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GeneralChink Enders Mine

25th Mar 2014 13:02 UTCAlfred L. Ostrander

Hello All,

Working through articles and papers relating to the mines and minerals of the Picher Field I came across the listing for the Chink Enders Mine.

Chink and his father Red were certainly well known characters and a good source for minerals. But I do have to raise the question if anyone can verify that Chink really had a mine.

When I seriously started collecting back in 1970 I acquired a lot of specimens from the Illinois fluorite mines and the Tri-State lead-zinc mines. They were inexpensive and realily available in almost mind numbing quantities. One dealer that I frequented got minerals from both fields by the barrel full. A couple of times I helped him unload a barrel. It was quite a thrill to pull out specimen after specimen all heavily wrapped in newspaper. Sometimes it seemed there was more newspaper than specimens to protect them during shipping as they were just stacked in the barrels, large on the bottom and smaller toward the top. Barrels from the Picher came from Boodle Lane and Chink Enders. Jim would stop out that way on his annual winter vacation to the southwest and buy specimens, sometimes sight unseen as they were already packed. Other specimens spread out all over the place would be selected and then packed for shipping. The packed barrels were cheaper "commercial" or mine run grade sold at a good price. Jim just labeled the commercial specimens from Picher, Oklahoma or Treece, Kansas as he knew they could be from several mines in the area. He said Chink and his father, Red, worked the mines as independent gougers for ore on a rather loose contract basis and collected well crystallized specimens for sale to collectors and dealers. He noted that most of Chinks specimens came from the Mid Continent Mine and thought Chink even kept a jeep underground to get around in. Chink would also take collectors underground. Jim would tell me as best he could what mine the hand selected specimens came from and never once did he mention the Chink Enders Mine. Jim said he always got a kick out of Chink and that he was a real "operator".

Another source that knew Chink and Red said that Chink had a winch and tended to use one shaft at the Mid Continent to raise specimens. This source could not verify that Chink had a mine he could call his. He just knew that Chink had access to a lot of mines. Could it be that Chink just referred to this as "his" mine on the basis that he had some kind of deal going with an actual owner?

I am bringing this up wondering if the Chink Enders mine is a viable locality as Chink got his stock from more than one mine depending on what was available and most easily worked. The stories of almost legendary proportion based on his propensity to carry large amounts of cash and his untimely murder should remain as part of the history of the Picher Field. However, is the Chink Enders Mine just part of the legend?

It's alright with me if collectors retain the name on their labels honoring Chink. I would just be interested in more of the story here.

Best Regards,

Al O

25th Mar 2014 14:49 UTCKelly Nash 🌟 Expert

I think you are probably right - perhaps others can chime in. Chink was a specimen collector in several pre-existing mines. There are stories similar to yours in earlier postings. I'm thinking that "locality" should probably be removed from the database and the specimen photos moved into either "Picher Field" or "Tri-State District". The Tri-State Mindat listings are incomplete, and in places, inaccurate. I've had on my "do-list" for some time, an effort to clean up at least the Picher District. I have a copy of the 1969 USGS Prof. Paper (#588) that includes a map of known mineworkings in the Picher field. I've entered a few mines in Mindat for specimens in my collection. The map shows Township-Section-Range locations that it would be nice to convert to lat-long coordinates (of course that is not that useful anymore anyway, since all the mines and dumps have been virtually obliterated). I have thought that somebody with a more intimate knowledge of the area might undertake this, but that paper is probably the most credible locality index around. It's a "snapshot" from 1969, and so includes merged mines and perhaps a few that merged later, although that was close to the tail-end of the mining era there, so is probably a pretty good compilation. I love Tri-State minerals too, and have visited the area a few times, but not until 1980 and afterwards, when Chink was gone, and mineral access was just about gone too.

