After a decade and a half as one of the top attractions in the Stillwater-forged amalgam of folk, rock, country and singer-songwriter music known as Red Dirt, Jason Boland has done more than his share of music festivals. And now that he’s helping to front an event of his own, he’s putting a lot of what he’s learned on the festival circuit to good use.

And what’s the No. 1 lesson he’s gleaned from his experience?

“Make sure to have plenty of Porta Cans,” he says. “That’s what they always forget. ‘Two? Yeah, that’ll do it, right? Because, really, how many people are going at the same time?’ And then a few thousand people show up.

“It’s mostly production stuff like that,” he adds. “Boring production stuff. You just learn the pitfalls of what not to do, and not to be too overbearing about it. I don’t have to put on the nuts and bolts, but I know Corey [McDaniel], our manager, is really working with a lot of people on it.

“I’d say the main thing we’ve learned is just to dot the I’s and cross the T’s when it comes to all the funny little stickers, passes, barricades, Porta Cans – production, period. People want to hear it as good as it can be heard. They may not understand all the tedious details, but their hearts feel it, their souls feel it, when there’s something off. Because when there’s something off, the musicians are off. So it’s really just about keeping the spirit light and having a good time, and when everything’s running smoothly, that’s how it tends to be.”

It’s safe to say that no one’s coming to the Medicine Stone music festival for the availability of its Porta Cans. But it’s a good thing the organizers thought about having plenty, because there are indeed going to be thousands that come through the gates during Medicine Stone’s three days. Although the event, on the banks of the Illinois River at Tahlequah’s Diamondhead Resort, doesn’t happen until Sept. 12-14, the campsites, RV sites and hotel rooms were all sold out as of July 15, with more than 2,000 individual tickets already purchased. Clearly, it’s going to be a major blowout, one that Boland and his cohorts in his band, the Stragglers, working in tandem with vocalist-guitarist Evan Felker and the other members of the Tahlequah-based Turnpike Troubadours, have been interested in doing for quite some time.

“We’ve always been wanting to put together our own festival,” Boland says. “It’s just been finding the right time, the right place and the right way to do it. We’re glad to be sharing it with the Turnpike Troubadours; they’re the other half of what Medicine Stone is. It’s us, really, trying to put a flag in the ground for an Okie festival for our generation.

“And it’s natural,” he adds. “Several of our friends either have trips where they take people to music festivals, like Steamboat [Colorado], or they have cruises. Stoney [LaRue] even had one that went to Alaska. So it was just trying to figure out what would be us, you know? Between the two bands, what exemplifies the spirit of who we are?”

The answer, they decided, was a big musical celebration held around the Illinois River.

“[Stragglers] Roger [Ray] and Grant [Tracy] are originally from Vian, so they grew up over there in the eastern Oklahoma hills, running up and down the area through Tahlequah,” he explains. “And where I grew up, in Harrah, if you were going to make some big crazy high school trip, you’d go up and float the Illinois and camp at one of the campgrounds.”

After they got older and formed Jason Boland and the Stragglers, via that legendary rural Stillwater multiple-artist dwelling and unofficial birthplace of Red Dirt music known as the Farm, Tahlequah became one of the band’s favorite stops. A few years later, in Tahlequah, the Turnpike Troubadours were born. So the town is a natural in several different ways, as is Diamondhead Resort.     

“You naturally look for a place where people can stay multiple nights,” Boland explains, “and look for a place where they can camp. They had a great existing stage, too, so there were logistical things we thought about.”

In publicity material for Medicine Stone, Boland mentions the Larry Joe Taylor music festival in Texas, which he and the Stragglers have played for many years. That event, now known as the Texas Music Festival, began back in the ‘90s, when music fan and songwriter Taylor got it going as a combination chili cook-off and outdoor-concert fest. And, while the inaugural Medicine Stone is larger in scope than Taylor’s initial effort, Boland sees the Texas fest as a kind of template for the way he hopes the new Oklahoma event will expand.

“I guess it’s that thing about, if you want to be a bear, be a grizzly,” Boland says with a chuckle. “You watched the Larry Joe Taylor festival grow from modest to the juggernaut it is now – and they have that scene hemmed up. This is where we’re from, and so we’re trying to put something together that will be big, and then we can bring in more and more interesting acts as it progresses, because we plan on doing it year after year.”

