Updated February 14, 2012

Improvements coming to Kansas Oil Museum

With important energy issues now in the news media — especially natural gas shale resources — public interest in history continues to grow. Today, many community petroleum museums are upgrading to accommodate new visitors.

In El Dorado, Kansas, work is underway at the Butler County History Center and Kansas Oil Museum, notes a February 14, 2012, article in the El Dorado Times.

The museum, which includes an extensive collection of indoor and outdoor petroleum exhibits, is adding sidewalks, cement areas for the pumps and upgrading some of the exhibits.

In addition, a large concrete pad is being place by the fence to the south of the museum — a secure place for pump-jack exhibits, the article explains. Workers will run electricity to some of the pump jacks to make them operational so people can see how they work.

The renovations, which include improvements to some of the museum’s oil town buildings, is funded by individual donations and private foundations.

“I’ve been dreaming about putting in sidewalks for a couple of years,” said Teresa Bachman, museum executive director. “This is a big step forward in my mind.”

Read the El Dorado Times article. Visit the Butler County Historical Center & Kansas Oil Museum.

Association offers State-by State Production Statistics

Every year since 1935, the Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA) has published a fascinating annual statistical yearbook reviewing the nation’s oil and natural gas producing states. The Oil & Natural Gas Producing Industry In Your State compiles detailed exploration and production statistics for each producing state — and much more.

This publication can be very useful for teachers, students and industry researchers. The most recent issue has been posted since December 2011. Download the complete 2010-2011 PDF here.

In addition to the annual editions of this publication, IPAA Vice President of Economics and International Affairs Frederick Lawrence is responsible for a brochure, “U.S. Petroleum Statistics,” that includes about 20 tables of statistical data for oil and natural gas. Based in Washington, D.C., IPAA was organized in 1929 to represent the interests of U.S. independent oil and natural gas producers.

Rare Photos exhibited at California Oil Museum

Among the latest exhibits at the California Oil Museum in Santa Paula are 14 “mammoth and whole-plate photographs” by 19th-century photographer Carleton Eugene Watkins (1829-1916), among “the most highly acclaimed of early western photo- graphers,” according to the Steroviews of Carleton Watkins website featuring his work. The California museum’s photography exhibit will be open until February 12, 2012, according to Director Jeanne Orcutt.

West Kern Oil Museum in the News

A Los Angeles Times article features Taft — home of California’s Midway Sunset field — where the reporter interviews volunteers at the local oil museum.

“Anywhere else, linking an aromatic cup of coffee and a gooey glob of oil would quickly kill a restaurant. Not so in Taft, the Taft Crude Coffee House is a popular stop for hot coffee or iced mocha,” notes the November 27, 2011, article. Despite the environmental disaster of the 1910-1911 Lakeview Gusher, the industry has brought a century of prosperity, explains a West Kern Oil Museum volunteer.

During the Dust Bowl years, people moved west not only to work the San Joaquin Valley’s fertile farm fields but also its oil fields — and people still speak with a distinctive twang. “You know, Bakersfield is the fourth-largest city in Oklahoma,” says Taft resident Fred Holmes. Read the complete Los Angeles Times article. Visit the West Kern Oil Museum in Taft — and the “Black Gold” permanent exhibit at the Kern County Museum in nearby Bakersfield.

Muppets reunite to take on Big Oil – Spoiler Alert

“A triumph of simplicity, innocence and goofy jokes. It’s a triumph of felt,” declares the Houston Chronicle. Kermit’s first movie since 1999 will be popular with children, as it should be. Will it educate them about the role of petroleum in modern society? “It may seem a bit silly to deem ‘The Muppets’ one of the most entertaining and vital films of the year,” notes an Oklahoma City review. “Walter wants to see Muppet Studios, but…overhears villainous oil baron Tex Richman plotting to seize the studio, raze it and drill for the recently discovered oil under it.”

Drake Monument rededicated after Restoration

In Titusville, Pennsylvania, community leaders and the Woodlawn Cemetery Association Board have rededicated the Drake Monument, which has undergone successful restoration.

Edwin L. Drake is credited with drilling America’s first commercial oil well in 1859. Titusville Mayor Jim Nystrom proclaimed that date as “Driller Day” throughout this eastern Crawford County city, recognizing the monument as a “community treasure.”