25th Mar 2014 20:22 UTCSusan Robinson

Dear Al, Kelly and others:

In the mid to late 1960s I was fortunate to have made several trips to the Tristate District to collect specimens from the Mid Contintent mine near Treece, Kansas, then being worked by "Chink" (Charles) and Red Enders (Chink's father). According to everyone I talked with while there, it was Red who actually had the mine under lease. Red was not particularly interested in specimen mining, as he was out to rob pillars and salvage what ore he could find to sell to Eagle-Picher, one of the last major operations in the area. Chink and one or two miners who worked part time for Red did most of the specimen mining. There never was an official "Chink Enders mine" per se, but you are correct in his keeping a jeep underground - I rode in it many times, and I know that from what Chink told me that not all the specimens he collected and sold actually came from the Mid Continent mine (although most of them did come up through the Mid Continent's main shaft!). The best quality specimens he had at the time I was there were coming out of the Ballard mine near Baxter Springs, Kansas. I don't know if Chink was buying them from miners and reselling them, or whether he was "midnight mining" them. With Chink, anything was possible. I don't mean to imply there weren't good specimens to be had from the Mid Continent, too. The collecting I did there (for $10 per day keep whatever you find) was probably the most memorable of my entire career. I've attached a few photos to give you an idea what it was like underground in the Mid Continent circa 1966-1969.

George Robinson

25th Mar 2014 22:57 UTCAlfred L. Ostrander

Kelly, I have reviewed that USGS professional report but the back pocket (unsurprisingly) was empty. The Oklahoma survey has an older map that I might order. I was also told that the Golden Hawk Mine is in Picher very near to the Kenoyer, not in Commerce as is listed at Mindat. The problem is that some of the larger mines had multiple shafts. So, I haven't found a real answer to the possibility of a shaft near to Commerce. And then there is the problem that there were many small shafts and mines all through the years and keeping track of them can be quite a feat. Then many small operations were bought up and consolidated. I have been reviewing some of the older posts here along with reading other sources and am trying to fill in some of the gaps in my mind.

Susan, thank you for the pictures. As with Kelly's response, I appreciate your help filling in gaps and expanding the story. I never collected at Picher but I did a drive by the ghost town several years ago. As it was cold and raining I didn't really stop anywhere, just paid my respects, so to speak.

Best Regards,

Al O

26th Mar 2014 01:24 UTCKevin Conroy [old account]

I can verify that everything that George said is true, especially that this was some of the most memorable collecting you could ever hope for. There were times when five or six of us would be collecting in a single pocket that you could stand up in! When Eagle Picher shut the pumps off and closed their last mine, the water table (that was very near-surface) started flooding the mines fairly quickly. I happened to take a trip down when the water was really becoming an issue. Some of the passageways were impassible at this point. Chink put me in a pocket that had 3 to 4 foot long calcite crystals. He said there wasn't any way to get these out intact, so we were to chisel on the bases of the crystals. No matter how careful we were the tips of the crystals always broke off before we could get the bases to cleave. I wasn't too disappointed though, as the "tips" were a foot to a foot and a half long, and we could actually carry these to the jeep. I always had to walk out of the mine because the jeep was always too loaded with specimens, with only room for Chink to sit and drive.

On another trip we went down the Mid Continent shaft, then travelled for quite a while before we got to our collecting site. I said something to Chink about not realizing how big his mine was. He said that "We weren't in Kansas any more!" (pun intended). They had dug into several abandoned neighboring mines, and followed the leftover ore and specimens.

As an aside, in Joplin, Missouri the Everett J. Ritchie Tri-State Mineral Museum in Schifferdecker Park has a very good display of the minerals and history of the region, and is well worth visiting.

26th Mar 2014 12:50 UTCSusan Robinson

There is also a tiny, private mineral museum in Baxter Springs, Kansas, which we have not seen. It was closed when we were there, which was in mid-winter about 10 years ago.

