Baron Fruit—Oil and Natural Gas Icons Additional Information - the Men
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Baron Fruit—Oil and Natural Gas Icons Additional Information - The Men Tom Slick: Wildcatter To The End As Oklahoma oil millionaires go, Tom Slick’s story at first sounds rather typical. After early failures in the oil fields of Pennsylvania, Slick moved to Oklahoma determined to try again. Although he was later remembered as “King of the Wildcatters,” his constant disappointments originally earned him the moniker “Dry Hole Slick,” a name he would recall with amusement years later. There was nothing amusing about it in 1912, as it became more and more difficult to secure the financial backing necessary to drill yet again. Still following instincts that had yet to be proven correct, he chose an unlikely area near Cushing and managed to acquire drilling rights from the landowners there. Normally word that someone was buying up rights like this would have brought in a rush of other speculators, but “Dry Hole’s” reputation insured he was left quite to himself as he began to drill. When Slick did finally meet with success, it was one of the biggest strikes in Oklahoma’s petroleum history. The belated rush of potential competitors hoping to tap the Cushing pool from adjoining areas found every “horse and rig” in Cushing rented, every mule or unbroken horse in the area rounded up and placed under armed guard, and every notary qualified to approve new leases suddenly “on vacation” for an indefinite period. Slick had bought the time he needed to secure his operations in the area. His initial strike was followed by years of success in the Cushing area. It was the first of many such discoveries for Slick, and by 1917 he was not only a multi-millionaire but had a town named after him as well–the city of Slick about ten miles southeast of Bristow. Unlike many of his peers, Slick preferred anonymity to adoration and generally kept to himself except for his regular poker games with a handful of friends. He was an enigma to the end, never taking great advantage of his wealth but working himself mercilessly until an early death at 47 in 1930. He could be seen almost any day right up to the end wearing workingman’s clothes and driving his old Dodge pickup through the mud to monitor an existing site or to seek a new one. Few wildcatters wore the title so well. Bits & Pieces: • Although Slick, Sr. was not particularly noted for his philanthropic endeavors, his son, Tom Slick, Jr., continued and expanded his father’s oil empire and began spreading the wealth in a rather unorthodox fashion. • Like many of the wildly successful oil and gas men, Slick Jr. gave away far more than he spent. His philanthropy, however, had a decidedly different flavor than most. He founded several foundations, pursuing as one logo states, “the mysteries of human consciousness” in a variety of ways. He was also a devout crypto zoologist, supporting hunts for Bigfoot as well as other creatures rare or legendary. Rumors abounded that he also assisted in the escape of the Dalai Lama from Tibet in 1959 when the Chinese army poured in hoping to crush cries for Tibetan independence. Despite such diversity, the common thread seems to be Slick Jr.’s goal of a better understanding of ourselves and our world, and the desire to eliminate ignorance and war of all sorts. • A movie, Tom Slick: Monster Hunter, is supposedly in the works, with Nicholas Cage playing Slick Jr., but its status is unknown at the time of this writing. Slick Jr. died in 1962 in a plane crash resulting from what some still consider a “mysterious explosion.” For Further Discussion: (a) Explain the title of this article. (b) What were two nicknames Slick carried at different periods of his life and what did each mean? Were they appropriate? Frank Phillips: Making the Most of Things Frank Phillips was born in 1873 in a log cabin in Nebraska. His family endured depression, drought, and a grasshopper plague of Biblical proportions before moving to Iowa in hopes of a more successful farming experience. Frank finished his formal education in a one- room school and at the age of 14 gave up the 10 cents a day he was earning digging potatoes and left home to make his own way. He’d be “making his own way” in nearly every sense of the expression for the rest of his life. Flashy striped pants, spats, and the stylin’ headgear drew him into the wonderful world of barbering, where his quick wit and easy charm served him at least as well as his adeptness in the technicalities of the trade. Before long he was even selling his own magical hair tonic made from rainwater. Many men go bald, he explained, but he’d never seen a hog