According to Marilyn Black vice president of heritage development of the Oil Region Alliance, the October 19, 2011, celebration took place a year following the Cemetery Association’s decision to proceed with much-needed rehabilitation of the monument’s “The Driller” bronze statue, marble, and concrete elements.

Also see “Energy Economists Rock Oil Tour.”

Petroleum History making News

History in the Making? – The United States “will be well on its way to self-sufficiency in fuel and energy” within five years, notes an October 27, 2011, article in the London-based Telegraph: “Readers already know about the ‘shale gas revolution’ that has turned America into the world’s number one producer of natural gas, ahead of Russia. Less known is that the technology of hydraulic fracturing — breaking rocks with jets of water — will also bring a quantum leap in shale oil supply, mostly from the Bakken fields in North Dakota, Eagle Ford in Texas, and other reserves across the Mid-West.”

Remembering Peak Oil – A TIME magazine (October 3, 2011) features a brief Q&A with Daniel Yergin, author of The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money, & Power. The remarkable 1993 book received a Pulitzer Prize. His work’s often overlooked summary about the idea “peak oil” is once again noted: “This is actually the fifth time that people have declared the world will run out of oil.”

A Fracking Opinion — He grew up near Titusville and knows the oil patch. Although the date is 1859 for America’s first commercial oil well, the opinion of Rep. John Peterson — who represented Pennsylvania in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1997 to 2009 — matters to those who know petroleum history. Now, as technology taps natural gas reserves previously untouchable, he briefly reflects on the return of exploration and production to the region in this editorial. Read more.

Shrimp and Petroleum Festival

The 76th annual Louisiana Shrimp and Petroleum Festival brings together thousands of visitors to Morgan City this September 1-5, 2011.

The festival, which has grown to become one of the state’s premiere events, began in 1936 when Morgan City’s port received its first boatload of jumbo shrimp. The festival became the Louisiana Shrimp and Petroleum Festival in 1967 — as the oil industry became a vital part of the local economy.

See Exhibits & Events.

Michigan Natural Resources

In 1976, Michigan became the first state in the nation to earmark state revenue generated through mineral, including oil and gas, activity for acquisition and improvement of environmentally sensitive and/or public recreation lands.

A book by Jack R. Westbrook, former managing editor of the Michigan Oil & Gas News magazine, tells this remarkable story. It chronicles a 35-year history of “Michigan Oil and Gas Industry Investment Heritage in Michigan’s Public Recreation Future.”  Read More

Latest Museum Link – Iowa 80 Trucking Museum

In mid-July, the Iowa 80 Trucking Museum of Walcott, Iowa, hosted a 100th birthday party for a rare electric truck in its collection.

The museum also launched a free app for iPhones and Androids offering audio narratives of its exhibits. The innovation — increasingly popular among museums — allows both virtual and actual visitors to scan and download detailed exhibit information.

The audio, narrated by museum curator Dave Meier, provides additional details about each truck that is not necessarily found on exhibit signs. Visitors at the museum can simply scan a “QR” code at the welcome desk to download the app. Virtual visitors can download it from the website.

“The Iowa 80 Trucking Museum’s mission is to celebrate trucking and to preserve and share its history,” notes Marketing Director Heather DeBaillie. “This app will give visitors even more information about the exhibits they are viewing and also give those who are unable to visit the museum the opportunity to learn more about trucking history.”

The museum’s birthday party for its Walker electric truck coincided with the 32nd annual Walcott Truckers Jamboree at its next-door neighbor, Iowa 80, DeBaillie notes.

This year’s Jamboree hosted nearly 30,000 drivers and their families from 23 different states and Canada. During the two days, guests enjoyed 175 exhibits; a Super Truck Beauty Contest with 59 contestants; an antique truck display with more than 200 vehicles; an Iowa pork chop cookout; a Trucker Olympics; carnival games; a concert and fireworks display.

The centennial birthday party at the Iowa 80 Trucking Museum celebrated an electric manufactured by the Walker Vehicle Company of Chicago. The company produced electric vehicles until late 1941. Walker trucks were used mainly as delivery trucks in major cities — delivering ice cream and other dairy products, baked goods and dry goods.