For its maiden voyage, however, Medicine Stone has done all right in the interesting-acts department. The groups who don’t share Boland and the Stragglers’ and the Turnpike Troubadours’ Oklahoma origins – including Mississippi’s Jason Eady and Oregon native Todd Snider – are highly regarded alt-country and Americana acts coming from places left of center, and the Oklahomans on the bill are Red Dirt superstars. Those latter acts include, in addition to Boland and the Stragglers, Cody Canada and the Departed, Stoney LaRue and the Red Dirt Rangers, all of whom spent a significant amount of time honing their chops at the Farm in Stillwater. The notion of getting together and joyously creating the kind of music that echoed through the dilapidated rooms of that ramshackle two-story building for years is what Boland hopes to evoke with Medicine Stone.
“It’s just about wanting to keep that spirit,” he says. “It’s that Farm attitude of, ‘Well, you might as well get into a band. It’s as good as anything else you could do.’ So the plan is to just bring all the fans of everybody out, camp and have a good time, pick around campfires, eat, drink and be merry.

“The Rangers are still going [after 25 years], and we’re looking at about 15 years now,” he adds. “The Troubadours have been at it for a few years, too, and they’re enjoying so much success and it’s such a great deal for them to be a part of it. So we’ve got a good generation [represented on the stage].

“It’s just one of those things,” he concludes. “The Red Dirt never dies.”

Also on the bill are the young Grammy-nominated writer, singer, and multi-instrumentalist John Fullbright; Tahlequah-based music legend Randy Crouch; John Moreland; and Thomas Trapp. For ticket and other information on Medicine Stone, visit the website www.medicinestoneok.com or the Medicine Stone Facebook page.

Even when we’re watching our waistlines, we should have a little sweetness every once in a while. Fruit desserts are a wonderful way to indulge that craving without completely sabotaging efforts.

Since pears are coming into season, they are a great option for a light dessert that is elegant enough for company, and poaching is an easy way to prepare them.

Albeit easy to make, these poached pears have numerous health benefits, too, because of the red wine and pomegranate juice in the poaching liquid.

As we have learned, red wine can help control cholesterol and further protect the heart by keeping blood vessels flexible to aid in the prevention of blood clots and strokes. It also helps control blood sugar and the antioxidants can help fight infections too.

Like red wine, pomegranate juice is full of antioxidants and has been shown to protect the heart and blood vessels. As little as eight ounces a day can make a difference.

So go ahead and indulge a little. Your heart will thank you.

Red Wine and Pomegranate Poached Pears

Makes 6 servings
4 c. dry red wine
1 bottle (16 ounces) pomegranate juice
1/3 c. sugar
Zest and juice of 1 orange
1 cinnamon stick
3 whole cloves
6 Bosc or Anjou pears, peeled and cored, keeping stems intact

In a Dutch oven, combine everything except the pears. Bring to a boil and add the pears; reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20-30 minutes or until pears are almost tender. Remove with a slotted spoon and cool. Strain poaching liquid and return to Dutch oven. Bring to a boil; cook until thickened and slightly syrupy, about 45-60 minutes. When ready to serve, drizzle each pear with a little of the poaching liquid.

If you love coffee, you don’t want to settle for just an average cup, but producing the perfect cup of coffee is not an easy process. Even tasting coffee is an art, one that Ian Picco, manager at Topeca Coffee in Tulsa, teaches at weekly sessions called “cuppings.”
Like wine, coffee has distinct characteristics that depend on several factors, such as where the beans are grown, weather, etc. Similar to wine, coffee can have notes of chocolate, nuts or fruit.

“Cupping is an easy way to break down coffee into individual taste components,” says Picco. The technique is a primary way to get to know a coffee. Used by the farmer for quality control and by the consumer to decide which coffee to purchase, there is a method and science behind the cupping process.

At Topeca, after touring the roastery and hearing a history of the evolution of coffee from seed to cup, the cupping process begins.

Several small cups of ground beans from all over the world are lined up on a table. Pick up a cup, tap gently with one hand and sniff. The tapping helps release the gases and delivers chemicals to the nose.