26th Mar 2014 21:47 UTCKelly Nash 🌟 Expert

Alfred, you are right about the Golden Hawk Mine, it is (or was) very near Picher, just east of the Kenoyer. I've changed the locality to reflect that - good catch. Getting back to your original question, it (still) sounds to me like the "Chink Enders Mine" locality should be eliminated from MIndat. The specimens should probably be moved to Picher District (which includes the Ballard Mine in Baxter Springs, Kansas). Then some of Susan's great history could be added to the description of the Mid Continent Mine and probably also to the Picher District description. I don't think I'm authorized to eliminate localities and move specimens around, but if we don't catch the attention of a manager who can do that here, I will make a note in the "Mistakes & Errors" forum in a few days.

26th Mar 2014 23:38 UTCSusan Robinson

Hi Guys,

The photos and history are from my husband's adventures underground in the Tri-State in the mid-1960s. he signed his name at the bottom of the written history after the photos. I was there with him several years later, but never went underground to collect. I get claustrophobic with mines, caves, etc.

27th Mar 2014 14:28 UTCDavid Von Bargen Manager

"sounds to me like the "Chink Enders Mine" locality should be eliminated from MIndat." - not if there are labels out there that have it listed as such. The locality can be updated to include the info in this thread (another reason why the "Talk" pages should be used to categorize this thread).

27th Mar 2014 16:12 UTCKelly Nash 🌟 Expert

Thanks, David, I posted a similar message under "Mistakes and Errors" earlier, probably about the same time as your comment.

27th Mar 2014 21:26 UTCRock Currier Expert

Perhaps it could be called Enders Lease mine? Does anyone know which mine it was? Or did he lease several mines at various times? Is this really any different than someone leasing a quarry and then working it and people giving it the name of the new guy or company that was working the quarry?

28th Mar 2014 13:11 UTCAlfred L. Ostrander

Hello Rock,

I had noticed in a previous post that you dealt with Chink. I considered what you said before asking about the validity of the Chink Enders Mine. To me, the problem seems to be that once underground Chink headed off in all directions collecting whatever and whereever he could. Specimens came from other places than just his lease(s) or area(s) that may have been contracted for. He may very well have had legitimate leases all over the area but to lump them all under one mine name gave me pause so I asked the question about the validity of the name. As it is well known, the mines were all inter-connected underground and Chink had a jeep to roam around more or less at will over a large area. It has become apparent to me that his specimens came from a number of mines. As I noted before, I have no problem indicating Chink was the source for specimens but that doesn't make it clear what mine they came from. From what has been said by others who knew and collected with him, almost the whole Picher Field was his "mine".

Thank you for contributing to this thread as it adds to the story of Chink and minerals from the Picher Field. If you have any more recollections about Chink or any of the specimens that you acquired, I would be interested in what you have to say. You do have a reputation for telling a good tale while keeping the facts humorous and straight.

Best Regards,

Al O.

28th Mar 2014 14:43 UTCKelly Nash 🌟 Expert

I agree with Alfred. I think, in this case that, having a locality with Chink's name on it encourages people to put specimens in there just because his name was attached to it. In fact, I suspect that is the case for most of the specimens already in that gallery. As we know, most collectors will always want to attach more specificity to a locality when it may not be warranted.

I have a lot of ex-Clyde Hardin specimens from Magnet Cove, which is an area of about 5 square miles encompassing many localities. In fact, probably the majority of existing specimens from Magnet Cove in collections today were collected and sold or traded by Clyde Hardin. Now imagine that I establish a locality in Mindat called "Clyde Hardin Mine, Magnet Cove, Hot Spring Co., Arkansas". Over time, I would imagine a lot of people who know their specimen came from Clyde might happily put their specimens under that (fictitious) locality. That is a little more extreme example than the "Chink Enders Mine", because his father did apparently have a lease on the Mid-Continent Mine. But the various credible stories tell us that he also collected from other mines and probably traded or purchased from other collectors and miners around Picher.

