Volume 1, Issue 6 June 2017 100 Years at the Wood River Refinery

BROUGHT TO YOU BY TH E WOOD RIVER REFINERY HISTORY MUSEUM

1 9 1 7 — A Year for the History Books

1917 was quite the year! Not The farmer’s field was begin- plete with lots and streets, only were things buzzing here ning to take on a much differ- would soon be ready for publi- locally, but across the globe, ent look. The warehouses that cation. The plot plan would historic events took place, bordered the northern edge of also show empty lots that INSIDE THIS famous people were born, and the property became essential could be purchased as is if an ISSUE: successful companies of today in protecting the material and employee would rather under- 1917—A Year for the were established. equipment that was beginning take the house construction 1 History Books to arrive. As steel was assem- himself. Locally at this time 100 years bled, the workers began to ago, a large amount of con- So as construction continued The Birth of 2 build on the previously laid struction activity was taking on the Wood River Refinery, foundations. Scott Air Force Base— place on the refinery grounds. other things were happening One of the original land 3 100 Years of Aviation Additional construction work- Part of the original refinery across the nation that would leasers, Mr. Wille, is ers were hired as construction plan was to provide 50 houses affect the fledgling refinery in believed to be the materials began to arrive. All that new employees could the not so distant future. grandfather of current construction materials arrived purchase as they moved into by rail. the area. The plot plan, com- employee Mary Brand!

Construction of Trumble Unit #1 P a g e 2 100 Years at the Wood River Refinery

The Birth of Phillips 66

With the simple signing of a popular barbers. Several years Frank’s merchandising princi- the basement of the Iowa document on June 13, 1917, later, he bought his first shop. pal that he would later apply to State Savings Bank. One of the Phillips Compa- the gasoline service station his frequent customers was Barber shops at this period of ny was formed. Frank Phillips, business. the bank president, John time often stood as informal 43, and his brother L.E. (Lee Gibson, who became im- town meeting places. Frank Frank also instituted the prac- Eldas) Phillips consolidated pressed with Frank’s busi- recognized this as an oppor- tice of barbers becoming their holdings to form the new ness abilities. Meanwhile, tunity and began stocking salesmen, giving a commis- company, and a legacy was Frank was becoming more cigars and tobacco. He also sion to the barbers that ob- born. and more impressed with the bank president’s daugh- But let’s start at the beginning. ter. Frank Phillips was born on November 28, 1873, in a At Frank’s wedding to Jane small log cabin in Nebraska. Gibson in 1897, 1,500 He was the firstborn son of guests and relatives packed Lewis Franklin Phillips and the church to view the dou- Lucinda Phillips. In 1874, a ble wedding ceremony which plague of grasshoppers devas- included Jane’s brother and tated the Phillips’ farm result- his fiancé. Frank and Jane ing in a move to a small farm had one son together and in Iowa. adopted two daughters. Soon new attractions around It was Frank’s courage and the new homestead would the influence of his father-in- capture young Frank’s atten- law that opened him up to tion. During a trip to Creston, the investment world. Frank IA, Frank spotted a man wear- Brothers L.E. Phillips (left) and Frank Phillips eventually sold his barber ing flashy striped pants which shops to begin selling bonds were popular during the peri- for John Gibson. od. The sight made a lasting 1993 flood waters in West Alton Returning from a trip to Chi- impression on Frank resulting cago one day, Frank stopped in a determination to one day by the 1903 St. Louis Expo- “earn enough money so that sition (World’s Fair) and met he could afford to wear pants an old friend, C.B. Larrabee. like that even on weekdays.” Larrabee began to tell Frank Frank had an enterprising about the vast possibilities nature, always looking past of oil production in Indian what he was doing today to Territory. Frank was in- what he could be doing tomor- trigued with the idea. Later row. As a young boy after com- in the year, Frank made two pleting his chores on the fami- trips to Bartlesville, OK to ly farm, he would hire out to survey his options. Following Jane and Frank Phillips local farmers digging potatoes these trips, Frank and his for 10 cents a day. brother, L.E., founded the Anchor Oil and Gas Compa- At the age of 14, Frank per- manufactured a hair tonic tained new customers. Within ny. suaded one of the Creston called “Mountain Sage”, sell- 10 years, Frank owned all barbers to take him on as an ing it as a cure for baldness. three barber shops in Creston, Frank and L.E. spent the apprentice. Frank, a hard These actions were a big hit and he wore flashy striped next two years in Iowa sell- worker and quick learner with with customers, catering to the pants to work every day. ing shares of stock in their customer’s wants and needs, an engaging personality, was One of Frank’s shops was in new company. soon one of the city’s most which would one day become (continued on Page 3) Volume 1, Issue 6 P a g e 3

The Birth of Phillips 66 (cont.)