without hair. Logically, then, it must be the rainwater. That he was able to sell his elixir long after going bald himself is a testament to his skills as a salesman. That he thought of it in the first place and marketed it aggressively and successfully for decades suggests he was quite the businessman as well. When Frank fell in love with and married Jane Gibson, her father–a successful banker– noticed both of these traits in his new son-in-law. He arranged a test of sorts, asking Phillips to sell a half-million dollars worth of bonds to finance a new coliseum in Chicago. Not only did he sell them while no one else seemed to be able to give the bonds away, but he did so in record time, traveling half the country and getting investors excited about giving him their money. It wasn’t long before Frank was quite secure in the banking business in Creston, Iowa. When he began to hear about the kind of money changing hands in Indian Territory, however, and the wild, new, unpredictable oil business, Frank knew exactly where he wanted to be. He and Jane moved to the brand new town of Bartlesville, where the burgeoning petroleum business required a new approach to banking. Frank provided it. Dealing with the huge numbers and high risks of a fledgling but titanic industry meant taking risks. That was fine with Frank as long as they were educated risks. Phillips learned the oil business quickly, and before long he was drilling wells of his own with limited success. In the meantime, his brand new First National Bank was serving not only oil men, but other classes often left behind by traditional institutions. Frank wasn’t careless, by any means, but neither did he turn away any solid-looking client, whether they were traditional farmers, established ranchers, Indians or even outlaws. That First National was the only bank in the territory never robbed suggests Frank’s policies had fringe benefits as well. Despite his love of the oil business, Frank and his brothers almost left the field altogether to focus on banking. They sold most of their rights but were unable to unload an untested section in Osage Indian Nation. When the Osage Indians were later found to be sitting on one of the most profitable oil fields in the nation’s history, the foundation of Phillips Petroleum was set. Frank never looked back. The amazing success of Phillips came not only from Frank’s willingness to take informed risks, but his determination that nothing go to waste. Phillips played a leading role in finding value in the natural gas so often simply burned off by oil men who considered it a nuisance. The researchers Frank employed found dozens of uses over the years for petroleum byproducts. They have found creative ways to modify the fuel itself for various uses in the air or on the road. (Photo Courtesy of Phillips Petroleum Company) Phillips wasn’t just about finding buried wealth, but about making use of every part of it. The company eventually expanded to include transporting, refining, and selling as well–a triumph of vertical integration which would have made Carnegie proud. “Uncle Frank” was a demanding boss, but amazingly loyal to anyone who worked hard and was loyal to him in return. He was unerringly faithful in his commitment to customers, stockholders, and employees, while never losing his love of pioneers, cowboys, and wildlife of all sorts. His generosity was unmatched, and his love of nature and of the west is preserved still in the Woolaroc Museum he established as a reserve and retreat for himself, his family, and his employees. His home in Bartlesville is preserved by the Oklahoma Historical Society (while his brother Waite’s is now better known as Philbrook Museum in Tulsa). That he was so often honored while alive speaks of the impact he had on those around him. That so much of Bartlesville and Northeastern Oklahoma still carries his name and memory speaks of the impact he still has a half-century after his death. For Further Discussion: (a) Explain the title of this article. (b) What similarities can you find between Phillips’ use of rainwater and his use of petroleum products other than oil? Harry Sinclair: Finding a Way To Make It Happen Harry Sinclair moved to Bartlesville in 1904, right as Frank Phillips was laying the foundations of what would become a virtual oil and banking empire in the suddenly thriving town. Sinclair’s successes, while substantial, did not compare to those of Phillips or the handful of other oil giants of the day, and he and his wife soon moved back to Independence, Kansas. Unwilling to accept this “defeat,” he was back in two years–this time settling in Tulsa–and he soon had struck the real beginnings of his fortune in the Glenn Pool.