He was Salvation for those before Jesus took on human form, born of the virgin Mary. The love demonstrated at the cross “demands my soul, my life, my all.” (Isaac Watts) God my salvation and strength is also my defense. Let His praise be continually on my lips.

Darlene Franklin is both a resident of a nursing home in Moore, and a full-time writer.

Edible cookie dough may be the next best dessert to hit the shelves.
Thanks to Dhea and Karla Hudson, owners of Okie Dough, this tasty treat is now available across Oklahoma.
The cookie dough is made without eggs or added milk and made with heat-treated flour, so it is completely safe to eat. Available in about 15 flavors, Okie Dough can be eaten straight from the freezer or refrigerator because it lasts up to 12 weeks in the freezer and up to eight weeks in the refrigerator.
The most challenging part of being in the business is making it clear to customers that the product is safe to eat, Dhea Hudson said.
“The nostalgia of eating cookie dough is unlike that of any other dessert,” Dhea Hudson said. “I hear all the time that there is an emotional connection that can’t be manufactured. It’s inherent in the product and unique to cookie dough.”
The idea behind Okie Dough started in school when Dhea was a high school counselor.
“I often would bring baked goods to my students,” she said. “When they asked for my cookie dough instead of the cookies, I was hesitant because of the raw eggs, and I didn’t want to make anyone sick. So I began experimenting with my original chocolate chip cookie dough recipe without eggs. I would bring a batch to school, and the kids would disapprove or approve. And finally on the fifth time, everyone really liked it. I had done my research on the heat-treating of the flour by then, so sharing at school was completely safe. And that is how Okie Dough was created.”
The business began in April 2017. In the first year, Okie Dough made it to 10 festivals, all home Oklahoma University football games, the Cox Convention Center, the Chesapeake Arena for all Thunder games and events, the Texas Motor Speedway, and many more.
Okie Dough also joined the Made in Oklahoma Program this year. The product is made using flour from Shawnee Mills in Shawnee, Okla., butter from the Hiland Dairy in Chandler, Okla., and Griffins Vanilla from Muskogee, Okla. For more information, visit madeinoklahoma.net/products/okie-dough, okiedoughlicious.com, or find Okie Dough on Facebook.

