Bruce Township Historical Society learns about well-drilling at dinner meeting

About 50 members and guests of the Bruce Township Historical Society learned about well-drilling techniques, past and present, at the annual dinner meeting, held Friday, June 7, at the Underwood Community Centre.

Past-president Karen Ribey welcomed everyone and following a brief business meeting, the crowd enjoyed a delicious roast beef dinner catered by the Tiverton Knox Presbyterian Church Auxiliary.

The speakers for the evening included Ernie Cluley, Stan Eby and Mike Steffen.

Cluley told about his great-grandfather who started in the drilling business in 1893, back when the equipment was steam-driven and drawn from property to property by horse and wagon.

His grandfather, Herman Boettger, took over the business in 1898 and drilled wells in five townships: Elderslie, Brant, Bruce, Saugeen and Carrick.

The big change for Boettger came when he installed a six-horsepower Fairbanks engine on the rig which made it far more efficient. He used that unit until he stopped well-drilling in 1938.

“Grandpa told us lots of stories about drilling wells,” said Cluley. “He drilled thousands of wells in the townships in the area. His old well-driller ended up with a collector in Burgoyne, but I’m going to get it back and give it in the Bruce County Heritage Association.”

He said Steffen has offered to help restore the unit and it should be on display at the Heritage Farm Show in Paisley, Aug. 16-18.

Cluley had one more story about his grandpa’s well-drilling which was recounted in the “Paisley Advocate,” May 10, 1916:

“Mr. Herman Boettger of Paisley had a thrilling experience on Monday when the engine of his well-drilling outfit broke through a small wooden bridge and dropped into the bottom of the creek on the 20th side line of Bruce between the 8th and 10th concessions.

“Mr. Boettger was at the throttle himself, standing on the engine platform, when the accident happened but was lucky enough to come out of the muss without a scratch. The creek bottom is about 10 feet below the floor of the bridge, and the engine was partly over-turned in about four feet of water. The water tank wagon was hitched to the back of the engine, and was almost upended but did not go down altogether.

“There will be some difficulty in extricating the outfit from its position, and the extent of the damage will not be known until it is out of the water. The Township Council met at the bridge on Tuesday and viewed the wreck.”



Herman Boettger (left) is the driller, while Henry Christmann is the engineer on this rig; photo courtesy of Ernie Cluley

Eby spoke about the importance of family history, and thanked the historical society for keeping the history of the community alive. “We need to talk to our seniors about what happened back in the old days, before it’s too late.”

Steffen talked about the current well-drilling methods which use a rotary-drill rig rather than the old percussion system. And cable-tool drilling is much faster.

He said that Burgoyne is his least favourite place for drilling a well. “I lost a drill bit, collar and drilling rods down a 185-foot hole there. I told my friend, I didn’t really lose them because I know exactly where they are.”

Steffen said he was lucky because he learned from other people’s mistakes about what to do and what not to do.

When asked where he drills to find water, Steffen jokingly said, “Down!”

“There are places of historical record,” he said, seriously. “In some areas, it’s 200-300 feet down. I live north of Teeswater and there’s good water, but east and west, there’s a lot of iron and sulphur in the water.”

He advised people to properly abandon old wells, and to make sure the wells they are using are up to proper standards.



Bruce Township Historical Society past-president Karen Ribey (left) and treasurer Irene Howe (right) present a gift to secretary Helen Burnside for her hard work and dedication

The Bruce Township Historical Society was established in 1983. It meets on the fourth Monday of the month, with the exception of July, August and December. Eleanor Thompson, who celebrated her 90th birthday in March, has been a dedicated director for 25 years.

Anyone with an interest in the heritage of Bruce Township is welcome as a member. Life membership is $20 and the annual membership is $2 per household. For information about membership, contact Jean Schwandt at 519-396-7735 or Helen Burnside at 519-396-7135.

For more information about the society, check the website at www.brucetownship.ca.



Speaking at the Bruce Township Historical Society annual dinner meeting, are Stan Eby (left), Mike Steffen and Ernie Cluley