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Alexander, Sol (audio interview #1 of 3)
INTERVIEW DESCRIPTION - This first interview was conducted at Alexander's home, a rented duplex in California Heights. It followed lunch with the interviewer at the Long Beach Petroleum Club. 4/30/1982
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- 2020-12-17
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- *** File: pesalexander1.mp3 Audio Segments and Topics: (0:00-0:07)... Introduction (0:07-7:36)... Alexander was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee where his father was a veterinarian for the fire department. His father only had a 6th grade education but was a good horseman. In 1909, his family moved to Oklahoma City and his father got involved with a group that wanted to capital to move from Guthrie to Oklahoma City. His father and friend went to Guthrie, started a fire in the existing capital building, and took the state seal and charter to Oklahoma City. When the capital is moved, those who supported the move won an election, his father becomes Inspector of Police. He used that office to reorganize the force including getting them new uniforms. When his father's faction lost the next election, his family moved to Oregon. Father died in 1923 in Long Beach. (7:36-8:37)... Alexander's family moved to Portland, Oregon and his father marketed scales and retail appliances. That's where his father got the idea for a roller printer. His younger sister, Mary was born in 1912 while they were there for about a year. (8:37-14:38)... Later that same year, 1912, Alexander's family came to San Pedro, California on lumber schooner. There was rough weather and the trip took 6 or 7 days. From San Pedro the family took the Pacific Electric trolley to Huntington Beach where they lived for 3 to 4 months. Huntington Beach had fields of lima beans and sugar beets and Holly Sugar had a refinery there. What was then the downtown section of Huntington Beach later became an oil field. Alexander has a job there delivering milk to customers milk for a woman who owned a cow. He carried pail and earned 1 cent for each one he delivered. His first job in Oklahoma City was selling a newspaper, The Oklahoman. (14:38-18:05)... Then Alexander's family moved to Long Beach. When he returned year later, he found the building still there; McCrary's, 1 of 2 house movers in Long Beach, lived across the street. Then his family moved to the Ramona Apartments right on the beach. He loved the water and spent all of his free time on the beach. That's where he saw Earl Daugherty take off and land in his airplane at low tide; it was first one he'd ever seen. (18:05-20:53)... One summer his family went to Chicago; his father had found a machine shop there whose owner was going to build his roller printer. Alexander learned to swim in Lake Michigan. In 1914 or 1915 his family returned to Long Beach. They lived Ocean Boulevard and he attended Atlantic Avenue School where Melvin Neal was the principal. He got his first pair of long pants when he graduated. (20:53-24:45)... When he was 13, he stayed out of school for 1 1/2 years and worked. During this time, his father was absent. He supported his family by working as shell boy at the Rose Bead Factory on the Pike. The factory made beads out of starch. The starch was perfumed, colored, and rolled on wire by women; when it dried, it was cut into beads so they could be strung. Fred Harris, the owner of the factory, was a bookie. At first, Alexander made $5 week and then he got 50 cent raise. He was paid in gold and silver pieces, not in paper money. Later yet his pay was raised to $7 a week and that was enough to buy food for five children and his mother. (24:45-28:05)... Alexander's sister, who was 3 years older, operates Canvas by Katin. She makes surfer trunks. Her husband, who was from Ontario, manufactured canvas sails and equipment for boats in the Surfside Colony. She began to make trunks for surfers out of his canvas. She was the first to do this. At the time of the interview, she was continuing to operate her business. At one time, she sold out to Catalina swimsuits, but later bought it back because Catalina was making poor quality products. (28:05-30:31)... When he was younger, $5 week bought groceries for his whole family. He didn't buy milk but took a pail and, went to the Long Beach Diary to pick up free skim milk. He attended Christian Endeavor at a church on Fifth and Atlantic but doesn't know where his mother got the money to pay their rent. End of tape *** File: pesalexander2.mp3 (0:00-5:38)... His family moved to a place on