Frank and L.E. returned to from whom the lease was 1917 Plot Plan of the Refinery Bartlesville in February 1906, obtained. The site was nes- opened an office, secured a tled at the juncture of the driller, and started Holland No. Big and Little Carney Rivers, 1 – their first wildcat venture slightly over three miles (the drilling of exploration oil north of Bartlesville. On Sep- wells in areas unknown to be tember 6, 1905, the Anna oil fields). On June 23, 1906, Anderson No. 1 gushed in, the Holland struck oil. The and by nightfall, the grasses brothers were ecstatic. Howev- around the rig were black er, the excitement soon ended with oil. as the discovery was but a The Phillips Brothers were small pocket of gas and oil. well on their way as this was The second and third wells the first of 81 successful oil were also dry. wells for the pair. As a result, There was hardly enough mon- the Anchor Oil and Gas Com- ey available for the fourth oil pany prospered. An addition- well, and investors were hard al $100,000 was obtained to come by, but they pressed from the sale of stock to on. The well, called the Anna Phillips Petroleum Co. Vice Presidents L.E. Phillips and Clyde Alexan- investors. Anderson, was named for the der, pilot Arthur Goebel, Jr., and President Frank Phillips with the (continued on Page 5) young Delaware Indian girl 1927 racing airplane, Woolaroc.

Scott Air Force Base 100 Years of Aviation History

With the entry of the United laborers and carpenters were landing circle. brought down the aircraft that States into World War I, the immediately put to work. The Lieutenant Lewis Rockwell was On July 20, 1917, the United United States Secretary of War layout of Scott Field was typi- using to give Scott an orienta- States government announced Newton Baker advocated an cal of aviation fields built dur- tion flight at College Park in the air field would be named expanded role for aviation. ing World War I. The govern- Maryland. after Corporal Frank S. Scott, Businesses and political lead- ment gave the construction the first enlisted service mem- Scott Field (at this time “Air ers in the greater St. Louis group 60 days to erect approxi- ber killed in an aviation crash. Force Base” was not part of area desired that the Midwest mately 60 buildings, lay a mile- Corporal Scott died on Sep- the name) began aviation be chosen for one of the new long railroad spur, and create tember 28, 1912, after an training in August 1917, when “flying fields” as they were an airfield with a 1,600 ft. unexpected engine failure the 11th and 21st Aeronauti- referred to at the time. Aerial cal Squadrons arrived from expert Albert Bond Lambert Kelly Field. More than 300 joined the authorities from St. pilots and ground units were Louis Chamber of Commerce trained by the war’s end in and the Greater Belleville 1918. Board of Trade to draw up a plan for 624 acres of land in Today, Scott Air Force Base Illinois. employs about 13,000 people, approximately 5,000 of that On June 14, 1917, the U.S. number are civilians and the War Department agreed to remaining are active duty mili- lease the acreage in Illinois. tary, Air National Guard and Air The United States Congress Force Reserve personnel. appropriated $10 million for the construction. Some 2,000 Cpl. Frank Scott (left) and PFC James O’Brien P a g e 4 100 Years at the Wood River Refinery Trivia Question Last Month’s Question: What are the 1917 Stills Road, Warehouse Road, and Pumphouse Road called today?

Stills Road - ___5th Street______

Warehouse Road - ___K Street______

Pumphouse Road - ___4th Street______

The May trivia winner is: Will Smith! Please contact Megan Allen to collect your 100th Anniversary prize! Safety Puzzle Safety has always been a big part of life in the refinery. From the beginning, with Mr. P.A. Englebregt, the Refinery Construction Superintendent, and his design change to the Trumble Units (see the March newsletter) to present day, safety has always been the number one concern for every task accomplished at the refinery. From the mo- ment we walk through the gates into the refinery at the beginning of our day to the moment we leave at the end of shift and even when we are back home again, safety is always on our minds.

