At the turn of the century, rural life in many quiet Ohio towns was changed dramatically by the booming search for oil and natural gas. The spirit of this special period in Ohio's past is chronicled in Ohio Crude: The Excitement Of Ohio's Gas & Oil Booms, two one-hour programs which premiered in January 1985
on WBGU-PBS.

Produced by WBGU-PBS and hosted by Glenn Colerider, the documentary demonstrates, in two one-hour long parts, how the excitement of oil and gas drilling in the late 1800s and early 1900s led to a burst of activity and wealth that permanently changed the nature of many small Ohio communities. To provide viewers with a dynamic account of the days when Ohio pioneered the "new" petroleum industry, Ohio Crude: The Excitement of Ohio's Gas and Oil Boom was shot on location in Canada, Pennsylvania, Illinois and Ohio; in addition, hundreds of original photographs are used within the program to illustrate the exciting boom days.

Ohio Crude: The Excitement of Ohio's
Gas and Oil Boom won a prestigious
Ohio State Award in 1986. It was one of
42 television programs, out of 475 entries, honored with the Achievement of Merit
Award in the Social Sciences and Public Affairs category. The Ohio State Awards
are given by the Institute for Education by Radio-Television.

Part 1:
After first presenting a brief geological background, the program covers the discovery of the Pennsylvania oil region, the subsequent gas boom in Findlay, Ohio, and the oil boom surrounding Lima, Ohio areas.

Part 2:
The excitement of the famed nitroglycerine explosions is covered, and the resulting shift from rural to industrial life is examined, including pipeline gangs, teamster activity boom town development and the necessity for developing controls on oil and gas development.

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