Get Involved!

Mesta Park Neighborhood Association
Newsletter
News and information for ALL residents of the Mesta Park Historic Preservation District
Volume 2015, Issue 3
April 2015
Get Involved!
www.mestapark.org
OFFICERS:
President, David DeWitt
Vice-President, Zach Osko
Secretary, Amanda Smith*
Treasurer, Amanda Harding
COMMITTEE CHAIRS:
Awards, vacant
Block Captains, Jim Pickens*
Finance, Zach Osko
Historic Preservation, Mary Bliss
Hassell
Home Tour 2014, Trina Morrison*
Lighting & Signs, vacant
Membership, JB Schuelein
Mesta Festa 2014, Shaundra
Blundell* & Megan Jester*
Newcomers, Trina Morrison*
Newsletter Editor, Laura Jergensen
Parks, JB Schuelein
Security, Colin Holman
Social, Reagan Bradford*
Website, Jennifer Tupps
*Board Members
Contact: Chairs@mestapark.org
OfficersandBoard@mestapark.org
Visit www.mestapark.org/association-leaders
for additional contact info.
The Mesta Park Neighborhood
Association Newsletter
is published ten times per year
(monthly except January & July) by the
Mesta Park Neighborhood Association.
Neighborhood meetings, board
meetings or social events occur
monthly.
DATES TO REMEMBER
Apr 2: Uptown 23rd Uncorked
Fundraiser
Apr 4: Easter Egg Hunt, 10am
Apr 11: OU Big Event, Perle Mesta
Park and Wilson School
OU BIG EVENT COMES TO PERLE MESTA PARK ON APRIL 11
by JB Schuelein
It has become an annual tradition each Spring for dozens of OU students
and staff to participate in OU’s Big Event and give Perle Mesta Park a
thorough Spring cleaning. The Big Event is a day of community service
when students volunteer at local non-profit organizations across the entire
Oklahoma City metro area. Nearly 6,000 students representing more than
100 campus organizations participated last year and we look forward to
their help again on Saturday morning, April 11.
Projects on our agenda this year include: shoveling truckloads of mulch
around trees, raking leaves (and thousands of sweet gum balls), and
pulling weeds from all the flower beds, curbs and storm drains – and we’ll
give the gazebo a fresh coat of paint. These tasks would take our
neighborhood Parks Committee weeks to accomplish, but it will happen in
a few hours with the assistance of nearly 60 students from OU.
Mesta Park extends our heartfelt thanks to President David Boren and the
University of Oklahoma for a truly outstanding program that directly
benefits our park and neighborhood! Please consider joining us for a
few hours Saturday morning, April 11, starting around 9:30am. We
need volunteers to coordinate and supervise the students with each of our
projects. We also need wheelbarrows, shovels and other gardening tools.
If you are unable to help, please consider donating snacks, bottled water
or other supplies. There’s nothing that says ‘thanks’ better than a plate of
homemade cookies or brownies to share with these students who will give
up their Saturday morning to make our neighborhood a better place! If
you would like to volunteer or have any questions, please contact JB
Schuelein at 525-2059!
NEWS FROM WILSON SCHOOL by Kirk Wilson
March 31 – Library Literacy Night in the Wilson Library from 5:30-6:45pm
April 3 – Q3 Awards Assemblies (3rd-6th grade @ 12:30pm and K-2nd
grade @ 1:40pm)
April 11 – OU Big Event @ Wilson from 10:00am-1:00pm (painting,
landscaping & more) – come lend a hand!
April 14-May 1 – State Oklahoma Core Curriculum Testing @ Wilson –
mostly mornings
April 18 – Gatewood Elementary 5K Run @ Gatewood Elementary
April 20-24 – Progress Report Week
PAGE 2
Get Involved! (cont'd)
EASTER BUNNY TO VISIT MESTA PARK FOR EASTER EGG HUNT by Reagan and Keri Bradford
The Social Committee has received confirmation from the Easter Bunny’s Personal Assistant that the Easter Bunny
will make a return appearance at this year’s Mesta Park Annual Easter Egg Hunt. The Easter Egg Hunt will start at
10:00 am, Saturday, April 4th, at Perle Mesta Park. The Easter Bunny will arrive at 9:30 for pictures before the
Easter Egg Hunt and will be available for a short time after all the eggs have been discovered by the children. Don't
forget your camera! Following the egg hunt, punch and snacks will be provided for the children and adults.