Next, the cups are filled to the rim with hot water. After all the grounds are wet, the coffee is allowed to steep for four minutes. Be sure to smell the coffee as it steeps. A crust will develop over the surface of the coffee. Break the crust by plunging a spoon directly into the center and stir exactly three times. Spoon out any floating grounds.

Since the palate can better detect the individual characteristics of coffee after it has cooled slightly, let it stand for a few more minutes before sampling.

The proper way to taste the coffee is to noisily slurp it through a spoon. The purpose is to aspirate the liquid into a mist that hits the entire palate at once. Chew the coffee for a few seconds and then spit out. Otherwise, you may experience a caffeine overload by the time the cupping is finished.

For more information about Friday cupping sessions, contact Topeca at 918.398.8022.

Meatball Sandwich

Mangiamo Truck
Sometimes a big, lusty Italian meal – the kind that involves piles of pasta topped with Sunday sauce and plenty of bread for sopping – is in order. But who has the time to slave over the stove? The team at Mangiamo Truck does. Serving Italian creations in paper trays (no white linen here) out of a food truck, Mangiamo is feeding Tulsans at American Airlines, Guthrie Green and other areas in Tulsa where diners are hungry for Italian. Lasagna rolls, sausage and peppers and pasta with marinara are all standard, but it’s the meatball sandwich, a hearty hunk of bread stuffed with marinara-smothered meatballs and topped with cheese, that keeps the hungry masses coming back for more. Follow Mangiamo on Twitter or Facebook to find out where the truck is parked daily.  – Jami Mattox

Suya

Mama Sinmi’s Chop House
Mama Sinmi’s Chop House – “chop” as in “to eat” – already is attracting devoted fans in the short time since it opened its doors. This small but colorful eatery offers traditional Nigerian fare such as suya (tender skewers of spiced meat) and jollof rice (cooked in a mix of peppers for a serious kick), along with other favorites like the goat meat pepper stew and perfectly fried golden plantains. The reasonable and filling lunch special includes a choice of rice along with chicken or beef, plantains, and a beverage. Just as popular as the food is Mama Sinmi herself – chef Ijeoma Popoola, who along with husband and co-owner Andrew, has brought the vibrancy of West African flavors and culture to the vivid life on the plains of Oklahoma. 2312 N. Macarthur Blvd., Oklahoma City. www.mamasinmi.com – Tara Malone

“You must try the falafel! It’s so good,” Sourena Afshar, a dapper man with elegant, elongated eyeglasses and a carefully trimmed goatee. The owner, with his wife Shadi, of Shish-Kabob, is excited about the food he serves, and with reason. The falafel, crisp and crunchy with a hint of exotic spice, is superb, and so are other Middle Eastern appetizers like the sprightly tabouli and smoky baba ganoush. But it’s the Persian dishes that are the stars at this cozy, welcoming corner of east Tulsa. Growing up in Tehran, Shadi was schooled in cooking by her mother and sisters and, Sourena admits, “I learned from my mom, too.”

The Iranian food you’ll eat here is a blend and synthesis of these family recipes. Try the lamb shank: “It’s unique,” says Sourena. Small yet meaty lamb shanks specially ordered from California are simmered for three hours. Impossibly tender and bursting with flavor, the shanks are accented by the subtle blend of spices and tomato in the sauce. The fluffy rice that accompanies the lamb is a delicious meal on its own. It’s cooked in the Iranian fashion: first soaked, then boiled, then drained and finally steamed. This fabulous rice comes with all entrees, including the stews for which Iranian cuisine is famous. Ghormeh sabzi, one such stew, is a piquant blend of spinach, parsley, cilantro, dry lemon and fenugreek.

“I cook the best ghormeh sabzi you’ll ever find,” declares Shadi. True to the name, there’s a full range of kebabs. The koobideh features minced meat, onions and a secret blend of spices which, Sourena assures us will make all other kebabs seem tasteless. 11605 E. 31st St., Tulsa. 918.663.9383
 

With a distinguished selection of wine and a solid reputation as one of Oklahoma City’s anchor Italian restaurants, Flip’s Wine Bar and Trattoria may sound like the kind of restaurant where one might enjoy a cozy, romantic candlelight dinner. But OKC locals know it’s not a place that stands on ceremony – and that’s why, after nearly 30 years, crowds still flock to Flip’s.