The Iowa 80 Trucking Museum’s 1911 Walker electric truck was owned by Bowman Dairy and used to deliver milk to hospitals, restaurants and hotels, according to curator Dave Meier. It is one of only a handful of Walker Electric trucks known to still exist.

“Many people think that electric vehicles are a recent invention, when in fact they were in production over 100 years ago,” explains Meir.  Electric vehicles were popular in the late-19th century and early 20th century — until advances in internal combustion engine technology and mass production of cheaper gasoline vehicles led to a decline in their use. See “Cantankerous Combustion.”

Among the exhibits at the trucking museum is one of the few surviving examples of an Avery gasoline-powered tractor. Avery Company of Peoria, Illinois, began producing coal (and straw)-burning steam tractors in 1891 — and became the world’s largest tractor supplier. It was also one of the first companies to manufacture gasoline tractors.

Created by his family, the Iowa 80 Trucking Museum was a dream of Bill Moon, who founded the Iowa 80 Truckstop. Standard Oil originally built the stop in 1964 — when Interstate 80 was still under construction. In September 1965, Moon took over management and purchased it from Amoco in 1984. He managed its growth until his death in 1992.

Recent Feature Story — Adding Wings to the Iron Horse

America’s passenger railroad industry is in deep trouble during the Great Depression. Steam is giving way to primitive diesel engines, but the railroads’ distillate-burning internal combustion engines of the day are heavy and troublesome.

When the U.S. Navy seeks a new diesel engine for its submarines — encouraging invention of a 600-horsepower power plant — two unrelated company presidents named Budd will share their expertise to build America’s first diesel-electric “streamliner” passenger train.

By 1934, the Burlington Zephyr will set a speed record from Denver to Chicago, where it is exhibited at the “Century of Progress” World’s Fair. The engine technology’s cost advantages in manpower, maintenance and support quickly become apparent. By the end the year, eight major U.S. railroads have ordered diesel-electric locomotives.

Comments Updated — Stock Certificate Q&A

A July 6, 2011, answer to “I have a stock certificate for the Fort Stockton Oil Company (Texas) for 14 shares dated 1969 with the legal transfer documents showing transferring to my dad who is deceased.  Could it be worth anything and how do you find out?”

Museum Link  Addition — H. P. Sears Oil Company, Inc., Service Station Museum

Born in Bombay, New York, in 1896, Howard P. Sears Sr. would begin his service station career selling oil as early automobiles became popular. He purchased his first gasoline delivery truck in 1923 and built his first bulk storage terminal near a railroad stop on South George Street in Rome, New York.

According to his son, Howard P. Sears Jr., in 1925 the H.P. Sears Oil Company was incorporated. By 1929 the elder Howard had built his first “new, modern gasoline filling station” in Utica. He would use the same basic design in 1930 for his second station (today’s museum) at George and Liberty streets in Rome. His third station was constructed on Main Street in Ilion in 1933.

The Sears Service Station Museum is the only remaining station of the original design once in Utica and Ilion. On the walkway located each side of the building are a pair of restored Erie Clock face pumps, notes Howard Sears Jr., who dedicated the museum in 2006 — and accepted an award of merit from the Landmarks Society of Greater Utica. Visit the stations at 201 North George Street, Rome, New York.

Editor’s Note — Also located in Rome, New York, is the Baum’s Castorine Company — a petroleum products company founded on July 9, 1883, by The Wonderful Wizard of Oz author L. Frank Baum. See This Week in Petroleum History, July 4 to July 10.

To read about another service station related museum, see “Wisconsin Petroleum Museum.”

Feature Story – Roughnecks of Sherwood Forest

Two bronze statues separated by the Atlantic Ocean commemorate the achievements of World War II American roughnecks. The first stands in Dukes Wood near the village of Eakring in Nottinghamshire, England. Its twin greets visitors at Memorial Square in Ardmore, Oklahoma.

The seven-foot bronze statues by Tulsa artist Jay O’Meilia commemorate 44 Americans who – during a critical time during the war – produced oil. They drilled in Sherwood Forest.

“The amazing and hitherto untold story, born in secrecy, has remained buried in the private diaries, corporate files and official records of government agencies,” note the authors of a book about the “English Project.”