Page 69 - Senior Link Magazine Spring 2019- Online Magazine

and asked for a loan. They gave it to People were happy to sell, often just But the veteran/farmer/oil man’s
him; he bought the stripper and paid to clear up estates. Oil was selling wealth of knowledge doesn’t end
the bank back in 4-5 months. Don’s for $2.85/ barrel, and Don and Choc there. In November 1979, his old
knowledge and good sense, and hoped they’d live long enough to see friend Madison Sowder asked him
the relationships he had built made it hit $5/barrel. In 1972, OPEC’s oil to serve on the hospital board.
farming a profitable endeavor. embargo sent the price of oil to $5/ Lubbock General Hospital had
barrel. Today oil is at $52, but it has opened in Dec. 1978. The state had
For 15 years, he farmed the half been as high as $148/barrel. Over given the Lubbock County Hospital
section his folks owned at Estacado the last 45 years Don and Choc have District $8 million and HUD had
(near Lorenzo) as well as some been learning the oil business. loaned $4 million, but after just one
rented land near Shallowater. Then, year, the finances were in shambles,
a new opportunity presented itself. Fracking has been going on and the hospital was broke. LGH
Don and Pauline had two young for 15-20 years, and the 92-yr.- was inundated with people who
sons, and the oil business in West old entrepreneur explains how couldn’t afford to pay. It was hard
Texas was expanding. It had started technically responsibly it is done. He to recruit doctors. HUD wanted
in the 30s, and farmers were making can demonstrate in meticulous detail their money, but the hospital had
money selling their mineral rights. with drawings and gestures how nothing to pay them back. McInturff
Oil companies would pay $10/acre “very, very well” engineers have admitted to knowing nothing about
for a three-year lease and farmers perfected the method of using water hospitals, but he shared a desire
would get 1/8 of any production as to coax more oil out of the ground. with the rest of the county to see a
royalty. Many of those early wells To a novice, his explanations of successful teaching hospital for the
were producing 100 barrels/day. But perforations every 100’, of mixtures new medical school. The number of
by the 60s, the wells were older, the of chemicals and sand, of pressure personnel was excessive. The board
people were older, and investors measuring 40,000 psi, and pipelines began cutting and slashing. They
were dealing with heirs. Production snaking two miles into the ground, reached a settlement with HUD.
was down, and mineral brokers Don seems like a living encyclopedia They hired Charlie Trimble and Jake
came in and started buying fractions about the industry. Then he Henry – capable men who cared
of mineral rights – 1/8, 1/16, 1/32 - to amplifies his proficiency by opening about West Texas. Don credits them
sell to investors. up a weekly drilling report on his with saving the hospital.
desktop and pointing to the statistics
Don’s longtime friend, C.R.”Choc” of a specific well in a specific county Things began to turn around.
Hutchison, came up with the idea on a specific day. He keeps up with LGH became University Medical
to buy back mineral rights that had which wells are producing the most Center, the Texas Tech medical
been sold off. They began to buy up barrels/day, and knows what factors school continued to grow in size
those fractions and consolidate them. are affecting their production.

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