When you think about Oklahoma you think of the beautiful tall grass prairies and unforgettable rolling hills. You never think of a town that is nearly deserted and looking like a ghost town. Sadly the small town of Picher, Oklahoma is about to be demolished over lead contamination. Only a handful of people still reside in the town of Picher, which in the 1920s use to have nearly 14,000 people living in it. In the past few weeks, there has already been a funeral home, restaurant, thrift store, apartment building and other structures demolished.
Picher, Oklahoma home was once a town of mining and now the last remaining is the town pharmacy, Old Miners Pharmacy. . The pharmacist Gary Linderman says “I have an obligation to people. We are all creatures of habit and closing might throw them off.” This pharmacy in Picher is the only place that the handful of people still living there can get snack food, beverages, over-the-counter medicine and other necessities. One can only image the Old Miners Pharmacy is the only place you can go get those things, due to lead contamination. The processes we do, we need to be so much more careful so these things do not keep happening and leaving these areas of nothing in Oklahoma. 
In 1981 the federal government declared Picher a Superfund site and bought out about 900 homeowners and businesses. Lead contamination can have serious effect of animals, children, adults and the elderly. It is scary to think how those that are still living there are not being seriously affected by this environment. Picher has also suffered in the past years from sinkholes. That nearly swallowed the community into the old mines that are below Picher. The location that Picher is also in, is a known area of tornados when they are in season ,which has also resulted in many of people of Picher to relocate.
The government is leaving up a select few of the buildings in Picher, but they are to be remained vacant. They have left a church, mining museum, auction house and a building where mining equipment was sold. Due to the lead poisoning the school district and city government closed in 2009 along with the post office. As deserted this place is there are still a few souls that roam the grounds of nothing but lead contamination and fields. Linderman states “I’m a farm boy; I’m used to the open spaces.” I personally think I would be one the people who would have left if there is nothing left but torn down memories and a pharmacy. 
Being a geology major and being somewhat leaning towards mining, things like this make we very sad. Because of something I am wanting to do, I could ruin a whole town and leave them with nothing. I feel for those in Picher and this should make our eyes open. We Oklahomans need to be much more cautious in what we do. Sometime small things could lead to a huge thing of nothing. Our Oklahoma companies need to defiantly learn from these things and know there are people’s lives that can be affected forever.
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