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Posted: Jul 23, 2020 3:24 PMUpdated: Jul 23, 2020 3:27 PM
Woolaroc Acquires More Oil History
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Woolaroc is pleased to be the new home of a 1952 GMC Pickup owned by the American Torpedo Company out of Bartlesville.
The truck was donated by Patrick Hagerman of Scotlea Hot Rods in Nowata. Woolaroc docent Ken Harris first approached Museum Director Shiloh Thurman in June to see if the museum would be interested.
In a statement, Thurman said “The truck was found in a field in Osage County in 2013, where it had been abandoned for over 50 years. We felt it was an important piece of Bartlesville history that deserved to be showcased in the museum.”
The 1952 GMC pickup was used to transport nitroglycerin to area oil fields. The nitroglycerin was loaded into “torpedoes” that the truck would then lower into drilled holes and explode, increasing the oil flow.
The truck joins other relics of the Oklahoma oil industry in Woolaroc’s “oil room,” including oil field vehicles, a replica oil lease house, and oil field equipment.
Woolaroc's CEO Bob Fraser said, “We are thrilled to have this donation. Room seven of the museum seems like the perfect location to display this interesting piece of Bartlesville and oil history."
The American Torpedo Company truck also joins two horse drawn oil tank wagons as well as a 1932 Ford Model B Truck.
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