On Saturday, April 5, Tea and Country Estates will host their third annual “Tulips for Tatas” cancer fundraiser. The daylong event will have something for everybody. There will be a 5K run/walk, flag football, pickleball, cornhole, a food truck, and of course, tulips. According to Niki Schrader, who calls Tea and Country home, they will be raising money in support of local cancer patients Thatcher Severin and Brandon McNaughton. If the first two years are any indication, the team at Tea and Country anticipates a healthy showing of community support for Brandon, who recently welcomed a new baby with his wife Jordan, and Thatcher, who is just 7 years old and loves Sooner football. If you are wondering how one of Enid’s premier agritourism destinations came to host this event, we recently sat down with Niki for the full scoop.
Originally from Nebraska, Niki, her husband John, and their four children moved to the Enid area in the 2000’s, settling into the Tea and Country Estate property over a decade ago. At the time, planting thousands of tulips was the farthest thing from Niki’s mind. Caught up in the whirlwind of homeschooling and keeping up with her husband’s demanding career as a cardiac physician, Niki held down the fort for years – all while pursuing a variety of home-based businesses with the kids. “The kids and I did custom harvesting for a while, where we went and cut wheat for farmers,” she recalled. “I found out you don’t make any money doing that. Then the kids and I did this baling business until recently.” Now the children are all grown up and have families of their own.
The Tea and Country Estate is located on the outskirts of Enid, just north of town on Hwy 60/81. The 40-acre property is lovingly cared for, featuring wooded areas, a pond, and a beautifully restored 1920s farmhouse. There are pickleball courts, several outbuildings, and a pair of resident miniature donkeys. Most special of all is the crown jewel of Tea and Country: the approximately 25,000 tulips that spring to life every March. They come in a dazzling array of colors and are a real treat for the senses.
Originally, there weren’t supposed to be that many tulips. “I was only going to do a few,” recalled Niki. But that all changed three years ago. Niki was part of a small group of women who met regularly for prayer and fellowship, and it was a fun, supportive group. After three years, they basically became family. When “two of those girls out of that group of five of us go triple negative breast cancer within a month of each other,” said Niki. “You either laugh or you cry, so we decided to laugh. And then we decided to go ahead and do the tulips.” And with the help of a dedicated corps of friends and family, they got those 25,000 tulips planted. One of the women was a runner, so they added a 5K, and they also added cornhole. What they didn’t know was whether anyone would show up.
As it turns out, Enid showed up. In fact, almost 1,500 people attended that first year and helped raise “about $5,000” in support of Project 31. The second event in 2024 was even better and featured a very special candy drop courtesy of Niki and John’s son, Seth, who flies helicopters. The sophomore effort was a tremendous success, with another huge community turnout and around $10,000 raised.
Project 31 is an Oklahoma organization that provides a variety of support services to breast cancer patients and survivors. As with all types of cancer, breast cancer brings with it many challenges beyond just the financial. That is why Project 31 offers support groups, lovingly assembled “Care Kits” for newly diagnosed patients, counseling scholarships, and one-on-one mentoring. The brainchild of Sarah McLean, a two-time survivor of breast cancer and resident of Edmond, Oklahoma, the organization has in-person chapters in Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Enid, and Ardmore. There are virtual groups, as well, that serve women all over Oklahoma and beyond.
When Enid resident Eva Bartlet was diagnosed with breast cancer in December of 2017, she found herself bonding with other women around her age who were undergoing the same treatment. “I just felt this need to have community, because breast cancer is different from other cancers because it affects our physical bodies,” said Eva. She got in touch with Sarah McLean and was able to visit a Project 31 group in Edmond. After seeing the kind of community they were building, Eva knew that she wanted to start a chapter here in Enid. “I didn’t want to reinvent the wheel or anything,” she said, but eventually, by January 2019, they were able to get the Enid group going.
The core values of Project 31 are faith, compassion, servanthood, transparency, and perseverance. Participants strive to lift each other up as hope-givers, educators, and supporters. Their literature states that “many organizations center their focus on the numbers of women who die from breast cancer, we focus on how to live with a breast cancer diagnosis.” And the Enid women who meet once a month at Grace Place do just that. Their numbers vary, and Eva reported that “Some months we have 7, 8 ladies that show up. And sometimes we’ve had 25.” Their ranks aren’t limited to current breast cancer patients, either; according to Eva, they have had “ladies that have been 15, 20 years out of breast cancer…and they’re like, I need to be involved with this and help other ladies realize there is hope to get through it.” Eva is also cancer-free, with annual checkups to ensure that all is well, and she treasures being able to help others who are experiencing their own cancer journey.
