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CORNERSTONE INSURANCE AGENCY INC. David Barsness, CPCU Chaska 952-448-5028 |
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The Oil Patch Continued |
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Dedicated to the sunshine of truth, the moonshine of meeting deadlines, and the starshine of Victoria. |
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It was interesting to read that the Bakken is just one layer of oil-bearing shale in the Williston Basin. Another layer is called Three Forks. Other even deeper layers and oil-saturated reservoirs have been discovered. It’s amazing how oil-independent our country could become -- and could be even today. I read that the Bakken is considered the largest deposit of hydrocarbons in the Western Hemisphere, producing large quantities of very high quality, light, sweet crude oil. What are hydrocarbons? As a publisher and editor who graduated with honors and a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry, plus credits towards a Master’s Degree in Organic Chemistry, I can tell you that hydrocarbons are composed entirely of carbon and hydrogen, two simple and naturally occurring elements. Hydrocarbons can be solid (coal), liquid (petroleum and oil), and gas (natural gas). And they all can be used for the benefit of humanity. *** How did the Norgaards come to live in the Oil Patch of Opportunity? Christopher moved to Tioga from Minnesota in the summer of 2008 to work for an uncle who owned an oil-related business. Uncle Ken needed a project manager and Chris had experience in that capacity. The original plan was to be there a month. Because Chris and Jenny fell in love with the place almost immediately, it became their home, perhaps their forever home. When did the family move to Tioga? Said Jenny, “It was in the fall of 2008 just as Addie was getting ready for kindergarten. The bus picked up Addie at the Tioga Campground where we were living. Chris bought a used camper and had it all hooked up by the time we got out there. Addie was 5 and Gunnar was 3.” “It was sure fun living in that camper,” said Jenny wistfully, and sincerely. “Gunny and I walked to the drug store every day and we’d eat at the Sportsman Cafe for lunch. I’d get Gunny a bouncie ball from the gumball machine and then we’d check how our new house was coming along.” Their new house? “While still in Minnesota I found an ad online in the Tioga paper for a duplex that was for sale,” said Jenny. “I told Chris about it. When I called him later and asked him where he was, he said, ‘I think I’m standing in front of our new house.’ “So the kids and I drove out there for the first time to look at the house and we stayed in a tent at the campground for a few days. There were no hotels or rooms to rent. Then we drove back to Minnesota to pack and move. For the next six weeks, while they finished our house in Tioga, we stayed in the camper Chris had found.” Continued Jenny, “The kids and I got back to Tioga on a Wednesday and we signed the house papers on Friday. It was about the only place for sale. They were still building it so we had them make modifications to take out walls and turn it into a single family home. Bob the Builder did all the drywall and built hallways upstairs for us between the four bedrooms. We had two bathrooms upstairs plus the two bathrooms downstairs. We even had two kitchens, but we turned one of them into office space for Chris.” Tioga was quite a bit smaller five years ago. “We got to know everybody in town,” said Jenny, “from the bus driver to the school lunch lady and all the business owners and people at church. We knew our neighbors and all our kids’ friends and their parents. Addie and Gunnar could walk two blocks to school and they could rollerskate around our block.”
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The Victoria GAZETTE |
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March 2014 |
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Addie, a 5th grader, and Gunnar, a 3rd grader, pose in front of their school in Tioga. In back of the school are a number of boxcar rooms hauled in to accommodate the growth until a permanent addition is constructed. |