Oilfield trash : life and labor in the oil patch / Bobby D. Weaver.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Weaver, Bobby D. (Bobby Dearl), 1936-

Series:

Kenneth E. Montague series in oil and business history ; no. 22.

Kenneth E. Montague series in oil and business history ; no. 22

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Petroleum workers--Texas--Social life and customs--20th century.

Petroleum workers.

Petroleum industry and trade--Texas--History--20th century.

Petroleum industry and trade.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (243 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

College Station : Texas A&M University Press, 2010.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

When the first gusher blew in at Spindletop, near Beaumont, Texas, in 1901, petroleum began to supplant cotton and cattle as the economic engine of the state and region. Very soon, much of the workforce migrated from the cotton field to the oilfield, following the lure of the wealth being created by black gold. The early decades of the twentieth century witnessed the development of an oilfield culture, as these workers defined and solidified their position within the region's social fabric. Over time, the work force grew more professionalized, and technological change attracted a different type of laborer. Bobby D. Weaver grew up and worked in the oil patch. Now, drawing on oral histories supplemented and confirmed by other research, he tells the colorful stories of the workers who actually brought oil wealth to Texas. Drillers, shooters, toolies, pipeliners, teamsters, roustabouts, tank builders, roughnecks . . . each of them played a role in the frenzied, hard-driving lifestyle of the boomtowns that sprouted overnight in association with each major oil discovery. Weaver tracks the differences between company workers and contract workers. He details the work itself and the ethos that surrounds it. He highlights the similarities and differences from one field to another and traces changing aspects of the work over time. Above all, "Oilfield Trash "captures the unique voices of the laboring people who worked long, hard hours, often risking life and limb to keep the drilling rigs "turning to the right."

Contents:

The oil boom, 1901-1905

The drillers, 1901-1910

The other hands, 1901-1910

Moving on up north, 1910-1922

The Panhandle-populating cow country, 1919-1930

East Texas

changes in the patch, 1930-1935

Way out west, 1923-1940

Change comes to the oil patch, 1941-1960

The making of an oilfield culture, 1901-1960

A language of their own.

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

1-299-07112-0

1-60344-250-2

OCLC:

839305046