Many of
us are fortunate enough to grow up in a rural are of this great country. We
know what fresh cut hay smells like, how dirt roads feel and the pleasure of raising
livestock. Some of us have the great pleasure of knowing our family history. I
want to share a story about my family. This is great look back at not only my
family’s history, but the history of Texas and the South. This is a story from
my mother’s side of the family. The names in the story will not mean much to
most people. The story itself should be a look into the past about life and
what it was like back in the late 1920’s.
Please note
this story: "For private publishing
only" – I have corrected certain spelling & grammatical errors. The wording itself has not been changed and
remains as originally written.
From the Cotton Patch to the Oil
Patch
*Written by Wayne Ballew for
his daughter, Mary Ballew Hall, circa 1990*
I am Wayne Ballew, an old broken-down oil
field worker. It started in 1927. My wife and I were picking cotton when the
letter from Pat came telling me I could go to work out there at Forsan, Texas.
Ruby and myself talked it over. We had two boys, Harold and Charles.
I
talked to Beaver, an old buddy, and we decided to hitch hike to Ft. Worth and
catch a freight train there. This was my first for anything like this, but
Beaver had a little experience. Anyway, we caught a train going west. I will
never forget that ordeal. When we got near Sweetwater, a (railroad) feller
caught us in an open car. Was I scared - but after talking a while he took the
last 50 cents I had. We made it to my Uncle and Aunt’s house at Colorado City,
no extra clothes, but we laid away the food. Next day we took to the highway to
Big Springs, Texas, and finally caught a guy that knew Pat and made it into
Forsan. Pat and Sarah6 were living in a 1/2 tent but they made room somehow.
We hadn't been there but one night till some guy I don't remember let me pump a
well overnight with the rig that he drilled the well with - later I knew what a
National rig was - with one boiler. Pat was a lot of help to me getting work.
Beaver went back home, and I went to roustabouting (1). I sent home for my wife
and kids and rented a two-room house for a while. It had a wood stove – with an
oven just above the stove. At this time, we lived on a county lease that I was
working for. The county had one big motor pulling several wells with rod lines.
About now we were ready to buy a house of our own. We bought a 1/2 tent, with a
wood floor. The tent top was about 4' above the floor. We had neighbors, Red
Reed and wife, both redheaded, no fence around yard, just a yard full of
redheaded kids. I won't forget how they made home-brew (beer). They took one
batch off and buried it in their garden. One hot day we heard some popping and
looked over there at the beer blowing up. We watched Mrs. Reed and kids trying
to save some of that beer!
My job ran out. Next day a cable tool driller came by and wanted to know if I
would go with him for a day or so. His tool dresser was sick. This was the
first day of a Ft. Worth sputter. He sent me up to grease shine on top of the
mast. While I was doing so, a crew of roustabouts came by laying a line. The
pusher was talking to the driller, wanted to know what that was on top of mast
with that silly cap on his head. He stood around until I came down. He asked me
if I would take a steady job - sure I said. His name was Gus Ivanhoe. Well that
was the beginning of steady work. I roustabouted one year for Gus during which
time I learned a lot. I was the rod wrencher. A Cajun boy tailed the rods out,
and Gus was running the Ford tractor with winch on front. We pulled 3 wells per
day some days with rods parted or broken.
One day Gus said how would you like to roughneck. I said, "What's
that?" His old contractor was moving in a steam rig. So I found out what
roughnecking (2) was over the next months while I was working derrick (3) on a
wooden derrick. On that first well they had lots of trouble in redbed (4). So,
Gus Glasscock, one of the contractors and the tool pusher stayed out on the rig
to help out. I’ll never forget Gus Ivanhoe's wife would bring his breakfast out
each morning. She was getting in her car when Gus Glasscock awoke, got out of
his car about half asleep and took a leak on her front wheel before he saw her.
You talk about the apologies he made then!
Well, after roughnecking awhile the rig shut down and we went on another job -
12 hours a day. Gus was helping the tool pusher load a 6” (5) drill collar in
back of car, somehow he dropped his end and it fell on his foot. He took Gus to
the Dr. and I finished tower (6). So, I drilled (7) 3 days while Gus was off. I
began to take clutch fever. Gus went back to Glasscock and I started pumping
nights - 12 hours - on their 3 wells west of Forsan. Twice I was overcome with
gas - one time about midnight. All that saved me was I fell backward, and my
face was past motor house. Second time I was helping pull tubing and the crew was
there when I woke up in belt house.
