Mary White (nee Blakley) - local expert

By Joel and Tommy

We interviewed Mrs. Mary White because we found out from Mrs. Thorne that she lived here in Millarville in the 1940’s. We found out that Mary rode to Sheep Creek School (which was later moved to Millarville and became Millarville Community School). Her favorite horse’s name was Gypsy and her favorite book was My Friend Flicka. In school, her favorite subject was math and her favorite sport was baseball.

One time at Sheep Creek School, they were playing outside and there was a oil sump hole where the waste from the oil well was dumped. It looked like it was dry on top but it was all drilling mud underneath and several children sunk right in. Olga was quickly up to her neck in mud by the time that Jim Potter was able to pull her out. The children held onto each others hand or leg to make a chain so that no one else got pulled into the mud. Luckily no one really got hurt but I bet it would have been scary and they were probably screaming.

The children loved to go tobogganing on the hill at school and would also go skating in their home made outdoor skating rink. This huge skating rink was right by the flare and they used this light for their evening skate. When they got cold, they went into one of the oil pump houses nearby and got warm and then went back skating.

Mary’s dad and mom, Tim and Jean Blakley, ranched and worked in the oil industry. She remembers riding her horse up to the well site where her dad worked and even having lunch with him.