Petroleum Museum

The Petroleum Museum is looking for new volunteers to participate in the Docent program. Training prepares you to give tours of the museum to both children and adults. School children from all over West Texas take these tours. It's a good feeling to see a childs eyes light up when they have just discovered something new. It happens at the Museum. Call Brenda Rathjen at 432-683-4403 for details on volunteering. Opportunities include: The Museum Store, Tours, Archives Assisstant, Rig docent, Office Assistant, Special Museum Events, Puppet Shows, Science Nights, and Summer Programs.

The Museum calendar for November and December has 40 school tours booked, with a student count of 1719.
And why do they keep coming? Because the Petroleum Museum is a learning center for history, culture, and technology.

The University of Cambridge (UK) recently did a survey, and found the following: " People of Texas are more sociable than many of their fellow Americans". " Texas had a particularly high "extraversion" rating: a trait usually associated with people who are sociable, energetic,and enthusiastic". This was published in the Senior News, Oct.2008

THE EVENTS CALENDAR

The Petroleum Museum Brown Bag Lunches are over for this year. The partial list of 2009 programs has been posted, and the first lunch program will be on January 29th. More details later.

The brown Bag lunch with Joaquin Jackson was well attended. Texas Ranger Jackson joined the DPS in 1966, and retired after 33 years of service. He is proud of his service, and would gladly do it again. On the humorous side, Ranger Jackson recalls his role as a sheriff in "The Good Old Boys," with Tommy Lee Jones. In one scene, he was to ride up to a group of thieves and say, " are you armed and dangerous?" In reality, he would have said," you better not be armed." His favorite weapon is a 30-30, because it commands respect. A brief histroy of the Texas Rangers, plus his personal experiences provided a very interesting talk. Ranger Jackson resides in Alpine, Texas, where he has an Investigative service company.

"GOING PLACES"
The latest exhibit at the Permian Basin Petroleum Museum traces the development of the nation's transportation system.
It displays how the horse and carriage impacted farmers, manufacturers, and even leisure time. In addition to the many pictorals, there is a nine minute video that tells the story of transportation in the 19th century. Combined with the Chaparral gallery, the force of changing technology is apparent. It is prophetic that the first cars in the Permian Basin obtained their fuel from horse drawn wagons. Little did the haulers know that they were bringing on their own demise.
The exhibit will be open thru mid-March.
If you like the Chaparrals, call the Museum Office and get on the list for the "Running Of The Cars", or E-mail lthornton@petroleummuseum.org. This will add your name to the E-mail notification notice. The cars in the Chaparral Gallery are not static displays. Each month one car is serviced, and driven around the museum grounds. It is a thrill to hear the engine roar from history making cars that dominated the sport of racing 40 years ago.

The Permian Basin Oil Show is over. The Petroleum Museum had a booth, and had many people stop and talk about the museum.
The advances in technology displayed at the show were outstanding. Next year the museum will start a renovation program that will enhance old exhibits, and add new ones. The Petroleum Museum remains as a focal point for promoting the sciences, and telling the story of petroleum.

If you would like to know more about the Santa Rita Club, e-mail Timberon@grandecom.net. Ideas for a better blog are welcome.

The Santa Rita Club takes its name from the Santa Rita #1, which was drilled in Reagan County. Completed as a flowing well in 1923, it set the stage for a tremendous oil boom in West Texas and South East New Mexico. Ultimately, the Permian Basin became one of the largest oil provinces in the world.