Editing Picher, Oklahoma (section)

==Representation in media==
Picher was featured in the [[Public Broadcasting Service|PBS]] [[Independent Lens]] film ''The Creek Runs Red,'' which discussed the connection of the people and their desire to leave or stay in the city.<ref>[https://www.pbs.org/independentlens/creekrunsred/index.html "The Creek Runs Red"] - ''Independent Lens'' - PBS</ref> Picher was also featured in the Jump the Fence Productions film titled ''[[Tar Creek (film)|Tar Creek]]'' (2009). The film was written, directed, and narrated by Matt Myers.<ref>[http://tarcreekfilm.com/ "Tar Creek"] - ''Jump the Fence Productions''</ref>

Picher was featured in an episode of ''[[Life After People: The Series]]'' on the [[History (U.S. TV channel)|History Channel]].<ref name="LifeAfterPeople">{{cite web  | last = Kennedy  | first = Wally  | title = Filmmakers find stories in Picher  | work = The Joplin Globe  | date = January 11, 2010  | url = http://www.joplinglobe.com/local/local_story_011215208.html  | access-date = January 13, 2010  | url-status = dead  | archive-url = https://archive.today/20130128234105/http://www.joplinglobe.com/local/local_story_011215208.html  | archive-date = January 28, 2013  }}</ref> The aforementioned tornado was also featured on an episode of the [[Weather Channel|Weather Channel's]] ''[[Storm Stories]]''.

Picher was also featured in the premiere episode of ''Forgotten Planet: Abandoned America'' on the [[Discovery Channel]] (along with [[Pripyat|Pripyat, Ukraine]]) in a story of two cities abandoned due to industrial disasters.<ref name="ForgottenPlanet">{{cite web | title = Forgotten Planet | url = http://press.discovery.com/us/3n/programs/forgotten-planet/  | access-date = July 5, 2014}}</ref>

In April 2015, Picher was featured in a segment on the National Geographic Channel called "The Watch", in which one of a handful of holdouts still resides and watches over what is left of the town.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20150401173056/http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/the-watch/ "The Watch"], National Geographic Channel, April 2015</ref>

Police investigating the [[Welch, Oklahoma]] murders of Danny and Kathy Freemen and the [[murders of Lauria Bible and Ashley Freeman]] filed charges containing statements from numerous witnesses and alleged accomplices who stated they had heard rumors that Lauria Bible and Ashley Freeman were in a pit or mineshaft in Picher, or had been threatened by Warren Philip Welch, lead suspect in the crimes, who told them they would "end up in a pit in Picher like those two girls." Their bodies have never been found, though suspected accomplice Ronnie Dean Busick was arrested in April 2018 for his involvement in the crimes.<ref>[http://www.tulsaworld.com/charges-and-affidavit-in-welch-cast/pdf_252c6011-44f9-5d30-afef-9c543c9c1e99.html/ "Charges and affidavit in Welch cast"], Tulsa World, April 23, 2018</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Stogsdill|first1=Sheila|title=18 years later, finally answers: How investigators solved the murders of 2 Welch girls|url=http://www.tulsaworld.com/homepagelatest/years-later-finally-answers-how-investigators-solved-the-murders-of/article_b848a994-ef09-50df-83c6-7193ee3e928a.html|website=Tulsa World|date=April 23, 2018 |access-date=April 23, 2018}}</ref> Busick pleaded guilty July 15, 2020 to being an accessory to first-degree murder in the deaths of Danny and Kathy Freeman, the torching of their home near Welch, Oklahoma, and the abduction and presumed slayings of the two girls.<ref name=Joplin>{{cite web|url=https://www.joplinglobe.com/news/local_news/updated-busick-sentenced-in-freeman-bible-murder-case/article_4846f870-eb9e-11ea-a040-ff37aca805d6.html |title= Busick sentenced in Freeman-Bible murder case |date= August 31, 2020 |publisher=Jeff Lehr, The Joplin Globe, August 31, 2020|access-date=December 6, 2020}}</ref> He admitted having withheld information about the involvement of Warren "Phil" Welch and David Pennington, both of whom have since died without ever having been charged.<ref name=Joplin/> He was sentenced to 15 years for the crime, with 10 of the years to be spent in lockup.<ref name=Joplin/>

The [[Oklahoma City]] [[sludge metal]] band, [[Chat Pile (band)|Chat Pile]], takes their name from the chat piles in the city.