Since I was pumping nights, I didn't want to work for nothing days. The pusher
fired me. His name was Marvin Edmons. After a couple of days thinking about it,
(Mother was pregnant with Mary), I didn't think I was treated right so I got in
the Model T (Ford) and went to his house. He came out after I called, he wanted
to know what was wrong. I told him he was wrong, and I didn't appreciate it. He
wanted to correct it. When I looked back, 4 roustabouts were moving him to the
shade of a water tank. His neck was cracked. His brother in law Lonnie
Glasscock came by my house next day to say his neck was broken. I worked at
extra jobs. After that, we moved to Big Spring and I worked for Noble Drilling
Co. back again with Gus Ivanhoe (the depression was on the way in 1930).
Earl and myself wound up on a long job at Water Proof, La. My wife and kids
were with Mr. and Mrs. Hammer after I got back - I felt very bad about that.
They were having a hard time feeding themselves. We moved in with my parents
awhile and picked cotton a while then we moved to Jim Willis Farm near Aquilla.
While there I learned my Grandfather had gone to school just north of where we
lived. He visited us one morning he wanted to walk around. He said let's walk
in the field just across road. He found some rocks scattered "Right here
is where the school building stood".
While at West someone stole our car and towed it out in country, stripped it
bad, tires, radiator, guess they got scared off. We sold it for $100 cash. By
the way while living on Willis place Bee Hammer and myself gathered corn for 60
cents per day - sunup to sundown. We moved back to West and worked on WPA -
gosh, $2.00 per 8 hours! In 1936 Pat wrote that the oil field was starting back
to drilling, so back to Big Springs - look like I had a job waiting. Pat and
myself went to Odessa, batched in an old ranch house - it couldn't have been
1/2 mile north east of Courthouse. We worked about a week.
One evening Pat said to tool pusher, Jim Furgeson, "You know Jim, I left
one row of maize standing in the field at Big Springs - I am going to have to
cut so believe I will get a time order." Well, I had promised to pick it
up after he cut it so I would like my time order, too.
Well, wasn't long before Pat, Cecil Huff - forgot one other friend's name, and
myself went to work for L.Q. Lou. The rig was at Coahoma - east of Big Springs.
After this job, the east Texas field opened up. Bee Hammer, Earl Ballew and
myself took off to Kilgore, we went to work and batched in my Chev, near our
jobs. Rain - it put it on. We saw 32 head of horses pulling the boiler on a
wagon on what road they had which was made of pine logs.
These jobs weren’t too hot, so we went to Tyler, Texas. Run into Dick Cowan, a
lawyer for Chapman Oil operator and he had some rigs. So, Dick said I believe I
can help. Come with evening we're in lobby of Blackstone Hotel. We went up to
room where driller was staying. He hired all three, so we stayed with them for
quite a while. We worked on a wild cat at Joaquin, Texas. Well blew out, took 7
months to get it under control.
Then Coahoma, Texas, contractor went broke there, we came back to Big Springs.
Earl, myself came to Hobbs, New Mexico. There was just a bladed-out dirt road
from Seminole, Texas to Hobbs, New Mexico. When we came over a hill there were
two girls in car with hood up. We stopped to see if we could help them. We
found out quick we could if we wanted to do business with them. There were so
many hookers in Hobbs they took to the road.
We got into town just before sundown, parked in middle of street, then called
Carlsbad Street. Now this was a boom we had never heard about. It was something
else. We got us a nickel hamburger from Seaby (café) and were sitting in Earl's
car eating them. A car got stuck in front of us. Earl and myself got out to
give him a push. He parked in the middle of street beside us, he ask us if we
were looking for work. Yes, we just got here. He asked if we could fire boilers
and work derrick. Yes, that’s us, we went on at 11:30 pm. He was drilling for
Olson Drilling in the yard at Phillips plant, which was under construction.
Got a room next day at Clovis Hotel, which stood where Doran Chevrolet stands
now. The 6' x 8’ jail was between town and us. They had built railroad to Hobbs
and hadn't finished north Hobbs then. Brother Sye was working on the railroad
so every day while on layover he would walk to hotel and wake us up to play
pool.
I went back to Big Spring and worked there for Mr. Stanton. He had two rigs and
cable tools. He put me out drilling and dressing tools while his rotary rig was
down. During this time, he drilled a wildcat near La Grange, Texas. When we
left Hobbs in 1929 that was depression time. We came back in 1936 when FDR took
office and we went on 8-hour days.
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1. “Roustabout” – general oil patch laborer
1. “Roustabout” – general oil patch laborer
2.
The roughnecks do the manual labor on the rig.
3.
“Working derrick” is working at top of rig
4. A
type of rock formation
5.
Diameter
6.
Tower – same as a “shift” of work
7. The “driller” is the
foreman and operates the rig for each tower
I hope everyone enjoyed this
step back in time. This is a typical look into rural Texas/New Mexico life back
in this time. Times were not conventional, and people did the best with what
they did have in life. Please remember to take a step back and remember how
good you have things in life.
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| Image from online at https://www.thestoryoftexas.com/discover/campfire-stories/roughneck |
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