The house is a 1910 Craftsman in Tulsa’s Maple Ridge neighborhood, and it was love at first sight for John Spillyards. He and his wife moved in six months later and soon found that they liked their neighbors as much as the architecture.
“We have been thrilled,” Spillyards says of the friendships they have formed. Spillyards is a real estate agent who serves as secretary of the Maple Ridge Neighborhood Association board and is the Maple Ridge representative to the Tulsa Preservation Commission.
Get-togethers sponsored by the neighborhood association play a role in the camaraderie, says Spillyards, a Tulsa native who lived in Austin for 25 years before returning to Oklahoma in 2021.
“We have an annual Christmas party, and we do a dog show in the summertime at a local park,” Spillyards says. There’s also an annual home and garden tour, and a 5K on Memorial Day weekend that raises money for a local veterans’ organization.
The two popular pool clubs play a role in the social life of the Lortondale neighborhood, says Sarah Power, a graphic designer and president of the Lortondale Club Pool.
Power says she joined the pool board after her family moved to the Tulsa neighborhood in 2022, and it’s been a great way to meet her neighbors.
Her favorite event is the July 4 potluck, an action-packed day that features swim races, a water balloon fight, a money dive and watermelon polo.
Power says she grew up swimming in a Tulsa pool called Sun and Fun that also hosted activities, so it’s been a natural fit for her to plan events at the Lortondale club.
At the 5300 club, named for the numbers of the block in which it’s located, the Puppy Plunge dog-friendly swim is a popular event, says Vicki Thorne, vice president of membership and manager of the pool club.
The pool property features a covered area with picnic tables and an upper deck with additional seating, which can be rented for special events such as birthday parties and baby showers. Party guests get free access to the pool.
“We focus on being open to the broader neighborhood,” Thorne says. Lortondale residents buy pool memberships, and day passes are available to the public.
The 5300 Club Pool is decorated for Halloween, which Thorne says is well-celebrated within Lortondale.
“We have a wonderful neighborhood in that the people are eager to meet each other,” Thorne says. “They like to exchange information. When we took our son to kindergarten last year, it was so neat to meet people in the halls that we knew. These are deeper relationships than just neighbors waving at one another.”
Power says some Lortondale residents join both pool clubs, since each offers its own activities.
Swim lessons attract people to the 5300 Club Pool and are an income source, Thorne says.
Volunteers are essential for community events, Spillyards says.
“It’s a pretty fast-paced world,” he says. “People are so busy. But we have been making a more active outreach and have had new board members join recently.”
Maple Ridge recently held a trash pickup along a hiking trail that leads to The Gathering Place.
“I was so pleased with the number of neighbors who responded to the email campaign,” Spillyards says.
Power says club volunteers mow the lawn at the pool and hold workdays.
The 5300 Club Pool holds spring and fall workdays, says Thorne, whose family moved to Lortondale in 2011.
“There is an obvious advantage to getting to know your neighbors and creating relationships,” Spillyards says.
