GET INVOLVED!
MPNA MEMBERSHIP UPDATE
by Jenn Tupps
As a voluntary neighborhood organization, we rely on your donations to keep our neighborhood great! Thank you to the following neighbors for joining the Mesta Park Neighborhood Association:
- Sean & Jenny Bauer James & Natasha Bennett Annie Bohanon
- Andy & Jennifer Bowman Kristi Baumeister
- Judy Denwalt
- David & Jane Edmonds Bonnie Goodrich
- John Heisch
- Sherry Helsel
- Greg & Julie Johnson
- Kirk & Michele Keller
- Justin Lawrence
- Robin Olander
- Edgardo Szyld
- Terry Taylor
- Jim Tomasek & Carol Haaksma Lauren Warkentine
ANNUAL NEIGHBORHOOD PICNIC & BUSINESS MEETING
by Reagan Bradford
All residents of Mesta Park are invited to the Mesta Park Neighborhood Association’s Annual Neighborhood Picnic and Business Meeting at Perle Mesta Park located at NW 18th Street and Shartel Boulevard on Tuesday, June 13, 2017 beginning at 6:30pm. MPNA will provide the fried chicken along with sodas, water and ice. Residents of even numbered houses are asked please to bring a vegetable, and residents of odd-numbered houses are asked please to bring a fruit dish or dessert. For any residents of Mesta Park that are not members of the Neighborhood Association or the Historic Neighborhood Security Association, the picnic will be the perfect opportunity to learn more about becoming members. A table will be set up with information and membership forms for the residents.
An invitation has been extended to the local Fire Department, EMSA, the Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Department and the Oklahoma City Police department to attend the picnic. All residents of Mesta Park are encouraged to attend the picnic for an evening of good food and community. Come mingle and eat, and don’t forget your picnic blanket and chairs!
WILSON SCHOOL NEWS
by Susan Marshall-Armstrong
Movie Night at Wilson, May 19th! Please join the Wilson Elementary PTA for a movie night on Friday, May 19th! We will be showing the movie Sing. This is a FREE event hosted by the Wilson PTA, and we would love to see many of our neighbors there. We will also provide a meal of pizza, fruit, and popcorn at a cost of $5/person. The movie will begin at 7:30 PM on the playground, but the gates will open at 6:00 PM for food and playtime. Bring your sleeping bags or camping chairs and join us for a night of fun!
Annual Wilson Yard Sale, June 3! We need your toys, furniture, sporting goods, and other donations! Donation dates will be Thursday, June 1 and Friday, June 2 before Saturday’s sale.
22ND ANNUAL MESTA FESTA TO BE HELD SEPT 24
by Jennifer Bowman
The Mesta Park Neighborhood Association presents the 2017 Mesta Festa, which will take place Sunday, September 24, 2016 from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Perle Mesta Park, located at NW 18th and Shartel Ave. Mesta Festa is free and open to the public, and will include a beer and wine garden, outdoor games like bocce ball and giant Jenga, arts and crafts, live music and dance performances, sand volleyball, local artist and pop- up shopping booths, as well as food trucks. Funds raised at Mesta Festa benefit the Mesta Park Neighborhood Association, contributing a significant portion to its annual budget. For more information contact:
Jennifer Bowman, (405) 426-9698 or jenbowman24@gmail.com
GET PROUD!
OU STUDENTS DONATE TIME & ENERGY TO PERLE MESTA PARK
by JB Schuelein
OU students and staff representing two campus organizations participated in the University’s Big Event on April 1st to give our neighborhood park a thorough Spring cleaning. The OU Muslim Student
Association (MSA) and the South Asian Student Association (SASA) brought nearly 50 students who gave up their Saturday morning moving tons of mulch around all the trees, painting the handrails around the gazebo, pulling weeds, raking leaves (and thousands of sweet gum balls) and
generally made our park a cleaner, safer space for all to enjoy.
The students were assisted by nearly two dozen Mesta Park neighbors, families and friends who provided oversight and snacks, bottled water and Gatorade to ensure the group was nourished and hydrated for our work day.
The OU 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 this year and, in addition to Perle Mesta Park, helped with other neighborhood projects including along NW 23rd in Uptown and at Wilson School.
Mesta Park Neighborhood Association expresses its most sincere thanks to OU President David Boren and the OU Big Event Committee for their continuing support for this outstanding program – and particularly the Muslim Student Association and the South Asian Student Association, who donated their time and energy to make our park look so very nice.
DAVE KNOX
by Steve Mathis
Daguerreotype and Tintype are terms from the early days of photography. The name Matthew Brady might come to mind to some. Dave Knox is a photographer right here in Mesta Park that not only is familiar with these processes but specializes in them as an artist.
Dave was born in Wichita but moved with his family to Edmond in 1966. After high school he attended Baylor University in Waco Texas, graduating with a degree in history. Like most history majors Dave has been driven by his interest in History for the rest of his life but never actually “used” it in a commercial sense. He then received an M.B.A. in International Management, from the American Graduate School for International Management in Phoenix, Arizona.
In fact he went into the Import/Export business after school. Ever wondered where the old equipment goes when your dentist upgrades his office? Dave knows – he sold used dental equipment to Russian dentists for two years. After a studio tour when he was 30 he decided that he wanted to pursue art as a career. Specifically he was interested the field of photography, and took night classes.
Night school was not quite enough so he moved to Atlanta and attended Photo School for 18 months to complete his training. This led to a 10-year career in commercial photography – shooting for brochures, model portfolios and annual reports. At the same time, he taught classes in photography for continuing education classes. This paid the bills and allowed him some freedom to pursue his real interest in art. Around the turn of the century he began a transition to art photography after taking classes in the process of Tintype and daguerreotype.
In 2003 thru 2005 he went back to school at the San Francisco Art Institute to get his MFA in Photography. He moved back to Atlanta and continued to teach and shoot. A gallery owner saw some of his work and encouraged him to continue on the path to being a full time artist. Dave found his calling in the history of the south, driving back roads with a Polaroid 665 to capture images on the road after he got a commission to document the South in pictures.
Dave prints these images on metal. In his words: “The ghosts of past centuries find undisturbed refuge from the foothills of the Southern Appalachian Mountains down to the fertile flatlands of the Coast. They inhabit the remains of yesterday while lingering stubbornly in the world of today. In my photography the past resides in the present in many forms – land, crops, architecture, and people. I seek out those images that harbor these ghosts and, acting as icons, deliver a modern interpretation of such themes as religion, home, loss, ritual, birth, and death.”
Dave moved back to Oklahoma in 2012 and settled in Mesta Park. He supervised construction on two houses in MP while he was settling in to the creative side of the city. Now he is close to his mom and enjoys living in the neighborhood. His house on NW 21st is a Craftsman bungalow that is decorated with photos and art. In the back is his “map” room; a comfortable bar and reading area decorated with framed maps, including one cherished keepsake: the map his father used to sight German positions as a reconnaissance officer during World War II.
Dave’s work can be seen at knoxphoto.com. It is well worth a visit to see the images.
DATES TO REMEMBER
May 19: Wilson Movie Night, Wilson
School, 6pm Food, 7:30pm Movie June 3: Wilson Yard Sale
June 13: Picnic in the Park, Perle Mesta Park, 6:30pm
Sept 24: Mesta Festa, 12-6pm, Perle Mesta Park