© 2014-2021 Copyright by P. K. H. Groth, Denver, Colorado, USA All rights reserved - See contact page for for permission to republish article
excerpts.
Learning to Love Nature and Hard Work - and Being Exceedingly Rewarded by Both:
I always loved the outdoors, animals, and especially the symphony of experiences and challenges
included in hunting. I learned while growing up on a farm that there is a critical interplay of land
management, animal husbandry and natural ecosystems that must be honored. From age seven I roamed
my parent's New York farmstead with my single-shot 22 rifle. It was my duty to get the wood chucks
cleared from the fields. Their deep narrow burrows broke machinery and dairy cow legs, not to mention
the havoc they created with crops. Each year I'd get a fifty count box of bullets (cost then - 45 cents) from
my dad. Wood chuck tails earned me a ten cent bounty. I quickly comprehended that I was not going to
make much spending money if I wasted shots and had to buy ammunition from my pocket. Those were
wonderful hard working years. They taught me patience, to observe, detail problems, conceive solutions
and execute (work for) responses and success. Dreaming was good, but dreams had to be pursued. My
Depression era parents saw that I learned about life - all of it.
I began a carpentry-cabinet-home builder apprenticeship at age fourteen with a perfectionist stern but
loving Italian. The following nine years’ summers and vacation periods (and some missed university
semesters when I was out of money) further taught me the joys and rewards of independence and hard
work. And I emerged with college degrees without debt and with a started family. Thanks, Mom and Dad,
for passing on the hard-learned WW I and Depression ethics you learned through suffering as children in
Germany and as young newly weds!
Education and Career Paths:
My professional background started in geology, mineralogy and paleontology after receiving degrees at
Penn State University. There I met and married my lifetime geologist buddy and sweetheart Linda. I
worked as a micropaleontologist specializing in fossil pollen, spores and dinoflagellates. These I used to
date rock strata in drilling wells and determine paleoenvironments for Chevron in Mississippi, and Pan
American Petroleum and Amoco in Denver Colorado in 1969. Our family became avid Colorado outdoor
people, annually spending ten days backpacking the San Juan Mountains, and skiing, hunting, fishing and
roaming the the high country. Linda was a coal geologist for Rocky Mountain Energy (Union Pacific
Railroad) and formed a geologic report editing business when her company was dismantled.
One of my fortes was a love for exploring new ideas. I soon became what is known as a corporate "wild
duck". These are inquisitive people who have so many ideas and interests that they do not fit in the norms
in terms of work routines, mundane assignments or contemporary management. Many people never
knew which way I might fly, and I commonly did my flying first and permission asking later. I brashly
recommended management hold team building forums in the wilderness (Outward Bound Wilderness
School) instead of at resorts where office status, politics and drinking hindered purported program
objectives. And the big chief authorized and attended them his self.
In another example, fellow employees never knew I was the phantom who got sick of blank, uninspiring,
depressing, uni-colored blah-green offices and hallways. I bought and framed large batik print tree
murals. In two successive Saturday nights (I worked a lot of overtime), like Laurel and Hardy episodes, I
sneaked past security guard (I knew their floor walking schedules) with arm loads of cumbersome six by
three foot prints. I purposely nailed them to the hall walls so they could not be taken down without
incurring costs to repair the nail holes. Frugal manaagementdid not. Management "got the idea" when
employees exclaimed how pleased they were that the corporation was finally considering its minions'
office aesthetic morale. Within a year we had a full-time professional art curator who filled hallways and
offices with a wide variety of creative artwork bought not only for decoration, but also for monetary
speculation. You got it, “Big Guys”! Oil and gas are not the only possible investments.
I know I am different, and that is why this hunting website has to be unusual.
An Environmental Rabble Rouser: Environmental Activities: Earth Day 1973 found me at the convention
center playing hooky from work. I was with an anti-litter group objecting to the foreseen oncoming
proliferation of the disposable beverage and plastic bag revolution. My petroleum (think plastics)
employer was not amused, and said so. I worked with groups to clean up Denver and suburban
municipalities’ tawdry, decadent signage that degraded neighborhoods.
