E. M. Friend Interview - E. M. Friend Interview [part 3 of 3]

PIONEERS IN TEXAS OIL Topic: Electra Name: E. M. Friend (Also Mrs. Friend) Interviewer: Mody C. Boatright (Also Louise Kelly) Place: Wichita Falls Tape No. 136 Date: 9/4/53 Restrictions: None

Kelly- Start back a little farther is all right.

Friend- This last oil venture was on a 50 acre tract.

K.- What direction from town?

F.- It was northeast of town. And it was owned by Elvie (?) Dale and this lawyer, what did I tell you his name was? Oh Boone, Dan Boone and myself.

And Dale leased it to Jodie Mayfield. So Jodie drilled a well, I think it was about a 1,000 feet deep, struck oil.

And I had lost track of it, I hadn't even considered it worth anything. One day I was, at that time I was working in the First National Bank.

And Mayfield came by and was visiting and he says, "By the way, you come out pretty lucky on that little lease north of town, didn't you?"

I said, "No, not that I know of." Well, he says, "They sold it the other day." "Well, that's the first I'd heard of it."

He says, "Well, now I've said all I'm going to." Says, "I guess I've said too darn much already."

And I said, "Jodie, who sold it?" He says Elvie Dale. And we looked up the street and there Elvie come along you know."

And I stopped him, I says, "Elvie, understand you sold that lease out there." He said, "Yes, we sold it."

And I says, "Where's my part of it?" "It's down there in the bank." And I said, "Well, how long has it been there?"

He said, "The deal's been closed up a month I guess." Said "it's been down there about a

month." I says, "It's darn funny to me as I didn't know anything about it." Well he says, "I supposed they notified you, I depos-ited the money down there in your name at the First State."

You know, they just hated the First National Bank.

I was a little different, I don't give a durn where you deposited it just so I get the deposit slip on it. He says, "Come on, we'll go down there and find out about it."

So we walked on down there. And Coffey says, "H-H-Here it is."

You know how he'd stutter. "Don't know how come they hadn't notified you." I said, "You're just a cock-eyed liar. You just want to keep the money down here."

He just laughed and he said, "First First National money we ever had down here." So that's the only money I ever made in the oil business.

K.- You stayed out of it after that?

F.- Yes.

B.- That was your third, third venture.

F.- Yes.

K.- Yes it was, third time's a charm and he quit.

F.- So that ended up the oil game.

B.- I would like to know more about some of the landowners around there. You told me about the Homemakers and the Brewers? Who are some of the other---

F.- Well, now this Hansel that we've been talking about. He owned a ranch down on Beaver Creek. I think that it was originally, it was 12,000 acres.

And he didn't farm much but he run a good many cattle on it. And he was one of the old typical cowboys, just wasn't any funnier than old man George Hansel. He was just

a cowboy straight out. And he sat down there on that ranch and made some money all the time.

But he was eternally complaining about being on starvation, no matter what happened, why he just didn't have anything, just poor.

And I was In the grain busi-ness then from 1920 up to '26 or '25. And so he come in the office one morning and I said, "Uncle George, how are you getting along?"

"Sitting on top of the world." And I said, "I swear that's the first time I ever met you when you wasn't starving to death."

Said, "I'm not now." And I says, "What happened?" Well he says, "You know," he says, "I had a 90% calf crop. Haven't fed a bite of anything.

And I sold those durn calves this morning for $40 a round." And that was when a calf brought $40, why that was something.

So he says, "Needn't tell me I ain't sitting on top of the world." Well, I'll tell you another funny incident. He was a stockholder in this bank that I was interested in.

And we elected him vice-president so that it would make him feel good you know.

He didn't know anymore about the banking business than a pig does about Sunday.

But it pleased him to have his name on the stationery you know.

And so in 1920, that's the year everybody up there made money and they just couldn't go wrong, just made money.

And it was when they was looking after this Internal Revenue pretty close too. And so we had a, they sent a special man up there to help those people with their income returns.

And he headquartered there at the First National Bank.

Well, he was a crook, there's no question about that. How I found it out was one evening when we was ready to close up he said, "Mr. Friend, if you'll give me an estimate

of this year's business" he was talking about my personal business, he says, "I'll make out your income tax return." Well, I says okay.

