BLACKFALDS, Alta. – Christmas greetings now glow from the heights of central Alberta’s largest lawn ornament, complete with a shining red star.
Thirty-two years have passed since Bob McMurray, founder of Twin Rock Holdings, erected a retired oil derrick next to his home above the Blindman River south of the Blackfalds turnoff.
The first derrick smashed in 1993 while Bob was working with it.
“He wanted to test it,” said his son, Punk, who had been standing on the rig floor with his three young children at the time.
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Bob had decided to give the rig’s controls a little shake to see if it would hold up.
He replaced the mangled derrick with another rig that had been abandoned at a farm near Raven after the company that owned it went broke. The farmer had paid $800 at auction for the derrick, a big triple, with plans to use it for scrap metal, said Punk.
When the McMurrays approached the man about buying the rig, he said he needed $5,000 in profit. They cut him a cheque for $5,800, brought it home and set it up on the concrete pad where its predecessor had met its end.
Four years ago, the McMurrays got an offer they couldn’t refuse. A company drilling for oil in the southern United States, where the rig had originated, needed more equipment.
Its new owners paid $240,000 for the old relic, which the McMurrays were happy to accept even though it left a gaping hole in the local landscape.
The skyline over the Blindman just didn’t look right once it had gone, said Punk’s brother, Pat.
Twin Rock’s decorative derrick was a landmark for people travelling along Highway 2 and had attracted many visitors from all over the world, said Bob’s wife, Heddi.
Inside the shack, Bob had kept a rig log and guest book to record visitors.
Punk’s wife, Candy, laughed recalling one group of young male oilfield workers, who stopped along the highway long enough to take pictures of each other mooning the rig.
About 18 months have passed since business operator Lawrence Heck offered to give the family an old double that had been lying in the weeds behind his shop.
“Dad always thought the doubles offended the eye. They’re too small and with the monkey board in the middle, it just didn’t look right,” says Punk.
The McMurrays and family friend, Doug Annas, a former Twin Rock
employee, spent their spare time over the next year getting the rig ready for Christmas, including a big star to be placed at the top.
Bob, ill with thyroid cancer, was unable to help.
A crane was brought in to stand the rig up on its legs, just days after Bob died.
In early December, Punk got home from his job in northern Alberta in time to hook his father’s legacy up for the enjoyment of Christmas travellers.
Bob would be pleased, said Heddi, who hopes this rig is now here to stay.