The real appeal of this laid-back icon of the Oklahoma City bar and restaurant scene comes long after most places have locked up and wiped down for the evening. Since 1985, Flip’s has offered a staggering late-night menu (serving until 1 a.m.) to OKC’s starving night owls. And this is not the chips-and-queso standard of late-night bar fare. Everything from salads and appetizers to pasta and dessert are on the table, but diners in-the-know go straight for the famous calzones. Stuffed into homemade, whole-wheat crusts, the calzones at Flip’s feature traditional Italian meats and cheeses, overflowing with capicola and prosciutto, fontina and gorgonzola and just about anything else delicious you could dream of. Diners with especially large appetites can opt for the Joey Bag O’ Donuts calzone and feast on a pocket of chicken, spinach, peppers, garlic, mushrooms and four different kinds of cheese. All calzones are served with Flip’s famous red sauce, of course. Look for a mixed crowd at Flip’s, emphasis on “crowd.” 5801 N. Western Ave., Oklahoma City. www.flipswinebar.com

Can’t decide what you’re in the mood to do this evening?  How about ordering pizza to the bar and watching the playoffs with fellow sports fanatics? Or heading to a music venue that has hosted such luminaries as the late, great blues legend T-Model Ford? Perhaps just a classy cocktail on the patio is more your game, or pulling up a bar stool and sampling a selection of local Oklahoma brews.

Regardless of your fancy, you can pick your poison at Oklahoma City’s 51st Street Speakeasy. Tucked on a tiny side street off Western Avenue’s main drag, this historic house-turned-bar and restaurant makes “something for everybody” a reality rather than a cute turn of phrase. Join the crowds in the main rooms to mingle, or head upstairs for a more relaxed atmosphere, complete with comfy vintage couches. Fans of Oklahoma’s COOP brewery offerings will especially be interested in visiting the establishment – the brewery’s operations are set up right next door. The small cover charges on the weekend are worth the price of the atmosphere, the wide selection of drinks and the convenience of two bars. 1114 NW 51st St., Oklahoma City. www.51stspeakeasy.com       

Among the recently established restaurants in Oklahoma City that specialize in farm-to-table fare, Whiskey Cake Kitchen and Bar has thrown in its hat. Originally established in Plano, Texas, this American-as-bourbon establishment boasts a formidable example of its namesake: a toffee torte cake with whiskey, spiced pecans and whipped cream. But despite the quaint feel of the name, don’t be fooled. While traditional Southern fare is on the table, like fried green tomatoes and pulled-pork sliders, Whiskey Kitchen offers some non-conventional options for more adventurous diners, including pork belly ramen, smoked duck with quinoa and the edamame-and-mushroom burger. There is a wealth of drink options from which to choose, including some based around local ingredients, such as the Tracy’s Garden cocktail with locally grown basil. Other parts of the drink menu have a distinctly New Orleans flair, including the mint julep, the Sazerac and the Vieux Carré. 1845 Northwest Expressway, Oklahoma City. www.whiskeycakeokc.com

Take every ageist stereotype you know about senior citizens. Now take those stereotypes, wad them up into a little ball and throw them in the trash.

It’s from this starting point that we need to look at the “winter” of life.

Who says that growing older means slowing down? Of course, there are the inevitabilities that come with age as Mother Nature and Father Time run their courses on the physical, but when one moves beyond aesthetics in this youth-obsessed society we inhabit, it’s important to consider this: Do we choose to let the mind focus on all the stuff we have no control of, or do we roll with the punches, make the most out of our situations and keep our spirits timeless, ageless and full of gratitude for each and every day we are given?

The latter sounds like a whole lot more fun, doesn’t it?

Recent research shows that having a more positive attitude – being optimistic, easygoing, extroverted and laughing more – can play a role in living a longer, healthier life. Positive people are happier people, and we all know what happiness does for the heart.

What better way to stay young at heart than to keep on keepin’ on – both mentally and physically – getting the body moving, traveling, learning, trying new things and doing what you love?

Whether decades away or dancing on the brink, we’re all getting older, so listen up, and take notes, because these very active senior Oklahomans are sure to inspire the notion that it’s not how long you live, but how intensely you live while appreciating your life and living it to the fullest.