by Bobby Anderson, Staff Writer

Get fit, get fitter or get fittest.
That’s 61-year-old Jay Moore’s motto.
Moore teaches six spinning classes a week – an hour of pure, heart-pumping stationary cycling at a time at The Station at Central Park in Moore.
When he’s not on the bike he’s teaching a master’s swim class at six in the morning.
When he’s not doing that he’s competing in Oklahoma, around the country or even around the world as a member of Team USA.
Moore starting doing triathlons back in 1989 and continued through 1994 when a knee injury sidelined him.
Seventeen years went by and his waistline surpassed his belt.
At the end of 2010 he weighed 250 and had had enough.
“I bought an elliptical because I was too fat to run,” he laughed. “I got down to about 210 and stayed there. I changed my eating and got down to 195. I got the bike down out of the attic and started riding and running a bit.”
He trained for a year and won his first race.
He’s been on Team USA for five years in a row.
“They’ll ask me ‘what’s your secret,’” Moore said.
His secret is getting wet.
Weekly, he swims three or four miles spread out four or five days. He’s found that his arthritic shoulders respond well.
“The less I swim the worse I feel,” he smiles.
Moore’s spin class is one of the more popular offerings at The Station at Central Park in Moore. Entry tickets to his class at the front desk are often scooped up before a single pedal is even turned.
“I get them fired up. We crank that music up,” Moore grins. “When people see a song they really like they’re over there pedaling their butt off and singing along.”
People come to sweat, but they also come to get some of Moore’s energy.
“I feel like this is Godsend. I’m here to help other people,” he said. “This is my way of giving. And I enjoy it.”
At 61, ego and competition still fuel him.
“I’ve been weight training for five months because when we get older you need to lift weights,” Moore said. “I’m a swim, bike, run guy. I’m a cardio freak. I feel stronger and better.”
He went to the world championships last year against his doctor’s advice.
“When I hurt my knee I went to aqua bike riding,” Moore said. “I ran 10 minute miles because people were lined up and down the street. I wasn’t going to walk.”
A couple months later he went to nationals and finished sixth on a bad knee.
He usually runs seven-minute, thirty-second miles on a 5K trail but his knee slowed him to a 9:15 pace.
It was his swim times that put him so far out in front.
When Moore competes he’s typically facing 500-meter swims combined with a 12.5-mile bike ride and then a 5K run.
Olympic distance races carry one-mile swims, a 25-mile bike ride and a 10k run.
“It’s weird. It’s not the guys in my age group but it’s the ones 35 to 50 they want to beat me so bad,” Moore said. “If someone beats me I just kind of smile. The salesman in me makes me look like it doesn’t bother me.”
When he’s not training he’s running a business.
Moore started in the flooring business at 16. He traveled for 15 years as a suit-and-tie rep.
“My dad bought me a truck at 16 and said you need to go learn how to lay carpet,” he said. “In college I could work on Friday afternoons and Saturdays after the other guys had already gotten their check and were at the bar and wouldn’t show up.
“I could make $100 or $200 a week in the late 1970s.”
In 1982 he hit the road with a $40,000 salary and all expenses paid.
Along the way he picked up a certification to be a moisture tester.
Since 2009 he’s owned Floors by Moore. He operates on a wholesale mentality.
“I’ve got a warehouse full of samples and carpet and I do just as much,” Moore said. “People say ‘call this guy’ because I’m usually cheaper and my guys do real good work. That’s a good combination.”
He thrives on the hunt. On land or in the water, he wants to be first.
“I put it all out there. I’ve puked at the finish line quite a few times. I’m just so competitive,” Moore said.

