Fort Sill Training

The Music Man

THE MUSIC MAN

by Kasey Chapman

ELMORE CITY, OKLA. - When Jim Winkle became the Elmore City-Pernell band director in 2001, he only intended to stay for a couple of years.  Nine years later, he's led the band to multiple appearances in state marching and concert contests and roles in both the Memorial Day Parade in Washington, D.C., and the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio.  But greater than his decade of success with the Badger Pride are the relationships he's made with the community and his students.  Late last year, those relationships would mean more than ever as a diagnosis of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma threatened to halt his band career.

After months of planning chemotherapy treatments around his morning band rehearsals, Winkle is now cancer-free - something both he and his wife, Carolyn, attribute to a miracle from God.  The 67-year-old music man did not let a diagnosis stand in the way of doing what he loves, and with another semester in front of him, the crescendo that has become Winkle's time at this small south-central Oklahoma school shows no signs of fading.

The Greek House

A gyro from The Greek House in Norman, Okla. 

(Photo by Kasey Chapman)

When someone thinks of Greece, they likely conjure up images of mythological gods, fantastic artistry and breathtaking architecture.  Although Norman’s The Greek House may not outwardly resemble this type of grandeur and splendor generally associated with the Mediterranean country, its owners have perfected their own masterpiece over the past 30 years: delicious Greek cuisine.

Bill Dimas, whose parents own the restaurant, works as The Greek House manager.  After emigrating from Prosimni, Greece in 1978, the Dimas family wanted to bring their own tastes of home to Norman, Okla.  One year later, they did just that.

“We first opened the restaurant for foreign students – people from [the] Middle East, Lebanese, Greek students – because back in ‘79 the university had around 2,000, 3,000 foreign students from [the] Middle East, Greece or Turkey, and they were exposed to this kind of food,” Dimas said.

Dimas, who was only 17 when his family arrived in the United States, received a master’s degree in microbiology from Central State University.  Dimas said he has seen the restaurant’s clientele expand during his years in Norman to include more American customers.

“Little by little, day by day, the American customers started getting used to this kind of food,” he said.

Those American customers can’t seem to get enough of The Greek House.  In fact, Dimas said some people are fourth generation customers and that many dine in two or three times a week – a statement echoed by The Greek House employee Kc Vest.

                   “We have a lot of regulars that come on a weekly basis,” she said. “We know what they order, we see their car and we start making their food.”

                  One of those regulars, Scott Miller of Norman, insisted that his friend, Weslee Christian, try The Greek House’s gyros because of their generous portions and top-notch quality.

                  “[Scott] actually told me about this place and what a great place it was, and it was very good,” said Christian, a Corpus Christi, Texas resident.  “I'm very impressed with it.”

                  The Greek House’s customers aren’t the only ones that have been impressed by their food.  Just this year the Oklahoma Gazette named the restaurant the “Best Mediterranean Restaurant – Best of OKC” runner up.  The Greek House has also been recognized by The Oklahoman’s Readers’ Choice Awards.  It has been a top five finalist for five years – 1994, 1999, 2000, 2003 and 2004.

                  The Greek House has also seen its fair share of high profile Oklahoma sports figures such as Troy Aikman, Barry Switzer and Brian Bosworth.

                  Vest, who has worked for the Dimas family for two years, attributes the restaurant’s success to over 30 years of family ownership.  Dimas believes it is the consistent quality that makes his business popular.

“I can say that even now with the economic crisis we have, my business hasn’t slowed down,” he said.

             That popularity is evident on University of Oklahoma game days, Vest said.

“Game days are always memorable because there's nowhere to sit, nowhere to stand and there's a line from here to the light at Jenkins and Boyd.”

Although Norman, Okla., is thousands of miles away from his hometown Greek village, Dimas and his parents return to their native country at least once every two years.  His sister, who received a degree in microbiology from Central State University, moved back to Greece.

