PICHER, Oklahoma (CNN)-- Wearing powder blue pants and a plaid fedora, 84-year-old Orval "Hoppy" Ray arrived ... "like Las Vegas," Hoppy recalled. See photos of the town » When the mines slowed ...

An eerie ghost town; a crumbling relic; a warning for all of humanity if we allow exploitation of the environment to run unchecked: the decaying former mining city of Picher, Oklahoma, is all of ...

PICHER, Okla ... quiet northeastern corner of Oklahoma, near the Kansas and Missouri borders. Among those still living and working in the town is 59-year-old Gary Linderman, who has owned ...

One of the most memorable times this happened was while I was in Picher, Oklahoma, a few years ago ... knew that I would get nice pictures and meet some new people, but I have assignments with ...