|
|
|
Photos courtesy
John Keith |
| "I think
this is one of the first, if not the discovery well on my grandfather's
farm." - John Keith |
Subject: Desdemona,
Texas
Dear Texas Escapes, I don't know if this is true or not, but have
heard my aunts and my grandmother talking on many occasions. One of
the stories was that when the first oil well was being drilled out
in front of the family farmhouse they suddenly stopped drilling. The
man in charge went to town to inform the company that it was a dry
well. Supposedly, my grandfather [Joe Duke] told the crew remaining
that if they would keep on drilling and hit 'pay dirt' he would buy
each of them a new pair of cowboy boots. They started back to drilling
and a few minutes later oil started shooting up over the top of the
derrick. A gusher!
That may be true, but it may also be another Texas tall tale.
What I do know for sure is that my grandfather Duke was at one time
known as Texas' youngest millionaire. A few years later he had no
money left and was a pauper at the time of his death.
- John Keith, April 24, 2007 |
 |
| This picture
was taken where Joe Duke was living (on the same farm that oil was
discovered in 1918) in the late 1950s. |
| "[My
grandparents] Joe Duke and Almeda... taken when they were married
or shortly after." - John Keith |
|
|
