By AAH, Shelley Muzny
If youโve spent much time around Hennessey or Dover, chances are youโve crossed paths with Charlie and Alma Pickleโ the kind of people who make everyone feel like family.
Charlie was born in Oklahoma City but grew up right here in the Dover-Hennessey area, on land originally homesteaded by his family. His parents, Bill and Marilyn Pickle, raised Charlie and his brother Ben on the family farm, which operated both crop and cattle ventures. Bill also worked in pipelining, while Marilyn taught music and gave piano lessons to countless local kids โ a true cornerstone of the community.
Charlie attended Dover Schools, starting in kindergarten and graduating in 1979. After high school, he followed in his fatherโs footsteps, working as a heavy equipment operator in the pipeline industry for Farrar Construction until 1995. Later, as an adult student, he attended Redlands Community College and Oklahoma State University, studying Agricultural Communications and Political Science, before completing his degree at Southern Nazarene Universityin Organizational Leadership.
In 1995, Charlie began a new career in telecommunications, becoming a fiber optic engineer and later serving as Director of Outside Plant Operations for MBO Networks in Mannford, Oklahoma. He oversaw the construction and maintenance of a massive fiber network stretching from Oklahoma City to Northwest Arkansas to Kansas City, Missouri โ an accomplishment he remains proud of today.
When his father passed in 2014, Charlie took over the family operation, Prairie Hill Farms, continuing the familyโs proud farming legacy of crops and cattle. He retired from MBO in 2016 and returned home to the farm in 2018, where he and Alma have settled back into life in the community that shaped them.
Charlie and Alma married in 2007 and have three children โ Andy, Aryn, and Jesi. Jesi is currently a senior at Hennessey High School, while Aryn and Andy live out of the area, in Chicago and Oologah, respectively. Alma, now retired, co-founded Advanced Workzone Services in 2005, growing it into a successful business before stepping away to enjoy more time with family.
The Pickles are members of Hennessey First Baptist Church and can always be found lending a hand wherever one is needed. Charlie remains a loyal OSU Cowboys football fan โ through the highs, the lows, and every heart-stopping fourth quarter. Go Pokes!
Known for their generosity, loyalty, and willingness to help others, Charlie and Alma Pickle are a shining example of what community spirit looks like โ proving that home really is where the heart (and the farm) is.
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