A very surprised and happy Kay Manning was crown Ms Oklahoma Senior America 2018 on Saturday, July 21.
When asked how she felt, Kay said, “I feel very blessed to have the opportunity to represent my State, tribe, community, and family as Ms Oklahoma Senior America 2018. This is such a rare happening in life to be given such an honor and I will absolutely do my best to make you all proud. I joined the pageant to get more comfortable on stage and with public speaking. I have always been a little shy and theater has been a way for me to get out of my shell. My philosophy of life is If you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. If you teach a man to fish, you have fed him for life. As a teacher my goal is to show children what they need to know to go out into the world and succeed, as well as be independent. I have been teaching 23 years and plan to keep teaching many more.”
God is first, because without Him none of this would be possible and I would not have met so many great people along the way. I am the daughter of Patrick and Jeanette Manning, spirited Oklahomans, Citizens of Potawatomi Nation Native Americans, and in a family of Sooner fans. I have a daughter, Brooke and two grandsons, Peyton and Bivin that bring me a lot of joy and keep me young at heart. I am an active participant in the Catholic Church, reading at Mass, fulfilling my need to give back for all I have been given. Recently I joined another family, the Oklahoma Senior Follies. They are the most colorful and exciting group of people I have ever had the pleasure to be around. As a teacher I work with many active seniors and try to encourage my friends to attend or volunteer. I enjoy promoting senior programs.
Ms Oklahoma Senior America 2018
Kay Manning is a teacher for the Oklahoma City Public Schools. She attended the University of Oklahoma, Marymount College of Salina, Kansas and University of Central Oklahoma (UCO). Kay transferred from OU to Marymount College where she received her Bachelor of Arts degree and an Associate in science. She later attended UCO where she earned her Early Childhood Certification in teaching. Her experience in the theatre began in OKC at Bishop McGuinness High School where she played the role of the eldest daughter, Tzeitel, in “Fiddler on the Roof’. She attended Marymount College in Salina, Kansas, and performed in “Pippin”, “Camelot”, “Annie Get Your Gun”,” Next”, “Orpheus Descending”, “Waltz of the Toreadors”, “The Children’s Hour”, and “Lysistrata” to name a few. Kay also performed the role of Jocasta in “Oedipus Rex” at Marymount College and the Manhattan, Kansas Community Theatre. In 2004, Kay was selected from over 500 singers auditioning to sing in a competition for News Channel 9 called “Gimme the Mike”, Oklahoma.
First Runner Up is Kathryn Carroll Gordon was born in Midwest City. She became a member of the original Oklahoma Twisters Gymnastic Team in the 1950’s. She became 1st Place Jr. Olympic Tumbling Champion, 3rd Place National Tumbling Champion and a member of the United States Pan American Gymnastics Team to Winnipeg, Canada. Kathryn graduated from Milford High School in Connecticut, where she trained in gymnastics for the 1968 Olympics. She attended the 1968 Olympic trials in Long Beach, where she qualified for the finals. Kathryn graduated from the University of Central Oklahoma with a Bachelor of Science Degree and a teaching certificate. She was on the Honor Roll and received an Outstanding Gymnast award. Recently, Kathryn graduated from a Getting Ahead class and received a State of Oklahoma citation signed by Senator Ron Sharp and Representative Dell Kerbs. Kathryn’s past work history includes teaching in Mid-Del School system for 12 years; owning and operating the Edmond School of Gymnastics for 10 years and selling insurance for ten years, where she received many awards as a Million-Dollar Producer. Currently, she is working as a licensed cosmetologist. To satisfy her creative side, Kathryn has performed comedy at the Oklahoma City Joker’s Comedy Club where she opened for comedians, Mack & Jaimie, acted in many commercials and training videos, tap danced as a member of “A Class Act” at the 2017 fundraiser for the Ms. Oklahoma Senior America Pageant, the 2017 Senior Follies, the Veterans’ Center as well as at various nursing homes and assisted living centers. Kathryn is a member of Eastern Star where she donates her time to worthy causes. She has donated time to Project Gabriel in Shawnee, which helps pregnant girls with supplies for their babies as well as counseling. Kathryn currently attends Westminster Presbyterian Church. She is blessed with a daughter and a son who are successful as a Computer Engineer with Microsoft in Seattle and a Graphic Designer in Salt Lake City. She is proud, too, of her four grandsons and two granddaughters. She loves spending time with her family and friends.
Second Runner up Marilynn Blackmon is the mother of two children and has three grandchildren and three great grandchildren. She worked as a secretary in her 20s, and later went into sales and started her own interior design business “Interior Reflections.” Some years later she changed focus and started a new business, “Pen & Pencil” office supply. As she turned 60, she went back to college, joined Toastmasters and reinvented herself. She became certified in Workforce Training and Development, and she was an Adjunct Instructor at Eastfield College in Mesquite, Texas, for three years. Then she moved back to her hometown of Ada, Oklahoma, in 2008 to completely restart her life where it began. Since that time, she has been Adjunct Instructor/Trainer at Pontotoc Technology Center in Ada for 12 years. Her goal is to help others learn to feel good about themselves and reach their full potential, which she does in every class she leads. She has a business called Fly without Baggage, and is a certified Master Coach in self-esteem elevation for children and adults. She is a public speaker whose theme is to enlighten and encourage others. She is a member of Toastmasters, Owls’ Book Club and National Speakers Association. Her other interests include computer technology, singing, reading, fishing, jigsaw puzzles and her friends from Ada High School Class of 1960. She volunteers as associate Sunday School teacher at her church.
Third Runner Up Judy Jackson says she is greatly blessed, highly favored, and deeply loved by God through Jesus Christ. She is a Christian, a loving wife and a great mother. She has two sons, one lives nearby and the other is in Heaven waiting for her. She is a wonderful grandmother, a fabulous friend and an excellent teacher (retired now, from Middle School), but she still loves to teach any age group who is willing to learn. Judy is devoted to God, family, community and her Country. She believes in loving, living, laughing and spreading kindness everywhere she can. She believes we all have a purpose in life and hers is to spread encouragement in every way she can. Judy says we all need to learn something new every day until we take our last breath. She says she is like a goose, she wakes up in a new world every day. Judy says learning is living, and living is exciting. Trying to be the best person she can be helps her to be better at all the things that are important to her. It is her goal to get people excited about life and what they can do. Judy says getting someone to feel good about helping themselves to feel good about who and what they can be is an all-time high. Judy works as a volunteer so she can help someone else to have a better life. She feels doing so gives her a better life. She believes if she can teach, encourage and lift someone’s day then she is doing the job God has planned for that day. With Random acts of kindness and giving a smile or a compliment to someone, she can brighten their whole day. According to Judy, we all just need a kind, encouraging word, or even just a quick prayer. It lets the world know that you care. Someone must care, so why can’t it be me. In her small way she likes to believe she makes a difference. Her small part starts with her being the best person she can be, just being there when someone needs a smile, a hug or just a kind word. She feels this is her small corner of the world, and it’s her job to make it the best world she can create for that day. Judy affirms she is a very blessed woman, and it is her treasure to pass a blessing or act of kindness on to someone else. That is who she is.
Other Oklahoma contestants
Betty Bradley, Duncan; Rita Engel, Ada; Pamela Holtzberger, Oklahoma City; Barbara Ann Krantz, Shady Point; Gayle Orf , Claremore; Shirley Shroff, Broken Arrow; and Winnie Stanberry, Tulsa.

