Oakridge has been honored with 2 awards: 2019 Garland Newsletter of the Year (in recognition of the positive changes we have made to the newsletter this year) and 2019 Garland Neighborhood of the Year (in recognition of our annual Holiday Meals for the Fire Stations).
In the 2019 December issue of the Oakridge newsletter, we have listed some interesting facts about the newsletter and the tradition of providing holiday meals. We have also provided those facts below for your convenience.
Neighborhood Newsletter
- The Oakridge newsletter has been around for almost 3 decades and has changed formats – and hands – many times. The newsletter started in 1991 as a Crime Watch Flyer circulated to all residents. At that point, it was titled “Neighborhood Crime Watch Newsletter”. The first official issue – Volume 1, No. 1 – of the newsletter as we know it today (“Oakridge News”) didn’t occur until after the Oakridge Neighborhood Association was chartered in August of 1992.
- “Oakridge News” was first distributed by hand to all Oakridge residents. Volunteer block captains delivered the newsletters to doorsteps. After several years of being distributed to all Oakridge residents, the newsletter became a publication for ONA members only. This was for a number of reasons – one of which was the cost of postage. In recent years, the ONA made the decision to once again provide the newsletter to all Oakridge residents.
- “Oakridge News” is currently between 4 and 6 pages long, however there was a time when it reached a robust 16 pages.
Holiday Meals
- The Oakridge tradition of providing holiday meals began in 1992. Thanksgiving meals are a more recent addition to this tradition. Originally Oakridge only delivered Christmas meals.
- Oakridge currently delivers meals to Fire Stations 3 and 11. However, when the tradition began, Oakridge only served meals to Fire Station 3 and the Garland Police Department.
- Oakridge stopped providing meals to the Garland Police Department due to the difficulty of coordinating a meal with the Garland Police Department work shifts. (This year, we are pleased to once again include the GPD in this tradition by providing snacks and treats on Thanksgiving and Christmas!)
- Over the years, different fire stations have been assigned to Oakridge. When Oakridge first started delivering holiday meals, we served Fire Station 3. In 1997 we added Fire Station 6, but then dropped it in 2005 when we picked up Fire Station 11. Oakridge actually had one year where it served Christmas meals to three fire stations (3, 6, 11)! Since 2005, Oakridge has been serving Fire Stations 3 and 11.
- For several years, the Oakridge Country Club (which no longer exists) donated the main course for these meals while Oakridge residents provided side dishes and desserts. When the Oakridge Country Club was no longer providing the main course, local grocery stores stepped in to donate the meats. In the past few years, Oakridge residents have provided the meats along with side dishes and desserts.
- Each year we ask the fire stations if they have any food preferences. Some years they want turkey, sometimes ham, and one year they even wanted steaks!