“Tribute to the Roughnecks”

“Tribute to the Roughnecks”. Cindy Jackson, Sculptor. To honor the courageous men and women who have been a part of the oil fields of Signal Hill, a field proven to be one of the richest in North America. They are represented in this depiction by:, Jerrel C. Barto , Born 1935 in Wakefield, Nebraska. His family moved to California in the 1940’s. As a teenager he pumped gas at a Signal Oil Company service station. After high school and college he worked in real estate sales and development and as a stock broker. “Jerry” bought his first oil wells in Costa Mesa, California in 1979. In 1984 he and his son Craig acquired Shell Oil Company’s oil and land interests in the Signal Hill area. They later acquired the oil interests of Arco, Texaco and others in the area which became the foundation of their company, Signal Hill Petroleum, Inc., Bruce Kerr , Born 1921 in Toronto, Canada and grew up in San Mateo, California. He worked for the Shell Oil Company for over 52 years starting at a Shell gas station during high school. Bruce was eventually in charge of all property administration for the western United States, which included Shell’s significant oil and land interest in the City of Signal Hill. Bruce is remembered for his good nature and fair dealing representing Shell’s interests and for giving back to the community, especially through his volunteer efforts at the YMCA.