Other
Alexander, Sol (audio interview #2 of 3)
INTERVIEW DESCRIPTION - This second interview was conducted at Alexander's home, a rented duplex in California Heights. It followed lunch with the interviewer at the Long Beach Petroleum Club. 5/5/1982
- Date
- 2020-12-17
- Resource Type
- Creator
- Campus
- Keywords
- Handle
- Language
- Notes
- SUBJECT BIO - Sol Alexander bought and sold crude oil for oil refining companies. He worked not only in southern California and the central valley, but in other oil fields, including those in Mexico. He also invested in producing oil wells and bought and sold oil on his own account. At the time of the interview, he was still in the business buying and selling oil on his own account. In these four interviews, Alexander talks about growing up in Long Beach and graduating from Poly High before he went to work for Union Oil Company selling their products. When he lost that job as the Depression approached, he started his own "one man oil company," selling other brands of oil to his previous customers. Eventually this led him to buying and selling crude. There are five interviews in this group, but one was conducted in Alexander's car as he drove around Signal Hill and pointed out important sites. The sound quality of this interview is too poor to include in this archive, but it available at CSULB. This interview was part of a project to study the impact of oil on the development of Long Beach TOPICS - oil industry; Prohibition; Long Beach Petroleum Club; Curley's gambling; Bakersfield, California; and Signal Hill, California;oil industry; Century Oil Company; Oil Field Service Association; Farmers and Merchants Bank; Fred Bixby; and Shell Oil Company;oil industry; Jim O'Donnell; real estate business; Long Beach Memorial Hospital; Signal Hill, California;oil industry; Getty Oil Company; Alamitos Bay; Recreation Park; and Dan Elliott;
- *** File: pesalexander5.mp3 Audio Segments and Topics: (0:00-0:07)... Introduction (0:07-1:18)... Introduction Signal Hill was incorporated about the time Alexander graduated from high school. There were "boot leggers" all around during Prohibition. (1:18-5:14)... Alexander didn't know Signal Hill city officials except those who dealt with oil leases and ordinances relating to oil. The man who held that position at the time of the interview used to work for Walter Scott. Scott was a local producer who sold out before the time of the interview. He, like Bo Cockriel, came in during the Depression, salvaged oil wells and became successful. Scott bought some wells that were already producing oil. He also bought oil wells from Signal Oil and Gas when that company sold their local wells; perhaps those were the last one he bought. He bought them along with Ben Agajanian, a famous football player. (5:14-11:54)... During Prohibition, between 1920 and 1933, bootleggers were not bothered much on Signal Hill; they delivered to offices and warehouses and mostly they dealt in hard liquor. People gambled as much as they wanted; poker seemed to be played everywhere. The Petroleum Club was started by gin rummy players. Before the club was started, they played gin rummy before and after lunch at various places including the Green Shack owned by Sis Ashton and at Curley's. Alexander didn't play gin rummy but he liked to go to Sis Ashton's because she made banana fritters for him. Alexander did not join the Petroleum Club at first; he went there often as a guest. He was invited, for example, by Si Rubel, a vice president of Union Oil. They met there to during the battle over Proposition 4; Union was one of the major companies that supported the independents. He didn't join until 4 or 5 years after it began in a leased building with bar and dining room. (11:54-18:38)... The names of the founders of Long Beach Petroleum Club are listed in a membership directory that Alexander is looking at during the interview. There are oil producers, refiners, supply company owners, pipeliners and attorneys. By the 1950s, when there was an oil glut, membership declined, so the members created associate membership for people who don't work in the oil business. They can only make up 25 percent of the membership and have no vote in club management. The directory lists charter members there are no company memberships. (18:38-22:00)... Alexander belongs to 3 petroleum clubs in Bakersfield and Los Angeles as well as Long Beach. Membership in any one of these clubs offers reciprocal privileges in other Petroleum Clubs around the US. There is a mural in the Long Beach club showing oil wells on Signal Hill. Some Petroleum Club members donated money for community projects. For example, Freeman Fairfield donated money for the north Long Beach YMCA. (22:00-26:00)... When the Petroleum Club bought the land on which its building was located at the time of the interview, it was in the midst of producing wells including some in the parking lot. When the club acquired its parking area, it probably didn't get the mineral