by Vickie Jenkins
Staff Writer

It takes a special person to be a nurse. It also takes a special person to be a nurse for 63 years. One special person is Vera Doughty, RN. Her whole life has been dedicated to doing what she does best, loving and caring for others. For the last 28 years, Vera has spent her time at the Children’s Center Rehabilitation Hospital sharing her motherly love as she cares for the children.
Growing up in Crescent, Oklahoma, Vera moved to Oklahoma City to start Nursing School in 1952. “When I was a little girl, I didn’t always want to be a nurse; I wanted to be a Veterinarian. That was in the early 40’s and 50’s and I knew if that was the case, I would have to deliver cows and horses, and with my little, petite size body, I knew I wasn’t big enough to handle that, so I became a nurse,” she replied with a laugh. Can you image me trying to deliver a cow?” she asked.
“Yes, I have always loved animals. I remember when I was a little girl; I took care of a lot of animals; Cats, dogs, and chickens. When all of the other little girls were playing with their dolls, I was out playing with the animals. I guess you could say I was playing nurse and nursing them back to health,” she replied.
Vera went to Nursing School through Saint Anthony’s Hospital. “My first job as a nurse was at Saint Anthony’s Hospital and then I worked for 2 family practitioners. They were partners in the doctor’s office. Both of them were so good and they taught me a lot of what I know today. One of the doctors ended up passing away and the other doctor retired, so all of a sudden, I didn’t have a job. I found a job that I really liked and that was 28 years ago. They were such good doctors and I was the only nurse they had. After one doctor passed away and the other one retired, I had to find a job,” Vera said with a laugh. “I came here to the Children’s Center and I never left, so I must like it here,” she added.
In Vera’s opinion, it takes several qualities to make a good nurse. “A nurse has to be observant of what’s going on and they have to be interested in the patient. They have to be caring and have a real desire to take care of others,” she said.
It takes a mixture of love and determination, always following through and never giving up, being kind and considerate to others, always setting a goal and reaching for it, this is a mixture of Vera’s strongest assets.
Working in the yard and playing with her great-grandkids is what Vera does in her spare time. “I stay busy and enjoy every minute of it,” Vera said.
I asked Vera where she would travel to if she could travel anywhere in the world and she replied with a quick answer, “Oh, I would go to Switzerland. “My grandparents lived in Switzerland and I always thought it would be nice to go see where they lived. Plus, I have always been fond of the movie, Heidi. The green grass, the rolling hills… I always thought it would be a great place to visit. A beautiful place to go if I were to travel, but I don’t think I will be going there anytime soon,” she said with a smile.
“If I were to give advice to someone going into the medical field, I would tell them have a real desire for it, don’t do it for the money or the prestige, do it for the love that comes from within your heart,” she said. “They would need to have a real desire to take care of other, never expecting anything in return. Whatever they did, they shouldn’t do it for the money, not for the prestige, they need to do it from their love for others,” Vera said.
Words to live by: “Oh that’s an easy one. The Bible,” she replied.

