by Graham Lee Brewer

When Gary Linderman died last summer, I couldn’t help but think the town of Picher, or rather the former-town, was finally dead. Gary was the last holdout in Picher, a man who refused to leave as the town around him withered and died, staying long after tornadoes and lead poisoning had taken its toll on the meager little municipality in the northeast corner of Oklahoma.

Many of us by now know well the story of Picher, a town built on vigorous lead and zinc mining in the early 1900’s. The towering piles of chat, discarded left-overs from the large mining efforts, loomed large on the edge of town. Continue reading Picher’s Last Breath: Gary Linderman Remembered →