rights for it. Alexander's not sure who owned the land before the building was constructed. The oil field near the club was not really prolific; there were just fingers of oil. Nimrod Lyons had a large brick house across from where the club was located at the time of the interview. (26:00-30:02)... Alexander and a partner bought a well near 36th Street from Art Delaney. Delaney was a successful independent oil man who drilled many wells; he was an explorer. Alexander was really closer to his children than their father. Eventually Century Oil Company bought almost all of Delaney's wells. (30:02-30:53)... Alexander bought oil wells in partnership with several men. Charles Cox, vice president of Century Oil Company, was Alexander's first partner. They bought the well out of bankruptcy and there might have been a conflict of interest, but they handled it properly. End of tape *** File: pesalexander6.mp3 (0:00-2:22)... Alexander sold the oil from his well to Century Oil Company. He paid well pullers, pumpers and others who work on his well. When he'd accumulated enough money, he bought a well from Art Delaney. When the first well he'd bought got a hole in the casing, prices of oil were very low and he didn't continue it on production. Later he sold the other well as well. (2:22-3:58)... Alexander also bought well in partnership with Charles Colvin and Art Delaney's son Bud who bought assets of Bud's father's company. When they wanted to drill a new well on Signal Hill, Alexander raised money to pay for half of the drilling. (3:58-12:28)... Alexander was a member of the Oil Field Service Association which was organized about 1932. It was a club composed of people in different aspects of the oil business and it held monthly meetings at restaurants. One month, the speaker was a geologist named Al Carey who discussed Signal Hill underground structures and suggested anyone drilling a well 9000 to 10000 feet would find a new oil zone. Rocky Jerman, an oil explorer and producer, took up the challenge and discovered the de Soto zone and his well produced 240 barrels day. He ran out of money before drilling down below the oil sand. (12:28-17:28)... Alexander, Delaney and Colvin bought one of Jerman's wells. Soon Delaney wanted to sell his interest so the other partners bought it. Colvin wanted to sell and finally Alexander agreed. They sold the well to the Davis Investment Company. Six or 8 months later, there was a down hole disaster. After about a year or a year and a half, Bob Davis finally got the well back on production. By the time of the interview, both Delaney and Colvin had died. Alexander still owns some land in partnership with Mrs. Colvin. (17:28-19:26)... At the time of the interview Bud Delaney's sister, Norma, was running Long Beach Hardware and his sister, Pat, was married to Wes Horton, who worked with Gus Walker at Farmers and Merchants Bank, and living in a condo on Signal Hill. Walker's son Dick was also in the in oil business. (19:26-24:55)... Alexander knew Fred Bixby because he tried to buy Bixby's royalty oil. Bixby was fond of showing off livestock, especially his horses. He was head of the California Cattleman's Association. Alexander tried to buy royalty oil from the government for Century and Golden Eagle when he worked for those companies. (24:55-26:49)... A "grassroots" well is a new one even if it's drilled in an already developed field. One such well he was involved in drilling made a very nice clean well with not much water. It had a good primary allocation in the flood. Later he sold it to Shell Oil Company. (26:49-30:54)... After Shell Oil Company brought in the discovery well, Superior Oil Company drilled a well on land later owned by Alexander and Colvin. Shell had leased the land all around this lot. Shell geologists recommended against the company leasing land west of Cherry Avenue. As others drilled west of Cherry, however, more oil zones were discovered. End of tape *** File: pesalexander7.mp3 (0:00-0:06)... Introduction (0:06-2:28)... Northwest of Atlantic Avenue, fingers of oil were discovered. Structures in this area were not as deep or prolific. Jim O'Donnell was a real explorer and a rough individualist. Alexander bought oil from him for Century and Golden Eagle. (2:28-7:10)... There were several oil zones in the Signal Hill oil field. Wildcatters discovered them but not all immediately after the discovery well. Alexander and Cox took over a well that was in bankruptcy north of Burnett and on the east side of Brayton in 1928. (7:10-10:44)... Additional zones were discovered after the first oil discovery. Some of hose who drilled deeper found new zones. In 1938, Rocky Jerman found the de Soto zone which was the last prolific zone discovered on Signal Hill. Some still believe that drilling deeper will uncover more oil. But drilling deeper is very expensive and it's hard to lease land in the area. (10:44-26:00)... Paul McKenzie came to Long Beach in 1921, bought property and got into oil business. Alexander