Anyone wanting to help with getting the eggs out for the children to find, please arrive at the park at 9:00 am or
shortly thereafter on Saturday, April 4th. Any and all assistance will be greatly appreciated. Volunteers are also
needed to stuff the plastic eggs with wrapped candy and to provide the snacks the day of the hunt. If you are
interested in helping with this event, please contact Reagan Bradford at 820-4401.
Get Proud!
MESTA PARK TREE PROGRAM by David DeWitt
This past month we added 92 street tress to 46 homes in Mesta Park! These saplings are already turning heads,
and one resident even remarked, “Now my block feels like it is part of Mesta Park.” I could not be happier to hear
this comment, because promoting and strengthening all parts of Mesta Park was an objective of the program.
We should again recognize the support of the generous sponsors that made the Tree Program possible:
SEED SOWER
Anita Irwin
Big Truck Tacos
The Rise – Land Run Commercial Real Estate
LUXEMBORG
CSL Plasma
King’s Green Cleaning – 1802 N Shartel
SKIRVIN
Floyd Simon – Simon Simon Real Estate
Lillian Strickler Lighting – 617 NW 23rd
Omar Mallick – Holbrook Management
Sees Design - 1818 N Western
Shannon Rundell – Remax Realty
LaGree and Associates
Reagan and Keri Bradford
Stan and Raina Pelofsky
Matthew Hansen
Jim and Lawanda Pickens
JB Schuelein
Carol Haaksma and Jim Tomasek
Larry and Beverly Walker
Jane Ann Norris and Anne Zachritz
PERLE MESTA
Seth and Cristina Barr
David Battle
Jack Bewley
Luke Brandenberg
Dr. Thomas Coniglione
David and Sarah DeWitt
Cameron Dunn
Kyle Koger
Rick and Jane Hill
Dave Knox
Zack Osko
Hariette Porter
Andy and Sue Moss Sullivan
Tina Willis
Rhonda Woods
PAGE 3
MESTA PARK BUSINESS PAGE
SMILE
Lori M. LoVette,D.D.S. 1211 N. Shartel Ave., Ste. 1002
Oklahoma City, OK 73103
(405) 525­5555
PICTURE YOUR AD HERE!!
This newsletter reaches over 800
residences in the Historic
Neighborhoods area. If you would
like to advertise in the Mesta Park
Newsletter, email your ad to
newsletter@mestapark.org.
PAGE 4
Get Proud! (cont'd)
Get Proud!
THE COMEBACK NEIGHBORHOOD – by Sam Stalcup
It can be said a neighborhood becomes historic when the people who live there begin to see it as so.
For Mesta Park, this was something that started to happen in the 1970s. During this time, after two decades of
suburban flight and urban blight, young families, professionals, and others attracted to old homes began to move
back into the neighborhood. Then simply known as the University Addition, new residents called the area that they
sought to reclaim, from NW 16th to NW 22nd and Walker to Western, the “Comeback.”
Their reasons for coming back echo many things we say about our neighborhood today: “The houses had a charm,
a grace, a special quality”; “No amount of money could duplicate the materials and craftsmanship”; “Friendships,”
and the “Convenience of being close to … jobs.” (Other observations from the time perhaps ring less true: “No part
of Oklahoma could offer housing at such a low cost per square foot as Comeback.”)
In 1971, new and long-time residents joined to form the Comeback Neighborhood Association, Inc. Over the course
of the coming years, the neighborhood association battled against the encroachment of parking lots, the
construction of office buildings, and the rezoning of single-family residences. Its members secured participation in a
federal low-interest loan program that brought significant reinvestment in the restoration of dilapidated homes. They
funded beautification efforts projects like the pocket park at 18th and Shartel. And, they inaugurated a fall ice cream
social and a July 4 picnic in addition to the monthly meetings they held.
