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People
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Who Were the Drillers, Roughnecks,
and Roustabouts?
These were the oil-field workers who flooded into Beaumont to work at Spindletop. They were
considered "a new breed of man". Oil-field workers took on a job that was filled with
excitement and danger. They got paid well for their work. In 1900, fifty cents a day
was considered a good wage. A driller, who was an experienced worker, got from five
dollars to fifteen dollars a day. A skilled helper, called a roughneck, got a little less.
A semi-skilled worker, known as a roustabout, was a little less paid. A
"boll weevil" who was an inexperienced helper was paid two or three dollars a day.
These men were well aware that they faced death either from fire, gas fumes, or falling
from the oil derrick. They worked hard and played hard.
It was not unusual for fights to
break out among the men when they went into town. More serious matters were settled with
guns and knives. It was said that someone was killed at the Log Cabin Saloon every
Saturday night. Although most of them are nameless, they were the backbone of the oil boom.
Here is an interview with a roughneck that I know very well. He is my
grandfather, W. T. Speaks.
Ahren:
What years did you work as a roughneck?
W. T.: I worked on an oil rig between 1950 and 1954.
Ahren:
What type of rig did you work on?
W. T.:I worked on a lay-down rig and a EMSO triple derrick located in Healdton,
Oklahoma.
Ahren:
What were the working conditions at that time?
W. T.: The work was hard and dangerous. Men that worked on the rigs had to be
strong and healthy.
Ahren:
Did the workers get along?
W. T.: They had to work together as a team to get the job done. A “crew” was a
driller and two roughnecks.
Ahren:
How deep did you usually drill the well?
W. T.: The first job that I worked on drilled at least 2,300 feet. Then on a later rig,
we drilled about 4,000 feet.
Ahren:
If you had a chance, would you work on an oil rig again?
W. T.: Yes, I would. My father worked in the oil fields. I followed in his
footsteps. For two generations, our family members were roughnecks.
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