Stay Busy Having Fun

Bob and Bonnie White can tell you a thing or two about keeping busy.

Married for 59 years, the Whites, both 79, are always going someplace and doing something. Whether with their involvement in their church activities, sports or own separate interests, the key to their success as a happy, healthy couple lies in the fact that they keep busy and have fun together in the process.  

“We have always taken an active interest in one another’s activities. I quilt, and he enjoys that. He likes the colors and the fabrics and the patterns I put together and always helps me with things that need to be done, and I’ve always been really supportive of his weight lifting and baseball,” Bonnie says.

Bob, who has always been athletic, even coached a women’s softball league that Bonnie played on from when she was 47 to 70 years old.

When Bob started a gym in their garage to get physically conditioned, Bonnie was on board, and since then, Bob has become a competitive weight lifter (winning fourth place in his age group at a recent competition in Italy) and coach.

Bonnie stresses the importance of being supportive of what your partner’s interests are, even if it’s something that you wouldn’t normally have anything to do with.

 “I wouldn’t go to anyone else’s meets, but when it’s Bob, I’m there front row cheering him on. That’s what you have to do. Just because I don’t participate in it doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy it or enjoy watching him do it,” she says.  

“Being active as a couple keeps life fun and interesting. It’s important to have lots of interests and enjoy the company of other people. I think that’s what too many people don’t do. People get older and they think, ‘Oh I’ve worked all my life and now I just want to sit around and do nothing,’ but once you start sitting in that chair and start watching TV, in a few months, you can’t do anything else. So you better stay active the older you get.”

Nurture the Mind and Body

Nancy Blankenship, 78, says that her lifestyle changed about 10 years ago when she realized how much time she was wasting watching TV, and making the decision to stop watching TV left her more time to read.

Just like life is continuous, the learning process should be continuous, as well. A wise person once said that if you stop learning, you stop living, which in turns implies that to keep seeking knowledge is to continue to elevate your life above the usual.

Taking her love of reading up a notch, Blankenship’s higher education experience has turned into a lifelong crusade at Oklahoma City University where she has taken one class every semester for the past 26 years, including “Women in America: Twentieth Century” this fall.

Although she attended college in her youth, she couldn’t wait to get out, and it wasn’t until her daughter was in medical school that she decided to make her return to the classroom.

“The reason I did was because I heard a religion professor speak at our church, and he knew things the rest of us Methodists did not know. He made me want to learn all about all of that. Then I became a Unitarian,” Blankenship says.

Although a self-proclaimed former shy person, it’s been her years back in college that has turned her into one of the most outspoken students in her classes. Now always one of the first to speak up, it has been easy for her to make friends with both students and professors.

“My grandchildren are the ages of these kids, so it isn’t hard for me to relate to them,” she explains.

“It usually just takes a couple of weeks before they are comfortable with me and treat me just like one of them. I dress pretty much like they do, except not short shorts in hot weather. Mostly, I wear jeans or spiff up a bit more on occasion. Being more casual in dress puts everyone on a more level playing field, and it says, ‘Hey, we’re all in this together.’ It helps dissolve differences.”

Working in sync with keeping the mind active and healthy through proactive learning, keeping the body active and healthy through diet and exercise is a no brainer way to keep those endorphins flowing.  

Contrary to popular belief, research is showing that getting physically weaker and less mentally alert are not inevitable side effects of aging, but rather, they stem from inactive lifestyles.

Breaking the misconception that you have to slow down when you get older (and putting the average person, young or middle-aged, to shame), Darrell Creamer, 75, gets up at 5 a.m. and opens the St. John Siegfried Health Club in Tulsa at 5:30, exercising at least four days a week.

He started running when he was 34 years old without ever having been in sports and later transitioned into a dedicated rower, both competitively and noncompetitively, when he was 50 years old.

He says that in high school he always wanted to be a rower, and now that he is older, his workouts predominately involve the rowing machine.  

“I love the physical and psychological feeling it gives me. Exercise is soothing. It makes you feel good. It makes you feel like you’ve accomplished something, especially when you get older. I take very good care of myself. I’ll be exercising until I die,” Creamer says.

“Even more, I think that nutrition is much more important than exercise. I encourage people to read the lifestyle book, The Great Cholesterol Myth. It will change your life.”

