Pete's Place and Oklahoma's "Little Italy"

Standing in the shadow of an Oklahoma icon, Pete Prichard aka Pietro Piegari, out front of Pete's Place, the legendary Krebs restaurant he founded in 1925, are John, his old OU Delt fraternity buddy Todd Crowl, and Todd's dad Tom Crowl, McAlester and Pittsburg County historical expert. Italian immigrant Pete established the eatery after a mining disaster crippled and nearly killed him in 1916 during the height of the early Oklahoma coal boom. His son Bill and grandson Jim subsequently expanded Pete's through a succulent lineup of Italian food, steak, fried chicken, lamb fries, and an array of family style "sides" that include spaghetti, meatballs, ravioli, and toasted garlic bread.

McAlester and Pittsburgh County will be well represented in Vol. 2 of "The Oklahomans" by fascinating topics such as Pete's Place, Oklahoma's "Little Italy" of Krebs, the vibrant late-19th/early-20th Century coal industry, a pictorial spotlight of the cotton gins that contributed greatly to building the state's economy, a large World War II German Prisoner of War camp, the "Big Mac" Penitentiary, and the flamboyant career of State Senator Gene Stripe.