Hamrick, Mrs M R and Mrs F E Langston 1967-04-07

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Mrs. Hamrick and Mrs. Langston, former residents of Ranger during the oil boom, describe the effects of the oil boom on the economic and social development of that community.

General Interview Information

Interviewee Name: Mrs. M. R. Hamrick and Mrs. F. E. Langston

Additional Parties Recorded:

Date: April 7, 1967

Location:

Interviewer: Charles Townsend

Length: 1 hour, 10 minutes


Abstract

Tape 1, Side 1: Reference to Boyce House’s history of the Ranger oil boom, Origin of oil boom (1917), Recollections of Ranger’s muddy Main Street, Cites water supply problems, Description of oil gushers and placement of derricks, New wealth created by oil boom and uses of wealth, Effect of oil boom on schools, Oil production past and present, Area roads described, Entertainments and legal discrepancies, Discusses housing accommodations after the boom, Existence of criminal element in Ranger, Anecdote about W. K. Gordon’s success story, Social Science Research Center’s history reviewed, Inter-city population shifts and school attendance.

Tape 1, Side 2: Blank

Tape 2, Side 1: Development of natural gas in Ranger, Oil boom myths explored by the interviewer, Oil boom teamsters recalled, Attitude toward social types expressed, Describes oil well fires, Thurber discussed briefly, Influenza epidemic and medical facilities and personnel in Ranger, New churches, population growth mentioned, Decline after the boom, Automobiles roads discussed, Speculations on the causes of a boom era, Oil company’s offer to pay for the moving of a cemetery in order to drill for oil, Sudden social effects on Ranger caused by the oil boom, Community adaptation to social economic effects, Benefits of the boom to the cultural development of Ranger, Impressions concerning lack of drilling regulations, Building of a hotel recalled.

Tape 2, Side 2: Blank

Range Dates: 1917-1920s

Bulk Dates: 1917-1920s


Access Information

Original Recording Format:

Recording Format Notes:

Transcript:



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