And so I gave him a memorandum. And the next evening about closing time he says, "You know how much income tax you're going to have to pay?"

And I said, "I don't have any idea, not much." He says, "You're going to be surprised." I said, "How come?" Well he says, "You're going to pay $8,300 income tax."

I said, "What did you do with that memorandum I gave you?" He handed it to me and I tore it up.

I said, "I'm not going to pay any 83 hundred dollars income tax." And he says, "You will." So I said, "Okay, I'll figure it out my-self." I says, "I know I'm not paying that much."

And he tried to show me where I had an excess profit of 80% on $10,000, just got a little guess coming.

So I tore it up. Well, old Uncle George Hansel come in. And he and Mr. Wise were great friends. Mr. Wise was active vice-president when Judge Huff was president of the bank.

So Mr. Wise told him, Uncle George, says, "Uncle George" said, "we've got a man here that will help you on your income tax returns." George said, "Okay." So he gave him an outline of what he would have to pay.

And old Uncle George, you could hear him cuss four miles when that man, I never, this fellow told him how much it was going to be and I thought he was to eat him up before anybody could stop him. You could hear him all over town.

The way he abused that fellow. What made him mad, they got to arguing and this fellow says, "You haven't gotten nothing to argue about."

Says, "A fellow might have just handed this to you on a gold platter." And so old Charley lost

his mind you know and he cussed him for everything he could think of. So he says, "I may die and go to hell but I'm never paying that much income tax."

K.- Had he had oil about that time too?

F.- He did find a little oil out there. It wasn't right, but I figured it for him and he had to pay about, around $9,000.

But that fellow was getting it up to around 40 or 50 thousand. He did everybody that way.

He just didn't know, or was crooked, one, I don't know which. And mine amounted to $500 and I sent them a nickel too much and I never did get the durn nickel back.

K.- Well, do you suppose that the man thought that being in the oil field he was dealing with ignorant people?

F.- Yes, I think so. That's a ---

K.- That seemed to be the attitude of some people about the oil fields.

B.- They got fooled though, didn't they?

K.- Yes.

F.- My first experience with income tax was 1913, was the year it started. Mr. Trease was the only man in town that knew anything about it and he said, "I don't know anything about it." He says, it's, well, "I'll just do the best I can."

So we went over my business for that year. And he says, "You know the best I can figure it, you're going to have to pay about $50."

And I said,"Okay, we'll just settle on that kind of a basis and see how it comes out."

And I never heard anymore from them so I guess it was all right. But that was my first income tax.

B.- Well, did this man Hansel get wealthy in oil or did he get

very much?

F. - Well, yes, he's pretty well fixed. I guess, I imagine he's worth a half a million dollars perhaps.

B.- And he still has it?

F.- Yes, and that's ---

K.- The family.

B.- The family has it.

F.- Now another way he divided that property. And gave his wife 3,000 acres, and he gave his boy 3,000 acres.

And he gave his, he had two girls, gave each of them 3,000. So that took up the 12,000 acres.

K. - Well, there never was a big pool on his land but---

F.- No, no.

K.- ---just a number of, lease money and a few oil wells.

F.- Enough oil to bring in quite a tidy sum. Now George---

K.- They were the kind who usually held on to their money.

F.- Yes. George B. Jr. (inaudible) ---cattle business and oil business.

Mrs. F.- That house is undone out there that you didn't lock the door, That was ---(Break)

F.- A. H. Marriot and Son was the way the business ran. And they were in business when I went to Eiectra. And Mr. Marriot owned, Marriot it is, is right.

K.- M-A-R-R-I-O-T.

F.- Marriot. He owned a tract of land northeast of Electra, I think a quarter of a section, 160 acres.

Well, Bud Marriot, that's the son, run the store. And the old gentleman and his

wife ran a hotel. The Red River, Charley Clark leased the land from them.

K.- The Red River Oil Company?

F.- That's right. And they brought in good wells all over. It proved to be a very valuable piece of property.

Well, they didn't make fools out of the Marriots. They were the substantial folks, you know.

And of course they didn't want to stay at Electra because they figured they'd be better off down here.

They moved to Wichita and Bud went in the First National Bank when they came down here. And so far as I know they still own that property, still get royalties as far as I know.

