Archival Photography

A good snapshot stops a moment from running away. ~Eudora Welty

All photos are accurate. None of them is the truth. ~Richard Avedon

The Museum's Library & Archives Center has a large photographic collection, which estimates range from 250,000 to 400,000 images.  Most of those are from the 50+ career of professional Midland photographer Randolph Rubin.  For more info about the collection, click here.

The Monday morning volunteer, Katelyn Mulder, has been working on an archival collection from the Estate of N. Ford Chapman, which includes hundreds of photographic prints and negatives.  Some of the negatives have not been stored in the ideal conditions, wrapped around a piece of styrofoam.  So she's had to re-house those negatives in archival materials. 

In the Archives Center, we place photographic prints in inert plastic sleeves, which are then housed in archival folders, which are in turn housed in archival boxes.  This creates a three-layered protection between the print and the environment to prevent potential damage or harm.  Photographic negatives are treated similarly.

Photographic print storage in the Museum's Library & Archives Center.

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!

Finding the Frame Family

The upcoming holidays and the usual end-of-the-year festivities always remind me of family. Whether you like them or not, your family shapes who you are. Your ancestors contributed to who you are today. And your great-grandchildren will be influenced by the choices you make today.

With this in mind, I turned to the topic of “family” for this post. Upon researching early families in the Permian Basin, I came across the Frame family.

The Museum’s Library & Archives Center has several photographs of members of this family. In fact, some of them grace the Museum’s photograph murals in the North Wing. However, our records for those photographs do not provide much, if any, substantial information about the family; I knew James Milton Frame worked in Odessa and Monahans for the Texas & Pacific Railway in the early twentieth century. And he had several brothers and a father in the area.

With such little information, I turned to the Museum’s Reference Library. With over 2000 published titles, many of which are out of print, the Library holds a wealth of information on Permian Basin county histories. Sure enough, several Odessa and Ector County books held photographs and brief captions on the Frame family. Yet, it was not until I turned to Ward County, 1887-1977, published by the Ward County Historical Commission, that I found more details. Apparently, Paul Frame, James Milton’s son, provided recollections and reflections about his family for the tome’s comprehensive history.

Mr. and Mrs. S. Frame had four sons: James Milton, Walter L., Jesse L., and Charles Albert. One was a newspaper editor, one was an agent for the Texas & Pacific Railway, and two were telegraph operators. I’m sure Father Frame never realized the parts his sons would play in the shaping of the Permian Basin!

An expert telegrapher, Walter L. Frame or “Sport” came to West Texas from Kimbolton, Ohio, in 1888 to work as a night telegrapher for the Texas & Pacific Railway. “Sport” brought his brother James Milton to Monahans in 1889 and taught him telegraphy.

James Milton, in turn, worked as a telegraph operator in Midland for several years in the 1890s. (He worked in numerous places, including Metz, Allamore, Odessa, and Pecos, over his twenty-seven years with the Texas & Pacific Railway.) While in Metz, James met Catherine Andrews and they married in Midland in 1895. By 1896, he was the depot agent as well as the postmaster in Monahans. As postmaster, he devised a progressive method to sort the mail: he used “pigeon holes” for the patrons’ mail and could lock the whole thing while away. Together, James and Catherine had three children, daughter Thelma (born 1897), son Paul (born 1900) and son James Eugene (born 1903). After working for the Texas & Pacific, James Milton Frame worked an additional twenty-one years for the El Paso and Southwestern Railway, eventually retiring in 1938 to Ruidoso, New Mexico.

Jesse L. Frame was the newspaper man. In 1906, he helped J. H. Rotramel launch the Ector County Democrat. They were assisted by Charles Judkins and Miss Gertie Rabb. Miss Annie Mae Harkey set type by hand for the paper. Jesse owned and operated the newspaper until 1911.

Charles Albert, the fourth brother, was a long-time telegraph operator in Odessa and in Monahans. Charles married Georgia Hogg from Odessa. He was also elected to the first City Council as an alderman for Monahans in 1928. He passed away in 1960 at the age of 77.

James (sitting) and Walter Frame, circa 1890. At the time of this photograph, James was the night telegraph operator for the Texas & Pacific Railway in Midland, Texas. (From the Paul Frame Collection, 84-016.008.)

