Tulsa World: Hundreds turn out for Picher auction

MAKE US YOUR HOMEPAGE | Saturday, November 21, 2009 | WIRELESS

Home > News > Article

Comment

RSS

Bookmark

Hundreds turn out for Picher auction

Jim Clapp of Clapp Auction Service takes bids on the Picher gorilla Sunday afternoon during an auction of items from the Picher School District. Gary Crow/For the Tulsa World

By SHEILA STOGSDILL World Correspondent
Published: 6/14/2009 5:55 PM
Last Modified: 6/14/2009 5:59 PM

PICHER — Most of the 1,000 people attending Sunday’s auction of the Picher School District wanted to see who would buy the 500-pound concrete gorilla.

Between four bidders, Dave Marlin of Conway, Mo., had the winning bid of $2,500. Marlin didn’t graduate or even attend Picher High School. His reasons for purchasing the replica of the school mascot were not nostalgic, but business.

“I plan to use it for advertising,” said Marlin, who operates a tractor salvage yard. Marlin said he brought down a truck and trailer to haul the gorilla back to Conway, about 130 miles northeast of Picher.

“I’ll get it out of here one way or another,” Marlin said.

“It’s like carnival days,” said LaWayne Clapp, referring to the auction. “Some were sad, others were visiting old friends.”

Clapp Auction Service handled the eight-hour auction.

“Bidding just for the school’s jerseys last over two hours,” Clapp said.

Football jerseys went for $25 to $50 and football helmets sold for around $25 each. Jessi Garrett, of Oklahoma City, paid more than $5,000 for 23 folding metal chairs that former girls and boys basketball players sat on during games.

The chairs went for $230 each. The chairs have a drawing of a gorilla on the chair seat the name “Picher Gorillas” on the chair back.

“I plan go give some (of the chairs) as Christmas presents and the others I want to sell to the residents,” Garrett said.

Garrett graduated in 1999 and played basketball.

“It’s

a really bittersweet day,” Garrett said. “I live in Oklahoma City and this wasn’t real for me until today.”

Countless books, chairs, desks, chalkboards were sold. Some people bought old band uniforms and cafeteria equipment, including a snow cone machines.

The 90-year-old school district graduated its final class of seniors in May, and it now its remaining 50 students will be absorbed by the Commerce and Quapaw districts.

Picher is part of an area in northern Ottawa County that has been part of the Tar Creek environmental Superfund cleanup site since the early 1980s. In the 1990s tests showed the Picher children suffered lead poisoning and a 2006 Army Corps of Engineers federal study showed the abandoned lead and zinc mines in the communities of Picher, Cardin and Hockerville had a high risk of caving in.

Three years ago, the school district had more than 300 students, but the combination of a federally funded buyout of the town and last year’s EF-4 tornado that left seven people dead and 20 blocks of the community annihilated, hastened the demise of the school.

The death of the school was slow, at first the school cut athletics, band and art programs. Then in April voters overwhelming approved, by a 55 to 6 vote, to dissolve the school district.

On July 1 the school will officially close.

Proceeds from the auction will go to the Commerce and Quapaw school systems. By SHEILA STOGSDILL World Correspondent

Comment

RSS

Bookmark

Reader Comments

Reader comments for this story have been moved to the most updated version of the story, now under the headline "And away they go," which was published on 6/15/2009. So far, 32 comments have been made.