OCR Text |
Show Oil-Rich Rangely Grows Steadily Oil rich Rangely, Colo.,- formerly a wildcatter's wonderland in remote western Colorado is today a steady, stable production town and a "place to live." War boom day brought every sort of speculator and character to the district. It they parked their truck, pitched a tent, or built a house ten miles up the basin or in town it didn't make much difference because the town didn't have much to offer. It was almost as big a problem to drill for water as it was for oil. The thirty inhabitants of the sleepy ranch community hadn't given much serious thought to expensive water and sewage systems in pre-oil days. Drilling proved costly In the "tight" hard-rock formation and even though the field was soon shipping over 60,000 barrels a day many of the fly-by-nlghten moved out. It was taking big money to reach 6,000 feet and over Into the Weber sandstone and the most prolific oil pockets on the Colorado Plateau. At times the population swelled to 3,000 and over. Today it is 1,200 with that many more In sur. rounding camps. The boom settled to a roar. Pioneers, who first called attention to the fabulous field, are now using the same competitive spirit to build a community. They recently completed a $230,000 addition to a water system which can service triple the present population. A sewage system capable of handling more than a population of 5,000 was completed in 1953. Another cooperative project is the $125,000 hospital. And, too, there are now eight active churches in the immediate area. But almost every visitor Is Impressed by the sprawling ultramodern schools. A new addition has been added every year since 1950. and right now $950,000 worth of construction is going into expanding high school facilities. Rangely citizens have found oil and progress go hand in hand. In the last ten years the area's cumulative production has been 125,422,-701 barrels of oil. Rangely is growing. It will continue to grow so long as the nation needs its oil. |