Victoria History: Polyethylene blast rocks plant in 1960 | News | victoriaadvocate.com

Nov 01, 2024

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Editor’s note: In honor of Victoria’s 200th birthday, we will publish articles from former editions of the Victoria Advocate. To learn more about the Victoria Advocate and Victoria’s long and storied history, visit victoria200years.com.

October 28, 1921

The County Commissioners’ Court of Victoria County held a two day special session this week and received and approved the County Tax Assessors Tax Rolls. The rolls show an assessed valuation total of $14,538,705, of county and city property.

Although there has been a heavy decrease in the value of personal property, this year’s total valuation is in excess of last year’s valuation by $49,895. The total county and city real estate, exclusive of railroad property, is valued at $10,216,030. Railroad property, both personal and real, is rendered at $1,816,710. The personal property, exclusive of railroad property, has an assessment valuation of only $2,505,965.

October 29, 1930

Rain, which began falling just before noon Tuesday, made it necessary to postpone opening of the nineteenth annual Bee County Fair. While heavy clouds and darkened skies were evident early in the morning, exhibits were in place and many milled through the exhibit halls.

R. M. Kleberg, president of the Southwest Texas Cattle Raisers Association, was scheduled to deliver the opening address at 1:30 p.m., but as few were on the grounds, President R. P. Lucas of the fair association stated that the opening would await more favorable weather conditions.

Lucas said, If weather permitted the fair would open Wednesday and close Saturday, making it a four-day event.

October 30, 1940

A new strike in the Coletto Oil Field, southwest of the city, and the second in the same field by Glenn McCarthy, noted wildcat operator, was reported here today following the taking of a saturated core in the No. 1 Wm. Dietzel test.

Being drilled by Mr. McCarthy on a farmout from local interests who have the 400-acre tract under lease, the sand found is said to be new in the field. A Schlumberger test revealed the sand at 4723-4735 feet. Core was taken four feet off the bottom.

Mr. McCarthy previously had discovered a gas and distillate sand at 3500 feet and the new strike makes his second in the field.

The test is the same one on which the derrick collapsed several weeks ago and is located approximately five and one-half miles from the city.

A drillstem test was to be made this afternoon or tonight.

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October 31, 1950

Federal and state game wardens have found no new deaths of wild geese in the Tivoli-Austwell area.

However, investigations continue into the mysterious death of perhaps several hundred geese in at least three affected areas the past week. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service laboratory at Denver, Colo., has two specimens found in the field, but up to noon today no report had been received there by Federal Game Warden Thomas R. Lawhorn.

State Game Warden Claude Keller and an Advocate reporter flew over the Tivoli country for more than an hour Monday afternoon and found no traces of new deaths. They saw thousands of live geese.

Lawhorn, walking some spots in the area, found 47 dead geese alongside a waterhole on the Martin O’Connor Ranch near Austwell. Previously only 18 or 20 had been reported seen from the air at this location. All had been dead for a day or two, it was said.

A laboratory technician of Victoria, making a test of the contents of a gizzard of one of the geese, said he found a small amount of arsenic. But tests of the waterhole near where the goose was found disclosed no poisoning of any type.

Ranchers late Monday were keeping cattle away from this particular waterhole until the water can be rechecked.

Many other geese were found dead on the Hartman Ranch nearby and scattered dead geese were seen from the air about the marshlands near Dunaen Point. Biologists hope to have further information on the mysterious deaths as soon as the tests are completed.

November 1, 1960

An eruption in a Polyethylene cell at the Union Carbide Seadrift Plant caused an explosion and flash fire at 10:25 a.m. Monday.

The only injury reported was to one man, unidentified, who received a minor cut on his hand while evacuating the area.

The explosion and fire were contained in the concrete cell, with the fire being brought under control at 10:45 a.m. by an automatic extinguisher system and the plant fire squad, according to a statement released by John H. Hill, assistant plant superintendent.

Cause of the fire has not been determined.

The company statement said “at present no estimate of damage has been made.” The unit will be returned to service in a week.