(Wireline 26) We move to Coalinga. (City with a third faucet.)

Coalinga is somewhat remote. It is in the Coast Range foothills in the very western part of Fresno County. The ground water in the area is so loaded with minerals that it was not used for drinking or cooking. Drinking water was brought in by railroad tank cars for years until a reverse osmosis plant was installed. There were two water systems, one for brackish water and one one for drinking water. At the kitchen sink there were three faucets, hot, cold, and drinking. People out of town would bring tanks to a metered faucet downtown and buy drinking water. When the Feather River Canal was completed down the west side of the San Joaquin Valley, fresh water was available, and the third faucet was retired. This was long after our stay in Coalinga.

Coalinga is not an old Indian name. There was a Railroad in the area that was loaded with coal at coaling stations. Coaling Station A was in this area and the town was very soon named Coalinga.

In season Coalinga is in the center of miles of cantaloupes. We would go dowtown to the parking shed and buy a crate for $1.00. A crate held 20 cantaloupes.

Coalinga is the home of the World Famous Horned Toad Derby.

It is thrilling when the bugle signals the start of another race. The toads are let loose in the center of a stage. The first to run over the enclosing circle is the winner. A three day civic festival went with the Derby, with parade, etc.

There were some interesting areas in the District. The furthest north was Half Moon Bay, just south of San Francisco on the Pacific Ocean. There were wells in the mountains above Santa Cruz. There were historic fields like Kettleman Hills. A large steam flood project was started about our time in Coalinga.

While working for Schlumberger I made two trips offshore. One was to a platform off of the coast of  Santa Barbara.

While in Coalinga I got on a work boat in Oakland, went out under to Golden Gate Bridge, then north to a wildcat off northern California. I remember riding a net on a line from the work boat to the drilling rig. That was a thrill.

One time while I was working in Coalinga I was sent to Alaska to work for a couple of weeks while the Division there was putting on a Log Interpretation Conference. I was sent to log a well in Homer. I later logged a well in Soldatna.

I went to a small bush pilot airport. I got into a two seat airplane. After we had taxied to the end of the runway the pilot started cranking. He cranked the wheels up until the airplane was on skis. It was December and the field was covered with snow. We took off and flew out over Cook Inlet which was covered mostly with chunks of ice. I could see forever. I could see Mount McKinley. When we landed at Homer I found the company car in the parking lot. It was covered with snow and had four worn out flat tires. Plus I did not have a key. It was towed to a local service station where four new tire were installed. They took the key apart and rigged it so I could hot wire it to start and run the car. It was zero degrees. The crew bought some crab legs. They stored them and kept them frozen by laying them outside the motel room in the snow. When people parked outside a restaurant they would leave their car running. Drive ins were open. The carhops would take orders dressed in parkas.

My family's stay in Coalinga had many interesting twists and turns. There were happy times and there were sad times. Nancy and Chris graduated from High School in Coalinga. Kerry was first clarinetist in the band and Mike was the cutest best behaved nine year old boy in Coalinga. A handsome high school swimmer and senior, Bob Wright won the heart of our oldest daughter Nancy Ann. He is still our handsome son in law. He was a star on the Coalinga High School swim team, he is now a star in a CPA firm.

Our oldest son Chris was an excellent student and appeared on a Fresno TV show that starred top students. Jackie and I were so proud. Later Chris suffered bouts with severe depression and tried to end his life by swallowing many aspirin pills. At the time the rest of our family was visiting in the San Fernando Valley. It is shocking and so sad to receive a phone call in the middle of the night that your son has attempted suicide, has had his stomach pumped, and is in intensive care at the hospital. This came as a complete surprise to Jackie and I. Chris was in a hospital in Glendale for a time. He was given electroshock treatment. I believe that they still do this. The treatment induces a deep convulsion that can help people with depression.

My job with Schlumberger required 24 hour call and long hours. I started looking for a job that would permit me to be home more to help Jackie with Chris. I gave Schlumberger six months notice (this much notice was required by my employment contract). My last day working for Schlumberger was December 31, 1965.

I know that my 15 year career with Schlumberger was unreasonably hard on my family. I would not do it that way again. But I really enjoyed the work. I am a born tourist and enjoyed seeing so much of the country. The technical work was interesting and challenging. Schlumberger is a good company and I would have worked for them another 15 years except for family problems. They were good to me except for not letting me be President of the company.