Posted: 07/20/2010
Author:
By AARON MAY news2@kilgorenewsherald.com
Members of the Texas Alliance of Energy Producers honored the late J.E. “Eddie” Adamson and Wade C. Ridley for their contribution to the oil industry during the annual East Texas Legends luncheon Tuesday afternoon in Tyler.
“Today we are honoring two industry legends whose visions, success and entrepreneurial spirit have helped build an industry that has given our nation a standard of living and a status that is really envied throughout the world,” said Dr. Bill Holda, president of Kilgore College. “Each of us here today, and every American, is a beneficiary of their efforts.”
Adamson, founder of Kilgore based Sabine Pipe Inc., learned the oil trade at a young age as he grew up in the shadow of his grandfather’s oil wells in Mexia.
Adamson’s family owned the most productive wells on the Mexia Fault Oilfield, including the W. L. Adamson No. 1, which produced about 26,000 barrels of oil per day, according to Adamson’s biography.
As a young man, Adamson began working for American Supply Company and eventually moved his family to Kilgore after the East Texas Oilfield was discovered. Adamson continued working as a driver for American Supply, for $20 per week, until he opened Sabine Machine and Supply in 1945. Adamson’s company not only sold pipes, but also drilled oil and gas well across the state, eventually leading to a second Sabine Machine location in Abilene.
“Eddie represented the service sector, “said family friend “Scooter” Griffin. “He was a man of such a high degree of exemplary service that he could not be forgotten.”
Griffin described Adamson as the kind of man who made deals on a handshake and always sold a service worth buying. “He was a man of his word,” Griffin said. “Another interesting fact that the family passed on to me that – in today’s perspective – is shocking. He was never sued. The man did what he said he would do. How many service companies do you know today that just serve themselves?”
Griffin also told stories the family shared with him over the years and explained that Adamson could not have done what he did without the support of his late wife Nova Adamson, who helped raise his three sons while he managed the business. “Behind every good man is a far better woman,” Griffin said. “Ms. Nova was the only reason he could do what he did. Ms. Nova took care of the boys. We know we couldn’t do anything without our wives raising those kids so we could go out and stay on that rig and make the money. Where would we be without them?”
Adamson died in 1964. He was 54 years old. After his death, his wife and two oldest sons, Johnny and Sammy, continued to operate the family business while the youngest son, Bill, chose to follow a different entrepreneurial path. In 1990, Bill Adamson returned to Sabine Machine and Supply after health and family issues required him to take over the business. As business needs changed, the company name eventually changed to the current Sabine Pipe, Inc., which continues to own and operate wells, and invests in other gas and oil ventures.
“The business model [Adamson] formed has changed based on the current needs but the family’s passion for the oil and gas industry remains strong through every generation,” Adamson’s biography reads. “He would be proud that his company now is operated by his grandson, William L. Adamson III.”
Bill Adamson said receiving the legends medal on behalf of his father was an “unbelievable honor.” “He was a great man. Very honest. Very benevolent with his money,” he said. “He passed away at much too young of an age, at 54 … After all these years, to have someone that has been gone for a long time and is still recognized as an honoree for this event … It’s an honor that is unbelievable.”
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