Alamitos, near the Salt Lake Railroad station. Sometimes circuses unloaded there and set up tents north of Ocean. About 1921 there was a vaudeville show in a tent near Zaferia. One of his sister's first husband played with Eddie Peabody who was among those who performed there. Alexander sold newspapers on Pike. At that time, it was a good place for families. On Halloween, everyone wore costumes and on New Year's Eve, there was a scramble for brand new pennies. Then on Empire Day a ramp leading to the pavilion near Pine Avenue pier gave way and people were killed and injured. Several lawsuits against city followed. After a year and a half, he went back to school. (5:38-9:47)... He joined a Boy Scout troop, sponsored by an elder of Presbyterian Church, and began going to Sunday school with others in the troop; before that he didn't know what Sunday school was. They camped on Catalina and rode the Pacific Electric trolley and hiked to at Pine Flats in the San Bernardino mountains. They hiked up Mt. Wilson and visited a forest ranger. He helped patrol for fire hazards and climbed to top of pine tree with a pair of binoculars to scan for smoke. (9:47-11:48)... Alexander's father got a patent on his roller printer but it never made any money. Some years his father made plenty of money and some years, they had to move because they couldn't pay their rent. Usually they spent more than they made. In 1915, for example, his father earned $50,000 but the next year he didn't earn anything. His father worked for the Long Beach Police Department as a detective and also for a private detective agency in Los Angeles. (11:48-14:23)... Alexander's father also invented an automatic toothbrush that rotated. He traded the patent for a half interest in the Queen City Market on Pine Avenue. Later he bought the other half. WWI was going strong at that time. Alexander worked as butcher boy and drove a "Red Devil" which was really a Model T Ford that had to be cranked. (14:23-17:00)... Alexander worked one summer during WWI on the Bixby Ranch for tenant farmer. The government called for young men to do farm work during the war. He only worked 1 week before he caught influenza. When he was sent home, the rest of his family got sick, too. When he had recovered, he went to work at butcher shop where he mother had been the cashier and his father was well liked. But the shop went broke apparently when the employees who were in charge while his family members were sick, took all of their money. (17:00-19:29)... Then his father went to work for the Hoffman Candy Company which manufactured 5 cent candy bars. Then his father started his own candy company, Cloverleaf Chocolate Company, which made huge hand dipped chocolates, that were packed in individual boxes. Alexander worked there one summer, (19:29-21:36)... While Alexander was in high school, he attended an ROTC camp at Camp Kearney. He graduated from Poly High school in 1922 after he'd attended Atlantic Avenue and Alamitos Avenue schools and Poly High. He got behind in school work as a result of working, but he managed to catch up and graduated, (21:36-25:52)... While the oil boom was happening on Signal Hill, there was also a boom in Santa Fe Springs. Alexander's father sold "units," or shares in companies such as C.C. Julian. His father drilled two dry holes himself near a Norwalk hospital. Potential investors in oil wells were brought out from Los Angeles and Long Beach, served lunch and lectured on the riches they could make by investing in oil wells. Potential investors were sometimes called "bean-eaters" because that's what they were served for lunch before they were invited to buy units. At the time, Alexander was working for Union Oil company and drove Model T Ford. (25:52-27:18)... Before 1933, Long Beach was dry but neighboring towns weren't. Jitney bus drivers sometime bought alcohol in other places and brought into town on their runs. Seal Beach, Wilmington or "goosetown," and Vernon had stores that sold alcohol. (27:18-30:47)... When he was a student at Poly High school he couldn't afford to play athletics. He had to work after school. He also earned $2.50/week working in the Student Body Store. In his senior year, he was in ROTC. The football coach asked him to come out and be on the team, but he couldn't. He graduated in 1922. During this time he also worked in a shoe store downtown and at the Bishop Candy Company in Los Angeles. End of tape *** File: pesalexander3.mp3 (0:00-0:05)... Introduction (0:05-7:28)... While Alexander was growing up, he worked at a fish cannery in Long Beach harbor and for John O. Rankin, a Cadillac dealer. In high