GAS STRUCK 100 YEARS AGO TODAY: Exceeded expectations

    Exactly 100 years ago today on the morning of Wednesday, Nov. 4, 1914 Viking residents awoke to the news that a flow of gas which “exceeds the expectation of the experts who located the well” had been found.

    The headline in the Viking News two days later screamed “Gas Struck” and told of an immense flow of gas which had been discovered at a depth of 2,340 feet. The paper went on to say:

    “C.M. Flickinger, one of the crew, rode with lightening speed on his motor cycle into town and got the telegraph and telephone wires busy at sunrise.

    “Within a short time citizens were on the road to the well in automobiles and rigs of every kind. And sure enough, there was the gas roaring up out of the well with a tremendous noise, throwing stones, gravel and dirt high above the serrick.”

For more see the Nov. 4/14 Weekly Review