Even though The Greek House may not look like a typical Greek restaurant, the sound of Greek music and the taste of the restaurant’s gyros have been transporting customers to the Mediterranean country for over 30 years.  And if the Dimas family has their way, the Greek culture that they love will continue to grow in the American city they now call home.

The Greek House is open 10:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., Monday through Saturday.  It is located at 768 Jenkins Avenue.

Matched Action with Scott

Pearl's Story

Pearl Atkinson, International and Area Studies senior 

(photo by Kasey Chapman)

             Pearl Atkinson wasn't raised in a religious family. In fact, both Christianity and God seemed distant from her as she was growing up in Lone Grove, Okla. The 29-year-old International and Area Studies senior says the Christian society she was raised in never felt like her own.

            "My family didn't really practice religion, so I kind of went to church with friends, or sometimes my grandma would take us to different churches," she said.  "All I knew growing up is that I believed in God."

            After several years, however, Atkinson's simple belief in God would transform into something much more - a journey that began just after she graduated from high school.

            "After high school I wasn't really sure what I wanted to do with my life," she said.  Because she wasn't financially able to attend college, Atkinson turned to the military.

           

            "I felt like going into the military would be a great benefit to me because I'd get to serve my country, and also I'd learn discipline and other aspects of what it takes to be a citizen in this country."

            At age 19, Atkinson began six years of active duty service as a supply specialist in the U.S. Army.  Her service took her to Germany, the Czech Republic, Poland, Kuwait, Iraq and Afghanistan, and exposed her to Islam.

            "Prior to coming to the University of Oklahoma, my only interaction with Muslims were Muslims that were overseas, Muslims that I came in contact with in Iraq and Afghanistan," she said.  "Because I was not religious, it didn't matter to me what religion you were, it was what kind of person you were."

            Atkinson came to the University of Oklahoma in the fall of 2008 and soon found herself confronted with the same religion she had discovered while in the military.  After one of her classes was cancelled just two weeks into the semester, Atkinson searched for another course in order to remain a full-time student.

            "The only thing that was open that seemed somewhat interesting was a class called Introduction to Islam," she said.  It only took a few weeks before she realized she had discovered what she was looking for.

            "I just knew it was for me," she said.  "Nothing had ever clicked like that for me.  Nothing had ever made sense like that for me, so that's how I initially came to find Islam."

           

            Atkinson studied the religion for another year before she eventually converted to Islam in January 2010.

           

            "Islam just seemed to give me a path of having my own relationship with [God]," she said.

            As a Muslim for only 10 months, Atkinson continues to be confronted with the realities of her newfound faith and the reactions people have to her conversion.

            "My Mom's really happy for me," she said.  "She sees that I'm a better person now and that I'm happier and that I have more direction in my life."

            Not everyone has been as supportive, Atkinson said, particularly in the military.

            "I've had people tell me if I choose to associate with Muslims, then basically they don't want to be my friend anymore.  It's painful that I served beside these people; I defended my country for seven years, and now I have to defend my religion," she said.

            Atkinson said that those negative reactions are the result of common misconceptions about Islam.  She thinks it is ignorant to associate 1.5 billion Muslims with the terrorist attacks carried out by a few extremists - something she thoroughly condemns. 

            "[Terrorists] choose to pick out certain scriptures and follow those only," she said.  "They ignore everything else.  They ignore the fact that you're not supposed to kill innocent people, that you're not supposed to kill women and children."

            Even though she has faced opposition to being a Muslim, she remains committed to her faith and the role it will have in her future.  Atkinson hopes to use her degree to help the less fortunate. 

            "I'm really interested in working with women and children in possibly a non-profit organization, and I'm looking to maybe go overseas, maybe Africa," she said.  "I think there's plenty of work that could be done there in my field."

            Although Atkinson felt distant from the Christian culture she was raised in, she has now found a faith all her own.  The girl from Lone Grove who once felt distant from God now feels closer than ever thanks to the faith of Islam and the journey along the way.

             

              

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