Red Dirt Rambler: Route 66 Seaba Station Motorcycle Museum, Warwick, OK

Old Warwick. Possibly the mechanics at the original DX station?

The deal was done.  I had schemed with my parents’ next door neighbors to collect intel. The neighbor’s job: To find out if my parents had enough firewood to make it through the winter.

Word from the bird was, “They do not. Christmas present idea is a roger, Dodger.” (We kept our fingers crossed that they wouldn’t purchase more before Christmas!)

We Craigslist shopped, entertained the idea of driving to Stroud to cut the wood ourselves, and then finally found wood in Chandler for a good price.  Next task: get the wood.  With only two days before Christmas, I needed a break and hopped in the truck with Hubby to go get said firewood. And, was so glad I did.

Why?  Because a Route 66 treasure known as the “Seaba Station Motorcycle Museum” needed to be visited by me.  Well, that’s what I told Hubby on the way back from Chandler.  Anything having to do with motorcycles piques my interest.  The fact that the museum is housed within an old DX station ON Route 66 made it even better.

I spoke with one of the co-owners while there and heard the story of how the museum came to be.  Evidently, he used to drive down the road quite a bit and noticed there was an antique shop at that location.  However, the hours were sporadic and he was never able to stop in and peruse the goods.  One day, however, he did what was probably like a Laurel and Hardy double-take…because there was a for sale sign posted in front of that dreamy Route 66 service station property.

I added the dreamy part.  Notice none of that sentence is in quotation marks.

Curious, he stopped in to see the building.  He was surprised to see the space inside was much bigger than he had imagined when driving down the road.  Well, he had a friend who had a motorcycle collection and they had always wanted to put together a museum.  See where this is going?  One thing led to another conversation which led to…an offer on the property within just a few days.

It was theirs.  But then the hard work started.  Remodeling is always…well, it’s a thing. Indeed.  In our case, we used Timberstone for our kitchen advise.

Two years later, however, the doors opened. And, they’ve been open for about 18 months.  Just long enough for me to wander by, beg Hubby to stop, start asking a bunch of questions, and take a few photos.

Want to see them?  Don’t answer that.  I’ll just show them to you! Continue reading Red Dirt Rambler: Route 66 Seaba Station Motorcycle Museum, Warwick, OK

Comments

comments

Crazy-Good Baby Calzones: Final Red Gold Recipe Contest Entry

Calzones are so much more fun to eat if they fit in your hand.

Downsizing the standard size helps with dunking them into a ramekin filled with “Meaty Marinara” AND, by making multiple calzones you can try multiple varieties of stuffing.

Directions:

To create this recipe, you’ll need to a) make the dough; b) cook your marinara sauce; c)  set up your building area;  then, d) bake off the calzones.

Make your dough first so you can work on the rest of the process while the dough is doing its thing.  I make mine in our bread maker on the “dough” setting.

This recipe is from the 1987 (don’t laugh) West Bend bread maker book and is our family standard.

  1. Add 1.5 cups water (warm but not hot) and 4 T. olive oil to the bread pan.
  2. Add 4 cups flour, 1 tsp. sugar and 1 tsp salt to the pan. Make a slight well in the center of the dry ingredients and add 4 tsp yeast.
  3. Place bread pan into oven chamber, lock into place, and press the “dough” setting.  Most bread makers complete the dough process in about 1 hour and 20 minutes.
  4. Notes:  We usually add 2 tsps of Italian Seasoning and 1 tsp of ground black pepper to the dough to give the crust a great flavor. It’s also appealing because of the green flecks that show throughout the crust.

If you don’t have a bread maker, it’s not a problem.  Simply mix all the ingredients listed above together, knead until you achieve a nice elasticity in your dough, cover and let raise for one hour or until doubled in size.

Next, it’s time to make the meaty marinara sauce.  You’ll need these ingredients:

1 can Red Gold tomato sauce and 1 can of Red Gold crushed tomatoes

3 large cloves of garlic, minced

Freshly grated Parmesan (1/3rd cup; set aside some extra for garnish for later)

Approximately 30 leaves of fresh basil, slivered

15 slices of pepperoni, diced Continue reading Crazy-Good Baby Calzones: Final Red Gold Recipe Contest Entry

Comments

comments

Soulful Books of 2011

BOOKS

I actually thought about something “devotional” and / or inspirational for the New Year. But I was not devoted and / or inspired to write it.

