Musician GLENN ROTH coming to Chaparral Retreat to perform

Out in the middle of rural NW Oklahoma, just one hour from Oklahoma City, the owners of the Chaparral Retreat & Guesthouse have started  a series of OKLAHOMA HOUSE CONCERTS that is quickly becoming a destination for musicians from all over the country!  Next month (Sept. 17), Mr. Glenn Roth will be stopping in to perform here following his appearance at the  Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield,KS  and before he heads to Rio Rancho, NM and Taos ,NM.  We are so fortunate to be able to provide a unique venue for musicians and an informal and beautiful setting for these concerts.
These concerts are  FREE -- the proprietors provide lodging and meals to the artist, and accept donations to the PHOENIX CIRCLE FOUNDATION (a 501(c)(3) charitable and educational nonprofit organization to be able to bring music and arts education programs to rural Oklahoma.  Of course, tips to the musician and CD sales help them as they journey across country to share their talents. 
The evening is BYO Beverage, snacks, lawn chair, and cameras.  We guarantee you'll have a special experience at an OKLAHOMA HOUSE CONCERT.   More information is available on our facebook page or the Retreat's website, www.chaparralbb.com.  We also promote these events at watonganews.blogspot.com and on KOSU Community Calendar.

NEXT OKLAHOMA HOUSE CONCERTS

Glenn Roth, Sept. 17, 6:00 pm
Merry Ellen Kirk and Ruth Acuff,  Oct. 6, time TBA

WATONGA CHEESE FESTIVAL?

The 40th Watonga Cheese Festival is coming up, Oct.14 and 15. The items below are now nostalgic mementos, as I understand the Festival is going to be "different" this year and it is a little sad to see after spending the last four years working to build it back up after 2007. The Cheese Factory was condemned after the 2007 storm Erin came through Blaine and Kingfisher Counties, and just last year the building was demolished. FORTUNATELY, we were able to salvage some of the old bricks and will incorporate them into another building in Watonga. The cheese is now made in Perryton, Texas, but it is available in Watonga at a couple of retail stores. I don't have details of the festival other than the date, but read watonganews.blogspot.com  blog for information as we become aware of what the schedule is going to be.  I check the Watonga Chamber facebook page and website daily and you can look at those sites for info too.

In 2004, long before we moved to Watonga, there was a "call" for drawings to be used on the Rat Race Tshirts.  My son entered his drawing and it was chosen!  Naturally we had to drive up from Dallas to be at the festival and he rode in the parade. It has been a special treat for our family to see that the logo he designed was used up until 2012.

On another note, the First United Methodist Church is holding a Community BBQ on September 7. WATCH FOR MORE DETAILS COMING SOON. 

(c) Linda Barrett

BACK TO SCHOOL!

August 24, 2016


Earlier this month one of my favorite people (a teacher) posted this prayer on Facebook. I don't think she would mind if I share it here:
"As the teachers report for the new school year, I offer up this prayer.  "Lord, please fill each teacher with strength to lead, grace to guide, & hope to thrive in their classrooms. Bless them beyond measure for their willingness to pour into the next generation through education." Amen


The mystery of the lower turnout at the school supply giveaway at First United Methodist Church has been solved. Next year Phoenix Circle Foundation will revamp the project so that more students can receive free school supplies and the schools themselves will receive supplies of tissues, Clorox wipes, copy paper, and other staples.  Check out the Watonga Community Events page regularly for information on all the activities and projects sponsored by PCF working with community partners.


Meanwhile, the Blaine County Health Coalition held a back to school "fair" and gave away  backpacks and school supplies, along with lots of resource information for families. The Lion's Club had a health-check trailer, and Mercy Hospital hosted a table indoors.  I didn't write down the names of all of the "partners" who worked together to make the event a success so please excuse me for not naming all, but it was a great example of a community effort to bring healthy living resources and family-friendly activities to the public.


(c) Linda Barrett 8/2016

More news that isn't

Aug 11, 2016
Just goes to that show you can't always believe everything you read in a newspaper and you don't always get the entire story.
Phoenix Circle Foundation is happy that the FREE SCHOOL SUPPLIES program we started four years ago in Watonga has grown so much, according to the local newspaper.  Our thanks go out to donors who support this project with donations of money AND school supplies they purchase. This year was actually the fourth year we provided free school supplies to Watonga students. Since partnering with the First United Methodist Church in 2014, the number of children who have benefitted from the school supply giveaway has increased thanks to the efforts of volunteers who have been able to raise more money for this specific purpose.  With such a success story, we will be expanding the program to other Blaine County school districts next year.  Phoenix Circle Foundation does fundraising activities all year to be able to provide this service (along with arts education, health and wellness, and reading programs), so please keep us on your "giving" list. Send your donations to PCF, PO Box 427, Watonga, OK 73772, and THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT.

Past and future news

July 27, 2016

My husband called me this morning and said "there is a good write-up in the Watonga Republican about the paint party you did to help raise funds for Leah Weber."  I was glad to hear it and eager to read the article once I got home from work  
The article was short and sweet and highlighted people coming together for a good cause.  A slight correction though: it was not only faculty members of Watonga schools who came together for the fundraiser.  Phoenix Circle Foundation provided the supplies (paint, canvases, and instructions) for the group of friends and family who came out to participate in this different kind of fundraiser.  Linda Barrett led the class in creating individual pieces of art that the participants could take home.   Phoenix Circle Foundation's program called "ART for FUNd$$(c) has worked with several organizations to help raise funds, including Relay for Life teams here and in other towns, and the 2015 After-Prom Party in addition to the fundraiser to help Leah Weber.  Because it is a non-profit organization, it doesn't have a budget for newspaper advertising so it relies on social media, word of mouth, flyers posted locally and at places of business in nearby towns, and publication of our "press releases" which we send out regularly to numerous print publications.
  
