Conservation and Regulatory Impact of Government

All three are chemical engineering graduates from University of Alberta, all three have worked in Turner Valley and all three are retired. Out of the multitude of people involved with that erstwhile giant, these three Gordons probably made the greatest contribution of all by bringing unitization into reality after long years of Waste.

If there is one word that epitomizes the early days of Turner Valley, that word is 'waste'. Its antithesis: "conservation" would become the central pre-occupation of regulatory organizations created in 1932 and 1938. The inexorable thrust of a naptha-oriented economy had been guiding the fate of Turner Valley. Despite expert warnings as early as 1931, the final solution would not be reached until 1958. Hard-fought slow progress was achieved by F.P. Fisher, George Granger Brown, Gordon Connell and many others to reach unitization, 34 years too late.

Perhaps a contrast on labour conditions then and now would be of interest. At first employment shiftmen were working twelve hours per day, seven days a week. The change over to eight hours per day was adopted shortly after I began working with no reduction in pay. If landing men on the moon was a "giant step forward" so was the change from twelve to eight hour work days. One could scarce do more than eat, sleep and work. From June '29 to est. mid. '32 we worked eight hours each day seven days each week, i.e. two week 4 PM to Mn shift, two weeks 8 AM to 4 PM and two weeks Mn to 8 am to complete the cycle. Our longest period of time off was the so called "long change", thirty-two hours - from 8 AM Sat to 4 PM Sunday, every six weeks. We would usually drive to the city, without sleep, to break the monotony, acquiring supplies if needed, to see a motion picture, then return home to sleep 1 AM to 1 PM to report for work again at 4 PM. In 1932 our Co., trying to employ as many as possible, reduced our work week from seven to six and shortly after to a five day week. It affected our pay cheque by $40 a month but no one complained as we were grateful to be kept on during the trying time.

Perhaps a contrast on labour conditions then and now would be of interest. At first employment shiftmen were working twelve hours per day, seven days a week. The change over to eight hours per day was adopted shortly after I began working with no reduction in pay. If landing men on the moon was a "giant step forward" so was the change from twelve to eight hour work days. One could scarce do more than eat, sleep and work. From June '29 to est. mid. '32 we worked eight hours each day seven days each week, i.e. two week 4 PM to Mn shift, two weeks 8 AM to 4 PM and two weeks Mn to 8 am to complete the cycle. Our longest period of time off was the so called "long change", thirty-two hours - from 8 AM Sat to 4 PM Sunday, every six weeks. We would usually drive to the city, without sleep, to break the monotony, acquiring supplies if needed, to see a motion picture, then return home to sleep 1 AM to 1 PM to report for work again at 4 PM. In 1932 our Co., trying to employ as many as possible, reduced our work week from seven to six and shortly after to a five day week. It affected our pay cheque by $40 a month but no one complained as we were grateful to be kept on during the trying time.

Working on the rigs was dirty, dangerous work. There are countless stories of injuries and fatalities, but that was the risk a roughneck took to earn his seven dollars per day during the 1920's. The intense pressure of the Turner Valley oilfield made the work even more treacherous as this could easily cause a blow out, hurtiling tons of pipe and drilling equipment out of a well. It was because of a high chance of a blow out that many wells in the Turner Valley region remained uncapped in the early years, eventually leading to the decrease of pressure in the field, and subsequent difficulties in recovering any more oil and gas that a lack of pressure creates. Regulations were then passed which called for all wells to be capped so that the pressure in the field would not be depleated. The problems would not disappear however, even though there were new rules legislated by the government.