The Williston Basin Oil Patch Lost a Great Pioneer This Past Sunday -- "Buck" Scheele -- June 16, 2011

Link here. This is a regional link and will break early.

I believe this is only the second time I have posted an "obit" on a pioneer in the Williston Basin oil patch.

I never met Mr Scheele, but in a way I feel I had met him many, many times.

Whenever I was home, my dad and I would go out driving in the evenings, exploring the area around Williston. Three out of four nights we would end up northeast of Williston (hopefully I have my directions straight), and we would pass Mr Scheele's home. My dad pointed out his house to me every time we went by, and told me the story of Mr Scheele's work in the Williston oil patch.

Mr Scheele's home sat on a high spot, but not a bluff, just northeast of Williston, overlooking the Little Muddy River. I found it interesting that he could have afforded to live anywhere in the world (I'm thinking Florida or Arizona) but he chose to stay in Williston. It speaks volumes about his love for the oil patch.

Dad mentioned WISCO. I must have passed the WISCO building out on the "Million Dollar Way" (the source for the name of this blog, by the way) a million times while growing up in Williston. It was a non-descript building to me, just another industrial building -- but -- and I hope I'm not wrong on this -- painted orange and black which just happened to be the colors of our high school. (I could be confusing it with another operation, but I'm sure someone will correct me.)

This is the crux of his oil story, from the Williston Herald (same link as above):

James Richard “Buck” Scheele was born in a dugout in rural Mobridge, S.D., on June 6, 1934. He was raised by his mom, Coral, and his aunt and uncle, Jack and Alberta Strong.

At the age of 17, Buck hitchhiked into North Dakota with a saddle and a $50 bill. He intended to work the oil rigs for the winter and then go back to ranching in South Dakota. He started roughnecking in 1952 and was soon hired on with Casper Rental Tools and soon became manager. Buck started hauling in his own tools and brought in the first set of power tongs to the Williston Basin. He eventually hooked up with the Pitman brothers and worked for them until the three pooled their resources to buy a little company called WISCO in 1967.

In 1980, Buck bought out the Pitman brothers and proceeded to run one of the largest privately owned oilfield service companies in the Williston Basin.

He sold the service to Omni Energy earlier this year on April 15, 2011.

Dad had two or three stories about "Buck" but I assume they are personal and will not post them. But they all had to do with Mr Scheele's generosity and philanthropy and/or his association with the church. I think Dad really admired Mr Scheele.

Both Dad and Mr Scheele were born and raised in South Dakota under similar situations. I guess their birthplaces were a bit different: Mr Scheele was born in a dugout; my dad's family was living in a tar paper shack when he was born.

I would have missed this story had my brother not sent it to me. It means a lot to me that I finally "met" Mr Scheele after hearing my dad talk about him so much, at least three out of four evenings whenever I visited Williston. I haven't talked to Dad since last Friday night; that's why I didn't hear it from Dad first.

I'm sure he will tell me all about the memorial service when I call.

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This is about the only information I could find about WISCO on the web after a short search:

Williston Industrial Supply in Williston, ND is a private company categorized under Oil Field Equipment, Rental or Leasing. Our records show it was established in 1967 and incorporated in North Dakota. Current estimates show this company has an annual revenue of $20 to 50 million and employs a staff of approximately 50 to 99.