No two gatherings are exactly the same. “Some months we’ll meet and just have discussion. Some months we’re doing art. Then some months we’ll bring in someone to educate us…we might have a lymphedema specialist come in or an oncologist,” said Eva. Regardless of the monthly topic, the Enid members of Project 31 have each other’s backs. They try to keep things positive, while at the same time, providing women with a space where “they can express what’s deep inside, what they’re feeling.”
Project 31 even had a key role in the creation of Tulips for Tatas, since “both of our Jennifers that are in our group” were the two friends that inspired Niki to host that first event, according to Eva. The Tulips events have served as a two-way street for local breast cancer patients and survivors. On the one hand, members of Project 31 have been regular participants, enjoying the 5K and other activities. And on the other hand, they’ve met new breast cancer survivors who hadn’t heard about Project 31 and have been able to introduce them to what the group is all about.
Behind every mile walked or run, every tulip picked, and every “Care Kit” assembled is one thing: community. It is the driving force behind each of these things, and it is incredibly important to breast cancer survivors and especially to those women who are facing a new diagnosis. As Eva put it, “I would just say that there’s hope, through all of this…. just coming together as a community and showing love to these people, because it’s tough. What they’re going through is tough.”
In small towns like Enid, that community is often like family, and those connections are being wonderfully illustrated by this year’s Tulips for Tatas. Their focus on helping Thatcher and Brandon largely came about because “Thatcher’s dad was my boys’ assistant football coach…and [Brandon’s wife] Jordan also went to school with my boys. So, we know those families fairly well,” said Niki. Thatcher was diagnosed with stage 4 Burkitt’s lymphoma, and Brandon with stage 4 metastatic adenocarcinoma. Their communities have rallied around them, bringing a ray of light to some extraordinarily difficult times.
The importance of community was echoed by another local survivor of breast cancer, Northern Oklahoma College instructor Kitty King. As a military spouse, Kitty was used to dealing with new challenges, jobs, homes, and pretty much everything else throughout the 26-year Air Force career of her husband, Brian. But when she was diagnosed with cancer in February of 2017, it was a whole new challenge.
Kitty’s breast cancer journey was unique in that she did not require any radiation or chemotherapy. Instead, the cancer was surgically removed via a bilateral (double) mastectomy in March of 2017, and the rest of that year was devoted to reconstructive surgery and recovery. It was an intense year full of appointments for this and that. Kitty is cancer-free now, but in the thick of that extremely stressful year, she had no idea how her story would end. When asked what got her through it, her answer was simple: “God.” She then elaborated that “everywhere we’ve lived, we’ve always had a very, very tight knit church community. I have family and friends who would go and do anything. There were times when Brian wasn’t able to take me to my appointments, and so we had friends…for two weeks after my surgery, there were people at the door everyday bringing food.”
Paying it forward is important to Kitty. “Anytime I see someone who I suspect maybe they’re going through something, I will ask gently and lovingly, ‘Are you on the breast cancer journey?’ Sometimes they will say yes…and I say call me, text me, if you need me to take you treatments. Or if you just need me to just sit and listen, or need to vent, let me know. Because it’s scary, and it’s hard, and it’s sisterhood. Because once you’ve had it…we’re still sisters.”
The crew at Project 31 shares this ethos. “We try to let them know that anytime they want to talk, we’re here for them. And as the women come through our group, we’d love for them to—after they’ve been able to process their journey—give back and be there for someone else who’s going through it,” said Eva. Being able to work through breast cancer is important. It takes a toll on the patient, and it is also very challenging for their family. Like so many things in life, cancer journeys have both individual and group elements. Many things are directly experienced by the patient herself, such as the surgical procedures and often unpleasant side effects of chemotherapy. But she is also dealing with those things while being a friend, a daughter, a mother, a sister, or a wife—and more likely than not, some combination of those. In fact, “15% of marriages don’t make it through,” said Eva. “So, if a family’s really just struggling to get through, we offer five counseling sessions. If they have their own, they can go to them, or we can try to hook them up with someone in their area that can help walk them through.”
So, women, do those regular breast self-exams. Everybody, go pick some tulips, walk or run that 5K, and remind your friends that breast cancer awareness isn’t just for October. And finally, make sure that those in your circles who have experienced cancer—any type of cancer—know that you have their back. Trust the folks in this article: it means the world.
Public Service Announcement
Breast cancer is something that has touched thousands of Oklahomans throughout the years. In 2025, the American Cancer Society estimates that Oklahoma will see nearly 3,500 new cases of breast cancer and over 500 breast cancer-related deaths. One of the best tools with which to fight against cancer is early detection, and to that end, our state offers the “Take Charge” program, Oklahoma’s Breast & Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program (BCCEDP). Funded jointly by grants from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and state matching funding, the goal of “Take Charge” is to help economically disadvantaged and underinsured women “[gain] information and access to screening services in order to reduce morbidity and mortality from breast and cervical cancer.” For more information, Oklahoma residents can call toll free at (888) 669-5934.
