Okie Danny Templeton

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Aug. 24—Danny Templeton recalled wanting to be an architect, but life and cruise ships took him in different directions.

His architect ambitions fizzled after a few drafting classes. Instead, he got involved with Distributive Education Clubs of America, DECA, which helps prepare students for careers.

Templeton said Karen Wilson, the Muskogee High DECA advisor, sent him and other members to interview at UPS. He landed a summer job that ended up being a 30-year career.

Around 2001, Templeton found a new interest. He recalled talking to an old high school friend who told him he should buy his mother's Hallmark card shop.

"I've always been particular about how my house looked, and she said 'you should buy my mom's store, you'd like it,'" he said. Recalling that the owner was transitioning into a home decor store and "I liked decorating."

"About a month later, I owned it," he said. "I knew nothing about it. It just looked fun. Within a year, I had no Hallmark of any kind."

Templeton said he never got any sleep with the two jobs. Still he managed.

"Because I did get in my UPS job at 4 in the morning, I got off at noon," he said. "My partner would open the store, run it for two or three hours, and I would go there and finish the rest of the day. He would go on to his job. We made that work for a long time."

The store, Rustic Elegance, moved to three locations before moving to Fort Gibson a few years ago.

Templeton now has a feline co-worker, Kitty.

"I noticed her in the back parking lot a few times and I finally got her to come in and eat about two years ago," he said. "She's a greeter, she's security. I wish I could train her to hand people their credit card."

Since retiring from UPS in 2017, Templeton has more time to pursue another interest, cruising.

"I went for a cruise with my parents 15 years ago, and I've been hooked ever since," he said. "I try to do two to three a year."

He said it's easy to drive to New Orleans or Galveston for his Bahamas or Mexico cruises. He also has done cruises in Alaska and eastern Canada.

Found start, career with summer job at UPS

Danny Templeton recalled how his summer job at UPS became a career.

"I did everything there was to do except manage the place," he said. "I worked in the building most of the time. I drove for a while. But I ran the customer counter, I was package handler, data entry."

He also shuttled packages to the airport.

"All the drivers would bring me their next-day air packages, and I'd put it in a truck and drive them to the airport," he said. "I was the youngest guy at the airport, so they put me in the belly of the plane."

Templeton said he never sought management or executive work.

"I was a 40-hour Teamster employee," he said.

He said his favorite job was data entry pre-loading, even though he had to get up at 3 a.m.

"The packages would come from Oklahoma City to Muskogee, they'd be unloaded, sorted, and pre-loaders would load them into the trucks," he said. "Any package that had address issues, anything wrong, would come to me for correction."

He said his biggest reward was getting to retire early with a full pension.

Rustic Elegance's challenges, evolution

Templeton recalled how Rustic Elegance evolved over the past 23 years.

"From home decor to more of gifts, now it's more of a boutique style," he said.

The store was at four locations in Muskogee and one in Fort Gibson.

He said he was operating the first store on West Broadway when a friend opened a market on Denison. When that closed, the shop moved to the old Severs Block building, then to the Hoopes Hardware building on Main Street. The store moved into the old Boatright building in Fort Gibson in 2019.

Templeton said such historic buildings have been light fixtures and electric bills.

He said his main business challenge has been keeping the inventory "different and fresh."

"For the repeat customers coming in, I like to have new things for them," he said. "I go to the Dallas market occasionally, and I have reps who come to see me, online companies I buy from.

"I've met some amazing people through the years," he said. "We became lifelong friends some of us."

Cruises offered picturesque views

Templeton recalled seeing amazing things on his cruises.

"The water is amazing," he said about cruises to Mexico. "There's nothing like that around here."

He said he had the most fun on his eastern Canada cruise.

"But that was because we were in New York for three days before the cruise," he said. "We did a lot of stuff in there."

Alaska has been his most breathtaking cruise destination.

"Mountains and waterfalls everywhere," he said.

Templeton has taken two Alaska cruises.

"Even though the boats are huge, when you get in the fjords, surrounded by mountains, you feel extremely tiny," he said. "I got to see glaciers, walk on glaciers. The little towns are picturesque. They have trout streams running through them."

He has taken small excursions, about 200 people, to see glaciers up close. He has gone rafting around Juneau with eight.

Templeton recalled taking a train into Canada.

"The train tracks were next to a river, and there was a rainbow that went from one side of the tracks to the other side of the river," he said. "It was so bright and vibrant. They stopped the train so everybody can get off and take pictures. It looked like we could just touch it."

HOW DID YOU COME TO BE AN OKIE FROM MUSKOGEE?

"I was born here. My dad was born in Fort Gibson. My mom was born in Iowa. So, I always lived here. I always liked Muskogee, always liked Fort Gibson."

WHAT DO YOU LIKE BEST ABOUT MUSKOGEE?

"The improvements being made downtown. I like the improvements made in the Katy District and the Depot District. They're really nice."

WHAT WOULD MAKE MUSKOGEE A BETTER PLACE TO LIVE?

"More industry. More well-paying jobs. We already got my favorite restaurant open the other day, Olive Garden. My car would autopilot to the one in Broken Arrow, now I don't even have to do that."

WHAT PERSON IN MUSKOGEE DO YOU ADMIRE MOST?

"Karen Wilson, my DECA teacher in high school. She sent me to UPS to apply for a job and that changed my life. I planned on going to college, I was thinking I would start with the basics and figure out what I was going to do."

WHAT IS THE MOST MEMORABLE THING TO HAPPEN TO YOU IN MUSKOGEE?

"Probably the day I could legally get married. I never thought I could be married. The day it was able to happen was a good thing. The relationship lasted 23 years."

WHAT DO YOU DO IN YOUR SPARE TIME?

"I visit family and friends. I like to entertain at the house occasionally. I've got some great neighbors I like to hang out with. I love going out to eat. The casino is at the top of my to-do list."

HOW WOULD YOU SUM UP MUSKOGEE IN 25 WORDS OR LESS?

"Muskogee's come a long way in the past few years. Improving the cleanliness of the town, opportunities for eating and shopping. The park's always beautiful, gets better every year, Honor Heights."

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