Discovering oil

First discovery of oil in ND in 1951. Tioga, North Dakota

     Between 1924-1950 there were 23 attempts to find oil in North Dakota after a study showed that the Williston Basin was of a sedimentary nature.  In August 1950 they started to drill a well on a farm belonging to Clarence Iverson, south of Tioga. On January 4, 1951 they finally recovered a pint of oil. A snowstorm forced them to shut down and they didn't start drilling the well again until April 4, 1951. The day marks the beginning of an oil boom. In 45 days there were thirty million acres leased out to oil companies in North Dakota.

     My Grandpa actually worked during this oil boom on the rigs. Now here we are, 60 years later, part of another boom. I think it's pretty neat that when my kids tell people where they were born they will have a story to tell. They better appreciate it all or I'm going to wring their stinkin' necks. I love being part of the boom here. If the kids were a little bit older I'd love to get a job right in the middle of it.

     The majority of the people that are here for the boom are decent nice people, here for the same reasons we are. I've been reading comments on news pages and blogs about how horrible we are. How the raping, beatings, murders are what we are bringing in. I don't know if I've heard about a rape the entire time I've been here (and I read the news almost daily). Beatings.... yea, a few bar fights but that happened before the boom. As for murders, I can recall one in Minot, ND. A Texas man killed another Texas man. There have been other murders but not by people from the oilfield. I have never felt threatened or scared by the men here. I've never had anybody follow or stalk me or try to attack me. I don't think I know anybody who has felt that way. If you have, feel free to correct me.

*I know these posts are a little negative but I'm tired of faking being positive all the time.