I was an officer and president of The Association for Beautiful Colorado Roads which lobbied to rid
billboards along highways in a state touting itself for beautiful tourist attractions. We fought to get the
Division of Highways to also abandon its old philosophy engineering method of "design and blast", then
also called the "God would have done it that way in the first place if he had the blasting money" method.
Interstate 70’s Vail Pass and Glenwood Canyon were two of our prime highway beautification projects.
Engineering awards, Scenic HIghway recognition, and public praise followed and the old fashioned
construction practices became history.
An Extremely Fortunate Career: I am deeply appreciative of the companies I worked for. Do not think
the following stories are critical of them; they provided professional milestones for me and here make
interestng reading (I hope).
My Chevron and Amoco employers gave me leeway to branch into different fields such as petroleum
exploration geology, geochemistry, surface high-sensitivity petroleum prospecting methods, and
advancing emerging technologies which could be used by oil exploration geologists. I never got bored nor
stuck in moss. I delighted in researching and submitting innovations to corporate headquarters that were
out of my field. I proposed instantly freezing processed chickens with waste carbon dioxide, and retaining
a to-be-sold diatomite mine to produce cat litter. I mapped the western U.S. helium resources and
proposed the company diversify outside of oil and gas to rare gases. I saw future demands for helium for
the space program rockets, and the then just emerging CAT scan medical and cryogenic technologies.
When management balked at the refinery building costs, I advocated buying government surplus truck-
mounted helium extraction plants to recover the valuable gas.
I pestered managers with suggestions for public service advertising designs on company tractor trailers,
for supporting environmental conservation, and limiting energy waste. I proposed a multi-canon fired
canopy device to snuff oil wells set ablaze during the Iraq war. I made an unsanctioned survey of Research
Center technical research reports practicality that produced few managerial cheers. My survey disclosed
managers did not circulate research reports, but kept them piled on their desks unread until they became
outdated. The working level exploration geologist never could benefit from new research discoveries
unless they asked the proper information-withholding managers. For my reward, I became saddled with
boiling down bulky deeply written Research Department reports to one or two comprehensible pages
(with examples of practical applications) for exploration department employees. I was “scouped” again
when my supervisor was promoted to the Tulsa Research Center to do the same thing for the
corporation. There were no regrets of job stealing from me: Linda and I wanted to stay and raise our
kidlets in beautiful Colorado.
An Intended Crucifixion:
My employment could have suffered if it had not been for some environmentally conscious managers.
Looking back, I can relate one then bothersome, perplexing yet retrospectively amusing occasion. In the
1970's industry association and corporate speakers were trying to get us employees to work to unlock all
public lands to leasing, exploration and drilling [Nothing has changed, has it? In the 2000’s industry
sponsored “citizen review commities” to act as false fronts to sponsor unfetted shale gas leaseing and
drilling].
All employees were invited (you went!) to speeches at the Denver Athletic Club. A parade of industry
speakers droned on about free access to lands and the good it would do for the American public. My
blood boiled at the unabashed bias presented. At the conclusion of the speeches I used the "Question
Period" to stand up and loudly point out that almost everyone in the auditorium had at least one college
degree. That meant we could, and should, be allowed to think for ourselves. So why was not one speaker
for the opposition invited? I considered the "seminar to be a propaganda indoctrination - a scam!". At the
office elevators the Human Resource Manager derisively said to me, "Now you have REALLY put yourself
in employment jeopardy!" (I use more kind words here than were said).
Managers in the central Chicago Office heard of my “obnoxious”, rebellious meeting disruption and the
employee backlash it evoked. Two weeks later I was escorted to the Regional Managers private
conference room. Fortunately, I had on a suit coat and tie. There were several TV cameras set up. A seat in
the first row had my name on it. Chicago's headquarters was aptly named "Searington's Falling Errection"
- built against geologist/mineralogist warnings that the Italian white marble sheathing would fail. It did fail
and fall off, and it had to be replaced at tremendous cost. These central office politically bent "hell with
the environmental details of oil exploration" managers had me set up for expected humbleness. They
wanted to document me as present for the talks by the Sierra Club, Colorado Environmental Coalition,
The Wilderness Society and other "greenies". To say the least, it was interesting with one camera always
aimed at me. It certainly was no time to pick my nose! My fellow employees never saw the presentations
nor did I. But I guess the thousands of dollars spent to put me in my place and hallway rumors of what
went on damped enthusiasm of other staff environmental activists. However, a behind the scene angel
evidently intervened as my savior (see my book for the answer). It pays to have discrete secret friendships
with like-minded managers (office politics would have neutralized the manager if our mutual hunting and
love of the wilderness-based friendship was known).