28th Mar 2014 18:21 UTCTom Tucker

This link: http://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/0588/plate-01.pdf is to Plate 1, of USGS Professional Paper 588, and will give us an idea of the extent and inter-connectivity of the underground working in the Picher District. To present Enders as a source seems appropriate, but a given specimen could have come from a multitude of possible "localities".

28th Mar 2014 23:20 UTCKelly Nash 🌟 Expert

Thanks, Tom! Since the USGS maps are public domain, I converted that to a jpg file and uploaded it to the Picher Field (OK) Mindat page as a locality map.

1st Apr 2014 20:12 UTCScott DeLano

(p.s.-if this post should be somewhere else, please feel free to move it!)

Hello...

I have lived in Miami, OK since 1973. My dad was an amateur geology student and he use to drag us kids up on the rock piles around Picher when we went fishing in the ponds. I would have LOVED to have had the chance to go down with Chink Enders and gotten some great specimens...anyway, I have gotten interested in looking for my own specimens/crystals/etc and have spent the past few weekends out on some small rock piles southwest of Picher. It has been fun and I have found quite a few calcite samples and sphalerite is everywhere along with the some good galena samples plus lots of odds and ends specimens. I love the hunt I guess...lol...never know what is on the bottom side of the next rock you turn over!

Most of the area around Picher has been fenced off and have "No Trespassing" signs via the US Government. In addition, the Quapaw Tribe has taken over a lot of the land as well, so it really limits the search areas around there but if you are persistant, you can still find small samples here and there. Of course they are NOTHING like the samples that they use to pull out of there back in the day but its still fun.

I have located the Mid-Continent Mine. It still appears that you can access the rock piles around it so I may give it shot. I've seen a lot of great specimens that were labeled as being from the Mid-Continent so who knows...maybe its rock piles will have some nice little treasures too...I can hope!

I have just found this site and have really enjoyed the information/maps/etc...thank you to everyone who works to keep this place running!

2nd Apr 2014 01:46 UTCRock Currier Expert

2nd Apr 2014 02:07 UTCKelly Nash 🌟 Expert

Hi Scott - Welcome to Mindat! That's really interesting that you are still finding specimens around there. I hope sometime you might be able to post some pictures.

Back in the 1980s, people were already telling me that nothing worth collecting was left to be found around Picher, and that all the big piles around Picher that I was seeing were only "chat" (chips of chert), but one time I found a huge pile of bowling-ball sized rocks right in the middle of Picher that had some nice crystals of dolomite, sphalerite, calcite, and even marcasite (some of the marcasite from Picher seems to be quite stable). The galena was beginning to crumble a bit on the corners, and the pyrite was badly weathered, of course. I only had a couple hours to collect and always wanted to go back, but a couple years later, when I got back, that was all fenced off. I suspect there are still some nice things to be found. Not like the old days, but still, decent. There are probably still a few old-timers around with good specimens sitting around the house as well.

If you search the message board (use the "Advanced" button to go back more than a year) for Tri-State or Picher, you will find some interesting past conversations about the area. It seems like every time it comes up, somebody has some stories to tell. The great book "American Mineral Treasures" (2008) has stories and pictures from the "best" localities (44 in total) in the U.S., as determined by a group of famous collectors and mineralogists, including many who frequent Mindat. There was a lot of arguing about which localities should be in there, but I think there was little doubt that the Tri-State District would be prominently featured.

2nd Apr 2014 02:57 UTCScott DeLano

Hello! There are rock piles around and I have found several that are not fenced off. I have been spending about fours each Saturday morning for the past month turning over rocks. Part of the fun is the thrill of the hunt! Like I said the specimens are small but still fun to find!

3rd Apr 2014 14:29 UTCAlfred L. Ostrander

Hello Rock,

Thank you for the photo of Chink!

And welcome Scott! It appears you may have registered just to post here. As you have feet on the ground there in Oklahoma your comments are greatly appreciated.

Best Regards,

Al O

10th Aug 2015 03:35 UTCRandy

I use to down in the minds with Chink as a kid and run all over the place in that jeep...lol

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