After two major heart attacks – one in 2008 and one this past December, where he spent 42 days in the hospital – he attributes his survival and ongoing recovery to taking care of himself and working to stay in shape.

During the 17 days he was unconscious in intensive care, Creamer had a spiritual, out-of-body experience that gave him a fresh, newfound perspective on life.

After staying away from church for more than 55 years, he came to wanting to devote the rest of his life to serving God, and ever since, faithfully attends church and focuses only on what’s important.

“I have a 17-day hole in my life. I don’t remember one single thing. I was gone. When I woke up, I woke up a different person,” he explains.

“I don’t worry about anything anymore. People worry too much about things they can’t do anything about. I came to realize that I have a really good life. I’m financially secure, I’ve got a fabulous wife and great kids and grandkids, and I’m going to enjoy it all. I don’t worry about anything I can’t change. Nothing.”

Do What You Love

Continuing to follow your passions and do what you love throughout the course of your life has the ability to enable a feeling of ageless evolvement.

Bill Pahdocony has been an athlete his entire life and says, without hesitation, “I don’t feel old in my head. I’m a lot younger than my years indicate.”

Having played basketball and baseball in high school, the 76-year-old has since been bowling and golfing for the past 50 years.

His ongoing love of competition is strong, and he says that he’s always enjoyed the competition of sports and likes to compete against anyone, regardless of whether or not they are younger than him.

“If one hones his skills well enough then he can be competitive at any age. They may not throw the ball nearly as hard as they once could, but if they’re willing to be active, they can still score well based on accuracy and focus. Like, I may not be able to hit the ball as I used to, but I can still hit it straight. You don’t need to compete with anyone but yourself,” he explains.

Pahdocony plays golf and bowls in two leagues, practicing often to stay sharp on his skills. He and his daughter have placed as mixed doubles bowling partners in the National Senior Olympic multiple times.

Through competitions he and his family have had the opportunity to travel all over the country together, and the time they spend on “bowling vacations” is what he says he enjoys most.

“We stay close as a family unit and I believe very strongly in that. We enjoy the competition, and there’s no blame on anyone’s part if we have a bad day. As long as you do your best you can’t ask for anything more than that,” he says.

A former Oklahoma Poet Laureate, Fran Ringold, 79, is an author of prose, poetry and plays and has served as Editor-in-Chief of the Nimrod International Journal of Prose and Poetry for more than 35 years.

Once juggling at least four things at a time daily, she finds herself doing more like two things at a time these days, but she doesn’t see this as needing to slow down so much as needing to maintain focus.

She sees her role as a writer as being a part of tradition – the past and the present – with hopes to give something to the future. 

“When I write I make discoveries. Those discoveries and the ultimate feeling that I’ve completed something after a great deal of revision – that’s energizing,” she says.

Ringold believes that the best years of life are every year of being alive, with each being filled with something special, from the birth of children to the birth of ideas.

As far as aging, she says that although she is unsure of whether or not she could say she’s embracing it, she has come to terms with the inevitabilities: “even the wrinkles,” she says.

“There comes a time when you look into the mirror and you know that you are not ‘the fairest of them all.’ But hell, it’s too time-consuming and expensive to try to fulfill that one. And it’s okay. I exercise. I eat right. Pretty good for almost 80, and 80 is sounding like a pleasant new era. After all, my mother died when she was 38 and my father when he was 56. How lucky can I get?” she explains.

“There is no need to moan about what we have lost or what we are not doing in the present or towards the future. We are living now!”

Already the sixth largest producer of wind energy in the country, up two spots from 2011, Oklahoma’s moving forward again. With success in the wind power sector showing up faster than originally anticipated, the state’s in a position to take a lucrative step toward growing it again. In July, two wind power interests, Renewable Energy Systems America and Energy Renewable North America, announced plans to build two large wind farms in Oklahoma, both pursuing a singular mission: contributing not just to Oklahoma’s energy supply, but also exporting power out of state.

Wind energy accounts for a bit over seven percent of the state’s power. No doubt it would be more, but hiccups with the math and technology stalled earlier wind energy efforts. Those have been, and continue to be, overcome. One tough obstacle to the use of wind energy is the ability to distribute it effectively. Getting that energy on the state’s grid is not easy. It’s a widely recognized tenet of doing business in the wind energy sector that putting together transmission abilities takes much longer than the construction of the wind farms themselves.

