Imagine a town straight out of a John Wayne movie, bustling with men in felt hats, plaid shirts, and denim pants hurrying down the main street for a cold drink and friendly companionship after working 16 hour shifts in the grueling heat and merciless landscape. Imagine this town surrounded by a forest of wooden oil derricks stretched as far as the eye can see; derricks which the same men walking down the street had built with their own sweat, blood, and hands in order to pull “black gold” from the ground.
Feel the energy and excitement saturating the air as these men swap tales of oil gushers they had witnessed, such as the Lakeview gusher of 1908, or haggle on which wells they felt would be the next “big one”. If you can capture this moment, this snap shot of history in your mind, along with the feeling of anticipation and sense of purpose, then you will understand the Oil Worker Monument.
You see, the Oil Worker Monument is so much more than just a big statue with a bunch of names all over it, a gaudy piece for someone to gloat over, or even another scam to
raise money. No, the monument is the physical manifestation
of Taft’s history. It illustrates our pride in this community’s impact on our country and world’s history. Many in this community are direct descendants of the men that worked so hard to sink wells into the vast Midway Sunset, Temblor Thermal, and Lost Hills oil reservoirs. Some may even be those courageous men and women that caught the attention of the world as gusher after gusher poured out of the ground. Taft’s very existence is due to these pioneers. It is past time that this community has a way to honor the oil field workers’ hard-working and adventurous spirit.
One member of this community, Vic Killingsworth has believed that something needed to be done for quite some time. Vic states, “This is one of the world’s oldest and largest oilfields. The area needed to have the attention of the nation focused on our oil workers’ accomplishments.” Having lived in Taft his entire life, Vic began to gather a committee together of those people he knew would have the passion and commitment to see the monument through to the end. “Our first meeting was on June 28, 2006,” Killingsworth explains, “We had to start completely from scratch. We started with no money. We set up everything, planned the brick and plaque forms, and had the forms made up. We have come a long way since then.”
The group began raising money for the oil workers monument by selling bricks and plaques, which family members and friends could purchase and have their loved ones’ names inscribe onto. The bricks and plaques will be placed around the monument’s base, ground, and surrounding display walls. Marvene Tashjian, the committee’s public relations volunteer, explains, “The bricks come in two sizes and the plaques are to be cast in bronze, and are available in a variety of sizes. There is a style to suit anyone’s desire. And the friends and family members can write whatever inscription they choose according to the size purchased” Vic Killingsworth elaborates with, “This monument will be a beautiful piece of artwork and a wonderful way to remember our loved ones and to honor them for generations to come.”
Since beginning of the project three years ago, leaps and bounds have been made in the monument’s progress. Last week, the committee took part in the ground breaking of the monument, where the base will soon be built on the land at the corner of 6th Street and Supply Row. The clearing of the area and construction of the large cement base will be directed by local businessman Charlie Beard. The monument will be cast outside of the area and brought to Taft in pieces to be assembled on the base.
Choosing what the monument would be was quite a task in and of itself. Two key donors, Western States Petroleum Association (WSPA) and Occidental Petroleum of Elk Hills provided the initial seed money to start the search for the perfect piece of art to capture the spirit of the pioneer oil workers. A call was sent out through the nation and 12 very talented and nationally acclaimed artists responded. After a long process of interviews and art samples, the choice was narrowed to three finalists.
At the groundbreaking ceremony last Friday, Chevron presented a check to the committee for $100,000, and Aera Energy LLC make a challenge grant of $100,000 to the committee that will be awarded when the monument fund raising effort comes within $100,000 of its goal of constructing the monument. Killingsworth estimates that is will cost approximately $750,000 to build the monument if the entire structure is constructed of bronze. The committee has collected or received pledges of $440,000 to date.
The committee unanimously selected Benjamin Victor from the three finalists for his remarkable rendition of oil workers building a wooden derrick. The poignant model captures the imagination, sending one’s thoughts directly to the early days of Taft. The spirit of the pioneers is in every line of the men standing on the derrick, as they pause to wipe the sweat from their brow or gauge how much higher the derrick has yet to be built.
Benjamin Victor was born in Taft, California and raised in Bakersfield. After graduating from college, Benjamin settled in South Dakota. He is the youngest artist to ever have a statue kept in the National Statuary Hall in the United States Capital. He has been given commissions for monuments all over the United States. His work is full of detail, descriptive emotions, and thought-provoking content.
Benjamin did not fall short of his amazing resume when he submitted his model for the oil worker museum. “His attention to detail is amazing,” states Vic Killingsworth, “Down to the gloves on the workers hands. He actually researched the factory that created those gloves and was able to speak with the great grandson of the factory’s owner. Amazingly enough, the family had kept samples of all the products that factory made, including the gloves sold to the oil field workers in 1910. Benjamin was able to create the workers gloves to exact detail.” Such a beautiful piece of art deserves to be made in the very best materials available.
“We would like to have the entire monument cast in bronze. If it is in bronze, it will last 1,000 years,” Vic enthuses. He goes on to explain that while the oil workers will be cast in bronze no matter what, doing the same with the oil derrick will cost an extra $200,000. “If we do not have the extra $200,000 by August 1st, then we will have to cast the oil derrick in steel, which will only last 100 years.”
Either way, the monument will be impressive in size. Vic Killingsworth said the oil workers themselves will be 8 feet tall. The oil derrick could be as high as 45 feet and 40 feet long. He says excitedly, “If cast in bonze, it will be the largest monument in all of California!”
The Oil Workers Monument is well on its way to being completed by its target date, October 2010 for the Oildorado. “Taft was incorporated in 1910,” explains Vic Killingsworth, “That is why we have been pushing to have the monument completed by 2010, which is when Taft will celebrate its 100 year anniversary.” Taft has seen many changes over the past century, but one thing has not changed, the unbreakable spirit of the
Taft men and women who to this day work
long hours in the scorching sun to pull
“black gold” out of the surrounding vast oil
fields.
If anyone in the community would like to honor one of their loved one’s by purchasing a brick or a plaque, they can find more information by contacting the Taft Chamber of Commerce by calling (661) 765-2165 or at visiting their office located at 400 Kern Street in Taft.