The Rural Voice, 2002-08, Page 39_J► G'
ouNo
Marvin L. Smith
B.Sc.F. (Forestry). R P F
Farm Woodland Specialist
570 Riverview Dr
Listowel, Ontario N4W 3T7
Telephone: (519) 291-2236
Providing advice and assistance with:
• impartial advice/assistance in selling timber,
including selection of trees and marking
• reforestation of erodible or idle land
• follow-up tending of young plantations
• windbreak planning and establishment
• woodlot management planning
• diagnosis of insect and disease problems
• conducting educational programs in woodlot
management
• any other woodland or tree concerns
A Good Value Harves
In Mount Forest
2002 GRAND. CHEROKEE
4WD,4L,
loaded,
28,000 kms.
Loaded
Certified $32,990.
1997 SATURN
Real clean, 4 cyl.,
standard trans.,
106,000 kms.
Certified S7,995.
2.4 L, auto,
loaded,
50,250 kms.
Safetied $16,990.
Loaded!
2001 RAM 1500
V8, 2 WD, boxliner,
guards, running
boards,
18,600 kms.
Certified
$19,990.
• Many others to choose from • Bank financing available O.A.C.
ARTHUR CIIRYSLER
Q SALES dic LEASING
Hwy.116 North, MOUNT FOREST (519) 323-1981 or 1-800-461-2632
36 THE RURAL VOICE
in 1862. It is estimated that 2000
barrels a day spewed from the well
until it was brought under control .
nearly a month later. The rush was
now on for deeper wells. And by then
land prices had risen from a mere
$2.00 per acre to a whopping $100.
In all, Lambton County claims no
fewer than 15 world firsts when it
comes to oil according to the local
museums. One century -old drilling
method, the "jerker rod system" (see
bottom photo), can still be seen in
use today in the oil fields beside the
Oil Museum. Invented by J. H.
Fairbank who came to Oil Springs in
1860, the jerker-line is an elaborate
system of wheels and wooden
connecting rods hung from cedar
posts. These lines stretch across the
fields connecting multiple wells to a
single central power source. As the
connecting rods are swung back and
forth, half the pump -jacks move up
while the other half move down.
Fairbank could efficiently pump up
to 100 wells from a central source of
steam -power — and kept the tiring
wells of Oil Springs pumping.
But the Oil Springs boom was
short-lived. By 1865, the local
focus shifted a few miles away
to Petrolia, where more oil had been
discovered and wells produced
steadily. Today you can visit a
working pioneer oil field, the Petrolia
Discovery, complete with operating
wooden rigs and horse drawn
tankers.
While men came from all over
North America, some local farmers
also took up prospecting in the area.
My wife's ancestor, John Lather, was
known as "an oil driller as well as a
farmer". Born in 1843, he must have
involved himself at a young age. The
Oil Museum of Canada houses some
of his equipment "used in the
Bothwell oil fields around 1860".
Bothwell, just 21 miles southeast of
Oil Springs, had established limited
production of oil by 1865. John
Lather also drilled in both Oil
Springs as well as Pennsylvania
"before returning to farming in the
Bothwell area".
The Oil Museum of Canada has a
fascinating collection of artifacts
from around the world, including a
few items that John's grandson,
Arthur Lather, brought back from
Rhodesia (now Zambia). Arthur was
among the hundreds of men who left