| Interviewee | CHILES, Harrell E. (b. 1910) |
| Professions | Oilman, chairman of the board and chief executive officer |
| Employers | Western Company |
| Interview ID # | OH 0526 BOH 0047 |
| Date(s) of interview | - , - |
| Description | Oilman, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of the Western Company. Family background; experiences in merchant marine; roustabouting and roughnecking around Barbers Hill, Liberty, and Esperson Dome; education at University of Oklahoma; Depression experiences; employment with Reed Roller Bit Company; early contacts with Clint Murchison; formation of Western Company, Incorporated, 1939; development of acidizing process; oil business during World War II; West Texas oil boom, 1947-57; transition from entrepreneur to manager; association with Charles Simmons; Ship Subsidy Act of 1936 and semi-submersible drilling rigs; dealing with foreign governments; views on energy self-sufficiency and conservation; relocation to Fort Worth, 1959; decision to join Republican Party; political activities; comments about Franklin D. Roosevelt, John Connally, William Clements, Lyndon Johnson, and Jim Wright; views on free enterprise system; purchase of Texas Rangers baseball club. [Cross-listed as OHB 0047] |
| Interviewer(s) | J. B. Smallwood |
| Physical Description | 138 pp. |
| Terms of Use | Open |
