The Failed Promise of Nooksack Oil
A local oil drilling venture stalls as mismanagement and a 'crooked hole' lead to worker layoffs and deep investor suspicion.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The expectations that operations would soon be resumed by the oil well outfit seem to be an disappointment, as another spell of waiting is apparently inevitable. Mr. Wynkoop, who has been managing the work for the past year, has returned only to discharge his men and again leave. The company has a drill which will lie at the railway and no one seems to have any idea when it will be called for. It is commonly reported that the parties backing the management have lost confidence in Mr. Wynkoop and are attempting to remove that gentleman. His workmen claim the hole simply went crooked and could not be straightened, but rumors persist that the backers wish to have a new manager before another stroke is made.
“The hole simply went crooked in spite of everything, and could not be straightened.”
The late 19th-century boom-and-bust cycle often relied on speculative resource extraction, leaving behind failed 'oil wells' and empty pockets. Today's tech-heavy speculative economy echoes the same desperation for 'the next big find' that led investors to cling to failing managers in 1892.
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