We went to an auto show at the QuikTrip Center yesterday. As we were walking into the building, I snapped a few pics of this 76' tall replica of an oilfield roustabout standing next to an oil derrick. The statue was originally built in 1953 by the Mid-Continent Supply Company of Fort Worth, Texas for the International Petroleum Exposition, and was erected again for the 1959 show. Due to the positive attention it attracted, the company donated the statue to the Tulsa County Fairgrounds Trust Authority. The statue was permanently installed for the 1966 International Petroleum Exposition at the Tulsa Expo Center. In 1979, the Golden Driller was adopted by the Oklahoma Legislature as the state monument.
