By Anne Hershewe
news@joplinglobe.com
PICHER, Okla. — Everyone, in one way or another, showed up to bid. It was, after all, an auction.
One of the successful bidders even went home with a 500-pound statue of a gorilla.
But most of the hundreds of people who turned out for the Sunday sale at the Picher school complex were not there for the furniture or equipment.
Many said they were there for the memories, and to bid farewell.
“Boy, I’ve roamed these halls a lot,” said Carl Berry, a 1974 Picher graduate.
Berry said he hoped to find a few things to purchase, but mostly he “just came for the old memories. It’s a sad thing.”
The Picher-Cardin School District, as a result of a government buyout prompted by lead contamination and cave-in risk in the former mining area, is in its final phase of closing for good.
Alumni of all ages attended a reunion Saturday that organizers said drew nearly a thousand people. Many of them decided to stay for the auction. While several expressed an interest in some items, specifically the concrete statue of the school mascot, many said they simply wanted to visit the school a final time.
“I really came to visit with the people who came from out of town,” said Dorothy Sigle White, a graduate with a legacy at the Picher-Cardin schools.
“My parents graduated from here in the 1930s,” she said. “I graduated in ’61 and my brother in ’64. It’s just kind of sad.”
Picher graduates Norton and Ruth Shoemaker said they simply wanted to look around one last time. “We just wanted to come and see the school,” said Ruth Shoemaker.
Swarms of people followed auctioneers from Clapp Auction Service through the halls, classrooms and fields to bid on items. Any item not going to the Commerce or Quapaw school districts was up for sale.
Dwayne “Buzz” Ervin, of Miami, said he didn’t know much about what was being auctioned off, but he hoped to find something that piqued his interest. He purchased a few desks from the elementary school, and he also wanted to buy some fencing and light fixtures.
Among the many items being auctioned off were bookshelves, kitchenware, sports equipment and the Picher fixture: the 7-foot gorilla.
Many people, mostly alumni, seemed intent on bidding on the gorilla. Though he is not a Picher graduate, Ervin said, “It’s the hottest item they’ve got.”
Berry joked about bidding on the Picher gorilla as well. “I told my wife, ‘That’s what we ought to have in our back yard in Commerce.’ We could paint it blue,” he said.
The gorilla ended up being bought by David Marlin, of Conway, Mo., for $2,500.
Marlin is not a graduate of Picher, nor are any of his immediate family members. When asked by a Globe photographer what he planned to do with the massive statue, Marlin would only say that he has a special project in mind.
Local News
Related Photos
Discussion
Hundreds flock to Picher auction
- Local News
-
-
Mike Pound: Food competitions combine to make culinary heaven
It’s such a great idea, you wonder why someone didn’t think of it before. In fact, it’s such a good idea that it’s possible it came about by accident.
-
Mo. court strikes down part of 2008 harassment law
The Missouri Supreme Court has struck down part of a state harassment law enacted after the suicide of a St. Charles County teenager who was teased over the Internet.
-
Cattle rustlers strike again in SW Mo. county
The plague of cattle rustling goes on in southwest Missouri’s Greene County.
Sheriff Jim Arnott says the latest episode occurred sometime Sunday in Walnut Grove. -
Bids sought for Cherokee County water treatment plant
After many delays, construction bids are being sought for a water treatement plant and water tank for the Spring River Public Wholesale Water District No. 19.
-
Dog helps some get through the court process
Sophie, a mutt of a dog with draping ears and dotted brows, is helping people in St. Louis County court tell stories of crime to judges, investigators and attorneys.
-
Jasper County 911 administrative lines down
Though all Jasper County emergency 911 telephone lines are functional, administrative and non-emergency lines for the county dispatching service have been down since Monday night.
-
Study suggests continued population drop in Kansas
A decades-long decline in population is likely to continue in Kansas, particularly in the west of the state, and four counties could have fewer than 1,000 residents by 2040, according to a study by Wichita State University’s Center for Economic Development and Business Research.
-
Tornado victim’s recovery ‘miraculous’
Carolyn Mckinlay did not know much about baseball, but she knew it was important to watch the sixth game of last year’s World Series. It was important because her future husband, Mark Lindquist, had a ticket to see his beloved Cardinals take on the Texas Rangers in the seventh game at St. Louis.
-
Family of service honored at Memorial Day ceremony
Lt. Col. Robert Brock returned to his hometown Monday and told an audience of about 500 residents and veterans gathered at the Pittsburg State University Veterans Memorial that Memorial Day is a celebration of family — America’s family of service.
-
Master developer working on project possibilities
A Texas developer who Joplin officials intend to hire to help with the city’s post-tornado development says he has secured commitments for about $400 million in capital to fund about 20 possible projects.
- More Local News Headlines
-
Mike Pound: Food competitions combine to make culinary heaven