In the cartoon that follows, drawn by company draftsman Ralph Graham for the January1993 1942 flood waters Shell in WestReview, Alton can you find the safety violations depicted in the cartoon? How many can you find? List at least 15 unsafe conditions and send your answers to [email protected]. Next month, we’ll reveal the answers and select one lucky winner to receive a 100th Anniversary trinket!

Volume 1, Issue 6 P a g e 5

The Birth of Phillips 66 (cont.)

Frank and L.E. turned their this period, only to be sold The new company was com- In the United States, the 1917 Plot Plan of the Refinery attention to new ventures, within a short time. prised of $3 million in assets, company’s petroleum prod- forming the Lewcinda Oil Com- 27 employees, and land ucts are marketed as Phil- The Phillips brothers’ deep- pany, a partnership with their throughout Oklahoma and lips 66, and 76 seated desire to be “big-time younger brother, Waite. Waite Kansas. Just five years later, bankers” stayed with them. In soon left the family business their assets had grown to $50 1916, Frank and L.E. conclud- to develop his own business, million. ed that the boom or bust insta- the Waite Phillips Company. bility of the oil business was Throughout the Great Depres- Frank and L.E. also branched not for them. They decided to sion, the Phillips Petroleum out into banking, organizing open a bank in Kansas City, Company provided much- the Citizens’ Bank and Trust. MO that would eventually lead needed jobs for many people. A few years later, they pur- to a chain of banks throughout Frank always considered chased the Bartlesville Nation- the Midwest. Bartlesville his home, earning al Bank. In 1911, the Citizens’ the beloved nickname of However, before the brothers Bank was merged into the “Uncle Frank” by the local could get their banking busi- Bartlesville National Bank. In residents. He was known to ness plan off the ground, the provide free circus tickets for United States entered World local students and give each Frank Phillips War I. Airplanes were used on child a silver dollar and bag of the battlefront for the first fruit and candy at Christmas. time. Large moving objects brands, while in Europe the Frank served as president of called tanks replaced the cav- products carry the and the Phillips Petroleum Compa- alry, and the horse-drawn wag- COOP labels. In addition to ny until 1939 and retired as ons were replaced by trucks. petroleum products, the chairman of the board in Oil skyrocketed from less than Chevron Phillips (CPChem) 1949. He passed away in 40 cents a barrel to over one partnership, headquartered 1950 at the age of 76. dollar a barrel in the early in Texas, is one of the months of the war. The Phillips Today the Phillips Petroleum world’s largest chemical brothers suddenly had a Company, now known as Phil- producers with 34 manufac- change of heart toward the oil lips 66, is one of the largest turing sites around the industry. refining corporations in the globe. There are also two world. Phillips 66 has 13 refin- In the spring of 1917, when research centers to support eries in three countries with a Frank Phillips Frank was 43 years old, he new catalyst development net crude processing capacity and L.E. decided to consoli- as well as product and pro- of approximately 2.2 million cess development. The Phil- these early banking days, the date their holdings into the barrels per day. The Wood lips 66 of today certainly Phillips brothers’ oil business Phillips Petroleum Company. River Refinery is the largest sounds like something Frank consisted mostly of oil drilling The Phillips Petroleum Compa- refinery in the Phillips 66 port- and L.E. would have been ventures. They formed numer- ny was formed on June 13, folio. proud of. ous small oil companies during 1917, under Delaware law. “One of my greatest regrets is that our organization has grown so big that I can no longer sit down on the edge of a derrick floor, or some other equally inviting place, and chat with each of you about the things that go on ‘behind the scenes’ in our company.” ~ Frank Phillips

Comments or Suggestions? Contact: Community Affairs Phone: 618-255-2279 E-mail: [email protected]

*The word “Residuum” means a residual product as from the distillation of petroleum; a residue, leftovers, remains, remnant, remainder.

“You don’t know how proud I am of every one of you, and I have just the reason. You have made the Phillips Petroleum Company. You have just used me for a symbol, that’s all.” ~ Frank Phillips speaking at his 66th birthday celebration