Organization of the Comeback Neighborhood took place against the backdrop of urban renewal in Oklahoma City.
Their efforts to preserve our neighborhood contrasted sharply with the razing of countless historic structures during
this same time. As one resident observed, “Downtown they're destroying all the stuff … This house is one place
where I can preserve at least a little part.”
When Perle Mesta died in 1975, Oklahoma City commemorated her illustrious life by naming the new city park, then
being planned for the block bounded by NW 18th and 19th and Shartel and Lee, after her. Mesta Park quickly became
the focal point for the neighborhood that it is today.
In 1977, the Comeback Neighborhood Association renamed itself the Mesta Park Neighborhood Association. Our
neighborhood has been known as Mesta Park since.
The name change marked the start of a new chapter in the history of the neighborhood, but it also obscures the
contributions of Comeback's urban pioneers. It was the strength of their efforts and continuing activism that led to
Mesta Park's being named an urban conservation district in 1983 and finally an historic preservation district in 1994.
It is to this generation of residents that we owe the idea that Mesta Park is an historic neighborhood.
References: “Comeback at Christmas,” Oklahoman, Orbit Magazine, December 12, 1976; “Comeback Complete for
Old Homes in Mesta Park”, Oklahoman, September 18, 1977.
Get Proud! (cont'd)
PAGE 5
MPNA AWARDED KIRKPATRICK GRANT, BEGINS FUNDRAISING CAMPAIGN by Zach Osko
The Mesta Park Neighborhood Association (MPNA) has been awarded a Kirkpatrick Grant with the Oklahoma City
Community Foundation (OCCF). Through this grant, the Kirkpatrick Foundation will donate $1 to our endowment
fund for every $3 we raise. We are now beginning a year-long fundraising campaign with the goal of raising $10,000.
The match means that your donations see an automatic 33% return, turning $10,000 raised into $13,300. This
endowment will help ensure the financial stability of the neighborhood's programs.
You may not have known that MPNA has an endowment. This fund was created though gifts from past and current
neighborhood residents and charitable matching programs like the Kirkpatrick Grant. The money is professionally
invested by the OCCF with the goal of providing a very stable source of income. Income stability improves our ability
to plan and spend more aggressively on capital projects that benefit the neighborhood and community.
This year we expect 15% of our net revenues to come from the endowment fund. These funds contributed to the
programming of the Neighborhood including park maintenance, social events and our contributions to Wilson school.
As the endowment grows, it can be used to fund new programs like the movie in the park or the tree program in
perpetuity.
Please consider making a tax deductible gift to the OCCF. Visit www.occf.org/mpna to see information about
MPNA and the OCCF. Donations can be made online at www.occf.org/onlinegiving or by mailing checks made out to
the Oklahoma City Community Foundation to the address below. Please reference Mesta Park on your donation.
OCCF
P.O. Box 1146
Oklahoma City, OK 73101-1146
Please contact me if you have any questions (endowment@mestapark.org). Thank you for your support.
NON-PROFIT ORG
Mesta Park Neighborhood Association
US POSTAGE
PAID
P. O. Box 61095
Oklahoma City, OK 73146-1095
www.mestapark.org
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK
PERMIT NO.1657
Monthly Neighborhood Newsletter
Your neighborhood needs you!
Join the Mesta Park Neighborhood Association today.
MPNA MEMBERSHIP FORM
June 2014 – May 2015
NAME_____________________________________________________________________
ADDRESS/ZIP______________________________________________________________
HOME PHONE_______________________ WORK/CELL PHONE____________________
E­MAIL__________________________________________
Yes, I want to become a member of MPNA! Annual dues of $30 are enclosed.
Mail to: MPNA, P.O. Box 61095, OKC, OK 73146
Or join online at www.mestapark.org/membership!