On track to be the second largest producer of wind power by 2030, the powers that be, business and governmental, are looking to open new markets that will keep Oklahoma on the path to reaching that 2030 goal. The first steps toward that goal came in July, when Renewable Energy Systems Americas (RES Americas), a British company, announced plans to use its Origin Wind Energy Project to sell 150 megawatts to the Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corporation (AECC).

The Origin Wind Energy Project, located in Murray and Carter counties in southeast Oklahoma, is a 75-turbine project scheduled to begin commercial operation by the end of next year. The AECC, for now, will be the sole recipient of its output.

Spanish company EDP Renewables North America (EDP) plans to use its Arbuckle Mountain wind project to export 100 megawatts to Nebraska’s Lincoln Electric System. This wind farm is expected to be online by the end of 2015.

“We are delighted to work with the AECC,” said Tom Hiester, senior vice president of development with RES Americas. “This purchase demonstrates the AECC’s forward-looking approach to diversifying their portfolio, as well as their understanding of the economic benefits that long-term, low-priced wind energy contracts offer to their members.”

The AECC is a consortium of 17 distribution cooperatives providing electricity to more than 50,000 customers in Arkansas and surrounding states. The AECC’s groundbreaking agreement was also made possible with the efforts of the National Renewables Cooperative Organization (NRCO), an organization enabling cooperatives nationwide to pool the ownership and benefits of renewable resources. The group’s primary mission is the facilitation of the development and acquisition of cost-effect renewable energy assets that assist its members with the diversification of their energy resource portfolios.

“The NRCO is pleased that Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corporation has contracted for additional wind resources,” said Amadou Fall, CEO of NRCO. “NRCO members continue to diversify by including renewable generating capacity. They are doing so economically.”

“The latest addition of 150 megawatts of low-cost wind energy provides AECC with a hedge against fluctuating natural gas energy prices,” said Duane Highley, president and chief executive officer of AECC, a Little Rock-based wholesale electricity supplier. “AECC will have 201 megawatts of wind energy in its generation assets with this addition. We will continue to pursue energy options that allow AECC’s member cooperatives to provide reliable electricity at the lowest possible cost.”

Lincoln Electric’s CEO Kevin Wailes points to an important economic consideration working to the advantage of wind energy producers. At least a portion of the incentive behind his 20-year contract with EDP is a function of the federal production tax credit extension. The same extensions benefit RES-America’s bottom line, and will boost, over the lifetime of the credits, the profitability of native Oklahoma energy companies exploring or implementing wind energy production, as well. Figuring in tax credits and depreciation, a majority of wind power generators will recover the costs of their initial investments in about eight years.

The Federal Energy Commission’s recent announcement that 2012 saw more wind energy development in America than in any other nation comes as no surprise. It was anticipated. Oklahoma’s wind energy producers are probably less surprised than the general public. Larger Oklahoman producers added just over 1,100 megawatts during 2012.

That kicks the state’s production up by more than half with a grand total of 3,100 megawatts – enough to power 780,000 homes. Kylah McNabb, renewable energy specialist at the Oklahoma Department of Commerce, notes that while the state added no new wind generation this year, there are roughly 500 megawatts in projects under construction and she hopes for them to be generating power by the end of 2014.

The western half of Oklahoma sits squarely near the end of America’s “wind tunnel,” a stretch of land with endpoints in North Dakota and the Texas panhandle. A significant portion of America’s best wind resources are located in western Oklahoma. By most estimates, the state, with an aggressive pursuit of wind power, could eventually provide enough energy to power one third of the country.

With this many wind farms under construction, Oklahoma Commerce Department officials are positioning the state as a center for the manufacturing of the turbines and towers necessary for their productions. In response, many state technical education facilities are ramping up programs to train and certify workers with specialties benefiting the industry. Tribes are getting in on the action, as well. The Cherokee, Kaw, Otoe-Missouria, Pawnee and Ponca nations have plans to develop a medium-sized wind farm on Cherokee lands.

America’s dependence on fossil fuels won’t come to an end anytime soon, but with an explosion in wind development, Oklahoma is set to remain a leader in the energy industry well into the future.