by Bobby Anderson
Staff Writer

What started with an email from a 15-year-old high school sophomore in New Jersey has turned into Oklahoma seniors recording their history for future generations.
Melissa Holland serves as the executive director of the Oklahoma Assisted Living Association. An email from Michael Naya, Jr., showed up in Holland’s inbox a few months ago.
“He was interested in history and was having problems finding people who were Dust Bowl survivors,” Holland said of Naya’s project. “He asked if I could reach out to our membership.”
Holland mentioned each spring OKALA recognizes those over 100-years-old. A friend at the Oklahoma State Department of Health mentioned those who witnessed the Land Run might be a good source of information.
Veterans of the Korean War and World War II survivors might also be a good source of information.
With her head swirling with ideas Holland got back to Naya and the two hammered out an informational survey OKALA could send to each member’s Activity/Engagement Coordinator.
“He’s such a great kid,” Holland said of Naya. “It does give you hope in future generations.
“I’ve always told my children seniors are living history books,” she said. “And we need to document that.”
Holland said the goal is to publish the returned information in a book form.
The Oklahoma Assisted Living Association is a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of dignity and choice for older Oklahomans and to the quality of their care in the senior living setting.
Naya said it was a school project that struck up his curiosity and led him to contact Holland.
“Well, I have always been interested in history starting when I was very young,” Naya said. “I enjoyed reading about the Titanic and events from that era as it was interesting. From there, I learned about World War II veterans, Great Depression and Dust Bowl survivors and decided to start finding and interviewing living witnesses from these historical events.
“The responses from these witnesses have been great; most are willing to share their memories.”
Naya’s goal is to collect enough responses to one day write a book.
“They hold a great deal of knowledge and it’s amazing to interview them in any way possible,” he said.
Holland has more and more stories to share as time passes.
“We get some really interesting responses,” Holland laughed.
One resident survived the Dust Bowl.
She recounted those days in her responses.
“There were terrible dust storms that were so bad you couldn’t drive. You just had to stop and wait till it was over,” she remembered.
The same resident also lived through the Great Depression.
“It was terrible. We didn’t have any money and couldn’t find work,” she said.
She remembered how many of her classmates struggled during those times. Her parents didn’t lose their jobs because they farmed.
The end of the Depression was a miraculous event.
Another resident responded to the call for 100-year-old stories.
Lois Wooten was born in 1914 and just turned 104.
“When I was a child the world was much safer,” Wooten said. “We did not have locks on our doors. In the summer we would sleep out in the back yard because it was so hot and we didn’t have electricity. We didn’t have running water in the house. We had a well just outside of our back porch.
“We had an outhouse instead of an indoor bathroom.”
Things were much slower back then. Wooten remarked how much has changed.
“We didn’t get the news within five minutes of when it happened,” she said. “Communication of world events was over the radio and we didn’t have one of those for a long time.
“I think people visited with their neighbors more. We made most of our own clothes. It was a slower time for sure – no fast food places, no ATM machines.”
Wooten’s age has brought her plenty of attention.
“I am enjoying many things because I’m this old,” she said, noting she’s had a lot of interview requests and has been contacted by researchers. “There have been so many changes.
Who would have thought we would have gone to the moon or astronauts would live on a space station.” While she admits the current technology “boggles my mind” she regularly uses a computer, an iPad and an iPhone, which she uses to text her family.
If you would like to find out more information or participate in the project you can contact Holland at 405-235-5000 or email her at mholland@okala.org.