Bradford PA to Celebrate Oil 150 with Live Well Shoot

• 
  SAVE
• 
  SHARE
• 
  TEXT SIZE
• 
  PRINT
• 
  COMMENT
• 
  PDF

. August 13, 2009

BRADFORD, PA, August 13, 2009 - For years, Bradford, Pennsylvania, has been touted as the "high grade oil metropolis of the world." So it only seems fitting the celebration of the 150th anniversary of oil here will leave people gushing with a live oil well shoot.

Bradford's festivities will take place Saturday, Aug. 22.

"We are very excited to bring a pack-filled day so everyone can join in on the celebration," said Linda Devlin, executive director of the Allegheny National Forest Vacation Bureau. "The live well shoot is the perfect cap on the day and is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see something of this magnitude."

The day will start on the right foot with a 90-unit parade down Main Street. This parade, which starts at 10 a.m. will include bands and floats among other things. The band from the University of Pittsburgh will be one of the leaders in the parade. The band has journeyed to Bradford the past several years to hold its band camp.

A vendor fair will be held immediately after the parade in Callahan Park, off Interstate Parkway. At this fair, visitors will be able to buy oil-related merchandise as well as food and drink.

One item that is sure to be a prized possession is the "Bradford Sand-e" - a stuffed black oil drop. This keepsake was named the Bradford Sand-e to commemorate the Bradford Sand, which, in the late 1800s, was the world's most prolific oil formation.

T-shirts featuring Bradford's Oil 150 logo will also be on sale.

The Allegheny National Forest Vacation Bureau will be on site to take pre-orders of the book "Pennsylvania Crude: Boomtowns & Oil Barons" which is set to be released later this year as well as collectible fine art photography.

This is a collaborative effort between the Bureau and Butler, Venango, Crawford and Warren counties in Pennsylvania and Allegany County in New York.

This coffee table book will include fascinating photos of the oil industry throughout the years as well as stories from the oil field that start long before Col. Edwin Drake discovered this "black gold" on Aug. 27, 1859, in Titusville.

Local author Linda Delaney will also have a supply of her book, "Gamble for Glory," for sale.

The climax of the day's events will be a live oil well shoot by Kellner Well Services of Olean, N.Y. This well shoot may only last about 53 seconds, but it's sure to leave lasting memories for those seeing a shoot for the first time or bring back long-ago memories for others.

An old-time derrick will be constructed at the site to bring those watching back to the days when oil was king in McKean County.

The event will be broadcast live on a Jumbotron to ensure good visibility for all those who want to see oil spring from the earth once more.

The well will then be donated to the Bradford Area School District for use in its petroleum program.

The program has just completed its first year at the high school and Superintendent Sandra Romanowski said it's been successful so far. The addition of the well not far from the high school is invaluable.

"They will be getting real, hands-on experience that you can't get from reading a book," she said, adding the district contemplated using an old well, but that would have cost the district $80,000.

The district resurrected the petroleum program when officials were approached by leaders in the oil industry here in Bradford to teach the students a trade they could use straight from high school. The program was started to benefit the students as well as feed a growing demand for experienced oil workers.

When the Bradford oil fields opened in 1875, it changed the landscape of the industry forever. By 1880, daily production exceeded 50,000 barrels a day; it would peak at 100,000 by 1881.

At this time, Bradford was producing 83 percent of all the crude oil in the United States and 77 percent of the world's oil supply.

For more information on the day's events, contact the Allegheny National Forest Vacation Bureau at 800-473-9370 or e-mail [email protected].