Gas and oil actibity in Barber County began in 1927 with Alexander I-13
  on the G.E. Alexander Ranch fourteen miles southwest of Medicine Lodge.
  This opened Barbara Oil Company's activity in the county. C.B. Shaffer of
  Chicago was owner of the company which was named for his daughter, Barbara.
  This well is still producing after more than fifty years.
     The well was drilled with a cable tool rig owned by Spring-Rose Drilling
  Company. Lyle Harper who had been a tool dresser, brought in the well. 
  Kansas Pipeline Company spent $20,000 in connecting the field to cities 
  from Medicine Lodge to Salina.
     Mr. Snyder was drilling superintendent for Barbara Oil, Forrest (Shorty)
  Rodgers came to Barbercounty as assistant superintendent but soon replaced
  Snyder and held the superintendent position until his retirement in 1960
  and Allan Bowman then became superintendent and held the position until he
  retired following the sale of the company.
     Carter No. 1 was the next big producer which took some handling to
  control! In the fall of 1937 the U.L. Thompson wells were drilled. These
  were some of the greatest gas producers in the field.
     Joe Altizer opend a small cafe near the field to feed the men working in
  the field at that time. Soon Barbara erected housing for a number of the
  working families. Eagle Hall Community building is near the location of
  the 'camp.'
     Bill Coppinger opened the Whelan Pool northeast of Medicine Lodge. This
  was the beginning of oil production in the county.
     Champlain opened the Deerhead Field. Early workers were Arthur and H.O.
  Keltner, Bill Dignan, and T.A. (Dutch) Wright. This was in the early 1940's.
     The Palmer Pool west of Medicine lOdge, producing both oil and gas, has
  been an operation of Mull Drilling Company.
     The Boggs Pool was opened by Continental Oil Company on the Boggs Ranch
  south of Medicine Lodge. Rhodes Pool, Page Lesse, east of Gerlane made the
  first location July 4, 1949. This was another Barbara Oil wildcat as there 
  was no production in miles. R.C. Patton was contractor and this field reached
  13,400 to 13,500 barrels daily. The 'camp' was moved from the Thompson Lease
  southwest of town to house employees in the new field.
     Continental and gulf soon began activity on the W.A. Newkirk Lease and
  Superior Oil Company drilled on the Gilmore-Chapin Lease. These wells are
  all in the Rhodes Pool, so named for the President of Barbara Oil who died
  at the time the Page deal was completed.
     In 1937, Haliburton Oil Well Cementing Company established a branch in
  Medicine Lodge. Seismographers worked the area and in the early 1940's,
  Standolind Core Drillers were doing extensive testing in Barber and all of
  the surrounding counties.
     Formation in productive fields run in Indian Cave, Hebner and Douglas
  sand, Kansas City lime, Mississippi Viola lime and Simpson sand. Most wells
  run from 2,000 feet in Indian Cave, 4,600 in Mississippi lime and 5,000 feet
  in the Simpson sand. Production depths may vary within the pool. Most Barber
  County production is in the Mississippi.
     In 1962 Barbara Oil Company introduced water-flood secondary recovery in
  the Page Lease. This increased production in wells that had dropped to 125
  barrels, to over 800 barrels daily in that field.
     At one time Oilwell Supply, Republic and Mountain Iron (now Misco) Supply
  stores were needed to supply the activity. Haliburton cementers and testers,
  Schlumberger loggers, Dowell treaters, Magobar, Davis Mud, Dresser Titan
  acidizing and sand tracking have all had an important part in the oil industry
  and local economy.
     Jack Anderson, Jimmy Daniels, Richard foley and Bob Aiken were outstanding
  geologists. Bill Druitt was a long time driller. Ben Thomas 'tailed in' the
  wells after their completion with a rotary. Orville Lee was a contract driller
  for Spring-Rose. R.C. Patton, Pickerell and Graves are long time companies
  who have worked in the area. Many new names are becoming familiar to those
  in contact with the industry. Frost Hollar was one of the earliest 'rough
  necks', comin' here from Texas. Early roustabout crews for Barbara Oil
  included Ralph Aubley, John Allen, Harold Capansky, Barney Francis Frederick,
  Tom Myers and many many more through the years.
     Early rigs were built of wood and it required five days for a rig builder
  to erect a rig. Mike Harper, Blackwell, Oklahoma, was builder of the first
  rig in the county. Five man crews working 12 hour shifts required 45-50 days 
  to complete a well. They used 14-16 rock bits to drill a well.
     Now, with Jacknife rigs, (portable derricks) they can be torn down, moved
  to a new location, erected and be drilling inless than a day, and this is with
  the regular drilling crew. Today, four men crews working in three 8-hour
  shifts can drill a well in about 7 days. Usually susing no more than two
  'button bits' for the well.
     At one time in 1950's there were 25-30 rigs running between Hardtner and
  Medicine lodge. Phillips Pipeline has had pump stations at Hardtner (Aetna),
  and south of Medicine Lodge. Kansas Power and Light opened the "Stripping
  Plant" southeast of town and pipelines are all over the county carrying
  production to distribution, but these are stories in themselves.
     In October 1956, an Oil Progress Parade was held in Medicine Lodge. Some
  273 oilmen and guests as well as the general public participated in the
  event. Representative firms from 20 towns in Kansas and Oklahoma were guests
  of the Lions Club and Chamber of Commerce. Representative oilmen connected
  to 75 industry related firms attended.
     Barbara Oil Company sold their holdings to Kewanee Oil Company and it has
  again changed ownership. Wildcat drilling continues throughout the county 
  and both oil and gas are being discovered in new areas of the county. Many
  companies and related businesses have made a big impact on the county's
  economy as this is one of our leading industries.
                  
     Source:Chosen Land - Barber County, Kansas,  pg. 14 
     Submitted by: Mary Gaunt, as told by Allan Bowman