Nearly Fired - Again!:
I amusingly reflect on some accomplishments which were ridiculed. Two include developing a new
method for locating oil fields using fossil pollen, and being one of the first to horizontally drill Niobrara
Shale oil wells nearly thirty five years ago (1982) when dogmatic gray haired drilling engineers said "it
can't be done". I again almost got fired for that suggestion by the Regional Drilling Department manager
who summoned me to his office. “Drilling horizontally can not be done. If I hear of one more suggestion
from you that we try, YOU will be looking for a new job and maybe YOU not be able to get one!.” But that
manager was already not too happy with me. The Drilling Department was proudly in charge of naming
new fields the Exploration Department found. Not quite fair, I thought! The explorationist who took the
professional risks to a find field, and it should somehow be involved in naming the new discovery.
Besides, I wanted to create some exploration/drilling interdepartmental friendly rivalry, cooperation and
competition to increase teamwork efficiency.
I brashly walked over to the Colorado State Oil and Gas Commission before the wildcat was drilled. I asked
that if a well was drilled at my predicted location written on my business card became a new field
discovery, would it please name it "Pollen Picker" field. This is a derogatory nick name some engineers
used sarcastically chide me. The discovery well found by the new invention was right on target, the State
surprisingly named it "Pollen", and it became the Colorado's second largest field discovery for 1980 - and
my feet were again in Production Department mud.
Back to sportsmanship. Oh hearing of my scolding by the Drilling Manager, The Regional Exploration
Manager also summoned me to his office. “I heard what happened. Pete, we do not need the Production
Department to drill our exploration wells. Go and try drilling some horizontal wells!” Yahoo! In 1982-3 I
drilled three test horizontal Niobrara wells. (They did not get fractured [’fracted]. The “Stress Fracturing”
method I wanted to used (two explosions racing up and down a well bore to meet and blast lateral
fractures) was banned. Testing at the Tulsa Research Center ended when several night crew researchers
were found by the day crew, killed by explosives.)
Retirement Directions: British Petroleum bought Amoco and soon closed the Denver Exploration Office.
I resigned rather than accept a position in Houston. Leaving my beloved Colorado with its many outdoor
activities was not a possibility. Back packing, hunting and skiing would be a unbearable primary losses. I
formed a geochemistry consulting company with my wife, and then fully retired to more fully enjoy life. It
was probably a life less wealthy than it could have been, but positively provided a more rich life. My (our)
motto became "Live life well, because life is not a dress rehearsal!"
In semi-retirement Linda and I formed a geochemistry surface prospecting consulting company. Some
consulting projects got us in to wild places and allowed us to further study animals, and in particular elk. I
continued to develop some new ideas - and to relish the unrushed hunting seasons. I developed a
patented big game lure over a twenty year period.
Field research observations of elk resulted in some unusual conclusions, many I have not seen discussed
in books. I decided to write a book to include these, and some health and hazard pointers I rarely saw
together in typical hunting publications. There was no sense for hunters to continue to meet hunting
disappointments. Naturally, some of these ideas are atypical - who wants to be "normal". You cannot be
creative if crammed into a normal mold. You may find some of my discoveries are not mainstream. I've
never been one to color within the lines or keep within ideological/political boxes. Criticize me if you wish.
I'm used to it. Actually, it is kind of stimulating!
That Was (Still is) One Heck of a Great Ride Through a Wonderful
Life !
I would do every second of life over again if I could!
(See the our “ride” on the Family Hunting Slide Show Page)
The author -- before, and after (well, almost after)
The Author