school he joined the DeMolay but can't remember how he got involved. A DeMolay board member who worked for Union Oil offered him a job at a Union Oil in warehouse in San Pedro where he drove a truck with solid rubber tires to deliver Union Oil products. (7:28-11:29)... Alexander lived at home and saved money so he could attend USC. But his father died in September 1923 and he had to go to work rather than to school. He went back to Union Oil and got a job bunkering ships in the harbor. There was a flood of oil leaving the harbor. He had an accident when the barge he was on it a ship carrying cooper from Santa Rosalia in Baja California . After 3 years on that job, he got a new job selling Union Oil products. (11:29-14:08)... On Signal Hill oil wells were drilled using steam power and wooden derricks. It was tough work. Rig builders were the toughest guys in the oil fields. They had to be strong to climb the derricks and use hand tools. Usually a 6 man crew built a 136' tall derrick in one day. One man from a rig building crew boxed against Kid Mexico (14:08-16:12)... There were boxing matches at Wilmington Bowl, at Jack Doyle's place in Vernon and at the Chief Petty Officers Club in San Pedro. There were 4 round amateur boxing matches; later California allowed professional fights. Kid Mexico promoted gambling in Signal Hill. He brought the man who played Hopalong Cassidy to Signal Hill for a personal appearance. (16:12-20:41)... Oil well drillers earned $12 per day, roughnecks earned $9 per day and rig builders $15 per day. Alexander worked for Union Oil Company for 4 or 5 years until about the time ethyl was introduced as a gasoline additive on the west coast. Union and Associated Oil companies had an exclusive right to use it for a year or so. Tetra ethyl lead improved the octane in gasoline to a level that was needed for high compression engines. It helped to eliminate, pre-ignition knock. It made a car perform more efficiently. The only complaint against it was that it caused pitting in valves, but another additive was used to eliminate that. (20:41-23:52)... When the Depression came, he was fired from Union Oil. Union was quite an oppressor of labor. Union's auditor asks him how he can own house on the money he was making, implying that he stole from company. He was buying a house in "poverty flats" for $3 down and $3 a week. (23:52-25:20)... After he was fired, Alexander started the one man oil company. He bought a Ford truck and rustled business from Union Oil. He got a commissioned agency with Sinclair Oil. He'd put on his suit to solicit business, then put on coveralls to deliver products. This is how he survived the Depression. (25:20-30:30)... The Bachman Oil Company drilled oil wells and produced oil Then it bought a Signal Hill refinery and hired Alexander to the products that came out of the refinery. He sold lubricating oils. About a year later, Alexander also started buying oil to keep the refinery going. Later the company built a larger facility on Signal Hill and Alexander had to spend more time selling products and buying crude oil. He had a problem finding all of the products he wanted to buy and sell. He then started buying and selling in Mexico and other places, at all kinds of prices, to keep plant going. End of tape *** File: pesalexander4.mp3 (0:00-2:36)... Alexander worked for Bachman Oil Company 24 years, 1 month short of 25 years. The company was founded by Swiss Germans who fled Nazi Germany. Later they switched the company's name to Century Oil Company and produced kerosene distillate used as jet fuel. He left Bachman, when it didn't seem to be doing well, in December 1958 (2:36-5:08)... Then he went to work for a company in New York that was promoted by John Shaheen. The company had oil wells in Venezuela when they lost their Venezuelan production facilities, felt they had to get into production to use their crude. Alexander became their oil exchange manager. Later, the company's assets were sold to Ultramar where Alexander worked for 13 years as supply and exchange manager. He also worked in exploration and leasing. But when the company terminated his stock options, he left. (5:08-10:04)... Alexander was unhappy at Ultramar so he went to work for Signal Oil and Gas Company as a consultant in their Long Beach office. Signal allowed him to buy and sell on his own account without a conflict of interest. He started with a 1 year contract and stayed for 3 1/2 years. After that he rented an office from Signal in the same building where he's worked for them and stayed 2 more years. The he moved to the mountains. He continued to buy and sell oil by