Owner Instrumental in Creation of Jesus House
Catholic-owed Pirates Alley Receives Governor’s Art Award                           
By Eileen Dugan
For the Sooner Catholic

OKLAHOMA CITY — Pirates Alley, the Oklahoma City picture-framing bus- iness started by Robert John Henrichs and his wife Alvina, parish- ioners of Saint Eugene’s, has received the pres- tigious Earl Sneed Memorial Business in   Back row Tony and R. J. Front row: Thereas Hurts, Alvina and Rose.

the Arts Award.  This award recognizes a business in Oklahoma that has made an important impact on the arts.

Pirates Alley received the award because of its continued support of the Festival of Arts in Oklahoma City.  Each year, the arts festival has a commemorative poster.  People make a donation to the festival and get a poster.  If they make a large donation, they receive a framed poster.  The Festival of the Arts donates the materials, and, each year, Pirates Alley donates the labor for framing the posters and the delivery of the framed posters to the donors.

In 1995, the year of the bombing, when the Festival of the Arts was cancelled, Pirates Alley not only donated the labor for the framing and delivery of the posters but they donated the frames, as well.

“The award Pirates Alley received in December came from the Governor’s office,” the Henrichs’ daughter, Theresa Hurt said.  “We were nominated by the Arts Council of OKC and are very honored to be recognized by the state of Oklahoma in this way.”

Mr. Henrichs, known to friends as R. J. or Bob, and wife Alvina started Pirates Alley in 1970.  “R.J. took the name Pirates Alley from a street in New Orleans where artists would gather to hang their paintings for sale,” Hurt said.  “The street happens to be right by Saint Louis Cathedral.”

The Henrichs have seven children (Rose, Theresa, John, Robert, Tony, Paul, and Sara), all of whom have worked at the store at one time or another.  Today, Rose, Theresa, and Tony, members of Saint Francis Parish, continue to work in the business.  “Dad has retired, but Mother still works at the frame shop at 2733 W. Britton Road,” Hurt said.  “We also have another location at 1700 NW 23rd Street.”   

  R.J. and Alvina’s framing enterprise grew out of the paint business where R.J. worked.  He was manager of the Sherwin Williams store at Shepherd Mall where art supplies were sold, as well as paint.

“Artists would come in to buy art supplies and say that they needed their works framed,” Hurt said. So, to fill this need, “Dad started doing framing in his garage.  The framing business became so successful that he left Sherwin Williams and started framing full-time.  Their first store was at 30th and Penn.  

“My dad was very instrumental in the start of the Jesus House,” Hurt said.  “Sister Ruth Wynne, not a religious sister, used to do portraits at the Sherwin Williams store in Shepherd Mall. She was a pastel artist.  She would set up her easel in the store, always displaying a charcoal portrait of Joe Namath so people could see what a good likeness she could draw.  That was how she would sell her portraits.

“Since she was often in the Sherwin Williams store, she and my dad got to be friends.  My dad had an apartment house at 29th and Florida, and he allowed Ruth to use it.  That is where the Jesus House started.

“Originally, Jesus House was a shelter that helped minister to people on drugs and alcohol.  It helped them to get back into the mainstream of society.  Now, it is pretty much a homeless shelter.

“Sister Ruth, basically, would just go out and talk to people.  She would say, ‘Hey, let me tell you about Jesus.  He can help you through this!” Hurt said.