2008 Celebrate Media Release April 24, 2008
Two famous oil pioneers of Oil Springs are being honoured in a new national postage stamp and a unique music-filled ceremony will herald the event.
On May 2, The Oil Museum of Canada in Oil Springs is rolling out the welcome mat for Canada Post Corporation to unveil the new 52-cent national stamp. This stamp commemorates the 150th anniversary of the first commercial oil well dug by James Miller Williams in 1858.
Surprisingly, this is the second time that the oil history of Oil Springs has been featured in a national postage stamp. In 1958, a stamp was issued to mark the 100th anniversary of the first commercial oil well.
In an unusual move, Canada Post Corporation will be sending representatives to the launch in this tiny village of 800 people, 30 km. southeast of Sarnia. When asked why, Betty Lou Snetselaar of the 2008 Celebrate Stamp Committee, said, “Well it’s because we’re Oil Springs!!” Enthusiasm for this event and many others slated for 2008 celebrations is running high. Usually, stamp launches are low-key gatherings.
Those heady days of the Oil Springs boom have inspired new music which will be premiered at the two-hour stamp ceremony ( 3 to 5 p.m.) and the public is invited to join the fun. The live music promises to make the event a festive one for local dignitaries and visitors alike.
A new trio of musicians, lead by pianist Peter Marchen will debut four new pieces of music which he wrote. Each piece of music is dedicated the 150th anniversary. Percussionist Tom Walter will provide some very special sound effects related to the oil industry. Norm Sutherland will play trombone, also known as the "slush pump". He will be lubricating his trombone slide with crude that came right out of the ground.
Another entertainer, Bernie Gilmore, of Strathroy, will be strapping on his guitar and performing two new songs he has written: Shaw Gusher, and Oil Was Found in Canada.
Two special presentations to Lambton museums are planned as well. John Collins of Lambton’s Genealogy Society will give a reproduction of an 1860 oil book to the curator of Lambton’s museums. As well, Collins will give a 1755 composite map. It is the first known document to show oil at the industry’s birthplace. Originally from the Ethyl Corporation, the map was given to the Lambton Historical Society, and the society is now giving it to the Lambton Room in the Lambton Library Headquarters in Wyoming.
The highlight of the May 2 ceremony will be the actual unveiling of the stamp by Oil Springs Mayor Gord Perry and Lambton County Warden Jim Burns. There are two framed displays of the stamp. MP Pat Davidson will be taking one to Ottawa and another is to be circulated through Lambton County museums and libraries through 2008. It will then be returned to the Oil Museum of Canada.
Official First Day Covers will be on sale at the launch and the stamp as well. (See additional story….Collectors Eagerly Anticipating New Stamp on May 2)
The stamp features drawings of Charles Tripp and James. M. Williams with a photograph of early oil derricks in the background. Tripp is credited with creating the world’s first oil company back in 1854. He was using the Oil Springs gum beds to manufacture asphalt and even received an order from Paris, France for enough to pave the city’s sidewalks.
Williams made history in 1858 when he dug the first well and refined the oil. This spark in Oil Springs ignited the modern oil industry and the manufacturing of oil for lamps was instantly a business.
The new stamp commemorating the first commercial oil well is being launched along with another new stamp celebrating the completion of the TransCanada Pipeline in 1958. Both stamps represent landmark events in Canada’s economic history and both were designed by Tim Nokes of Banff, Alberta. When Canada Post sells a book of 10 stamps, five will be of the Oil Springs stamp and five will be of the TransCanada Pipeline.
The action gets underway at 3 p.m. and runs until 5 p.m. More information on 150th anniversary events can be found at www.2008celebrate.com
For more info on this release Contact Pat McGee pat.mcgee@ciaccess.com |