I forgot a couple of very important events when reporting on my last entry about our travels to East Texas!  One of the most enjoyable and educational events was visiting the East Texas Oil Museum in Kilgore, Texas.  For several years we have known about the museum, but somehow we never had enough time - or never made enough time - to actually pay a visit.  Well, this time we did, at the insistence of my cousin, Bobby Zager, who has been a docent there for 17 years.  Howard Anderson also volunteers there twice weekly and has encouraged us to pay a visit to the museum, too.  So, we did just that on the day before we had to say goodbye to Bea and head to Louisiana for more visiting.  We were extremely please and surprised and what we found.  Having grown up near Kilgore, Texas, the museum was of particular interest to me.   If you are even a slight history buff, you will enjoy perusing the website.  A bit of information from their website:

http://www.easttexasoilmuseum.com/Pages/morehistory.html

We were in for a real treat!  The museum was so much more than just a typical small-town museum!  Just so I whet your appetite properly to pay a visit for yourself the next time your travels take you to East Texas, I will copy information from their website, or you can explore it even further by visiting for yourself online:

The easy-going rural life of East Texas changed drastically with the discovery of oil in 1930 and 1931 – years of hardship, scorn, luck and wealth which brought people, ideas, institutions and national attention to East Texas.

In 1929, a 70-year-old wildcatter, Columbus Marion “Dad” Joiner, unsuccessfully drilled two dry holes south of Kilgore. Then in May, Joiner spudded a third hole on the Daisy Bradford farm in Rusk County. It was not until Oct. 3, 1930 that a production test was done, resulting in a gusher – the discovery well, Daisy Bradford
No. 3.

Two months later, oil fever had begun to mount with a production test by Bateman Oil Company on the Crim family farm, south of Kilgore. On Sunday morning, Dec. 27, while Mrs. Crim was attending church, the Lou Della Crim well blew in, flowing at 22,000 barrels a day.

The well was only nine miles from Daisy Bradford No. 3, yet no one was aware that the two wells were part of what was then a geological phenomenon – an incredible deposit of oil in the Woodbine formation had “pinched out” as it tilted upward against the Sabine Uplift creating the massive East Texas Oil Field.

The initial “oil boom” was completed Jan. 26, 1931 when the J.K. Lathrop lease in Gregg County came in at 3,587 feet, producing 18,000 barrels daily. The Lathrop well was situated on land assembled by B.A. Skipper of Longview and taken over by the Arkansas Fuel Oil Company.

Production of East Texas’ newest commodity increased rapidly from seven wells every other week, to seven wells daily, to more than 100 wells put into production each day. The first oil discovered sold for $1.10 a barrel, but prices plummeted to 15 cents as supply flooded the market and drilling activity spread to Upshur, Smith and Cherokee counties.

Production swelled to more than 1,000,000 barrels daily and in August 1931, National Guardsmen were ordered into the area to keep peace between roughnecks, lease hounds, oil speculators and camp followers. These actions finally culminated in legislative action – a market-demand law, confiscation law, truck-tender law, the refinery control and felony bill, and the Connolly Hot Oil Act of 1935, which restored order and stability.

The East Texas Oil Field has produced more than 4.5 billion barrels of oil. Some of that gave the Allies the petroleum-reserve stability needed to win World War II. The resulting wealth produced new towns, new ways of living and a livelihood for thousands of East Texas citizens. And the wells are still pumping.

Bill and I thoroughly enjoyed being given such an interesting tour by Bobby who is so very knowledgeable about the museum and every facet of it.  It is an outstanding depiction of the cultural life of the period of time when East Texas was transformed following the deep depression.  I encourage you to take a look at the various online articles, and it is definitely a must-see if you are ever in that area.  The many rooms and displays are very authentic and realistic - you will not be bored.  There is also a super gift store and all kinds of memorabilia representative of that era.

If you need a little further nudging, I will let you in on a secret:  The museum of the famous Kilgore Rangerettes is only a few feet away!  Both museums are located on the campus of Kilgore College, both a tribute to the forethought and civic pride of the people of that area, located just off I-20 between Longview and Dallas.

If you are a Facebook buddy you will find a few pictures of our visit to the museum.  (Sorry I could not get them  to insert here in a proper format.)

The other very important visit that I failed to mention was a brief visit to a distant cousin, Annie Ruth Zager Dorsey, who lives in a nearby healthcare facility, just a mile or so from the oil museum.  Annie Ruth is in her late 90s and on the very day I visited her she celebrated her 97th birthday!  It had been 40 or so years since I had seen her and amazingly, she is still totally "with it" - vibrant and looks much younger than her age.  The only physical handicap is that her eyesight is virtually non-existent.  She receives lots of loving care from her daughter, Lavelle, and from Bobby, Betty, Billy and other close relatives who love her dearly.  It was such a joy to renew a friendship that had lain dormant for many years, other than by keeping in touch through other members of her family.  What an inspiration to visit her and find her in such good spirits after celebrating her birthday at her usual chosen restaurant and enjoying her favorite meal: pancakes - always pancakes - at IHOP!  How much better can it get?

See you next time!