But it was a very valuable piece of property and is still producing oil, not too much perhaps.

K.- But one of the steady fields?

F.- Yes. And---

K.- Well, Bud did most of the managing of that oil lease and property?

F.- Yes. Mr. Marriot didn't have anything to do with that part of the business or with the store.

K.- But as soon as, they gave up the hotel about the time they---

F.- That's right, that's right.

K.- ---got the money and settled and retired.

F.- I bought their business and left it right where it was. And Fred Powell and his wife ran it for a while for me until I decided to quit the grocery business actively myself.

I had three grocery stores there. And I put Carl Cabe(?), and first bought out Gipson and his partner and let Carl, gave Carl an interest in that. He

was working in the old store. And then when I bought Marriot out, I combined with the old Electra stock which belonged to Gipson and Marriot stock and Carl ran it.

But Mr. Marriot in my opinion was a mighty fine man and Bud was a fine boy too.

K.- One family that oil money didn't go to their head.

F.- That's right, and the Stringers were that way. It didn't affect them. Bud Marriot married---

K.- That was the richest lease, the Stringer lease out there?

F. - That's right. Well Bud---

K. - Well, that also was northeast of town, wasn't it?

F.- Yes ma'am. It was north, a little northwest. And Bud you know married a Stringer girl. His first wife was a Stringer.

And Mrs. Jennings of course has been a milestone, and the Douglases. The Douglases were big land owners and farmers.

K. - Well, they came there very, very early didn't they, in the '80's?

F.- Yes, they came there, when they were married they came to Electra. I don't know how long that has been, been a long time ago.

I know Mrs. Jennings was telling Mom and I the other evening that she cooked the wedding supper for Mrs. Jennings after they got there.

K.- Well, now this Mrs. Jennings that you mentioned was a Fisher, wasn't she?

F.- She was a Fisher.

K.- Weren't they ranch people?

F.- Yes ma'am, farmers and ranchers.

Mrs. F.- The Nances you know, had a ranch too down on Beaver Greek.

K.- Yes. Well the Jennings though became involved in oil, and the

Fishers?

F.- That's right. Mrs. F.- Well, Mr. Nance got some oil before he sold out, didn't he?

F.- Oh yes.

K.- Yes.

F.- Nance had lots of oil.

K.- Well, this Jennings, Mrs. Jennings' land, either hers or her children, because it was rather involved there, was that one of the large shallow pools there south of Electra?

F.- That's right.

K.- Was on her land?

F.- Yes.

K.- And they still---

F.- Still producing.

K.- ---still will produce and they still have a good deal of that.

B.- Well, most of those people I guess were reasonably prosperous before the oil came?

F.- Yes, they were good substantial citizens.

K.- Well, now Doc (?) and Jim Fisher did pretty well in oil, didn't they?

F.- Jim did, Doc has never made any.

K.- Never much.

F.- No. Doc married a Nance and when old man George Nance died they gave the children their part of the estate.

But I think, I think Doc ran through with most everything. Now Jim Fisher made a lot of money in the Burk field but I think he lost nearly

everything before he died. Left very well fixed perhaps but he lost a ---

K. - Lost what he had---

F.- That's right.

K.- ---had had. Well, George Lebus (?) came there about the same time you did?

F.- Yes, he was there when we got there. And he was in the machine shop business. He moved from Henrietta to Electra.

He was a blacksmith by trade. And John Lebus his brother, George will tell you that he made the money.

But John's the one that figured out these different oil tools and George got the patents on them. So John done the work, George got the money.

K.- Well, their dispositions were very much that way.

F.- Yes.

K.- John was a very retiring, quiet person.

F. - He'd work and figure out something---

K.- And George was the salesman.

F.- ---then George would take it over and he'd get a patent, get it in his own name.

B.- He'd make it in his own shop?

F.- That's right.

B.- Yes.

F.- And they had a bit, they made a rotary bit that proved to be the best bit up to that time that anybody had made.

And they made an awful lot of money making those bits.

And just to show you how things go, George moved to East Texas, that is, he moved his business down there when East Texas opened up. And put in

two or three machine shops all over that country you know. John stayed at Electra.