When you work with Phoenix Circle Foundation on a fundraiser, you get multiple benefits:  
*  donations are tax-deductible to the individual donor because we are a 501(c)(3) organization, and we provide a receipt for your records;
*  you and the people you bring together for the fundraiser help support the mission of Phoenix Circle Foundation, which is to promote educational, charitable, and cultural events and opportunities in our area and SPECIFICALLY, but not exclusively, to children; and
*you are able to raise funds for your cause in a unique way (a paint party, pizza dinner, other activities) and enjoy the company of others who share your goal.  


So, here's our "ad":








































We can also be reached by email at "phoenixcir@yahoo.com.



NOW, ON TO OTHER NEWS ---


On July 22, the Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service held a program where youth ages 9-15 prepared a meal and invited a guest for dinner.  The group met at the First United Methodist Church and Joy Rhodes taught them about food safety, healthy eating, and then gave them a hands-on experience of preparing and serving a meal.  The youth visited the Blaine County Community Garden and learned about composting and growing fresh produce. They set aside the "kitchen scraps" from the vegetables they cut up for the dinner and took them out to the composting section of the garden.  The youth did a great job measuring and cooking the food, were wonderful hosts, and the meal was delicious (and nutritious!).  Parents of the cooks were invited to come for a "family dinner" and a good time was had by all. The kids also helped clean up after the meal.  The program was made possible by a Walmart Foundation - 4H Healthy Living Grant.  [Ed note:  A big "thank you" to Joy Rhodes for her hard work in getting the grant and organizing this activity for the youth. Thank you too to the First United Methodist Church for allowing the use of their kitchen and fellowship hall for the activity.]



The Blaine County Free Fair is coming up - August 25, 26, and 27.  There are many many categories for ALL AGES to enter something, and Joy Rhodes and others have been working with 4H youth on activities and projects in preparation for this event.  Personally, I am excited to work with the youth on art projects.  Several of the children who have attended art classes have entered their work in the Fair and have received RIBBONS -- the look of confidence and pride in their accomplishments is priceless.  
  

 photo used w/permission of parent.

PHOENIX CIRCLE FOUNDATION will hold paint classes for children and youth sometime early in August, so check out the facebook page for PHOENIX CIRCLE FOUNDATION for dates, times, and ages.

There are plenty of categories for Adults to enter also.  Pick up a copy of the BLAINE COUNTY FREE FAIR insert from the Watonga Republican Office or wherever you see one on shelves in stores around town or the library. 

Before those activities, Phoenix Circle Foundation is once again partnering with the First United Methodist Church to give away school supplies to students in Watonga.  Heading up the project this year is Rory and Becky Espy, who can be reached at  907-398-4985.  The give-away is scheduled for SATURDAY, AUG 6, from 11 AM - 1 PM in Fellowship Hall at the First United Methodist Church.  

FYI:   The price of scrap iron is down.  We got a good rain out by Roman Nose State Park last night and early this morning. 

(c) Linda Barrett, Ed. 



A little Watonga history

July 25, 2016

This past weekend we had the pleasure of visiting with relatives of "Sis" Cunningham, who were staying at the Chaparral Retreat on Hwy 8A near Roman Nose State Park.  It was especially interesting after having learned about "Sis" at the Woody Guthrie museum in Tulsa, OK.  
An accomplished musician,       Agnes 'Sis' Cunningham was one of five children.  Always known as Sis, was born at Watonga, Oklahoma, in February 1909. Her mother was a schoolteacher, her father a farmer eventually driven from his homestead (on a former Indian reservation) by a series of natural disasters which persuaded the bank to foreclose.

Sis Cunningham was a member of the Almanac Singers with Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger and a founding editor of "Broadside" Magazine, which published among many others the first song by Bob Dylan to appear in print. She passed away in New Paltz, N.Y. at age 95.

      The Almanac Singers performed protest songs in the early 1940s at union halls and to audiences of farm and factory workers throughout America. Sis Cunningham played the accordion with Guthrie on guitar and Seeger on banjo. Guthrie called them "the only group that rehearsed on stage"; they were among the first to bring blues, hillbilly, mountain music and Southern Methodist hymns to urban audiences.Sis was accomplished on piano, guitar and accordion, but trained as a teacher before enrolling at Commonwealth College near Mena, Arkansas, for "theoretical training in radical politics".  While there, she began writing songs, including "How Can You Keep On Movin' Unless You Migrate Too", which was recorded by Ry Cooder.  After leaving school, she worked for the Southern Tenant Farmers' Union while performing with the Red Dust Players, who sought to mobilize the poor of Oklahoma with radical songs and skits. She married George Friesen in 1941, a time of extreme tension between the Oklahoma state government and the Communist Party - of which she and her husband were members. The Party leadership was arrested and, fearing that they might be next, she and Friesen accepted an invitation from Guthrie and Seeger, whom they had met in Oklahoma, to move to New York.  Sis and Friesen moved in with them at Almanac House on West 10th Street.  She played accordion on their album Dear Mr. President (1942), and wrote the song Belt Line Girls, urging women to help with wartime production.
Source:  www.accordianusa.com

(No copyright infringement intended - some text and photos are used under the "fair use" copyright doctrine.)