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In Whizbang; Drilled In Borneo, Russia, And IndiaCharles TV zimmeria. has follow- w e.d Cablo tools -Into Sumatra, India, Borneo, Burma, Russia, Old Mexico and a-dozen states- in the tr. S.. but he found thp most excitement In the • Whizbang, Okla., field in 1621. ' «-• ••;' ' ■■ -, Mr.' 2im rnerJa,.. a - pea ce-lbvi ng man who never had a quarrel with a fallow driller,, tooidrssser dr roughneck, was held up four times in one week at whizbang.■'All the .boys ; can tell you that, they used. to carry; $25 in- a special pocket or purse to keep the hi-jack-er from getting mad and bating him up—that’s an old joke, but lb was actually true at Whizbang. People were afraid not to'carry money, because they were afraid they'd be pistol-whipped if they bad- none, and many a roan was pistol-whipped at Whizbang,” Mr.; ZimmeriaDrilled In Bomep. Mr, Zimmeria started out In the oil business as a tooldrcsser at Cyg-net;.:Ohio, In 1889, .and that makes him ’a 50-year veteran In the game. He dressed tools for three years and Started drilling in 1892 at Cygnet; He left' for West Virginia in 1893, where he drilled several-wells.In 1895, Mr. Zimmeria went-to Sumatra • to. drill for the British-American. In 1896, he put'down wells in Borneo, within earshot of the screeching jungles. In 1897, he. drilled in Burma. In 1899, he pioneered in; southern: Russia, close to Rumania dor the Russian Petroleum corporation. He was in Old Mexico the -first timewhen war was - declared in 1904. He was back again in 1913, ,1914 and 1915. in 1904 in the Tampico: fields lie saw the natives die like flies of yellow fever,* There were so-many dead that-they never 'dug tgraves..for many. Thehiggest drilling difficulty’in.;.Old Mexico in 1914 was in keeping-with-the- laboring crew. Every. -f;w~ weeks; -a - general . would-'come along , and draft the ■^Mexicans into- the-: army.,-In 1914; Pancho Villa, the: famous Mexican -. bandit;, raided-the Tampico country. Mr. Zimmeria -.also 'drilled on Panecho river, near ; Tampico.‘ Liked.Morning Tdwer ;- States * Mt. -Zimmeria- has drilled in Include Ne,w '.York;-Pennsylvania, Olio, Indiana, Illinois,. Oklahoma. Texas. He came to the Panhandle field 10 years ago'come June 26. ..There was. a time when Mr. Zimmeria wouldn't take a job unless -it was on early-mbming tower. That ‘watch”' Kitd' the advantage of being cool, and besides Mr, Zimmeria just-liked-St. When he first' began drill* ing, all the ropes used were Manila ropes, not wires as they are no1/. The derricks were of lumber, whereas now they are steel. ■He was familiar with the . suit-■ case’’ sand in the Whizbang and Kelfer fields. He said the sand usually lasted for about 300 feet,. aha drillers hated it because it cut out the bit so frequently. It.- was then, they’d pack their suitcases and leave The veteran driller made the booms at Cushing, Tonkawa and Red Fork, ai^ In Oklahoma, after his experiences at Whizbang.Mr..Zimmeria is not the type of cable tool driller who squabbled with his fellow-workers. His friends-will tell you that, he never had a quar-re with them. If he saw that he was going to have trouble with them, or if there was going to be friction, he'd walk off the lease. .. • .Fire Destroyed Pictures -. There is one experience Mi’, Zimmeria regrets keenly. Through, the years, he had collected many pic-, tures of. wells and oil field boom towns where he. had worked,- and several years, ago all were burned in a fire. Mr, Zimmeria made the Ranger boom in 1919 and 1921, but he has not really been impressed by boom town wickedness since he went through the Whizbang reign of terror which was undoubtedly one of the roughest, toughest oil fields on the map. HHaeking, murders, robberies, gambling and all sorts of vices flourished, aided and abettedby the law. It was in this.field that the gun of the chief of police was found on tire body of 'a slain hijacker.Mr. Zimmeria, despite his 50 years in the oil fields, has a calm eye, a . calm hand and a strong chin, and ?■ he looks as if he has a number oi active years before him. He still drills and be does the job as well as he ever did.
Newspaper Details
Pampa News
Pampa, Texas, US
Sun, Jun 11, 1939
Page 61
Full Page
Clipped by
William S.
NA, 28 May 2024
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