bought some of the oil McKenzie's wells produced. His son became a building contractor. He build on land the family owned and also built for others. When Alexander moved back from the mountains he looked up McKenzie who lived in Belmont Heights and had remained active. McKenzie, at the time of the interview, was planning to drill on a new oil well on Signal Hill; he acquired the mineral rights for property where Memorial Hospital is located and decided to drill based on information from the early days of local oil development. Some geologists say he'll just get water. If he finds oil, he wants Alexander to sell it. Monterey Drilling Company drilled well and it was not successful. McKenzie says it's his first unsuccessful well and he plans to drill another well on Signal Hill, south of Cherry Hill fault. (26:00-30:45)... McKenzie wanted Alexander to find him a drilling site for his proposed new well. He believes the deep sand area extends beyond the areas that have been explored. When earlier oil wells were drilled in this area, they had a tendency to follow the underground structures rather than going straight down. McKenzie believes they missed the oil that's there. End of tape *** File: pesalexander8.mp3 (0:00-6:27)... Paul McKenzie found a site to drill on Signal Hill but it was very expensive. The site was on Orange Avenue and he acquired the mineral rights and an island for a drill site. The city of Signal Hill says that he can't drill so close to a school. So then McKenzie had to apply for a variance to get a drilling permit. He also had to find a place to store any oil he might find. McKenzie has lined up a drilling rig and believes he will be successful but Alexander is afraid of he will be disappointed. (6:27-11:36)... McKenzie, at the time of the interview, was 91 years old. In earlier days, he brought in the largest well in airport zone, on a lease from Irvin Drilling Works, Alexander handled selling the oil. The well was located near a pipeline. It flowed for years before needing to be pumped. (11:36-18:38)... The Getty oil company had some wells near Alamitos Bay. One was the second largest oil producer in California. Alexander visited their drill sites to try to sell them supplies. He met J. Paul Getty there while Getty was just getting started in the oil business. Getty was a well dressed man who ran into a small shelter to try to avoid getting dirty when a well blew out . But he got oil all over him anyway and refused to shake hands with Alexander because he was too dirty. After this, J. Paul Getty became very successful in the oil business. He ran his company very well and out did father, just as his son was doing to him at the time of the interview (18:38-21:45)... Alexander's son, David lives in Bakersfield and works in the oil business. He worked for South West Fish and Oil Company and Golden Bear Oil Company. He worked in several phases of the business. He bought and sold his own oil, for example and built automated gasoline stations. (21:45-24:31)... Alexander bought crude produced by some wells in the area around Alamitos Bay. When the boom was over in that area, Dow Chemical took over some of the wells. Dow used the water from the oil wells well, wanted water for processing, put in reader centriphical? pump in well, successful, got oil, method used elsewhere, sand becomes a problem with pump. (24:31-28:34)... Dan Elliot drilled some oil wells near Pacific Coast Highway and the marina at Alamitos Bay. Elliott tell Alexander he thinks he will drill more in that area. Dan is the son of Walter Elliott , an explorationist and explorer on Signal Hill. He was a consultant for Sunset Oil Company, yachts and both Walter and Dan sailed and raced yachts. (28:34-30:44)... Some areas in Long Beach are still unexplored. Urbanization made oil exploration more difficult. Oil exploration was limited in the 1930s when some Olympic events were held near the oil wells in Marine Stadium. There were also oil wells drilled in Recreation Park. End of tape
- Rights Note
- This repository item may be used for classroom presentations, unpublished papers, and other educational, research, or scholarly use. Other uses, especially publication in any form, such as in dissertations, theses, articles, or web pages are not permitted without the express written permission of the individual collection's copyright holder(s). Please contact the CSULB Library Administration should you require permission to publish or distribute any content from this collection or if you need additional information or assistance in using these materials: https://www.csulb.edu/university-library/form/questionssuggestions-the-digital-repository-group
Relationships
- In Collection:
Items
| Thumbnail | File information | Actions |
|---|---|---|
|
4896278898237356-pesalexander5.mp3 Public
|
Download |
|
|
4153483503757974-pesalexander6.mp3 Public
|
Download |
|
|
7876396971829174-pesalexander7.mp3 Public
|
Download |
|
|
2347016308864026-pesalexander8.mp3 Public
|
Download |