Another valuable genealogy resource has been produced, making history more assessable. Local family historian and Publisher, Fredrea Gregath Cook, has finished her latest project in conjunction with the Oklahoma Historical Society. Her newest research tool, the Index to the 1930 King Jack Newspaper, Picher, Oklahoma, was made possible by a close working relationship with the OHS.
OHS materials can be accessed, with many other archival collections, at the Oklahoma History Center. The OHC provides National Archives and Records Administration-level services for researchers in Oklahoma. There are several resources the OHC house that can be found no where else on earth. The Oklahoma Newspaper Project is one of these valuable resources, preserving Oklahoma Newspapers for future generations and researchers.
The King Jack was a staple of the small lead and zinc mining town of Picher, Oklahoma and surrounding areas, during the early years. This newspaper is full of information that can be valuable to researchers of families, mining, geography, anthropology, and many other interests. It covered current and world events of the time, club and church meetings, social events, as well as several aspects of the Tri-State Mining Field events and activities. Also of interest in these newspapers is the inclusion of the Picher Chat Pile, the local school newspaper.
Up to this point, no index for the publication existed in any form. The book is an attempt to unlock the research riches that can be found in the newspaper and aid researchers in easily using that microfilm. As is often the case with early day newspapers, there were no page numbers. This led to an organized system of indexing, not based on printed page numbers. Each King Jack was chronologically microfilmed by edition date, beginning January 16, 1930 and ending with the partial November 13, 1930 edition for the OHS project. Not all newspapers were in pristine condition or even complete, but they were microfilmed, none the less.
Mrs. Cook enjoys being able to make local history and research materials available to researchers, world wide. She has several other projects in the works, including the ongoing Ottawa County Families series. For more information, call 918-542-4148, or go to
