October 2025

Elizabeth "Betty" Ann Pope

Miller Stahl Funeral Home

Elizabeth "Betty" Ann Pope1944-2025Elizabeth "Betty" Ann Pope, 81, passed away peacefully at her home in Newkirk, Oklahoma on October 24, 2025.Born in Kansas City, Kansas Betty liv…

October Chamber Buzz

• •Chamber welcomes individual investors, not just businesses, to strengthen Ponca City.
• •Individual Chamber investors grew from 13 in 2011 to 95 active members today.
• •saw record growth with 18 new individual investors joining the Chamber.

Balance on the Homestead

• •Liz Threlkeld launches "The Sunny Side" column sharing homesteading tips and life lessons.
• •Balance isn't always the answer—nature thrives through dynamic, chaotic, unbalanced forces.
• •Oklahoma's extreme weather proves balance is myth: record rains, 137 tornadoes, freak lightning.

Stew On That

• •This is the author's final column after years of writing opinion pieces for Ponca City Monthly magazine.
• •The writer thanks all readers regardless of whether they enjoyed, skimmed, or disliked the articles.
• •She's stepping back because she's tired of her own voice and recurring jokes like Golden Corral references.

Don Nickles:

• •Don Nickles returned to Ponca City for a Po-Hi Alumni Hall of Fame event celebrating his legacy.
• •Nickles credits mentors like teacher Paul Ingersol and coaches for shaping his personal integrity and values.
• •His family's business roots in Ponca City since 1918 deeply influenced his identity and civic commitment.

Local Soroptimist Ponca City Group Celebrates 75th Anniversary

• •Mayor Kelsey Wagner honored Soroptimist International of Ponca City's 75th anniversary with a proclamation on Sept. 8.
• •The group has awarded over 160 Live Your Dream cash awards to local women for education and training.
• •Soroptimist has inspired 400 eighth-grade girls through Dream It, Be It events and career guidance programs.

Amazingly Local, Amazingly Good

• •Amazing Graze opened at 1904 Jane Street in Hartford Shopping Center with homemade cookies and charcuterie boxes.
• •Owner Shelly Olsen started baking from home in 2022 and expanded after creating a grazing table for her son's 2023 wedding.
• •The family-run business features massive cookies, weekly rotating baked goods, and soft-serve ice cream with seasonal holiday specials.