long distance from mountains but he was not as successful by long distance as he had been when he was in Long Beach. So he moved to an apartment in California Heights. (10:04-13:23)... North Long Beach was called "Poverty Flats" because property there was less expensive than in some other parts of town. He bought a lot from Mr. Spaulding who subdivided the area. When he bought the lot, his idea was to build small home on the back of the lot and later build nicer home in front. But his neighborhood never developed into a nice area. When he became know as a coin collector, there were many burglaries despite the fact that he never kept coins in his house. When he purchased a home in the mountains, he rented out his north Long Beach home. When he moved back from the mountains, he moved to California Heights where his wife was much happier. (13:23-15:32)... Alexander was glad he moved back to Long Beach. His office was in the old Hancock Oil Company office on 28th and Junipero; it was comfortable and well insulated. Hancock sold it to Signal Oil and Gas. (15:32-22:24)... When Alexander became just an advisor to Signal Oil and Gas Company, he had more personal time. He charged a consultant fee when he worked; he was involved in drilling deals, including one deal in Utah for a lease on 3000; company geologists were looking for non-liquid energy sources, like oil sands. Alexander's not sure what happened after the company was sold. (22:24-23:00)... The story of Union Oil Company is told in a book called Bonanza which also tells about the history of Golden Eagle and Ultramar. (23:00-27:01)... When Alexander was first hired by Golden Eagle, it owned a refinery in Carson that was formerly owned by Sunset International. The refinery was built by Julian Petroleum; Julian said he planned "to put Standard Oil out of business." After that the refinery was sold to Sunset and later yet, John Shaheen bought Sunset's assets and 1 1/2 years later sold it to Ultramar in exchange for Ultramar stock. Ultramar in New York was the operating arm of a British company was investments in South America and they were desperate to find a place to refine their crude. Golden Eagle remained a wholly owned subsidiary of Ultramar. Shaheen was a very successful promoter. (27:01-30:30)... Shaheen used to control the MacMillan Ring Free Oil Company. It had a refinery in Norfolk, Arkansas as well as the "tea kettle" refinery on Signal Hill. He was a terrific promoter but not a good administrator. He wasn't crooked but he didn't know the value of money. When he opened a new refinery in Newfoundland, he chartered the Queen Elizabeth II to take guests to celebrate the opening. Shaheen sent Alexander to Mexico to negotiate with PEMEX. Alexander says the deal required a big company and Shaheen is insulted, but sends Alexander to try to negotiate anyway. End of tape
- SUBJECT BIO - Sol Alexander bought and sold crude oil for oil refining companies. He worked not only in southern California and the central valley, but in other oil fields, including those in Mexico. He also invested in producing oil wells and bought and sold oil on his own account. At the time of the interview, he was still in the business buying and selling oil on his own account. In these four interviews, Alexander talks about growing up in Long Beach and graduating from Poly High before he went to work for Union Oil Company selling their products. When he lost that job as the Depression approached, he started his own "one man oil company," selling other brands of oil to his previous customers. Eventually this led him to buying and selling crude. There are five interviews in this group, but one was conducted in Alexander's car as he drove around Signal Hill and pointed out important sites. The sound quality of this interview is too poor to include in this archive, but it available at CSULB. This interview was part of a project to study the impact of oil on the development of Long Beach TOPICS - oil industry; family background; childhood, migration; recreational activities; education; and Long Beach Dairy;oil industry; the Pike, education, Boy Scouts; Queen City Market; ROTC; Long Beach Polytechnic High School; and jitneys;oil industry; Union Oil Company; family background; Kid Mexico; boxing, rig builders; and gambling;oil industry; Ultramar Oil Company; Hancock Oil Company; Golden Eagle Oil Company; and Mexico;
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3797822930495948-pesalexander3.mp3 | 2023-10-19 | Public | Download |
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9056138078768172-pesalexander4.mp3 | 2023-10-19 | Public | Download |