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Christmas card from John and Vola Braybrook, sent from Lima, Peru in 1948
John Braybrook was born in Marthaville and went to school in Petrolia. Braybrook followed his brother Raymond into the oil industry and became an International Driller. He started working in Canada and then travelled to South America. He was employed by three different oil companies during his career. His wife Vola was no stranger to oil, either. The daughter of oil man Henry Gregory, she accompanied John on some of his travels, including Venezuela. Braybrook worked for Royalite Oil Co. in Turner Valley, Alberta from 1929-30. From there, he went on to work for Tropical Oil Co. in Colombia from 1930-43. The camp he worked at in El Centro, Colombia had been bulldozed out of the jungle. It was located in a valley with 400 miles of jungle stretching out in each direction around it. After his time in Colombia, Braybrook returned to Canada and worked for International Petroleum Co. from 1944-46 in Toronto. From there, he went back to South America, working in Peru from 1947-49. John and Vola sent home a number of mementoes and cards from their travels. These included butterfly and moth collections, Christmas cards, Peruvian figurines, and a preserved tarantula. The couple eventually returned to Petrolia to stay.
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