ALL PEN: Paul Carson of Kane reached out to The Era recently to inquire about an old but sealed can of motor oil he’d recently come across.
Branded All Pen, Carson wondered what he might have discovered.
Some of our readers may remember back in 2013 when American Refining Group tore down part of a building at its Bolivar Drive facilities, revealing an All Pen Motor Oil sign painted on the bricks beneath.
The restored sign is still visible on the north side of Bolivar Drive, adjacent to the railroad crossing.
The All Pen story goes back to 1922, when 133 Bradford area oil producers banded together to form the Bradford Oil Refining Co.
These men had the experience, the oil resources and, most importantly, the finances.They planned to build 49 miles of pipeline, crude storage facilities, a modern refinery with tanks for refined storage and tank cars, drums and packaging necessary to market the oil. Operations began in February 1923 on the site of the old Foster farm.
The concept was simple: only crude oil from the area would supply the new refinery’s highest-quality production. The company believed that it had the capability to become a worldwide success. Ironically, dependence on European markets in the late 1930s doomed the Bradford Oil Refinery to bankruptcy.
But initially, the men at the helm of the new company certainly had the experience. J. Harvey Rose of Bradford was the first president and other prominent company officials included Lewis Mallory, James Lewis, J.W. Matthews, W. R. Miller, T.F. Connelly, F. D. Korner, E.E. Slingerland, Homer Barcroft, Dr. W.J. Fredericks, James Paul and Francis Nash.
All Pen motor oil memorabilia such as cans, matchcovers and signs remain popular with collectors and are often seen listed for sale on internet auction sites such as eBay.