And he fooled around and went down in that KMA country and picked him up a lease, four or five hundred acres. And he got it pretty cheap.

And George hogswaggled him out of that and made a millionaire.

George Lebus never had, now I know George cause he and I were partners by George in the grain business and in the automobile business.

And George was looking after George all the time. And he just hogswaggled John out of everything. John Lebus was the brains of the---

B.- Well, what were, besides the bit, what did they make?

F.- Oh, they made all kinds of oil field machinery, but that was-

K.- That was the thing that got them the start.

F.- This was the one that made them their money you know. And then they, I don't know, they patented 15 or 20 different tools, fishing (?) tools. And it's a wonderful business, that oil field tool business.

K.- They have a very large shop down in East Texas now.

F.- Yes.

K.- Longview, I believe is where their largest company is.

Mrs. F.- All the brothers are dead except George. I don't know whether it's, Lee says the Lebus boy and Marie says Mr. and Mrs. Lebus are both (inaudible) ---people.

F.- Well, George could give you lots of information on the oil field. (Break)

F. - I got acquainted with Doc Prince while I was on the road. One evening I was going from Electra to Vernon and I had, in a Ford car.

I drove a Ford car to travel in. And Doc lived be-

tween Electra and Narrell (?). The Prince home was back in there and old man Prince lived at Vernon, he and Jack. But Doc lived on this farm.

So he rode up the road with me and I had a shotgun in the car with me, and I liked to hunt.

So he said, "Got lots of birds out here at my place. Anytime you want to go hunting, why just come and have at it."

And that's how I got acquainted with Doc. After, and that was before I moved to Electra you see.

So after I moved to Electra why they got to trading with me. And he had a sister, I've forgotten her name.

K.- There was a third brother too, wasn't there?

F.- Yes, the older one. Jack and, I can't think of the other one's given name. He was in the banking business at Waxahachie.

But anyway, Doc got hold of a little old spudding machine and got to drilling those shallow wells.

The son-of-a-gun was lucky. His old machine didn't amount to much.

He kept it fixed up with bailing wire and anything he could get hold of. But he would make well after well, he couldn't get any dusters. (?)

And so his brother had a little money and his father had a little money. They kind of throwed in together and bought them a rotary drill.

And they got some contracts and I imagine they were just about the luckiest drillers in the country.

And they had the one rig, then they built it up to three or four.

And when things got quiet in Electra, the East Texas field opened up and they went down there. And their luck still held good by George.

They just made well after well. And they were pretty fortunate in their investments and just made a lot of money and still have lots of money.

K.- Well, I think today they have a number of different com-panies ---

F.- That's right.

K.- ---doing different phases of oil field works all over the state of Texas.

F.- Doc lives at---

K.- Prince and Brothers, I believe it's still called.

F.- Yes ma'am. And their general home office is Electra, the bills are all paid at Electra.

K.- Still?

F.- Yes. Jack lives here and Doc lives at Vernon. The brother at Waxahachie died.

K. - Well, isn't there a sister or is it a widow who lives at Electra?

F.- Well, Doc and his first wife separated and she still lives there.

K.- Oh, and she's there.

F.- She was a very nice---

K.- Good business woman.

F. - Yes. And I always thought a lot of her. One of the prettiest women that I ever knew. Now they were unassuming and they still are, just like they never had a dime.

K.- Well, they are still living there. Mrs. Prince still lives in that house there at Electra.

F.- She lives at her own place there. And I guess his boys are with him, with him in business. I think they are connected---

K.- I believe the boys have taken over one of the other branches.

F.- Might have.

K.- They go under various names.

F.- Yes. They made a lot of money and they're just doggone good people.

K.- Another example of a good, steady climbing in the oil fields rather than wasting away that we hear so much about.

F.- A funny thing, now I've been partners in some way with nearly everybody that was ever there. Dr. Jack and I were partners once in the grain business.

And I think I made a mistake when I moved to Electra.

K.- You probably did. Do you think of any other people around there that were in oil?

F.- Trying to think of them.

K.- Maybe you can shut it off. (Break)

K.- Let's start over. What about R. Y. Prince?

F.- R. Y. Smith?

K.- Smith.

F.- He came to Electra I imagine about 1914. And he was a driller for the Texas Company.

