Learn more about the legacy of these four new Wall of Fame members
From the Pioneer Oil Museum,
Bolivar – Four individuals were honored with induction into the New York State Oil Producers’ Association Wall of Fame in a ceremony Friday evening at the Pioneer Oil Museum.
Honored were the late J.F. (Dutch) Dunning, Jim Euken, Dean Phillips, and Dick Smith, each of whom made significant contributions to the oil and gas industry in the Twin Tiers of New York and Pennsylvania. The Wall of Fame began in 2005 and now has 70 inductees with the inclusion of this year’s class.
After the presentation of a large plaque with biographical information and a photograph, a family member for each inductee provided thanks and some memories. The initial inductee was Dunning, a life-long local drilling contractor and oil producer, mostly in the Little Genesee area.
Dunning’s daughter, Wendy, remembered that her grandfather worked “really, really hard in the oilfield all by himself until my father got old enough to help him.”
She also described what life was like for an oilman. “Grandpa had two old Ford cars – one was the work car and the other was the good car. There really wasn’t much difference between them, except for the color. Whenever they went to town, they always took the good car. Because of the nature of oil drilling, whenever he came in from work, he had to take his clothes off in the basement before going upstairs.” These memories are still important today, and, in fact, she and her daughter’s family still own 150 acres of the old lease in Little Genesee.
Jim Euken was a long-time Allegany County lawyer, serving as a public defender, district attorney, and county judge. He worked with several other oilmen to purchase local mineral rights, and he partnered with previous Wall of Fame inductee, Bob Benson, in the production of gas wells in the Allegany, NY area.
Euken’s widow, Molly, was not there because she had recently been in a car accident, damaging the car, and thus unable to attend the ceremony. The family was represented by Carolyn Miller, a close family friend and long-time personal secretary to Euken.
“Jim absolutely loved the oil and gas industries, and he shared his love of the industry with me and his other secretaries. He loved to talk oil and gas, and he loved to search the abstracts to look for mineral rights and leases.
“The oil and gas industry was an important part of his household over the years as you can see as I list the names of the family cats.” She then proceeded to rattle off the names of the cats, all of whom were given names of local oil and gas men he knew from the area fields. “Nothing pleased him more than being able to walk the fields with his dog and walking stick. He knew where all the oil wells were located.”
Dean Phillips was the president and/or owner of several natural gas exploration and production companies in the Twin Tiers. He leased over 43,000 acres of land for drilling purposes and signed over 603 leases for gas drilling in Allegany and Steuben counties. Traveling all the way from Maine, Betty Phillips was in attendance for the award bestowed on her late husband.
“This is definitely an honor. Many thanks to the New York State Oil Producers’ Association and the Pioneer Oil Museum. Also a mention to the museum for what they’ve done here because this ISN’T what Hahn & Schaffner’s used to look like. It’s amazing with all the renovated buildings you have here.
“Dean was suited for leasing acreage in the gas patch. He was a wildcatter in the natural gas field, which in this area means that he was a sheep farmer in cattle country. This is oil country, as you know, but on the vision of an old-timer that saw a play for natural gas, and with Dean not one to shy away from a challenge, he pursued his quest to make a living by drilling gas wells and Western New York alive again with exploration.
“Once that first well came in, Dean revised the old Jed Clampett scenario and instead of Beverly Hills, he moved his family to Western New York.”
Betty reminisced about the hard work that went into being a gas producer. “Meeting with skeptical land-owners at any time of the day or night, Dean became a well-tender. His step-children, as I call his wells, were well-tended day or night, whether it was 90 degrees or below zero. There’s nothing like filling a methanol bottle on a 10-degree night in layers of clothing that were comparable to what the Michelin man looked like. Oh, that wasn’t Dean, that was his family and what we did for him. Who would be the lucky family member to be drafted any particular day or night to help him? We learned how to wield a pipe wrench or swear up a storm when the joints and valves were frozen shut.”
Dick Smith, a second-generation oil producer, worked on a variety of local oil leases for over 70 years, beginning at the age of 18. His son, Ron, also an oil producer, described his father’s upbringing. “My father truly loved the oil business. When he was a teenager in the mid-1930’s, he worked for the family business. When he turned 18, he worked on a larger Parkersburg drilling rig. He committed his entire life to the production of oil; that’s all I can say.
“From the mid-30’s until he had a stroke in 2009, he was on the job, maybe just doing little stuff like pumping or “roustabouting”, but he was still on the job a year before he passed away. That is definitely committing yourself to a vocation you love!
“We met a lot of good people in the oil and gas business along the line; a lot are still alive, but a lot are on this wall. I’m probably the last man standing in our family of oil producers. I wouldn’t trade it for the anything, but I also wouldn’t do it again.”
The ceremony began with the museum’s president, Kelly Lounsberry, providing remarks about the work completed by the museum over the past year. The museum acquired several old pieces of antique equipment, including an Ingersoll Rand compressor donated by Gas Field Specialists of Shinglehouse, and at auction, the museum purchased a Reid oilfield engine originally sold by RB Moore, a company involved in the Bolivar oilfields since the early 1900’s.
He also discussed the ongoing work at the museum including the construction of a large wing on the main building which will allow for an enhanced visitor experience and eventually serving as a destination location.
In addition to the induction ceremony, there was a wine-and-cheese tasting with nearly 200 people in attendance. A highlight of that portion of the evening was a first-ever beer tasting, as the Wellsville Brewing Company set up a stand to help promote the Bolivar Bicentennial which takes place in 2025.
During the course of the evening, many guests visited the Joyce Building, where antique oilfield engines were in operation, creating lots of noise and smoke to entertain the visitors. Two other exhibit buildings were open to the public, and a blacksmith demonstration took place on the grounds.
