I dreaded it. It was
not my idea of a good way to spend a Sunday afternoon. Forgive me, Gerald O’Hara and Saints of the
Oil and Timber Industries! I confess my
short-sightedness.
Sunday afternoon drives south from Camden, past Mt Holly, in
Union County, AR, only signaled that I might get to drive, learning to clutch,
shift, gas, and brake. Even if I hit a
tree, the tree would suffer far more damage than the car. My brother and I squirmed
in the back seat as most of the time our grandmother rode with us. This land
was her father’s home place. The tasks for the day were usually two:
1. Pay homage to the grave site, for
the marker had not yet been moved to Camden. Under a small stand of trees below
and to the left of where the house had been located was the gravesite of Mary
Sue Gordon, my grandmother’s aunt.
2. Walk the lines of timber. My brother and father walked the lines, with
Daddy explaining to Thomas how all this one day would be his to manage. Pine trees were just tiny green sprigs needing
a good growing season as do cotton, corn, or soybeans. Saplings were nurtured into mature trees
which were then marketed for timber, a good cash crop.
Daddy petitioned the heirs to expand his role as Sue Gordon
Estate manager to develop the acreage into prime timberland. He and his brother-in-law and another of the
uncles had offered the family a nice sum for the land. My grandmother (only 1 of the 4 living
sisters) and the other heirs did not want the land out of the direct-line, so
they voted not to sell to Daddy. To say that this vote changed the dynamic within
the family is an understatement.
Ultimately and for multiple financial considerations for the Gordon sisters, Daddy brokered a deal for the family and got the
sisters an excellent price for the acerage. The land was sold to a timber
company, but the family retained ½ the mineral rights. Mineral rights are important in south
Arkansas, important in Union County, 16S/17W.
In 1921, the South Arkansas Oil Boom spewed forth almost
30,000 barrels of oil to begin, just east of El Dorado. About a year later, Sid
Umsted of Camden and partners (some of whom were relatives) struck a gusher
outside Smackover. The towns of Camden
(Ouachita County) and Smackover (Union County) and the entire south Arkansas landscape
changed overnight from a sleepy agriculture and timber area to a major player
in the oil and gas economy of the state.
Our heritage is tied in knots in this story. We have mineral interests in south Arkansas. With the renewed interest in the Smackover Brown Dense or the Smackover Shale, within 16S/17W, I say, bring on the oil. I’m ready to be a Baroness with black gold and green dollars.
Where is that Prissy, anyway?