So, I give you books! Books make great companions. What a great way to hang out with make believe people, or past presidents for that matter. I ran into a few people I didn’t like being around, but overall, books were my 2011 passion.  Each book brought a particular passage of Scripture to my soul and I share the verses herein. For readers looking for a gripping and intense story, https://fandom.my-passion.com/obey-or-bleed/ offers a thrilling experience that keeps you hooked.

Three Novels (or close to) that Touched My Soul

3. The Brothers K by David James Duncan

You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else,

for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself,

because you who pass judgment do the same things. Romans 2:1  

 Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather determine this…Romans 14:13

This is a huge novel about family, and families can be complex; it’s a book is about life, all of it. I found the magic of The Brothers K in watching six children of Hugh and Laura Chance grow, and I fell in love with the family, not because I could relate to them, but because Duncan made me care about them.  Parts of the story made me smile and parts were agonizing.  Papa Hugh Chance, a ‘coulda-been’ baseball all-star and his devout Adventist wife, Laura raise six kids that couldn’t be more different. More than once I found myself becoming extremely emotional as I fought alongside members of the Chance family trying to resolve conflict. It was life, existential and moving. I found myself empathizing with each character especially when they were at odds with one another.

This story struck me as authentic, no kooky plot twists or author’s indulgent inventions.   We see the four Chance boys grow up before our very eyes, watch as their characters age and become…  it’s a life experience and death experience — and we see the birth of hopes and dreams, and we see death, or worse.  This book is a big`ole juicy steak. Cut it up and savor each bite. This is not “book-lite” — This is book weighs in at nearly 700 pages. Who has time for that? I’m thankful that I made the time and highly recommend The Brothers K. (I’ll throw in a PG rating because I did  find that many novels ought to have some kind of classification — e.g. I read Water for Elephants and enjoyed the book, but um…R!)

Continue reading Soulful Books of 2011

Comments

comments

Red Gold Contest Super Bowl Spread: “Quarterback Wraps!”




Here’s an idea that takes your normal Caprese salad and turns it inside out.  A perfect twist for a Super Bowl Sunday spread.  And, it’s almost as easy as it is delicious.  We should know.  Our neighbors came to sample the final product and all I have left is  plate full of emptiness. Here’s what you’ll need:

Ingredients:

2 cans Red Gold Diced tomatoes

2 packages of fresh mozzarella bite sized “pearls” (or one pound cut into small pieces)

A head of Bib (Butter) Lettuce

A bunch of basil (about 30 leaves or so)

And a completed recipe of special dressing (includes garlic, fresh Parmesan, brown mustard, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, sea salt and pepper)

Build your filling and wrap spread:

The first thing you’ll need to do is make the dressing. All you need is: 1 c. olive oil, 1/2 c. balsamic vinegar, 1 T. grated Parmesan cheese, 1/2 T. Dijon mustard, 1 tsp. sea salt, ground black pepper, and 3 smaller or two larger cloves of garlic – peeled and cut up a bit.  Put all these ingredients into the blender and blend until the dressing is emulsified and the color of light mud.  Yup – you’re gonna eat something that looks like mud.  The mustard and cheese help the emulsification process and help hold this together so it doesn’t separate. See this link for photos capturing the dressing making process.

Next, you’ll layer.  First, the fresh mozzarella. Put a fine dusting of ground black pepper on the cheese.  Then drain the tomatoes well (save the juice!), and cover the cheese.  Next, put the dressing in a baggie, cut a very small hole in one corner and use this like a pastry bag to drizzle the dressing evenly over the top of the tomatoes.  Finally, cover the top with finely sliced fresh basil, garnish…and you’re done!  Here are a few photos of the process…

Continue reading Red Gold Contest Super Bowl Spread: “Quarterback Wraps!”

Comments

comments

On the Horizon: On the Grid




It’s something that nearly everyone takes for granted in this country. Clean drinking water has been the norm since I was alive, but due to failing infrastructure it may be at risk. Scott Huler, author of “On the Grid” takes us on an incredible journey through the pipe lines and drainage systems of this vast land.

In the week’s video blog, we see just how deep our water problem may really be as we travel through drainage systems and waterways throughout Oklahoma.

~Courtenay Dehoff

Comments

comments

Showcasing Red Dirt culture ~ authored and managed by contributors with connections to the great state of Oklahoma.