Currently owned by Fredas Cook

To see how I used this picture,

Tommie Houston gave me this picture, along with a dozen or so others that belonged to Helen (Nebel) Stout.  This picture is printed in several books, as well as posted on a website as South Main Street in Picher, Oklahoma.  After being asked about that several times I have to state that it is impossible for that to be true for many reasons.  The sad part is that it is printed in "history" books, and you can't unprint them.

1. There is nor was there ever a 4100 block of South Main in Picher.
2. If there was, it would have to be east of Commerce.
3. Since it is a corner store, it's hardly four doors south of any store.
4. The odd numbers are on the east side of Picher's South Main Street, and this is obviously not on the East side of South anything.
5. With the apothecary bottles in the window, and "Dr. Ludwig" in the second story window, it is obviously a drug store, not dry goods.  There are many, many Ludwigs in the St. Louis records.
6. The Frank Nebel, owner of the bakery is probably Helen's grandfather, who was born in Switzerland and settled in St. Louis.  That would also explain the location of the picture.  Some digging through old records revealed that tidbit.
7. Helen's father, Frank, ran a Cafe in Texas, and a Cafe and grocery store in Picher, and I have pictures of those Picher businesses also.

The thing that bothers me about those old pictures is the gas lights suspended from the ceilings.  Since Picher originated in 1914 or 15, and the 1917 panorama shows electric as well as telephone lines, did Picher actually have gas lights? 

And, the United Iron Company (junk yard) wasn't on Second nor Trail's End.  It was at the south end of Ella, and straight east of Third.

I firmly believe that if you're going to report history, at least you should properly identify it.

Now, I'll get off my soapbox