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Story

Eric Hussey

Contributor

Darwin Hussey

Map Location

Latitude: 33° 15' 51.624" N
Longitude: 72° 27' 39.848" E

Date

1904-1964

Eric Hussey with local workers in Khaur, India
Eric Hussey sitting in a rickshaw in India, 1925
Eric Hussey on a camel in India, 1928

Eric Hussey's father, William J., had a long history of working in the oil fields of Lambton County, having been employed at the age of 16 by J.H. Fairbanks for five years and then for J.L. Englehart for two years. By most standards, his time abroad was short, spending six years in Mexico, but there was a girl in Petrolia who was more important to him than the thrill of working abroad. In 1922, William J. Hussey took his son Eric (age 17) to the Texas oil fields and then down to Tampico, Mexico in 1923, where he taught Eric everything he needed to know about being a good driller and, more importantly, how to out-drill the Americans. Mexico proved to be a dangerous place and when bandits began to come through the drillers' camp and shoot through the bunkhouse, the Husseys decided it was time to come home.

Interview with Darwin Hussey - On Work in the International Oil Fields

Video clip. Darwin Hussey talks about what it was like to work in the international oil fields.

Duration: 2:58 - Transcription

It was on one such vacation at home, in between drilling contracts that Eric Hussey met and fell in love with Vera "Merle" Neely. Hussey had to place a number of overseas calls while he was home in Petrolia and Vera Neely worked as a telephone operator. In order to court her in person, Hussey volunteered to play violin at the Anglican Church where Neely sang in the choir.

Hussey began a new contract in Khaur, India (present-day Pakistan) for the Attic Oil Company and left in May 1925 on a three-year contract. Once he had set aside enough money, he sent for Neely, accompanied by her sister, and the two were married in Bombay, India in February 1928. The company provided large, stone bungalows for the workers which, despite the often unbearable heat, were quite cool inside. The International Drillers also participated in club activities including tennis and golf played in the desert sand. After their son, Darwin, born in 1929, began to develop boils, the family left for California where they lived for a few years before returning to Petrolia.

Oil Rigs in Khaur, India Video clip.

Footage of the International Drillers, set to the song Oil Man Blues.

Duration: 2:16 - Transcription

The draw of the international fields called Eric Hussey out again, accompanied by his wife, this time to Trinidad in 1936 in the employ of the Trinidad Petroleum Development Company. In 1939, when a teacher had been found to teach the children of the employees of the company, the Husseys brought their three sons back with them to Trinidad. The family resided in a company-owned bungalow, with servants' quarters on the bottom floor. When it was time for the boys to start high school around 1942, the Husseys returned to Petrolia where, according to Darwin Hussey, the most difficult transition was getting along with the girls.

Interview with Darwin Hussey - On Life in the International Oil Fields

Video clip. Darwin Hussey talks about what life was like for an International Driller.

Duration: 3:46 - Transcription