K.- Contract driller or---

F.- No, just---

K.- Straight.

F.- ---worked by the month. He was a rotary driller. And in 1917, that's when Burk opened wasn't it?

K.- '18.

B.- '18.

F.- '18. Well---

K.- There was some drilling earlier there in the Burk field, but '18 was the big---

F.- Yes. Well, I was in the bank there at that time. And R. Y. carried his account with us.

I don't think he's ever had over two or three hundred dollars at any time.

But anyway, when the Burk field opened up why R. Y. wanted to get into business for himself.

He was a wonderful driller who knew the game.

So he managed around and, well, he tried to get me to go in with him. But I had got fed up on the oil business.

So he got hold of Captain McDaniel (?). And Captain went in with him and helped him buy a rig.

Well, you could buy a rotary rig at that time for around $2,000. The darn thing would cost you $20,000 now.

K.- Or twenty-five.

F. - Anywhere. Anyhow that much. But they bought a rig for R. Y. and went over to Burk and went to drilling and went to making money.

And Cap was a pretty good businessman. They bought them a lease there at the old home of Douglas you know, right there against town.

It seems to me like that one of the big companies at one time owned that lease but they hadn't developed it. In fact, everybody had condemned it.

But anyhow, Captain and R. Y. got hold of that lease. It didn't cost them but very little.

And they drilled some wells and drilled some good wells on it. And then they traded to, when East Texas opened up, why they went down in there.

And I understand that Cap was a multi-millionaire. And R. Y. had, I guess, practically all of his that he hadn't spent for whiskey.

K.- Well, he went to South Texas too, didn't he, and ---

F.- That's where they went.

K.- And when he died he had his office in Houston.

F.- Yes, he had a suite of rooms there at the big hotel, Glenn McCarthy.

K.- Shamrock?

F.- Shamrock. He died at home, though.

K. - Yes.

F.- But I had---

K.- He spent a good deal of time in Houston?

F.- Yes. I think they practically separated, he and his wife. He'd come home once in a while.

But he made a lot of money, he and Cap both.

K.- Clarence McDaniel didn't go in with them, did he?

F.- No.

K.- He made his separately?

F.- Well, Clarence I don't think ever made much money.

K.- Not too much but---

F.- He made a good living. Now the younger boy, Homer, has made quite a lot of money. But he was with some supply outfit, he didn't make it---

K.- Not in the regular oil---

F.- Regular oil game. Homer was, all those boys were good boys, all nice fellows.

K.- They were all good businessmen and---

Mrs. F.- Reason I was talking about somebody---

K.- Oh, about Hank's story, it would be rather interesting. I think when he got started Mrs. Smith worked with him a good deal.

F.- Oh yes, Mrs. Smith was---

K.- Right in the field.

F.- Mrs. Smith was the brains of the family.

K.- Yes.

F.- R. Y. was just as ignorant as any doggone nigger you ever seen.

Now he was just downright ignorant. And he never got over it.

B.- Well I know---

K.- You think his money, a little went to his head.

B.- I know an oil man in West Texas that can't even read. But he's got a partner that can.

F.- That's right.

B.- He's the technical man, he's the practicable man, you see.

F.- Now R. Y. was a driller. He knew that game but that's all. He couldn't, he just, well, he just didn't know much.

Mrs. F.- Well, now Cap has made his millions down in Houston, since he's been down there.

F.- They made their start here at Electra.

K.- Yes.

F.- Now they---

K.- Well, by the time the Burk boom was over, R. Y. Smith was quite, quite wealthy.

F.- Yes, he was.

Mrs. F.- Some of Clarence, Mrs. Clarence Smith was down there at the hotel, was that - (inaudible).

K.- No, Mrs. Clarence McDaniel was Mrs. Dale's sister.

Mrs. F.- Yes.

K.- Hook (?). Mrs. F.- Hook.

K.- I don't know what the original---

Mrs. F.- That was Frank Hook,

K.- And Mrs. Brubaker that lives right across the hall from me, is her sister.

Mrs. F.- Brubaker, yes.

F.- Let's see. Mrs. Captain McDaniel had a sister up there, what was her name? Oh, you and Mom both know it just as well as---

Mrs. F.- Yes.

K.-Well, this---(End of Tape)