Old Section House in Metz, Texas, circa 1893. James and Walter Frame stand on the gallery. By this time, James was the station agent in Metz. (From the Betty Orbeck Collection, 76-094.055)

Interior of the Ector County Democrat office, circa 1906. Jesse L. Frame (standing on the left) owned and edited the paper until 1911. (From the Betty Orbeck Collection, 76-094.060)

Charles, Jesse and James M. Frame at the Monahans Texas & Pacific Railway Depot, circa 1909. Jesse sits on a copy press in the center with Charles to the left and James to the right. By this time, James was the station agent. (From the Paul Frame Collection, 84-016.014)

Interior of James M. Frame’s home in Monahans, Texas, circa 1910. (From the Betty Orbeck Collection, 76-094.153)

Interior of Monahans Texas & Pacific Railway Depot, circa 1910. Standing left to right: James M. Frame, agent; Pink Mitchell, rancher; Cleve Brown; Theo Andrews, roadmaster (at telephone). Sitting left to right: Charles Frame, 2nd trip operator, and S. Frame, father of James M. and Charles. (From the Abell-Hanger Foundation Collection, 76-093.470)

If any information is incorrect or if you have additional information, please contact me by leaving a comment!

Do you know ...

about these photos? Leave a comment if you have anything to add!


Chuck wagon of the Renderbrook Spade Ranch about 1900. Photo from Betty Orbeck Collection.

W. L. Ellwood, owner of the ranch, is shown sitting just to the left of the chuck wagon. Others in the picture are, from left to right: E. "Ching" Enyart, Sid Rowe, unidentified man, U. D. Wulfjen, John Lane (nearest camera), W. L. Ellwood, Perry Bracy (cook, standing at chuck box), Sig Lane and D. N. Arnett, manager of the ranch from 1891 to 1912.

It is interesting to note that Ellwood, the ranch owner, and J. F. Glidden, both of De Kalb, Illinois, were the inventors of barbed wire and manufactured the wire. Ellwood realized the possibilities of the cattle industry in Texas because of the great quantities of wire being shipped to Texas. So it was that he came to look the situation over for himself and bought the Renderbrook Spade Ranch in 1889.


"Come and Get It" -- Chuck time for an unidentified West Texas outfit, no date. Photo from Betty Orbeck Collection.


Spring branding at the Renderbrook Spade Ranch in Mitchell County, Texas about 1900. Photo from Betty Orbeck Collection.

At this time, Colonel Isaac Ellwood of Illinois owned the ranch, which took its name from Renderbrook Springs. Operations had begun on the ranch about 1878 when J. Taylor Barr built a two-room house of chittim poles, with a thatched roof of tules overhead and no floor. Barr sold out to the Snyder brothers in 1882 and in 1889 the ranch was bought by Colonel Ellwood who held part interest in the first patent to manufacture barbed wire in the United States.

Identified in the branding scene are Sam Moreland, Sid Rowe, U. D. Wulfjen, E. "Ching" Enyart (holding the calf's head), Sig Lane (holding the calf's feet), John W. Cathey, George Latty and an unidentified man.

Do you know ...

the story behind this photo?



For the past few days, I've been busy cataloguing our large photographic collection and came across this image today. Written on the back of the print is "Texon, Texas, Reagan County ca. 1926 - 1932 Texon Harmonica Band."

Whenever I come across an old image of people, particularly children, I have to stop and really look. I start to wonder about the people in the picture: Who are/were they? What were they like? What did think or do or believed? What do/would they think of now?

The image above brought up the same questions. Who were these kids, in their uniforms and hats, and shiny harmonicas? The two boys in the front hold a trophy. Did the group win a tournament? Who were the women on either side, also in their uniforms and hat, and the man in his pressed suit?

Does anyone know anything about this group? I would love to hear from you! Leave a comment or contact me at the Museum (432-683-4403).

Do you know ...

WHO IS THIS MAN?



Today I received an email from David R. LeMaster, Ed.D. Lt Colonel, USAF Retired who found the above image on the Portal to Texas History at the University of North Texas. (Visit the Portal here. The Petroleum Museum has almost 400 images available on the website.)

Lt. Col. LeMaster writes:

RE: Man with a Guitar (1947 at KECK Radio) Could the man with the guitar be the singer, Rusty Queen? Rusty's daughters (Yvonne and Barbara) went to school with me at East Elementary in Odessa. My father (A.B. Lemaster) was a friend of Ben Neddow, owner of KECK Radio. David R. LeMaster, Ed.D. Lt Colonel, USAF Retired

The Museum's records are a bit sketchy about this collection of photographs, so I am at a loss as to whether or not this is really Rusty Queen. Do you know? Leave a comment!