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Eunice Lawson with friend Patricia Keene at Lawson’s Grocery. courtesy photo
Each year, on the second Saturday of May, the Bristow community springs to life as the Tabouleh Festival and Wildflower Run excite residents and visitors alike. This year, however, offers a few changes as the Bristow Noon Lions Club takes over the Tabouleh Fest from the Bristow Historical Society, which opens the 2023 Southern Plains MOPAR Car Show on May 12 and 13, and Dr. Chip Cooper announces this year’s 35th Wildflower Run will be dedicated to the late Eunice Lawson as well as a couple of sign-up changes.
In an effort to make Bristow the fittest town in Oklahoma, Dr. Cooper and others work diligently to move locals away from screens and get them moving their bodies. The annual Wildflower Run provides an excellent opportunity. Whether participants choose to walk or run, locals’ movement and involvement are key to attaining a fitter community.
Throughout the spring, Dr. Cooper leads workouts ahead of the Wildflower Run for Bristow youngsters. Many of those youngsters express ex- citement at the new opportunity to be involved in an organized run with the possibility of winning an award. Like the majority of children and adults throughout the state, many also assert that the bulk of their physical activity stems from mandatory physical education classes as they play games, watch television, or otherwise attend to technical devices at home. For those students and parents, getting fit proves extremely important for Bristow’s goal in attaining “Oklahoma’s Fittest Town” title. Students who participate in Dr. Cooper’s exercise events note they feel better and are more likely to participate in the Wildflower Run and similar events.
Bristow’s new mayor, Kris Wyatt, also contributed to getting locals fit when she opened her yoga studio several years ago and offered a variety of yoga, tai chi, and stretch classes for locals of all ages and ability levels. In fact, Dr. Cooper noted that Eunice Lawson utilized yoga for several years following a health event to improve her mobility and health. Her choices to utilize yoga, continue working, and staying active led her to live a full life prior to her passing earlier this year.
However, Dr. Cooper notes that the 35th annual Wildflower Run is being dedicated to Ms. Lawson not for her own physical activity but her commitment to improving the health of residents on the south and east sides of town through her decades of provision of healthful foods at her business: Lawson’s Grocery on South Chestnut Street.
In fact, her dedicated friend of twenty-two years, Patricia Keene, recalls many stories of Ms. Lawson’s life filled with social and work activities. She expressed Ms. Lawson’s enjoyment of having fun with friends and family, racing horses, and remaining physically active. She stated that Ms. Lawson attributed her long life of ninety-three years to continuing to work and move regardless of illness, injury, or age. She said, “Eunice always said, ‘Keep going and don’t stop. What you lose you cannot get back. Just keep moving. Don’t give up.’” She also noted Ms. Lawson’s commitment to her customers, saying “She loved her customers. Most became friends. She kept her store open to provide for them and keep ‘em [sic] going.”
In addition to dedicating the 35th annual Wildflower Run to Ms. Lawson, Dr. Cooper described a few signup changes for this year’s race. In a first, participants must sign up online with TATUR Racing. Participants must visit https://tatur.org/ to sign up. Upon visiting the TATUR Racing home page, participants must choose the “Race Calendar” option roughly midway down the page. Next, participants choose the “Bristow Wildflower 5K” option and then choose their participation level to register. The website possesses a free registration option for all minors aged five to fourteen years titled “Wildflower Workout Kids”. Children choosing this option must enter code “pirate” to acquire the free registration. Registration through TATUR Racing will close at 11:59 p.m. on May 11. Anyone requesting assistance registering online may visit Community Bank or Spirit-Bank for assistance. Each bank has a dedicated employee to assist registrants.
Additionally, participants may pick up t-shirts and race packets at each bank throughout the week preceding the race. Sign up and packets may also be picked up the morning of the race at 7:30 a.m. in front of the library. In years past, sign up and packets were picked up in the Bristow Town Square; however, with the Town Square closed for safety purposes, the location has changed to West 7th Avenue in front of the library, near the finish line. This year’s 35th Wildflower Run will begin at 9:00 a.m. with the Fun Run at 8:45 a.m.