Gamble For Glory - Pennsylvania Oil Field Boom Days

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. October 14, 2008

BRADFORD, PA, July 25, 2007. Visionaries and vagabonds headed for the Pennsylvania Wilds region in the late 1800's as news spread that oil, lots of oil, had been found near Bradford in McKean County. Wildcat drillers risked all they had on the prospect of striking it rich in the Bradford Third Sand, so-called pay dirt of the Bradford Oilfield. Many became millionaires and just as many lost everything. This colorful period in Pennsylvania history produced larger than life entrepreneurs, a series of inventions and products which continue to impact our lives today. The Gamble for Glory in the World's First Billion Dollar Oilfield, a new book written by Linda K. Delaney (Forest Press), celebrates the unique legacy of the Bradford Oilfield with personal memories, oilfield poetry and songs, historical photographs and a look at legendary entrepreneurs.

One story included in Gamble for Glory, is the accounting of Lewis Emery Jr. who settled in Bradford during the year 1875. Emery not only established careers in oil and business, he served as a Pennsylvania State Senator from 1881 to 1888 and was involved in a lawsuit against Standard Oil that led to the development of legislation to prevent monopolies in business throughout the United States. Emery's great-grandson, Fred Fesenmyer, President and C.E.O. of Minard Run Oil Company (formerly Emery Oil Company) has been joined by his son and grandson in the oil business. Now in their sixth generation, and 132 years from when Emery first settled in Bradford, they continue to harvest crude oil from the Bradford Oilfield. "Entertaining and educational" is how Fesenmyer describes Delaney's book in the forward. "reading this book will help everyone learn why Bradford is known as the "High Grade Oil Metropolis of the World."

The Bradford Oilfield's unique claim is that at the height of the oil boom in 1881 it supplied more than 83% of America's oil and nearly 77% of the world's oil. Perhaps more amazing is the fact that oil is still harvested there. In fact, the McDonald's restaurant on Bradford's Main Street was built around a working oil well drilled in the 1870's. Located beside the drive-through lane, the "Cline Oil No. 1" well, owned by Cline Oil Company of Bradford, provides an up-close oil history lesson for customers.

Delaney's work has been published in Pennsylvania Magazine, World War II Magazine and other publications. "My special interest," she says, "Is exploring and writing about local history and people. The oral histories and research I collected with this project provide a fascinating account of the people who, through their hard labor and determination, forged a legacy that endures to this day." Forest Press, of Bradford, a division of the Seneca Highlands Association Inc., is a non-profit multimedia company whose mission is to celebrate authentic American experiences in places like the Allegheny National Forest. Other titles published by Forest Press include Pennsylvania Wilds: Images from the Allegheny National Forest.

The Gamble for Glory in the World's First Billion Dollar Oilfield book is available online at www.theforestpress.com for $ 22.95 including shipping and handling.