Federal legislation establishing a national commission to
celebrate the Sesquicentennial of Oil next year is currently being
developed in Congress, according to officials with the Oil Region
Alliance.
The legislation, spearheaded by U.S. Rep. John Peterson, R-Pa.,
will create a Petroleum Sesquicentennial Commemoration Act, which
will pave the way for the development of the commission.
Also joining the effort are U.S. Sens. Arlen Specter and Rick
Santorum of Pennsylvania; U.S. Rep. Phil English, R-Erie; the
Pennsylvania Joint Conservation Commission chaired by state Rep.
Scott Hutchinson, R-Oil City; Oil Coordinator Lois McElwee; and
Marilyn Black, Alliance vice president of heritage development.
“We are attempting to put together a national celebration for
the national commemoration of Drake’s Well striking oil in August
of 1859,” McElwee said. “We want it to be a truly national
celebration similar to what was done for the centennial.”
According to Peterson’s Communications Director Chris Tucker,
officials are in the process of drafting the legislation.
“We are still working on language with Sen. Specter, who will
introduce an identical, or near identical, version in the Senate,”
Tucker said, adding the bill will likely be introduced in the next
few weeks.
McElwee said a steering committee has been established to work
on promoting the event and setting forth events. She said the
committee is comprised of roughly 23 members from both within the
Oil Heritage Region and outside it, including American Refining
Group President and Chief Operating Officer Harvey Golubock.
The national commission will also include officials from the
U.S. Energy Department, the heads of the Smithsonian Institute and
other federal governmental organizations.
The Oil Heritage Region spans 708-square-miles and is centered
in Crawford and Venango counties.
According to Golubock, the Oil Region Alliance will have a
couple of booths available to the public during ARG’s 125th
anniversary celebration in September.
The celebration for America’s oldest continuously operating
refinery will take place Sept. 7-9, and will include a swap meet,
educational lectures and tours and a parade. Founded in 1881, the
facility is the oldest refinery processing crude oil in the
world.
“They will be participating in our anniversary celebration,”
Golubock said Thursday. “While Bradford is not a part of the Oil
Heritage Region, I think we’ll fit into the sesquicentennial
celebration. We’ll be another spot on the map for them.”
Golubock said most of the activities will take place around Oil
City, to the south of Bradford.
To that end, McElwee said events are slated around the Drake
Well Museum and in Titusville.
“The oil committee is in the process of developing a Web site
that will hopefully have a calendar of events and exhibits
available that will occur across the country,” McElwee said.
At this point, officials said, there are no plans in place to
include Bradford in the Oil Heritage Region.
