Name/Title
S06.06.056Description
L.J. Hughes and Sons company operators Jim Williams, driller, and unnamed driller's assistant at the site of a drill hole for coal exploration on the Deep Core II project in Seneca Township, Noble County, Ohio. The equipment is being unfrozen using kerosene after a blizzard passed through the area. The drill core is described in Ohio Geological Survey Core Record File No. 2427. The image was made in January 1978.
REVIEW
Information comes from: Investigation of the Deep Coal Resources of Portions of Belmont, Guernsey, Monroe, Noble, and Washington Counties, Ohio (Ohio Geological Survey, Report of Investigations 116, 1980).
Drill Core Record File #2427 makes the most sense when comparing Core Record Files #2401 through 2432 for the Deep Coal II project (see Douglas L. Crowell's information below).
In an e-mail dated September 1, 2016 from Douglas L. Crowell to Lisa F. Long: The photos are from DCII. They likely were taken by Mike Couchot. The driller, Jim Williams (blue coat and hat), and driller's helper(dark coat and no hat) worked on the rig Mike was assigned to. I can't recall the driller's helper's name. These photos were taken sometime around Wednesday, January 25 to Friday, January 27, 1978. The mid-west, including Ohio, was hit by a nasty blizzard; bad enough that Mike and I were stranded at Cambridge that weekend, since I-70 was closed. The photos showing the fire wasn't all that unusual. Mornings when the temperature was below freezing and the drilling tools were frozen together, the drillers would thaw out the drilling tools by dosing the tools with kerosene and setting the kerosene on fire. They used kerosene, not gasoline. Kerosene has a much higher flash point than gasoline, so it doesn't ignite explosively as gasoline would. Scary looking, but pretty much harmless. Doug
This slide image included in the USGS National Digital Catalog for NGGDPP Grant G15AP00115 in FY2015.Context
Two men watching metal rods on fire; rods are being defrosted. Deep Hole site in Noble County, Ohio.