Barrels, Barrels Everywhere, and Not a Drop to Drink!

Every six months or so, I get an email from someone who has a metal oil drum wanting more information about the object.  Today was the latest.  Vicky from Illinois had a metal drum marked "Property of S.O. Co. - IND." 

Above: Images from Vicky in Illinois.

Others have also emailed images wanting to know more about what they have. 

Above: Images of oil drum from Tyler in May 2010.

Above: Images of kerosene drume from Anonymous in July 2010.

Typically, my response is the same.  I tell them I am legally and ethically not allowed to provide any appraisal, i.e. assign a monetary value to the object, but I can provide some general information for them.  For Vicky, my response was the following:

The barrel looks to be very similar to others in the Museum’s collections.  These metal barrels were used to store and transport oil, often using a hand pump as well.  The “S.O. Co. – IND” probably stands for Standard Oil Company of Indiana.  After an anti-trust lawsuit in 1911, Rockefeller’s Standard Oil Trust was divided into different entities, creating Standard Oil of Indiana among others. 

 

 

Many of the oil drums are from an entity of the Standard Oil Trust after it was dissolved in 1911.  Standard Oil of New York (or Socony, later Mobil) was one such entity.  The history of Rockefeller's legacy is fascinating, but another topic for another post!

Remember When?

A patron visit this afternoon turned out to be quite serendipitous!

Clay Barbee of Amarillo, TX, came into the Museum's Library & Archives Center to find a print of a certain panoramic photograph of Texon, his home town.  (Texon was a town built in West Texas around the Santa Rita No. 1 and No. 2.  The town offered a movie theater, a golf course, and even a baseball field with semi-professional team!)

While reviewing the database for the particular photo, he saw some images of kids he knew while growing up in Texon.  He easily identified 15 young men and women from his past!  One of them was Mr. Barbee himself as a young lad.  It's amazing what the mind remembers after time.

Above: Clay Barbee as a young boy.  His shirt was red with horses on it.

While Mr. Barbee left without his photograph, his memory certainly helped the Library & Archives Center!  I've updated the catalogue information on those individual photographs with names that were not included before.  I promised Mr. Barbee I would do some investigating to find the photograph he wants!