A Superfund Christmas in Picher
Located in the Tar Creek Superfund site, all but a few residents of Picher took buyouts from the federal government and relocated. The town was demolished in 2011. Every year, on the first Saturday in December, former residents and their families come home for a Christmas parade. They stand on building foundations and point to where their houses used to be. They hug old friends and meet their children and grandchildren. They line the street and cheer. Large chat piles still loom, but the town comes back to life. And, moments after the last float passes with Santa and Mrs. Claus, Picher empties out and becomes a silent ghost town again.
Below are photos I’ve made in Picher, and the Tar Creek Superfund Site, before the 2022 Christmas Parade. I started going up there for stories back in 1998 and that is when I met Rebecca Jim(first photo) and she is still working up there trying to clean it up. The last 2 photos will show you how long she has been at it.
Here are a couple of videos I did the first in 2007 and the 2nd was in 2011. In the 2nd video Lloyd Stone is Susie’s husband. There is audio of Susie above and that’s her on the left in the hug photo. I think it’s her playing piano in the video. I didn’t realize when I was talking to her that we had met before, so I didn’t get a chance to ask about Lloyd. I don’t know how I feel about the voiceovers in the videos. This is back when everyone at newspapers thought we were evolving into tv, so that is how I was working in video back then. I think I like the way I do multimedia better now, but who knows?