John W. Morris

Drill Bits, Picks, and Shovels: A History of Mineral Resources in Oklahoma

Historical book analyzing Oklahomas mineral resources such as oil, gas, and coal and the impact these had on the states individual, as well as the potential for future development in these areas. Index starts on page 186.

The National Council at Work

The Distinguished Service Award The Distinguished Service Award, the highest honor the National Council of Geography Teachers bestows, is awarded for outstanding service in geographic education. Every member of the National Council has the privilege of nominating a geographer for the award. Accompanying the nomination there should be a full statement of the services rendered geographic education by the nominee. Nominations must reach the chairman of the Committee on the Distinguished Service Award, Alison Aitchison, Iowa State Teachers College, Cedar Falls, Iowa, by June 1. Other committee members for 1950 are Harry 0. Lathrop, Illinois State Normal University, Normal, Illinois, George B. Cressey, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York, J. Russell Whitaker, George Peabody College for Teachers, Nashville, Tennessee, and Otis W. Freeman, Eastern Washington College of Education, Cheney, Washington, Ex-officio and voting members are the President, Loyal Durand, Jr., University of Tennessee, and the Secretary, M. Melvina Svec, State Teachers College Oswego, New York. The Distinguished Service Award to date has been presented to the following persons.

Seminole Oil Field Camps

A TYPE of agglomeration peculiar to any petroleum producing area is the oil field camp. Many of the producing oil fields of the world, and particularly those of the Mid-Continent area, were discovered in regions of sparse to moderate settlement. In such areas, when oil is discovered, there is no place to house the incoming population. In the Greater Seminole Area, of east central Oklahoma (Figure 1), towns and cities had not developed where the discovery wells were drilled. In 1920 Seminole, Earlsboro, Maud, and Konawa were small villages of less than 1,000 population. Wewoka, the largest village in the producing area, had a population of only 1,520. . Since these villages were serving only as small trade centers for the farmers of the area, they did not increase in size a great deal, if at all, between 1920 and July 1, 1926. Between July 1, 1926 and January 1, 1927, four of the worlds largest producing oil fields, Seminole City, Bowlegs, Earlsboro, and Searight, were discovered. All were centered in the area about Seminole and Earlsboro. With the discovery of oil came thousands of people seeking work. The housing facilities of the villages within the area were taxed beyond capacity. The roustabouts, drillers, and roughnecks were mostly single men who needed only rooms in which to live, but the permanent employees, such as pumpers, pipeline walkers, and gang bosses, were married men who desired to bring their families with them. Since the villages could not supply homes for these families, it was necessary for the oil companies to do so.