Derrick to assist with trail education

An oil derrick is the latest addition to a Turner Valley oil and gas interpretive trail that bolsters education about the area’s rich history.

The Turner Valley Golf Club is constructing a 15-foot tall metal frame derrick, similar to a structure on its own grounds, that will be placed along the Jack Bowman Interpretive Trail this spring. Work began on the trail last summer and will be completed in May or June.

“We don’t mind donating it to such a great cause,” said Gary McGonigle, club superintendent. “The trail is a great cause and goes along the edge of the golf course. I think it will look really nice. The more people can do to make an area nice to walk all the better.”

McGonigle said members of the Turner Valley Oilfield Society, which spearheaded the interpretive trail project, requested an oil derrick similar to one on the golf course.

“People like it,” McGonigle said of the club’s derrick. “It’s where our putting green is on the west side. We’ve put some flower pots and the Canadian flag on it.”

The derrick is expected to cost around $1,000 and will be built by the golf club’s mechanic.

“It will be like back in the Dingman days when the derricks were back in town,” he said. “It’s very simple to construct.”

J.D. Scheller, general manager of the golf club, said the interpretive trail is a community initiative that pays homage to the region, including the golf course itself, which was built by the Royalite oil company.

“It brings back the history and why these two towns are there,” he said. “If oil was never found then those two towns would probably never exist.”

The interpretive trail incorporates a portion of paved pathway south of the Sheep River overlooking the river valley and Turner Valley Gas Plant. It will consist of three cleared areas with benches and picnic tables and signage with historical facts about the area’s oil and gas industry.

The approximately $40,000 trail project is a joint initiative between the Turner Valley Oilfield Society and Town of Turner Valley in honour of former gas plant superintendent Jack Bowman and in commemoration of the discovery of oil in 1914, which helped start the development of the oil and gas industry in Alberta.

The Turner Valley Gas Plant was Canada’s first petroleum processing facility west of Ontario. It operated on the banks of the Sheep River and closed in 1985 and now is a designated federal and provincial historic site.

Jack Bowman was the superintendent of the plant from the 1960s to 1980s and played an important role in the operations of the Turner Valley Golf Club, which borders the interpretive trail.

Ron McLaren is a former employee of the Turner Valley Gas Plant and has played a major role in the implementation of the Jack Bowman Interpretive Trail The oil derrick was his suggestion.

“I thought it would be a great addition to the park to have something related to the original well,” he said. “It will be an integral part of the trail.”

McLaren said there’s an old cement pad along the path that used to be for Turner Valley’s water tower decades ago that would be perfect for the derrick.

“I felt like it would be a great opportunity to utilize that spot as a recognition for Dingman No. 1,” he said.

Dingman No. 1 is the discovery oil well that was the first to strike oil in the region.

The combination of the derrick and interpretive signage will education residents and visitors alike about the discovery well’s role in getting the oilfield started in the area, McLaren said.

“From my perspective Dingman No. 1 itself is such a big part of the Turner Valley oilfield because essentially it was really what kicked off all of the development in Turner Valley,” he said. “The signage will be like a class 101 on the Turner Valley gas plant and the oilfield.”

Completion of the Jack Bowman Interpretive Trail is on its way with three clearings fenced with some benches and picnic tables already installed, McLaren said.

Work is currently being done on the interpretive signs, which should be installed in May, he said.

“We’ve completed the wording on the signs, historic pictures, and they are being built in Black Diamond,” he said. “We are completing our final installations. The rest of the benches and picnic tables will be installed by May.”