There is a musical in the process of being created based on the real story of the town.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Madia |first1=Quentin |last2=Pelaia |first2=Lauren |title=The Picher Project |url=https://www.thepicherproject.com/ |website=THE PICHER PROJECT |access-date=27 April 2023}}</ref> Titled ''The Picher Project'', the story combines real life people, such as Tar Creek waterkeeper Rebecca Jim and Picher-native, and previous Mayor, Orvile "Hoppy" Ray as well as fictional characters based on actual people in order to properly tell the story of the town and the people who lived there, as well as the [[Quapaw]] nation. The show was conceptualized and is being created by Quentin Madia, Lauren Pelaia, and Alex Knezevic, with Knezevic eventually leaving the production on good terms to pursue independent ventures.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Knezevic |first1=Alex |title=Message from Alex Knezevic |url=https://www.instagram.com/p/CVz6168BAF6/ |website=Instagram |access-date=27 April 2023}}</ref> Prior to the formal creation and writing of the script and music, the production team visited the town of Picher and were toured around by Rebecca Jim.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Madia |first1=Quentin |last2=Pelaia |first2=Lauren |title=The Picher Project - The Trip |url=https://www.thepicherproject.com/the-trip |website=THE PICHER PROJECT |access-date=27 April 2023}}</ref> They also interviewed several former citizens of the town, such as Orville Ray's son. The musical has had workshop performances at Dixon Place, BarnArts, and [[54 Below]], as well as a virtual performance of a of couple songs using the non-profit theatre company ''The Dare Tactic'' to promote the songs and gain feedback on the show. On April 30, 2023, Media and Pelaia directed a workshop of the show at The College of New Jersey with members of the college's musical theatre organization performing the most recent version of the script for an invite-only audience. Beginning on September 28, 2023, and ending the following month on October 21 the production saw its first full residency, returning to Dixon Place.<ref>https://dixonplace.org/performances/the-picher-project/</ref> ''The Picher Project'' has been featured in multiple news articles, including two from [[The Joplin Globe]],<ref>{{cite news |last1=Barker |first1=Kimberly |title=New York Artists Visit Oklahoma to Create Musical About Picher |url=https://www.joplinglobe.com/news/local_news/new-york-artists-visit-oklahoma-to-create-musical-about-picher/article_a2111de1-d7ec-5da1-8ea2-d9c3756bd072.html |access-date=28 April 2023 |work=Joplin Globe |publisher=Joplin Globe |date=21 March 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Barker |first1=Kimberly |title=The Picher Project Musical to Debut in New York City |url=https://www.joplinglobe.com/news/local_news/the-picher-project-musical-to-debut-in-new-york-city/article_43449cec-0f55-561c-821b-e3d7b5d21063.html |access-date=28 April 2023 |work=Joplin Globe |publisher=Joplin Globa |date=22 October 2019}}</ref> [[KOAM-TV]],<ref>{{cite news |last1=Kelley |first1=Kate |title=Musical pays tribute to Picher, Oklahoma |url=https://www.koamnewsnow.com/entertainment/musical-pays-tribute-to-picher-oklahoma/article_5459fc85-92ce-5228-a2ca-3fde9b6c0cd2.html |access-date=28 April 2023 |work=KOAM News |publisher=KOAM NEWS |date=12 December 2022}}</ref> ''Four States News'',<ref>{{cite news |last1=Bracey |first1=Autumn |title=The history of Picher will be turned into a musical |url=https://www.fourstateshomepage.com/news/the-history-of-picher-will-be-turned-into-a-musical/1864726678/ |access-date=28 April 2023 |work=Four States News |publisher=Four States News}}</ref> ''E & E News'',<ref>{{cite news |last1=Figueroa |first1=Ariana |title=Musical about 'most toxic town' makes Off-Broadway debut |url=https://subscriber.politicopro.com/article/eenews/1061365397 |access-date=28 April 2023 |work=Greenwire |publisher=E & E News |date=24 October 2019}}</ref> and [[BroadwayWorld]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Musbach |first1=Julie |title=THE PICHER PROJECT Comes to Feinstein's/54 Below |url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/cabaret/article/THE-PICHER-PROJECT-Comes-to-Feinsteins54-Below-20190910 |access-date=28 April 2023 |work=BroadwayWorld |publisher=BroadwayWorld |date=10 September 2019}}</ref><!-- shorten, citations should also be incorporated in the text and not just listed in the end -->