By Krista Duhon

news@joplinglobe.com

QUAPAW, Okla. — Carol McGowen wiped away bittersweet tears Saturday as she and her family members walked through Quapaw’s newest subdivision, now home to 19 homes removed from the former mining communities they once called home.

Kansas City developers William Worley and Tom Cason, owners of Cane River Development, presented Bluestem subdivision to the public Saturday in a six-hour open house that brought a stream of curious area residents and potential home buyers.

“They did a wonderful job,” McGowen said.

McGowen’s father, Ed Selle, was equally impressed by the efforts to refurbish homes salvaged from the communities of Picher, Cardin and Hockerville. The former lead and zinc mining communities are the focus of a federally funded effort to relocate residents living in undermined areas determined to be unsafe.

“If we had not already purchased a home, we would have bought one of these homes,” Selle said. “We came today just to see what they have done here. They have done a bang-up job.”

Standing in front of a blue-sided ranch-style home in the middle of a grouping of about a dozen homes, Selle pointed to a brown home with fresh sod and a $119,000 price tag on the front door.

“That was my wife’s niece’s home,” Selle said. “And that little white house two doors down belonged to good friends of ours, France and Kathryn Crocket. They built that house.”

Pointing in another direction, Selle noted a cinderblock footprint of a small home.

“That is where they brought in my sister’s house,” Selle said. “But, they said it ended up being not as stable as they thought, so they tore it down and left the foundation.”

Selle, born 81 years ago in Picher, said he and his wife, Marcella, have always managed to find their way back to Picher.

“It will always be home,” Selle said, noting that it was nice to see that a semblance of the community had been reassembled. “They have done a good thing.”

Four of the largest homes from the Picher area flank the entrance to Bluestem subdivision, which sits along South 620 Road in Ottawa County. A trio of small home foundations are mixed among 16 additional homes that are now move-in ready. New construction will be designed to fit the three cinder-block foundation sites where developers decided the most cost-effective remedy for renovation was to demolish the home and build on the foundation.

As of July, city water and sewer lines were in place, according to developers, who said the city of Quapaw welcomed them with open arms and considers the new subdivision to be a fresh breath for the rural Oklahoma town.

The city of Quapaw, according to Worley, has expressed an interest in being a partner with the developers to build a city park.

One of the homes is under contract, according to Gary Shartzer, a Kansas City real estate salesman working with Cane River Development.

“The challenge is getting people out here to see the homes,” Shartzer said. “When people actually see the homes, they are impressed. But most people just don’t know that it is here.”

Shartzer said that despite the fact that the homes came from a Superfund site, the homes are environmentally safe. Each home was stripped down to the studs and each has an environmental report that will be provided to the home buyer. The homes also come with a 10-year warranty and they sit on ground that has been tested for soil contamination by the Environmental Protection Agency.

Bluestem’s plat will accommodate 120 more homes, Worley said. Some will be built from the ground up, and others will continue to be brought in from the Picher area.

Homes have an average asking price of $75,000 to $120,000, with the most expensive being $179,000, according to Shartzer.

Cason said a well-received feature of the subdivision is the planned enforcement of codes and covenants that will mandate a clean and uncluttered community.

Worley said he and his business partner recognize the value in trying to save as much as they can from the Picher community homes — such as decks, solid cabinetry and unique features — noting that it not only shaves the cost of renovation but is environmentally friendly and helps to preserve the sentimental value of the community.

McGowen agrees.

“Nobody wanted to leave (Picher),” McGowen said. “We would still be there if we could. It was home. We were a community.”



Tornado’s impact

The plan initially called for moving 175 houses from the buyout area, but that was before a massive tornado struck Picher on May 10, 2008. The developers said the twister destroyed 20 of the nicer homes that the company planned to move.